Morning light spilled across the scarred wilderness.
The decision to disband the Demon Slayer Corps had already been issued, and the surviving swordsmen were celebrating the hard-won peace they had fought for.
Rin didn't join the festivities. He held Shinobu Kocho's hand, and the diamond-shaped mark on his palm, faintly glowing with starlight, suddenly brightened.
A deep portal, like a galaxy spiraling in reverse, slowly opened before them.
"Let's go. Let's see our new home."
Rin chuckled, wrapped an arm around Shinobu Kocho's waist as she let out a small cry of surprise, and stepped into the star-filled portal.
After a brief moment of weightlessness, the world before them expanded all at once.
It was a vast island floating in the boundless depths of the universe.
The island held lush mountains and clear lakes, along with a grand and exquisitely crafted courtyard at its center.
Above them stretched brilliant nebulae. Beneath their feet lay soft grass. The air carried a fresh, soothing fragrance that cleared the mind.
"Is this the private island you mentioned?" Shinobu Kocho slipped out of his arms, her violet eyes reflecting the starlight overhead, her face filled with disbelief. "This feels like the residence of a god from mythology!"
"Do you like it? This place is called the Miniature Divine Domain."
Rin slipped his hands into his pockets and looked around calmly.
"In this dimension, I am the absolute Creator. No external being or even energy can enter without my permission. And as long as you remain within the Divine Domain, your lifespan is completely frozen. In other words, here, you won't age. You're immortal."
Shinobu Kocho was too stunned to respond.
To break the iron law of birth, aging, sickness, and death was something most people could only dream of.
"You can prepare medicine and rest here whenever you want." With a single thought from Rin, an empty space beside the courtyard rose instantly, reshaping itself into a modern medical laboratory equipped with world-class technology. "When I go out to 'hunt,' this will be your safest refuge. Once I settle into the new world, I'll open the gate and take you out shopping anytime."
Shinobu Kocho's eyes grew brighter and brighter as she took in the laboratory filled with advanced equipment.
[Before you say anything.. this is the girl who stays in the Butterfly Mansion 90% of the time, cooped up in her research room. It's practically a heaven for her, and don't worry, she can go back to the DS world if she's bored.
It'll be similar to how Rin got a mission in the DS world and then came back after killing the demons.]
For someone devoted to pharmacological research, this was an irresistible temptation.
"But what if you get injured out there?" she asked, still unable to hide her concern as she turned to him.
"Don't worry. I'm very careful." Rin gently ruffled her hair. "You don't need to worry so much. Just stay here and wait for me."
After settling Shinobu Kocho, Rin walked alone to the edge of the Divine Domain.
Before him lay an endless sea of stars.
He took a deep breath and connected with the system in his mind.
"System, open the passage to the new world."
[Ding! Command confirmed!]
[Deducting 10,000 dimension points. Opening crystal wall system dimensional passage…]
[Target world locked: Jujutsu Kaisen]
[Current time node: Spring, 2006]
[World Background Analysis: This is a world shrouded in negative emotions. Human negativity, fear, resentment, and jealousy manifests into monsters known as Cursed Spirits. Those who exorcise them are called Jujutsu Sorcerers.
At the current point in time, the strongest duo of the jujutsu world—Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto—are about to undertake a critical mission prior to Master Tengen's assimilation: protecting the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai. Meanwhile, an assassination group has already hired the 'Sorcerer Killer,' Toji Fushiguro, to carry out the mission.]
[Mission Objective: Forcefully intervene in the Star Plasma Vessel incident, alter the fates of key individuals (Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Toji Fushiguro, Riko Amanai, etc.), and harvest dimension points!]
Hearing the briefing in his mind, a sharp smile curved across Rin's lips.
A system based on Cursed Energy?
Gojo Satoru's Limitless? Toji Fushiguro's Heavenly Restriction?
"Sounds far more interesting than those demons that only know how to lurk in the dark."
"Let's go."
Rin stepped forward, his entire body dissolving instantly into a blinding white light.
…
2006, Tokyo, Japan.
The streets of Shinjuku.
Traffic flowed like a river. Neon lights flickered endlessly. Salarymen in suits hurried along, while giant screens overhead played popular songs from the early 2000s.
A faint spatial distortion flickered for an instant within a deserted alley.
Rin, clad in black leather boots, stepped out from the shadows.
He had already changed into a modern outfit. A black trench coat draped over a dark shirt, and his Kusanagi sword was wrapped in a long gray cloth, resembling a musical instrument, carried casually in his hand.
The moment he stepped into this noisy concrete jungle, Rin frowned slightly.
To his perception, the air of the city was saturated with a thick, nauseating aura.
Not far away, near a crosswalk, a dejected middle-aged man stood hunched over his phone.
Clinging to his shoulder was a grotesque, sludge-like creature covered in multiple eyes.
