I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 259 Approval from Minato Namikaze

Uchiha Hikaru's words contained a surprisingly large amount of information.

Yukichi, who had been waiting to meet Masato, was stunned for a moment before gradually coming to his senses: "You mean, Masato and the others are already... How is that possible? And Gojo Satoru... Why should I believe you?"

"Well..."

Uchiha Hikaru raised his chin: "You should know Gojo Satoru and Itadori Yuujin's phone numbers, right? Just call them and confirm. As for Masato and 'Natsuyuu-ge,' they're right here."

As they were talking.

Uchiha Hikaru took out the two sealing scrolls, immediately broke the seal, and showed them to Kokichi.

While they were in a sealed state, their bodies looked a bit stiff and they couldn't speak freely. However, the world of magic didn't have the concepts of "transformation magic" or "illusion magic," so as long as you saw those two faces, you could basically determine their identities.

the other side.

Yukichi, still somewhat skeptical, dialed Itadori Yuujin's number and spoke to him briefly before accepting the facts that Uchiha Hikaru had just stated. However, his expression still showed some doubt.

"Shouldn't 'transformation through non-action' be a technique exclusive to True Immortals? Why can you use it too?"

When he reached a deal with Kokichi and Masato, he had naturally witnessed the "Transformation of Nothingness". He found it hard to imagine that there was a second person who could possess such a special technique that could change the form of the soul.

Uchiha Hikaru did not offer much explanation for this:

"I have my own way of doing things, so you don't need to ask any more questions."

"Before you decide whether to accept the invitation, I want to warn you about something... that your leaking of information about the 'exchange meeting' to the real people and other cursed spirits has been discovered by the Cursed Arts Academy, especially by Gojou Satoru and the Songstress. They have already launched an investigation and should be able to trace it back to you soon. What kind of punishment do you think you will receive from the higher-ups in the Cursed Arts Academy for your actions?"

but……

"If you're willing to accept this invitation, I do have a way to help you resolve these troubles."

In the original story, Gojo Satoru was indeed the first to discover and confirm that "Kibotamaru is the traitor," and he entrusted the songstress to investigate and confirm the matter privately. However, when he tried to arrest Yukichi, he found that the other party had disappeared.

That very night, Kokichi died at the hands of Masato, leaving behind only a few "miniature mechanical pellets" with their own consciousness, who participated in the Shibuya Incident a dozen days later.

Now, Makoto and Ryosaku have been sealed away in advance, and there is one less cause of death for Kokichi.

However, his betrayal of the High Sorcery Specialist remains a fact.

Even if Gojo Satoru chooses to turn a blind eye and not pursue the matter, it's hard to say what the higher-ups in the jutsu world will think.

This group of high-ranking officials might not be capable of defeating Sukuna, but they are quite professional at scheming against their own people. They could even suspect Gojo Satoru of colluding with an enemy simply because they discovered that "Natsuyuge is not dead," and thus sentence him to death; and because Sukuna went on a killing spree in Shibuya, they suspected Tokyo High School Principal Yagura Masamichi of "inciting students to instigate the Shibuya Incident," and executed him; so what about a mere person like Kokichi…

Whether to kill or not is just a matter of words.

However, this conflict is also easy to resolve.

Once he becomes "one of their own" with Yukichi, Hikaru Uchiha can help him meet with those high-ranking jutsu masters who he's only heard of but never seen, and ask them to give him face and abandon their pursuit of this guy.

When it comes to "persuading" others...

Uchiha Hikaru was always very experienced.

"So, what's your choice, Machine Maru?"

"...I have another question. Is that research institute you mentioned far from Tokyo or Kyoto?"

"Hmm...it's a little far."

Uchiha Hikaru thought for a moment: "But it's not that far... Don't worry, this is a legitimate job, it won't restrict your personal freedom. It's an eight-hour workday, five days on, two days off, with room and board provided. You can leave the research institute anytime on weekends and come back here, just let me know in advance."

To be precise...

The workplace that Hikaru Uchiha and Kokichi arranged for her to be located in another world.

It is truly far, because the distance between the two sides cannot even be measured by common sense.

But it's also very close...

