Mei Mei looked at him with interest.
Not a clone, but a half-self.
Kinji Hakari's brow twitched, and he laughed.
As he grinned, the baby dragon simultaneously opened its eyes and grinned as well.
Mei Mei had to admit this scene was somewhat startling.
Mahito explained from the side,
"Compared to Cursed Spirits, human souls are harder to change."
"If a forced change is made, it's very likely to cause significant side effects."
"In terms of soul resilience, human souls really can't compare to Cursed Spirits."
"This is probably because humans have physical bodies for protection, so the soul's defense has become lax because of it."
"Unfortunately, to perform New Humanization completely without side effects, even I can't do it in one step."
Despite saying something regrettable, Mahito's expression was quite self-satisfied.
Mei Mei could understand why.
This was actually quite easy to deduce.
Since Cursed Spirits have no physical bodies, their souls and essence are exposed to the outside for a long time.
To maintain their own stability, their souls must be extremely resilient.
Therefore, Cursed Spirits are better protected against attacks targeting the soul than humans.
Attempting to precisely manipulate a human soul to grant it immortality must be a hundred times more difficult than doing so for a Cursed Spirit.
In fact, in the original work, Mahito also bluntly stated that compared to humans, a Cursed Spirit's soul is more resilient, while a human's soul is very fragile and can die if one is not careful.
Yet Mahito still managed to do it, which was indeed something to be proud of—even arrogant about.
"I wonder if you've heard of Yuki Tsukumo's fighting style?"
Mahito suddenly asked.
"The fighting styles and Cursed Techniques of a Special Grade are highly classified."
"Even if one deliberately tries to find out, it's difficult to gather comprehensive information."
"So unfortunately, I am not aware," Mei Mei said calmly, not denying her ignorance.
As for why the Cursed Technique of Gojo Satoru, who is also a Special Grade, is widely known, that is entirely Gojo Satoru's own issue.
He has no intention of hiding it at all; no matter who asks him, he will explain his Cursed Technique in detail, never having been afraid.
In the original work, Yuki Tsukumo's Cursed Technique was not revealed until the very end during combat.
Before that, even the thousand-year-old Curse User Kenjaku had never collected specific intelligence.
It's clear how thoroughly her Cursed Technique was hidden.
"Yuki Tsukumo has a shikigami cursed tool connected to her own Cursed Energy called Garuda."
"As a cursed tool shikigami, it can serve as a target for Cursed Techniques other than Yuki Tsukumo herself, allowing her to use the same technique simultaneously."
Mahito spoke eloquently, explaining his entire line of thought.
"My inspiration for the New Human transformation of humans came precisely from Yuki Tsukumo's shikigami cursed tool."
"Since humans cannot undergo New Human transformation for the time being, what if it's done by a shikigami connected to the human?"
Mei Mei looked at the young dragon on Kinji Hakari's shoulder, carefully sensing the young dragon's Cursed Energy level.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she could hardly perceive it.
In other words, for a Jujutsu Sorcerer, this shikigami half-body consumes almost nothing.
Even with a 24-hour supply, there would likely be—
no problem at all.
But this isn't the master supplying Cursed Energy to the shikigami.
It's quite the opposite—
"The role of this shikigami is to absorb Cursed Energy from the atmosphere and supply it to its master," Mahito said unhurriedly.
"Through this slow but safe method, the shikigami will gradually transform its master into a half-Cursed Spirit lifeform."
"Because it can autonomously replenish energy from the atmosphere, the act of eating will gradually disappear, as will metabolism."
"And because it is a Cursed Energy transformation and cycle, cellular aging will stop."
"All energy is completed through the Cursed Energy cycle."
Mahito made a "please" gesture, letting Mei Mei and Ui Ui observe Kinji Hakari closely.
"Humans will transform into creatures that only need to absorb Cursed Energy from the atmosphere to survive independently."
"From then on, they will not age, will not need to eat, and will not be disabled."
"They will be immortal beings as long as they are not killed."
"That is what I promised—
the New Human."
Mei Mei adjusted her emotions through slow breathing; she understood the principle.
Mei Mei was not one of those old academic types in the jujutsu world, so she didn't understand those complex jujutsu principles.
But Mahito's explanation was simple and easy to understand; even a Jujutsu Sorcerer like her, who only half-understood, could clearly grasp the logic and was quite convinced.
"Are there any other side effects?"
Ui Ui asked.
"Like physical mutations, mental distortion, or a personality leaning toward becoming a Cursed Spirit?"
"That's why the shikigami must be arranged."
Mahito pointed to the young dragon on Kinji Hakari's shoulder.
"Right now, this young dragon is a shikigami personally molded by Kinji."
"I connected this shikigami to Kinji's soul, transforming it into Kinji's other half."
"When the time is ripe, the young dragon will completely undergo fusion with Kinji."
"Kinji will then possess a spiritual form and a physical form."
"And because this shikigami is connected to Kinji's soul, they will be regarded as the same individual, so it can also use Kinji's Cursed Technique and even Domain Expansion."
Having said this much, any Jujutsu Sorcerer would understand.
If there were any side effects, they could be observed from the shikigami alone.
