Chapter 75: Founding the Akatsuki
He pursued his great cause to create a better world and protect the comrades worth saving, not to meet such a ridiculous and tragic end!
"No... impossible..."
Geto Suguru muttered to himself, his voice utterly broken, as if the pillars of his belief were shattering piece by piece.
Toho Hiroshi watched his collapse, a faint flicker of complexity in his eyes, quickly overwritten by cold determination.
He needed to completely shatter Geto Suguru's original path before he could guide him toward the direction he had set.
"This is the future I saw."
Toho Hiroshi's voice sounded again, carrying an undeniable authority. "If you persist in your current view, this is the inevitable end. Now, Suguru, tell me, will you stubbornly walk toward that conclusion?"
Geto Suguru abruptly looked up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with immense pain and turmoil.
He looked at Toho Hiroshi, at those eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.
Reason told him that foreseeing the future was absurd, but emotionally, the ending was depicted so realistically, so congruent with the deep-seated anxiety hidden within him, that he couldn't help but be convinced.
Especially the two points—"dying by Satoru's hands" and "being utilized"—pierced precisely into his most feared possibilities.
In contrast, the "eye of the moon plan" proposed by Toho Hiroshi, though equally insane, offered a completely different option that seemed capable of "perfectly" realizing his original intention while avoiding that tragic outcome.
Collecting Cursed Spirits and gathering power was not in conflict with his current actions; in fact, the goals were the same, only the final application differed.
After a long silence, the fierce struggle in Geto Suguru's eyes slowly subsided, replaced by a calm bordering on despair—or perhaps, a madness that staked everything on the unknown.
He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, though pain still lingered, there was a newfound resolve.
"I... understand."
Geto Suguru's voice was still hoarse but much steadier. "If that is truly the end of that path... then I certainly need to re-examine my 'great cause'."
He looked at Toho Hiroshi, his gaze complicated. "Infinite Tsukuyomi... creating a dream world without pain... it sounds like avoidance. But perhaps, for this utterly hopeless world, is that the only'salvation'?"
He seemed to be asking Toho Hiroshi, yet also trying to convince himself.
"It is not salvation; it is a better solution."
Toho Hiroshi corrected him, his tone cold and objective. "No bloodshed, no sacrifice, and everyone is satisfied. This is more efficient and more thorough than your slaughter plan, which is destined to fail and lead to endless trouble."
Geto Suguru fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, as if a great burden had been lifted, or perhaps as if he had stepped onto another, deeper wrong path.
"Alright, Toho."
He said, "I agree... to join your 'eye of the moon plan.' I will collect Cursed Spirits and gather power until the moment is right to illuminate the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi.'"
Toho Hiroshi felt a slight easing in his heart; the most important goal had been achieved.
But his expression remained undisturbed.
"Very good. Relying solely on an organization like the Star Plasma Cult is not enough."
Toho Hiroshi took the opportunity to propose the next step. "We need a more core, more secretive, and more powerful group to specifically execute the crucial steps of this plan."
"Oh? What do you have in mind?"
Geto Suguru had already subconsciously begun to defer to Toho Hiroshi's leadership.
"Establish a new organization, named 'Akatsuki'."
Toho Hiroshi slowly uttered the name, his left Rinnegan flickering slightly. "It will gather powerhouses who truly agree with this philosophy, operating in the shadows, collecting powerful Cursed Spirits and Cursed Objects, and eliminating all obstacles until the ultimate realization of the plan."
"Akatsuki..."
Geto Suguru chewed on the name and nodded. "The darkness before the dawn? That is quite fitting."
"Therefore, starting today, the Star Plasma Cult will remain under your control, serving as a cover for 'Akatsuki' to absorb funds and peripheral personnel. The core of 'Akatsuki' will be built starting with you and me."
Toho Hiroshi stood up. "I will go search for other suitable members."
He paused, then added, "My identity must completely sink into the darkness. From today onward, the name Toho Hiroshi should preferably be regarded as dead or missing. I will operate under a different persona."
Having said that, he produced a strangely shaped, orange mask with spiral patterns from somewhere and slowly put it on his face.
The mask covered the upper half of his face, leaving only his profound eyes visible.
"You will appear in this form?"
Geto Suguru looked at his sworn friend, whose aura became even more obscure and inscrutable after donning the mask.
"Yes."
Toho Hiroshi's muffled and cold voice came from beneath the mask. "Henceforth, there is no longer the runaway Toho Hiroshi in the world. There are only members of 'Akatsuki,' and... those who pursue the Eye of the Moon."
He looked at Geto Suguru. "You should also prepare soon. The assembly of 'Akatsuki' will not be far off."
As his voice faded, his figure began to blur, like a reflection dissolving into water, eventually vanishing completely inside the room, leaving only faint spatial ripples where he stood.
Geto Suguru stood alone where he was, remaining motionless for a long time.
He looked down at the shattered teacup on the floor, then looked up at the spot where Toho Hiroshi had disappeared, his expression immensely complex.
He didn't know if his choice today was right or wrong, or if he had simply jumped from one abyss into an even deeper one.
But the foretold ending—dying at the hands of his sworn friend and seeing his ideals trampled—was too tragic, making it impossible for him not to grasp the seemingly dangerous lifeline Toho Hiroshi had thrown him.
The eye of the moon plan, Akatsuki... he muttered to himself, finally letting out a long, heavy sigh.
The path had changed once again.
Meanwhile, Toho Hiroshi, wearing the mask, quietly left the Star Plasma Cult headquarters like a true phantom.
He walked beneath the Tokyo night sky; the mask concealed his face and seemed to sever him from his former self.
His left Rinnegan slowly scanned the world from behind the mask, perceiving the flow of Cursed Energy, searching for two targets: sufficiently powerful Cursed Spirits and Cursed Objects, and... the traces of that insidious viper hidden in a thousand years of history, the one with the stitched scar on its brain—Kenjaku.
The eye of the moon plan required power... Kyoto Metropolitan Jujutsu High, vastly different in style from the Tokyo School, appeared more ancient and severe.
Layers of Barriers enveloped the area, suppressing countless dangerous Cursed Objects and secrets beneath them.
For ordinary people and even the vast majority of Jujutsu Sorcerers, this place was forbidden ground.
However, for Toho Hiroshi, these Barriers were as good as nonexistent.
The Rinnegan beneath the mask rotated slightly; the structure of the world before him seemed to transform into the most fundamental lines of Cursed Energy and regulatory pathways.
Kyoto Jujutsu High's proudly maintained ancient Barriers had clearly visible flaws in his eyes.
He didn't even need to use Kamui's violent breakthrough; he simply and accurately located the gaps and weak points in the Barrier's energy flow, slipping in silently like a phantom.
His target was clear—the most sinister sealed section deep within the Storage Vault, where Choso, Eso, and Kechizu, three of the cursed womb: death paintings, lay dormant, cultivated a century ago by the Curse User Kamo Noritoshi (Kenjaku) using Cursed Spirits and human women.
These three Special Grade Cursed Objects had deep ties to Kenjaku; they were important clues and also contained immense power, and absolutely could not be left here to be utilized or remain idle.
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