NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60: Preparations.
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Glory to my chief Proofreader; Solare for he is the one who points out mistakes and acts as my favourite wall to bounce ideas off of.
HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!
1100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter
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10 Minutes Later.
Megumi washed his face with cold water, trying to wipe it clean of his embarrassing outburst a few minutes ago. He felt a gentle tapping on his back which brought a smile to his face, Tsumiki held a gentle smile as she let him cover his shame.
She wore a light pink long sleeved shirt over a white sweater, both of which she borrowed from Shoko since her clothes were damaged from the Soul Split Katana.
[Image (In Discord)]
"There there, you're gonna be alright."
Maki and Shoko stood behind them with amusement obvious on their faces, while they didn't judge him for his crying fit it was still a very hilarious image to witness. Maki turned to the brown haired woman beside her and whispered while covering his mouth with her hand.
"You sure she's not his Mom?"
Shoko giggled followed by the black haired woman beside her, drawing a confused look from Tsumiki who didn't hear what they said. Megumi on the other hand was able to hear it all clearly, he stayed quiet with a crimson face.
He then heard Tsumiki gasp slightly and grab him by his shoulder before pulling him to the ground, turning to face her he saw her look at his newly formed Tattoos with disdain and disgust. She pinched his cheeks before beginning to berate him.
"Eh?! What's with these marks, I taught you better than to be a Delinquent with Tattoos! Why did you do this?" Tsumiki demanded, showing uncharacteristic Rage and Strength as she manhandled the Lord of Shadows like he was a child.
"They aren't Tattoos though, I didn't get them on purpose! They just formed randomly, I don't know where they came from I swear!" Megumi defended himself desperately, he wasn't lying in that - He truly didn't know why they were forming.
"Then you better find out quickly, Young Man! I won't let my little brother walk around looking like some Two-Bit Thug if we can help it!" She replied with a pout, causing Megumi to sigh and mutter under his breath.
"Fine…"
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing! I'll try my Best.."
"Good."
Maki watched on with mouth agape in a mixture of Surprise, Disbelief and some Disgust as Megumi simply stayed there and allowed Tsumiki to both handle him like a child and order him around like one. She proceeded to place her hand on his head and ruffle his hair slightly which he didn't refuse.
'If anyone else even tried talking to him like that, he'd have already Crippled them for the insult. But he just lets her do that and pat his head? What a Fuckin' Siscon!'
A moment later, Megumi stood up from his place with a slight cough walking a bit ahead towards the two other sorcerers.
"Come on Maki, it's time to go collect our classmates for one final mission." He said as he fixed his Haori to fit properly since it was ruffled quite heavily in the past 15 minutes.
"And what would that be?" Maki questioned, still utterly unimpressed and yet curious as to what he could want.
"It's time to go collect the last of Sukuna's Fingers, I'm gonna Kill him completely with every single part of his Soul. I'll even head over to Tengen and grab his body so Sukuna can eat that too." He replied, prompting Shoko to raise an eyebrow.
"What makes you think he would just play along?" The brown haired sorcerer asked with arms crossed, taking a breath of her cigarette right after.
"Oh Trust me.. He Will." Megumi answered with an assured grin, he knew what he could offer would be simply too tantalising for the King of Curses to overlook.
"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse…"
Just as he was about to start chuckling evilly, he felt Tsumiki come up walking behind him and stand next to Shoko before speaking.
"Well, I dunno anything about this Sorcerer business and I don't really care. I gotta take care of some things, I'll call you when I'm done, 'Kay?" She turned to face him with her hands held together behind her back.
Megumi had the expression of someone who was forced to eat a lemon and was about to object when an idea sparked through his mind, his crimson eyes shined before his shadows began bubbling up.
A moment later, a perfect clone of himself emerged from his abyss. He was followed by 3 more Clones, each of which walked ahead and sank into the Shadows of Shoko and Tsumiki with 2 in the latter one of them.
"What's this?" Tsumiki questioned with immense curiosity, she was always able to see Jujutsu but it was the first time she saw her brother use actual Clones.
"An Application of my Cursed Technique, think of them kinda like Shadow Clones from Naruto- Nah, Bad example, Naruto is Trash. But you get the Jist, I can make clones. I'll keep these in your Shadow for your own safety." The Shade Lord explained but not without letting his grievances be known.
"Cool! That reminds me too, if I've been out for a Year.. Then that means that I've got a whole Year's worth of One Piece to Catch up to! Is 'Whole Cake Island' still ongoing?" Tsumiki questioned, utterly unbothered by his overprotectiveness as she had long since gotten used to it.
