"As a human, Tengen indeed cannot find us, but as a god, Tengen definitely can."
"And once we are found by Tengen, facing a Gojo Satoru who has grown for another dozen years... Mahito, Jogo, Hanami... do you think you can really survive?"
They wouldn't survive. They definitely wouldn't survive, Mahito thought to himself.
Jogo let out a breath: "...You're right. We must take advantage of the fact that Tengen hasn't become a god yet and Gojo Satoru hasn't fully grown, and kill one of the two as quickly as possible."
Hanami nodded in agreement.
Mahito also let out a breath.
This future was indeed terrifying for Cursed Spirits.
It wasn't just them—they could at least hide themselves—but what about those low-level Cursed Spirits?
They would probably be locked onto by God Tengen as soon as they were born, and then, before they could even experience anything in this world, they would be hunted down and eliminated by Jujutsu Sorcerers.
This future was indeed too terrifying and hopeless for Cursed Spirits.
Honestly, if he weren't a Cursed Spirit, destined to be unable to live in peace with Jujutsu Sorcerers, he might even think about finding an opportunity to surrender.
Not because he was a coward, but because that future was so realistic.
If he did nothing now, that future was almost certainly going to happen.
Conversely, Kenjaku's urgent actions were understandable—he was afraid too.
But unlike the others who feared Gojo Satoru as the martial powerhouse, he feared Tengen, who was about to sublimate into a god.
Therefore, once the body with Cursed Spirit Manipulation came under his control, he was determined to kill Tengen. No question about it.
But Mahito didn't lose his cool. He asked, "That's the first point, and I completely understand. So, what about the second point?"
Kenjaku pulled his hands back into his wide sleeves and said with a smile, "It's still about the issue with Tengen and Gojo Satoru, but the second point has a prerequisite—if I take care of Tengen, what about the remaining Gojo Satoru?"
Jogo was stunned for a moment. "That's right. Since Gojo Satoru is so strong, even stronger than Tengen who has become a god, then we just need to find a way to distract Gojo Satoru and kill Tengen first."
"As long as Tengen is gone, no matter how strong Gojo Satoru is, if he can't find us, we can still use our lifespans to outlast him. We can still wait until Gojo Satoru dies before we act."
Hanami also looked as if she had suddenly realized something.
Then Jogo and Hanami saw Mahito and Kenjaku looking at them at the same time, their expressions—expressions—they had no expressions, they were expressionless.
They were very disgusted, but they couldn't show it, so they could only remain expressionless for a moment.
Jogo's mouth twitched slightly. "Alright, sorry, I interrupted your thoughts. Geto Suguru, please continue."
Kenjaku breathed slowly and raised a smile again:
"Gojo Satoru is growing continuously; that is beyond doubt."
"And ten-odd years later, he will still continue to grow, but the speed will inevitably decline, because humans are affected by their bodies in their prime, and the growth of Cursed Energy will change."
"Before then, he will never have any worries about his lifespan."
"For a Sorcerer with almost infinite potential, the continuously growing Cursed Energy will make him ignore the issue of age until he slides into old age."
"His attention will decline, and after his potential is exhausted and he is unable to achieve a breakthrough for a long time, his physical skills will irrecoverably decline, until this very moment—"
Kenjaku said word by word: "He will consider Immortality."
Mahito couldn't help but ask: "Can he do it? Or is it that his Innate Technique is just right?"
Mahito clearly knew that Gojo Satoru theoretically couldn't do this.
The combination of the Six Eyes and the Limitless Cursed Technique was indeed invincible under heaven, but that was only on the level of power and had no effect on extending life.
In fact, Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes and Limitless Cursed Technique were not appearing for the first time in the history of the Jujutsu world; they had appeared before, but they had no means of extending life and died naturally.
Could it be that Gojo Satoru can even transcend lifespan?
Mahito seriously considered this possibility, because it was already in his cognitive blind spot.
There was no sign of this in the original story; Gojo Satoru died quite easily and didn't even win the revival match in the end.
Unexpectedly, Kenjaku shrugged at this moment and said easily: "It only depends on whether he wants to or not."
