Mahito wasn't bluffing. He was genuinely astounded himself—he had actually discovered the traces of an alternate world!
After deploying his Domain Expansion for the first time, he had enthusiastically plunged into researching its mechanics. In canon, it was stated that Domain Expansion was the ultimate pinnacle of Jujutsu. No other Cursed Technique could even compare to it. To manifest a Domain, one needed not only a supreme, absolute mastery over their own Innate Technique, but also flawless expertise in Barrier Techniques.
From an outside perspective, a Domain Expansion simply looked like a black, spherical barrier deployed with the user at its center. But inside this barrier, the caster gained unprecedented environmental superiority. All techniques deployed within the Domain were guaranteed to hit, their power was massively amplified, and depending on the caster's unique comprehension of the world, entirely new rules could be imposed upon the space.
There were countless intricate mechanics and micro-skills associated with Domain Expansions—knowledge that Kenjaku had imparted to him without holding anything back. Canon itself had showcased several specialized Domain applications:
Kinji Hakari had demonstrated the ability to freely shift the coordinates of his Domain's barrier *after* deployment, moving it from the ground to the sky, or dragging it from the middle of a city district straight over the ocean.
Satoru Gojo had demonstrated the ability to freely manipulate the external size of his Domain post-deployment, shrinking it down to the size of a basketball while those trapped inside remained completely oblivious to the change in external dimensions.
Furthermore, there were traditional Domains, open-barrier Domains, highly specialized Domains, and archaic, non-lethal Domains.
Mastering Domain Expansion didn't mean a sorcerer could just sit back and relax. Quite the opposite; manifesting a Domain was merely the starting line. There was a near-infinite amount of technique refinement and optimization that could be achieved. A Domain Expansion wasn't a static, one-and-done ability; it could be continuously honed and perfected even after its initial creation.
And among all of this, Mahito discovered that his Domain Expansion was fundamentally, radically unique.
His Domain, [Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm], was not anchored in the physical, realistic world. It was anchored directly within the "Life flashing before one's eyes" dimension—the space of death!
Of course, this didn't mean [Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm] *couldn't* be deployed in the physical world; it absolutely could. But seemingly due to the unique nature of Idle Transfiguration, combined with his soul's profound, intimate comprehension of death, Mahito could use his Domain Expansion to physically breach the final resting place of souls and genuinely interfere with the river of souls whenever he wished.
Was this even possible?
Even Kenjaku found it completely unfathomable. Relying on a thousand years of accumulated knowledge and experience, Kenjaku swore it was utterly impossible. His stance perfectly mirrored Yuki Tsukumo's: the 'Life flashing before one's eyes' space was the soul's ultimate terminus, an absolute, inviolable sanctuary that could never be breached.
Neither of them could even conceptualize a scenario where someone could deploy a Domain Expansion within the space of death. It defied the very fundamental laws of Jujutsu!
And then, Mahito realized exactly *why* he could deploy his Domain at the soul's terminus.
Because while they couldn't imagine it, Mahito could. And it wasn't just mere imagination; it was absolute, unshakeable conviction!
In the final stretch of the canon storyline, right after Yuji Itadori finally managed to kill Ryomen Sukuna, there was a very specific sequence:
After his death, Ryomen Sukuna, accompanied by the fiercely loyal Uraume, limped into the soul's resting place. But before they could fully cross over, the long-dead Mahito suddenly popped out in front of him. Mahito had died significantly earlier than Sukuna, yet they still crossed paths within the soul's terminus. Mahito had even explicitly stated that his unique abilities allowed him to remain in that space indefinitely.
Even as Sukuna fully transitioned into the afterlife, Mahito was still standing at the very edge of the soul's terminus, screaming and throwing a profoundly undignified tantrum.
But regardless of his lack of dignity, that sequence definitively proved one critical fact: Mahito possessed the ability to permanently reside within the soul's resting place without being assimilated or erased!
