"Everyone..."
Yuji Itadori looked up at the three of them, his eyes filled with indescribable emotion.
"Hey, so it's you, you patchwork bastard, bullying our junior?"
Nobara Kugisaki stood with one hand on her hip, her Cursed Energy rising.
"Heh, another group of Sorcerers coming to their deaths."
Mahito noted that their Cursed Energy output didn't reach the Special Grade level, and none of them were vessels for a particular monster. To him, they were just flies. He only needed to touch them lightly with Idle Transfiguration.
Nobara strode forward.
'I'll kill her first!' Mahito thought. 'Killing his friend right in front of him will break Itadori completely!'
A strange, vile Cursed Energy surged into Mahito's hand. With a sinister grin, he charged forward.
Nobara looked up and met the Curse's malicious gaze. A villainous smirk played on her own lips.
"I have no desire to associate with a loser like you."
With a crisp snap of her fingers, Nobara coldly uttered one word: "Resonance!"
The long nail that she had just driven into Mahito's clone unleashed a soul-piercing curse!
The excruciating sensation traveled from the clone directly back to the main body!
Mahito froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, his eyes rolling back.
His natural enemies were not limited to Yuji Itadori!
The pain surging through his soul reminded him of the existence of a second natural enemy—the girl with the hammer.
BOOM!!
The Shikigami Divine Dog: Totality descended with its sharp fangs! Maki slashed down with her Naginata! And Yuji, his fists filled with rage, struck simultaneously!
The moment Mahito lost his focus, the trio launched an attack in perfect unison!
Megumi and Maki's physical attacks weren't the main problem, but Yuji's fists, imbued with Cursed Energy, struck straight at the contours of the soul!
Purple lines of blood shot out from Mahito's eyes, nose, and mouth!
The Curse was immersed in excruciating pain, infinitely close to the edge of death.
The beatdown was relentless.
'Strike while the iron is hot and kill him!'
Nobara pulled out a series of long nails and swung her hammer down! The three fighters launched a coordinated assault, firmly preventing Mahito from escaping.
'Die! I'm going to die!'
Mahito's mind was filled with panic.
...
"Ultimate Cannon!"
Accompanied by a lively, mechanical tone, a blazing beam of Cursed Energy shot straight onto the battlefield!
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion engulfed the area, throwing everyone back.
Stepping through the dust and debris, White Zetsu—with a cigar in his mouth—yanked Mahito out of the ruins by his hair.
Kokichi Muta's original body required the heavy Ultimate Mechamaru puppet to fire that Cursed Ray. But White Zetsu, possessing a Cursed Spirit's physique, directly used his physical body as the cannon!
The wisps of smoke rising from his palm and the gaping hole in his arm healed in an instant. No Reverse Cursed Technique was needed; as long as his Cursed Energy wasn't exhausted, a Cursed Spirit's body was indestructible.
"White Zetsu?!"
Maki, Nobara, and Megumi looked at the man who had just saved Mahito with surprise and uncertainty.
"Sorry, everyone. This guy can't die yet."
Zetsu grabbed Mahito by the back of the neck and swung him around casually like a wet rag.
"WHY?!!"
Blinded by rage, trauma, and grief, Yuji gritted his teeth. "Why did you save this beast?!"
"In the end, White Zetsu... you're not our comrade at all! You're nothing but a monster that doesn't care about human life!"
"Itadori..." Maki and Megumi wore complicated expressions, glancing between Zetsu and Yuji.
Zetsu narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression turning cold.
He wanted to open his mouth to explain something—to defend himself—but in the end, he remained silent.
'That's fine,' Zetsu thought. 'The Pink Gorilla is an indispensable part of Mirai's future plan anyway. I don't need his understanding.'
"Idle Transfiguration!"
So much for gratitude for saving his life!
The utterly heartless Mahito unleashed a deadly sneak attack the moment Zetsu lost his focus!
'Even a Cursed Spirit will die if its soul is destroyed!' Mahito reasoned. 'Zenin Mirai terrifies me, but I can vent my anger on his lackey!'
The malice at the corner of Mahito's mouth grew larger, and dense Cursed Energy rose from his palm.
"CAREFUL!!" Nobara and Maki both exclaimed in surprise.
Even Yuji, who had just been cursing Zetsu, showed obvious worry.
Smack.
Mahito's blood-stained hand gently touched White Zetsu's side.
The next second...
The smile on Mahito's face froze. His expression became utterly dazed.
"VOMIT!!!"
Pools of purple blood spilled endlessly from Mahito's mouth and nose! His brain went into a state of total malfunction!
...
Does the soul reside in the body? Or is the soul encased by the body?
The answer was the latter. The soul always came before the body and was far more important.
As Mahito—the Curse who regarded the soul as everything—touched White Zetsu... he saw it.
A sense of unimaginable desolation, weight, and grandeur.
It was like an ant gazing up at a towering, infinite mountain.
It was a soul essence that was even more terrifying and ancient than the soul of Ryomen Sukuna! It was completely beyond human or Cursed Spirit comprehension.
Let alone destroying it... just taking one step into White Zetsu's soul realm was enough to severely injure Mahito!
"What an idiot," Zetsu released his grip and stepped on Mahito's head.
He wiped the bloodstains off his black robe with disgust, muttering sarcastic remarks.
"You dared to touch Master Zetsu's soul? You're lucky you're still alive, you moron."
In terms of the sheer quality and age of their souls, no one in this world could compare to White Zetsu. Not even Zenin Mirai.
If it weren't for the fact that a Cursed Spirit's physical body couldn't handle the strain of possessing a human, Zetsu would be truly invincible. Whoever touched him would die instantly from the sheer planetary weight of his soul.
Zetsu's white, size-10 shoe rolled over Mahito's face, leaving a trail of dark footprints.
"You're not dead, are you?" Zetsu shrugged, his tone slightly helpless. "If you die here, the rest of the show can't continue."
"Hello? Hello? HELLO!"
It was a gentle wake-up service. Zetsu violently kicked Mahito in the face! Pools of blood splattered everywhere!
Nobara, Maki, and Megumi stared at Mahito, whose neck was turned 180 degrees, his mouth twitching.
'Is Zetsu really here to save this guy?' they wondered. 'He's being much more ruthless than we were!'
"Cough, cough!"
Mahito writhed on the ground, crawling in a puddle of his own blood like a maggot. Those suddenly opened eyes still held lingering, absolute fear.
"What... what ARE you?!" Mahito looked up at White Zetsu in horror.
Is this truly a Curse born from negative human emotions? No... this is the resentment of a planet itself! This is a higher species!
This isn't a natural enemy... it's Death!
"It's good that you're awake."
Zetsu didn't answer the question. He patted his chest and lit a new cigar.
He took a step forward, took a deep drag, and then... delivered a powerful dropkick!
BANG!!
With a single kick, he sent Mahito flying like a football a hundred meters down the street!
Zetsu slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. Since simple physical contact couldn't permanently harm Mahito's soul, what appeared to be a deadly attack merely sent him flying away.
"You go, Itadori. That guy isn't dead yet."
Zetsu didn't look at the boy, and he didn't use the nickname "Pink Gorilla."
Yuji pursed his lips. Without saying a word, he rushed down the street in the direction Mahito had flown.
Nobara, Maki, and Megumi immediately took a step to follow him to help.
Suddenly, a terrifying Cursed Energy surged forth!
"Domain Expansion..."
"Thousand Burials of White Spirits!"
Zetsu stood in their path.
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