"Yeah, Luffy is fighting this Katakuri guy, it's been pretty fun." Maki answered while raising a finger, much to the surprise of Megumi.
"You read One Piece?" He asked, seeming almost shell shocked causing the Grade One Sorcerer to look offended.
"Why's that such a Surprise to you? I have Hobbies too, y'know?" She growled with annoyance.
"Uh-huh…" Megumi muttered, still not being very convinced.
"Everybody likes One Piece, Megumi. That's Why It's Peak Fiction, Oda-Sensei Never Misses." Shoko interjected as she used up the last of her cigarette before crushing it and throwing it out the window, uncaring of any burns she took in the act as her Reserve Cursed Technique would handle it very easily.
"Well if you say so… Anywho, there's also someone else that's been dying to see you again." The black haired man said with a grin as his shadows widened slightly to allow Blizzard to jump out of them.
The giant wolf barked with joy as he saw Tsumiki again for the first time before sprinting ahead at her with his tail wagging so fast it generated a vicious wind within the small room.
Tsumiki chuckled in amusement at the dog before crouching down and running her hands through the White Wolf's fur.
"I missed you too, Blizzard! Who's a Good Boy?"
They all looked at the heartwarming interaction with a smile, although Megumi felt a twitch in his eye which he didn't understand the reason behind. Deciding that it must be because the protection he has on his sister wasn't enough, he raised his hands at an angle and began chanting.
"With This Treasure, I Summon-"
His Chanting was cut off by Maki smacking him upside the head before grabbing him by the back of his Haori, she then began to drag him away and out of the room.
"Shut it you Creepy Siscon, you've got enough Protection on her, she's gonna be fine!" She growled, throwing open the door and marching out while ignoring his protesting. Shoko and Tsumiki simply giggled at their antics while waving them off.
…
5 Minutes Later.
Outside the Tokyo Jujutsu Tech Dorms.
"-And that's why you 2 are gonna go to this address and grab the final Sukuna Finger. " Megumi explained to his two classmates Yuji and Nobara while sending the address to their phones.
Maki wasn't around because she and the rest of the Second Years were called for an emergency mission, seemed odd since Yuta or Maki could handle pretty much any mission alone but he supposed that it wouldn't hurt to let them go have fun together and catch up after so many years of Yuta being overseas.
The black haired man then turned to Satoru before pointing at his classmates and speaking again.
"Satoru, you have to go with them and be a teacher for once. I gotta go collect Sukuna's body from Tengen." He ordered, expecting some immediate push back and was proven right moments after.
"Nah, why do I have to play babysitter?! They can take care of themselves!" Satoru rejected instantly, causing Megumi to sigh in resignation.
"Oi…" Nobara growled in annoyance, not appreciating being considered a hassle in the slightest.
"I mean.. He's kinda right, Megumi. We can take care of ourselves, no?" Yuji asked innocently, wanting to know why Megumi wanted to send them all away.
"Because I want this to go as smoothly as possible and the last Sukuna finger is located at the Island of Aogashima in Okinawa, quite literally the opposite side of Japan and Satoru is the only person that could go that far away without wasting too much time." Megumi explained, crossing his arms and continuing.
"It would be a waste of Maki's or Yuta's time to do so, same thing with me. You two could stand to learn a few things from going on this mission, so Satoru will take you there so it can be done quickly."
"What am I a Taxi?! Why can't you get Usami or some other asshole to do it?!" Satoru protested, understanding why but still not wanting to follow orders.
"Because he's already busy with protecting the new Star Plasma Vessel along with Kusakabe. And unfortunately, I have things to do so my hands are tied. Listen, you do this by tomorrow and we can fight in 3 days after that. Got it?" Megumi offered with a sigh.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE LED WITH THAT! You had me at 'fight', come on kids! No time to lose, we got a Finger to hunt!" Gojo shouted comically as he grabbed his two students and disappeared from sight in an instant.
The black haired man stared at the space where Satoru and his classmates were a few seconds ago before sighing in resignation and walking away. He felt a slight vibration in his Inventory, causing him to form a clump of shadow tendrils on his hands which dissolved away to reveal his phone within it.
He checked the notifications and smirked slightly at a message from Yuki before reading the newest notification and finding it to be from Rin.
"Young Master Kinji Hakari and Hoshi Kirara have arrived at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech, as you commanded. But Kinji Hakari is demanding to meet you before making the Decision to return to the School, something about needing to test your 'Fever'. Shall I send him away for this Disrespect?"