If the canon Mahito could do it, then the current Mahito—who had developed Idle Transfiguration far more comprehensively than his canon counterpart—absolutely could too! Not only could he do it, but driven by the lingering influence of the canon narrative, combined with the profound discussion he'd had with Tsumiki Fushiguro regarding the concept of resurrection (see Chapter 15), these infinite sparks of inspiration converged, allowing his Domain Expansion to successfully manifest.
Just as Tengen had stated, deploying a Domain Expansion specifically designed for resurrection was a near-impossibility in this world. The prerequisites were far too extreme. Not even Tengen could achieve it, and even Kenjaku only managed to fake it using the "cheat code" of reincarnating souls into Cursed Objects.
Yet Mahito had achieved it. Why? Because he was a transmigrator!
He had genuinely, viscerally experienced death. He had personally verified the existence of the 'Life flashing before one's eyes' space. He possessed absolute certainty that he could anchor himself within the soul's ultimate destination.
Consequently, he could conceptualize the soul's resting place—something no one else could even fathom—and he held absolute conviction in the mechanics of resurrection.
With every single impossible prerequisite met, he could deploy his Domain Expansion directly within the soul's resting place and initiate resurrection!
This was an absolute impossibility for anyone else in the world. No one else could do it. Only him. This was a truly singular, unrivaled power—
—Domain Expansion: [Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm].
Now that he possessed this utterly unique Domain Expansion, granting him access to the soul's resting place at will, he naturally threw himself into meticulous research. Unlike the canon Mahito, who could stand in the afterlife without being erased but was entirely limited to just standing there, the current Mahito could do far more.
For instance, he could observe the souls of every single deceased entity.
And that was when he discovered them—the existence of souls from an alternate world.
They were surprisingly easy to distinguish.
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, every single soul—whether they were ordinary humans, Jujutsu Sorcerers, Cursed Spirits, or even those bound by a Heavenly Restriction like the Sorcerer Killer—possessed a universal "Cursed Energy Talent." The only difference was that ordinary humans lacked the biological mechanisms to control their Cursed Energy, constantly leaking it into the atmosphere. Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits could manipulate it freely, while the Sorcerer Killer traded 100% of their Cursed Energy to the heavens in exchange for absolute physical supremacy.
Kokichi Muta (Mechamaru) was a prime example of this mechanic. While crippled, his Cursed Energy output and the sheer vastness of his operational range were staggering. Going all-out, he could even scrape the absolute bottom tier of Special Grade.
But the moment Mahito healed his disabilities, despite regaining a healthy body, Kokichi instantly lost his monstrous Cursed Energy reserves and massive range. During his deathmatch against the canon Mahito, he had been forced to rely entirely on the Cursed Energy he had stockpiled over 17 years of suffering.
The Heavenly Tyrant was subject to the exact same rules. Even though Maki Zen'in possessed so little Cursed Energy that she couldn't even see Cursed Spirits without glasses, and despite her phenomenal physical prowess, she still wasn't a true Heavenly Tyrant. But the moment her twin sister died, taking the last lingering traces of their shared Cursed Energy with her, Maki instantly ascended to become a Heavenly Tyrant.
It wasn't that the Heavenly Tyrant was born completely devoid of Cursed Energy; it was that the heavens had actively confiscated it as a toll.
This was the universal, inescapable characteristic of all souls originating from the Jujutsu Kaisen world. Every single soul possessed it.
Yet, Mahito discovered souls that possessed absolutely zero Cursed Energy.
*Ah... well, then.*
He immediately seized these otherworldly souls and initiated the resurrection sequence within his Domain, eager to interrogate them and figure out what the hell was going on.
The result? They absolutely refused to resurrect! He didn't even need to run further experiments to understand why—
—He could only resurrect souls that possessed Cursed Energy.
At its core, his Domain Expansion was constructed entirely from Cursed Energy. His resurrection process operated on the exact same principle. To resurrect someone, their soul first had to be filtered through 'Cursed Energy.' Only Cursed Energy could execute the resurrection sequence. If a soul possessed zero Cursed Energy, it couldn't even trigger the filtering process, let alone be resurrected.
