The Curious Case of the Two Mahitos

Part 17- The God King Part 1

Mahito and his allies stood around Sukuna's corpse, looking down on the former Strongest. Though they hated him, the strength he garnered was worthy of the slightest bit of respect' despite the horrid man that he was. Mahito looked up, noticing one of Mei Mei's recording crows had survived the carnage and streamed everything. He held his hand out, beckoning the bird to approach. It landed on his fist a moment later, and Mahito saw the green glint in its eyes, indicating that it was still streaming. Mahito looked to his allies, who nodded, giving him the go-ahead to talk to those who watched the battle remotely.

"So," the young Special Grade started, "Still think it's a good idea to hunt me down?"

Mahito turned the crow, showing Sukuna's corpse in more explicit detail than the audience had seen from afar.

"Because if you do, you'll end up just like him," Mahito continued threateningly, "So, what's going to happen is that you'll remove the execution orders on me, Geto, Yaga, Itadori, and remove my father's banishment order. If these demands aren't within one hour, I will burn everything you old bastards have built to the ground. We may be weakened now, but none of you compare to our power. This is a new era if you want to survive! My name is Mahito Kryzen-Gojo, and I am The Strongest!"

Mahito wrapped his free hand around the bird's neck, snapping it. Mei Mei's stream ended, and all of the Jujutsu Society knew Mahito's message. There was a tense silence amongst the group. None of them expected Mahito to declare war against the higher-ups outright, and most felt ill-prepared for what would happen if they chose to fight the young Special Grade instead of caving to his demands. Mahito could see the apprehension in their souls with Idle Transfiguration and the Six-Eyes. No matter what, the only ones who would go with him were Maki, Megumi, Yuji, and Satoru.

"I won't make any of you fight," he said plainly, "I don't want any of you to get involved. I decided to wage this war and can do it alone."

Gojo scoffed, "I didn't realize I raised a dumbass."

"W-what?"

"I must've failed as a parent if you think I'm letting you fight alone," Gojo clarified, "If this is happening, I'm going to be with you the whole way through, and I won't take no for an answer. After everything that's happened in the last month, there's no way I'm letting one of my boys charge into a battle alone."

"Yeah," Megumi agreed, "I'm not letting you fight alone either."

"Me either!" Yuji chimed in.

"You don't even have to ask," Maki said, "I'm fighting with you."

"You are doing me a pretty big favor," Geto said, "So I suppose I'll help with this too."

"You've got my full support," Yuta added, determined.

"Mine too," Nobara said.

Mahito smiled and turned to Higuruma and Nanami, the only two who didn't actively support the plan—neither wanted to go into a war, even if it was small scale. Nanami remembered the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and how many people died; it wasn't an experience he ever wished to repeat. Now that the desperate situation had passed, he could never lower himself to work with Geto again. Higuruma's train of thought was similar. He'd killed dozens of people during the Culling Games after reaching a mental breaking point when he unlocked his Cursed Technique, and he wanted nothing more than to die and atone for his sins. While he knew the chances of him dying in this mini-war were slim to none, thanks to the unstoppable might of the Gojo Family, he knew the chances of him spilling innocent blood were much higher, and he didn't want any more on his hands.

"I can't," Higuruma said, "I've killed so many innocent people, I won't do it again."

"No one in Jujutsu Society is innocent," Mahito said, "Not me, not you, not those old bastards at the top, no one. Everyone's got blood on their hands. The truth is, I should've killed them a long time ago."