I'm so stupid, really. After transmigrating, I kept thinking I was the protagonist of a Tokyo God story and didn't think about anything else at all, to the point that a classic anime like 'jujutsu kaisen' was completely forgotten.
Immortal Master was so embarrassed he wanted to curl his toes and dig out a three-bedroom apartment in the floor.
But you can't blame me, Immortal Master complained in his heart, because he didn't have a stitched face at all.
That's right. Although he had confirmed that he was the quite wicked villain from the jujutsu kaisen series, his image was not entirely consistent with the original work.
The reason was unknown—it might be due to a difference in self-perception, though that wasn't certain—he simply had medium-length white hair and heterochromatic eyes of blue and yellow, and that was it.
The iconic stitched face hadn't appeared at all. With such a different image from the original work, he naturally hadn't realized he was Immortal Master. Yoshino Junpei asked timidly, "Um, Mr. Immortal Master?"
Immortal Master had just told Yoshino Junpei his name. He hadn't not thought about picking another name or using his name from before transmigrating, but in the end, Immortal Master gave up those options and decided to use the name Immortal Master. It wasn't that he thought so highly of the name, but simply because it felt convenient. Besides, if he encountered an Innate Technique that used real names for Curses, he could use the name 'Immortal Master' as a shield. Whether it would work or not, there was no harm in it.
"Sorry, I spaced out for a moment." Immortal Master let out a breath and put his shame aside for now. "Where was I?" "Yes, you were talking about souls," Yoshino Junpei said.
Upon realizing this person's name was Yoshino Junpei, Immortal Master realized—he hadn't transmigrated into some Tokyo God world, but into the anime *jujutsu kaisen*. There was no time to continue being leisurely; he had to start considering the future. After all, he clearly remembered that in jujutsu kaisen, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit 'Immortal Master' was a central figure for various factions. If he didn't want to die, he had to find ways to increase his own bargaining chips.
Furthermore, transmigrating into a world he knew had a huge advantage—the power settings were clearly laid out before him. He could calmly integrate and enhance his power without having to grope around in the dark; he could simply copy mature theories.
For example, the half-finished Thought Steel Seal he just researched had never appeared in jujutsu kaisen, but similar theories had. Moreover, he knew exactly what levels Immortal Master (the jujutsu kaisen version) could reach in the future. He could calmly master those skills in a short time; reaching the next level was practically a given.
After learning that he was a Cursed Spirit, his first reaction was: I want to undergo incarnation.
In fact, Immortal Master didn't know the benefits of incarnation at all, but he clearly knew that only after incarnation could one use the Reverse Cursed Technique. General Cursed Techniques are negative energy, while Reverse Cursed Techniques are positive energy. Cursed Spirits are beings of negative energy, so they don't need the Reverse Cursed Technique; as long as their Cursed Energy isn't depleted, they can slowly recover even if only a head remains. Conversely, because Cursed Spirits are beings of negative energy, they simply cannot use the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Immortal Master didn't need the Reverse Cursed Technique either, but he needed to experience it personally. He might not have it, but he couldn't not know about it.
All technology requires the accumulation of predecessors. To go further, he needed to know as many Cursed Techniques as possible. As a very special technique, the Reverse Cursed Technique was of utmost importance. He might not know how to use it himself, but he must possess the technology. For this, incarnation was necessary.
Aside from the Reverse Cursed Technique, Immortal Master didn't know any other benefits of incarnation. However, those standing at the peak of this world all had physical bodies. Even Tengen, who was currently ascending into a 'higher life form,' had maintained a human physical body for a long time. He didn't know the benefits, but following suit certainly wouldn't hurt. He would simply imitate it, and what happens after that can be dealt with later.
He believed that the Yoshino Junpei before him would surely provide him with immense assistance. As it happened, Yoshino Junpei was also very eager to communicate with him. This was a moment of mutual attraction, so he naturally wouldn't withhold his knowledge.
