It took 15 seconds to finish the fight. After Sha slashed everyone into the ICU, Mahito engaged in a high-level discussion with the American higher-ups before finally returning to the secret base.
Kinji Hakari let out a heartfelt sigh, "That was fucking spectacular, and fucking exhausting."
Mahito asked, amused, "You barely said a word. You just stood behind me and listened to our conversation. What are you so tired from?"
"I don't know why I'm tired, I just feel exhausted. So tired I don't want to do anything." Kinji Hakari was someone who thrived on feverish excitement.
Yet at this moment, he looked like a defeated stray dog, waiting to die in a dark city alley. "I actually had a hunch that the higher-ups of this world were all fucking inhuman, but I never expected them to be *this* inhuman. I've truly gained a new understanding of the world."
"Never trust the absolute bottom line of humanity. The more power someone holds, the easier they fall. You haven't even seen the true darkness of these American rulers. Wait until you learn about Epstein Island. You'll only be more disillusioned," Mahito said lightly. "From now on, you are my external spokesperson. You'd better get used to this."
Hakari sat blankly in his chair, his face pale, his entire weight slumped against the backrest like a pile of slime.
When he first became Mahito's spokesperson, he still harbored a sense of pride. After all, the jujutsu world refused to acknowledge him, while Mahito gave him boundless validation. He couldn't help but place his hopes on Mahito.
Although Mahito was a Cursed Spirit, he didn't blindly act upon the cursed nature of his origins. Quite the opposite—he possessed considerable capacity and personal charisma, and would absolutely never do anything to challenge the moral baseline of humanity.
If even Mahito, born of a curse, could be like this, Hakari imagined that the true leaders of human society—even if they fell far short of Mahito—would at least have a minimum standard. At the very least, they should fully consider the survival and livelihood of their own citizens when making moves. Wasn't that the most basic requirement of being a nation's leader?
But it wasn't like that at all. When those bastards discussed profit disputes, not for a single second did they consider the sentiments of their citizens... No, they *did* consider it. They considered how to better cover up the truth, how to more easily deceive the public, and how to better swallow all the profits.
Right now, Hakari heavily envied his past self, the naive Hakari who had just been appointed as the external contact by Mahito.
Mahito added fuel to the fire. "This is the position you wanted, you know. You were the one who said you wanted to monitor all my external communications; it's too late to regret it now."
Hakari couldn't hold back. "I never said I wanted to monitor all your external communications!"
"You just didn't say it out loud," Mahito gloated. "Dare you say you didn't have that thought when you first started working under me? Look, I've given you the opportunity, so quit whining. You chose this path, so you better work hard for me, Kinji."
Hakari sat there, numb.
"Yo, Mahito is back," a young voice suddenly called out.
A young man pushed the door open. He sported a samurai topknot, wore a plain kimono, and walked barefoot in wooden clogs. He wore two swords at his waist—not one on each side, but both on the same side: a wakizashi and an uchigatana. He was a beardless, pretty boy with piercing eyes, but a raging fire burned within them. He looked exactly like a vagabond youth who had walked straight out of the Heian period.
"Have you gotten used to returning to your youth, Ashiya-sensei?" Mahito greeted him with a smile.
Ashiya Sadatsuna sighed in admiration. "As expected of the combination of the Six Eyes and Idle Transfiguration. I don't feel any discomfort at all, and my mindset is perfectly fine. After a month of recovery training, I can confidently say I'm back to my prime. Now, even if I face Yuki Tsukumo again, I can..."
"Get revenge?" Mahito asked.
"...I can at least lose more gracefully," Ashiya Sadatsuna finished.
Mahito's mouth twitched.
Ashiya Sadatsuna spoke with grave earnestness. "Mahito, although you have now far surpassed the so-called Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers and truly sit at the same round table as Ryomen Sukuna and Satoru Gojo, the power of a Special Grade is still undeniable. Yuki Tsukumo might not match your level of defense, but in terms of offensive capabilities, she remains unmatched under the heavens. It is no exaggeration to say that if she wanted to, she could flip the table with a self-destruct attack at any time, and no one could stop her."
Black Flash was terrifying enough, scaling attack power exponentially, but it was still far inferior to the maximum output of Star Rage. In the entirety of the original work, Yuki Tsukumo's offensive capability was the absolute ceiling. Even Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna, universally recognized as the pinnacles of jujutsu sorcerers, fell far short of her in that regard.
