October 21, 2018.
The three first-year students assembled for their latest mission. Yuji Itadori. Nobara Kugisaki. Megumi Fushiguro.
Following the incident at Yasohachi Bridge last month, all three had experienced significant growth. Yuji and Nobara had faced the Special Grade Cursed Wombs, Eso and Kechizu. In a life-or-death crisis, both simultaneously unleashed Black Flash, successfully exorcising the brothers.
Megumi had faced the Special Grade Finger Bearer alone. Pushed to the brink, he fought with all his might to manifest an incomplete Domain Expansion, sacrificing himself to exorcise the Curse. Yuji had swallowed the recovered finger. Sukuna's total was now four.
...
Their destination was Kyoto. The supervising personnel leading the team was Utahime Iori. During the Goodwill Event, Zenin Mirai had mentioned a traitor among the students. After checking for a month and ruling out the others, Utahime set her sights on the remote-controlled puppet: Ultimate Mechamaru, operated by Kokichi Muta.
Utahime's expression was somber. He was a student she had taught diligently for two years. As they passed through a dimly lit tunnel, Utahime spoke in a low voice, explaining Kokichi's true situation to the trio.
"Mechamaru's technique is Puppet Manipulation. With the blessing of a Heavenly Restriction, his range covers the entirety of Japan."
A Heavenly Restriction is not a Binding Vow formed by choice. It is a physical restraint forcibly imposed at birth. It sacrifices something profound in exchange for superhuman power.
"Take Toji Zenin," Utahime explained. "He was stripped of all Cursed Energy at birth, but received an exceptionally strong physical body in return."
"Kokichi Muta represents the opposite extreme."
"He was born without a right arm and no feeling below his knees," Utahime continued, her voice tight. "His skin is so fragile that even moonlight burns it. He feels constant, agonizing pain in every pore of his body, like being stabbed by needles."
"He must live immersed in a special liquid in a dark tub. He cannot walk outside. The sacrifice of his body... gave him extraordinary Cursed Energy output."
The trio held their breath. They slowly approached the hidden door concealing Kokichi's true location.
Bang!
Megumi kicked the dilapidated door open. The basement was deserted. The tub was empty. The life-support lines were severed.
"Now we can confirm it," Nobara put a hand on her hip, solemnly pronouncing the verdict. "The mole is Mechamaru."
If he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't have fled before they arrived. Utahime looked at the empty room, her eyes filled with melancholy.
...
Somewhere in Kyoto. An unnamed valley.
A dense array of blood packs suspended in mid-air, crisscrossing mechanical lines converging on a figure wrapped in bandages. Lying on his back in a container soaked in a special liquid, Kokichi Muta spoke coldly to the intruders.
"Heal me quickly, you bastards."
Mahito fiddled with a strand of his patchwork hair, his eyes turning cold. "Why don't we just kill him, Suguru?"
"We can't," Kenjaku (Pseudo-Geto) sighed. "We made a Binding Vow. If we break the contract now that he's fulfilled his end, the unpredictable backlash will fall on us. Let's heal him first, Mahito. Otherwise... the ruthless guy coming to inspect the goods will be dissatisfied."
"Hai~ Hai~" Mahito lowered his head listlessly and stepped forward. "I thought I could enjoy killing him first."
Mahito gently stroked Kokichi's forehead as he lay in the container. He glanced at the mangled, pathetic body, his eyes filled with the utter indifference of someone looking at an insect.
"Thank me, you piece of trash."
Idle Transfiguration.
A deep purple Cursed Energy rose from Mahito's palm. The soul-shaping technique slowly spread downward, covering Kokichi's entire body. The missing right arm grew back. The flesh below the knees regenerated visibly, inch by inch. The scarred, sensitive skin smoothed out.
Kokichi stepped out of the container. He tore off the bandages binding his body. He desperately suppressed his excitement. Since birth, he had experienced inhuman torment every single day. 6,361 days later, for the first time in his life, Kokichi felt a healthy body.
But the crisis was not over.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Countless mechanical puppets emerged from the shadows behind Kokichi. He was ready to kill the Curses who had used him. Mahito grinned, preparing to fight back.
"Stop, Mahito," Kenjaku said. "The inspector is here."
Kokichi froze. The oppressive space in the room suddenly intensified a hundredfold. A figure materialized right next to him out of a spiraling void. Kokichi's pupils trembled.
Just standing in front of this man squeezed his heart and suffocated his breath.
"It's you!" Kokichi gritted his teeth. "The Head of the Zenin Clan! Zenin Mirai! You are the real mastermind behind all of this!"
Mirai looked at Kokichi with indifferent eyes. His face was calm. He had no desire to argue with a dying person. The only reason Mirai was here was to ensure Kenjaku and Mahito honored the Binding Vow.
"How is it?" Kenjaku asked from behind. "Are there any problems with the goods?"
"No," Mirai turned around, ignoring Kokichi completely. "Contract complete."
As Mirai confirmed the Vow was fulfilled, Mahito looked at the man who had brutally murdered Hanami. A grudge flared in the Curse's heart. A flickering purple flame erupted from Mahito's right palm. He enlarged his fist and slammed it directly toward the back of Mirai's head!
Idle Transfiguration!
Mirai didn't even turn around. He simply met Mahito's gaze from the corner of his blood-red eye.
Boring. Disgusting.
BOOM!
Mahito felt a sudden darkness before his eyes. An excruciating pain—like his very soul was being torn to shreds by an invisible force—instantly spread throughout his body. He didn't even see the counterattack. He was swatted to the floor like a fly, coughing up purple blood.
Mirai looked down coldly at the Special Grade Curse writhing at his feet. Mahito had high potential. If given a thousand years, he might rival Sukuna. But right now? He was nothing.
"Take him and get out of here," Mirai told Kenjaku. "While I'm still in a good mood."
Kenjaku frowned, irritated by Mahito's insubordination. He knew Zenin Mirai was a monster.
"Don't be so angry," Kenjaku smiled apologetically, grabbing Mahito by the collar. "The kid just doesn't know any better."
Kenjaku dragged the groaning Curse into the shadows. "See you in ten days, old friend."
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