December 23, 2018. Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Only eight days remained until December 31.
Geto Suguru walked quickly through the corridors of Tokyo Jujutsu High and suddenly pushed open the doors to the conference hall. Everyone else was already seated; he was the last one.
"Yo, looks like I'm the latest."
Geto Suguru smiled.
"How does it feel to have your revenge, Suguru?" Gojo Satoru, sitting in the main seat, asked with a laugh.
"Worse than I imagined."
Geto Suguru closed the conference hall doors and walked to his seat, which was next to Yaga Masamichi and Ieiri Shoko.
"It seems you learned some incredible news from Kenjaku." Yaga Masamichi, who was right beside him, asked in a deep voice. "I thought the situation was looking good. After all, in this Apotheosis Ritual nearing its end, three of the four finalists are on our side."
The so-called four finalists had been fully confirmed at this stage:
Ryomen Sukuna of the Tokyo First Barrier.
Geto Suguru of the Tokyo Second Barrier.
Yuta Okkotsu of the Sendai Barrier.
And finally, Gojo Satoru of the Sakurajima Barrier.
Except for Ryomen Sukuna, all the key holders were their own people.
Although Geto Suguru had once been a Special Grade Curse User, having been resurrected by Mahito, he was now truly a comrade. He had even found a way to eliminate Cursed Spirits without having to kill all ordinary people, so naturally, he now stood on their side.
Geto Suguru had no intention of betraying the alliance.
Although there was no Binding Vow between him and Gojo Satoru, when Gojo Satoru expressed his full commitment to helping him seek revenge, Geto had already decided to help Gojo Satoru with all his strength without needing a vow.
He sat in his seat and turned his head slightly to scan the current members.
The faculty members: Gojo Satoru, Yaga Masamichi, Ieiri Shoko, and Kusakabe Atsuya.
The Tokyo Jujutsu High students—Yuta Okkotsu, Toge Inumaki, Maki Zen'in, Panda, Itadori Yuji, Fushiguro Megumi, Kugisaki Nobara, and Miyuki.
After spending two months in the Dream Walk Migration, every one of them exuded palpable confidence, and it was easy to see just how much these people had improved in such a short time.
This was especially true for Gojo Satoru.
Before this, Gojo Satoru was already powerful enough to be called the strongest of the modern era, but after these two months, he had reached an even higher level.
Even Ryomen Sukuna had developed eleven lives and a "New World-Severing Slash" during these two months.
As the strongest of the modern era who had begun preparing even earlier, Gojo Satoru would only be more thoroughly prepared.
Now, he truly possessed the confidence to face a god.
Even if he returned to a thousand years ago, he would surely suppress Ryomen Sukuna in his prime and would certainly earn his own place in the legends of Sukuna's god-slaying era.
As soon as Geto Suguru sat down, Kusakabe Atsuya couldn't help but speak.
"You've successfully absorbed the thousand-year-old Curse User Kenjaku, right? How is he? Is he still able to communicate normally?"
This was indeed a very important issue.
The reason Tokyo Jujutsu High had worked so hard to help Geto Suguru was partly because he speculated that after absorbing Kenjaku, he could learn about the weaknesses of the Apotheosis Ritual and obtain all information regarding Mahito directly from the absorbed Kenjaku.
Indeed, although Gojo Satoru confidently declared, "Just leave Mahito to me!", no one intended to sit idly by.
At this moment, the intelligence brought by Geto Suguru was particularly vital.
Even his status as a former Special Grade Curse User no longer mattered.
As long as there was information, that was enough.
At the mention of this, Geto Suguru's expression darkened.
"He can, but..."
"Can a spirit absorbed by you still resist you?" Kusakabe Atsuya asked in disbelief.
"The commands of Cursed Spirit Manipulation over Cursed Spirits are absolute. We analyzed that this should also work on near-spirits with wills. Could we have been wrong?"
"No."
Geto Suguru shook his head.
"Kenjaku did tell me the truth, but the news isn't very good."
"Then say it already!"
"Fine."
Geto Suguru shrugged helplessly and said calmly:
"Let's start with the conclusion."
"Our defeat is inevitable."
These words struck everyone's minds like a bolt from the blue.
"What?! You're trying to destroy morale!"
Maki Zen'in immediately exploded.
This was only natural.
As a Heavenly Restriction user with zero Cursed Energy, she originally had no ability to enter the Dream Walk Migration.
Even after barely entering through point transfers, because she possessed zero Cursed Energy, any Cursed Energy she acquired vanished as a cost. She couldn't use Kogane at all and couldn't become stronger, which made her feel like an outsider throughout these two months.
And she just happened to have a grudge against Mahito.
If Mahito had not become a god, then even if the chances were slim, she would still have an opportunity to avenge her family.
But once Mahito truly became a god...
She wouldn't even have the chance for revenge.
She could no longer find the meaning of becoming a Heavenly Restriction user.
She was the one who could least accept such a conclusion.
Geto Suguru had heard about her before.
He turned toward her and extended his hand.
"Let Kenjaku explain it himself."