When Gojo and Sukuna fought so fiercely in the original story, upon closer inspection, they only destroyed a few streets and a city. The destructive radius of the meteor summoned by Jogo's Maximum was wider than the damage caused by those two fighting. But Yuki Tsukumo was on another level. The narrator explicitly stated that if she self-destructed without holding back, she could directly compress the Earth into a 2-centimeter glass marble.
Yuki Tsukumo's destructive power was in a tier of its own! This was the absolute weight of her raw stats. You simply had to accept it.
For a direct-combat sorcerer like Ashiya Sadatsuna, he just couldn't beat Yuki Tsukumo. No matter what, he couldn't win. The stat gap was too overwhelming. It could even be said that while Ashiya Sadatsuna's chances were incredibly slim, there was a theoretical future where he might defeat Ryomen Sukuna. But against Yuki Tsukumo? Impossible. Impossible meant impossible.
Kenjaku looked behind Ashiya Sadatsuna. "Where is Ms. Fushiguro? Why didn't she come over?"
Ashiya Sadatsuna, who had been in a good mood a moment ago, instantly darkened. "She's recently become obsessed with *Kamen Rider Zi-O*. She said she 'feels the inspiration.' Goddamn it, does she think I haven't watched Kamen Rider? What tier of Rider is Zi-O? Does she really think she can use her Construction Cursed Technique to create a Ziku-Driver? If she can do that, you might as well believe I can chop down Ryomen Sukuna today!"
"This is your fault, Mahito!" Ashiya Sadatsuna scolded angrily. "It's all because you said that since the original Kamen Rider could be replicated, the others definitely could be too. Now Tsumiki is completely engrossed in it. She doesn't even care about the Great Barrier anymore!"
Mahito was unashamed and laughed. "Isn't this great? When Ryomen Sukuna finally steps into the arena, Ms. Tsumiki will be able to use her own fists to knock some sense into the head of the legendary strongest in history."
Currently, Mahito no longer expected Tsumiki Fushiguro to truly humanize Kirigiri. With his Hollow Technique: Soul Creation Dragon Spirit Body, combined with his Construction technique and the precise cursed energy manipulation of the Six Eyes, his Construction had long surpassed Tsumiki's. He could humanize Kirigiri himself; all he needed was a flash of inspiration.
Therefore, Tsumiki Fushiguro's main task now was to improve her own strength to deal with the future Ryomen Sukuna.
"It better be," Ashiya Sadatsuna grunted.
Kenjaku comforted him, "Since a thousand years ago, Yorozu has held a massive obsession with Sukuna. Although that obsession has been diluted by the modern Tsumiki's memories due to Idle Transfiguration, it still lingers. The reason Ms. Fushiguro is working so hard now is that she genuinely sees the possibility of defeating Sukuna. Her obsessive dedication to this is understandable."
Ashiya Sadatsuna sighed, "As long as it doesn't delay our real business."
Pausing for a moment, Ashiya asked, "How did things go in America?"
Hakari sneered. "How else? The moment those people heard about immortality, their eyes went entirely red. No matter how absurd Mahito's conditions were, they didn't hesitate at all. Tengen will be invited to the US in a matter of days... The ridiculous part is, even before we mentioned that immortality requires a Great Barrier, they were already banking on cultivating domestic jujutsu sorcerers to enter the game."
Ashiya Sadatsuna wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Throughout history, those in power have always pursued immortality. America is a young nation, so naturally, they are no exception."
"I can even imagine that after the Dream Migration is complete and the method of immortality is made public, countries all over the world will organize to build their own national great barriers. It's not that they don't know the dangers of cursed energy or the terror of curses, but immortality is simply too sweet. It blinds them."
Indeed, at first, even Mahito hadn't anticipated that the US would push for the establishment of an American Great Barrier so aggressively. The condition he prepared to persuade them with was actually that his method of immortality required the foundation of a Great Barrier. If they wanted immortality, they needed a Great Barrier, so the US would have to invite Tengen to their country.
Mahito hadn't lied. His method of immortality required the circulation of cursed energy within the atmosphere. If the US didn't build a Great Barrier, there would be no cursed energy circulation, and naturally, no true immortality.
Unless these American rulers were willing to move to Japan and control America remotely—but Mahito figured there was a 100% chance they'd refuse that.
They wanted immortality, but they wanted their wealth and status even more! This was the expected mindset of American rulers. As for Mahito volunteering his own services during the meeting... well, that part wasn't fake either.