It was exactly like trying to travel internationally. You absolutely needed a visa. If you wanted to live there long-term, you needed a residency permit. If you possessed neither a visa nor a residency permit, you were nothing but an illegal immigrant.
In the real world, a refugee could eventually apply for documentation. But how the hell was he supposed to forge documentation for a *soul*?! Mahito only knew how to resurrect people; he didn't run a celestial immigration office!
He was utterly dumbfounded.
This was the first time Mahito had slammed headfirst into the draconian rigidity of universal laws.
If he had remained ignorant of it, he could have let it go. But now that he knew, even with the impending deathmatch against Satoru Gojo looming over him, he was practically vibrating with impatience. He desperately wanted intel from that alternate world.
*Hmm,* just as Gojo had deduced, now that Mahito possessed the ability to resurrect infinitely, the crushing psychological burden had completely lifted from his shoulders. Having confirmed that absolutely nothing in this world posed a genuine, lethal threat to him anymore, his ego was starting to drift.
Drifting all the way to an alternate dimension.
To put it bluntly, starting right now, even if Satoru Gojo and Tengen flat-out refused to acknowledge him, he could just dust off his hands and saunter out of Japan entirely. Foreign nations wouldn't cower in fear of him; they would treat him as an exalted VIP. An immortal, indestructible deity capable of granting eternal life to humans? Every nation on Earth would worship him as a literal god.
If it can be killed, it's a monster. If it cannot be killed, it is a god. And right now, he was a god!
Ever since his transmigration, he had finally, truly seized absolute control over his own freedom and his own life. It was time he started serving his *true* ideal: becoming an eternal, immortal god. Now wasn't that a glorious ambition?
Utahime, unable to tolerate his grandstanding a second longer, finally interrupted his monologue regarding his grand ambitions. "Are you seriously claiming you can deploy a Domain Expansion within the soul's resting place? That you can just reach into the torrential river of souls and pluck them out? That you can execute a literal resurrection sequence directly from the afterlife?"
Forget Utahime; even Granny Ogami, who had been kneeling to the side with the serene composure of an ancient sage, looked as if she were listening to someone enthusiastically explain alien mathematics.
She was a veteran of the Jujutsu underworld. Decades ago, she had even accepted an assassination contract targeting Satoru Gojo, and she was the one who had correctly deduced that Gojo's birth would inevitably trigger an explosive surge in Cursed Spirit activity.
Her judgment had been flawlessly accurate. Following Gojo's appearance, Japan had indeed suffered a massive Cursed Spirit outbreak. To her, this world held very few genuine secrets.
But even she found the concept of 'deploying a Domain Expansion within the soul's resting place' entirely unfathomable. This wasn't just challenging common sense; this was taking a sledgehammer to the fundamental worldview she had built over a lifetime, shattering every ounce of experience and knowledge she possessed.
"This old woman... this old woman is also finding this somewhat... difficult to grasp," Granny Ogami admitted tactfully.
Mahito stated arrogantly, "It is entirely natural that you don't understand. What I am capable of achieving now is entirely beyond your capacity to imagine. Barrier Techniques are the physical extension of imagination. If you cannot even conceptualize it, you will naturally never reach my realm."
"Regarding what I am doing now, your only job is to listen and believe. There is no need for you to understand."
That statement was basically the equivalent of pointing directly at their noses and telling them they were hopelessly mediocre, that his realm was so astronomically far beyond them that explaining it would be a total waste of breath.
But they were already among the absolute elite fraction of sorcerers in the world!
Utahime felt a surge of suffocating frustration. "Fine. I don't understand your overwhelming greatness. I'm ignorant. But I've grasped the core of what you're trying to communicate. You are claiming you can currently stand on the banks of the river of souls, look down upon the entirety of it, reach your hand in to fish out specific souls, and execute a resurrection."
"Setting aside *how* the hell you manage to do that, even assuming you can, how does that possibly tie back into 'destiny'?"
