At this moment, somewhere inside Tokyo No. 2 Colony.
Corpses and shattered remains were scattered everywhere. The blood flowing across the ground, nearly forming a stream, silently told the story of the violence that had just taken place here.
"So weak~ Modern sorcerers aren't even as useful as those guys from four hundred years ago..."
Standing before a corpse beaten so badly it no longer looked human, a man with two small bun-like tufts of hair on his head bit down on his thumb in dissatisfaction.
The strongest sorcerer from four hundred years ago, Hajime Kashimo.
Too weak...
These people were all far too weak.
No matter how many he killed, it still could not vent the frustration boiling inside him.
Back in his era four hundred years ago, he had stood as the strongest. The reason he formed a binding vow with Kenjaku and reincarnated into the present was because of a question he once asked him.
At that time, Kashimo was already in his final years and riddled with illness. It would not have been an exaggeration to say one foot was already inside the grave.
As one of the strongest people of that era, his entire life had been spent seeking strong opponents and defeating them.
He did so for one simple reason.
Because he himself was too strong.
If one could not understand human weakness, then how could one truly connect with others? And how could one show compassion toward them?
At its core, he simply did not understand what "love" was.
Because he was too strong, he could neither feel love from others nor genuinely love anyone himself. That was why he wanted to witness his own weakness as a human being through someone even stronger.
Kashimo became a battle maniac.
Yet from the prime of his youth until his dying old age, he never found an opponent who truly satisfied him.
In other words, he had been the strongest of his era.
Before illness completely robbed him of his ability to fight, he sought out Kenjaku and hoped the man could find him a worthy opponent.
Unfortunately, after a battle that could not even be considered enjoyable, he slaughtered every sorcerer Kenjaku brought before him.
And thus, endless emptiness filled his heart once again.
* * *
(Flashback)
"So? Were you satisfied?"
Behind Kashimo, a man with stitched scars across his forehead looked at the mountain of corpses without the slightest reaction. He simply smiled as he asked Kashimo if he was pleased.
"Not even close. Why don't you fight me instead?"
Kashimo's voice carried no emotion whatsoever.
That battle earlier had been nothing more than one-sided slaughter. Those supposedly powerful sorcerers did not even qualify to interest him.
"No thanks~ This body of mine isn't suited for combat at all right now." Kenjaku laughed awkwardly and declined.
Unlike cursed object incarnations who could fully restore their original forms, he merely transferred his consciousness by replacing brains. Although his cursed energy and cursed energy reserves would overwrite the original body's, the body's physical abilities themselves would not.
Kenjaku did not believe he could defeat the monster standing before him using cursed energy and techniques alone.
"I heard there's an interesting guy over in Mutsu. His cursed energy output is supposedly the strongest in the entire history of the Date Domain. A true cannon in every sense of the word." Kashimo spoke uncertainly.
In this era, transportation was incredibly slow. And with his current physical condition, there was no way he could personally travel hundreds or thousands of kilometers anymore.
That was why he brought it up to Kenjaku.
"Mutsu, huh... That's pretty far~" Kenjaku replied casually.
Even if he personally traveled there for Kashimo, leaving aside whether that person would even agree to come back, there was still the question of whether the old man before him could survive much longer.
"Cough... cough..."
At that exact moment, a fit of coughing suddenly sounded, almost as if proving Kenjaku's thoughts correct.
One of the strongest men of this era had lost his vitality to illness. Now he resembled a flickering candle in the wind, capable of going out at any moment.
"Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to question it or verify it myself."
Looking at the dark blood coughed into his palm, Kashimo knew his time was running out.
Perhaps today would be his last day.
He clenched his fist tightly as lightning crackled wildly around it, then finally asked the question that had long remained in his heart.
"Kenjaku. Who do you believe is the strongest?"
Kashimo knew the man before him had lived for hundreds of years. He must have seen far more than anyone else, including people stronger than himself.
"Well now~ Even though he lived six hundred years ago, without question, it's Ryomen Sukuna."
Kenjaku's gaze was unusually firm.
As someone who had personally lived through that era, he understood Sukuna's strength better than anyone.
That kind of overwhelming power was something rarely seen even across centuries.
"Then... I'll accept it willingly. That thing you mentioned before."
Kashimo turned to look at him.
"That way, I'll finally be able to fight Sukuna, right?"
"Of course."
After receiving Kenjaku's confirmation, Kashimo revealed a rare smile.
(Flashback End)
* * *
It was because of that exact conversation that Kashimo abandoned his body and willingly became a curse just to cross through time into the present era.
He only had one goal: to have a satisfying battle against the King of Curses from a thousand years ago, Ryomen Sukuna.
"Where exactly is Sukuna?!"
The immense cursed energy surging from Kashimo's body transformed into lightning that bombarded everything around him.
* * *
"Itadori! What are you trying to do?"
Both Megumi and Nobara looked shocked.
Tokyo No. 2 Colony was no joke. Kashimo was clearly an extremely dangerous opponent.
With over two hundred points accumulated since becoming a player, if converted into sorcerer kills, that meant he had already slaughtered at least forty jujutsu sorcerers.
"I couldn't help with anything in Shibuya yesterday. I even let Sukuna out and caused all that destruction. At the very least, let me go in and help save some ordinary people."
Yuji scratched his head with an honest expression.
"Besides, Sukuna is already considered a player anyway. Sooner or later, I'll have to enter eventually."
"I say, don't tell me you—"
"Don't worry. With Okkotsu-senpai here, I won't die so easily. You guys should stay outside and wait. Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro-san will probably return soon anyway."
Megumi frowned and was about to say something, only for Yuji to interrupt him first.
"Just don't die."
Megumi ultimately said nothing more and only left behind that warning.
"Don't worry~"
* * *
Following behind Yuta, the two of them headed together toward Tokyo No. 2 Colony, which was not too far away.
While walking, Yuta suddenly asked, "Why are you insisting on coming along, Itadori?"
'As long as Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro-san are around, Sukuna won't be able to cause trouble...'
Yuji silently repeated those words inside his heart.
But his grandfather's voice echoed repeatedly in his ears. Scene after scene flashed through his mind, memories of himself losing control while Sukuna tried to wreak havoc.
'You should die surrounded by people.'
That was what his grandfather told him. And perhaps it truly was the most fitting way for him to die.
Trading his insignificant life for the complete death of the King of Curses was worth it no matter how he thought about it.
But Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro-san would never allow that to happen. And Okkotsu-senpai was also a special grade sorcerer, surely just as powerful as those two.
"I already have fifteen fingers inside me now. Even if I eat the remaining fingers all at once, I probably won't lose consciousness."
Yuji answered Yuta honestly.
"But if something unexpected happens... then please kill me, Okkotsu-senpai."
The fifteen-year-old boy did not want to become a burden to the seniors he respected most.
He wanted his death to mean something.
**
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