"Yo," Mahito greeted Satoru Gojo.
"Ugh!" Gojo let out a dramatic gagging sound. "You've gotta be kidding me. This is the absolute worst."
Mahito and Gojo were sitting together in an airport departure lounge. Their divine armors had vanished. Mahito was dressed in a crisp white dress shirt, his heterochromatic gold and blue eyes sparkling with curiosity as he casually scanned the terminal. Gojo was wearing his old black Jujutsu High uniform, complete with his signature dark sunglasses from his youth.
"To think your afterlife space would be an airport terminal," Mahito mused. "I thought you might have changed your mind about this place... I didn't expect it to be exactly like the 'original work'."
In the original timeline, Satoru Gojo's afterlife was this exact airport departure lounge. He had sat next to his best friend, Suguru Geto, both wearing their high school uniforms. They had chatted idly as the most important people from Gojo's life appeared one by one to converse with him. But in this timeline, Suguru Geto had been resurrected, Masamichi Yaga hadn't died, and Kento Nanami was still alive. As a result, the person sitting closest to Satoru Gojo... was Mahito.
"What the hell is the 'original work'?" Gojo clicked his tongue.
Mahito suddenly turned serious. "Satoru... do you believe you are living in a 'manga'?"
"If I'm living in a manga, I'm obviously the protagonist," Gojo said dismissively. "I was practically born to be the main character. In terms of 'Fate', I was granted the absolute highest value in this world. No one can even compare to me."
Mahito could sense that, despite Gojo's casual tone, he was completely serious. Gojo hadn't even bothered refuting the idea that his life was just a storyline penned by some author. He simply accepted it with absolute calm, stubbornly asserting that if he was in a story, he was the indisputable center of it.
Mahito couldn't help but snort, bursting into laughter. "Unfortunately for you, you aren't."
"Huh?!" Gojo's mouth twisted in severe indignation. He reached up, slightly lowering his sunglasses to expose those bottomless, azure Six Eyes.
He glared at Mahito, visibly offended. "Is there literally anyone else in existence qualified to be the protagonist besides me? What, is it you?"
"No, I'm playing the role of the clown." Mahito paused, a terrifying smile spreading across his face. "My original ending was quite pathetic."
Gojo instantly believed him and roared with laughter.
"It's very rude to laugh like that, Satoru," Mahito complained.
Gojo tapped his head, asking casually, "So... the protagonist must be Yuji Itadori, right?"
Mahito froze.
Gojo studied Mahito's expression and nodded slightly. "Just as I thought."
"How did you figure it out?" Mahito asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Naruto has the Nine-Tails. Ichigo has his Hollow. Even Luffy's rubber fruit turned out to be the Nika fruit. Yuji-chan has Ryomen Sukuna locked inside him. Doesn't he fit the trope perfectly?"
"A protagonist needs a story about growing from weak to strong. From the moment I was born, I never experienced any real setbacks. From a narrative standpoint, I'm way too boring to be the main character. Sure, some authors like writing invincible characters like me, but writing an invincible character *well* is a completely different story. Very few writers could actually handle a character like me, right?"
Gojo looked incredibly smug, not an ounce of humility in him.
Suddenly, a glass of water was hurled directly at his head. Gojo casually reached out and caught the glass, even managing to effortlessly dodge the water spilling from it.
"You have the nerve to say you never experienced any setbacks?!" a haughty, aristocratic voice snapped. "From where I'm sitting, you look pretty damn pathetic right now!"
Gojo looked up. Sitting at a dining table on the other side of the lounge was a young girl in a sailor uniform. Sitting beside her was a middle-aged woman in a white cardigan, who offered Gojo a warm, gentle smile.
Gojo couldn't suppress his own smile. "You haven't reincarnated yet... Riko, Kuroi."
Mahito also looked up at them. Riko Amanai was the target of the escort mission that served as the most critical turning point in the lives of Satoru Gojo and his best friend, Suguru Geto. She was Tengen's Star Plasma Vessel. It was during her escort that Gojo and Geto experienced the most devastating setback of their lives: Riko Amanai's death. That agony had haunted both of them for the rest of their lives.
