Rise.(1)

Inside Shibuya Station, a figure could be seen slowly walking down the hallways, hands in his pockets.

The man, covered with scars and tattered black clothing, was seemingly unfazed by the dead bodies or the walls covered with blood around him.

'I'm getting closer. Nanami's cursed energy signature...is getting weaker. If this keeps up...'

Of course, this figure was Jin. He was planning to find Kenjaku by following those he had seen most involved in the curse users' plans.

So the only real candidates were Yuji Itadori and Mahito.

'Something has to give. All of this is leading up to a culmination of some big 1000-year plan that Kenjaku came up with. I know his type. Sith like him were plentiful. All I need to do...is follow the trail of blood.'

Several moments later, just as Jin walked down a flight of stairs, he saw a strange scene.

Yuji, standing in shock, staring across the hall.

Mahito, triumphantly laying his hand on Nanami's back, his gaze filled with pride.

Nanami, struggling to even retain conciousness. From his melancholic expression, one could tell that he had already accepted death within his heart.

Any moment now, Mahito would finish him off.

If things were allowed to go on this way, Nanami would die a tragic death right in front of his beloved student, Yuji.

Killed by a slithering bastard like Mahito.

Fortunately for the sorcerer duo, fate had other plans this time around.

Whoosh....

With a quiet, simple step, Jin closed in on Mahito like a blur, kicking him back before grabbing Nanami and jumping away, making a decent amount of distance between them.

Immediately recovering, Mahito clicked his tooth as he saw Jin holding Nanami by his neck with one arm, his cursed energy surging over him.

"You just had to interfere, huh Jin?! I thought Geto would have found a way to kill you by now! Tch!"

Jin chuckled.

"Well, rumors of my death or I guess, in this case, sealing, have been greatly exaggerated."

Mahito knew that this situation had just gone from great to straight-up terrible. While defeating Yuji wouldn't have been too much of an issue, Jin was another thing entirely. Even if he was a full power, Mahito would rather not get into a fight with the curse user.

He knew the outcome.

"Nanamin!! Urgh!"

Yuji charged forward but was promptly stopped by Mahito with a blow that the former easily blocked, but the force still sent him reeling back a bit.

"You're not going anywhere, Itadori. We're gonna watch this show together."

Although he would've liked to be the one to finish Nanami, Mahito knew that it was out of his hands now. But...the result would be the same.

'Jin is 100% going to kill the blonde. Which is gonna cause Itadori's spirit to break either way. All I need to do is make sure he gets a front row seat to the event. Little does Jin know...he's helping me achieve my goal.'

The man in question wasn't thinking about all of these plots and plans at this time. All Jin did was look at Nanami's pained expression as he slowly lost consciousness within his grasp...a slight look of pity flashing across his eyes as the last bit of conciousness disappeared.

"NANAMIN!! HAHHHHHH!!""

Yuji seemingly lost his mind and rushed at Jin...but like before, Mahito was countering him at every turn. The spirit had a look of glee plastered across his face as he saw Yuji's despair.

Jin paid no mind to the small ruckus as he whispered, "We're old enemies, you and I. You have shown great tenacity and strength. You even managed to survive our previous battle. In another life, I would have given you a warrior's death. You deserve it. But..."

A red light suddenly emerged from the hand clasped around Nanami's neck as the blood, bones, flesh and soul of the sorcerer started flowing into Jin's body.

"...you have something I want. In exchange, I will grant you eternal...life, in a sense. Along with the multitude of souls that comprise my being, you will join them and see the world through my eyes. You will be Jin Itadori...I will be Kento Nanami. We will be one and the same."

Nanami's body could be seen rapidly melding into Jin's as if they were fusing together. Nanami's soul, experience, his entire existence was becoming a part of Jin.

From this moment on, just like those who had fallen victim to his Domain Expansion, he was going to be a part of Jin for eternity. Only through Jin's death would his soul be free.

Within moments, nothing remained of Nanami. Jin's appearance didn't change after the event. In fact, nothing changed.

The man just cracked his neck, stood up and glanced at Yuji and Mahito.

"MAHITOOOO!! JINNNN!!"

Yuji, filled with despair, sadness, resentment and pure wrath, rushed at Mahito with an incredible flurry.

"Hahahaaaa!!! Come on Yuji-kun!!~ Is that a you have?!"

Mahito happily engaged in battle with the boy, the two destroying the station below as they furiously fought.

Jin could feel the hatred coming from Yuji for both him and Mahito. The two of them had done so much damage to his psyche that it was a wonder he could still fight.

His willpower was remarkable.

'But, I guess for Mahito, that would make his goal of breaking him even more enjoyable. It's too bad...that I'm here. I will make sure the boy doesn't lose. It's not that time yet.'

Jin was like a 3rd party within the battle. Most of the time, he would meld into the shadows, watching it slowly escalate.

For some reason, Mahito's soul had taken a hit from an outside source unseen to all present parties, causing Yuji to gain the upper hand on him.

After taking a heavy beating, Mahito seemingly ran away, but to Jin, it was obvious this was a lure tactic.

Following the battle closely, Jin arrived at the place the duo were at just in time to see another sorcerer running down a staircase, chasing what seemed to be a clone of Mahito.

'No wonder he seemed weaker. But...what is she doing here? From the memories I gained...this girl's name is Nobara Kugisaki. A close friend of Yuji. I wonder...'

Suddenly appearing in the space between Nobara and the clone, Jin made a sign with one hand, his cold eyes locked onto the girl.

"...how would he react if I kill you?"

Nobara, already mid-sprint, couldn't stop or slow down in time to meaningfully react to Jin's sudden appearance.

When Yuji saw this, it was like time had come to a halt. But just like his friend, he could do nothing about the fate that was about to befall her.

"Cleave."

SLASH!

The girls body was split completely in half as the slash bisected her with complete ease. It was as if she was a normal human being.

Her cursed energy reinforcement couldn't even begin to resist Jin's Cleave.

It was to the point where Jin questioned why someone that weak was on this type of battlefield in the first place.

But, those were questions that were meant to be answered later.

Jin turned around and glanced at Yuji, wondering how the boy fared after this new development.

This time...Yuji was just on his knees, his eyes filled with tears.

"K-kugisaki..."

Ignoring the enemies around him, Yuji crawled over to one half of Nobara's body, his hands trembling as he touched it.

"AGHHH!!"

Erupting in a heartwrenching shout, Yuji loudly cried for his friend, his mind shrouded in despair.

He couldn't take this anymore. Everyone he cared about was being taken from him at such a rapid pace that his heart felt as if it had been shattered.

"Come on! Pick your head up, Yuji-kun!!~"

Mahito fused with his clone and rushed at Yuji, battering him with blows.The boy couldn't even fight back in this state. In his mind, he thought it would be better if he died instead.

His heart couldn't take this pain.

But, Jin couldn't allow that to happen. It was time for Jin to step in once again, this time, to raise his beloved son up from the bottomless depths of despair.