Chapter 219 Original Story Side Story (9): If Daigo raised a little wolfhound, Ichima, in the prison gates
When the unfamiliar black-haired boy stepped into the venue, the crowd, busy with their training, didn't immediately pay attention to him.
Yuji Itadori was engaged in a passionate sparring match with Kinji Shirai. The two were so focused on their exchange that they had no time to notice what was happening around them.
In particular, when the domain of the senior brother [Sitting Kill Gambler] unfolds, the rules that are instantly flooded into his mind are so complex that it makes Yuuji Itadori's scalp tingle - if the senior brother draws the grand prize in the domain, then he will be even more difficult to deal with!
Lu Ziyun leaned against the wall with her long stick, seemingly still eager to try her hand at conquering Jinji's territory.
He wasn't familiar with the people from the vocational college, and his position was relatively far to the outside, creating a clear division between him and that group.
Faintly, Lu Ziyun caught a whiff of the smell of burning protein—he was extremely sensitive to this smell because lightning would also produce a similar odor when it struck an enemy's body.
He turned his gaze and saw a black-haired boy walking towards him.
After a quick look at him, I realized he was a stranger. His mannerisms and movements didn't seem to indicate he had any training, and I could sense a murderous intent in him.
During this period, Lu Ziyun had seen many strangers come and go at the college, all of whom were logistics personnel with poor combat capabilities.
The burning protein could also be a sign that the person just returned from the scene of a fire caused by that curse.
The main reason was that the other party was able to walk into the training ground so calmly, which confused Lu Ziyun's senses.
Therefore, Lu Ziyun also included this boy in the list of logistics personnel and asked him casually.
"What's wrong? Who are you looking for?"
"I'm just here to check on everyone's training progress for Mr. Ijichi."
The black-haired boy's answer sounded calm, without any emotional fluctuation: "By the way, my name is Kazuma Hatake, what's yours?"
“Lu Ziyun, call me Lu Ziyun.”
Lu Ziyun answered the question rather nonchalantly, but she keenly sensed that the other party's tense killing intent suddenly relaxed a little.
Hmm...? Does this kid know him?
“I remember you,” Kazuma Hatori quickly answered his question, “the one who suggested in the operation against Ryoumen Sukuna why we didn’t just throw all our forces into it.”
"Oh, that one."
Lu Ziyun turned her gaze back to the training ground and spoke her mind quite frankly.
"A bunch of people are chattering away, insisting on arranging the order of appearance, and they even have to worry about separating the body from the body during the battle with Su Nuo... If you ask me, just forget about all of that and fight to the death to the death. Who cares about the body? It's just getting in the way."
Lu Ziyun was extremely displeased upon hearing this—she didn't know whether she was unhappy that she wasn't ranked first, or speechless at the group's attitude of both valuing and disregarding their formidable enemy.
"Stripping away the body?" Kazuma Hatake seemed quite curious as well.
"Oh, it's the body that was possessed by Ryoumen Sukuna, and there's also the soul of Fushiguro Megumi inside."
Lu Ziyun gestured with her chin to the people standing in the center of the arena. "They didn't want to kill Fu Heihui along with them, so they instructed the combat personnel not to destroy the brain that is imprinted and connected to the spell. They had to separate the two souls first."
Kazuma Hatori: "Is this too much trouble?"
“You really don’t understand combat,” Lu Ziyun chuckled. “Liangmian Su Nuo was the King of Curses from a thousand years ago. If you fight him and are still thinking about holding back and not delivering a fatal blow, he will find a weakness in the blink of an eye and you will die without even knowing how you died.”
"Gojo Satoru must have known this in his heart, so it's even more puzzling that he would agree to their request."
"I see." Kazuma Hagoromo didn't offer any comment, but instead turned his gaze to the arena. "Who are those two sparring?"
"Hmm? Those are Hisahito Itadori and Kinji Shirai." After answering, Shikiyun asked him, "Are you new here?"
Perhaps it was because the black-haired boy looked so mature and obedient that Lu Ziyun felt quite fond of him and was willing to say a few more words to him.
Kazuma Hatori nodded, "I want to get to know more people."
There aren't many people in this training ground; some are elsewhere.
Lu Ziyun gave Yuqu Kazuma a brief introduction: "Hichiro Hiromi, Panda, Zhang Xiang, Ino Takuma, Zenin Maki, Mingming, Otoko Yuta, and... um? I remember there was a teacher named Kusakabe, where did he go?"
Kazuma Hatake did not respond, pretending that he was also unaware.
Kusakabe Atsuya may have made some noise during his struggle, but his [All Laws, One Truth] had completely blocked the sound within the effective range of the spell, ensuring that no distress signal would be transmitted.
Within a two-meter radius centered on him, he is [the heavens].