Mahito's pupils contracted: "Whether... he wants to?"
Kenjaku said calmly: "How many years do you think the Jujutsu world has been developing? There's even a real immortal Jujutsu Sorcerer, Tengen, right there. You don't think no Jujutsu Sorcerer has ever researched Immortality, do you?"
"The results?" Jogo asked, not noticing that his voice was actually trembling slightly.
"Although the side effects are powerful, there are indeed several ways to extend life," Kenjaku said.
"But it's unknown how much those powerful side effects will affect a truly strong person, unless you're willing to gamble on that possibility."
"Furthermore—the techniques of the Jujutsu world are also developing. We can't expect a genius like Gojo Satoru to research nothing during the hundred years he lives."
These words shattered all the Cursed Spirits' fantasies of using lifespan to end Gojo Satoru by stalling for time.
Mahito stared at Kenjaku: "For example, you? You have a way to extend life in your hands, don't you?"
Kenjaku was not surprised by Mahito's question. "Hmm, I figured that after saying so many secrets, I would definitely be suspected by you. It seems you've already slightly guessed my uniqueness."
"You're not a modern Jujutsu Sorcerer, right?" Mahito asked, pretending to be interested. "How long have you lived?"
Kenjaku said with a smile: "How long? It's been about a thousand years."
This sentence left Jogo and Hanami stunned.
Mahito, however, had long expected it, but he didn't expect Kenjaku to be so candid at this timing...
That's right, in Kenjaku's eyes, Mahito's eyes that could see through lies were indeed very troublesome.
During the period of confirming the Binding Vow, Kenjaku also didn't want to complicate matters.
Having roughly seen through Kenjaku's thoughts, Mahito's expression relaxed a lot.
"In other words, you're not actually named Geto Suguru?" Mahito asked.
"This body is indeed named Geto Suguru," Kenjaku brushed it off.
With this opportunity, Mahito was finally able to say the words he had wanted to say for a long time—
"Then, thousand-year-old Curse User, I am very interested in the cursed arts of the past millennium. Can you teach me?" Mahito stared with his watery, heterochromatic eyes, looking at him expectantly.
Kenjaku looked back at Mahito's heterochromatic eyes.
Those eyes radiated evil and distortion, as if they could twist a person's Soul—correction, he really could twist a person's Soul.
From the perspective of a modern person, Mahito, who could easily twist human Souls and minds, would not feel out of place even if he were given the name of an evil god.
Kenjaku thought seriously for a moment and suddenly laughed: "Is this part of the Binding Vow?"
"To subvert the current Jujutsu world, you can't just use our strength; you have to pay a little something too," Mahito said with a smile, imitating Kenjaku's manner.
"Or do you have doubts about strengthening my abilities?"
No, it wasn't doubt, but fear. Kenjaku sighed in his heart, but didn't show it on the surface.
Should it be said that he is indeed the manifestation of human-to-human Curses?
Mahito was truly too special, so special that even Kenjaku could feel a clear wavering.
He considered for a long time and said cautiously: "If you can form a new Binding Vow with me."
"What?"
"During the period of subverting the Jujutsu world, you must help me with all your strength once," Kenjaku said.
Mahito was stunned for a moment, suddenly thinking of what Kenjaku had said in the original story.
He desired the evolution of all humanity; as for whether they evolved into Jujutsu Sorcerers, Curses, or something else, he didn't care.
And to achieve this ideal, his game had to unfold.
Mahito realized that Kenjaku was setting him up.
Even though Mahito's power had not yet fully grown, Kenjaku had already felt that Mahito was gradually slipping out of his control.
And a Mahito who had escaped his control would have no reason to help him; theoretically, that game of his could no longer be completed.
But he still hadn't given up on his game.
Perhaps there were reasons involving the Binding Vows he had continuously made over the past thousand years, and he was already overburdened; therefore, he urgently needed that game to complete the Binding Vows.
Thus, he had to ensure the game proceeded normally.
Since Mahito had now escaped his control, he had to find a way to make Mahito help him.
For a master of Binding Vows, there was no better means than making a new Binding Vow.