Misato Kuroi was Riko's caretaker. She had watched over Riko her entire life, devoting absolutely everything she had to the girl until her dying breath. It was Kuroi's subtle, intentional words that had finally solidified Gojo and Geto's resolve to betray Tengen and let Riko live.
Riko Amanai and Misato Kuroi had been slaughtered by Toji Fushiguro at the very end, never even making it to Tengen. Riko had died right in front of Suguru Geto's eyes. In the moments before her death, Riko had cried, confessing to Geto that she didn't want to merge with Tengen. Geto had smiled and promised to protect her.
Before that promise could even finish leaving his lips, a bullet had pierced her brain.
It was easy to imagine just how cataclysmic the impact of watching Riko die was for Suguru Geto. And now, the deceased Riko Amanai and Misato Kuroi were sitting right in front of Satoru Gojo.
Riko yelled from across the room, "Hey! Didn't you always brag about being invincible? What the hell are you doing here? You're not so tough after all!"
The familiar, biting sarcasm made Gojo burst into roaring laughter.
He clutched his stomach, laughing so hard it felt as if the entire destiny of his life was being folded into the sound. The entirety of his past drifted before his eyes, only to vanish like smoke. He laughed until tears streamed from his eyes.
Gojo pointed at Riko and mocked loudly to Mahito, "Look at her! Aside from a pretty face, she's completely useless! And I actually spent over a decade feeling sad over her! Isn't that hilarious?!"
"HEY!" Riko screamed in outrage.
Mahito started laughing along with him.
*This guy...* Mahito thought. *Even in death, he's this entertaining. Truly worthy of the name 'Satoru Gojo'.*
Mahito suddenly asked, "Are you satisfied with this?"
"It's not about being satisfied or not," Gojo replied lightly. "Honestly, I don't think leaving the world in your hands is a bad outcome. I'm certain anyone who truly understands you would agree that handing the world over to you is a far better choice than leaving it to those arrogant politicians. I have no strong feelings about that. The only reason I fought you is because I am human. I simply cannot stomach the idea of another species standing above humanity. It has nothing to do with whether you are a Cursed Spirit or not."
It wasn't a matter of justice; it was purely a matter of standing.
Gojo summarized his absolute compulsion to fight Mahito.
"If you're asking if I have any regrets... I suppose I do," Gojo admitted, looking down at his own fists.
*The body I tempered, the techniques I mastered, the explosive inspiration and sheer creativity I pulled out on the fly... I used absolutely everything I had. But even when I threw my absolute best at you, I could still sense your overwhelming composure. Honestly, the moment my 'God-Slaying Sword' failed to bisect you at that critical juncture, I knew I had lost. Everything I did after that was just trying to make my inevitable defeat look as spectacular as possible.*
Gojo sighed. "You... didn't go all out, did you?"
"You did have a chance to win," Mahito said frankly. "Not with that 'God-Slaying Sword', but with your Domain Expansion. You completely overhauled and evolved your Domain, didn't you? If you had managed to effectively utilize it, it truly could have threatened me."
"Only threatened you, huh?"
"After all, the Binding Vows anchoring my ascension to godhood have already been acknowledged by Heaven. No matter what you do, unless you sever those Vows, you can never truly threaten my life. I assumed you had already learned that from Ryomen Sukuna," Mahito explained.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Gojo complained loudly. "I was so sure my 'God-Slaying Sword' was perfectly timed and aimed! But you still managed to 'dodge' it! Why the hell did you suddenly decide to use Inverse right then?! Even if you had used my Limitless to defend, I'm confident my slash would have killed you! I missed my one and only perfect opening!"
"Because I 'knew'," Mahito smiled smugly.
"Knew?"
Mahito nodded. He raised a hand and lightly pointed at Gojo's chest.
Gojo suddenly felt a strange sensation. He looked down. A small, glowing window had materialized on his chest. As time ticked forward, panels resembling a manga page began to render themselves within the window.
