"Monster!"
Inside the luxurious estate, the midwife responsible for the delivery cried out in terror.
The next second, several sorcerers dressed in ancient ceremonial robes hurried into the room.
Looking at the infant trembling in the midwife's arms, even they seemed shocked by the baby's appearance.
Four eyes. Four arms.
Though it possessed a human body, its appearance resembled that of a cursed spirit.
The tall man at the front appeared to be the child's father.
He did not take the baby from the midwife. Disappointment was plainly visible on his face.
"This is... conjoined twins?"
Someone nearby muttered quietly,
"Twins are an ill omen. They could even bring disaster upon the clan."
Hearing this, a trace of killing intent flashed through the man's eyes as he looked at the infant.
In the jujutsu world, twins were considered cursed.
No matter how much potential one possessed, they would always be dragged down by the other.
Unable to fully realize their talent, they would struggle even to become ordinary sorcerers.
Thus, in the jujutsu society of a thousand years ago, twins were known as "ill omens" and "taboos."
Outside the door, Mirai watched everything unfold as though viewing a film.
"Not bad soul strength. At least the people in these memories can still speak."
Beside him, the blurry figure sneered.
"Simple killing isn't enough for you anymore?"
"Now you enjoy watching a loser's memories? What kind of fetish is that?"
Mirai turned toward him and smiled.
"The strong decide everything. Isn't that your philosophy too?"
"I'm a little interested in your past. And I also want to confirm a few things."
The indistinct figure was Sukuna's true form from a thousand years in the future.
After Mirai's Rinnegan evolved, the full-powered 「Final Scene: Lapis Moon」 had become vastly stronger.
The memory scenes were now clearer, and it could even separate fragments of a person's soul consciousness to watch alongside him.
Of course, the target's soul had to be strong enough.
And Sukuna clearly met that requirement.
While Mirai conversed with Sukuna, the discussion inside the room also reached its conclusion.
Since they could not yet determine whether the infant truly was a pair of conjoined twins—or some other abnormality—the tall man decided not to kill it immediately and instead observe it for a time.
If the child was not actually affected by the twin curse, then a four-armed body might instead prove highly advantageous for combat as a sorcerer.
As for the woman who had lost too much blood and fallen unconscious—the infant's mother—not a single person cared.
Whether in ancient times or the modern age, powerful sorcerer clans only married ordinary human women to bear children.
To preserve the purity and continuity of inherited techniques, they would not marry women who possessed innate techniques of their own.
Reduced to mere breeding tools, ordinary women could only remain within the clan as servants after giving birth.
But in this era overrun by cursed spirits, serving a powerful sorcerer clan was still far safer than living outside.
"Almost killed on the very first day of your life."
Mirai glanced at Sukuna beside him and sighed.
"So you actually had a pretty tragic childhood."
"Tragic?"
Sukuna let out a cold laugh.
"That wasn't me. You're mocking the wrong person."
"Not you?"
Mirai frowned faintly and looked toward the infant again.
There was no mouth on the stomach, nor any distorted overlapping face.
But those four arms and compound eyes undoubtedly belonged to Sukuna.
Still, Mirai did not rush to conclusions and continued watching the memories unfold.
Time skipped ahead six years—to the moment the child awakened his cursed technique.
During those six years, Mirai had also noticed the differences between the child and the Sukuna of the present.
Traits that should never have existed within the King of Curses instead defined that child completely.
He would rescue injured birds that had fallen from the sky, carefully treat their wounds, then release them back into nature.
He would secretly sneak into the servants' quarters to help his birth mother with chores.
Because of his grotesque appearance, whether servants or sorcerers, everyone viewed him strangely.
No one was willing to approach him.
At the age of six, upon awakening his technique, the child saw his father's face clearly up close for the very first time.
He understood that if he had failed to awaken a cursed technique, his father would never have appeared.
Mirai, watching from the side, frowned toward Sukuna once more.
The child had not awakened a slashing technique...
If Yorozu's Construction ability was a superior version of Mai Zenin's technique, then the child's newly awakened ability resembled a higher-level version of Yuta Okkotsu's unconditional copying.
「Analysis」
It was not merely imitation.
It allowed the user to observe a cursed technique itself, analyze the underlying principles of its operation, then master it and unleash power even greater than the original caster.
Although it was not the inherited technique of their clan, the tall man understood the terrifying potential of 「Analysis」.
Only at six years old did the child finally receive a name from his father.
"Fallen One."
After awakening his technique, the Fallen One began his own path of training.
Every day he rigorously practiced martial arts and was forbidden from interacting with the clan's servants.
Sorcerers and ordinary humans belonged to two completely different worlds—and this was even more true a thousand years ago.
Yet after finishing his training, the Fallen One would still secretly visit his mother.
Watching the innocent smile on the child's face, Mirai even began to wonder whether this truly was not Sukuna.
"You've already become a sorcerer. You shouldn't mix with ordinary humans!"
"They're nothing but weak creatures that even low-grade cursed spirits can slaughter effortlessly. Associating with them lowers the dignity of sorcerers!"
"You're so powerful, yet you insist on keeping a weakness for yourself!"
His father's scolding grew harsher each time.
The reason was simple: the Fallen One's growth potential had far exceeded his expectations.
After ten years, the Fallen One had unquestionably become the strongest member of the clan.
By himself, he could exorcise special-grade cursed spirits of that era and repeatedly repel invading enemy sorcerer groups.
Four eyes with no blind spots.
A perfect body capable of wielding two cursed tools while simultaneously forming hand signs.
Again and again, he displayed overwhelming power beyond all common sense.
The tall man was deeply satisfied with the Fallen One's growth.
The only thing he despised was the boy's damned kindness.
Even when facing enemy sorcerer groups, the Fallen One would spare them after defeating them rather than kill them.
A thousand years ago, four great powers stood at the peak of the jujutsu world.
After Sugawara no Michizane was falsely accused, exiled, and died in resentment, two factions emerged from the split of his lineage.
One was the "Sugawara Main House," which the Fallen One's clan currently served.
The other was the "Fujiwara Northern House."
The Fujiwara Northern House was the name adopted after intermarriage between the Sugawara and Fujiwara clans.
Because their bloodline was considered impure, conflicts with the Sugawara Main House intensified until the two factions split apart.
The third great power was the "Abe Clan," masters of onmyoji techniques.
The fourth was "Esoteric Buddhism."
The Three Great Families of a thousand years later were all established through repeated divisions and evolution from these four powers.
The clan of Satoru Gojo descended from remnants of the Fujiwara Northern House.
(In that sense, both Gojo Satoru and Yuta Okkotsu could be considered descendants of Sugawara no Michizane.)
The Zenin Clan, long hostile toward Gojo's family, descended from remnants of the Sugawara Main House.
Meanwhile, the Kamo Clan's Blood Manipulation technique was inherited from the Abe Clan.
Tengen and Kenjaku were relics who survived from the Esoteric Buddhist faction of a thousand years ago.
The entanglements and wars among these four factions had already begun back then.
The existence of the Fallen One gave the tall man ambitions he should never have possessed.
To surpass those four great powers.
To elevate his clan to the pinnacle.
And the first thing required to achieve that—
was eliminating the Fallen One's greatest weakness.
His ordinary human mother.
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