Jujutsu Kaisen: Survive First, Become a God Later

Mahito spoke thoughtfully.

"Speaking of which, I've also heard that if a Cursed Object contaminates a living vessel's body for a long enough time, it leaves a permanent mark."

"Even if the Cursed Object is extracted and the vessel is freed, the vessel can eventually learn to use the exact same Cursed Techniques as the object."

This exact theory had been stated by Satoru Gojo in the original story.

After seeing that Yuji Itadori could safely act as a vessel for Ryomen Sukuna, Gojo concluded that over time, Yuji would eventually be able to seamlessly use Sukuna's Cursed Techniques.

At that point in the timeline, the dark truth regarding the special biological relationship between Yuji Itadori and Ryomen Sukuna hadn't been revealed yet.

Satoru Gojo shouldn't have known about it at all.

But Gojo still made that bold judgment, which proved that, at least theoretically, the concept was entirely true.

Yuki Tsukumo sighed in genuine admiration.

"As expected of the Lord of Curses who holds the terrifying power to force evolution."

"You're even aware of such incredibly profound knowledge."

Was this really considered profound?

It actually was!

Mahito was currently suffering from a severe cognitive bias.

Because he possessed eyes that could constantly look directly at the Soul, he could clearly determine the exact outline of a human Soul at a glance.

He could even physically influence the living body by directly altering the shape of the Soul.

Because of this, his personal understanding of this theory was incredibly deep, and he had never once doubted it.

But the vast majority of Jujutsu Sorcerers simply didn't have this innate ability.

Even a hardened, veteran Grade 1 Sorcerer like Kento Nanami didn't know how to consciously protect his Soul, did he?

He had to rely entirely on the subconscious, automatic protection of his dense Cursed Energy just to withstand a single touch from the original Mahito.

Any ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerer would have been instantly and gruesomely transfigured by the original Mahito's very first strike.

There were extremely few people in the world who could study the Soul to this profound extent.

Satoru Gojo was one of them, and Yuki Tsukumo standing right in front of him was another.

They were the true, undisputed experts.

They didn't rely on innate abilities to understand it.

Instead, they operated like dedicated scholars, relying entirely on relentless experience, deep theory, and a vast accumulation of knowledge.

"Mahito, the relationship between the Soul and Cursed Energy is far deeper than you imagine," Yuki Tsukumo said slowly.

"Through my extensive observation and experimentation over the years, I've discovered that Cursed Energy is infinitely more deeply connected to the Soul than it is to the physical body."

"Furthermore, a Sorcerer's Cursed Energy reserves don't increase alongside the biological growth of their physical body..."

"It grows alongside the growth of their Soul."

"How did you even think to look for a connection between Cursed Energy and the Soul?" Mahito asked.

"Generally speaking, since the bodily organs that produce Cursed Energy can be physically located, and the part of the brain that houses Innate Techniques is known, most people believe they've already found the biological essence of Jujutsu."

Yuki Tsukumo pointed her index finger at Mahito and smiled brilliantly.

"From Cursed Spirits."

Mahito was completely stunned.

"From... Cursed Spirits?"

Yuki Tsukumo nodded slightly.

"Cursed Spirits are creatures made of pure Cursed Energy, completely lacking physical bodies."

"We've already confirmed that Cursed Spirits are born from the negative emotions and curses emitted by humans."

"Cursed Spirits have absolutely no physiological structure, yet they can use Cursed Techniques perfectly fine."

"Observing that glaring contradiction, I naturally began to speculate about the true nature of the Soul."

"I have studied it incredibly thoroughly."

Yuki Tsukumo pointed her thumb at herself and spoke with immense pride.

"Hundreds of years ago, the great criminal Noritoshi Kamo found a woman who could conceive Cursed Spirit children."

"He cruelly forced her to give birth to the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings."

"Ever since that horrific incident, the Jujutsu World has strictly forbidden all Sorcerers from studying the biological composition of Cursed Spirits."

"But the Jujutsu Headquarters' rigid bans mean absolutely nothing to me; I fiercely pursued this research anyway."

Mahito murmured under his breath.

"You really are crazy."

Now that he was no longer a naive Jujutsu novice, he truly understood why the Jujutsu Headquarters labeled Noritoshi Kamo—the sorcerer whose body was possessed by Kenjaku a century ago—as the most evil Sorcerer in history.

It had been emphasized many times before that a Grade 1 Sorcerer is already considered a foundational pillar of the Jujutsu World.

As for Special Grade Sorcerers, they represent an entirely different realm of godlike power, completely beyond ordinary discussion.

In the entire recorded history of the Jujutsu World, barely a handful of people have ever been certified as Special Grade Sorcerers.

So what about the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings?

If all nine of them had been allowed to grow and develop normally, every single one of them could have eventually possessed the raw power of a Special Grade Sorcerer!

Nine Special Grade Curse Users completely overflowing with absolute malice toward humanity...

Imagine nine terrifying Curse Users, each just slightly weaker than Suguru Geto, sweeping violently across the entire world all at once.

Anyone could clearly see just how apocalyptic that scenario would be.

One shouldn't mistakenly think they were unworthy of their fearsome reputation just because the two younger brothers of the Death Paintings were killed by Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki immediately after their debut.

On the contrary, they were exceptionally strong and deadly.

It was simply terrible luck that Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki both managed to land a devastating Black Flash, resulting in a shocking one-hit kill!

Another crucial factor in that fight was a massive elemental advantage.

In that battle, it was explicitly stated that because Yuji Itadori was the living vessel for the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, his body was naturally immune to all lethal poisons.

Yet, the deadly Cursed Techniques of the Death Painting brothers happened to be entirely poison-based.

It could be said that although the original story depicted the battle as a desperate, hot-blooded struggle for survival, the truth was quite different.

In reality, Yuji Itadori was never in any significant mortal danger from the very start.