Chapter 30: The Bathhouse and Ritual

Bang!

Without warning, a dead branch-like thin limb pierced deep into the bathhouse in front of them.

Splish, splash.

Not long after, deep purple blood rippled on the surface, and a corpse, impaled by the branch, slowly floated up and was dragged to the trio's feet.

Mirai lifted his eyes to examine the corpse, while a faint wave of cursed energy surged beside him in the void.

The branch, which connected to the void, injected cursed energy into the corpse, emitting a faint white glow.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Under Naobito's incredulous gaze, the heart of the corpse in front of them began to show faint signs of life.

Thump, thump!

The heartbeat, weak at first, gradually became stronger. The bloated skin of the corpse was turning pale, slowly becoming the same shade as White Zetsu.

"Awake?"

Mirai asked softly, and from the shadow beneath his feet, a uniform with red clouds on a black cloak appeared, placed in front of the corpse.

"Hey, Mirai."

The corpse slowly rose, glaring at Mirai in anger. "What kind of joke are you pulling?!"

"I was just about to watch a show, and suddenly, I black out?"

The naked White Zetsu picked up the clothes on the ground while talking. "My poor number 9527!"

"I barely got used to it, and now it's gone because of you."

After putting on the clothes, White Zetsu patted his head. "By the way, what did you put in the God Tree?"

"Why does my head still feel all fuzzy?"

Confirming that White Zetsu was unharmed, Mirai didn't respond. Instead, he used his Sharingan to scan the barrier around them for any signs of intrusion.

White Zetsu, noticing Mirai's avoidance and lack of response, immediately assumed guilt.

"So it was you!"

White Zetsu gritted his teeth, rubbing his head. His mind still lingered on the moment he had been bragging to Maki on the playground, just before seeing smoke rise from Mirai's residential area at the technical college.

He had been about to rush over to see the commotion when suddenly, a flood of chaotic information overwhelmed his mind, and everything went black.

Mirai pursed his lips and remained silent.

Blame Gojo Satoru—he hadn't given him any time to prepare.

When they were in the Infinite Void, as Mirai transferred all the information to the God Tree, he knew White Zetsu would be in trouble.

After all, White Zetsu's cursed energy and soul depended on the Gedo Statue for existence.

That was also why Mirai tolerated White Zetsu so much—because the Gedo Statue was under his control.

This meant that White Zetsu's life and death were always at his discretion.

"Tch!"

Seeing that Mirai was ignoring him, White Zetsu turned to inspect their surroundings.

"Yo, blondie, busy there?"

Haruta, grinning maniacally while slashing at cursed spirits, didn't stop. He turned his head and beamed at White Zetsu.

"Boss Zetsu, long time no see."

Haruta wasn't surprised by what was happening around him; after all, this wasn't the first time he'd seen such things.

Turning to the stunned Naobito, White Zetsu wrinkled his nose. "Hey, old man!"

"Don't think I didn't notice—you've been staring at me ever since I wasn't wearing clothes!"

"What's wrong?"

"Did my charming figure shock you?"

White Zetsu stretched his newly revived body, striking suggestive bodybuilding poses in front of Naobito.

"Take a good look, and learn."

"This is something I meticulously studied from late-night Rbtv. It'll take you years to master this, old man."

Naobito's shock faded, but the corners of his mouth twitched, and he said nothing.

'Rbtv' referred to Japan's late-night pay-per-view channels.

Judging by White Zetsu's poses, it seemed this strange cursed spirit had spent quite a bit of time watching human "educational" films. [T/N: You all get it, right?]

"Enough, Zetsu."

Mirai's calm voice called out, interrupting the antics. "How's Unit One? Did it get affected this time?"

White Zetsu paused, closing his eyes for a moment before shaking his head.

"Don't worry, everything's normal."

Saying this, White Zetsu walked to the edge of the bathhouse, clicking his tongue in appreciation. "You've really outdone yourself with this place."

"The souls within these bodies are completely dispersed. Taking control this time feels so much better than before."

Mirai nodded, his gaze drifting deeper into the bathhouse.

His crimson eyes pierced through the thick, rippling surface.

Beneath the endless cursed spirits' flesh fragments lay the tightly packed corpses of jujutsu sorcerers, and the bodies of non-sorcerers, specialized in physical training.

There were about a hundred, all resting in slumber.

Of course, the so-called "non-sorcerers" weren't ordinary people from the outside world.

Some were members of the Zenin clan's elite Retention Team, while others were cursed spirit practitioners with unique traits.

After all, Mirai's bounty had been hanging on the black market for quite some time.

He would sometimes have Zen'in Jin add more names to it, ensuring White Zetsu always had fresh replacements.

As he gazed at this scene of carnage, a faint smile crept up Mirai's lips.

Building this bathhouse, he had to thank the original manga's Rika.

The instructions were detailed to perfection.

The bathhouse before his was the setting for Sukuna's ritual after seizing Megumi Fushiguro.

More accurately, it was the ritual for "becoming a demon."

It could suppress the souls within the flesh, forever trapping them in darkness.

Since the Gedo Statue had evolved, the creation of new White Zetsus was no longer infinite.

His body could no longer be created purely from cursed energy.

Thus, human corpses had become the perfect medium for White Zetsu to experience the world.

In the past, Mirai had even used fresh corpses of Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerers to strengthen White Zetsu.

However, this had caused his consciousness to become entangled with the remaining souls in the body, preventing complete control.

Occasionally, malfunctions would occur.

Thus, the hellish bathhouse before his had been born.

Glancing over at Haruta, who was happily working, Mirai's eyes flashed with a trace of cold intent.

Originally, Haruta, who had been captured by Zenin Jinchi, was someone Mirai had planned to kill outright.

But after some thought, it seemed like this guy was pretty good at this kind of work—efficient too.

And with that cursed spirit master pleading for him, Mirai had decided to keep him around for now.

"Where's Ryuza?"

Mirai turned his head towards Haruta, his voice soft.

"Master Mirai, Ryuza's in his room, forging cursed tools."

"Want me to call him?"

Haruta kept his head bowed, speaking respectfully.

"Keep working. I'll check on him myself."

With that, Mirai turned, leading White Zetsu and Naoya, and walked away from the bathhouse.

Only when Mirai's figure was fully swallowed by the darkness did Haruta finally lift his head and wipe the cold sweat from his face.

"Another peaceful day. Lucky."

He muttered to himself, glancing at the bound cursed spirits. "I still prefer spending time with you cute little guys. So much more comfortable."

He pressed half his face against the cold body of a cursed spirit, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

In the next moment, a flash of silver glinted in the dim light.

Vivid purple blood splattered, mingling with Haruta's muffled laughter as it blossomed into the night!

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