Itadori's eyes widened as he listened. An emperor kneeling? A living god? These words were completely beyond the understanding of an ordinary high school student.
"As for the cursed spirits…" There was a hint of emotion in Satoru Gojo's voice. "Let's put it this way: during the period when Zen'in Genji was active—especially after his power reached its peak and he performed unprecedented feats—the frequency and intensity of cursed spirit appearances in the Japanese archipelago, no, according to some rare records, probably on a global scale, were suppressed to an unimaginably low level for later generations."
"Cursed spirits powerful enough to cause disasters almost disappeared, and ordinary cursed spirits were very few. To put it less dramatically, he almost single-handedly drove the cursed spirits that could threaten humanity in that era to the brink of 'extinction.' That period is considered a rare 'peaceful' era in the history of sorcerers, and that 'peace' was largely based on the invincible deterrent power of Zen'in Genji as an 'irregular' individual."
"Extinction…" Itadori repeated, finding it hard to imagine what kind of scene that was.
He himself was willing to give his life just to make sure fewer people died from cursed spirits. Now he suddenly heard that such a figure existed, someone who could protect everyone alone.
Is this the kind of person my grandfather wanted me to become?
"That era couldn't even produce the number and quality of curses that could compete with Zen'in Genji," Satoru Gojo's voice echoed on the mountain path with a certain calmness. "Even the King of Curses was defeated by this man."
He stopped and turned to Yuji Itadori, who was listening intently. The mountain wind ruffled the tips of his white hair, and his expression beneath the black blindfold looked thoughtful.
"Itadori, do you know the most basic logic of how the jujutsu world works? Like a basic code?" Satoru Gojo raised a finger. "We call it 'balance'—a dynamic and cruel mutual birth and balance between sorcerers and cursed spirits, or between 'positive' and 'negative' forces in the collective unconscious of humanity."
Itadori shook his head, his expression serious.
"Simply put," Satoru Gojo explained in a way Itadori could understand, "when particularly powerful and gifted sorcerers appear from humanity, the world, like a powerful positive force, unconsciously gives birth to more and more powerful cursed spirits and more dangerous curse users. Conversely, if a cursed spirit rampages to a certain critical point, humanity might explode with unprecedented cursed geniuses in desperate situations. It's a vicious circle, like spontaneous ecological regulation."
He paused, pointing at Itadori and the sleeping existence within his body.
"Sukuna himself is one of the most extreme results of this logic. The early Heian period, when he was born and raised, was a turbulent time when both curses and sorcerers reached their peak. And he eventually became the 'King of Curses,' standing at the apex of the condensation of humanity's negative power. According to common sense, to balance his 'absolute darkness,' the world should have given birth to a corresponding 'supreme light' standing on the side of humanity…"
Satoru Gojo's tone became playful.
"But Zen'in Genji was different. He completely broke this cycle. Or rather… he stepped on this 'balancing mechanism' and crushed it."
Itadori held his breath.
"According to historical sources and taboo records known only to a few," Satoru Gojo continued, his voice lowered slightly, as if telling a secret not meant for wide knowledge, "Zen'in Genji's power was 'irregular.' His growth rate, his depth of understanding of techniques, and especially his unfathomable cursed energy… far exceeded that era and even surpassed the scale that any later theoretical model could explain. He was like a 'bug' suddenly inserted into the world's program."
"So," Itadori seemed to understand a little, "the world tried to 'balance' him?"
"Hmph," Sukuna's mouth on the back of Itadori's hand let out an inexplicable cold laugh and took over the conversation. His tone was still defiant, but he didn't seem to refute Satoru Gojo's account. Instead, he added more brutal details.
"The 'great achievements' and 'anomaly' that white-haired brat mentioned are correct. This world… or rather, the 'balance' mechanism, is boring. If one side becomes too strong, the other side will also give birth to a corresponding 'strong one' to try to establish balance."
"That guy was incredibly strong. As a result, to 'balance' him, the number of special-grade cursed spirits that appeared during that time exceeded the total of the following thousand years combined—at least three digits!"
"All kinds of strange and cunning curses appeared one after another. There were also curse users driven mad by the massive negative cursed energy who gained bizarre powers… They were all attracted or 'forced' into existence by that bastard."
Sukuna's voice was almost ferocious, mocking—it was unclear whether he was mocking the so-called "balance" or those cursed spirits unlucky enough to be in the same era as Zen'in Genji.
"But it was useless. All of it was useless!" His voice suddenly became sharper, with an irrefutable determination from having seen it with his own eyes. "Most of the so-called 'special grades' that appeared didn't even have time to appear. They were still gestating or just born when that guy found them by following the trail of cursed energy and casually exorcised them like taking out the trash."
"A few grew up, but that was only so he could stretch his muscles. No matter how many there were, they couldn't make that guy Zen'in Genji serious. They were often exorcised like dust by Genji—or the forces under his command—before they could cause a real disaster or leave their names in history."
"Occasionally, one or two fish slipped through the net or were particularly tenacious. They ended up as a stroke in his record book or experimental material for perfecting a certain technique. He was like a black hole, silently devouring and erasing all the 'counter-forces' that tried to stand against him."
Satoru Gojo nodded.
"Now you understand, Itadori."
Satoru Gojo patted him on the shoulder, his tone returning to its usual sharpness. "Zen'in Genji is the biggest 'outsider' in the history of jujutsu. An existence above the rule of 'balance.' He single-handedly used his strength to maintain a distorted 'peace' for that era. And Sukuna…"
He glanced, as usual, at the back of Itadori's hand.
"Sukuna was probably the only person in that distorted era whom Zen'in Genji acknowledged as a 'rival' and seriously fought until the end."
"That alone is enough for future generations to give Sukuna a very high evaluation."