However, at this moment, Kenjaku had not yet realized or begun to suspect anything.
Kenjaku simply took Mahito's recent words as Mahito's own thoughts coincidentally aligning with the prepared excuse he had planned, which is why Mahito had voiced it first.
Kenjaku had simply lived a long time; he wasn't so far gone as to connect Mahito's earlier statement to some absurd notion like Mahito being able to foresee the future.
And Jogo, hearing Mahito and Kenjaku echoing each other, naturally couldn't say anything more.
"Hmph."
Jogo snorted coldly, glancing at Mahito who had his arm hooked over his shoulder. He recalled Mahito's strange behavior on the road—flipping through dozens of blank books, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes bursting into laughter, and finally ordering him to burn them all. It really made it hard for him to figure out what this guy was up to.
Since they were walking on a street in a bustling downtown area, quite a few pedestrians passed by the group of five led by Kenjaku. Therefore, Kenjaku and the four calamities didn't discuss anything too important.
Kenjaku was mainly leading the four calamities to a place where they could converse normally without too many monkeys disturbing them. Just like in the original work, Kenjaku chose an ordinary restaurant as the location for their talk.
"Welcome, sir. Will you be dining alone?"
Faced with the friendly greeting from the waitress at the entrance, Kenjaku smiled and gave the exact same reply as in the original plot.
"Yes, I will be dining alone."
The five of them found an empty corner in the restaurant and sat down. Because Mahito wanted to see if reality would unfold exactly as depicted in the manga, when Jogo shot him a look asking if he should be the one to speak up, Mahito just shook his head slightly. He conveyed that although he was here, things should proceed as originally planned.
"Then I'll get straight to the point. What exactly must we do for curses to become the rulers of the world?" Jogo asked Kenjaku seriously, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table.
The exchange between Jogo and Mahito naturally didn't escape Kenjaku's notice. He slowly began to answer.
"In other words, what you mean is you wish to reverse the current positions of curses and humans?"
Listening to Kenjaku's counter-question, Mahito silently counted in his heart, once again matching it to the content in the manga.
Although Mahito had burned all the manga books, he had imprinted their contents perfectly in his memory thanks to his powerful mind.
Kenjaku's counter-question naturally prompted a rebuttal from Jogo.
"Lies are the foundation of humanity. Behind the surface of so-called positive emotions, there must always exist another side. In contrast, negative emotions—hatred, murderous intent, jealousy—are undoubtedly genuine and real! And we curses, born from this authenticity, should be the pure and genuine 'true humans'! Those fakes should all just disappear!"
As Jogo argued, his emotions clearly fluctuated. The small volcano on his head continuously emitted bubbling, boiling sounds.
Hearing Jogo's reply, Mahito couldn't help but marvel. Not just Kenjaku, but even Jogo was delivering lines identical to those in the manga.
At this moment, Mahito suddenly felt a profound sense of absurdity. Everyone was acting according to that manga, that story drawn by Gege Akutami. So, could this truly be considered living by their own will?
And the ideal they pursued—overthrowing human rule for curses to become the world's masters—could it truly be considered their own spontaneous ideal?
But clearly, such philosophical questions were difficult for the present Mahito to answer.
However, Kenjaku's next words soon pulled Mahito's thoughts back. After all, he still needed to pay attention to the information Kenjaku provided to further judge the inevitability of the manga's story progression.
Kenjaku spoke with a smile: "However, looking at the current situation, if a real confrontation were to happen, the ones who would ultimately be eliminated would be you."
Jogo, looking displeased, continued asking: "That's precisely why we're asking you! What must we do to win against those Jujutsu Sorcerers?"
Kenjaku slowly raised two fingers in reply: "To win in a war, you must satisfy two conditions before the battle even begins. On that foundation, victory is possible."
Here it comes.
Mahito chimed in at the right moment: "So, what are those two conditions?"
Naturally, Kenjaku didn't keep them in suspense and directly revealed the answer to everyone.
"First, render Gojo Satoru incapable of fighting. And second, have Ryomen Sukuna and Itadori Yuji join your side."
Heh, so it's exactly the same after all?
Upon hearing Kenjaku's answer, Mahito couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
Only after reading the manga could Mahito understand that from the very beginning of their deal with Kenjaku, he had been offering answers that merely *seemed* to align with the interests of the curse side.
The first condition regarding Gojo Satoru could still be considered a shared interest for both sides. But the second suggestion about Sukuna, judging from the subsequent manga developments, turned out to be a completely one-sided loss for his curse side.
Far from becoming an asset to the curse side, the first thing Sukuna did was kill Jogo. Then, intrigued by Fushiguro Megumi, he stopped. Later, he allowed Itadori Yuji, who possessed Sukuna's power, to beat him into a weakened state, finally allowing Kenjaku to harvest his head using Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
And it was through this method that Kenjaku stole his Idle Transfiguration, enabling him to initiate the next step of his plan: the Culling Game.
If the original Mahito could sense Kenjaku's malice, then the Mahito who now knew everything could truly comprehend just how intensely malicious Kenjaku's intentions had been from the very start.
Just like Jogo's earlier statement, humans are built on lies and are completely untrustworthy.
"What's that? Wasn't that brat called Itadori already killed by your Cursed Spirit?" Jogo asked discontentedly, finding Kenjaku's words seemingly contradictory.
"That's not necessarily... true..."
Before Kenjaku could finish speaking, Mahito spoke up.
"If the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, were something so fragile, then Geto-san wouldn't have listed him as one of the necessary conditions for victory, right?"
"As expected of Mahito, you've grasped the key point immediately," Kenjaku praised.
Jogo, however, was extremely displeased and sharply questioned Mahito.
"Just whose side are you on, you bastard? You've been speaking up for him constantly since earlier!"
Mahito patted Jogo's shoulder and answered him meaningfully.
"We're obviously on the same side."
As he said this, he turned his smiling gaze towards Kenjaku, signaling that the other could continue.
Although he knew Kenjaku's goal, Mahito had no intention of turning against him at this moment. On the contrary, precisely because of this, he was even more determined to facilitate this cooperation.
Mahito intended to retaliate with malice stronger than Kenjaku's. He would become even more like a human, using even more cunning lies to squeeze every last bit of use out of Kenjaku!