Culling Game.
An event organized by Kenjaku which he planned for a millennium, in which jujutsu sorcerers from all eras will fight each other until death.
Kenjaku had made contracts with many ancient sorcerers, promising them revival in modern times, and in exchange they must participate in this one-of-its-kind event in jujutsu history.
As for the reason why he went so far, to reincarnate ancient sorcerers and cause all this havoc, even going as far as to plan and capture Satoru Gojo—
"Because Kenjaku wished to generate a huge amount of cursed energy which he needs to achieve his grand plan." said the thumb in front of us with a taxable amount of uncertainty, just because the jujutsu grandma we wished to meet turned out to be a talking thumb.
"How come you look like a thumb?" Yuji suddenly spoke my heart out. Good job, brotha, everyone needs a dumb friend like him.
"Hehehe… if you're alive for thousands of years like me, then you would look like this as well." Tengen didn't seem to get offended at Yuji's casual way of addressing her; if anything, she found it funny, while Megumi standing beside Yuji was glaring bloody murder at him for being an idiot at times like this.
"And in reality, what you're looking at currently isn't me exactly." She stated as multiple of her suddenly appeared beside her, putting every one of us on edge.
"The fact is, what you're seeing currently is just a hologram. My real body is not here; it's inside the core of the Tomb of the Star." She said while she showed us more examples of what this hologram jujutsu of hers could do.
Like changing the ceiling into projecting the sky like we were in the f*cking Hogwarts. Changing the entire area altogether, like transporting us to a forest or perhaps in the middle of a storm over an ocean.
Okay, perhaps calling her a thumb wasn't exactly right, she is mostly human-looking, besides her head which looked like a thumb; she of course had a mouth and eyes, but the general shape of her head looked like a thumb.
"Tengen… what is this grand plan you're talking about Kenjaku is after?" Maki ignored the nonsense and asked what really mattered.
Tengen didn't immediately answer. She seemed to ponder a little before finally deciding to explain.
"Kenjaku wishes to evolve the human race by merging the populace of Japan with me." Tengen stated, making half of us confused at the statement and half, who weren't interested in the jujutsu nonsense, just frown at the troubling plan.
"With you?"
"Yes," Tengen nodded, "Besides having a huge amount of cursed energy to force the evolution of humankind, he also needs a conduit or a vessel to force merge all of humans into, which would be me.
This stems from my particular technique, which forces my body to evolve after a certain time. Kenjaku wishes to exploit this particular loophole."
That brought a pause in our conversation, as if suddenly everyone realized that the majority of their troubles would be solved as long as that man didn't get his grubby paws on this human thumb.
"But how is that possible? Can he force you to evolve against your own will?" Yuta asked, somehow finding the concept unreal. Maybe there would be rules for this sort of thing as well.
"Indeed, he can't just force a merger between me and other humans with no cursed energy to start evolution.
Or at least that was the situation until recently." Tengen sighed as she stated that, once again confusing all of us further.
"What do you mean?" I asked, for the first time arguably taking part in the conversation. I would rather not, but the thumb lady was making it harder for me to keep quiet. Why do these old wise types have to talk in riddles all the time?
That finally brought Tengen's eyes onto me. She didn't immediately answer; instead, she seemed to observe me for a second or two, as if evaluating me.
"My technique grants me immortality... however, it's not exactly perfect. While the soul itself can be preserved, there are complications when preserving the body from aging after a certain time." Tengen added, and for those who knew it, they immediately connected the dots with the Star Plasma Vessel incident which took place more than a decade ago.
"Every 500 years, I have to change my body to keep my human identity intact; if I fail to do so, my body starts to change its nature."
That was news to many of them, even me. Maybe it was mentioned in the Hidden Inventory arc, but I can't quite remember. I just knew that Tengen needed Amanai Riko to switch into her body, which never happened.
"A little over a decade ago, it was once again my time to change into another human's body to keep my body from evolving. And that time, for unexplainable consequences, the merger failed." She said this, specifically looking at both Maki and Megumi.
The irony of it all.
"So, why are you saying all this to us? Does this have anything to do with why that man can control you?" Megumi asked, still not quite sure where she was going with all this.
"Yes, it does. Because once my body starts evolving, its nature changes into that of a cursed spirit."
And as if thunder struck them all, everything started to click into place.
