"Hm? What happened? Where's Mahito?"
Jogo felt a bad premonition the instant the words left his mouth. His gaze sharpened, and he immediately shot Kenjaku an unfriendly look.
He and Hanami had just returned from sunbathing on the beach inside Dagon's domain, only to be greeted by news like this.
Mahito was gone too. It felt like something terrible had happened while they were away.
"Look here. Mahito is already dead."
Kenjaku raised the talisman in his hand. It had only just finished burning, leaving behind ash. His tone was calm, but there was no mistaking the seriousness behind it.
Before Mahito had set out, Kenjaku had secretly placed a cursed talisman inside his body. Its sole purpose was to sense the instant Mahito perished and allow Kenjaku to relocate immediately.
To him, Mahito's death had been inevitable from the moment Sukuna's finger was stolen.
Too many variables had begun to move.
The Death Painting Wombs had been taken early, and Mukuro remaining in Tokyo for such a long time was already proof enough that Jujutsu High was not as straightforward as it appeared.
If Kenjaku had not personally confirmed that Sukuna's finger remained untouched, he might have already suspected that his plan had been exposed.
He did not know whether someone could follow the traces of Mahito's cursed energy, nor whether other unexpected events might occur. But before his grand plan reached fruition, avoiding unnecessary risk was his absolute rule.
Ignoring the ugly expressions forming on the curses' faces, Kenjaku rose to his feet and prepared to leave.
"What do you mean Mahito is dead? Wasn't he with you?!"
Jogo's violent temper finally snapped. He rushed forward and glared at Kenjaku with undisguised fury.
Flames erupted from his volcano-shaped head, and thick steam blasted from his ears. The surrounding temperature surged in an instant, making it feel as though they were standing inside a living volcano.
Even the pool nearby began to bubble violently, its surface rolling as if it were boiling.
Hanami said nothing, but Dagon's eyes trembled, already filling with tears.
To the disaster curses, they were family.
Jogo had placed immense hope in Mahito. His terrifying learning ability and explosive growth made him the future of curses.
Even though Mahito could be troublesome at times, Jogo truly played a father-like role.
"If we don't leave now, someone like Satoru Gojo might show up at any moment. Are you sure you still want to argue?" Kenjaku replied calmly. "Our goal has never changed. Revive Sukuna and welcome a world for curses. On that point alone, I have no reason to harm allies whose interests align with mine."
He did not wait for a response. With a flick of his sleeve, Kenjaku turned and walked straight out.
"...Let's go. Once the plan is complete, we'll avenge Mahito together."
Jogo's face was rigid, his jaw clenched tight, but at last he loosened his fists. Blood seeped from his palms where his nails had bitten deep into his skin.
The top priority was still Sukuna.
They had long since accepted that sacrifices would be necessary. For curses to stand in the future as true "humans," anyone could be offered up. Mahito had simply gone first.
Hanami and Dagon exchanged a glance before nodding silently. They followed behind Jogo, trailing after Kenjaku without another word.
'Curses will always be curses…'
Walking at the very front, Kenjaku allowed a faint, mocking smile to surface.
* * *
At this moment, Mukuro and Suguru were standing at what used to be the curses' hideout.
"Satoru mentioned a guy who likes playing with fire. The water here is still warm. They probably didn't leave long ago."
Suguru walked to a nearby pool that was still giving off heat. He then crouched down and dipped his fingers in, testing the temperature before speaking.
No matter how one looked at it, this place did not seem like somewhere hot springs should exist.
"There's a very clever old fox behind all this," Mukuro said casually. "He probably planted something like a life talisman inside that piece of trash."
Mahito stood obediently to the side, his stitched face blank and lifeless. Looking at him, Mukuro felt the urge to rip those stitches apart again.
"That's possible," Suguru replied as he stood up.
When he had used Cursed Spirit Manipulation earlier, he did sense a fleeting trace of strange cursed energy flash by.
A curse absorbed by that technique is already considered dead. If it was a life-and-death talisman, it would indeed register as a death.
"So what's your next move?" Suguru asked. "You didn't have me sneak back into the country just to absorb one curse, did you?"
He had already returned to Japan quietly, and even Satoru did not know yet.
Mimiko and Nanako were hiding overseas with friends, while creating the illusion that he was still abroad. All because Mukuro told him not to expose his whereabouts.
"Letting Sukuna's finger be stolen was intentional," Mukuro explained as he sat down on a nearby rock, his posture relaxed. "I wanted to draw out the big fish as soon as possible. If nothing goes wrong, the real clash isn't far away."
He and Satoru were the two active special grade sorcerers in Japan. They were guaranteed to be central pieces in Kenjaku's plan. The only unknown was how Kenjaku intended to deal with them.
One thing, however, was certain. Kenjaku would find a way to separate him from that white-haired man and keep them both tied down.
That was precisely why, as a precaution, Mukuro had Suguru return in secret, even bypassing Tengen's barrier entirely. A hidden special grade was far more dangerous than any bomb buried underground.
"What exactly is your plan? And who is Kenjaku possessing?"
As if thinking of something, Mukuro suddenly glanced at Mahito and asked.
Perhaps he had known something before his death.
"The plan…"
Unfortunately, what he knew was vague at best. Kenjaku had dealt with them under his real name, but even then, the details shifted constantly depending on circumstances. The one thing that never changed was the goal: Sukuna's revival.
Mahito's role had been simple. Create chaos. As much as possible.
"I'm fine, but you and Satoru should be careful. You're standing at the center of the storm."
Suguru had no objections to staying hidden for now. In truth, he had been semi-retired for years. Compared to other special grades, his movements, like Yuki's, were relatively discreet.
"No need to worry, because…"
Mukuro simply smiled.
Under the bright moonlight, he turned to look at his best friend.
"I'm the strongest."
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