Domain of Dagon — a tropical sandy beach.
The white sand was as fine as silver, the sea blue and clear, and the shadows of coconut trees swayed. It should have been a scene from a festive paradise. A slightly crude beach chair was dragged into the shade of a tree.
On the chair sat a "little kid" only about a meter tall, with short silver-blue hair, a face as delicate as a doll, but with a pair of heterochromatic eyes. He was barefoot, his short legs swinging impatiently in the air, wearing a children's Hawaiian shirt that was clearly too big, looking a bit comical. This was Mahito, who had transformed his body and temporarily taken on the appearance of a child.
At that moment, he puffed out his cheeks, his heterochromatic eyes full of undisguised grievance, staring at Jogo, who was lying on the charred reef.
"So…" Mahito dragged out the melody, but the clear voice of a child sounded more like begging for forgiveness. "You just watched me like that, watched me get taken by that bastard, and then walked into that dragon's pool and tiger's den? That hellhole of the Naraku Sect! That woman named Naraku almost turned me into some kind of unrecognizable mess I could never recover from!"
The more he spoke, the angrier he got, waving his short arms. "Do you know how terrifying that woman is?! Huh? The way she looked at my soul was no different from looking at rotten meat on a dissection table waiting to be cut up! My Idle Transfiguration was as helpless as a child pinching Play-Doh in front of her!"
Jogo sat on the reef, his head still emitting a faint smell of sulfur. His single eye looked at the excited little Mahito, his stone-like face expressionless, only a dull hmm escaping him as he said impatiently:
"Stop splashing around here. Didn't you leave a 'hand' long ago?" Jogo used his rough finger to point to a spot a little distance away on the beach—there was a small shadow, and within the shadow seemed to float a cloud of gray-white, soul-like mass, constantly slowly squirming and changing its facial contours, emanating from the same source as Mahito, but more weakly chaotic.
"Isn't your 'core' placed there, nourished by Hanami's cursed energy?" There was a hint of impatience in Jogo's voice, as if asking with understanding, "Even if your body, which followed Kenjaku, was really taken apart by the Naraku woman, or even obliterated by that Zen'in Genji, as long as this 'core' is still there, Hanami can take the time and use its cursed energy to 'reshape' you again."
"At worst, it takes time, some loss of memory and power, but you won't die. Isn't that the confidence you rely on to go everywhere?"
This was Mahito's special way of saving himself, the possessor of "Idle Transfiguration." He could detach a core and a small part of his soul and preserve them as a "backup" or "seed." As long as this part of the core is not destroyed, even if the external body and most of the soul are destroyed, theoretically, it is possible to use cursed energy and soul matter to restore the body and slowly revive consciousness.
Of course, the process is long, the risks are considerable, and there are philosophical and technical questions about whether the resurrected "Mahito" is truly the same original Mahito.
Hearing this from Jogo, the exaggerated displeasure on Mahito's childlike face subsided a bit, but an extremely subtle, almost cold depth flickered in his heterochromatic pupils. He stopped swinging his legs, propped up his chin with his little hand, and said in a calm tone that didn't match his age:
"Resurrect... I can be resurrected. But, Jogo, have you ever thought about this?" He looked up, and those monstrous eyes stared at Jogo:
"With this 'core,' the 'thing' restored using Hanami's power... Is it really necessarily 'me'? Will it have all my memories? Will it inherit all my 'interests' and my 'love' for soul distortion? Or is it just an empty shell with a part of 'Mahito's' data, called 'Mahito'? Or... a new, unknown 'curse' born from my basic characteristics?"
He shook his head slightly, his voice lowering. "The soul is a very complex thing. If a corner is missing, if some detail is missing, or if it's all broken and reassembled... What comes out might not necessarily have the original flavor."
"The resurrected Mahito might still be interested in soul experiments, but might no longer find it 'interesting'; might laugh, but might not be happy because 'he' is happy... Sometimes, the difference between such 'resurrection' and complete 'death' isn't that great."
Jogo opened his mouth, his thoughts in his stone head were relatively straightforward, and he rarely pondered such philosophical questions about the essence of existence. He didn't think much about it for himself, only thinking about the rebirth of a cursed spirit. His own life wasn't something to worry about, standing on the side of nature as a cursed spirit.
Mahito seemed unwilling to delve deeper into this issue; he waved his little hand, as if trying to dispel the heavy thoughts.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this."
As soon as his mind changed, his heterochromatic pupils lit up again with their familiar light, full of calculation and mad interest: "Change the subject. That Naraku woman seems to have been 'taken apart' by Zen'in Genji, but according to Fujiwara-sama, she's still alive."
"So, considering her, the leader, and Sukuna, who is uncontrollable but will definitely stand on the opposite side of Zen'in Genji..."
Mahito counted on his short fingers, and an innocent but chillingly sweet smile appeared on his face:
"In that sense, isn't our high-end combat power quite substantial? Dealing with Zen'in Genji and Satoru Gojo... isn't that more than enough?"
There was an optimism in his voice, as if he saw a plan for victory.
However, at that moment, a calm, soft, but undeniably flat voice came from the side. Hanami, who had been standing quietly under the coconut tree, slowly swaying the fluorescent flower in her hand, spoke softly. Her voice sounded directly in the minds of Mahito and Jogo, like the rustle of leaves in the wind:
"Mahito, your calculation overlooks the most critical problem."
Mahito turned his head and looked at Hanami.
Hanami's face, hidden behind a branch mask, seemed to turn into the distance, as if looking towards where Zen'in Genji was:
"Zen'in Genji's restraint over cursed spirits like us cannot be overcome by numbers." She spoke slowly, the clarity of a plant in her voice, understanding the essence of the matter:
"That Mahoraga is a natural enemy and nemesis for us."
Hanami paused, the light of the little flower in her hand dimming for a moment:
"Unless we can overcome the essential constraints of the 'cursed spirit' existence and dispel the instinctive fear and restraint of 'positive' power, then no matter how powerful our cursed energy and how strange our techniques, before Zen'in Genji, we are like moths to a flame."
"If even Sukuna cannot defeat Zen'in Genji in a head-on battle..." Hanami's voice finally dropped, with a soft, cold sigh: "Then no matter how many cursed spirits like me, like Jogo, or even the leader, I'm afraid the result will be the same."
Silence fell over the beach for a while, only the sound of waves lapping against the shore.
The innocent smile on Mahito's face gradually faded. He was silent, the light in his heterochromatic eyes flickering rapidly, digesting Hanami's words. After a long time, he slowly nodded, a mixture of frustration, clarity, and deeper calculation appearing on his face.
"I see... No wonder," he murmured to himself. "No wonder Fujiwara-sama went to such lengths to drag that half-dead 'Naraku' into this game. Didn't even hesitate to help her create a cult and endure her arrogance..."
He looked up, looked at Hanami and Jogo, and enunciated a cruel and clear conclusion:
"Because, according to your words, among all the beings we know so far, the only one who can stand on the opposite side of Zen'in Genji... The only possibility to break the fundamental constraints of a 'cursed spirit' and fight or even defeat that monster, as an incomplete 'cursed spirit'..."
"There is only one left: the one who is both the 'cursed spirit of death' and half-human, with an inexplicable human bloodline."
"That's it."
"Yes, only Naraku, with her human blood, has enough potential and confidence to stand against Zen'in Genji."