Chapter 64: Chapter 35. Crossing the Threshold (Part 3)
Shibuya Station.
21:25
"You're oddly composed," smirked Pseudo-Geto, scrutinizing Satoru's restrained expression. "It's dull! Why even bother preparing for our encounter?"
"It's rather presumptuous to assume that I," Satoru stressed the last word, showing his disdain. "Prepared for a meeting with you," he emphasized again, expressing his double contempt.
"Really? I find it hard to believe you didn't miss me, considering how long it's been since we last met. Don't tell me you didn't feel any longing!" Pseudo-Geto smirked, skeptically raising his eyebrows.
"In my plans, I never included longing for Geto," Satoru sarcastically snorted. "And how could that be related to such a hypocrite like you? Quite an amusing comparison, don't you think?"
"How far you've fallen," Kenjaku slowed down, realizing the humiliating position of the white-haired Sorcerer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it... Although now, I think I did," the man smirked boldly, using Satoru's own tactic against him.
"Geto annoyed me before, but you're an even bigger jerk," muttered Satoru.
"Comparing my technique to hypocrisy is like equating 'Infinity' to invincibility," Kenjaku dismissed the harsh words with a smirk, beginning to loosen the stitch on his forehead. "It sounds amusing, but in reality, it doesn't capture even a fraction of the truth."
With horror, Satoru watched as Kenjaku removed the top part of his skull, revealing the brain, in the center of which lay a grotesque mouth peeking out from the depths, like the gates to hell. In an instant, the teeth of this mouth unpleasantly ground, causing a shiver of disgust down Satoru's spine and recreating the vile, insane grin that froze on Pseudo-Geto's face.
"My damned technique allows me to jump between bodies by swapping brains. Of course, as you've already noticed, this allows me to use cursed techniques embedded in the body," Kenjaku chuckled strangely. "Suguru Geto didn't realize the full power of his technique, so I generously offered my help and transformed his 'Cursed Manipulation Technique.'"
"It's infuriating," Satoru gritted through his teeth.
"What a dull reaction!" Kenjaku exclaimed discontentedly. "Because of you, I acquired such a wonderful 'vessel,' as it was your initiative that prevented Shoko Ieiri from getting rid of Suguru Geto's body!"
Silence fell between them. Regardless of what was going on in Satoru Gojo's mind, he didn't show it. In reality, even though he had mentally prepared himself, the man still couldn't believe his eyes, and deep down, he was so shocked that he found it difficult to find the right words, which is why each of his sentences was surprisingly short for someone with such a loose tongue. Outwardly, however, Satoru was indifferent to the fact that his best friend's body had been stolen, and only his cold and sober mind was the response to all of Kenjaku's taunts.
"Stop tormenting me with your gaze, it's making me embarrassed," Kenjaku theatrically covered his face with his hand, breaking the awkward silence. "Although, I'm glad this awkward moment cleared up on its own thanks to your indifferent reaction. On the other hand, I even regret a little that I didn't finish off Sukehiro Yami and Kokichi Muta back then, it would've been interesting to see your 'real' reaction to my appearance."
"And that's it?" Satoru suddenly addressed the man who was looking down on him.
"'And that's it?'" Kenjaku repeated in surprise. "How can you describe a situation where I've taken possession of your best friend's body and sealed you away for centuries with just the phrase: 'And that's it'?"
"Again, Suguru was a damn arrogant idiot," Satoru calmly replied, as if it were self-evident. "And you, by stealing his body, inherited that. In the end, it's too presumptuous to think that by getting rid of me, you can shake the Sorcerer world so much that others won't handle it."
For Satoru Gojo, there were no rules! So even about the dead, he spoke boldly with a fair amount of irritation and dissatisfaction. On the other hand, it was precisely this attitude that helped the "Strongest" train a new generation of Sorcerers so thoroughly that he was absolutely confident in them, even against such a threat as this unknown Sorcerer and a group of specially ranked curses behind him.
It's amusing that at that moment, Satoru only experienced negative emotions toward himself, a rarity as uncommon as the sun rising from the side of the Sea of Japan.He was filled with anger for allowing Kenjaku to use Suguru's body and strong dissatisfaction for making a mistake and getting into such a troublesome and embarrassing situation. In everything else, Satoru Gojo felt only confidence and calmness, because after him, there would be his dear students. Moreover, if Sukehiro couldn't handle all this crap and kicked the bucket faster than Satoru got out of this trap, then the "Strongest" would personally retrieve him from hell and shove him back there, but with his own hands.
In response, Kenjaku laughed loudly. His laughter lasted for a long ten seconds until he put the top part of his skull back on, wiping away tears in the process.
"In this world, there will be no other Satoru Gojo. Neither Okkotsu Yuta with his 'power of love,' nor Yami Sukehiro with his 'talents,' none of them will be worthy to be called you," Kenjaku declared, addressing Satoru.