He genuinely wanted to use it for practice. He believed his barrier techniques were sufficient, and possessing the Six Eyes allowed him to perfectly regulate the barrier's functions. The problem was, the moment the Americans heard he was an inexperienced rookie, they didn't trust him.
One option was an experienced sorcerer who had lived for a thousand years and looked quite harmless—at the very least, she hadn't made a move when mainland Japan was bombed, and even when Japan lost the war, she never stepped out of line. The other option was the Lord of Cursed Spirits, wielding massive power, fiercely ambitious, looking entirely untrustworthy, and actively expanding his influence abroad.
Anyone with a normal brain knew which one to choose. And just like that, Mahito was spectacularly rejected!
Ashiya Sadatsuna turned to look at Kenjaku, smiling. "Kenjaku, the great boom of jujutsu you've always dreamed of is coming. I can imagine that after this, the Great Barriers of every country in the world will connect, ultimately forming a super-massive barrier enveloping the entire Earth. In the elemental circulation of the atmosphere hereafter, cursed energy will inevitably become a vital component. A massive explosion of jujutsu sorcerers will occur all over the world."
"There will be a massive explosion of curses, too," Hakari sighed.
"Then that is our duty." Sha, who had been silent until now, responded with a clear voice. "We will actively establish patrol mechanisms, and we will also find ways to minimize the impact of curses... Isn't that the whole point of the Dream Migration?"
The Dream Migration was a modified version of the Culling Game, established primarily according to Mahito's will.
Hakari couldn't help but reach out and pat the cursed spirit girl's head. Her deadpan, serious demeanor was just too adorable, making even Hakari feel a surge of affection.
He smiled, "You're right. That is our duty!"
In the original work, after absorbing Tengen and Mahito, Kenjaku did one thing: using Japan's Great Barrier as the foundation and Idle Transfiguration as the core component, he cast a massive barrier covering all of Japan. The name of this barrier was the Culling Game.
To initiate the Culling Game, two components were required:
First, Japan's Great Barrier had no master, leaving its control vacant.
Second, Mahito's Idle Transfiguration.
The initiation of the Culling Game caused massive devastation to Japan. Ten million Cursed Spirits were ruthlessly thrown into the game by Kenjaku, including Special Grade curses from ancient times. Additionally, ancient sorcerers awakened from their incarnated bodies; having signed contracts with Kenjaku, they were forced to join. Finally, the accumulation of excess cursed energy awakened jujutsu sorcerers among the populace who possessed innate talent. Within a population of over a hundred million, individuals with talent rivaling Special Grade sorcerers were born.
All of them were thrown into the Culling Game. The rule of the game was simple: kill to gain points. In other words, it was a gladiatorial arena where tens of millions of Cursed Spirits and immensely talented sorcerers slaughtered each other.
This drastically accelerated the circulation of cursed energy, causing the cursed energy within the Culling Game to operate almost endlessly, normalizing the phenomenon. In fact, the very rules of the Culling Game were designed to ensure the barrier would never break.
But Mahito, possessing the Six Eyes, pushed the Culling Game even further.
In the original work, Kenjaku once used a dream to safely extract innocent people from the Culling Game to a secure location. This was because Kenjaku had made a Binding Vow when initiating the Culling Game: anyone entirely devoid of jujutsu talent had to be personally escorted out of the game by him—provided, of course, that they consented.
The key was *in the dream*.
Actions taken within a dream genuinely pulled people out of the Culling Game in reality. This wasn't an inherent ability of the Culling Game itself, but a special Cursed Technique personally cast by Kenjaku.
So, why not reverse it?
Meaning, filter out the talented jujutsu sorcerers in reality, and then have all the Cursed Spirits, ancient sorcerers, and newly awakened sorcerers duel *in the dream world*, while the external, real world remained peaceful. Wouldn't this maintain superficial peace, hide sorcerers to the greatest extent, and reduce civilian casualties?
There were two reasons why Kenjaku didn't do this originally:
First, an overwhelming lack of precision. Conducting rescues within a dream was a profoundly exquisite fusion of jujutsu and cursed techniques. Only Kenjaku knew how to execute it. Not even Tengen could do it. But even after absorbing Tengen, Kenjaku could only achieve what was shown in the original work; he couldn't go a step deeper.
Second, it was unnecessary.
Indeed, for the original Kenjaku, maintaining the balance of the jujutsu world was an entirely unnecessary consideration. Rather than wasting time and effort trying to reduce civilian casualties, maximizing the efficiency of the Culling Game was the priority. As for how many people died in the process or how many innocents were caught in the crossfire, it wasn't something Kenjaku needed to think about.
