Two minutes prior, when Ieiri Yuuki brought up the name “Tamayo,” the viewers in the livestream room had virtually held their breath in suspense.
They never expected that this landmine would be detonated by Ieiri Yuuki himself.
Accidents and coincidences usually had to happen first for Muzan to discover the truth and subsequently force his affection upon him…
How could it develop into something like this?!
It was far too early.
Completely beyond all expectations.
When Ieiri Yuuki casually brought up Muzan’s encirclement and annihilation by the Demon Corps in his previous life, vanishing away beneath the sunlight, the comment section was already flooded with question marks.
To put it bluntly, this was an undisputed act of courting death with a fully known consequence.
Until—
Within the dim, gloomy cave.
The youth, who had danced on the precipice of death time and time again, still had his blonde hair shining brilliantly.
As if offering a sacrifice, he opened wide his arms toward the “God of Death” engulfed in raging fury.
The two embraced.
A deformed, bloody, and thoroughly untimely embrace.
He said
“Now, it is the future between you and me.”
After falling into a brief silence, the comments erupted in a dazzling, chaotic explosion:
[……]
[Speechless……]
[How should I put it? In short, this alternative timeline (IF line) has completely exceeded my imagination]
[Confirmed, it was intentional from start to finish, done purely for this exact moment]
[When Muzan was engulfed in blinding fury was also the exact moment he laid bare his true feelings]
[The anger is real]
[Muzan raged because of the past, yet Yuuki thrust his blade straight to the core, telling him: “The past is already the past.”]
[I know your downfall, humiliation, and death, but you no longer need to fear; we are a destiny-bound partnership decreed by the heavens]
[‘Eternal immortality’ is the promise he gave to Muzan……]
[……]
[My destined wife, he’s so good at reeling people in, so thoroughly composed]
[So erotic, does anyone understand me right now?!]
[Especially that very last line, carrying this lingering vibe of “cast aside the past, look toward me for the rest of your life, and look only at me”]
[Blessed Bro has been blessed once again]
[Wait, looking at this sequence of events, I’m starting to suspect is Yuuki practicing PUA… or what?]
[Damn, it’s getting even more shadowy and addictive……]
[This is precisely my cup of tea!]
[I was still wondering why the livestream room had real-name authentication and age ratings; now I understand……]
[So insane]
[Such a prime sapling for jujutsu sorcery!]
Boom—!
Another deafening explosion rang out inside the silent cave as the gorgeous, pale, black-haired man materialized.
He stepped forward, his tall, slender physique casting a long shadow that enveloped the other entirely.
“Silver-tongued and deceitful.” The shikigami’s gaze was heavy as he offered a low, sarcastic scoff toward the blonde youth.
He dropped the act.
“How many others have you spoken these kinds of nonsensical words to?”
“Cough, cough…” Before him, Ieiri Yuuki smiled. “Only you.”
Only you, Muzan.
With him giving this reply, the corners of Muzan’s lips twitched slightly. He wanted to say something, but then he caught the sound of approaching footsteps
It wasn’t that Cursed Speech user.
The rhythm and weight of the footsteps were entirely different.
Ieiri Yuuki also caught the unfamiliar pace, took a light breath, and stood up.
“In the infinite future, Muzan will have plenty of time to verify everything I’ve said.”
“However, what we need to pay attention to right now is uninvited guests have arrived “
Muzan: “…”
His eyes grew chillingly gloomy.
Ieiri Yuuki smiled and extended his hand; the youth’s fingertips were fair and slender.
He said, “The sunlight outside is blazing right now, Muzan. Why not hide away for a moment first?”
Naturally, Muzan wanted to refuse.
Yet on second thought, if he refused and simply vanished again, wouldn’t that make him look like a defeated coward dropping his armor and fleeing in the eyes of the shikigami master?
The one holding the initiative between them ought to be him. He insisted on proving—
The shikigami master’s verbal bewitchment had zero effect on him.
Within the youth’s field of vision, the Special Grade Curse’s figure suddenly shrank and morphed.
In the end, it reverted into a black snake, roughly the thickness of two grown adults’ fingers combined.
The black snake moved at lightning speed, its icy serpent body immediately coiling around the youth’s outstretched fingertips.
Then it slithered up along his arm, burrowing beneath his Jujutsu High uniform.
When that black snake Curse wrapped its slender, ice-cold body entirely around the youth’s waist and neck, the latter couldn’t help shivering.
“…Mhn.”
Muzan heard it: “Since you spoke so many sweet-tasting lies earlier, let me verify them—then shield me from the sun like this, and don’t move around recklessly.”
Ieiri Yuuki lowered his gaze, looking toward the curse mark on his ring finger—the proof of the connection left behind by that Kagura dance.
He smiled. “…”
“Understood.”
The blonde youth stepped out of the dim cave, first glancing over his own appearance under the sunlight. Though his uniform was free of blood, it was quite tattered.
It truly was a consumable item.
Should he apply for a few more sets?
As he was thinking this, the crisp sound of fallen leaves being crushed rang out beside Ieiri Yuuki’s ear.
He naturally raised his head and spotted a tall-stature man.
Presumably, that was the uninvited guest.
He wore short sleeves and long pants, donning a duck-bill cap pulled down very low over his brow, obscuring his facial features.
Yet it went without saying that encountering someone like this deep within an uninhabited mountain was highly abnormal.
The other party seemed to notice something, raising both hands in an innocent gesture.
“Don’t misunderstand, I bear no hostility. I am merely a… curse user, that is all.”
