Future Yuji Itadori Joins the Chat Group

Mahito's eyes widened. His bloodshot eyeballs nearly rolled out of their sockets, and the terror on his face was completely undisguised.

Sukuna's Vessel—why was Yuji Itadori here?!

Was it a coincidence?

Impossible, impossible, impossible!!!

There was absolutely no way this was a coincidence!

Did this guy know he would come here and arrive ahead of time to wait for him?

But… how was that possible?!

He had only decided on a whim to come to the Movie Theater, so why was Yuji Itadori here?

No, no.

Only then did Mahito suddenly notice that although the person before him looked almost exactly like the photograph, there were scars on his face that shouldn't have existed.

Moreover, in the photograph, Yuji Itadori had looked like nothing more than an ordinary, cheerful boy.

But the gaze projected from the eyes of the boy sitting before him now was as sharp as a blade.

For the first time, Mahito even felt fear rising within him.

While Mahito was still dazed, Yuji Itadori unhurriedly rose to his feet.

"Mahito."

Yuji Itadori's voice rang out.

His tone was incomparably calm, yet to Mahito, it was filled with crushing pressure, as though it would wrench his soul straight out of his flesh.

Why?

How did this person know his name?

Wait.

Hadn't Jogo and Hanami died at his hands?

In that case, Jogo and Hanami had clearly been preparing to find Satoru Gojo.

So why had Yuji Itadori been able to appear ahead of them on the path they were certain to take?!

Could Yuji Itadori know what would happen in the future?

That was the only possibility!

"I told you I wanted to kill you. If you reincarnate as a new Cursed Spirit, I'll kill you again. Even if you change your name and appearance, I'll still kill you. No matter how many times it takes, I'll kill you."

Yuji Itadori spoke slowly.

There wasn't the slightest fluctuation in his voice. He was incomparably calm, as though he were talking about something utterly insignificant.

Or rather—

Something destined to happen.

Reacting on instinct, Mahito swiftly widened the distance between himself and Yuji Itadori. Every cell in his body was sounding a warning.

Warning him that the boy before him was incomparably terrifying.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Mahito frowned like a startled beast, even hunching his body instinctively.

This should have been his first meeting with Yuji Itadori, so why did the other party act as though he knew him extremely well?

And…

When had he ever said anything like that to him?

Mahito, who normally carried himself with frivolous nonchalance, now had eyes filled entirely with fear and confusion.

"Of course you can't understand. You also don't know that I've already killed you twice."

Yuji Itadori's gaze fell upon Mahito.

On a physical level, he had already killed Mahito once.

Inside the Soul Passage, Yuji Itadori had killed him a second time.

And now, Mahito had once again appeared before Yuji Itadori.

Moreover, this was before he had caused even more tragedies.

Before he caused Yoshino Junpei's death.

Before he killed Nanami Kento.

Before he left Kugisaki Nobara on the brink of death.

Before he made Todo Aoi lose one of his hands.

And before he transformed innocent civilians throughout Shibuya and countless other places into twisted creatures.

Once transformed, they could never be restored.

Yuji Itadori would never allow Mahito the possibility of doing such things in this timeline.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Yuji Itadori ignored Mahito and merely extended a hand—

"Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."

As he spoke, black mist instantly enveloped the surroundings, wrapping the entire area within it.

The current Yuji Itadori could effortlessly deploy a Curtain and isolate the surrounding space so that ordinary civilians wouldn't be thrown into a panic.

At the same time, it would leave Mahito no possibility of escaping.

Mahito instinctively tried to flee, only to crash into the Barrier and be violently thrown back onto the ground.

Yuji Itadori knew Barrier Techniques?

Hadn't this guy only swallowed Sukuna's Fingers recently?

Then again, if he really had only swallowed the Fingers recently, there was no way Yuji Itadori could have defeated Jogo and Hanami. No one could possibly grow to this extent.

When "Geto Suguru" had told him about it, Mahito had assumed that either Satoru Gojo had been the primary one responsible or Sukuna had taken control of the body, leading to everything that had happened.