But now, all of these problems had been solved.
Mahito now possessed the Six Eyes. He could control the dream-traversal cursed technique with absolute precision. As long as he cooperated seamlessly with Kenjaku, Kenjaku could easily design the Culling Game to take place within a dream. He could even force Japan's Great Barrier to execute a thorough filtration, pulling anything carrying cursed energy down into it.
Of course, this still wouldn't work on powerful jujutsu sorcerers. But through other methods, they could still lure powerful sorcerers into the game. Leaving everything else aside, simply broadcasting his abilities and promising reincarnation and immortality would likely prompt many sorcerers to enter of their own volition.
Even Satoru Gojo would be forced to do so. After all, he couldn't just sit back and watch Mahito use this dream barrier to ascend to godhood. As the strongest human and their de facto guardian, stopping Mahito's apotheosis was a matter of righteous duty. Even knowing it played right into Mahito's hands, he would enter the game.
As for the disagreement regarding ordinary people, Kenjaku wouldn't dare oppose Mahito on this front. Besides, it wasn't a hassle anyway, so Kenjaku had no reason to refuse.
As the saying goes, Mahito was here to rule, not to destroy. Minimizing the sacrifice of innocents was a better way to pacify the masses. Currently, Mahito's hands were still clean. This spotless reputation easily garnered approval and allowed him to effortlessly seize the moral high ground.
Since he *could* do it, why wouldn't he? Why insist on flaunting cruelty, inciting public outrage, and sparking rebellions everywhere, killing until heads rolled but still failing to stop the unrest? What was the point of Mahito ruling the world then? Just to kill for fun? That was way too low-class.
Kenjaku didn't care, but Mahito did, so Kenjaku had no choice but to yield.
This was Mahito's apotheosis ritual: The Dream Migration.
A massive gust of wind descended as a gigantic crow landed. Hane-kaede hopped off the giant crow, flashing a wide smile:
"Master, Big Sis! And Kenjaku-sensei, Ashiya-sensei! The Great Barrier for the Dream Migration is almost fully set up. Now, all we need is for Tengen to leave the Star Tombs, and we can initiate the Dream Migration! Of course, Yuta Okkotsu might be a bit of a nuisance as the current administrator, but as long as it isn't Tengen, I don't think he can stop us from overwriting the barrier with the Dream Migration, right?"
"Be careful when you ask for credit," an impatient voice spoke from atop the giant crow.
It was a young man. He wore a white sleeveless vest with wide, uniform-like sleeves underneath, and dark purple, wide-legged pants tied at the waist. He had black, spiky hair tied into two high pigtails, a black cursed mark across his nasal bridge, and dark purple makeup around his eyes.
This was Choso, the eldest brother of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, brought here personally by Kenjaku.
He had been resurrected a month ago. In the original work, his resurrection relied on the cursed object directly possessing a host. After Mahito took him and his two brothers away, Mahito randomly grabbed three innocent passersby off the street and shoved the cursed objects down their throats. Choso, Eso, and Kechizu were all resurrected through that method.
But this time was different. Mahito personally adjusted the souls of the three brothers and manually crafted bodies perfectly tailored to their souls using the Construction technique. Their birth was clean and pristine, without a trace of defilement.
Perhaps precisely because of this, Choso and the others easily accepted a future working under Mahito.
Over the past month, aside from contacting the US, no one had been idle. Everyone was preparing for Mahito's final apotheosis ritual.
Ashiya Sadatsuna restored his youth; Tsumiki Fushiguro hurried to catch up on *Kamen Rider*, accompanied by Toji Fushiguro; Kenjaku went to America to establish connections; and Kinji Hakari worked hard by Mahito's side to improve his strength.
Additionally, all the Cursed Spirits, including Jogo, traveled across Japan to set up the barrier nodes.
The newly arrived survivors of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings—Choso, Eso, and Kechizu—took over Kenjaku's task of maintaining contact with the Curse User community while he was in America.
And now, finally, it was time to close the net.
Kenjaku smiled warmly. "This is truly the best news we've had recently. Exactly. As long as it isn't Tengen, I am confident my Dream Migration will directly overwrite the entirety of Japan's Great Barrier! As for Tengen, I know her; she will inevitably rush to America. I firmly believe that when that time comes, Mahito..."
He turned to look at Mahito, offering a smile.
"...Your apotheosis ritual will proceed without a hitch."