Gojo Satoru finally understood why Mahito described this world as a manga. Indeed, if this technique were overlaid with the Six Eyes, seeing through the future of the entire world would be a simple matter. Mahito must have used this technique to imprint it upon himself before the battle, then adjusted the final battle according to the future shown in the manga. Ultimately, no matter what abilities Gojo Satoru used or when he used them, Mahito knew everything clearly.
Facing Mahito, who had already grasped the future, Gojo Satoru's failure was only natural.
Gojo Satoru couldn't help but say, "Are you Yhwach?!"
The final boss of Bleach, Yhwach, had the ability to change the future. This final boss's eyes could see through all possible futures.
By changing the future, he could ensure his own victory. No matter what ability was used, it was useless before this power to alter the future.
Yhwach's death wasn't because the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, cut him down with a blade, but simply because he was blindsided at the most critical moment. He chose a future sufficient for victory, but that future was one others deliberately showed him. He fell into an illusion, and combined with Uryu Ishida's betrayal at the crucial moment, Yhwach was finally caught off guard by this combination of blows and killed by Ichigo Kurosaki.
While the current Mahito didn't have the ability to change the future, he could predict his own future through the manga. By selecting a future, he could fix the future he wanted. Within the displayed future, any ability the enemy possessed would be detected by him.
Strength Reversal wasn't Mahito "reacting"; he was "already waiting right there."
"This is really..." Gojo Satoru covered his eyes and laughed weakly. "Is this the [Finite Omnipotent God]? As long as it's something a human can imagine, it can surely be realized. Now, even I don't know how to defeat you."
"So, is this enough?" Mahito asked with a smile.
Is it enough?
Gojo Satoru thought quietly.
Indeed, if it was manga prediction, all possibilities leading to victory had been blocked. Because all futures had already been predicted, Mahito only needed to follow the steps to complete everything shown in the predicted manga, and he would naturally achieve victory.
The opponent possessed the Limitless Cursed Technique, knew the future, and wielded mirokuji kirigiri, a Divine Sword capable of slaying gods and Buddhas. How could he possibly win?
So give up.
Isn't Amanai Riko waiting for you right over there?
What are you still hesitating for?
Gojo Satoru laughed at this thought.
He suddenly stood up and shouted toward Amanai Riko,
"Hey, Riko!"
"What?!" Amanai Riko replied impatiently. "Have you finished talking to your friend and are ready to come over to my side? Let me say this first—you aren't allowed to sit next to me."
"No, I wanted to say..." Gojo Satoru took a deep breath.
"Wait for me just a little longer!"
Mahito understood Gojo Satoru's meaning and fell silent.
"You still haven't given up."
Gojo Satoru turned back.
"Isn't there still one last strike left? This Afterlife World of Karma Reversal hasn't been truly engraved into history yet!"
Mahito's smile vanished.
Amanai Riko sat in her original seat and laughed loudly.
"Alright then, Satoru, I'll wait for you here. But you'd better come over after dying of old age in a hospital bed! If you dare appear before me this young again, don't blame my fist for smashing into your face!"
Kuroi Misato bowed slightly to Gojo Satoru.
"I wish Mr. Gojo... success in battle."
Snap.
Amanai Riko and Kuroi Misato vanished simultaneously, and the entire airport waiting lounge also began to dissipate. In an instant, everything presented by the afterlife space disappeared.
Gojo Satoru opened his eyes again, but the place he now stood was not a white desert, but a black void.
Beneath Gojo Satoru's feet flowed a black river.
A needle-like sense of crisis came from the black river, and a gaze suddenly looked down from the black sky.
Gojo Satoru suddenly understood.
This was the [River of Souls], the final destination of the [Afterlife World].
All Souls in this world would gather within this River of Souls. Each Soul would eventually settle as part of this black river, finally flowing toward the Place of Reincarnation.
Mahito's Domain Expansion had, for the first time, led another person to the Soul's Final Resting Place.
"What an honor." Gojo Satoru's voice rang out like a temple bell. He was still wearing the Buddha Armor, with fluttering robes lightly draped over his body. In his hand, he held the already cracked six degrees east crossing, returning to reality at this moment.
"To think I could step into the true land of death as a living person. This method of reversing the Karma of death is something even I couldn't imagine. How exactly did you do it?" the Buddha asked.
"There is a Special Grade Sorcerer in the Tokyo Second Barrier who never received professional training. His name is Takaba Fumihiko, and his technique is called Comedian. This technique can rewrite reality based solely on the user's own imagination. This is a technique that can rival yours, and its potential is undoubtedly at the level of a god. Kenjaku hoped to obtain this technique until the moment of his death. I gave Kenjaku that chance, but in the end, Geto Suguru succeeded in his revenge against Kenjaku," the Dragon God said.
Opening his heterochromatic eyes and looking at the Buddha, he said in a divine voice, "Takaba Fumihiko's imagination is based on his own perception as a gag comedian, but I am different. My imagination is based on manga tropes. I wondered what kind of imagination could drive you into a corner. My choice was Karma Reversal. My Domain Expansion, Dharma Realm Reincarnation Nirvana Realm, can freely enter and exit others' afterlife spaces. I pulled you into your own afterlife space. If you truly admitted defeat in your own afterlife space, then, based on the Comedian... you would truly die."