"How does any of that prove that destiny is a tangible, real phenomenon?"
Before Mahito could even open his mouth, Granny Ogami sneered at her. "It's truly pathetic that you call yourself a teacher at Kyoto Jujutsu High, yet your comprehension is inferior to a rogue Curse User like this old woman."
Utahime shot her a lethal glare, sneering coldly. "By all means, enlighten me."
Granny Ogami's expression turned grave. "From the moment a human is born, their soul is birthed alongside their flesh. A newborn soul is just as fragile as its physical body. However, the soul's capacity for growth exponentially outstrips the flesh. Consequently, the soul solidifies its fundamental nature far more effectively than the body."
"The ultimate proof of this is the 'cognition' required for Cursed Techniques!"
"A technique from a thousand years ago could never utilize modern tools, because modern tools simply did not exist a thousand years ago. Yet, in the modern era, an increasing number of newly manifested techniques absolutely require modern technology to function. Why is that?"
"Because as cognition shifts, the nature of the techniques shifts alongside it."
"And the soul... is the eternal canvas upon which human cognition is violently engraved."
Utahime fell silent, pondering the statement. The philosophical argument that 'cognition is the soul' had existed since antiquity. In fact, techniques like Granny Ogami's Seance Technique had existed since ancient times. The primary reason the summoned soul could be definitively confirmed as the deceased individual was precisely due to cognition. They retained a sense of self and retained their personal memories. That was a critical detail.
When a soul is summoned, their physical body is long gone. Based on pure biological science, if a person no longer possesses a physical brain, how could their soul possibly recall its past life?
The inescapable conclusion was that the information of the flesh was stubbornly, irrevocably burned into the data of the soul.
That soul-data was 'cognition'.
Granny Ogami asked, "What if someone was born *already possessing* fully formed cognition?"
"Impossible!" Utahime rejected the idea instantly. "Cursed Techniques do not manifest fully matured at birth. As the physical body grows, the technique slowly matures. It usually takes until around age 10 to definitively confirm whether a child possessing Cursed Energy has manifested an Innate Technique or not."
What Utahime was referencing was exactly what Toji Fushiguro had stated right before Satoru Gojo killed him in canon:
*[In 2 or 3 years, my kid will be sold to the Zen'in clan. Do whatever you want with him.]*
A Cursed Technique isn't finalized at birth; it requires a period of growth. Only after reaching a certain developmental threshold does the technique fully reveal itself, allowing the clan to confirm its existence. This was the exact reason Toji Fushiguro said he would sell the child in 2 or 3 years.
*Because selling him before the technique manifested wouldn't fetch a good price. Selling him after the technique was confirmed would rake in a fortune.*
Granny Ogami spoke with a low, heavy voice, "His Eminence Mahito's concept of reincarnation... is the act of physically branding a pre-existing cognition onto a newborn soul!"
Utahime pursed her lips. "Which brings us right back to my original question. What does any of this have to do with destiny?"
"You are still far too young. You don't see the big picture," Granny Ogami chuckled dryly. "There is an old saying: 'The child is father of the man.' While obviously an oversimplification, the core truth of the proverb is undeniable."
"A person's fundamental personality dictates their ultimate future:"
"A righteous man cannot stomach witnessing darkness unfold right in front of him without violently rebelling against it."
"A bloodthirsty man is biologically incapable of enduring a peaceful, mundane existence."
"A man consumed by ambition will frantically claw for power the moment he catches a glimpse of it."
"A kind-hearted person walking down the street will subconsciously reach into their wallet and drop a few coins into a beggar's bowl."
"Do you understand now?"
"When His Eminence Mahito injects a soul pre-loaded with a fully formed, hyper-specific cognition into a new life, the entire sequence of future events that soul will inevitably trigger becomes 100% predictable."
"If that isn't 'destiny,' then what the hell is?"
