Ashiya Magon suddenly snapped back to his senses.
"Right, right, right, off-topic again!"
"Mahito, don't you go meeting Yuki Tsukumo."
Mahito didn't answer immediately but instead asked Kenjaku carefully, "Does Yuki Tsukumo have the ability to find this place?"
Kenjaku said confidently, "Even Tengen can't!"
"Of course, that's the current Tengen."
"If Tengen evolves, I can't guarantee it."
"In other words, it's safe here for the time being, right?" Mahito said.
"Yes."
Kenjaku looked at Mahito thoughtfully.
"I think I understand what you mean."
"You have 'Instant Movement'."
"If a battle really breaks out, you can return at any time?"
"You want to go test Yuki Tsukumo?"
"You can use Instant Movement too?" Ashiya Magon looked at Mahito in disbelief.
Uraume completely ignored Ashiya Magon and only advised Mahito: "If you're planning to rely on Instant Movement to save your life, then you're underestimating a Special Grade Sorcerer way too much."
"Information on Yuki Tsukumo is very strictly classified."
"Even I haven't found specific intel on her; I haven't even found out her Innate Technique."
"This is extremely rare in the Jujutsu world because as long as one is a Jujutsu Sorcerer, they will inevitably fight."
"And as long as they fight, they can't help but reveal their Innate Technique."
"But Yuki Tsukumo has never revealed hers."
"Do you know what that means?"
"This doesn't just show that she cares about information security."
"It proves that besides her Innate Technique, she must be highly proficient in general jujutsu."
"She can defeat everyone under heaven using only general Cursed Energy manipulation without ever needing her Innate Technique."
"And among general jujutsu, the most useful is Barrier Techniques..."
"Barrier Techniques are the foundation of 'Domain Expansion'."
Mahito understood the deep meaning in Uraume's words.
Not every Special Grade Sorcerer can use Domain Expansion.
For example, the deceased Suguru Geto—the body Kenjaku is currently inhabiting—couldn't use Domain Expansion.
His strongest offensive method was a Simple Domain.
Yuki Tsukumo, as it happens, can.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer, whether or not they can use Domain Expansion is a qualitative difference.
A Jujutsu Sorcerer who can use Domain Expansion naturally stands above those who can't.
One could even say that without special means, the one who can will kill the other directly within their line of sight.
Uraume said slowly, "If you had already learned Simple Domain by now, I naturally wouldn't stop you, and I'd even suggest you go test Yuki Tsukumo's mettle."
"But you don't."
"It's too dangerous to go see Yuki Tsukumo now."
"She might very well use Domain Expansion the moment she sees you."
"I don't know what Yuki Tsukumo's Domain Expansion is, but whatever it is, Mahito, I don't believe you would survive."
Mahito smiled.
He pointed at Uraume and said to Ashiya Magon, "This is the benefit of learning the sword."
Ashiya Magon was bewildered; he stared blankly at Kenjaku, not understanding.
Kenjaku, however, understood.
He frowned slightly.
"Mahito, I thought you could distinguish between recklessness and courage."
Mahito said with a smile, "You think I'm going to see Yuki Tsukumo just like this?"
Kenjaku rubbed his chin, somewhat bewildered.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Mahito said calmly, "I'll be blunt."
"I've never been worried about Yuki Tsukumo, even if, in your words, she has the ability to destroy the Jujutsu world single-handedly."
"What I'm worried about is the person behind Yuki Tsukumo."
"How could Yuki Tsukumo possibly find Kinji's phone number?"
This question was for Kinji Hakari.
Kinji thought for a moment.
"Could it have been given by Mei Mei?"
"If Mei Mei dares to appear before me, she will surely die."
Mahito shook his head.
"Mei Mei knows my terrifying nature better than anyone; she must have guessed some of my abilities."
"When I made an agreement with her back then, I actually wanted to test her credibility..."
"Unfortunately, she didn't pass."
"Maybe it was because my hand touched Ui Ui, and she felt offended?"
Mahito shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but the only certain thing is that she isn't in Japan at all right now."
Kinji Hakari realized: "She ran away!"
"I remember she has properties all over the world."
"She could be anywhere in the world right now, but the one place she couldn't be is Japan, because she broke her word!"
"Even though there was no 'Binding Vow,' she couldn't withstand your personal revenge, Mahito"
"She must have gone into hiding."
"During this period, she couldn't possibly contact anyone from the Jujutsu world."
"My phone number wasn't leaked by her."
This wasn't Kinji Hakari talking nonsense; Mei Mei was exactly that kind of person.
In the original story, there was also this scene.