But now he realized that what was truly terrifying wasn't Sukuna or Satoru Gojo.

It was Yuji Itadori himself.

"A Binding Vow has been placed on this Curtain. You can't leave, but other people can enter."

As Yuji Itadori spoke, he slowly walked toward Mahito.

"Don't come any closer! Stay away!"

Each of Yuji Itadori's footsteps was like a dagger stabbing into Mahito's heart—assuming he even possessed one.

But Mahito soon began to calm down.

No, no, no. Why was he afraid?

Against a human, he was the one with the advantage!

Unlike Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon, Mahito was born from humanity's fear of itself.

His Cursed Technique wasn't like those of the other three Cursed Spirits, whose techniques directly inflicted damage.

Mahito's attacks targeted the soul.

No matter how tough someone's body was, as long as he touched them, he could reshape their soul.

Once the soul was damaged, the flesh would collapse along with it.

For that very reason, theoretically speaking, no matter how powerful an attack was, as long as it couldn't strike Mahito's soul, it could never cause him any substantial harm!

Although his Cursed Technique was still in its experimental phase and had yet to be fully developed, Mahito possessed absolute confidence in himself.

He had merely been overwhelmed by Yuji Itadori's sudden appearance and the knowledge that he had defeated Jogo and Hanami.

In that case, as long as Yuji Itadori wasn't a Jujutsu Sorcerer on Satoru Gojo's level, he couldn't possibly be Mahito's opponent!

As long as he was human, a single touch would kill him instantly!

I'm the one with the advantage!

"Don't get so full of yourself, Yuji Itadori! Why don't we have some fun while we're here?! I need to conduct experiments, and there's no point if my test subject is too weak!!!"

Mahito climbed to his feet, his expression transforming. The fear he had shown moments earlier vanished without a trace, replaced by a wildly confident grin.

Yuji Itadori had come to hunt him?

On the contrary, Yuji Itadori was the perfect experimental subject!

And if he could make Sukuna inside him serve his purposes as well, that would be wonderful!

"Yuji Ita—"

Mahito hysterically tried to shout Yuji Itadori's name.

But he suddenly realized that he couldn't make a sound.

His tongue had been severed?!

Mahito's body trembled violently. He hadn't seen Yuji Itadori move at all.

What… what had just happened?!

"Too tall."

Before that question could be answered, Mahito saw the ground rapidly rise toward him. His entire body lost its balance, and he toppled directly onto the floor.

What… happened?!

Lying prone on the ground, he turned his head and discovered that the space below his knees, where his lower legs should have been connected, was completely empty.

How was that possible?!

What in the world had happened?!

Why hadn't he seen anything?!

The confidence that had only just risen within him vanished instantly. Mahito couldn't comprehend what had happened at all.

Yuji Itadori clearly hadn't done anything!!!

Why, why, why?!

What should he do?!

Regeneration. Right, he just needed to regenerate.

As long as his soul wasn't damaged, he could regenerate endlessly!

An injury like this was utterly insignificant to Mahito.

In less than a second, he would be fully restored.

Then he could reshape his body into that of another animal and enhance its performance. Perhaps he could find an opportunity to escape—

No. Why couldn't he recover?!

Mahito's eyes widened in terror, his jaw trembling uncontrollably and producing a shrill noise.

He couldn't repair his body at all!

Only then did he suddenly realize something.

Yuji Itadori…

Could attack the soul?!

No, no, no, no! That was impossible!

He had never heard of anything like this!

Merely understanding the soul was beyond what an ordinary person could accomplish.

So why could Yuji Itadori do it?!

And how could he attack the soul as well?!

No, no, no, no! Something had to be wrong!

This guy really had come specifically for him, hadn't he?!

Did this person know what his Cursed Technique was?!

Mahito lay on the ground and pressed both hands against the floor, trying to push himself upright, but the moment he exerted strength, his hands were severed.

They weren't cut off one finger at a time. Both hands were simultaneously severed cleanly at the wrists.

All ten fingers still twitched on the ground, maintaining their grasping posture.

But they no longer belonged to Mahito.