"Geto Suguru." I was the first one to speak, immediately realizing where this was going.
"Yes...you're as smart as I thought you were." Tengen nodded with a smile towards me, which for a second made me felt she could see right through me right now.
'Does she know?' I pondered, and if she really do then how ? I was careful to hide my technique or my identity as a transmigrator. So how ?
"Geto Suguru's cursed technique, Cursed Spirit Manipulation, can control my body in its current state." Tengen stated plainly. While it wasn't her own life she was talking about, I guess a person starts to take their own life for granted way too easily after living for a thousand years or so.
Everyone else, though, was tense; this was a bad situation no matter which angle they looked at it.
"What will happen exactly if he were to get to your body and generate enough cursed energy and start the merger?" Yuji was the one who asked this time. For what it's worth, the boy was still under the guilt that it was because of him that Sukuna caused so much destruction and even Yuki died.
And a man like that looks for atonement, even when he personally had not much to do with the situation besides hosting the King of Curses in his body, and that too not by his own violation.
"Honestly, I'm uncertain. I doubt even Kenjaku knows what exactly will happen." Tengen shrugged, making a dubious face.
"But why now? Why now of all times is he suddenly making this big move if, according to you, he has been planning for thousands of years?" Yuta asked with a grave expression on his face.
Tengen nodded, "Because right now is the best time for him to act. You see, the Six Eyes of the Gojo Clan, the Star Plasma Vessel, and my merger are all connected by fate.
Kenjaku had tried to break this fate many times, even going as far as to kill the Star Plasma Vessel and the Six Eyes user to stop my assimilation with the vessel, but every time he did that, another Star Plasma Vessel or Six Eyes user emerged to complete the fate.
So instead of killing the Six Eyes user, he decided to seal him." She said, and suddenly a strange-looking cube emerged into her hand.
"That is?"
"The Prison Realm, or at least the back of it."
"Wait, you mean you had that thing all along? We can free Gojo Sensei with that?" Yuji perked up.
"Yes and no, I'll come back to it, just wait a minute." Tengen shook her head and continued.
"Besides the idea of sealing the Six Eyes user, he also had to stop my merger with the Star Plasma Vessel, which was almost impossible until that man stepped in." Tengen added and looked into Maki's eyes.
"That man?" Maki asked, already knowing who she might be talking about.
"Toji Zenin."
Both Maki and Megumi stiffened. I just had a smirk on my face. What can I say, I was a Toji fan.
"That man existed outside of the normal workings of fate and jujutsu. He broke the connection and fate by his existence alone, and my assimilation with the next Star Plasma Vessel was hindered.
And if that wasn't enough, around that time also a curse user with a technique to manipulate cursed spirits showed up." Tengen added, and we all knew who she was talking about.
Geto Suguru.
"And now, even without doing much, Kenjaku had everything he needed to start his plans."
For some time none of us spoke until finally Maki sighed out loud, "It doesn't matter what that d*ckhead has planned. We won't let it get to that point. Tengen, you know what's going on inside those barriers, don't you?
Tell us, we have wasted enough time as it is already."
Leave it to Maki to bring everyone back on track, go girl. I internally gave her a thumbs up.
"No, first explain that cube thing in your hands. Can we free Gojo Sensei with it or not?" Yuji stepped in.
"Yes… and no. It's complicated." Tengen said calmly.
"Don't worry, we're jujutsu sorcerers, we can handle complicated. Just say it." I chuckled a bit at the internal joke only I seemed to get and asked.
Everyone seemed to give a strange glance but shrugged it off, everyone but Tengen.
"Yes... yes... however, I have a condition before that. Before I explain how this cube here can free Satoru Gojo and what you all need to know before you enter those barriers Kenjaku created."
"Condition?"
"Yes…" Tengen nodded and pointed at us, specifically Yuta, Choso, and me.
"I want two of you three to stay behind and guard me."
Guard her…?
No wait.
"ME!"
xXx
A/N : Ah, Finally meeting with the Ancient Otaku Lady. And of course Tengen know him or what he is capable of, she basically knows everything which goes on in Japan. Well mostly.
Tell me how you liked the chapter, again please ignore me but I rather put all the information leading to the culling game instead of just hoping that you guys knows it already. Cause many don't or just are too confused to figure out what's going on.
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