Having figured this out, Mahito hesitated for a moment.
Seemingly misunderstanding something, Kenjaku immediately said: "Of course, I will also agree in this new Binding Vow that your helping me will never touch your interests."
"This matter might even be beneficial for you to become a god. This is an unquestionable win-win."
These words were true.
Mahito used his eyes that could see through the Soul to judge Kenjaku's sincerity.
Is there any factor in that game that would be beneficial for my evolution into a god?
Mahito thought about it, and there really was.
The Great Cursed Spirit!
This was something that still hadn't been clearly explained by the end of the original story.
This was also what Kenjaku wanted to accomplish.
What exactly was the Great Cursed Spirit, what theory was it born from, and what could the Great Cursed Spirit actually do? All of this was unknown.
Kenjaku was exactly a master in this field.
Since he was so confident, it meant the Great Cursed Spirit really was helpful for becoming a god—it could even be said to be a huge help, to the point where it could directly make Mahito become a god.
Speaking of which, in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, what exactly is a god?
Well, although he kept saying he wanted to become a god, in reality, it was just a slogan.
At this stage, Mahito's main goal was still to survive.
To that end, the slogan of "climbing to become a god" was necessary.
A slogan is a slogan, but as for how to become a god, Mahito truly knew nothing about it.
In the original story, the one closest to a god was undoubtedly Tengen, and Tengen wasn't explicitly said to have become a god either; the official statement was a higher-level existence.
A higher-level existence was called a god by the people within the work.
Even Gojo Satoru didn't refute this point, but the settings outside the work simply stated it was a higher-level existence.
What exactly this was had never been shown even until the end of the work.
Mahito laughed. "I need all your knowledge, thousand-year-old Curse User."
Kenjaku finally relaxed and said easily: "As long as you can learn it. Cursed arts look magical, but they're actually quite boring to learn."
"I am very patient." Mahito smiled slightly. "Thousand-year-old Curse User, can you tell me your name now?"
Kenjaku took a deep look at Mahito, suspecting that Mahito's abilities must include a need for true names.
He wanted to refuse, but he knew this was the only chance to make this troublesome Cursed Spirit obedient.
He was already this difficult to deal with now; in the future, he would only grow to be even more unpredictable.
This was a Cursed Spirit with potential not inferior to Gojo Satoru... No, perhaps it was precisely because of the birth of Gojo Satoru that, for the sake of balance, the world allowed Mahito to be born at this moment.
He was originally meant to be on equal footing with Gojo Satoru.
Having figured this out, Kenjaku nodded slightly:
"I am Kenjaku, the thousand-year-old Curse User."
Mahito stretched out a hand. "Then, before the current Jujutsu world is subverted, please give me your guidance, Teacher Kenjaku."
"Likewise, please give me your guidance, Mahito-san." Kenjaku hesitantly reached out and shook Mahito's hand.
At this moment, the Binding Vow was established.
But at the same time, Mahito truly touched Kenjaku's Soul with his hand.
He didn't make any changes; he simply touched Kenjaku's Soul, and Kenjaku's Cursed Energy protection wasn't even triggered.
If it had been before his contact with Hijiri Shunta, he definitely wouldn't have been able to do this, but now he could do it easily.
In modern terms, the old Mahito was a third-rate doctor holding a scalpel.
If he wanted to touch the opponent's Soul, he had to use the scalpel to lightly cut through the opponent's Sorcerer protection before he could touch their Soul.
But now, Mahito knew that if he didn't modify it and just recorded and observed, using an X-ray would be more precise than using a scalpel and would not be detected.
In this world, probably not even Sukuna could do this.
This was a miracle that only Mahito could perform.
So, naturally, Kenjaku fell for it.
Kenjaku indeed suffered no harm—because simply looking with one's gaze definitely doesn't count as harm.
But Kenjaku's Soul had already been completely recorded by him.
Mahito revealed a wide smile:
"Next, let's talk about how to deal with Gojo Satoru and stop Tengen from becoming a god."
Pausing for a moment, he continued with an undiminished smile:
"I'm looking forward to your plan, Teacher Kenjaku."