Megumi chuckled slightly at reading this, already expecting Hakari to act this way before replying to her.
"Don't worry about it Rin, I already knew he would say something like that. Take him to The Crater™ in the Forest, we can fight there and hash it all out."
"As Expected of You, Young Master! I shall have him delivered there within moments! I eagerly await your arrival."
"Pfffft.. Never change Rin. Never fuckin' change…" Megumi laughed softly at her message before closing his phone and throwing it back into his shadows.
He made his way towards the forest where he subjugated Mahoraga, fough Hanami and even had his first fight with Satoru. It was Truly a very reliable location for any fights, if only because it couldn't possibly be destroyed any harder.
'Hmm… Now that I think about it, Miwa has been stuck to Mechamaru like glue ever since the Incident in Shibuya.. Well I suppose she finally got to meet her boyfriend in person after so many years, so she's content with him.' Megumi thought as he jumped into the air to head over to the forest quickly.
"Oh well, I only grabbed her from Kyoto cuz I wanted a spare Simple Domain User to use and send out on emergencies, she can have fun with Kokichi for now as long as he keeps capturing Curses for me I don't care what else he does. Not like she would have any other use and it's not Worth the Effort to Train her…"
His words weren't meant to be ones of mocking, he simply didn't see a point in doing so since she just doesn't have the Potential nor the Ambition required to become Strong.
A few moments later, he landed in the Forest, immediately catching the attention of 3 different figures which he recognised. They didn't notice his arrival due to his Cursed Energy Trait which clicked for him a moment later and prompted him to reveal his presence slightly.
They all swiftly turned to face him with some shock on his Upperclassmen's faces, although Rin simply faced him with a smile and bowed before greeting him.
"Greetings, Young Master. These are Kinji Hakari and Hoshi Kirara-" Rin called out but was cut off by the Purple haired man beside her.
"Ain't nobody care about that shit! Yo Edgelord Furry! You're the one that calls the Shots around here right?! I can't join Jujutsu High again without checking out your Fever! Fight me!" Hakari shouted immediately, drawing an offended gasp from Rin and an amused sigh from Kirara.
[Image (In Discord)]
"How Dare-!" Rin growled but was cut off again by a low chuckle coming from Megumi.
"My My~! You have some balls, don't you? Fine then, go on and cast your Domain already. Let's get this over with." The Divine Lord stated with some cheer in his voice, although it was obvious to Rin and Kirara that it held only promises of nearly limitless pain.
"But if I win, you have to join the school again without complaints." He ordered, incurring a Binding Vow while quietly summoning a Shikigami within his Shadow.
"DEAL!" Hakari shouted, accepting the Binding Vow without a second thought.
"Kin-chan, maybe this isn't a good idea-!" Kirara called out, but it didn't matter as the purple haired sorcerer rushed ahead with a laugh before making his hand sign and chanting.
"Domain Expansion: Idle Death Gamble!"
The Lord of Shadows was swallowed by a Domain barrier, leaving him in an empty space of nothingness as Pachinko Machines spawned all around them. Information flowed into Megumi's brain and told him exactly what the effect of the Domain would do.
"How overly complex, don't you think? All of these rules and stipulations in your Domain, essentially you become Immortal for 4 Minutes and 11 Seconds if you hit a Jackpot with these Pachinko Machines, correct?" Megumi asked casually as he reached to activate an Incarnation.
"Exactly, now come here and show me your Fever!" Hakari shouted as he was about to rush ahead, the Pachinko Machines around him beginning to spin.
"I see, but I should probably remind you of something…" The Divine Lord called out with a devilish grin before disappearing from his place.
Hakari widened his eyes as he felt a nigh demonic pressure appear behind him, turning to face it all he saw was 2 Goldish Crimson eyes staring back at him with an arm raised.
"Domains are Directly linked to the user!"
A Devastating Haymaker landed directly into Hakari's chest, sending a shockwave reverberating throughout the Domain right as the Pachinko Machines stopped rolling.
"5 9 3"
After 19 years, it seems like Kinji Hakari's luck.. Had Finally Ran Out.
Hakari coughed blood as he was sent flying and was caught by something he didn't notice forming in the first place, he was immediately crushed into the ground by a giant fist.
The Divine General stood over the Restless Gambler as the Domain around them crumbled into dust, the user had taken too much Damage too Quickly and forced it to be dissolved.
"Think Hakari, Think!"
Megumi Fushiguro walked over to the laid out Hakari and looked down on him before crouching down near him and pointing towards his own head with two fingers and lecturing him.