Mahito looked at Granny Ogami thoughtfully. While she hadn't hit the absolute bullseye, relying purely on her decades of life experience, she had deduced something remarkably close to the truth. One had to admire a veteran Curse User who had managed to survive this long; they possessed a terrifyingly sharp intuition for practically anything. Even if they couldn't grasp the underlying theoretical mechanics, they could flawlessly summarize the practical outcome.
Utahime, however, was a different story. She sneered, "I've heard plenty of that kind of sophistry before."
"This old woman isn't relying on sophistry. Are you not a living, breathing example of it yourself?" Granny Ogami retorted.
"Me?"
"Do you recall what His Eminence Mahito stated earlier?" Granny Ogami said flatly. "This country boasts a population of 100 million. Even factoring in Curse Users, the total number of sorcerers is barely ten thousand. And out of that ten thousand, only a thousand or so possess an Innate Technique."
"His Eminence did not finish his thought."
"Out of those thousand individuals possessing an Innate Technique, the number capable of advancing to Grade 1 is less than a hundred."
"And out of those hundred... the number capable of reaching Special Grade in the modern era is exactly three."
"Satoru Gojo. Yuta Okkotsu. Yuki Tsukumo!"
"Up to this point, you could theoretically write this off as a sheer statistical probability born from stacking 100 million people on top of each other."
"But what if His Eminence Mahito were to physically inject a *new* 'Special Grade' sorcerer into the mix?"
"And what if this 'Special Grade' sorcerer possessed a fully intact cognition and a fundamentally predictable personality?"
"Could His Eminence Mahito not utilize this specific soul to flawlessly predict and manipulate the entire future trajectory of the Jujutsu world?"
*As if a single person could possibly throw the entire world into chaos!* Utahime desperately wanted to open her mouth and mock the idea, but the words died in her throat. She finally understood exactly what Granny Ogami meant. She understood exactly what this 'destiny' truly entailed.
Just as Granny Ogami had outlined, when you possess absolute, omniscient knowledge of a person's fundamental personality, you inherently possess the ability to predict every single choice they will ever make. Through those predicted choices, you can absolutely determine their ultimate future.
This wasn't a normal civilian who could be permanently retired by a stray bullet. This was a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer capable of physically flattening the world! And even if it wasn't a Special Grade, even a hundred Grade 1 sorcerers—provided a Special Grade didn't intervene—would be more than enough to wage a full-scale, frontal war against the current Jujutsu Headquarters and win.
Why was the Zen'in clan's elite sorcerer unit, the [Hei], so utterly terrifying?
Because every single member of the [Hei] was a Grade 1 sorcerer or higher! And they boasted ten members! The total number of officially recognized Grade 1 sorcerers in the entire Jujutsu world was less than a hundred. Ten Grade 1 sorcerers literally constituted 10% of the entire global military strength of Jujutsu society.
How terrifying was that?
If Mahito wanted to, he could systematically hunt down and execute Grade 1 sorcerers, then exclusively resurrect and hurl those specific sorcerers into the alternate world. Utahime had no idea what the geopolitical landscape of this 'alternate world' looked like, but she knew with absolute certainty that tossing one hundred Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers into *any* world would inevitably carve out a massive, bloody chunk of influence.
And that 'massive chunk of influence' was, by definition, destiny.
How many legendary historical figures and monumental events began with someone carving out a 'massive chunk of influence'? Hell, even the founding emperors of nations started by carving out influence!
This wasn't just subtly nudging minor fates; this was seizing the reigns of grand-scale, epoch-defining Destiny!
As long as he could perfectly manipulate the sheer willpower and ambition of this group, he could effortlessly engineer the exact outcomes he desired. The entire chain of causality, from the initial seed to the final harvest, would rest entirely in Mahito's palm—
—This was not the traditional, passive act of 'foreseeing' destiny. This was the active, aggressive *manipulation* of destiny!
In truth, the underlying principle was painfully simple. It was just that the vast majority of people trapped within the system lacked the perspective to recognize it:
When a normal person clocks in for work, whether they like it or not, a significant portion of their destiny is violently held hostage by their boss. If they are young, single, and have zero attachments, and the boss threatens them, they can spit in his face, quit on the spot, and walk out. But if they have elderly parents in the ICU, a starving newborn at home, and a crushing, mountainous mortgage hanging over their head... do they dare quit?
