Right now.
Uchiha Hikari got to work again, starting to perform "Idle Transfiguration" on Tsumiki.
This girl's situation was a bit trickier than Yukichi's. Her soul was no longer a single, independent entity—it had been partially corrupted by an ancient female sorcerer named Man, who had used her as a vessel for "Incarnation." So, fixing her was a more tedious process. First, Hikari had to strip away the corrupted parts of Tsumiki's soul before repairing what was left of the original.
During this process…
Hikari "saw" the shadow of that ancient sorcerer, Man.
"Who… who are you? What do you want?!" Man demanded, her voice tinged with panic.
Hikari just gave a faint smirk. "Is that your last word? Sorry, but try picking a better reincarnation next time…"
"!?"
With a soft exhale from Hikari, Man's soul fragment was swept away by pale purple cursed flames, vanishing into ashes in an instant.
After that…
Hikari continued her work, following the same steps she'd used on Yukichi to try and restore Tsumiki's soul.
This part took a bit of time.
Thankfully, it all went smoothly in the end.
When Hikari finally withdrew her technique, Tsumiki's eyelids fluttered, as if waking from a long slumber. Her gaze, though, was a bit dazed.
"Sis?" Megumi Fushiguro asked tentatively.
"She's awake, but her soul's taken some damage," Hikari explained. "Her memory and mental clarity might be affected for a while… and her body's pretty weak right now. She'll probably need a lot of rest before she can even get out of bed."
"Got it. I'll take good care of her," Megumi said with a serious nod.
The treatment was a success.
Next up…
Hikari followed Megumi outside to a secluded spot with no one around. She watched as he clasped his hands together, activating his technique: the "Ten Shadows Technique."
"Burube, Yura Yura…"
"Mahoraga!"
As the technique took effect, the air around Megumi shimmered and twisted. A massive silhouette appeared, slowly solidifying into a tangible form.
—Mahoraga.
This thing was a towering humanoid creature with a lizard-like head and tail, no eyes, and a massive wheel-like structure on its back. That wheel was Mahoraga's Circle of Power, symbolizing its ability to "adapt to all things in the world."
Thanks to that wheel, Mahoraga had incredible learning and recovery abilities. Even a move as devastating as Sukuna's "Dismantle" could be quickly adapted to, letting Mahoraga hold its ground undefeated.
But now…
As soon as Mahoraga appeared, it launched an indiscriminate attack on everyone around. Megumi was the first to get flung far away. Then, the creature turned its attention to Hikari, who was standing closest, its face radiating a ferocious aura.
However…
"Wanna take him for a spin, Esdeath?" Hikari asked, glancing at Esdeath beside her.
Esdeath cracked her neck and stepped forward with a grin.
…
Two minutes later.
Mahoraga, now frozen solid as an ice statue, stood motionless, looking like it had lost all signs of life.
Esdeath glanced back at Hikari, raising an eyebrow. "This guy's that weak?"
"…"
Hikari's mouth twitched, unsure how to respond.
How to put it…
Mahoraga's current power level was roughly on par with Sukuna at 15 fingers. In the original Shibuya Incident arc, it went toe-to-toe with Sukuna, basically fighting to a draw. Cursed spirits like Jogo or Mahito, by comparison, were only around the 10-finger level.
Hundreds of years ago, the head of the Zen'in clan relied on Mahoraga to take down the "Six Eyes" of that era, both perishing in the process. And in the later stages of the Jujutsu Kaisen story, Sukuna—armed with 19 fingers and the head of the Tathagata Buddha, nearly at full power—used Mahoraga to take down Satoru Gojo.
But…
When Mahoraga faced a power that exceeded its adaptability threshold, it would fail to keep up and fall quickly.
Like right now.
Still…
In theory, if a strong enough master was willing to invest time in training and refining Mahoraga, its potential was nearly limitless. At the very least, it could reach the ceiling of the Jujutsu Kaisen world—equivalent to a 20-finger Sukuna. That would make it a Shikigami on the level of a Kage, at minimum.
Hikari decided to give it a shot.
"Well then… I'll be taking this Shikigami, no objections."
After a quick word with Megumi, Hikari pulled out a sealing scroll and sealed Mahoraga inside.
She could've used her "Yasaka Magatama" to absorb its cursed energy right then and there.
But Mahoraga's abilities were unique, and absorbing it on the spot might lead to unexpected complications. Better to play it safe and try it somewhere secure later.
…
With that…
Hikari had pretty much accomplished everything she came to do.
As for Sukuna, he was still missing a few fingers. She'd have to wait for Satoru Gojo to track down the rest and summon Sukuna's full form to see what he was really made of.
So, the day after acquiring Mahoraga, Hikari took Esdeath, Yukichi, and the ten Sukuna fingers she'd gotten from Jogo, and left the Jujutsu Kaisen world for now.
First, she dropped Yukichi off with Dr. Gero, going through the "onboarding process."
During this, Yukichi's expression turned a bit odd.
"Um… just to check, is this old guy Dr. Gero?" he asked.
"You know him?" Hikari raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised.
Yukichi looked at her like it was obvious. "Duh, he's a character from Dragon Ball, right? Looks exactly like him… Wait, is it really him?"
"?"
Hikari suddenly realized.
She'd forgotten that the Jujutsu Kaisen world had Dragon Ball manga. Yuji Itadori had mentioned it once, but since he wasn't super into anime, he didn't know much about it. Yukichi, on the other hand, had been bedridden for years—probably passing the time by reading tons of manga like that.
In that case…
"Yup, it's him," Hikari admitted with a nod. "As you can see, this is the Dragon Ball world. It's just a bit different from the one you read about. Keep that to yourself, though—don't go spreading it around."
"…Got it."
After introducing Yukichi to Dr. Gero and the others, and asking Tamayo and Yushiro to keep an eye on him, Hikari temporarily left the Dragon Ball world.
She and Esdeath headed back to the Hidden Leaf Village.