These thoughts passed in an instant. In the next moment, he spoke to begin his explanation for Yoshino Junpei:
"Before discussing Cursed Spirits, there is one thing you must know." Immortal Master and Yoshino Junpei walked along the sidewalk. Neither had anything else to do—in other words, they were both quite idle—so they decided to wander aimlessly. "In this world, everyone possesses Cursed Energy, but only a very small fraction of people have the ability to control it and become Jujutsu Sorcerers. Most people simply radiate their Cursed Energy outward during their daily lives."
Although Immortal Master hadn't known this before realizing this was the world of jujutsu kaisen—since his research hadn't delved that deep yet—now that he knew, these'settings' of the world held no secrets from him. He could talk about them boldly and fluently. Perhaps those old scholars who studied Cursed Energy didn't even understand the essence of research as well as he did.
"Cursed Spirits are aggregates of Cursed Energy that leak out from humans. Even if they aren't physical entities, terrifying images that share a collective consciousness can easily manifest as powerful Curses," Immortal Master said. "For example, this country's well-known monsters or urban legends."
Yoshino Junpei nodded thoughtfully and suddenly asked, "Then what about you? Is a Great God also formed from something similar to Cursed Energy?" Immortal Master looked at him in surprise. Although he was explaining Cursed Spirits, Immortal Master hadn't told Yoshino Junpei from the beginning that he was—
—a Cursed Spirit. In Yoshino Junpei's understanding, he was still supposed to be a god.
He asked with interest, "Why do you think that?"
"Because of various light novel settings," Yoshino Junpei said bashfully. "Monsters formed from fear, gods formed from faith... the real world seems to be the same. Cursed Spirits are formed from the Curses of ordinary people, taking concrete forms from widespread terrifying images. So what about the opposite, positive energy? It should also be able to form other things. According to most light novel settings, that's how gods are formed."
Immortal Master truly didn't know about that part, but he did know such a thing existed. The Reverse Cursed Technique was exactly that. For spirits formed from the accumulation of negative energy, the Reverse Cursed Technique was like a natural enemy. But for humans, the Reverse Cursed Technique was a panacea that could save the dying and even regrow flesh on bones.
As long as a person wasn't dead, they could be saved. That was the Reverse Cursed Technique!
Aside from natural talents who could use it instinctively, this high-end form of technique could indeed be mastered by other techniques. In other words, this form of technique could be called a 'technology.'
A technical application of techniques that was not inferior to, and perhaps even stronger than, most Innate Techniques.
This interested Immortal Master immensely. He became even more determined to obtain an Incarnation, because only with an Incarnation could one learn the Reverse Cursed Technique. The Reverse Cursed Technique surely hid more secrets, and he hoped to figure them out.
"While I'd love to say I'm a Great God formed from the beautiful wishes of humanity," Immortal Master thought for a moment and chose not to deceive, but to be honest, "unfortunately, I am merely a special Cursed Spirit."
This time, Yoshino Junpei was truly shocked. "You... you are also a Cursed Spirit? But... you said Cursed Spirits are formed from human Curses. That means, logically speaking, a Cursed Spirit formed through human Curses must be an enemy to humanity, because it's a human Curse. But you aren't like that; instead, you choose to... well... help those fallen people."
Immortal Master waved his hand dismissively. "No need to dress it up with beautiful words; I'm just distorting minds. It's just that I only target those scumbags who deserve death, rather than picking an innocent person at random. By now, you should have guessed why I can distort human thoughts so effortlessly."
"That is still very impressive; you have betrayed your instincts," Yoshino Junpei said. Immortal Master looked back at him; the boy's eyes were wide and shimmering with light. He truly believed it. Even after learning the fact that Immortal Master was a Cursed Spirit and that Cursed Spirits were a species absolutely harmful to humans, he didn't have the slightest prejudice against Immortal Master.
He truly viewed Immortal Master as his savior.
Even though Yoshino Junpei was played so easily by Immortal Master in the original work, the fact that this boy was still like this in the real world truly left Immortal Master at a loss for words.