"Did you come to seal me or to praise me to death?" Satoru shot an annoyed glance towards the man in monk attire.
"Indeed, it's time to say goodbye, Gojo Satoru," shaking out his sleeves, Kenjaku put on his usual serene expression. "Let's meet again in a new world."
"Yes, it seems it's time for me to relinquish control," Satoru rolled his eyes, then his tone abruptly changed. "But it's time for you to assert your rights, Suguru. How long will you allow yourself to be used like this?"
At that moment, Suguru Geto's right hand shot towards his neck, squeezing it tightly. Such a sudden change in the situation caused shock and a momentary hesitation among those around, which was interrupted by Kenjaku's deep and satisfied laughter.
"It can't be!"
"Geto..." Mahito dashed towards the man.
"Mahito, just look," Kenjaku regained control over his body, his voice steady. "You thought the soul was primary to the body, but in reality, the body is the soul, and the soul is the body. Otherwise, the phenomenon of memories that I retain even when changing vessels cannot be explained."
"And does this apply to everyone?" Mahito's expression twisted slightly. "Considering our cursed techniques, you and I literally live in different worlds."
"So, techniques dictate the rules of our world?" Kenjaku speculated, flexing his right arm. "I like it! How poetic..."
Listening to all this nonsense, Satoru couldn't help but shake his head. Until recently, he himself didn't fully understand the intricacies of the soul, but now, hearing something as erroneous as Kenjaku's theory, an almost smug smirk formed on his face.
"Idiots didn't know what they were talking about!" he thought.
The level of trust in Sukehiro's words was incredible, as there was no other way to explain it.
"And how long will you two coo like doves?" Satoru spoke discontentedly. "I'm already nauseated by the sight of you both."
"Well, your sight, on the contrary, pleases me," Kenjaku smirked. "But you're right, we can't allow the risks to escalate."
Kenjaku exchanged glances with Mahito, then surveyed the surroundings before fixing his gaze on Satoru again.
"Close. The gate."
Two words, like the judgment of an ancient judge, descended upon Satoru Gojo. And in the next moment, the mass of flesh, along with the stony particles, collapsed, taking the form of a small cube with multiple eyes along each side.
"And that's it?" Mahito exclaimed, pointing a finger at the eye on the cube.
"Is this some kind of youth trend?" Kenjaku raised an eyebrow.
Mahito awkwardly chuckled, scratching his head, and replied, "Sorry, sorry, I just thought it would look more spectacular, you know," after a short pause, the cursed spirit glanced at the cube in Kenjaku's hands. "We won't be able to use it anymore, right?"
"Yes, only one prisoner at a time," the man in monk attire's voice betrayed no hint of disappointment. "Would you like to use it?"
"No," Mahito shook his head, realizing that they couldn't find a better victim for this item than the strongest Sorcerer of this world.
Kenjaku only cast a cursory glance at the curse. He had no intention of letting anyone else use the "Prison Realm." Besides, after tonight, Mahito would hardly want to use anything. The corners of Kenjaku's lips lifted slightly in a smile, unnoticed by both Mahito and the approaching group of curses.
"It seems you're all fine, guys," Pseudo-Geto said cheerfully.
Around him, a group of creatures had gathered, emanating a sense of threat that would make an ordinary person nauseous in an instant.
There they were, lined up to the left: the always cheerful Mahito, the surprisingly calm Jogo, the unusual creature resembling a bright red octopus with a round head, large round eyes, and striped tentacles around its mouth, and the most human-looking member of the group — a man with long dark hair tied up in two high tails that stuck up and out to the sides. His small violet eyes surveyed the surroundings without any interest, but his most noticeable feature was a black rectangular line crossing his face through the bridge of his nose.
"Now, let's move on to the next step..." suddenly, in the middle of his announcement, Kenjaku felt a strange tremor in the hand holding the "Prison Realm."
"Is something wrong?" Jogo, who had approached closer, instantly noticed the change in the "Sorcerer's" behavior and addressed him with a question.
Instead of answering, Kenjaku abruptly released the cube from his grasp, causing it to fall to the ground, creating an incredible crash and forming a small dent beneath it.
"That guy!" For the first time in a very long time, Kenjaku's face contorted with anger and irritation.
***
At the same time, near Gate 13 at Shibuya Station, holding the lifeless body of a boy by the throat, whose face bore no trace of recognition, I suddenly heard Kokichi's voice in my ear:
"Sukehiro..."
"So, the idiot finally screwed up," I interrupted him with my own sigh.
Maybe somewhere deep down, in the recesses of my mind, I would have wanted things to work out for Satoru, but now, fully aware of the fact that Satoru was being sealed, I took a deep breath, feeling my body fill with calmness and certainty... It was the beginning of a new world, the beginning of a great battle, the beginning of the "Conspirator" ritual.
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