His voice carried a smile.
As he spoke, he lifted his head.
Handsome facial features, semi-long black hair, and fox-like slanting tail-ends of his eyes lifted upward as he cast a half-smiling, amused gaze toward Ieiri Yuuki not far away.
[?!]
[Kenjaku?!]
[This outfit actually looks pretty good]
[To the person above, just looking at Geto’s figure and face, anything Kenjaku wears looks good?!]
[Didn’t notice the hat was concealing the stitches earlier; that close-up when he raised his eyes looked so much like him… I nearly suffered a cardiac arrest]
[Can’t blame Gojo for getting trapped by the Prison Realm; who wouldn’t be confused looking at this?!]
[Don’t mention it, wuwuwu!]
[Kenjaku really deserves to die!]
[Why is this shady bastard popping out to find Yuuki right now, what is he plotting again?!]
Kenjaku…
Ieiri Yuuki silently repeated the name.
The black-haired man was neither overly enthusiastic nor overly detached, as though merely stating a matter-of-fact truth.
“Perhaps Student Ieiri is not yet aware, but among curse users, a hefty bounty has been circulating:
Kill a newly enrolled Tokyo Jujutsu High student, and you will receive one billion yen.”
The handsome black-haired man paused slightly, looking toward the blonde youth with a hint of a smile in his voice: “The name of that student is Ieiri Yuuki.”
With that, Kenjaku stared intently at the youth’s expression.
Ieiri Yuuki did not show any panic. “One billion yen? Not a small sum; truly an honor. So then, what is your purpose?”
“It seems you aren’t tempted by that billion?”
The black-haired man smiled: “One billion is substantial, even measured in yen.”
“I am certainly tempted, but I also have to see whether I have the life to collect it.”
Ieiri Yuuki felt the friction of the icy snake scales against his skin, the corners of his lips twitching upward as he followed the topic the other had handed him.
“How so?”
The other finally dropped his teaser: “The person behind the bounty issuance belongs to the Jujutsu Headquarters.”
“Even if someone kills the target, they won’t collect the prize money the Headquarters will immediately brand that curse user an ‘evil’ and ‘exorcise’ them.”
“Once the circle is complete, the money remains safely in the Headquarters’ hands.”
[The Headquarters?]
[Didn’t Gojo say earlier that he wouldn’t allow the Headquarters to lay a finger on my wife]
[If Gojo won’t let them do it directly, they outsource it, is that it?]
[So right on cue, the higher-ups’ zombie-like brains finally started spinning, huh?]
[Borrowing a knife to kill]
[Yet Yuuki is immortal?]
[He only carries the curse of ‘immortality’ on him; being a curse, it can still be dispelled. I guess the higher-ups’ thought process is something like that]
[So they send curse users instead? Try out whatever methods they have; since they’re dead anyway, no one has to take responsibility]
[The Headquarters is entirely capable of pulling something like this, but why is Kenjaku spilling the beans? I recall at this timeline he’s already infiltrated the higher-ups?]
Kenjaku lowered his head with genuine sincerity: “Student Ieiri is extraordinarily talented, and the higher-ups of the jujutsu world don’t want a talent like you, but my side welcomes you with open arms.”
“Of course, I know this is merely my own one-sided word,” he spared the other from pressure. “Student Ieiri may not believe it, but time will prove everything.”
“This is my business card.”
[Wanting to recruit Yuuki to their faction?]
[Highly likely. The higher-ups in the jujutsu world played the bad guys, so wouldn’t that make Kenjaku the good guy?]
[Doing this is definitely tempting Yuuki into defection; don’t fall for it, Yuuki!]
The business card was enveloped by cursed energy, hurtling directly toward Ieiri Yuuki.
The black-haired man winked playfully: “Feel free to send me a text if you’re ever bored; I guarantee a prompt reply.”
With that, he leaned backward as a flying Curse materialized behind him, its massive wings whipping up a fierce gale that carried the black-haired young man away into the distant horizon.
……
Ieiri Yuuki murmured softly, “Matsuo Masaki.”
This was the name printed on the business card.
Definitely a fake name.
Ieiri Yuuki tucked the business card away and scanned the surrounding terrain.
He needed to find Senior Toge; having frightened him earlier, he ought to offer a proper apology.
The Special Grade Curse poked its head out from the collar, its scarlet snake tongue probing the air for information.
“That man emits a foul stench. Neither human, nor Curse.”
Disgust was evident across the snake’s face. “A filthy half-breed.”
Ieiri Yuuki walked in a specific direction as he listened. “Mhn, I carry the ‘immortality’ curse on me as well; I’m no pure human either.”
“Yet Muzan doesn’t detest me,” he smiled. “I’m quite honored by that, you know.”
Before his voice finished falling, the slender ink snake coiled around him mercilessly opened its sharp-fanged scarlet snake jaws and bit down straight into the intertwined human.
“Hiss, that hurts.”
“Muzan, that’s right over my carotid; it hurts.”
Muzan felt the slight tremor passing through this human physique.
Perceiving his pain, he released the other with triumphant satisfaction.
Reflected in the rose-red snake pupils was the wound bitten open by him, looking particularly horrifying against the fair, slender neck.
Warm, fishy-sweet, yet gorgeous blood trickled out, carrying the intoxicating scent of this human that drifted outward unceasingly. The snake’s tongue stretched out uncontrollably, sliding across the wound.
Instinctively harvesting the information held within the blood, while speaking aloud:
“Only when it hurts does it serve as punishment.”