"This Innate Technique belonged to a certain manga artist. The technique inscribes manga panels onto the target's chest, allowing the user to foresee the target's immediate future as long as they maintain Cursed Energy output. Of course, without the Six Eyes, that manga artist could only see so much. And because the artist himself was weak, even when he knew exactly what was coming, his body often lacked the speed or strength to actually counter it," Mahito explained.
This was a technique from the original timeline. The manga artist, Charles Bernard, had fought Kinji Hakari. Even though Charles could foresee all of Hakari's movements through the manga panels, he still lost because Hakari's base stats were overwhelmingly superior. Foreknowledge meant nothing if your body couldn't react in time.
But that was because the power gap between Charles and Hakari was immense. Now, the one utilizing this technique was Mahito. There was no entity in existence stronger than Mahito. With his level of power, his manga-precognition could perfectly track absolutely anyone.
Including Satoru Gojo.
Gojo's pupils shrank. "That technique was on your 'Wishlist'?"
"Of course. But against a normal Jujutsu Sorcerer, this technique wouldn't be nearly as effective as you think," Mahito smiled serenely. "This is a technique that scales infinitely based on the user's comprehension and growth. As a purely offensive tool, it's mediocre. But as a precognitive ability? Its potential reaches the domain of gods."
Gojo finally understood why Mahito kept referring to the world as a 'manga'. If this technique was layered with the absolute analytical power of the Six Eyes, peering into the entire world's future was frighteningly simple. Mahito had undoubtedly inscribed this technique upon himself before the battle even began, using the manga's depiction of the future to perfectly orchestrate this final clash. No matter what abilities Gojo used, or exactly when he used them, Mahito had known everything in advance.
Against an opponent who held the very future in his hands, Gojo's defeat was a foregone conclusion.
Gojo couldn't help but blurt out, "What are you, Yhwach?!"
The final boss of *Bleach*, Yhwach, possessed the ability 'The Almighty'—the power to see and alter all possible futures. By manipulating the future, he could guarantee his own victory, rendering absolutely any opposing ability completely useless.
Yhwach wasn't defeated because the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, simply overpowered him. He died because he was outsmarted at the absolute most critical juncture. Yhwach chose a future where he won, but that future was an illusion deliberately fed to him by Sosuke Aizen. Caught in the illusion, and simultaneously struck by Uryu Ishida's silver arrow which momentarily disabled his powers, Yhwach was finally stunned long enough for Ichigo to deliver the killing blow.
While the current Mahito couldn't *alter* the future, he could perfectly *foresee* his own future through the manga panels. By acting in accordance with that knowledge, he locked his desired future into reality. Within that foreseen future, absolutely every single one of his opponent's abilities was exposed and neutralized.
Mahito hadn't 'reacted' to the God-Slaying Sword with Inverse; he had been 'waiting' for it with Inverse already active.
"Well, damn..." Gojo covered his eyes, letting out a defeated laugh. "So this is what it means to be a 'Finite Omnipotent God'. As long as it's something humanly conceivable, you can realize it. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how anyone is supposed to beat you now."
"So, are you satisfied?" Mahito asked with a smile.
*Am I satisfied?* Gojo thought quietly.
It was true. Against an opponent with manga-precognition, every single path to victory had been permanently walled off. The entire future had already been mapped out. All Mahito had to do was follow the script of his foreseen manga, and his victory was absolutely guaranteed.
His opponent possessed an infinite arsenal of techniques, complete foreknowledge of the future, and wielded Mirokuji Kirigiri—a blade capable of slaughtering gods and buddhas. How could Gojo possibly win?
*So just give up,* a voice in his head whispered. *Riko Amanai is waiting right over there. What are you hesitating for?*
Gojo smiled at the thought.
He abruptly stood up and yelled toward Riko, "Hey, Riko!"
"What?!" Riko shouted back, annoyed. "Are you finally done talking with your friend? Are you coming over here? Just so you know, you're not allowed to sit next to me!"
"No, what I wanted to say is..." Gojo took a deep breath. "Wait for me just a little while longer!"