Yet Immortal Master understood him in an incredible way.
When the world is in total darkness, if a beam of light shines before one's eyes, no matter what that light is, a person in the dark will surely grasp for it without reason or wisdom, even if it is poison.
"I haven't finished, Junpei." Immortal Master looked at Yoshino Junpei. "You're right. Terrifying images like widely circulated monsters and urban legends do indeed easily gather Curses, and such Curses are bound to be very powerful, called Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirits by Sorcerers. But there are other things that have been more concrete and more terrifying than widely circulated monsters and urban legends since ancient times."
Yoshino Junpei was stunned, and something suddenly occurred to him. "Are you... talking about natural disasters?"
"Earthquakes, volcanoes, forests, oceans," Immortal Master said in a low voice. "Compared to monsters and urban legends, these things, most of which have been granted 'divine status,' are even more terrifying. If these things are Curses, you can imagine how terrifying the resulting Cursed Spirits would be."
Yoshino Junpei stared blankly at Immortal Master, and his expression suddenly became terrified.
He quickly lowered his head to hide his expression and said tremblingly, "You... you shouldn't be a Cursed Spirit formed from those natural disasters." Immortal Master asked with interest, "Why?"
"According to what you just said, a Cursed Spirit formed from a natural disaster would surely have power like a natural disaster. They are the embodiment of natural disaster Curses and should have formed corresponding natural disaster abilities. But your ability is not like that. The only Curse I can think of that matches you is one."
Yoshino Junpei took a deep breath and looked up again, the trembling gone from his eyes.
He spoke with a certain tone, like a detective identifying a culprit in a shonen manga: "Humans. You are the Curse formed from the fear humans have of other humans!"
"Truly clever," Immortal Master praised inwardly.
However, he wasn't surprised. In the original work, Junpei was actually very smart. When talking to the original Immortal Master, he was praised as a human who could 'keep up with my topics.' One must know that in front of the original Immortal Master, even the thousand-year-old Sorcerer Kenjaku was often shocked by Immortal Master's startling words, and a proud Special Grade Cursed Spirit like Jogo was still willing to view Immortal Master as the King of Curses.
A person who could be favored by Immortal Master must have something extraordinary about them. If it wasn't a technique, then it was the person himself.
And now, even though they had been in contact for less than half an hour, Immortal Master fully understood why the original Immortal Master had held Yoshino Junpei in such high regard.
Of course, the original Immortal Master also showed his 'regard' when he struck Yoshino Junpei, letting him experience firsthand that 'admiration is the furthest distance from understanding.'
Now, Immortal Master was starting to feel fortunate. Being able to meet Yoshino Junpei again as if by fate was truly wonderful. To have such a stubborn... I mean, to have such a loyal yet clever believer was truly Immortal Master's luck.
But this time, Immortal Master wouldn't treat Yoshino Junpei like the original Immortal Master did. Yoshino Junpei deserved a better way of being used.
"Exactly. You guessed right. I am the fear formed from humans' fear of humans, so I am born with the ability to control humans." Immortal Master admitted. He turned his head and looked up at the sky.
Looking at the sky at a 45-degree angle, he began to spout nonsense!
"Junpei, although I am a Cursed Spirit, my desire to become a god is sincere. Did you notice anything special in what I just told you?"
"That's right. Cursed Spirits are born from human Curses. In other words, although my instincts as a Cursed Spirit keep reminding me that exterminating humanity is what I should do, the fact is that if humanity were truly exterminated, the next moment would be the moment Cursed Spirits go extinct."
"As a Cursed Spirit, I shouldn't harm people. Quite the opposite, I must save humanity—not for humanity's sake, but for the continued existence of Cursed Spirits."
Immortal Master said with total sincerity, "I want to become a god, I want to save humanity. These words come from the bottom of my heart."