This was a grand combined Domain Expansion. First, use the Predictive Manga ability to determine the target's death. Then, after confirming that person's death, use the ability of the Dharma Realm Reincarnation Nirvana Realm to find the target's afterlife space. Next, through the reality-altering phenomenon of Comedian, thoroughly fix this imagination. The final step was to pull the target into the afterlife space.
This afterlife space was not the [Comedy Space] of Takaba Fumihiko from the original work, but a genuine afterlife space from when that person would die in the future. This afterlife space possessed all the characteristics of the Soul's Final Resting Place.
That is: Release.
Every Jujutsu Sorcerer who enters the afterlife space, whether they are absolute evil or a holy saint, will naturally feel a sense of release regarding their life. In the entire work, only the original Mahito could resist this sense of release, but that was because of the uniqueness of Mahito's Idle Transfiguration. Aside from Mahito, Jogo, who was also an Intelligent Cursed Spirit, was no different from other Jujutsu Sorcerers after stepping into the afterlife space, quite peacefully deciding to embrace death.
Besides that, even absolute evil like Ryomen Sukuna felt a sense of release. And Gojo Satoru, needless to say, was the one who said that classic line in the afterlife space: I didn't make Ryomen Sukuna use his full strength.
Mahito had personally experienced this afterlife space twice. He knew very well how thorough this sense of release in the afterlife space was. Once a target was pulled into this afterlife space, theoretically, it was impossible for anyone not to choose to step into death amidst that sense of release, even the Gojo Satoru of the original work—
—But the current Gojo Satoru actually withstood this sense of release.
In the original work, Gojo Satoru failed to do so. But now, Gojo Satoru had succeeded.
Before this, even if Gojo Satoru had used the God-Slaying Sword to defeat Ryomen Sukuna, even if he had used the Divine Body: Shakyamuni, which never appeared in the original work, or even if he had truly begun using weapons and cultivated the divine tool six degrees east crossing, all of the above could be said to be the result of him being able to grow normally to that level.
The prototype of the God-Slaying Sword in the original work was the World-Cutting Slash.
The prototype of Divine Body: Shakyamuni in the original work was Idle Transfiguration: Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing.
The prototype of six degrees east crossing in the original work was Tsukumogami Manipulation.
It could be said that no matter how strong Gojo Satoru became using these growth-oriented abilities, there was a trail to follow; they were all endpoints that were "possible" to reach. The only difference lay in whether Gojo Satoru wanted to do so and whether he could truly ignite his fighting spirit to rise as a challenger.
However, the breakthrough within the Space After Death was decisively different.
In the original work, Gojo Satoru could never have broken through this layer of liberation. Not just the original Gojo Satoru—aside from a unique existence like Mahito, no one in the entire work could possibly break through this sense of liberation. This is true equality for all living beings.
But now, Gojo Satoru had broken through.
At this very moment, Gojo Satoru had finally surpassed himself, piece by piece.
"You have surpassed your own death, Satoru," Mahito said from the bottom of his heart. "You are truly remarkable."
Gojo Satoru let out a wild laugh.
"Is your heart pounding, Mahito?!"
"Ah, right now my blood flows like magma. The boredom of knowing an inevitable future has long since been cast aside. Now, I am boiling like a volcano about to erupt... Satoru, it is truly wonderful that you are my final opponent!" Mahito roared.
"The same goes for me!" Gojo Satoru also let out a loud shout. "My Cursed Energy is circulating like never before, bringing a feverish heat that is almost setting me on fire. My head is burning. I'm so excited I can't control myself at all. I feel like I've flown to a sky I've never reached, like I've dived into an abyss or deep sea I've never explored. I'm so high right now!"
The Dragon God suddenly raised his right hand, which held mirokuji kirigiri. He slowly placed mirokuji kirigiri at his waist. A white scabbard naturally appeared over the blade of mirokuji kirigiri. The blade and scabbard rubbed against each other, producing a crisp sound of sheathing—a soft hum, like the quiet flow of a mountain spring.
The Buddha raised six degrees east crossing and placed it before his chest, assuming a certain martial arts stance. His front foot lightly touched the ground while his back foot settled into a Horse Stance. This was the form of the Big Three Families' secret technique, Falling Blossom Emotion. Limitless gradually covered the Buddha's entire body, and the Three Thousand Worlds seemed like a tattered garment worn upon the Buddha's form.
The gaze within this world after death suddenly changed. This gaze was like a pillar of light shining upon the Dragon God and the Buddha, as if they were two actors performing on a pitch-black stage.
Whose gaze was this?
Neither Mahito nor Gojo Satoru cared anymore.
Now, in their eyes, there was only the opponent.
God and Buddha roared simultaneously:
"Mahito!"
"Gojo Satoru!"
"mirokuji kirigiri!"
"six degrees east crossing!"
"Begin—!"
"Engage—!"
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