Mahito understood exactly what Gojo meant. He stared in disbelief. "You still haven't accepted it?"
Gojo turned back to him. "We haven't exchanged the final blow yet, have we? This 'Afterlife' born from your 'Causality Reversal'... hasn't truly been engraved into history yet!"
Mahito's smile vanished.
Riko Amanai, still sitting at her table, burst into loud laughter. "Alright, Satoru! I'll wait for you right here! But you better not come back until you're an old man dying peacefully in a hospital bed! If you dare show up here this young again, I'll smash my fist right into your face!"
Misato Kuroi offered Gojo a deep, respectful bow. "May fortune favor you in battle, Gojo-sama."
*Snap.*
Riko Amanai and Misato Kuroi simultaneously dissolved into mist. The entire airport departure lounge began to disintegrate. In the blink of an eye, the illusion of the afterlife vanished completely. Gojo opened his eyes. He wasn't back in the white desert, either. He was floating in a pitch-black void. Beneath his feet flowed an endless, ink-black river. A primal, needle-like sensation of absolute dread emanated from the dark water. A terrifying gaze suddenly bore down upon him from the black sky above.
Gojo instantly understood. This was the [River of Souls]. This was the ultimate destination of the [Afterlife]. Every single soul in the world would eventually converge into this river, settling into its dark waters before flowing onward toward reincarnation.
For the first time, Mahito's Domain Expansion had forcefully dragged someone into the true origin of all souls.
"What an honor," Gojo's voice echoed with the resonance of a temple bell. He was still clad in his Buddha armor, the remnants of his Kesa draped lightly over his shoulders. He held the fractured [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] in his hand. He had returned to reality.
"To think I could step into the true realm of death while still drawing breath. A technique capable of reversing the very causality of death... not even I could have imagined this. How exactly did you pull this off?" the Buddha asked.
"In Tokyo No. 2 Colony, there is a Special Grade Sorcerer who has never received a day of formal jujutsu training. His name is Fumihiko Takaba. His Innate Technique is called [Ubermensch]. It is a technique capable of rewriting reality itself, powered solely by the user's imagination. It is a technique that rivals yours; its potential is undeniably god-tier. Kenjaku desperately wanted to steal it until his dying breath. I gave him the opportunity, but at the very end, Suguru Geto achieved his revenge and killed him," the Dragon God explained.
The Dragon God's heterochromatic eyes glowed brilliantly in the dark void. Staring down at the Buddha, he spoke with a voice like thunder. "Fumihiko Takaba's imagination was bound by his identity as a comedian. But I am different. My imagination is rooted in the tropes of manga. I pondered deeply: what kind of scenario could possibly force you into absolute, inescapable despair? My answer was [Causality Reversal]."
"My Domain Expansion, [Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm], allows me to freely enter the afterlife space of others. I dragged you into your own personalized afterlife. If you had genuinely surrendered within your own afterlife space... then, dictated by the reality-warping rules of the [Ubermensch] technique... you would have truly died in the real world."
It was an unfathomably complex, multi-layered Domain Expansion. First, Mahito used his manga-precognition to confirm the target's death. Once their death was 'locked in', he used Nirvana Realm to locate their specific afterlife space. Then, utilizing the reality-warping imagination of Ubermensch, he cemented this conceptual scenario into absolute physical reality. The final step was forcibly dragging the target's consciousness into that afterlife space.
This afterlife wasn't Takaba's comedic stage; it was the genuine, literal afterlife the target would experience upon their actual death. And this afterlife carried the absolute, fundamental property of the River of Souls:
*Acceptance.*
Every single Jujutsu Sorcerer who entered their afterlife space—whether they were paragons of virtue or embodiments of absolute evil—would naturally and uncontrollably feel a profound sense of 'acceptance' regarding their mortal lives. In the entire original narrative, only Mahito possessed the ability to resist this absolute acceptance, purely because his Idle Transfiguration gave him absolute authority over his own soul. Aside from him, even Jogo, a fellow highly intelligent Curse, felt no differently from human sorcerers when he entered his afterlife; he simply accepted his death with a sense of peace.