By then, there would naturally be plenty of ways to remedy it.
If the shikigami functioned normally and remained problem-free, it would mean the New Human transformation process was also fine.
This shikigami is equivalent to an external organ for the Jujutsu Sorcerer, making it very convenient to monitor the process.
Mei Mei nodded with satisfaction.
This was indeed a good method—safe, and even if something went wrong, it could be quickly detected.
At that time, whether to disconnect and remain an old human or find Mahito for a remedy to continue the New Human transformation would be up to a single thought.
Thus, Mei Mei had one last question.
"I can understand that this is indeed safe and convenient for Jujutsu Sorcerers, but what about ordinary people?"
Mei Mei asked.
"Ordinary people can't control Cursed Energy and don't have Cursed Techniques."
"What should they do to undergo New Human transformation?"
Kinji Hakari suddenly asked,
"Mei Mei, have you seen Digimon?"
Mei Mei was stunned.
What was that?
Ui Ui was suddenly pleasantly surprised.
"Does Mr. Kinji Hakari also watch Digimon?"
Kinji Hakari said excitedly,
"This shikigami is our Digimon!"
"You know Digimon Frontier, right?"
"I'm Takuya Kanbara, and my shikigami is the Spirit of Flame!"
Ui Ui was delighted.
"I see, I understand now!"
What do you understand?
Mei Mei kept a wooden face, not saying a word.
Mahito couldn't help but laugh.
"It seems Miss Mei Mei doesn't understand the popular topics among young people."
"That won't do."
"I heard Gojo Satoru knows these things very well; you need to keep up too."
Mei Mei sighed.
"Fine, that is indeed my problem."
"I'll go watch Digimon when I get home."
"Is it called Digimon Frontier?"
Ui Ui straightened his body.
"Sister, I'll watch it with you."
"Mm-hmm, Ui Ui is very impressive."
Mei Mei smiled.
"It is my honor to share my sister's worries!"
Ui Ui said with a broad smile, his eyes shining.
There must be something wrong with these two siblings.
Mahito and Kinji Hakari thought simultaneously, their rapport as if they were brothers.
Ui Ui explained,
"What Mr. Kinji Hakari means is that this shikigami has nothing to do with whether one is a Jujutsu Sorcerer or not; it is simply an external organ for Cursed Energy absorption and body modification."
"Ordinary people cannot operate their own energy as freely as Jujutsu Sorcerers, but even ordinary people can produce Cursed Energy."
"As long as they can produce Cursed Energy, they can use this shikigami."
"The New Human transformation does not require one to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer."
Kinji Hakari clapped loudly.
"As expected of a fellow fan, that explanation gets a perfect score."
Ui Ui held back a smile, but the corners of his mouth still curled up as he looked at Mei Mei expectantly.
Mei Mei gently stroked Ui Ui's head, and Ui Ui immediately grinned from ear to ear.
Mei Mei suddenly asked,
"If the whole world undergoes New Human transformation, will Cursed Spirits stop being born?"
The whole room went silent.
Ui Ui and Kinji Hakari were both stunned; they had never considered this possibility.
The birth of curses is precisely because a large number of ordinary people cannot control the Cursed Energy in their bodies, allowing it to leak into the atmosphere.
Then, through the atmospheric cycle, this Cursed Energy with nowhere to go will gather together, finally forming a manifested curse—that is a Cursed Spirit.
Based on this theory, there was once a Special Grade curse user who proposed such a concept.
"If we kill all ordinary people and leave only Jujutsu Sorcerers who can control the flow of their own Cursed Energy, wouldn't that cut off curses?"
The theory was correct, but too insane.
The practitioner of such an extreme concept was Geto Suguru.
No Jujutsu Sorcerer in Japan could possibly not know this person.
This Special Grade curse user personally raised the curtain on the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, where countless Cursed Spirits rushed into crowded cities for indiscriminate slaughter.
His target was not Jujutsu Sorcerers, but ordinary people.
He wanted to kill all the ordinary people in the world and leave only Jujutsu Sorcerers.
To cut off curses.
This was the great cause.
And now, the same theory had produced a different result.
The King of Curses, this special Cursed Spirit, had personally proposed a way to exterminate Cursed Spirits.
How ironic.
Kinji Hakari murmured to himself,
"...That's right."
"If the whole world really undergoes New Human transformation, Cursed Spirits really will be cut off."
"Theoretically, there's no problem with that."
Ui Ui's eyes widened.
"A problem that has plagued Jujutsu Sorcerers for a thousand years has been solved by a Cursed Spirit?"
Mei Mei took a deep breath, her legs together, her head held high and her back straight, her hands naturally placed between her legs as she unconsciously sat in seiza.
"King of Curses, do you want to cut off curses?"
she asked solemnly.
"You..."
The King of Curses smiled.
That smile was clearly so natural and elegant, yet Mei Mei felt a bone-chilling cold.
He said,
"Aren't you... underestimating humans too much?"
Mei Mei was stunned.
"Underestimating humans?"
"Human curses are a hundred times deeper than those of Cursed Spirits," Mahito said meaningfully.
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 150 powerstones