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As soon as Itadori set foot in the Star Tomb, he was immediately transported into what appeared to be a traditional Japanese room. He wasn't surprised by this—after all, Tengen should have sensed his presence the moment he was teleported.
"I'm not surprised you came."
So he didn't flinch when a voice echoed from behind him, making him turn to see the giant talking finger observing him with crossed arms.
"When I noticed your two clones, I had a feeling you were planning something... It's reassuring that this was your plan." There was a hint of relief in Tengen's words. Fear of Kenjaku destroying everything he had built over millennia? Or dread for what would happen to humanity? Itadori couldn't decipher the expressions on that talking finger, but he figured it was somewhere between the two. "Though you could have been a little faster. The situation isn't looking good."
As he spoke, he turned and opened a door to reveal an unconscious Choso and Tanshoku, their bodies covered in injuries ranging from minor to severe.
This drew a sigh from Itadori, who moved toward them and crouched between the two, assessing their conditions for a moment. "And I told him not to do anything stupid..."
"Thanks to them being Death Paintings, they're not at risk of death, but in their current state, returning to battle is impossible."
Itadori nodded at Tengen's words and gently touched Tanshoku's chest, closing his eyes in relief when he confirmed his brothers' souls were intact.
"This Death Painting..." Tengen mused with curiosity, making the sorcerer raise an eyebrow. "How did you make the body withstand so many souls?"
Mahito was an anomaly among curses, with an unprecedented technique rooted in his very being, but even he struggled to merge two souls into a single body. So, for Itadori to do it not just with two, but with six, Tengen was deeply intrigued.
As a hermit who had lived for over 1,000 years, encountering questions he couldn't answer was rare, so it was only natural he'd want details.
Fortunately, Itadori had no issue sharing this information. Turning to face the ancient sorcerer, he slightly pulled back his lips, briefly revealing a missing molar.
"My body is abnormal, so I created a unique vessel using my own flesh. After inserting their souls, the appearance adapted based on their essence. It worked better than I expected—I thought there'd be some instability."
"..."
Tengen fell silent, but even on his strange face, the surprise was unmistakable. To accomplish something like this... This boy was anything but normal.
Itadori smirked slightly at the hermit's lack of reaction. It might have sounded like a bizarre method, but considering how his body functioned, it was indeed the best option. Plus, he had made it safe—the vessel carried only the information he wanted. Without his brothers' souls, it was just a flesh mannequin.
But hey, they were getting off track! He wasn't here to waste time talking!
"What's the situation with Kenjaku?"
Tengen, realizing his mistake, quickly recomposed himself. "Currently, Tsukumo and Nanami are fighting him together, but after the damage from his Domain, I doubt they can hold out much longer."
A screen materialized in front of them, displaying the ongoing battle—a freshly healed Tsukumo swinging Garuda like a whip toward Kenjaku.
The duo's coordination seemed to be working against an exhausted Kenjaku, but the curse user was too cunning to be finished so easily. Even under relentless assault, he skillfully held his ground.
"You should join immediately. Letting him recover from his exhaustion would be disastrous."
Tengen suggested, but to his surprise, Itadori shook his head. "I don't want to engage while he's on guard. To land a clean Black Flash, I need him to think it's all over."
"You... want him to kill Tsukumo?" Tengen asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No. If there's even a risk of that, I'll step in immediately. I just need her to be defeated."
"And then you and her will face him together."
But again, Itadori shook his head, leaving Tengen staring at him in shock.
"For what I have in mind, it's better if I fight alone. So the moment I enter, I want you to extract Nanami and Yuki from the battlefield."
"That's suicide." Tengen immediately countered. He knew Kenjaku better than anyone alive and was certain the curse user had contingencies for his contingencies. Facing him one-on-one? Even if Itadori was a powerful sorcerer brimming with potential, Tengen could foresee only one outcome—imminent defeat.
"Trust me. Even if he expands his Domain, I can survive with the miracles I have left." Confidently, he pulled up his sleeve, revealing four remaining miracle tattoos. "And even if I lose, Tsukumo will have enough time to recover and rejoin."
"..." Tengen wanted to argue, but he couldn't ignore the logic in his words. If Kenjaku expanded his Domain again, there was nothing the hermit could do to stop it. So, having Itadori—someone who could survive without needing to expand his own Domain—face him might actually turn the tide. "I understand."
In the end, he found himself unable to refuse. He had long entrusted fate to the younger generation, so there was no point in making a fuss now.
But as he made his decision, and the battle seemed to inch closer to its end—with Tsukumo taking a mini-Uzumaki to the face—Tengen still had one crucial question for Itadori.
They hadn't had time to discuss it given recent events, but Tengen needed to know if he had made up his mind.
"Have you decided? In case of your defeat, I can bring you directly to the tree where my body resides. By devouring me, I'll attempt to pass on all crucial knowledge to you."
"..."
Itadori fell silent for a moment. The matter with Tengen... He'd be lying if he said it hadn't crossed his mind.
But he still hadn't reached a decision. If it came down to him being unable to stop Kenjaku, then he wouldn't hesitate to devour the hermit. But if everything went as planned... Itadori simply didn't know.
He needed more time to think. Immortality was tempting, and he believed he could bypass the need to possess bodies for eternal life by manipulating souls. But the weight of becoming the new pillar of Jujutsu society left him uncertain.
But well, he'd figure it out by then... At least, he hoped he would.
Given how things were going, even that was uncertain.
"Once this is all over..." Turning to the hermit as reality shattered before him, he spoke with unwavering confidence. "I'll give you my answer."
Itadori stepped through the portal that sounded like breaking glass, and Tengen, left behind, merely crossed his arms with an inscrutable expression. His gaze shifted back to the screen just in time to see a smug Kenjaku take a Black Flash so powerful it crushed his entire face.
"Ha..." The hermit couldn't help but let out a small, smug laugh.
. . .
Boom!
Kenjaku's body slammed hard into a wall, debris raining over him as he struggled to process what had just happened. His face, disfigured by the attack, slowly began to reform as steam rose from his skin, broken pieces grotesquely stitching themselves back together.
'My cursed energy output is impaired...' Kenjaku immediately noted, and with one eye restored, he shoved the rubble aside and stood. 'So many twists... I'm genuinely annoyed!'
Once his vision fully returned, he turned his attention to his assailant, his irritation flaring the moment he saw that familiar pink hair standing before him.
The one person he hadn't expected to face—and the one who, in his eyes, was nothing but trouble.
Even if Kenjaku told himself Itadori was just a sorcerer with tremendous but unrealized potential, there was no denying that facing him head-on, especially in his current exhausted state, was the worst possible scenario.
The kid wasn't just dangerous up close—his range made him a nightmare to deal with...
In this situation, as much as it irked him, retreat seemed like the best option... But with Tengen maintaining control over the barrier, he doubted he could escape.
So in the end, all that remained was confronting his own son... Well, it wasn't like he hadn't planned to do so eventually.
The opportunity had just come at an inconvenient time.
'What a pain.'
A sigh escaped his lips.
These Jujutsu sorcerers were always a nuisance, no matter the era... On that, Kenjaku had to agree with Sukuna.