After confirming that Ryomen Sukuna had emerged and Satoru Gojo was sealed, Mei Mei's first reaction wasn't to unite and fight Ryomen Sukuna.
Instead, she took Ui Ui and fled, going to Malaysia to be a bystander.
Ryomen Sukuna was certainly more terrifying than Mahito, and Satoru Gojo was indeed still in Japan.
But Ryomen Sukuna wasn't targeting Mei Mei, and Satoru Gojo couldn't stay by her side twenty-four hours a day, right?
Being targeted versus not being targeted are completely different concepts.
With Mei Mei's personality, she wouldn't stay in Japan to wait for death.
After saying this, Kinji Hakari's expression changed drastically.
"Besides her, there shouldn't be anyone who clearly knows the relationship between you and me."
"In other words, did 'Tengen' make a move?"
Uraume denied it: "No, it's not Tengen."
"I know Tengen."
"Unless her safety is threatened, she won't involve herself in the Jujutsu world."
"Right now, we don't have the ability to assault Tengen's territory, and my existence hasn't been exposed."
"Tengen couldn't have acted."
Kinji Hakari was lost. "Then who is it?"
Mahito uttered a name: "Satoru Gojo."
Everyone was shocked.
Uraume's face was gloomy.
"Where exactly was it exposed?"
"With Satoru Gojo's personality, he should still be at the stage of looking down on us, even if we did wipe out the entire Zenin clan..."
"Who is it?"
"Could it be Kokichi?"
"But we've already signed a Binding Vow with him; he shouldn't...?"
"If it really were Satoru Gojo, then Satoru Gojo would have called Kinji directly."
"I'm willing to believe this is just a coincidence."
Mahito exhaled.
"But I can't be sure... That's why I must go see her."
"I know it's dangerous, but it's better than having Satoru Gojo directly come knocking on our door."
"We aren't ready to go to war with Satoru Gojo yet, are we?"
Kenjaku realized: "I see. Is this what they call moving forward without looking back?"
Ashiya Magon interrupted them, "Wait, how did we get to moving forward without looking back?"
Kenjaku glanced at him and smiled.
"Your own theory, and yet you didn't fully grasp it?"
Ashiya Magon's lip twitched, and the bamboo sword in his hand began to emit a glow of Cursed Energy again.
"When there is no other way, move forward without looking back."
"This is the domain of the weak," Mahito said slowly.
"Swordsmanship has never been just a skill for killing; it's also a way of life."
"Miyamoto Musashi once wrote 'The Book of Five Rings'."
"It's a swordsmanship manual, but even more, it's a military strategy and a way of life."
"That is true swordsmanship."
"Although Ashiya-san has never had such a book, his words and actions reveal this at every turn."
Ashiya Magon was speechless. "Do I?"
"Why does Ashiya-san hate the current Jujutsu Headquarters so much?" Mahito asked.
"Because they are unworthy of their positions!" Ashiya Magon spat, his face full of loathing.
"I thought you would say it's because of the ambition in your heart," Mahito smiled.
Ashiya Magon paused for a few seconds before saying in a complex tone, "I've never hidden the ambition in my heart."
"In fact, I've said similar things to almost everyone under my tutelage."
"I even require every disciple who learns Simple Domain from me to follow a 'Binding Vow': when I need them, they must fight for me unconditionally."
"Of course, I wouldn't use this Binding Vow lightly."
In fact, even in the original story when Ashiya Magon died, he had never used this one.
He really hadn't said it; it was a Binding Vow for nothing.
Mahito waved his hand casually.
"Does Ashiya-san think I'm praising you?"
"To hide himself, Ashiya-san lived in a cramped grocery store, eating others' leftover rotten potatoes, drinking unwanted water, wearing an old man's apron, with wrinkles on his skin deep enough to crush a fly."
"Clearly an immortal, yet he didn't dare to absorb too much of his disciples' lifespans."
"His strength has regressed so much he can't even hold a sword."
"Only in this way can you survive."
"Although Tengen also looks down on you, he doesn't see you as some great catastrophe."
"Anyway, when Tengen needs to, he can just send any Grade 1 Sorcerer to easily kill you."
"Living a life of pain, waiting for the unknown time when Tengen comes..."
"I can't even imagine how you've endured such a stifling existence."
Mahito was telling the truth, and it was also the ending of the old man in the original story.
He was indeed killed by a Grade 1 Sorcerer sent casually by Tengen.
Following that, his Simple Domain suddenly became common knowledge everywhere; before that, it was clearly stated that the "Simple Domain" was a single-lineage inheritance.
