Chapter 60: The Plan, The Legend
"Sukuna, if I die, you'll die too. If you don't want to die, help me!"
"I refuse!"
In his innate domain, Ryomen Sukuna watched this scene with interest. After hearing Yuji Itadori's words, his mouth stretched to its limit, and his eyes overflowed with pure malice.
"They're just two soul fragments. Did you misunderstand something? Of course, if you want to switch, you can, but as soon as I get out, I'll kill Megumi Fushiguro first, and then that woman... Your expression will be very interesting then, won't it? Hahaha!"
Without Sukuna's intervention, if things went as he said, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, who probably hadn't escaped far yet, might actually be killed by him. Yuji Itadori had to stall for a bit longer!
Although this thought was in his mind, he couldn't resist the current attack at all. Yuji Itadori was then sent flying by a punch from the Cursed Spirit, so swift it was almost imperceptible, instantly breaking through the wall and landing in another more open area. If this newly born Cursed Spirit hadn't been toying with him, death would have already arrived.
'You must help others.'
The Cursed Spirit, like a happy child, clasped its hands together. Terrifying Cursed Energy condensed in its hands. The instant the impact arrived, his grandfather's words surfaced in Yuji Itadori's mind.
"But... this feeling, it hurts so much! Am I going to die here? Can dying here be considered a 'proper death'? If I hadn't eaten that finger back then... No, I can't think about that anymore!"
"But... I don't want to die!"
Yaga Masamichi's words from his enrollment seemed vivid, intertwined with his grandfather's dying words, floating in his mind. Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, his seniors at school, that poor mother—several faces flashed before Yuji Itadori's eyes.
"That uncle was right, there's no death without regret for a Jujutsu Sorcerer. If that's the case... I just want to be able to say I died for a good cause in the end. Then I'll grasp all this anger, fear, and regret, and smash it out!"
A ball of blue Cursed Energy ignited on Yuji Itadori's right fist, which had lost a part of its finger, and then he fiercely smashed it towards the Cursed Spirit's face. Although he successfully extracted the Cursed Energy, the gap in strength between them was not something sudden enlightenment or an adrenaline rush could make up for.
Yuji Itadori's attack was easily parried by the Cursed Spirit. The monster made a few strange sounds, like a child seeing something interesting, then waved its hand and slammed Yuji Itadori back to the ground.
As shattered stones splattered from the broken ground, Yuji Itadori spat out a large mouthful of blood. It was thanks to his astonishing physique and the fact that Sukuna's presence in his body passively provided him with some Cursed Energy defense; otherwise, he would have suffered shattered organs and died instantly from such an attack.
Lying on the ground, his vision was somewhat blurry, and he was already prepared to calmly accept his death. Megumi Fushiguro and the others should have escaped, right? But just then, he saw dazzling sunlight suddenly pour in from the ceiling.
"Where's that light coming from? Oh, the ceiling's broken."
The Cursed Spirit, reaching out to grab Yuji Itadori, was suddenly hit by something, its body slamming to the ground. Then a figure blocked the light from above, and a voice sounded in his ear.
"I'm not too late, am I? How did you get involved in this mission?"
Yuji Itadori, who was lightly lifted from the ground, felt a warm current flow into his body. His previously blurry consciousness returned significantly, and with some renewed strength, he focused his gaze. The figure before him was none other than the senior named Kamihara Hajime. Looking slightly to the side, he could also see the Cursed Spirit from before, now sprawled on the ground, with a massive, rapidly healing hole in its body.
Kamihara Hajime descended from the sky, piercing the Cursed Spirit's body with an arrow, and then saw Yuji Itadori lying on the ground, looking somewhat miserable. Fortunately, it was all physical damage, so he used Reverse Cursed Technique to stabilize him first, then patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, I'll take it from here."
The Cursed Spirit, which had been in a playful mood, now lost its composure. It got up from the ground, its wound fully healed, its sharp gaze fixed on Kamihara Hajime, and an unknown roar erupted from its mouth.
"Stop barking."
Kamihara Hajime said calmly, then, without even activating a Technique, he instantly closed in on the Cursed Spirit and kicked it away into a blur. Then, amidst a series of rumbling sounds, it flew backward, crashing through who knows how many walls and stirring up a large cloud of dust.
"So... so powerful."
Yuji Itadori stared blankly at this scene. Having had his own attack easily parried earlier, he naturally understood how astonishing the power of that kick was.