In that specific moment, their literal survival and financial ruin are entirely dictated by the boss. Their destiny has been rigidly fixed.
Mahito's manipulation of destiny was exponentially more ruthless. Because the souls of every single individual he reincarnated rested entirely in his grasp! Every single scrap of personality data exposed within their soul was laid bare before him. He didn't even need to orchestrate complex conspiracies; he merely needed to glance at their psychological profile, hurl them into the alternate world, and he could instantly calculate the exact trajectory of their entire life.
This wasn't a prediction. This was absolute certainty. This... was "Destiny"!
*I can literally physically interact with the river of souls. If I want someone to reincarnate into a specific era, in a specific location, I can make it happen effortlessly. That is, by definition, seizing destiny by the throat! And it isn't some abstract, mystical mumbo-jumbo either; it is overwhelmingly direct and pragmatic.*
*This is genuine, physical Destiny Manipulation!*
Utahime's scalp tingled with dread. She stammered, "That would require an unimaginably flawless grasp of human psychology. Merely resurrecting them and hurling them into an alternate world shouldn't be enough to guarantee an outcome, right?"
Granny Ogami suddenly sat up perfectly straight, speaking with absolute, righteous conviction. "This old woman is about to willingly hand her soul over to His Eminence Mahito for reincarnation. Doesn't that mean this old woman's soul data is completely exposed to His Eminence? Since that is the case, I assume every single one of my psychological secrets and behavioral tics is completely laid bare. This old woman is fully prepared for that!"
Utahime was numb. *Right. If she's undergoing reincarnation, her soul will naturally be subjected to a full-scale forensic audit. That definitely makes predicting her behavior infinitely easier.*
*Goddamn it. This old hag actually surrendered the fundamental freedom of her own soul just for a shot at reincarnation.*
*Wait a minute!* Utahime felt a sudden, violent chill. *Mahito can fish souls directly out of the river. Which means, even if this old hag manages to spectacularly get herself killed after reincarnating, Mahito will just fish her out and resurrect her again, if only to extract her gathered intel regarding the alternate world.*
*Furthermore, to ensure this old hag is actually useful at gathering intel, Mahito can't afford to screw her over. He'll have to deliberately arrange the absolute best innate talent and background for her... Well, background is impossible since it's a different world, but he can absolutely rig her innate talent.*
*If he can literally stand at the soul's terminus and resurrect people, is rigging someone's innate talent really that difficult for him?*
*No, the King of Curses was already capable of doing that from the start! The very first rumors surrounding him explicitly stated he possessed the ability to force 'evolution' upon humans!*
*Weighing the pros and cons... aside from losing her soul's fundamental autonomy, this old hag is going to drop into a new world wielding overwhelming, tyrannical power, allowing her to do whatever the hell she wants. And standing right behind her is a gargantuan, unkillable sugar daddy capable of granting infinite revivals.*
*Fuck! They call her a 'test subject', but this old hag sees right through the bullshit. This is the ultimate business transaction!*
No wonder the old crone was addressing the Lord of Cursed Spirits as "His Eminence." That was a title exclusively reserved for devout zealots addressing a Pope, or a literal God.
This old hag had completely, unreservedly deified the King of Curses!
Mahito clapped his hands together. "Excellent. Now that the fundamental mechanics have been clarified, to give Granny Ogami total peace of mind, allow me to prove one final thing to you."
Granny Ogami chuckled dryly. "Since His Eminence has already decided, this old woman would not dare refuse."
Utahime tensed, asking sharply, "Are you going to deploy your Domain Expansion right here and drag us into the soul's resting place?"
"That would certainly be an undeniable method of proof, but there is no need to go through all that trouble," Mahito smiled. "All I have to do... is resurrect a dead man right here, right now."
"I imagine that will make believers out of you instantly."
***