Kinji Hakari made a rare visit to this white desert. After nearly two months, a villa had been built in the white desert. At this moment, Mahito, wearing beachwear, was lying on the sofa in the villa's living room, watching the big screen of the home theater, eating popcorn and drinking cola.
Hakari knocked on the villa door. A maid with rabbit ears gently opened it. Hakari looked at this rabbit-eared maid; her face was calm, her eyes devoid of fluctuation. If she weren't moving, anyone would think she was a precise life-sized doll.
Hakari praised, "As expected of you, Mahito. This is a combination of Puppet Manipulation and Ten Shadows Technique, right? No, there should also be Mutation Cursed Corpse technology involved. Although she's far less lively than Panda, she has her own consciousness, right?"
"Mutation Cursed Corpse technology requires long-term stabilization to take shape. The Ten Shadows Technique isn't like that. I just borrowed a little from it. You can understand it as a temporary AI; it has to be recalculated every time it's constructed. Honestly, it's a bit troublesome, but of course, it's more powerful." Mahito, eating popcorn, turned to look at Hakari and raised a hand. "Yo, haven't seen you for a while, Kinji."
The so-called Mutation Cursed Corpse referred to cases like Panda. Cursed Corpses were supposed to be mindless Shikigami like puppets, but Panda's creator, Masamichi Yaga, used special technology to turn the Cursed Corpse Panda into a true lifeform. Panda possessed a self, a soul, and could even generate Cursed Energy through his core.
The Higher-ups once hoped Yaga would hand over this technology, but Yaga knew clearly that doing so would only cause greater destruction. If the Higher-ups truly possessed this technology, they would definitely use it for broader oppression.
Yaga refused, and precisely because of this refusal, he faced a purge after Gojo's death.
But now, even without going through Yaga, Mahito could analyze everything about Panda through Panda's battles and resurrections in the Dream Migration. The technology for Mutation Cursed Corpses had long fallen into his hands. Mahito unceremoniously used this Cursed Corpse technology to properly cultivate his various Shikigami, including the *Ten Shadows*.
Hakari walked up and looked at the home theater screen. It displayed Dagon's battle. Dagon, the manifestation of humanity's curse towards the sea, was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit beyond common sense. Now, utilizing his full strength, he summoned endless floods from the sky to bombard the ground below, like a low-flying bomber.
In the original work, Dagon had to use Domain Expansion to decide the victor because the environment was an underground station with limited height. He wasn't actually a true melee Cursed Spirit; he was more threatening using water currents from a distance. But now it was different. The environment was a vast open field. He flew unscrupulously into the high sky, fully utilizing the advantages of a flying creature, making the challengers suffer unspeakably.
Hakari watched for a while and laughed, "It's over. Dagon will be sent to reincarnation by your little spy in a moment."
From the looks of it, Dagon, bombing at will, indeed had the advantage. After all, none of the challengers could fly. Even if Toge Inumaki used *Cursed Speech* to give everyone flight, it wouldn't last long. Others could only jump up to fight with their legs.
High ground vs. low ground was like this—almost unsolvable. Almost.
Mahito sighed. "Dagon still has too little experience. I clearly gave him a list of everyone worth noting and told him how to fight, but he still fell for it unknowingly... No, I should say, precisely because I stuffed him full of 'walkthroughs,' he appears rigid."
Mahito had given Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon optimal combat strategies:
For Jogo: Just blast. Blast and blast. Jogo had the highest firepower output among the Disaster Curses, so he just needed to mindlessly stack damage. Regardless of the opponent's technique, survival was impossible in extreme heat—except for Gojo-level opponents, of course. But how many Gojo-level sorcerers were there in the world?
When Jogo met Sukuna after death in the original work, Sukuna's advice was the same as the current Mahito's: Don't think about messy tactics when facing an enemy. Just burn them. Burn the heavens, burn all creation. That should be Jogo's path.