A special Cursed Spirit slowly emerged from his palm.
No, it couldn't even be confirmed whether this thing was a spirit.
One could only describe it as a "near-Cursed Spirit."
Just like Tengen's state in the original work, in order to achieve longevity, Kenjaku had transformed himself into a similar state.
And this similar state was precisely a "near-spirit."
This was also why Kenjaku, despite never having met Tengen, was certain that Geto Suguru's Cursed Spirit Manipulation would work on Tengen.
Because he himself had become such a being, he could infer Tengen's state.
The Kenjaku from the original work had not misjudged.
Tengen truly was a near-Cursed Spirit, just like him.
And now, before genuine Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Tengen would not have been able to resist.
Naturally, Kenjaku himself had suffered the same fate.
Kenjaku's true form floated before them.
Its overall appearance resembled a brain, but beneath the brain was a mouth lined with teeth.
The thousand-year Curse User had completely recorded his physical and Soul information within that brain, allowing him to occupy other people's bodies through the Brain Exchange Technique and use them with perfect freedom.
Even Yuta Okkotsu, who later obtained the same Brain Exchange Technique, could not reach this level.
Now, this most evil thousand-year Curse User had finally met the fate he had originally intended for Tengen.
"Yo, hello everyone."
Kenjaku greeted them.
Gojo Satoru observed the brain with interest and smiled.
"A Cursed Spirit absorbed by Cursed Spirit Manipulation can actually maintain consciousness and communicate. That's truly miraculous."
"How do you feel now, Kenjaku?"
"Honestly, it's not much different from usual."
Kenjaku answered calmly.
"My knowledge remains intact, my consciousness remains intact, and my abilities remain intact."
"If you gave me a corpse right now, I could even use the Brain Exchange Technique and 'live' again immediately."
"But there is one thing I cannot resist."
"Geto Suguru's commands."
Yaga Masamichi carefully observed Kenjaku and sighed.
"As expected of Cursed Spirit Manipulation. To think it can do something like this."
"This is also my first time learning it."
Geto Suguru said:
"I even learned Kenjaku's original plan from him."
"He originally wanted to use Mahito to conduct the 'Culling Game,' forcibly carrying out a hyper-repetitive assimilation between all humans in Japan and Tengen to create a bizarre existence called the Great Cursed Spirit."
"The reason he was confident was because he believed he could deal with Mahito and absorb Tengen using Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
This was precisely what Kenjaku had done in the original work.
Even just hearing it from Geto Suguru's mouth made everyone feel a chill.
A hyper-repetitive assimilation between all humans in Japan and Tengen was simply a polite way of saying it.
Wasn't that equivalent to killing every single human in Japan?
Even when Special Grade Curse User Geto Suguru once wanted to exterminate all ordinary humans, he still intended to spare Sorcerers.
But Kenjaku didn't distinguish between ordinary humans and Jujutsu Sorcerers.
He wanted to kill everyone.
No wonder Tengen reacted like a frightened beast at the mere mention of Kenjaku.
Previously, some people had found Tengen's extreme vigilance toward Kenjaku difficult to understand.
With a great enemy like Mahito present, why ignore Mahito and focus on one of his subordinates?
But now, they finally understood.
Mahito's wish was merely "becoming a god."
This man wanted "the destruction of the world."
Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue.
"What, did you really not take me seriously?"
"A Sorcerer who openly displays all his abilities to everyone can always be dealt with, no matter how strong he is."
Kenjaku answered meaningfully.
"Gojo Satoru, you are indeed extraordinarily powerful—so powerful that I suspect even Ryomen Sukuna cannot match you."
"But your weakness is equally obvious."
"You are too proud."
"And that pride will eventually become a fatal Gungnir that pierces your own heart."
Kenjaku was correct again.
The Gojo Satoru of the original work had indeed died because of his arrogance.
However, Gojo Satoru showed no anger.
"And now?"
Kenjaku immediately answered without hesitation:
"Now, I fear that only Mahito could kill you in a direct confrontation."
"What a pity."
"Your growth over these two months has been far too rapid."
"Even though Ryomen Sukuna is now stronger than ever, I still have no confidence in him."
"I'm afraid the current Ryomen Sukuna wouldn't even survive several exchanges against you."
Yaga Masamichi adjusted his sunglasses.
"We already learned from Itadori Yuji how strong the current Ryomen Sukuna is."
"He can resurrect through the Binding Vow of the Ten Shadows Technique, possesses Dismantle, and even has Limitless."
"Why are you so certain that Gojo Satoru's chances are higher?"
Kenjaku smiled.
"Gojo Satoru."
"If I'm not mistaken, you imprinted a new Innate Technique within the Dream Walk Migration, didn't you?"
"And if I'm not mistaken, that technique is called the Tsukumogami Manipulation Technique."
He hit the mark perfectly.
No—
It wasn't merely hitting the mark.
Gojo Satoru's expression immediately turned dangerous.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
This story has been completed on Patreon.
patreon.com/AminaSim
Next Bonus Chapter at 700 Powerstones.