"In the future, you will fail to assimilate with the Star Plasma Vessel and become something that is neither human nor a Cursed Spirit."
Satoshi's first sentence hit like a bomb, leaving Tengen stunned.
I'll fail in the assimilation?
Is he referring to the assimilation between me and Yuki?
Is Satoshi always this direct? Because they're in a relationship, he doesn't want Yuki to merge with me?
Tengen's face was filled with suspicion.
She didn't fully believe what Satoshi said, but she had speculated about this outcome before.
Once I lose my human form, I'll evolve in a strange direction.
But I have no idea what that form will look like.
Judging from Satoshi's attitude, it seemed like he had truly seen what I would become. That thought alone stirred a faint sense of shame in her heart.
Neither human nor Cursed Spirit.
Undoubtedly, it would be a bizarre and indescribable form, something completely unacceptable to someone like her who had always loved beauty.
Just as she was about to ask again, Satoshi shifted the topic.
"Lord Tengen, why do you think Geto Suguru is here? Don't you think his technique is unusual?"
Tengen frowned. Why bring up Geto Suguru again?
Wasn't he just someone Yuki happened to encounter? What's strange about him?
What's special about Geto Suguru's technique?
Geto Suguru… Cursed Spirit Manipulation…
Hm?
Tengen's expression changed. She looked at Satoshi and asked hesitantly, "Could he control me in that future state?"
It felt like a bold guess. But if her form became something in between human and cursed spirit, a half-human, half-Cursed Spirit state, then with enough mastery of that technique… Geto Suguru might be able to control her.
Satoshi didn't hesitate and confirmed this future to her.
Although by then, the one controlling Geto Suguru wouldn't be him anymore, but Kenjaku. Still, that didn't change her fate.
"So, Lord Tengen, if you want to avoid that ending, you must avoid the failure of assimilation."
What Satoshi said was strange.
Avoid assimilation failure? Wasn't it because of you that I failed to assimilate with the Star Plasma Vessel?
Tengen felt Satoshi's words were contradictory.
Could it be that this time, he wasn't going to stop Yuki from assimilating with her? But it didn't seem like that either.
Tengen stood up and walked to stand in front of Satoshi.
"I'll fail in assimilation, isn't that because you don't want Yuki to merge with me? I know you care deeply about emotions, so you don't want your girlfriend to assimilate with me, right?"
She lifted Satoshi's chin with her delicate jade-like fingers, her eyes flashing with a teasing glint.
She had lived for so many years and could naturally express all kinds of emotions and gestures with ease.
She had assimilated countless Star Plasma Vessels, each one a remarkable human, and her current appearance was the culmination of the most beautiful traits of all those women.
Since Yuki could become Satoshi's girlfriend, there's no reason he wouldn't be attracted to her.
Satoshi smiled faintly and pushed her hand away.
"Can I say that Yuki's failure to assimilate with you had nothing to do with me? Whether I existed or not, you would have failed to assimilate with her."
There was a hint of fatalism in his voice, which made Tengen a little displeased.
"Then what does all of this mean?"
Tengen slightly pursed her lips and stared at Satoshi. She knew he wasn't done.
Satoshi shook his head.
"I'm talking about the Star Plasma Vessel after Yuki. You'll still fail to assimilate with the next generation. That time, you'll enter the sublimation state. That time, you'll face the ending I remember."
Tengen's expression froze.
Two consecutive failures to assimilate with Star Plasma Vessels? That was something she had never anticipated.
"Whether I appear or not, you'll end up like this. So Lord Tengen, this truly has nothing to do with me."
"But since you've come to find me, and Yuki doesn't seem to want to walk that path, I can help you."
Satoshi's tone was flat, but Tengen could sense his sincerity.
She didn't fully believe him, but his identity and prophecy were eerily similar to a dream she once had.
Back when the first Zanpakutō appeared, she had already felt the worldline begin to twist.
In this distorted world, finding the Twisted Son to rewrite fate shouldn't count as a violation, right?
After all, the world was no longer on its original trajectory.
Tengen looked at Satoshi and smiled softly.
"Then is there something you can do to help me? Since the failure of assimilation with the Star Plasma Vessel has nothing to do with you, then how do you plan to change the result?"
Satoshi raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
There shouldn't be a problem with Amanai Riko's Star Plasma Vessel.
With the protection of the Three Great Families and Jujutsu High, other assassins won't be able to interfere with the Star Plasma Vessel.
So if Tengen is willing, Riko will definitely be able to assimilate with her.
In truth, changing Toji and Satoru's fates would indirectly change Tengen's as well.
But Satoshi had no intention of explaining further. As long as he understood it himself, that was enough. Tengen wouldn't believe him anyway.
His goal this time was to have Tengen forge a Zanpakutō.
The Zanpakutō's function would help her survive this crisis.
Sensing Satoshi's confidence, Tengen narrowed her eyes slightly and thought of something. She recalled that mysterious Zanpakutō that shouldn't exist in this world and asked in a low voice:
"Are you planning to use the power of your Zanpakutō?"
Her perception was sharp. Satoshi nodded.
"I have a Zanpakutō that can solve your problem. This way, you won't be affected by future assimilation failures… or rather, it will allow you to enter another state of assimilation."
(To be continued.)
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