Ryomen Sukuna, the pinnacle of absolute malice, had also felt this acceptance. And Satoru Gojo was the prime example. It was in his afterlife space that he uttered the infamous line: *'I didn't even make Sukuna go all out.'*
Mahito had personally experienced this afterlife space twice. He knew exactly how absolute and all-consuming that sensation of 'acceptance' was. Once a target was dragged into this space, it was theoretically impossible for them to not succumb to that peace and willingly walk into the embrace of death. Even the original Satoru Gojo had succumbed to it.
—But the current Satoru Gojo had genuinely and completely resisted it.
In the original timeline, Gojo had failed.
Here, Gojo had succeeded.
Prior to this moment, even when Gojo used the God-Slaying Sword to defeat Sukuna, even when he manifested the unprecedented [Divine Body: Shakyamuni], even when he truly mastered a weapon and cultivated the Divine Artifact [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey]... everything he had achieved could still be logically categorized as his 'natural' potential.
The original prototype for the [God-Slaying Sword] was [The Slash that Divides the World].
The original prototype for [Divine Body: Shakyamuni] was [Idle Transfiguration: Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing].
The original prototype for [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] was [Tool Manipulation].
No matter how terrifyingly powerful Gojo became using these abilities, his growth was traceable. They were all destinations he *could* theoretically reach. The only difference was whether he possessed the motivation to reach them, whether his fighting spirit had been truly ignited, forcing him to rise as a challenger.
But breaking through the [Afterlife Space] was entirely different.
There was absolutely no scenario where the original Gojo could have broken through that absolute layer of acceptance. Forget Gojo—aside from the anomaly that was Mahito, no entity in the entire *Jujutsu Kaisen* universe could break it. It was the ultimate, inescapable equalizer of all living things.
Yet now, Satoru Gojo had shattered it.
In this exact moment, Satoru Gojo had finally—truly—transcended himself.
"You transcended your own death, Satoru," Mahito said, his voice thick with genuine awe. "You are truly magnificent."
Gojo let out a booming laugh. "Is your blood pumping yet, Mahito?!"
"Ah! My blood is boiling like magma! The suffocating boredom of knowing an inevitable future has been completely incinerated! Right now, I am a volcano on the absolute brink of eruption... Satoru, I am so incredibly glad that you are my final opponent!" Mahito roared.
"Same here!" Gojo bellowed back. "My Cursed Energy is circulating with a ferocity I've never felt before! The fanaticism is threatening to immolate me from the inside out! My mind is burning! I'm so excited I can't even control my own body! I feel like I'm soaring through a sky I've never seen, diving into an abyss I've never fathomed! I AM ON THE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST OF HIGHS RIGHT NOW!"
The Dragon God slowly raised his right hand. He was holding Mirokuji Kirigiri. With agonizing slowness, he lowered the blade to his waist. A pristine white scabbard materialized out of thin air, encasing the blade. The friction of the metal sliding into the scabbard produced a crisp, ringing *shing*—a sound as clear and beautiful as a mountain spring.
The Buddha raised the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey], holding it vertically before his chest. He assumed a very specific martial arts stance—his lead foot lightly resting on the ground, his back foot anchored in a horse stance. It was the stance for the Big Three Sorcerer Families' secret art: [Falling Blossom Emotion]. The Limitless slowly enveloped the Buddha's entire body. The Three Thousand Worlds draped themselves over the Buddha like a divine Kesa.
In this realm of death, the oppressive gaze bearing down from the black sky suddenly shifted. The gaze coalesced into a single, massive pillar of light, illuminating the Dragon God and the Buddha. It was as if they were the only two actors remaining on a pitch-black stage, preparing for their final performance.
Whose gaze was it? Neither Mahito nor Gojo cared anymore. In their eyes, there was only each other.
God and Buddha roared in unison:
"MAHITO!" / "SATORU GOJO!"
"MIROKUJI KIRIGIRI!" / "SIX PERFECTIONS' EASTWARD JOURNEY!"
"HAS—! ARRIVED—!"