As it gnawed at the man's neck, it muttered in a broken whisper, "Don't want to work overtime… I want to die…"
Although the man couldn't see it, his face was pale, and his shoulders sagged as if burdened by an immense weight.
"An aggregation of negative emotions… so this is what they call a Cursed Spirit?"
Without even activating the Sharingan, Rin saw through its nature with ease, relying purely on his chakra perception.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap.
A nearly invisible strand of Chidori lightning pierced through the air and entered the body of the low-grade Cursed Spirit.
A faint sizzling sound followed.
Before it could even let out a scream, the Cursed Spirit was completely erased by the intense heat of the lightning.
The middle-aged man suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders vanish. His previously foggy mind cleared at once, and he absentmindedly rolled his neck.
"Not much trouble to deal with."
Rin withdrew his gaze.
If he wanted to move freely in this modern society, the first things he needed to solve were identity and money.
"System, exchange for a legal local identity and a sum of startup capital."
[Ding! 100 dimension points consumed.]
[A legal identity has been generated: Rin, a freelance investor who spent his early years abroad. Includes identification documents and a bank card (containing ten million yen).]
Rin reached into his pocket. As expected, there was now an extra wallet along with several cards.
Just as he was about to find a place for a hot meal and gather information about which school the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, attended, his sharp hearing picked up movement from a dark alley at the street corner.
Bang!
A dull thud rang out, followed by the loud crash of a trash can tipping over.
Rin turned and stepped into the narrow, unlit alley.
Deep inside, a man in a black uniform lay sprawled on the ground in a miserable state.
A short knife was clutched in his hand, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he stared ahead in terror.
"How is this possible…? The intel said there was only a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit here. Why… is there a semi-Grade 1 mutation?!"
Perched before him was a spider-like Cursed Spirit the size of a small car, its body covered in sharp bone spikes.
Its eight compound eyes glowed with a malevolent crimson light, and the venom dripping from its mouthparts corroded the asphalt into pitted holes.
"Eat… eat the sorcerer…"
The spider Cursed Spirit let out a shrill roar, raising its forelimbs to impale the man.
The man shut his eyes in despair.
But the expected pain never came.
Instead, the slow, unhurried sound of footsteps echoed from the alley entrance.
"Hey, big bug. You're blocking my way."
The man's eyes snapped open in shock.
At some point, a handsome young man in a black trench coat had walked past him and now stood before the semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
Holding a gray cloth-wrapped object, the youth didn't even spare the monster a glance. His posture was as relaxed as if he were strolling through a park.
"Run! There's a monster ahead! Any ordinary person will die if they encounter it!" the man shouted, forcing himself to speak through the pain.
"Ordinary person?"
Rin tilted his head slightly, a trace of mockery flickering in his dark eyes.
The spider Cursed Spirit was clearly enraged by his indifference. With a furious screech, it spat out a massive web drenched in venom, descending from above.
Rin didn't move.
His right thumb gently pushed aside a corner of the gray cloth, revealing the pitch-black hilt of the Kusanagi sword.
Clang.
The blade slid out by half an inch.
Violent purple-black lightning erupted without warning in the cramped, dark alley.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Current."
The blinding surge of lightning instantly shredded the venomous web.
More than that, the high-voltage current spread through the air, locking directly onto the massive spider-like Cursed Spirit.
Crackle!
"GAAAAAH!"
The semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit let out a piercing scream.
Its hardened bone spikes and massive body were utterly insignificant before the Lightning Release Rin had casually unleashed. In mere seconds, it was reduced to a heap of charred ash beneath the raging current.
An instant kill.
The sorcerer sprawled on the ground stared blankly at the scene, his mind going completely blank.
No incantations. No hand signs. Not even a noticeable fluctuation of Cursed Energy.
Just by partially unsheathing his sword, he had used that purple lightning to obliterate a semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit?
This was undoubtedly a powerhouse at Grade 1 or above.
Rin slid the Kusanagi sword back into its sheath and looked down at the man.
"You said you're a Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
"Y-yes! I'm an Assistant Supervisor affiliated with Jujutsu Headquarters!"
"Good. Then answer me something."
Rin slipped his hands into his pockets. His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable pressure.
"The Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai. Which school is she attending?"
The Assistant Supervisor froze, a trace of caution flashing through his eyes. "Why are you asking? Lady Star Plasma Vessel's whereabouts are a top-level secret within the jujutsu world—"
Before he could finish, Rin suddenly lifted his head.
A pair of scarlet, six-pointed eyes lit up in the darkness of the alley.
"I ask. You answer. No need for nonsense."
The Assistant Supervisor felt as if something exploded in his mind. His will was instantly stripped away, his gaze turning vacant as he spoke like a puppet on strings:
"Renchoku Girls' Junior High… second year."
___
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