Because going back and forth is just a matter of "shuttling". It can be done in an instant with just a thought, faster than taking a plane.

The only minor issue is that since Yukichi is not a member of the chat group, he cannot use the teleportation function on his own. He needs Uchiha Hikaru to act as an intermediary and bring him back.

Once or twice is fine.

But if this happens every weekend, it will indeed be a bit of a hassle.

(By the way, shouldn't the chat group have a feature to actively invite people, or a mechanism similar to "guests" that allows certain people to initiate conversations as temporary group members and grant them access permissions?)

(At worst, we can limit the number of times each person can travel between groups each month, or add an application process where non-group members submit applications, and then I, as the group admin, approve them online for targeted travel... That shouldn't be a problem, right?)

Uchiha Hikaru pondered this in his heart, intending to think about it when he had some free time.

If we can develop this feature, we can bring Esdeath in as well.

This way, it will be more convenient for her to travel to other worlds with this military princess in the future.

"Oh, right, the mechanical pill."

Uchiha Hikaru thought for a moment and added, "There's one more person on the list I plan to invite to join the research institute... it's Miwa Kasumi, a second-year student at Kyoto Vocational High School who's in the same year as you. If you agree to join, you'll be colleagues from now on."

—Miwa Kasumi, a second-year student at Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu Higher Specialized School, is a mediocre Level 3 Jujutsu user and one of the few "normal" people in the Jujutsu world. She is also the object of Yukichi's unrequited love.

Compared to students like Yuujin Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro, who came from privileged backgrounds, Kasumi Miwa became a sorcerer solely to support her younger siblings' education.

Uchiha Hikaru considered himself to have some financial resources. If he could recruit Miwa Kasumi with a little money, that would be quite good.

……

Perhaps it's because Miwa Kasumi was mentioned.

Kokichi finally made up his mind, accepted the olive branch offered by Uchiha Hikari, and signed a draft "employment contract" as she requested.

after that.

Under the slightly uneasy gaze of Yukichi, Uchiha Hikaru walked up to him, then raised a hand and placed it on his head, silently activating a spell: "...Transformation of Inaction".

Purple flames swirled slowly.

The curse power originating from the real person was exhaled from Uchiha Hikaru's palm, slowly entering Yukichi's body and then spreading to his limbs and bones.

A transformation, from soul to body, began to take place gradually and subtly.

A dozen minutes later.

Uchiha Hikaru withdrew his hand.

"...The procedure is complete. You can stand up and walk around a bit to experience the effects."

"!"

The result was, unsurprisingly, as expected.

After all, Uchiha Hikari had already rehearsed beforehand—when she was experimenting on those social scum, she had personally twisted the souls of several people into a state similar to paralysis, and then used "inaction transformation" to restore them. So now, using it on Yukichi was already a piece of cake, and the process went even more smoothly than she had originally expected.

Just as excited as Kokichi.

After he walked around a few times and stretched his limbs to adjust to his newly healthy body, Uchiha Hikaru casually said, "Just stay here for a few days. Don't wander around unnecessarily. We'll discuss the leak with Gojo Satoru first. As for Miwa Kasumi, I'll make arrangements as soon as possible, so you don't need to worry about her."

"……good."

Kokichi nodded, his excitement gradually replaced by calm as he seemed to begin thinking about his future plans.

At this time.

Uchiha Hikaru carefully considered his tone before bringing up another matter: "As far as I know, you seem to have created a particularly enormous 'Ultimate Mecha-Maru,' right? Could I see it?"

……

Below the dam near Tokyo Bay.

Hikaru Uchiha finally got to see the "Ultimate Machine Ball" with Yukichi.

To be precise, this thing is called "Ultimate Machinemaru Absolute Form Armored Puppet Prototype 0". Its appearance is closer to Unit-01 than Gundam. It is about 30 to 40 meters tall, about the same size as Susanoo in its fourth form. It is silver-white all over, and its body exudes a powerful aesthetic.

"……good."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded slightly.