"As you have experienced, the cruelty of humans toward their own kind far exceeds the persecution of humans by Cursed Spirits—"
"To say something that might make you feel uncomfortable: a Cursed Spirit's harm to humans is nothing more than killing, but you must have a deep understanding of how terrifying the persecution of humans by humans can be."
These words were indeed sincere, but in fact, they were pure sophistry.
In the end, no matter how much humans persecuted each other, that was an internal human problem. It was like how no matter how hard people's lives were within a country, it was actually the country's own problem. If you suddenly suggested inviting foreign forces to station themselves in the country for political reform, what kind of nonsense would that be?
This kind of sophistry could be seen through by any other experienced political creature, but for Yoshino Junpei, a second-year high school student, it clearly wouldn't work. It wasn't that he wasn't clear-headed or smart enough, but simply that he lacked the experience. The school hadn't taught him this, had it?
Ultimately, the political ecology of this country dictated that its citizens had no resistance to the entry of foreign forces. After all, this country was currently like a semi-colony of the United States.
Considering this country's political ecology, Immortal Master's words met no resistance from Yoshino Junpei. This was why Immortal Master frankly revealed the fact that he was a Cursed Spirit, because it was impossible for Yoshino Junpei to resist Immortal Master's words. Their country's political ecology determined Yoshino Junpei's attitude toward Immortal Master.
Therefore, Immortal Master spoke without restraint. He said loudly:
"So, I want to become a god."
"So that humans will no longer harm humans. Therefore, I want to become a god."
"So that Cursed Spirits can continue to exist."
"So, I want to become a god, a supreme god, because only a supreme god has the power to sanction the entire world!"
"I want to create a society where everyone can survive. I want to create a paradise where Cursed Spirits exist eternally. I want to become the common god of humans and Cursed Spirits, using my power to make humans and Cursed Spirits exist eternally in interdependence—"
"And ultimately make this planet... my Divine Kingdom!"
Immortal Master turned his head sharply and looked straight into Yoshino Junpei's eyes. He was already a master of the soul, and he had been researching the ability to emit a Thought Steel Seal with his eyes. He hadn't successfully researched it yet, of course, but he had already unlocked some 'precursor technologies' regarding the Thought Steel Seal.
Now, Immortal Master could already use his eyes to transmit some intense emotions. Although even an ordinary person could easily ignore them if they just calmed down... calming down in a state of fanaticism was not something an ordinary person could do in the first place.
Why do so many people willingly bankrupt themselves once they join a cult? Is it because they have no intelligence? No, it's because once a person becomes fanatical, they will disregard everything, even selling their children or dying for the cause.
Now, Immortal Master used his Thought Steel Seal precursor technology. Did he use his eyes to amplify Yoshino Junpei's fanatical emotions? No, he didn't.
The light emerging from Yoshino Junpei's eyes told Immortal Master that he had already fallen into fanaticism. This person had brainwashed himself!
Immortal Master knew that such an opportunity might never come again, so he said decisively, "Junpei, are you willing to come and help me?"
Yoshino Junpei didn't even think before roaring out in the middle of the street, seemingly putting every ounce of strength he had into it. He bellowed:
"Yoshino Junpei is willing to die for you!" "Splendid, absolutely splendid! Excellent, he's under control!" Immortal Master nodded with satisfaction. Wait, no—was there someone else's voice overlapping with Yoshino Junpei's shout?
Immortal Master snapped his gaze toward the side of the street. On the other side, a duo stood there as if observing him. No, to be more accurate, it was one Cursed Spirit and one Curse User.
The one whose voice had just overlapped with Yoshino Junpei's roar was that Cursed Spirit.
"Ho-oh." The other Curse User slowly let his shocked expression return to calm, revealing a smirk that made one uncomfortable at a glance. He said, "I thought we were going to welcome a companion, but I didn't expect... we'd be welcoming a future god."
Jogo, the Cursed Spirit of the earth, and Kenjaku, the thousand-year Curse User, appeared before Immortal Master without any warning... Damn, the starter village has been targeted by the final bosses!