Hanami was an extremely special Cursed Spirit. If she wanted to hide, even Gojo would find it difficult to detect her. So the role best suited for her was actually an assassin. As long as she hid on the sidelines and used various plant growth abilities remotely, unless the opponent had wide-range destructive power, winning against her was impossible.
In the original work, because of her outstanding defense, Hanami was used as a meat shield. But this was actually wrong. In this world, apart from a very few sorcerers, all Cursed Energy creatures were glass cannons. Hanami's defense was outstanding only within her weight class. Once she met a true heavy hitter, she could also be one-shot. She died from this in the original work, so naturally, Mahito wouldn't let her make the same mistake.
If you have talent for stealth, be an honest assassin! That's what you should do.
Finally, Dagon.
He was the only one among the Disaster Curses with passive flight capability. His firepower was also high, and his water manipulation was versatile. In the original work, it was stated that [Megumi's Max Elephant couldn't compare to him at all]. He also had the ability to create and manipulate aquatic Shikigami.
Since that was the case, he should utilize the advantages of a flying Cursed Spirit—don't land, just hit from high to low, bully the opponent for not being able to fly. When facing flying sorcerers, use the advantage of high firepower to strafe while flying:
Grind them down with abundant Cursed Energy.
The more open the terrain, the more he could utilize his massive advantage. This was the tactic Mahito prepared for him, and what was displayed on the big screen right now was exactly that tactic.
The challengers were beaten black and blue, scurrying like rats. Dagon also kept Mahito's warning in mind, being especially wary of Nanami's *Ratio Technique* + Black Flash combo. If Nanami dared to rush into the sky, Dagon dared to fly another 50 meters up! With unlimited floods, attack power wouldn't decay even 200 meters off the ground, let alone 50. Dagon upheld absolute caution, preferring to fly higher and use wide-area floods rather than get close to Nanami and get counter-killed.
Dagon's caution indeed pushed the challengers into a desperate situation.
—Or so it seemed.
Hakari rubbed his chin, laughing. "Still too little combat experience. He focused only on guarding against Nanami's *Ratio Technique* but forgot Rice Shower's Poison Technique... I don't know if Rice Shower has been rated Special Grade by the Jujutsu world yet, but her ability to release invisible poison over a super-wide area has been honed. The odorless, colorless poison must have quietly been inhaled by Dagon, yet he remains completely unaware."
Dagon on the scene couldn't detect it, but from a god's-eye view, Dagon's stamina and Cursed Energy were being consumed at an accelerated rate. Unknowingly, his Cursed Energy manipulation ability was also declining.
The silent nature of poison was played to perfection by Rice Shower.
Unlike the original work, the boy Junpei Yoshino (before the gender-bend into Rice Shower) chose honorable combat after getting his Poison Technique, running straight into his hard counter, Yuji Itadori. Naturally, he got beaten up and almost joined the good guys, but Mahito twisted him before he could.
The current Rice Shower was different. Perhaps due to special training from professional sorcerers, she hid her technique very carefully. Although Dagon knew Rice Shower's technique was poison, because most of his attention was on Nanami, he didn't prioritize it enough and ultimately fell for it.
For "Poison," once you're hit, the outcome is already decided.
Mahito sighed. "I can predict the development: The poison erupts, Dagon spits blood in a moment of carelessness. Then *Cursed Speech* immediately collects that blood. Dagon wants to stop it but can't because of the poisoning. Then Nobara puts the blood into the straw doll, using *Resonance* to continuously attack his soul, forcing Dagon to choose more aggressive attack methods. As a result, in a tangle with Panda, the curtain falls with Nanami's [Ratio Technique: Collapse] Black Flash."
Hakari laughed. "I predict the same. Tokyo High people, influenced by Gojo-sensei, are very good at complementary combat—because if they didn't do that, they'd have been beaten into doubting life by Gojo-sensei's unceremonious fists long ago. Group fights against a single opponent are Tokyo High's area of expertise."
Usually, sorcerers rarely cooperated due to their strong individual personalities. But because Gojo frequently played the "I'll fight ten of you" game, any Tokyo High graduate mastered the art of gang-beating.
