Facing Jogo's urgent questioning and the gazes of the surrounding people, even Kenjaku's normally steady heart was stirred into ripples.
Since she was beaten flying by Chinatsu several years ago, she had been biding her time, developing quietly, and even exorcising Cursed Spirits as if competing with the Jujutsu Sorcerers for business, all to snatch as many Sukuna's Fingers from Jujutsu High's grasp as possible.
She had a premonition that it would be extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, to reclaim the Sukuna's Fingers that had already fallen into the hands of Jujutsu High... into that woman's hands.
Although everything seemed ready now, Kenjaku's heart was slow to regain its composure; she was hesitating whether she should take action immediately.
Her hesitation, however, fell into the eyes of the short-tempered volcano Cursed Spirit, Jogo, whose Mount Fuji head erupted with a "Bang!" shooting out rolling flames.
He quickly walked up to Kenjaku, displaying a very serious and frightening expression. His palm opened, and flames, seemingly from purgatory, gathered into a fireball hovering above his hand.
"Stop dithering! Stop dragging your feet! Do you want me to burn you to a crisp?!" Jogo threatened, his face contorted in a snarl.
Jogo, a Cursed Spirit born from humanity's fear of volcanoes, was the strongest existence among the four Disaster Cursed Spirits, rated by Kenjaku as being equivalent to seven or eight Sukuna's Fingers.
In front of Jogo, Jujutsu Sorcerers other than Special Grade combatants were mere decorations; the flame attacks he shot from his hand were enough to burn a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer to ashes.
Hanami, the Cursed Spirit of the Forest, slowly walked up behind him, reached out, and pressed a hand onto Jogo's shoulder, advising Jogo not to be too impulsive.
Dagon, the Cursed Spirit of the Ocean, and Mahito, the Cursed Spirit of Humanity, also walked over. Jogo was merely hot-tempered and overwhelmed by anger; he didn't truly intend to harm Kenjaku.
Now that everyone gave him an out, Jogo naturally took the opportunity to back down, giving them face.
Although Cursed Spirits are extremely hostile toward humans, the relationship between Cursed Spirits themselves is excellent; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe them as a family.
The only ones present who could be considered outsiders were Kenjaku, wearing the skin of Itadori's mother, and Uraume, Sukuna's servant, who had revived through incarnated possession.
Seeing the attitude of the Cursed Spirits before her, Kenjaku frowned slightly. These Cursed Spirits didn't treat her as a partner, and Kenjaku certainly didn't treat them as partners, but... how dare these mere Cursed Spirits think so highly of themselves!
She closed her eyes and fell into brief contemplation. Scenes of what she had experienced during her thousand-year journey flashed through her mind.
Inspiring! Extremely inspiring!
Recalling these scenes, Kenjaku was almost moved by herself, but just as tears were about to flow, the being named Chinatsu suddenly appeared in her memory.
That utterly unreasonable understanding, her every action seemed to be aimed directly at Kenjaku, as if she were a monster sent by heaven specifically to punish her.
[Domain Expansion: Mirror Flower, Water Moon!]
Instantly, Kenjaku in the real world opened her eyes. She raised a hand and covered her cheek, beads of cold sweat trickling down her face.
Mahito watched this scene, cheerfully walked up to Kenjaku, and casually threw an arm around her shoulder, asking with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you sweating? A nightmare? A daydream?"
"I'm fine, Mahito. I don't need your concern."
Kenjaku frowned and glanced at him, then she shook off Mahito's arm, holding one Sukuna's Finger between two fingers, and faced Jogo, who was still looking at her with displeasure.
"In that case, let's begin!"
As soon as she said this, the pupils of everyone present slightly contracted, especially Jogo. Fierce heat radiated from his body, and Mahito fanned himself with his hand, pretending to be overheated.
In order to enlist Sukuna as an ally in the future and to fulfill her ambition of creating a perfect being that transcends both Cursed Spirits and humans...
When Kenjaku was active under the identity of "Kamo Noritoshi," he once encountered a woman with a special constitution who was capable of conceiving a Cursed Spirit's child.
Using this woman, Kenjaku conducted inhumane experiments. He incorporated his own blood into the experiments, causing the woman to become pregnant and abort nine times, thereby creating what is known to later generations as the cursed womb: death paintings.
In modern times, he possessed the body of Itadori's mother, "Kaori." Based on his previous experimental experience and certain unknown conditions, he conceived the special individual named Itadori Yuji.
When Cursed Spirits consume Sukuna's Fingers, they become volatile and powerful. When ordinary humans consume Sukuna's Fingers, they either die from poisoning or explode.
However, humans with certain special constitutions possess the aptitude to become Sukuna's vessels; these people can be described as "natural vessels."
Itadori Yuji, on the other hand, is a "man-made vessel." While ordinary people instantly lose self-awareness and are taken over by Sukuna after becoming his vessel, Itadori Yuji can suppress Sukuna's consciousness. Unless Itadori falls unconscious, Sukuna cannot use his body.
Itadori is both the perfect physical body Kenjaku prepared specifically for Sukuna and a major trump card he intends to use against Sukuna.
Kenjaku informed the Cursed Spirits present about Itadori's existence, but she had no intention of going to capture him herself, as she still harbored a faint, ominous premonition.
Seeing Kenjaku's cowardly demeanor, the Cursed Spirits even suggested sending out the entire force to abduct Itadori. Kenjaku's expression subtly stiffened, and she internally grumbled, "Are you Cursed Spirits truly ignoring the Jujutsu Sorcerers?"
Finally, after a brief discussion, everyone decided to send Hanami, the Cursed Spirit of the Forest, to Itadori's school to forcibly abduct him and bring him here, then pry open his mouth and feed him the Sukuna's Fingers one by one.
Meanwhile, at Itadori's school.
He was in a physical education class with his classmates, testing the 50-meter dash.
Following the teacher's loud shout of "On your marks, get set, go!" while clutching a stopwatch, the classmates testing alongside Itadori hadn't even reacted to start moving, but Itadori, in the center position, had already sprung up and dashed out like a gust of wind; even the teacher was slow to react.
Itadori quickly crossed the finish line. The teacher blinked dazedly and pressed the stopwatch a beat too late. Because Itadori was so fast, the classmates testing with him were all affected, and their scores dropped by a notch.
When the teacher later reviewed the results, the look on his face became even more bewildered; he even suspected he was hallucinating.
"Five... Five... Five seconds???"
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140 stones for next extra chapter
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