"You?" Kokichi asked.
Mahito withdrew his fingers, maintaining his smile.
"Kokichi-san, guess how old I am?"
What a confident way to ask.
Kokichi thought to himself.
Then he pondered.
Mahito's first appearance was very brief, less than a month ago, but before that, Mahito must have stayed in human society for a long time.
At least, someone had taught him for a long time.
No, considering the issue of comprehension, this long time should be shorter than imagined.
In that case, I should judge based on a very short duration.
Kokichi cautiously stated,
"Five years."
"I estimate you were born five years ago."
Mahito was somewhat stunned.
"What a cautious assessment."
"Based on my level and knowledge, I thought you would at least say more than ten years."
"If you were human, ten years would certainly be enough time," Kokichi said.
"Even Gojo Satoru, at age ten, I don't know if he could reach your current level."
"Not to mention that Gojo Satoru was definitely not as strong as you are now at age five."
"If you were human, you would undoubtedly be a genius among geniuses."
"Even Gojo Satoru could only barely stand alongside you."
"But you are not human."
Kokichi stated seriously,
"You are a Cursed Spirit."
"The strength of a Cursed Spirit differs from that of a human; a Cursed Spirit's grade is fixed from birth."
"A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit is a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, and a Special Grade Cursed Spirit is a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
"A Cursed Spirit's rank is fixed from its inception."
"This is not because Cursed Spirits cannot grow stronger."
"On the contrary, immense curses constantly attract Cursed Spirits."
"It is not uncommon for a Cursed Spirit that devours a massive curse to evolve into a stronger Cursed Spirit."
"But the problem is—Cursed Spirits usually lack the capacity for thought."
"Although they can speak human language, their intelligence is inferior even to a puppy's."
"Although they possess basic combat instincts, their adaptive wisdom is inferior even to a wolf pack's."
"You have escaped this concept."
"You are both a Cursed Spirit and possess considerable intelligence."
"You learn, you train, and you even possess your own philosophical thoughts."
"Ideals, goals, emotions, influence—you lack none of them."
"You are growing rapidly—"
"—Five years."
"I estimate that in these five years, you have already gained power sufficient to surpass the average Special Grade sorcerer, and you are still growing continuously."
"In the future, you will inevitably become stronger, transcending the rank of the average Special Grade sorcerer and reaching the realm where Gojo Satoru stands."
"Average Special Grade sorcerer?"
Kinji Hakari clicked his tongue fiercely.
"Damn it! Since when do Special Grade sorcerers have to be divided into average and non-average?"
"I actually ended up as a background character!"
Mahito praised and applauded.
"Remarkable. Your assessment is truly outstanding."
"It makes me want to take you under my wing."
Kokichi said faintly,
"It seems my judgment was not wrong."
Although the voice coming from the metal disc was calm, Kokichi was secretly astonished.
To gain the power of a Special Grade sorcerer within five years of birth—that news alone was enough to shock him.
What a joke.
That is a Special Grade sorcerer.
An undeniable one-man, one-nation fighting force.
Although he had spoken of the average Special Grade sorcerer, in reality, how could any sorcerer who reached that rank be considered average?
Every single one of them is a monster who might as well not be human.
The world's strongest Cursed Spirit might be right before my eyes.
Kokichi secretly inhaled.
But he inhaled too soon.
Mahito's lips curved upward, revealing a slight smile.
"One and a half months," he said.
"Counting from birth until today, I have only lived for one and a half months—forty-five days."
"By human age standards, I'm a full-month-old baby, right?"
"You've got to be kidding me."
Kokichi thought he had said that himself, but he quickly realized it wasn't his voice.
It was Kinji Hakari.
"Average Special Grade sorcerer?"
Kinji Hakari was filled with disbelief.
He roared as if Misaka Mikoto were yelling at Kamijou Touma:
"Are you telling me that in one and a half months, including that initial hazy period after birth, you grew strong enough to beat me down without even using your trump card!? You've got to be lying!"
Clearly, this "average Special Grade sorcerer" had his defenses completely shattered.
It was like a failing student scoring 60 points, then smugly asking the top student how they did.
