Mahito turned his head sharply and looked straight into Yoshino Junpei's eyes. He was already a master of the soul, and he had been researching the ability to emit a Thought Steel Seal through his eyes. He hadn't successfully developed it yet, of course, but he had already unlocked some "precursor techniques" related to the Thought Steel Seal.
Now, Mahito could already use his eyes to transmit certain intense emotions. Although even an ordinary person could easily ignore them if they just calmed down... calming down in a state of fanaticism was not something an ordinary person could do in the first place.
Why do so many people willingly bankrupt themselves once they join a cult? Is it because they have no intelligence? No, it's because once a person becomes fanatical, they will disregard everything, even selling their children or dying for the cause.
Now, Mahito used his Thought Steel Seal precursor technique. Did he use his eyes to amplify Yoshino Junpei's fanatical emotions? No, he didn't.
The light emerging from Yoshino Junpei's eyes told Mahito that he had already fallen into fanaticism.
This person had brainwashed himself.
Mahito knew that such an opportunity might never come again, so he said decisively, "Junpei, are you willing to come and help me?"
Yoshino Junpei didn't even think before roaring out in the middle of the street, seemingly putting every ounce of strength he had into it. He bellowed:
"Yoshino Junpei is willing to die for you!"
"Splendid, absolutely splendid! Excellent, he's under control!"
Mahito nodded with satisfaction.
Wait, no—was there someone else's voice overlapping with Yoshino Junpei's shout?
Mahito snapped his gaze toward the side of the street. On the other side, a duo stood there as if observing him. No, to be more accurate, it was one Cursed Spirit and one Curse User.
The one whose voice had just overlapped with Yoshino Junpei's roar was that Cursed Spirit.
"Ho-oh."
The other Curse User slowly let his shocked expression return to calm, revealing a smirk that made one uncomfortable at a glance. He said, "I thought we were going to welcome a companion, but I didn't expect... we'd be welcoming a future god."
Jogo, the Cursed Spirit born of the earth, and Kenjaku, the thousand-year-old Curse User, appeared before Mahito without any warning...
Damn, the starter village has been targeted by the final bosses!
Mahito's mouth felt a bit dry. After learning Yoshino Junpei's name, he knew for certain he would be targeted, but he hadn't realized he was being watched so early. It seemed that if Jogo hadn't suddenly spoken up, he wouldn't have even noticed Jogo and Kenjaku's surveillance.
But there was a question: why did Jogo and Kenjaku appear at the same time?
In the original work, Kenjaku was the one who took the initiative to find the Cursed Spirit group, and before Kenjaku met them, Mahito was already their leader. When Kenjaku and the Cursed Spirits first appeared, although Mahito didn't show up, Jogo and Kenjaku's conversation revealed snippets about the Cursed Spirit group's leader. Mahito only officially appeared after Jogo fought Gojo Satoru.
But now it was completely different. Before Mahito had even met Jogo, Kenjaku had taken the initiative to bring Jogo to his doorstep. This plot development was something Mahito could not have predicted at all.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Jogo, the manifestation of the earth's curse."
Jogo stood before the park fountain, looking at it. Beside him was Kenjaku, who maintained a constant smile.
Jogo introduced Kenjaku as well.
"And this Curse User beside me is Geto Suguru. He was the one who took the initiative to find me, and then led me to you."
Standing behind Mahito, Yoshino Junpei couldn't help but murmur under his breath, "The curse... of the earth."
Jogo glanced at Yoshino Junpei and suddenly asked, "Human, what is your name?"
"Ah, yes, my name is Yoshino Junpei," Yoshino Junpei responded timidly.
"As a human, you actually want to die for a Cursed Spirit?" Jogo asked.
Yoshino Junpei took a deep breath, trying his best to make his voice sound flat.
"I just want a better tomorrow, and I believe that if no revolution occurs, that better tomorrow will never come. You can consider me a traitor to humanity, but I don't believe I've betrayed them. On the contrary, humans are fundamentally evil, and this kind of evil cannot be overcome by humans themselves. We humans need a god, a supreme god to govern us—that is far better than humans governing themselves."
Yoshino Junpei stumbled a bit at the beginning of his sentence, but as he spoke, his voice grew louder and more fervent, until it was nearly a roar by the end.
The light of faith flickered in his eyes; he truly viewed Mahito as a god, and himself as Mahito's follower.
He wasn't just a fanatic—
Rather, after deep consideration, he had concluded that humans could not save themselves, which led to his fanatical worship of Mahito, who wanted to become a god.
To some extent, he respected Mahito even more than Jogo did.
It was a spine-chilling kind of faith.
Jogo nodded thoughtfully and looked back at Kenjaku.
"Is this also how you handle your spy among the Jujutsu Sorcerers? Because that spy has also fallen into despair regarding current humanity and thus wants a revolution, the outcome of which is unknown?"
Kenjaku shook his head slightly.
"No, I have another plan. It wasn't perfect before, but if I can use Mahito's power, it will be foolproof."
Mahito remembered that in the original work, Kenjaku's spy was Kokichi Muta, the Kyoto Jujutsu High student known as Ultimate Mechamaru. His body was extremely fragile due to his innate Heavenly Restriction, making him unable to move in the outside world. He could only interact or fight with others by remotely operating mechanical bodies.
He desperately craved a body that could move freely, so he signed a Binding Vow with the Curse User Kenjaku. He would act as a spy, but in exchange, Kenjaku had to heal his body affected by the Heavenly Restriction.
Indeed, as Kenjaku said, it had nothing to do with ideals or faith; it was a simple transaction. That's why as soon as Kokichi's body was healed, he immediately turned hostile.
Mahito looked at Kenjaku calmly.
"It's truly rare for a Curse User to take the initiative to seek cooperation with Cursed Spirits. You call yourself Geto Suguru?"
Kenjaku nodded gently with a smile.
"Because we share common interests. I want to recreate the grand era of Jujutsu Sorcerers from a thousand years ago, while Jogo wants to reverse the relationship between humans and Cursed Spirits. Whether it's me or Jogo, we are both dissatisfied with the current Jujutsu Sorcerers, which is why we are cooperating."
Mahito calmly interrupted his nonsense.
"You're lying."
Kenjaku froze for a moment.
Mahito looked at him and reiterated, "You lied."
Mahito wasn't bluffing; he truly saw that Kenjaku was lying.