Incidentally, the Grade 1 Sorcerer who killed him was Mei Mei, the one who is currently on the run.
With Mahito's current skills, even with one hand tied behind his back, would Mei Mei dare show her face before him?
Ashiya Magon remained wooden.
"But despite this, Ashiya-san did not give up."
Mahito let out a breath.
"Ashiya-san was not acting out of self-abandonment, but rather carefully weighed..."
"...his own strength and influence, judging that even if he went mad, he could never succeed."
"Thus, he chose to endure and stay hidden."
"To demonstrate his harmlessness, he even reduced himself to this state, ensuring that anyone who saw him would never think he harbored any great ambition."
Mahito sighed, gently stroking the hilt of the bamboo sword.
"Is this not also a form of Iai?"
"Ashiya-san actually doesn't care about his own life at all; what he cares about is reigning over the Jujutsu world."
"These may seem similar, but there's a huge difference."
"Because the ambition to 'reign over the Jujutsu world' overrides 'immortality'."
"As long as there is a chance, Ashiya-san will certainly not hesitate to subvert the Jujutsu Headquarters."
"One only needs to look at Ashiya-san's sword to understand Ashiya-san as a person."
Ashiya Magon was first taken aback, then said with gratification, "You can already be called a Swordmaster."
"I wouldn't dare; I'm just cheating," Mahito smiled.
This wasn't Mahito being humble; it really was cheating.
Seeing the sword is like seeing the person—that is a Swordmaster's specialty.
But Mahito was different; he knew the original story.
By inferring the present from the original story, he naturally saw through people accurately.
In the original story, before Ashiya Magon died, his goal was accurately stated by Mei Mei: he actively expanded the number of his disciples and established Binding Vows for each one.
These Binding Vows had extremely harsh conditions, including but not limited to being required to die for the New Shadow Style at critical moments, sacrificing their own lifespans, and being forbidden from teaching the Simple Domain to others.
Despite being the one who controlled the lives of all New Shadow Style disciples, he himself lived in extreme poverty.
Even regarding the necessary Binding Vows to absorb lifespan, he was very frugal; he lived almost solely for the sake of survival.
The only mistake he made was that he shouldn't have entrusted his life to Tengen.
Knowing full well that Tengen was monitoring him, he still lived alone.
As a result, when Tengen wanted to kill him, it really wasn't much harder than killing an ordinary person.
Mahito would never make such a mistake.
"It's the same now," Mahito said solemnly.
"I know meeting Yuki Tsukumo is dangerous, but could it be more dangerous than Satoru Gojo coming to our door?"
"Right now, we must know how Yuki Tsukumo learned about us."
"We must guard against any possible contingency."
"This is a case of 'having no other choice'."
Because if they didn't know Yuki Tsukumo's information source, this hidden danger would always exist.
It was the same logic as Ashiya Magon entrusting his life to Tengen.
Of course, the best outcome would be if this were simply a beautiful coincidence.
Then Mahito would only have to face Yuki Tsukumo alone, which would be much easier.
"Since there is no other choice," Mahito's gaze swept over everyone as he took a deep breath, "then we must forge ahead without looking back."
This was the core philosophy of the New Shadow Style: when there is no other choice, forge ahead!
Everyone was speechless.
Additionally, Mahito asked Kenjaku, "You just told me that if I already had a Simple Domain, you wouldn't stop me, but would instead advise me to clash with Yuki Tsukumo?"
Kenjaku snapped out of it and nodded slightly.
"Your basic strength has already reached the level of a Special Grade Sorcerer, whether in terms of output, survival, or mobility."
"If neither side uses Domain Expansion, I believe Yuki Tsukumo definitely wouldn't be able to take you down, no matter what her Cursed Technique is."
"In that case, I could feel at ease letting you see her."
"Then, let's do it that way," Mahito said.
"What?" Kenjaku asked.
"I mean, before meeting Yuki Tsukumo, I will learn the Simple Domain," Mahito smiled.
This time, no one said Mahito was being arrogant, not even Ashiya Magon.
The Simple Domain is an extension of willpower.
The current situation was the most suitable time to learn the Simple Domain because if he didn't learn it, he would die!
Under the circumstances of having no other choice, "forging ahead" would appear all the more conspicuous.
Now, no one doubted whether Mahito could learn the Simple Domain; the only difference was whether Ashiya Magon was willing to teach him with all his heart.
After a moment, Ashiya Magon suddenly asked, "Can I see your Mirokuji Kirigiri?"
Mahito smiled.
"Is that the condition for you to teach me the Simple Domain with all your heart?"
Ashiya Magon laughed loudly, "Yes!"