Soon, the swirling dust was pulled by a figure that shot out from it. The Cursed Spirit spread its sharp claws, and dense Cursed Energy leaped and collided in its hands, tearing through the air and reaching for Kamihara Hajime's face in the blink of an eye.
The scene in Yuji Itadori's eyes suddenly changed. Kamihara Hajime, who had been standing in front of him, was now behind the Cursed Spirit, and those terrifying sharp claws were pointed at himself, but its subsequent attack no longer existed.
Kamihara Hajime, appearing behind it, reached out and grabbed the Cursed Spirit's nape. In a moment that was brief but felt stretched, Kamihara Hajime slammed it into the ground. The solid concrete and rebar instantly shattered, and then, with undiminished momentum, he plunged straight down, falling into the room on the next floor.
Yuji Itadori, panicking and falling with him, was firmly caught by a hand just before hitting the ground, suspended in the air, and then placed on the ground. Not far away was the somewhat deformed Cursed Spirit.
After putting Yuji Itadori down, Kamihara Hajime looked at the Cursed Spirit with some disappointment, then thought it seemed reasonable. After all, this was just an ordinary, newly born Special Grade Cursed Spirit. From its appearance, it probably didn't even have much intelligence. The gap between Special Grades can sometimes be even greater than between Special Grade and Grade 1...
He stomped the Cursed Spirit down, causing the ground to collapse a few centimeters. Kamihara Hajime gave it one last chance: "Can you use Domain Expansion? If you can, open it and let me see, otherwise you're going to die."
Looking at the Cursed Spirit roaring under his foot, attempting to muster Cursed Energy to struggle free, it seemed it indeed couldn't use Domain Expansion. "Then it has no value," Kamihara Hajime thought, and immediately increased his Cursed Energy output. With a crisp explosion, the Cursed Spirit shattered into pieces under his foot, like fried crispy bones.
Time Wheel Spin
The shattered remnants of the Cursed Spirit on the ground skipped the process of decay, leaving only a few handfuls of ash that slowly drifted away with the wind, taking its final traces with them.
"Huh? There's something left. Is this Sukuna's finger?"
He picked up Sukuna's finger, which lay quietly on the ground, and walked over to Yuji Itadori. Seeing his somewhat dazed expression, Kamihara Hajime thought he was upset about his severed hand and immediately spoke, smiling to comfort him: "Don't worry about this injury, if it's just pure physical damage, Reverse Cursed Technique can heal it. I'll heal you now, otherwise it looks a bit strange."
"Oh, oh! Uh... Thank you, senior..."
Yuji Itadori looked at his severed hand and the incomplete finger on his other hand. In a short while, they all miraculously grew back. His face was filled with surprise, and he looked exactly like he did when he was lively and bouncing around before.
"Mission complete, let's go out."
Yuji Itadori hesitated, then thought for a moment and said, "Senior, I want to take a victim's body out to his family, and there are two other people whose condition hasn't been confirmed..."
Kamihara Hajime looked at him and sighed: "If you want to, then go. But there's no need to look for survivors anymore. Now, apart from you and me, there are no other living people in this area."
Yuji Itadori paused, then nodded. The Cursed Spirit had been exorcised, and the innate domain that had altered the place had disappeared. The orphanage had returned to its original state, so there was no danger for him to go.
"A-Zheng..."
Upon seeing the body covered in a white cloth, Okazaki Masao's mother knelt over it, crying heartbrokenly. Yuji Itadori, who had brought the body out, silently watched the scene.
On the other side, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, seeing him emerge unharmed, walked over. Yuji Itadori said without turning his head, "I don't want to think about complicated problems anymore. As long as I do what I can, even if it's just a little bit of help to others, it's meaningful..."
Megumi Fushiguro said nothing. Nobara Kugisaki, standing nearby, noticed his hand. Yuji Itadori came back to his senses and explained the situation, and then Megumi Fushiguro also showed a surprised expression, looking towards Kamihara Hajime, who was talking to Ieiri.
"You can just report the mission details to Gojo-sensei later. If I hadn't arrived, people would have died here, right? Missions involving Special Grade Curses still have people assigned to search for a few survivors. How come I didn't know the higher-ups were such great philanthropists?"
Kamihara Hajime sneered. Ieiri wiped sweat from his forehead, and the thought of informing Gojo Satoru later made his pressure double.
"Wasting a precious finger to test Sukuna, and it failed. Sukuna didn't even show up. Is this your plan, Suguru Geto?"