"Domains are always linked to their User! Doesn't matter what Sure-Hit you got or if you can become Immortal, if I damage you enough before you land a Jackpot the Domain crumbles away anyways." He explained, before reaching his hand forwards and placing a hand on his shoulder.
Mahoraga came up and looked at Hakari with a grin from the side, it was obvious that both General and Lord were not taking their opponent seriously in the slightest. Especially so when he was broken out of his Domain and was currently in Cursed Technique Burn Out, rendering him without the ability to fight back.
"You are not Him. Just pack it up my guy."
With that over and done with, Megumi simply walked away and left the still near shell shocked gambler behind. He walked past Kirara who rushed over to Hakari to check on him.
"Rin, contact Tengen – I need to talk to her." The Lord of Shadows ordered, drawing a slight bow from his servant.
"Of course, Young Master." She said before bringing out her phone and calling someone, following her Lord as he walked away.
"Yo! I'm not done with you!" Hakari called out in indignation, still not having had his fill of their battle despite being overpowered.
"Listen Hakari, as much as there is nothing I would rather do than Sit here and Listen to you Bluster at me until the Heat Death of the Universe – I literally have a Million Better Things to Do." Megumi replied with a small sigh as he turned back to face the third year.
"If this is that important to you, then we can fight again some other time and I'll even wait for you to land a Jackpot. Otherwise? Bite Me."
That arrangement was good enough for the Restless Gambler as he walked away with a grin in the direction Principal Yaga's Office was last he remembered.
"His Office is the other way." Megumi informed before continuing to walk away with Rin.
"HAH?! What happened, I swear it was the other way!"
"I Black Flashed Suguru Geto into it about a Year ago, he relocated it to be as far away from this forest as possible to avoid it being accidentally destroyed by me again."
"That's fucking Hilarious! You just might have some Decent Fever after all!"
…
30 Minutes Later.
Tomb of the Star Corridor.
Megumi walked through Tengen's signature Empty Barriers, finding himself to be in a familiar green plane filled with lush plant growth and a hill that held a giant tree with Golden leaves.
"Zen'in Megumi, welcome! To what do I owe the pleasure? Your servant mentioned you required some assistance?" Tengen called out with a pleasant smile as soon as he entered from the top of the hill.
"Hello to you as well, Tengen. I'm here to ask some questions and to grab something important, if you'll indulge me?" Megumi answered while walking towards her.
"I would be happy to help, come in – I had my servants prepare some food and drink for your arrival." She waved for him to come closer so they could talk.
'Huh.. Well I guess anyone would get somewhat lonely if they were to become Immortal. And given that I'll probably become immortal too, I might as well get to know her. She might be the only person that'll live as long as I will.' He thought before making his way towards her.
A few minutes later, they sat on a picnic cloth again as they began speaking casually.
"If you don't mind me questioning you first, could you kindly inform me about the status of the Star Plasma Vessel?" Tengen started as she offered the black haired sorcerer some tea which he took with a quiet thanks.
"She and her caretakers are currently being guarded by the Grade One Sorcerers 'Usami' and 'Kusakabe', last I heard they were taking turns sleeping to make sure they don't leave her unguarded. I plan to transfer her to the Zen'in Clan grounds soon but it's currently under reformation, so that will have to wait until Akane is done with her work."
After finishing his explanation, Megumi reached ahead and grabbed the tea cup before taking a small sip. It was slightly bitter but he couldn't say he hated the flavour.
"I see. I am glad to hear that you have been taking my request seriously. Now, please ask away." Tengen thanked with a small smile and prompted her guest to continue.
Megumi hummed in response before reaching up to his Haori and pulling it away, revealing the Tattoos he had formed near his shoulder.
"Do you know anything about how these marks would have formed on my body? They had started shortly after I killed Kenjaku, could that have had anything to do with it?" He asked, showing her the marks of both Nue's Feathers and Nyx's form.
"...I see. Yes, I do have an idea as to where it came from. In fact, I have seen another go under the same process as you have. But in the end, this is just a theory." Tengen replied with a slight grimace.
"Who was it?"
"The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna."
Now that had gotten the Divine Lord's attention like no other, his eyes widened as he prompted the Immortal Sorcerer to continue speaking.
"I think they could be considered a Manifestation of Faith and Prayer, Ryomen Sukuna also had the same happen to him. He wasn't Born with his Tattoos, they were burned into him as he walked his Path to the Top." She explained, recounting the swathe of Carnage he had bore into the world with his presence.