In terms of sheer power, "Ultimate Machine Ball" isn't actually that strong. Although it allows Yukichi, who only has the strength of a quasi-first-level sorcerer, to unleash the power of a special-level sorcerer for a short period of time, almost overwhelming the real person, this power comes from Yukichi's seventeen years of accumulation. It's basically a one-time use; once it's used up, it's gone.

Moreover, even a top-tier sorcerer's combat power is actually just so-so. Not to mention compared to Gundam or Unit-01, even compared to the "Supreme Imperial Arms" or "Demon Possessed" from the world of Akame ga Kill!, they are still a bit lacking.

but……

Strength is temporary, but handsomeness lasts a lifetime.

Just looking at this "Ultimate Mecha Maru," Kokichi's aesthetic sense is miles ahead of Dr. Gero's. With him in charge of the exterior design, combined with the rapidly developing black technology in the Dragon Ball world, it's likely that they can create a mecha that's both cool and powerful.

"Keep it up, young man. I have high hopes for you!"

After offering a few words of encouragement to Yukichi, Uchiha Hikaru casually took a picture of the "Ultimate Machine Maru" and posted it in the group chat.

[Anonymous: [Ultimate Machinemaru Absolute Form Armored Puppet Prototype 0.jpg]]

[Anonymous: How are you feeling?]

[Oni-hime: Wow, is this the mecha that the guy called "Mech-Maru" you mentioned made? It looks so cool!]

[Bulma: It looks a bit like Erii's "Unit-01" from last time, just the color is different... But what's with this name? It looks really weird.]

[Eternal Girl: Is it strange? I think it's quite a cool name. Did Ms. Hikari come up with it?]

[Nameless: ...No, I don't have that kind of naming talent. It was a sorcerer on Itadori Yuujin's side who came up with it.]

in reality.

Uchiha Hikaru smiled unconsciously as he looked at the message sent by Namikaze Minato in the group chat.

She had already guessed that Minato Namikaze would approve of the full name "Ultimate Machine Maru".

After all, this long and cringeworthy naming style is just too much like Minato Namikaze. If he could come to the world of jutsu and have a face-to-face conversation with Kokichi, the two would probably have a lot in common.

……

That evening.

After leaving Yukichi's place, Uchiha Hikaru used "Shangri-La" to return to Tokyo and found Gojo Satoru. He briefly recounted what had happened during that time to him.

"I see……"

"Was it really Mechanical Maru who leaked the information about the 'exchange meeting'?"

"Given the usual practices of the Cursed Arts Academy, the mechanical maru who did this should indeed be severely punished. However... since Miss Hikari values ​​his talent as a cursed corpse maker, I will speak to the higher-ups."

Gojo Satoru made a promise.

In fact, Gojo Satoru was indifferent to the matter of leaking information to Kokichi.

Since it didn't cause any real damage, it even indirectly helped him a little—if it weren't for this incident, the five Su Nuo fingers that the higher-ups in the sorcery would have been kept hidden for who knows how long.

Say.

Gojo Satoru had always disliked the conservative style of the higher-ups. If he could cause them some trouble and stir up the stagnant waters that had been frozen for many years, he would be happy to do so.

As for Sukuna...

"...So, Miss Hikari, you've already obtained ten fingers from the group of cursed spirits led by the real person. How many fingers are left, and what is the whereabouts of Sukuna's body?"

"Yes."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded.

She had already perused Lu Suo's memories.

Just as she had anticipated, Rōsō knew the whereabouts of almost all of Sukuna's fingers—even if he didn't know the exact locations, he had a general direction. Moreover, Sukuna's corpse, the "Buddha incarnate," had always been kept by him in his secret storehouse.

With this intelligence as a foundation, it's only a matter of time before we collect all 20 fingers.

but……

Uchiha Hikari didn't plan to do the actual research herself. She intended to let Gojo Satoru do it, and then bring out Sukuna after everything was ready to see how capable she really was.

"Understood... Resolving the threat of Sukuna is originally the responsibility of the Jujutsu World itself. I am already extremely grateful to Ms. Hikari and Ms. Esdeath for their help. I will find a way to collect the remaining fingers."

Gojo Satoru made his promise once again.

the end.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Also, I have another request... Could I see Xia Youjie's body, which was once possessed by Lu Suo?"

(End of this chapter)