A few days later, leaving Hanami and Dagon to look after Jogo, Mahito once again arrived at the cinema where the 'Vs. Mahito' arc began.
In fact, given the current situation, it was no longer strictly necessary for Mahito to repeat the plot progression from the manga.
After all, having seen the complete story that followed, Mahito had already made up his mind. He wouldn't harbor a shred of expectation for that pitiful and weak Sukuna; instead, he would rely on the Cursed Spirits themselves to handle the problem.
On one hand, Mahito's reason for being here was that he could kill Kento Nanami, a junior who was quite important to Satoru Gojo.
Of course, it didn't end there. This time, Mahito also wanted to see if he could directly kill Sukuna along with Itadori, whom he possessed, at this point in time.
Mahito felt that as long as he learned from the lessons in the manga and didn't use Idle Transfiguration on Itadori, he would be far more powerful than the current Itadori in terms of both Cursed Energy and combat ability.
If he could resolve this hidden threat while Itadori hadn't absorbed too many of Sukuna's Fingers and Sukuna's strength recovery was still limited, it would be for the best.
Even if he couldn't resolve it now, Mahito would later covertly intervene to ensure Sukuna's Fingers weren't fed to Itadori—for instance, during the Shibuya Incident.
Strengthening their own side, guiding Satoru Gojo and Kenjaku into a battle to weaken both of these enemies, and finally limiting the recovery of Sukuna's power—as long as he could ensure this three-pronged approach proceeded smoothly, Mahito felt that the ending where they, the Cursed Spirits, ultimately triumphed would no longer be far off.
But in truth, there was another reason that was key: Mahito felt that only by changing the original plot trajectory of the manga could he prove that everything about him—whether his actions or his thoughts—was not being controlled by the manga author Gege Akutami or someone else, but was a choice made by his own free will... Because he was a Cursed Spirit, Mahito didn't need to care about being seen by ordinary monkeys, so he could swagger past the ticket inspector and enter directly into the screening room where the movie was playing.
Perhaps because it was a weekday morning, there weren't many patrons in the cinema; a few staff members were just chatting relaxedly.
Relying on his memory, Mahito found the screening room where the 'Vs. Mahito' arc began.
"Over the years, as a doctor, I have saved a great many lives..." (Movie)
The film playing on the big screen was, naturally, Earthworm Man 3. Mahito swept his gaze across the dim screening room; it was exactly the same as in the manga story. The most important person was Yoshino Junpei, who could become friends with Yuji Itadori, and besides him were those three noisy high school students.
One of the boys in a high school uniform was excitedly boasting to his two companions.
"Did you guys know? Junior high kids these days are loaded! A whole fifty thousand, hahahaha!"
"Hahahaha."
The voices of the few even completely drowned out the sound of the movie itself for a moment.
Mahito slowly walked toward the three teenagers, his mind constantly thinking about how he should deal with them.
Compared to the original work where he simply killed them with Idle Transfiguration, knowing that outcome naturally made Mahito lose interest in it.
What Mahito was thinking was to create something like a Multiple Soul: Polymorphic Isomer, but he was mainly worried that if the later sneak attack was too successful and he killed Kento Nanami instantly, it would be a problem. A death caused by Cursed Energy like that would prevent him from achieving the goal of turning him into a Cursed Spirit.
Furthermore, if he caused too much of a scene, Satoru Gojo might show up directly, which would be a rather troublesome development.
"It seems I'll have to be a bit more restrained." While Mahito was muttering to himself, he had already reached the back of the seats where the three boys in high school uniforms were sitting.
It seemed one of the three possessed a faint sense of perception. He appeared to have heard Mahito's words; although it was just a soft and indistinct murmur, it caused him to turn his head toward the back of the seat.
"What's wrong?" his companion asked, looking at his strange behavior with some confusion.
He scanned the empty back row suspiciously, replying with uncertainty.
"I think I just heard the sound of someone talking behind me, but there's no one there at all?"
But when he turned his head back to look at his companions, he was shocked to see that the skin of his two friends was rapidly collapsing. Blood seeped from their facial orifices and the surface of their skin, and their two eyeballs even burst right out.
"Eh?"
Because this turn of events was so sudden, the boy's brain didn't even have time to react; the emotion known as fear hadn't even been triggered yet.
By the time he did react and prepared to quickly flee his seat, he was pressed right back down by someone.
Before he could even make a sound, his own body underwent the same transformation as his companions. In just a few breaths, Mahito had completed his masterpiece, leaving only three 'mummies' on the seats.
Mahito didn't go to create two more Transfigured Humans as he did in the manga plot; instead, he left the screening room directly because he had already prepared a meeting gift for Kento Nanami and Itadori.
In that deserted alleyway, just as the original plot developed, Yoshino Junpei followed in Mahito's footsteps.
"Excuse me, was what happened in the cinema just now your doing?" Yoshino Junpei plucked up the courage to ask Mahito.
Mahito only gave a slight smile. With a burst of speed, he appeared beside Yoshino Junpei and directly reached out to press down on his mouth.
Looking at the terror in Yoshino Junpei's eyes, Mahito said with a smile, "You want to be able to do the same thing, don't you? Then don't resist. Open your soul to me, and in return, I will fulfill your wish."
...About an hour passed. Shifting the perspective to the other side, Kento Nanami took Itadori and got into the Assistant Supervisor's car.
But Itadori noticed that the person responsible for driving was a strange face, not the familiar Mr. Ijichi.
In fact, since the Jogo incident, Kiyotaka Ijichi had already been declared missing. To ensure the normal operation of Jujutsu High's missions, an external Assistant Supervisor had been brought in to temporarily take over Kiyotaka Ijichi's duties.
After all, Tokyo Jujutsu High had many Jujutsu Sorcerers, and often two groups needed to carry out missions simultaneously. So even with Akira Nitta around, they truly couldn't manage without adding another Assistant Supervisor.
It was just that Itadori had been kept in indoor training by Satoru Gojo and hadn't gone out on missions, and Satoru Gojo hadn't deliberately informed him, so Itadori only came into contact with this now.
Seeing this, Yuji Itadori asked casually, "Eh, it's not Mr. Ijichi?"
The driver in the front row greeted Itadori through the rearview mirror, "Nice to meet you. I am Izumo Seto, the Assistant Supervisor temporarily filling in for Ijichi."