Hatake Kazuma didn't respond to Shikumo Ichi's question, but the latter had only asked casually and didn't care about Kusakabe Atsuya's whereabouts at all.
This is their territory; people can go wherever they want, so why should he interfere?
Just as Itadori Yuujin and Shirai Kinji finished their sparring, Shika Shiun, who hadn't finished introducing Hagoromo Kazuma, stopped talking and instead picked up the long staff that was leaning on her shoulder, swung it around, and walked directly to the center of the arena.
"Next, hey, you idiot!"
He summoned Hiromi Higurashi, who had also volunteered to go to the battlefield, and wanted to give this lawyer-turned-sorcerer a good workout.
On the other side, Itadori Yuujin and the others also gave up the space, and just then they saw an unfamiliar boy standing near the door, looking in their direction.
He was about the same age as them, with a handsome appearance, black hair and black eyes, a calm demeanor, and an inexplicably strong aura.
"Oh, is that our senior?"
Yuji Itadori asked Kinji, who shook his head in confusion, "I've never seen him before. He's definitely not from my year, nor from the year before last."
"But why does it feel like he's been staring at Zenin Maki the whole time? Is he a survivor from the Zenin family?"
"Go ask them."
The incredibly outgoing Yuujin Itadori walked towards the black-haired boy with a wave of his hand. "Yo, hello there!"—He patted the boy on the shoulder, pointed to himself with a thumbs up, and said, "I'm Yuujin Itadori. You can call me Itadori or Yuujin! And you?"
"Hatori Kazuma".
Hisahito Itadori was surprised by the other party's answer. "Huh, not a Zen temple?"
Kazuma Hatake turned to him calmly, "Why would you think I'm a Zen temple?"
This question stumped Hisahito Itadori, who thought hard about how to explain it in a more natural way.
"Ah...it's because you seemed really concerned about Maki-senpai earlier..."
“Hmm,” Itadori Yuuhito heard Hatori Kazuma speak.
"After all, I'm curious who would agree with Otsuko Yuta's plan to use Gojo Satoru's corpse to fight."
"!!!!"
Kazuma Hato's voice was not quiet, so much so that when he uttered this earth-shattering statement, almost everyone present turned their attention to him.
Hisahito Itadori's brain buzzed violently, his expression almost frozen in utter bewilderment.
"What about Teacher Gojo...?"
Kinji, who had come along, was even more alarmed. "Wait! We can't let Itajiro know about this!"
"This means that you are one of the people who agree with the plan."
Kazuma Hatori's dark eyes flickered slightly as he stared intently at Kinji Shirai.
"Undeniably, this is our last resort."
The other person's gaze was so dangerous that Kinji instinctively took his hands out of his pockets, ready to be attacked at any moment.
"You'll achieve your victory at the cost of Gojo Satoru's death?"
Kazuma Hatori didn't look at Kinji again, but walked past him and stood straight up to within two meters of Yuta Otsukoshi, who was wearing a white uniform on his upper body.
He was slightly taller than Yigu Youtai. At this moment, he did not lower his head, but only glanced down at the other party with his black eyes. His extremely contemptuous and indifferent posture made Yigu Youtai tighten his grip on the sword bag strap on his shoulder.
"Tell me, Yiguyoutai."
Kazuma Hato spoke up, "What right do you have to first define Mr. Gojo as a monster, and then decide to become the new monster yourself?"
In this deathly silent temple, you could hear a pin drop.
"Hey, you bastard..."
Standing not far from Yuta, Maki Zenin was about to step forward and teach him a lesson when Tori Inuyama quickly grabbed her hem and shook her head vigorously.
The other party was clearly extremely dissatisfied with the battle plan and came to demand an explanation. The atmosphere was too tense at the moment, and we couldn't let Zenin Maki, who had the most explosive temper, show up!
"...Yes, as Kusakabe-sensei also said, this plan is feasible, but inhumane."
Under the influence of [All Laws are One Truth], Eku Uta did not remain silent for long before choosing to be honest about everything.
"But so what if we're inhuman?" he gritted his teeth. "In order to win against the strongest sorcerer in history, Ryoumen Sukuna, someone has to do things that are as inhuman as possible."
“We have always placed the burden of being a monster on Gojo-sensei alone. If Gojo-sensei is no longer here, someone must take his place as the monster.”
"If no one else is willing, then I'll be the one!"
Yuta Otsuku's words were firm and resounding, but were immediately met with a furious grip on his collar by Kazuma Hatori, whose words were uttered with extreme coldness.
It was as cold as a massive iceberg floating in the deep North Sea, emitting a long, muffled, and fragmented lament as it collided with the water, like a whale mourning the dead.
"Who wants to listen to your self-righteous preaching of self-sacrifice? Didn't you understand my question?"—he said, "I'm asking you, and I'm asking all of you, what makes you think Gojo Satoru is a monster?"