—In the original work, Ryomen Sukuna also suffered deeply from this.
Mahito casually changed the channel. This time, Yuji Itadori appeared on the big screen.
And the person he was facing was—Ryomen Sukuna.
These two destined enemies stood face to face, looking ready to fight at any moment. Nearly two months had passed; Sukuna had completed his entire soul and was now actively collecting other fingers.
Yuji Itadori was the same. Because of the Dream Migration, Yuji's body, which was evaluated in the original work as having [Potential equal to Ryomen Sukuna], accelerated its growth. When he exchanged for accelerated growth talents, Mahito didn't even need to make adjustments; he just copied Sukuna's soul and body info for him. It was a perfect match, making Yuji's growth incredibly rapid. Even facing Sukuna alone now, he showed no fear.
Whether Sukuna or Yuji, the power of the fingers strengthened them equally. Thus, they were the most active collectors. With only about 10 days left until the first season of the Dream Migration ended, they would definitely decide the victor here.
Mahito smiled. "Although I'm interested in the final outcome of Tokyo No. 2 and Sendai, the battle between the Vessel and the Occupant is more dramatic. Who do you think will win?"
"Don't even need to think, it's Sukuna," Hakari said with interest. "Even if their potential is the same, Sukuna's combat experience and Jujutsu knowledge are richer. Theoretically, Sukuna's win rate should be higher... However, considering the characteristics of sorcerers, Yuji Itadori has a possibility of victory. Yeah, you're right. Compared to the suspense-less matchups in other colonies, this one is definitely more worth watching."
The so-called characteristic of sorcerers was unconsciously using Black Flash when emotions ran high. Yuji Itadori was especially so; this original protagonist was the designated [Blessed by the Black Sparks]. As long as Yuji wanted to, he could use Black Flash immediately, in various ways.
Under a sure-kill like Black Flash, even Ryomen Sukuna had a chance of capsizing. This was the drama Mahito and Hakari spoke of. Hakari looked forward to the moment Yuji truly won. Even if he knew it was hard, hard didn't mean impossible, right? Hakari's gambling nature couldn't be stopped once it rose. He surged with excitement, hoping to see the high-and-mighty Sukuna crushed by his vessel, revealing a flustered face.
"Mahito, the Americans are getting impatient," Hakari said casually while watching the impending battle. "In these two months, Tengen has already established the Great Barrier of America. They hope you'll bring the Dream Migration there."
This was why Hakari came over suddenly. Hakari was in charge of diplomacy. Usually, he could handle it himself, but not this time, so he came proactively.
"Tengen's skills are decent. Finishing the Great Barrier of America in such a short time?" Mahito laughed. "It seems she brought her thousand years of experience maintaining the Japanese Barrier to America well. By the way, America didn't try anything funny with Tengen, right?"
The current Tengen had been altered by Mahito using *Idle Transfiguration*, restoring her to the state after merging with the Star Plasma Vessel—a human female form. At least she didn't look like a monster. Considering her thousand-year-old identity, she could even be considered divine.
But Americans... they were capable of releasing viruses into populated areas just for testing. Whether she was divine or not didn't matter to them. Before Tengen finished the barrier, they might have been rational, but now that it was done, black hands must be reaching for her.
Hakari sneered. "Yuki Tsukumo guards Tengen 24 hours a day. Even if they wanted to do something, they couldn't."
Mahito whistled. "Fair enough."
He paused, then smiled. "Tell them the second Dream Migration will be held there, but not now."
Hakari wasn't surprised. "Understood. I'll go right now—"
Before Hakari could finish, Sukuna on the screen suddenly moved. The moment he raised his hand, a slash had already spread to Yuji's eyes. Yuji remained calm in the face of danger, countering with the same slash. The two slashes collided in the air, emitting a piercing, sharp sound.
Hakari whistled. "Wait, I'll leave later. Let me finish watching this match! I didn't expect Yuji to grow enough to react to Sukuna's technique in just two months!"