"A Cult of his own had formed through time, they worshipped and Glorified his Ideal of 'Carnage'. Believing that only with Chaos that the World could be righted once again. They called themselves 'The Church of the Cursed Monarch' if I recall correctly, you faced them once before too didn't you?"
Megumi's eyes widened even further as he remembered the name, it was the same as the name of the Cult where he faced that 'False Sukuna' and Awakened his Domain Expansion for the first time so many Years ago.
"Yes, I recall. I suppose that makes sense, but how would I have gotten such a Huge Amount of Prayers and Belief that it would manifest on me as well?" He questioned, still unsure of the whole situation, drawing a small hum from Tengen.
"Take a Look."
The Empty Barriers around them shifted and morphed as reality bent under the Immortal Sorcerer's Will, a moment later they were both sitting in the middle of an Opera Hall.
Then the stage morphed into a huge screen which showed a huge crowd of people speaking to each other, all of them wore some similar clothing and most curiously some were watching recordings of his battles against Kenjaku and Sukuna.
Some were even performing what were obviously religious rituals of vague significance. It wasn't immediately obvious what they were doing at a first glance.
One man stood atop a pedestal and looked to be preaching to a huge crowd of people, behind him was a huge screen which showed his speech in live time for those that couldn't hear him properly.
"For it is HE that they Fear! Not man, or his Armies! They Fear his all encompassing Abyss!"
"It seems that after your Feats during the night of the Shibuya Eclipse, a Cult had formed. They call themselves 'The Cult of Shadows', a rather apt name don't you think?" Tengen revealed with a small smile as the preacher continued on, the crowd seeming very into his nonsensical Religious drivel.
"Well.. I can't exactly fault them for the on the nose naming convention. Not like I can come up with any better names." Megumi said, his lip twitching somewhat at the realisation that this all started because Mechamaru decided to show his fights to so many people on a whim.
"I suppose so. In any case, they likely form directly from your legends. So your Lesser Known Shikigami like Gama or Rabbit Escape wouldn't form any time soon but more glamorous ones such as the Tranquil Deer and the Divine Guard are very likely to form." She replied with some amusement at his reaction.
The Lord of Shadows didn't really know how to feel about a Cult being formed in his name, perhaps a few days ago he would have been delighted but now he wasn't so sure. At the very least, it was rather heartwarming to see that his hard work is being appreciated
"In any case, I wanted to ask. Could you guide me to where Sukuna's mummified corpse is? I heard from a reliable source that it should be in your possession." He asked after a few moments of silence, causing all 4 of Tengen's eyes to widen.
"Why do you ask?"
"I plan to remove all traces of Sukuna by killing him after separating him from his current vessel, Itadori Yuji. So I might as well remove his body as well, no?" The Lord of Shadows declared with a confident grin.
Tengen stayed silent for a few moments as she mulled over his words before choosing to trust that he could do it since he had beaten Sukuna once before. She nodded as the world around them peeled away once again, releasing them into a cave system that had water flowing over the ground.
She gestured for him to follow her, the two of them walked in silence as a minute later they stood before a Mummified Corpse wearing Traditional Nobel Japanese clothes. It had 4 eyes although in a different configuration to Tengen.
It was the Mummified Corpse of Ryomen Sukuna, The King of Curses.
[Image (In Discord)]
Megumi Fushiguro grinned at the sight before walking ahead and taking the Corpse into his Abyss so he could give it to Sukuna on a later date. He then turned around and made yet another request of the Immortal Sorcerer.
"I Apologise for asking so much of you, Tengen. But could you Host a Battle between Satoru Gojo and I? You could make a Faux Battleground for us for our battle, any other place would be too dangerous or cause unnecessary property Damage whereas you could make us a whole city without trouble."
"Hm… I could do that I suppose, if I must. But do you Really think you Could Win against the Honoured One?"
"Well, if Satoru used all his Power from the Start and went for the Killing Blow then I might have a Little Trouble."
"But Would You Lose?"
"NAH, I'D WIN."
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1100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter
Author's Note:
The Fated Showdown between The Honoured One and The Lord of Shadows is Nigh!
I'd Recommend rereading their first fight before reading the next chapter if ya want a really cool easter egg.
ALSO!
I forgor to tell y'all this, but Sukuna has already been dealt with and the fic has been COMPLETED in the Patreon…
So from now, I'm gonna switch to Daily Uploads till we're done!
See y'all tmrw : )
…
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Next Chapter Title: Declaration of The Strongest.
…
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