"Why? Just because he's stronger than all of you?"
"Is it because he never complained about the heavy burdens weighing on his shoulders?"
"Because even when you call him that so contemptuously, he never really gets angry?"
"Speak up, what makes you think you're a monster, Gojo Satoru?!"
"What has Gojo Satoru done wrong to you? Why do you think that what he does is stupid, that he's an idiot, and that he's a self-satisfied freak!"
"You lot never thought about how to help Gojo Satoru win. Instead, you started thinking about how to use his corpse to win while he was still alive, is that it!"
"Then I'd like to ask you, who is the truly selfish and cold-blooded monster?!"
Within this vast dojo, the air was almost frozen by the fury emanating from Kazuma Hatori, and even the dust floating in the sunlight seemed stiff.
The members of the expert group stood there dumbfounded, their expressions varied, as if it were the first time someone had posed such a strong and sharp question to them, ruthlessly revealing their most despicable nature.
The so-called teacher is actually just an additional title and responsibility. In reality, everyone subconsciously relies on [the strongest] in their actions, while expressing extreme contempt and rejection of [the strongest] in their words.
"I am utterly disappointed in you, and extremely angry."
Kazuma Hatori closed his eyes and uttered his last words.
"There's no need for the two Sukuna to lift a finger; I'll kill you all first."
He released Yuta's collar, and when he opened his dark eyes again, his fingers were raised without any hesitation—
Yuta Otsuku, Panda, and Maki Zenin, who were standing within Kazuma Hatori's attack range, were instantly engulfed in flames!
This boy of unknown origin is also a sorcerer!
However, the scope of his technique is likely not wide; so far, only these three people have been affected!
The panda, whose size had shrunk to less than a meter after being severely injured, had no ability to resist the flames. It was picked up and thrown out by Zenin Maki, who had extremely strong motor reflexes, and thrown out of the attack range of Hatori Kazuma. The flames were still burning. Was it a continuous activation after the spell took effect?
She stomped heavily on the floor, using the explosive power of [Heaven and Curse] to easily cover a distance of two meters, and in the blink of an eye, she was about to meet Hagoromo Kazuma—
The other person merely glanced at her coldly, and Zenin Maki's movements froze completely. Then, she was pressed to the ground by an extremely terrifying gravity, barely able to support her body.
"His spell effects... aren't just about fire!"
"Urika!"
Of the three who launched the first attack by Kazuma Hatori, only Yuta Otsukoshi was able to resist the erosion of the flames with his immense magical power. Only a large area of still burning wounds appeared on the back of his hand and forearm. He endured the pain and swung his sword while summoning his shikigami.
"So worrying!"
Rika, whose figure was completely visible behind Yuta, was extremely large. As she squeezed the roof of the dojo, she immediately slapped the guy who dared to hurt Yuta!
But this terrifyingly powerful slap felt as if it had struck a transparent yet solid glass dome, preventing it from getting even half a centimeter closer to Kazuma Hatake.
"Wait, Rika, I didn't want you to kill him!" Yuta Otsukotsu said through gritted teeth, his words flying. "It's my fault, I'm the one who should apologize!"
He raised his sword only for defense, intending to take the opportunity to rescue Zenin Maki, rather than to attack the boy in front of him whose words had struck a nerve.
The others finally realized what was happening and began to use their signature moves—no matter how powerful the ranged attacks were, they all vanished as soon as they landed within the area with a radius of about two meters.
The only thing the other party did was stand still and glance over at you casually.
Zenji Maki had fallen to the ground at his feet, his fate unknown.
"I have absolutely no idea what his technique is, what its mechanism and effects are."
Ino Takuma gripped the edge of the mask on his head, his whole body on high alert as he considered which auspicious beast would be most suitable for him to descend upon.
"Someone go find Lai Xihua and bring him here!"
"It seems like they came to the same doctor at home, so it's good that they both came together!"
"Whatever the technique, my 'passion' has been completely ignited!"
Kinji clicked his tongue, shifted his shoulders, and was about to have a good fight with the boy who had come to attack them—when Hisahito Itadori reached out and pulled him back.
The current situation clearly indicates that Kazuma Hatori, having learned about the operation's details, is dissatisfied with Gojo-sensei's treatment and has come to confront the person who proposed it! Even if he wanted to fight, he shouldn't have chosen this time!
Yuuji Itadori, who finally came to his senses from this shocking information, even felt guilty about it—even though he was also kept in the dark.
"Wait, Kazuma!"
Yuji Itadori tried to dissuade Kazuma Hatori from his indiscriminate attacks in a fit of rage, and had no intention of fighting him.
"I absolutely will not agree to use Gojo-sensei's body... No, I don't want Gojo-sensei to die at all!"
Perhaps Hisahito Itadori was not complicit in this matter; but that doesn't mean he would follow orders and let these people go.