The top student painfully replies that they didn't do well, only for the failing student to find out the top student scored 109 on a 100-point test with 10 bonus points—
and the top student's "not well" was because they missed one bonus point.
If it were you, you'd break too.
Kokichi keenly caught the meaning behind Kinji Hakari's words, and even his voice sounded distorted.
"'Defeated you without using a trump card'—what does that mean?"
"Did the King of Curses not even use his full strength when fighting you?"
"He was completely relaxed," Kinji Hakari said, calming down and covering his forehead.
"I really didn't lose unfairly."
"I thought I lost because I was countered, but now I know I was fighting a baby."
"I truly can't show my face anymore."
Kokichi was shaken to his core, left speechless.
"It seems you now understand my confidence," Mahito said with a slight smile.
"As time passes, my talent will grow even further."
"I don't know if I will become invincible like Gojo Satoru in the future, but at the very least, I am confident that I can reach a point where I can mutually deter Gojo Satoru."
"Therefore..."
"...there is absolutely no need to seal Gojo Satoru or release Ryomen Sukuna."
"We only need to wait for my continued growth to achieve the plan."
These truly were three very convincing scenarios.
Kokichi sighed inwardly again.
As expected of an ambitious group aiming to overthrow the current jujutsu world, they were frighteningly mature in every respect.
"In that case, there's absolutely no need for you to rush into confronting Gojo Satoru right now."
"You only need to lie low quietly and wait for the King of Curses' talent to blossom."
"Why are you so eager to overthrow the current jujutsu world?"
Kokichi asked.
"If you are willing to come under my wing, I will tell you that answer," Mahito said.
Kokichi sighed.
"I overstepped."
"Now it's your turn to ask."
Mahito asked with visible interest,
"What do you think of Cursed Spirits?"
Kokichi was not surprised by the question, because Mahito had just mentioned wanting Kokichi to join his wing—not as a partner, but as a subordinate.
Kokichi was very confident in himself.
Although reaching Gojo Satoru's level might be difficult, he was very confident in simply growing into a Special Grade sorcerer.
In fact, his confidence was not unfounded.
During Kokichi's death battle in the original work, Kenjaku himself said...
...that although it was temporary, purely based on output capability, Kokichi had already reached the minimum standard of Special Grade.
At that time, he was only a Kyoto Jujutsu High student.
It is no exaggeration to say that even without undergoing a death battle, just through normal growth, Kokichi could secure the position of a Special Grade sorcerer.
"No offense intended," Kokichi said as tactfully as possible.
"To me, Cursed Spirits are parasites of this world."
"I cannot understand the meaning of existence for things that are completely incapable of interacting with society and only cause destruction."
Forget Jogo; even the usually good-tempered Hanami showed a look of fury upon hearing these words, as if she might explode and kill someone at any moment.
Kenjaku couldn't help but say, "You really have some nerve to say that."
"Nerve? I thought I was being quite tactful," Kokichi said sincerely.
"You bastard—!"
Jogo wanted to flare up, but a palm was raised in front of him.
Mahito held up his hand, cutting off the words Jogo wanted to say.
Jogo took several deep breaths before leaning back into his chair again, his face dark as he sulked to himself.
Kokichi was thoughtful.
This King of Curses had excellent control over his subordinates.
This indicated that these Cursed Spirits had developed a social nature and would not disobey the orders of their king.
Mahito's expression remained unchanged as he said nonchalantly,
"It's your turn to continue the questions."
Kokichi asked curiously,
"Aren't you angry?"
"Because what you said is the truth," Mahito said calmly.
"To humans, Cursed Spirits indeed have no necessity for existence."
"Forget humans—even for this world, except for special existences like Hanami, Cursed Spirits have no necessity for existence."
"Even parasites have their own roles in this world, but Cursed Spirits do not."
"Cursed Spirits only kill and harm people; besides that, they can do nothing."
Mahito concluded with a normal expression:
"Cursed Spirits—they are worse than parasites."
"They are genuine trash, and among trash, they are the hardest to deal with: incombustible waste."
Kokichi was stunned.
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