On a bustling street, several strange figures walked brazenly, yet the people around them seemed oblivious. The one who spoke was a Cursed Spirit with a volcano head. Next to him were two other equally bizarre and clearly Cursed beings. And the man he called Suguru Geto was none other than the deceased Special Grade Curse Master—Suguru Geto.
Upon entering a restaurant, a server approached and asked if he was alone. The latter received an affirmative reply, and the one man and three Cursed Spirits sat down.
Hearing the volcano-headed Cursed Spirit's accusation, Suguru Geto, with a faint smile and a stitched scar on his forehead, said lightly, "Didn't it also test another one? I told you that boy is very troublesome, especially his Technique... This is a warning, Jogo, you and your companions had better not appear in front of him, or you will die."
A few sparks erupted from the small volcano on Jogo's head: "Counting Gojo Satoru, whom you keep emphasizing, are you sure you can still control the situation after fully resurrecting Sukuna?"
Suguru Geto's smile faded: "No plan is 100%. One's life always encounters various variables; just modify the plan in time. That boy is indeed a considerable trouble. Gojo Satoru can only be sealed, and the method to seal him can only be used once. To stall that boy, we'll have to think of another way..."
Jogo's eyes darkened, and his head began to gurgle: "Don't tell me you have no solution?"
Suguru Geto laughed: "How could that be? Jogo, as a Cursed Spirit, do you know any other companions besides these few?"
Jogo glanced at Hanami and Dagon who were with him, and Mahito who wasn't there: "No, my 'family' is just them. Considering the short time since our birth, why do you ask?"
Suguru Geto showed a playful smile: "Strictly speaking, Curses don't have the concept of life and death, though you can interpret it that way. And Sukuna's fingers have been preserved to this day, as have those powerful Curses that can be reborn through incarnation. Aren't you curious if there are any Curses that have survived from ancient times?"
For this Curse Master who knew many hidden secrets, Jogo could be considered trustworthy in terms of intelligence for their cooperation. As for those ancient Curses, he truly wasn't particularly knowledgeable in that area.
"Sometimes legends are not just legends, especially in the Jujutsu World. Many named monsters and spirits in history were real. Some were Spellcasters or Curses given the names of demons and gods, like Ryomen Sukuna. And another part were those Spellcasters and Curses recorded by later generations, becoming well-known legends."
Suguru Geto chuckled: "Sometimes it's hard to say whether Curses were born from legends or Curses left behind legends. The relationship between the two is still very strange. Perhaps, Jogo, you might also leave behind your own legend one day."
Jogo's head spewed out some more magma, and the air in the restaurant noticeably warmed. The boss was still wondering if the air conditioning was on.
Yuki, looking at the four-person table with only one guest, usually very responsible and supporting his four adopted sisters with his part-time earnings, now couldn't suppress his survival instinct to flee. His inner self told him that if he got close, he would surely become unfortunate...
"Manager, I quit!"
Without waiting for the manager to say anything, he quickly ran to the door and rushed out. The confused manager had no choice but to find another server to attend to the seemingly problematic customer.
Suguru Geto held up three fingers: "To win this war, three conditions must be met. One: Use the Special Grade Cursed Object—Prison Realm—to seal Gojo Satoru. Two: Fully resurrect Sukuna, with a focus on Yuji Itadori. Three: Re-manifest those ancient Curses, and if necessary, stall the boy named Kamihara Hajime, to prevent him from interfering with the completion of the first two points."
Jogo's emotions instantly soared: "Prison Realm? That forbidden item is in your hands? Hahaha!" The already somewhat hot air instantly became much hotter, and sweat immediately seeped from the foreheads of everyone in the restaurant.
Suguru Geto helplessly gestured for him to calm down: "Calm down, it'll get hot. Don't make too much of a commotion."
Jogo raised a finger, Cursed Energy rising from it, a cruel smile on his face: "Is this enough?"
The manager, who was about to serve them himself, had just walked beside them when he instantly ignited into a human torch out of thin air. Then it was the server standing not far away, then other customers, and finally, everyone alive in the restaurant, except for Suguru Geto and the three Cursed Spirits, was burned to charcoal by Jogo.
"How many of Sukuna's fingers' worth of power do I have?"
Suguru Geto looked up and thought: "Roughly eight or nine."
Jogo bared his black teeth: "Enough! How about this? You give me the Prison Realm, I want to add it to my collection. In exchange, I'll go kill Gojo Satoru or that kid!"
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