You call this a projection?
Chapter 183 - 183: Will You Win?
Though by doing this, Emiya Shirou was essentially creating a "Grandmaster-level" threat for himself.
After all, even Kenjaku—that seeker of chaos—only intended to sacrifice the hundreds of millions of people in Japan. He planned to use their fear and negative emotions to merge with Tengen and create an unprecedented Cursed Spirit.
The reason Kenjaku wanted to create such a thing was simply because he was bored with life... or rather, because he had lived far too long and understood the limits of sorcerers and Cursed Spirits all too well. He felt that if neither could continue to grow stronger, and the endpoint they could reach was merely at this level, then wouldn't the world be far too tedious?
Thus, Kenjaku wanted to challenge those limits, attempting to create a being that surpassed them.
To use an analogy, he was a knock-off version of Sosuke Aizen.
But here was the problem. Kenjaku, who had witnessed the power of both Sukuna and Gojo Satoru, still felt they weren't "monstrous" enough. So, what kind of monster would be born from the fear and negative emotions of hundreds of millions of people in his vision?
And what of a Cursed Spirit born from the negative emotions and a Divine Curse—a curse powerful enough to create and hatch a world nearly identical to Earth?
"If only I could trick [Pandora's Box] into playing Rock-Paper-Scissors with me.
But I suppose that's impossible..." Shirou lamented.
After all, the reason Shirou could handle Fushiguro Toji was that, besides Toji actually caring about Megumi after dying once, Shirou also possessed overwhelming combat power. He could force Toji to play the game.
Lost in these thoughts, Shirou made his way back to Jujutsu High. Naturally, he brought along Fushiguro Toji's soulless corpse.
Given everything Toji had done in life and the countless people he had killed as a Sorcerer Killer, it was impossible for Shirou to return the soul chip to him. But Toji was, in the end, Fushiguro Megumi's father. At the very least, Megumi should see his father's body. Even if Toji was a terrible father, and even if Megumi might not even remember him.
As he pondered this, Shirou encountered someone on the way back who wasn't entirely unexpected.
"...!?"
"Oh, it's Gojo. You're back sooner than I thought."
Shirou saw Gojo Satoru, who had stopped in his tracks upon discovering the body of Fushiguro Toji. Gojo had unconsciously pulled down his blindfold, widening his [Six Eyes] to stare at the corpse.
Shirou spoke with a smile: "I thought you'd dawdle for a while longer, meticulously searching every inch of the area near the coordinates I gave you before returning."
Because Toji's "Reality Marble" erosion was complete, the corpse did not revert to its original vessel's appearance even after the soul was extracted by [Pseudo-Osiris]. It maintained Toji's form—a visage that, upon sight, would stir up Gojo Satoru's worst memories.
But that wasn't the point... or rather, Gojo, who had been drawn to the corpse, quickly turned back to Shirou as if realizing something: "As I thought, Emiya, you know how that intelligent Special Grade Cursed Spirit disappeared."
Even though Gojo hadn't said anything yet, Shirou acted as if he knew everything in advance—even the fact that Gojo hadn't killed Mahito, but rather that Mahito had suddenly vanished before his eyes.
Recalling Shirou's invincible information-gathering Shikigami (Stand), Gojo felt this was only natural. In fact, it was the thought of Shirou's Stand that had prompted his urgent return to Jujutsu High, seeking more intel.
"That's classified information."
Shirou didn't elaborate. He simply tossed Fushiguro Toji's body toward Gojo and said, "By the way, this is a gift for you and Fushiguro Megumi."
Simultaneously, in a view only Shirou could see, system notifications appeared. Having successfully captured the four Disaster Curses and defeated the mastermind Kenjaku ahead of schedule, the plot was essentially settled. Even if Itadori Yuji ignored the spoilers and chose to eat Sukuna's fingers now, his constitution was such that as long as he didn't consume multiple fingers in a short time, he could completely digest them and keep Sukuna's consciousness suppressed.
The plot of Jujutsu Kaisen had been speed-run by Emiya Shirou.
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully clearing "Jujutsu Kaisen". Would you like to leave the game world and return now?]
As usual, Shirou selected [No] and said, "As a Binding Vow for your free use of my labor and in exchange for this intel, I hope to ask one last favor of you, Gojo."
.
.
.
The sun shone brightly overhead.
On the training grounds of Jujutsu High—a place usually used for students to practice martial arts and cursed tools to compensate for the lack of close-quarters capability in long-range techniques—there were no students currently training.
Or rather, the students were all sitting on the grass by the field, watching Emiya Shirou and Gojo Satoru, who were currently warming up in the center!
"This is a surprise. I didn't expect your final request would be to have a fight with me.
Leaving aside Cursed Spirits—especially intelligent Special Grades who know how to collaborate with Curse Users—to come and spar with you is a bit irresponsible," Gojo said, finishing his final warm-up. He pulled off the blindfold used to dampen his [Six Eyes] and gave a confident smile.
"But it doesn't really matter. Because I am the strongest. This battle won't take much of our time."
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