Kazuma Hatake was not swayed by those words. Countless flames containing curses flickered and appeared around him. Under his mental control, they shot out in all directions like powerful cannonballs. Even if they did not hit anyone, they easily ignited a patch of the wooden building.
Everyone could only dodge awkwardly, while Ino Takuma began trying to extinguish the fire using the cursed water created by the visiting [Auspicious Beast No. 2 - Spirit Turtle].
He was also unaware that Yigu Yuta and the others were secretly planning this rather outrageous operation. At this moment, he was too embarrassed to go forward and fight the black-haired boy, so he could only try to put out the fire, but with little success.
The dojo was first blasted open by Rika, and then set ablaze by Kazuma Hato's flames during the melee. Now it was burning brighter and brighter, teetering on the brink of collapse. The thick smoke made it impossible for anyone except Kazuma Hato to open their eyes, not to mention the burns that spread uncontrollably once they got on them.
They began trying to evacuate the building, which had become extremely dangerous, as quickly as possible.
Only the blood energy that could be freely manipulated could act as a barrier to isolate the flames and smoke, protecting Itadori Yuujin, who had not yet mastered the [Crimson Blood Technique], and allowing him to escape safely.
Rather than confronting Ryoumen Sukuna directly, they first tasted the bitterness of provoking Kazuma Hatori—and not just physically.
Aside from apologizing, they were completely unable to give a righteous answer to even one of the questions the other party had just asked.
But at this moment, the irrational Kazuma Hatori neither wanted to hear their reflections nor intended to have them repent; he wanted—
"Ichima?"
With just one call, Kazuma Hatori's boiling mind instantly cooled down, freezing him in place.
It was Mr. Gojo's voice.
Those dark eyes, deep and unfathomable, reflected countless flickering flames of anger. He slowly turned his head to look at the source of the sound, at Mr. Gojo, who was reaching out his hand to him.
"Come here."
Seeing that he was standing still, Mr. Gojo smiled and called out again. His beautiful white hair and blue eyes shone brightly in the sunlight, making Kazuma Hatori unable to look away.
He remained silent for a moment, then obediently walked out of the dojo that had collapsed in the fire and came to Mr. Gojo—who then grasped his hand as if to confirm his presence.
"After Ijichi, who was knocked unconscious by you, woke up, he quickly used the backup phone to notify me to come back and put out the fire. Just as I arrived outside the dojo, I heard Hisahito's account of what happened on the spot."
From the perspective of Kazuma Hatori looking up at Satoru Gojo, Satoru Gojo was also looking down at him, his frosty white eyelashes fluttering slightly, as if soft, clear dewdrops were sliding down from them and quickly disappearing.
"I'm sorry to have worried you."
Instead, he smiled and said this to Kazuma Hagoromo.
————————
The following are the source citations for the original text:
"A bunch of people are chattering and insisting on arranging the order of appearance, and they also have to consider the separation of the body during the battle with Su Nuo... If you ask me, just forget about all of that and fight to the death to the death. Why care about the body? It's just getting in the way."
—This excerpt is from chapter 231 of the manga.
[Lu Ziyun gestured with her chin towards the group standing in the center of the arena, "They didn't want to kill Fu Heihui along with them, so they instructed the combat personnel not to damage the brain that was imprinted and connected to the spell; they wanted to separate the two souls first."]
—This is from chapter 251 of the manga.
"You really don't understand combat," Lu Ziyun chuckled. "Liangmian Su Nuo was the King of Curses from a thousand years ago. If you fight him and are still thinking about holding back and not delivering a fatal blow, he will find a weakness in the blink of an eye and you won't even know how you died."
"Gojo Satoru must have known this in his heart, so it's even more puzzling that he would agree to their demands."
—This is from chapter 229 of the manga. When Satoru had a slight advantage in his fight against Ryoumen Sukuna, his inner monologue was, "At least I have to destroy his heart!! And his lungs and liver!! That way I can make him closer to death than Hisahito did in the juvenile detention center!!" This also led to him having another chance to kill Ryoumen Sukuna later, but he didn't aim for the head to kill him.
And in episode 231, when Kurusu was watching the live stream, Satoru said to Ryoumen Sukuna, "I don't need to count to 3, I'll kill you," and said, "That person hasn't forgotten about Megumi, has he?" This suggests that Satoru Gojo agreed to do so.
"...Yes, Kusakabe-sensei also said that although this plan is feasible, it is inhumane."
"But so what if we're inhuman?" he gritted his teeth. "In order to win against the strongest sorcerer in history, Ryoumen Sukuna, someone has to do things that are as inhuman as possible."
“We have always placed the burden of being a monster on Gojo-sensei alone. If Gojo-sensei is no longer here, someone must take his place as the monster.”
"If no one else is willing, then I'll be it!"
—This is from chapter 261 of the manga.
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