"Gah, gah, gahhh!!!"

Mahito's screams squeezed out of his throat—his tongue had been severed, and he couldn't regenerate it.

He experienced unbearable pain. It was the first time Mahito had ever felt pain.

It was the agony caused by his soul being sliced apart.

With his soul cut apart, even his Regeneration could no longer be used.

"Mahito, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Yuji Itadori walked up to Mahito, his voice so calm that it made one's scalp go numb.

He crouched down and looked Mahito directly in the eyes. His hood concealed half his face in shadow, making his expression impossible to discern.

Mahito's body began to tremble.

For the first time since his birth, he felt terror that seeped deep into his bones.

It wasn't because his opponent was strong—he had encountered powerful beings before. Jogo was strong. Hanami was strong.

But Yuji Itadori was completely different, as though he were an existence from another dimension.

It was as if this person existed specifically to hunt him down.

Why?!

Yet no matter how desperately Mahito tried to speak, all that emerged from his mouth were sorrowful-sounding screams accompanied by spurts of blood.

Yuji Itadori merely stared at him without expression.

Words he had once spoken emerged from his mouth once more.

"I'll admit it, Mahito. I'm you. The old me always tried to deny you. I refused to accept what you said—"

Reduced to a limbless torso, Mahito could only stare at Yuji Itadori with terror and bewilderment.

What in the world was this person talking about?!

Today was clearly the first time they had ever met!

What had he supposedly said?!

Mahito's ruined body was practically convulsing.

Yet Yuji Itadori's voice remained utterly calm.

Killing Mahito was one of the many oaths he had made to himself—or perhaps it was a Binding Vow.

When he killed Mahito for the second time in the Soul Passage, his heart had barely stirred. It had felt no different from wiping away a speck of dust.

But now, things were different.

In the world he currently inhabited, all those people who had once been important to him were still alive.

Even though this "Yuji Itadori" would never appear in their lives, he still had to do this.

This wasn't his timeline.

But precisely because of that, he could change everything that had originally happened.

After Mahito died, he would enter the Soul Passage.

He would remain there and wait for him.

During that time, people Yuji Itadori knew might also arrive there.

Although that idiot had said Mahito was extremely weak inside the Soul Passage and posed no threat whatsoever to the reincarnating souls of others, Yuji Itadori still intended to eradicate this unstable factor completely.

Yuji Itadori wouldn't give Mahito any chance to reincarnate—

Nor would he allow Mahito to possess the courage to linger within the Soul Passage.

"I'll kill you, no matter how many times it takes. I no longer need any meaning or reason. Perhaps this act won't gain meaning until centuries after my death. I think I must simply be one cog in some vast machine. Before I rust away, I'll exorcise every Cursed Spirit and eliminate every danger."

From beginning to end, Yuji Itadori's voice remained perfectly calm.

Yet those words completely shattered every defense within Mahito's mind.

It was like a vortex hidden beneath a windless sea, waiting to swallow him whole.

Those words were the eulogy proclaiming his death.

No, it wasn't death.

It was something… even more terrifying than death.

Despair enveloped Mahito's heart.

He desperately tried to struggle, but without his arms or legs, there was nothing he could do.

"Even Cursed Spirits can feel pain, right?"

Yuji Itadori clenched his fist.

Black Cursed Energy continuously surged around Yuji Itadori's fist.

He would make sure Mahito no longer possessed even the right to reincarnate.

He would make sure Mahito no longer possessed even the courage to appear in the space of souls.

Even if the possibility was infinitesimal, Yuji Itadori wouldn't allow Mahito to defile the souls of those precious to him.

He would utterly destroy Mahito's soul.

"No! No, no, no!!!"

Mahito tried to beg, but in the end, all he could produce was the mournful cry of a dying beast.

"This punch is for Nanami."

"This punch is for Yoshino."

"This punch is for Yoshino's Mother."

"This punch…"

Yuji Itadori repeatedly raised his fist before smashing it down.

Again and again, each blow tore Mahito's soul apart.

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T/N: I got lazy to publish chapters on NovelFire again.

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Shilling time!

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