Chapter 102 (Patreon)

By repeatedly transplanting his brain into other bodies, Kenjaku had gained access to the Cursed Techniques of the vessels he took over.

The ones Ragnar Kagenou knew of were Noritoshi Kamo and Kaori Itadori.

Satoru Gojo fell silent for a moment.

“In that case… could his Cursed Technique be something close to Master Tengen’s immortality?”

Ragnar thought for a moment before answering.

“At its core, they’re similar. But if you look at the details, they’re not exactly the same.”

Then he added, “Also, because of the Binding Vow involved, a stitched scar remains on the forehead. That makes him fairly easy to identify.”

Suddenly, Gojo’s expression shifted.

“Wait. Itadori?”

Ragnar had expected him to notice that.

“That’s right. Kaori Itadori was Yuji Itadori’s mother. But before Yuji was born, Kenjaku had already taken over her body.”

Gojo’s face grew still behind his blindfold.

“So Kenjaku used Kaori Itadori’s body… to give birth to Yuji.”

“That is exactly what happened,” Ragnar said plainly. “And Kenjaku has other collaborators as well. One of them is Uraume, Sukuna’s attendant.”

Gojo took a long moment to process that.

“So Kenjaku is connected to more than just cursed spirits, huh?”

He murmured the names one by one.

“Uraume… Sukuna’s attendant. Sukuna’s resurrection. Yuji Itadori…”

Then Gojo turned toward Ragnar, as if several pieces had finally clicked into place.

“No wonder Yuji’s compatibility with Sukuna is so high. Kenjaku didn’t give birth to him by coincidence. He deliberately created a vessel for Sukuna’s resurrection.”

Ragnar nodded.

However, he did not mention that Yuji Itadori’s father was tied to Sukuna’s twin from the womb.

Events from the Nara period, involving a fetus devouring another before birth, were far too abnormal. More importantly, there was no reasonable way for Ragnar to know such a thing, so he chose not to say it.

Gojo pressed a hand to his forehead.

“This is bad. Ragnar, thanks. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known any of this. We might have walked straight into the enemy’s trap without realizing it.”

“There’s no need to be that pessimistic,” Ragnar said calmly. “Sometimes, retreating is the best way to advance. If we remain still and watch their movements, then on the surface, their forces are still inferior to ours.”

Gojo let out a quiet breath.

“I thought the mole inside Jujutsu High was a simpler issue. I didn’t expect it to be connected to something this big…”

——————

Somewhere underground.

“So this is where Kokichi Muta is hiding?”

Gojo confirmed it with a nod.

“Yeah. This is the place. The Kyoto side prepared it specially for him.”

Ragnar looked ahead.

“Then this will do.”

After that, the two pushed open the door to Kokichi Muta’s room.

Inside, Kokichi Muta’s entire body was wrapped in bandages. His body was so frail that merely existing seemed painful.

Even so, the moment they entered, his closed eyes moved slightly.

“You came.”

Gojo stood at the entrance and spoke in a low voice.

“Of course I came. Now tell me, Kokichi Muta. Why did you cooperate with curse users and cursed spirits?”

Kokichi’s lips parted slightly.

Facing Ragnar Kagenou and Satoru Gojo at the same time, he had no room to resist and no lie that would hold.

“I… wanted a normal body.”

Gojo’s gaze lowered.

“Because of your Heavenly Restriction. Your body is abnormally fragile, and you can’t move freely.”

Ragnar continued in a calm voice.

“You intended to use the Special Grade cursed spirit Mahito and his Idle Transfiguration to reshape your body, didn’t you?”

Because of his Binding Vow with Kenjaku and Mahito, Kokichi Muta could not reveal information about them directly.

Gojo looked at him.

“It’s because of a Binding Vow, right? You can’t say their names.”

Kokichi Muta said nothing.

Gojo continued, “Other than those two, have you been in contact with any other cursed spirits or curse users?”

Kokichi Muta answered, “No.”

That was enough.

Now they knew.

Kokichi Muta had been colluding with those two.

Gojo’s voice became colder.

“According to Jujutsu High’s regulations, colluding with cursed spirits and curse users is punishable by death.”

Kokichi Muta’s voice trembled faintly.

“With this body, I’m not much different from a corpse anyway. I only wanted them to restore my body, so I gave them some information. But once I get my body back… I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them and atone for what I did.”

Ragnar looked at him quietly.

“After you gain a physical body, you plan to kill opponents at Special Grade level or higher? If I remember correctly, Kokichi Muta, your own strength is around Semi-Grade 1.”

Kokichi Muta stammered, but his voice still carried stubborn determination.

“Even if they’re Special Grade… if I can get a real body, I’ll have the power to fight.”

Ragnar’s gaze remained on Kokichi Muta.

This man was, in a sense, a fanatic when it came to engineering. He was capable of hand-building Unit-01… or rather, a giant armored puppet called Unit-0 that looked far too much like Unit-01.

Gojo glanced at Ragnar.

“Ragnar, what do we do with him?”

Ragnar replied without hesitation.

“Does that even need to be asked?”

From his tone alone, Gojo understood.

“Kokichi Muta,” Gojo said, “continue exactly as you have been. Keep exchanging information with them.”

Kokichi Muta froze and looked at the two of them.

Gojo’s mouth curved slightly.

“Don’t look at us like that. You’re also not allowed to tell anyone that we came here. From now on, you’ll be a mole for Jujutsu High.”

Kokichi Muta took a deep breath.

His voice was filled with gratitude.

“Thank you… Thank you very much.”

Ragnar waved his hand lightly.

“When the time comes for your body to be restored, remember to notify us.”

Kokichi Muta’s expression changed.

“You’re planning to…”

Gojo raised a finger, stopping him from speaking further.

“Keep it to yourself.”

Kokichi Muta lowered his head.

“I understand.”

After that, Ragnar and Gojo did not linger. They turned and left.

Kokichi Muta stared at the tightly closed door.

A moment later, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

——————

“Ragnar.”

After leaving the underground room, Gojo spoke first.

“I understand why he did it. He wanted his body back. But betraying his own companions for that… isn’t that still a problem?”

Gojo’s words were not wrong.

If Kokichi Muta could betray his companions once, then there was no guarantee he would not do it a second or third time.

Most of the information Kokichi Muta could give away was information Kenjaku likely already possessed. What Kenjaku needed from him was confirmation—proof that his intelligence was accurate.

After all, the higher-ups of the jujutsu world had already been infiltrated so deeply that they were practically in Kenjaku’s hands.

“It depends on what he does after obtaining his body,” Ragnar said. “But that doesn’t mean there will be no punishment. If he fails the test, I’ll kill him myself.”

Kokichi Muta could be spared the death penalty.

But he would never again be allowed to enter the core of the jujutsu world.

If he spent the rest of his life honestly exorcising curses, then that was one thing.

But if he harbored ulterior motives again…

At that moment, Ragnar turned to Gojo.

“Their next target will most likely be the two of us.”

Gojo’s expression did not change.

“Is that so? Then I’d like to see just how capable a curse user who has lived for a thousand years really is.”

“Be careful,” Ragnar said. “Kenjaku has a Special Grade cursed object used specifically for sealing—the Prison Realm. That thing can seal Special Grade cursed spirits, and it can also seal a Special Grade sorcerer.”

Gojo smiled.

“A Special Grade sealing cursed object, huh? But a sealing technique like that must need time to activate. If there’s a gap, they won’t be able to seal me.”

Ragnar glanced at him.

You can keep raising flags like that all you want.