Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Chapter 148

   

 Summary:

Maki returns to the Zenin family to collect cursed tools for the Culling game, but things don't go exactly as planned. The upper echelon of the clan refused to give up Megumi's family fortune and conspired to kill him, Maki, and Mai. Maki walks right into their trap and is forced to face her own father.

Plot:

To fulfill her role in the fight against the cull game, Maki returns to a place where she never feels welcome, home.

Maki goes to the Zenin household to collect cursed tools and is greeted by Naoya. He mocks her for the injury on her face and she simply mocks him. Naoya believes that all Maki had was her attraction, and now that it's gone, he wonders if he should bully her mercilessly like before. He follows by asking if he's just going to follow Megumi and Yuta like a hound dog, but Maki ignores him and heads underground.

Maki ascends the stone steps into an underground tunnel that leads to a reinforced corridor closer to the cursed warehouse. Maki's mother is waiting for her in the hallway and reminds her that they cannot enter the warehouse. Maki shows her the keys and says the clan chief gave her permission.

Maki was the one who revealed to Megumi that becoming the head of the Zenin clan was in Naobito's will. Megumi wanted to refuse, but Maki insisted that he do. She explained that she would inherit the family fortune and also gain information about the big three families and the Jujutsu headquarters.

Megumi, heavily reluctant, suggested that he step down and let Maki take over for him, but she knew no one would accept her. She pointed out that he had inherited the prized technique of the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows and had achieved domain expansion. Megumi didn't really want to do that and asked if things like acceptance mattered if she became the head of the clan. She would still get the resources, but Maki doesn't believe she's good enough to make this home a place where Mai belongs, not yet. As soon as Maki said that about her sister, Megumi understood.

In the present, as Maki walks past her mother, she is yelled at to stop and go back. Maki's mother questions why her daughter is always like this and tells Maki to be proud of giving birth for once. Maki proceeds to the door that seals the cursed warehouse and opens it with the key. This releases all the chains holding the tall pair of doors together and Maki gets inside. However, she is shocked by what she sees there, her father unexpectedly sitting inside without the cursed instrument in sight.

Ogi reveals that he predicted Maki's move and emptied all the cursed tools. He gets up to reveal the injured body of his other daughter behind him. Mai has been dismembered and is bleeding from her stomach. Mai calls her twin an idiot for coming and Maki screams her name in concern. Meanwhile, Jinichi meets with Naoya to explain the circumstances.

Jinichi explains to Naoy that Megumi is a better choice for clan head because she has a good relationship with Satoru Gojo and Noritoshi Kamo. At the same time, Jinichi refuses to let a stranger inherit the entire fortune. Naoya asks why they don't just get rid of him then, but Jinichi explains that they can't do that. Killing Megumi outright will damage the Zenin clan's standing with the other Gojo and Kamo clans, and they would fall behind in the power vacuum left by Satoru.

Naoya questions why they're doing it now if that's the case, and Jinichi explains that they'll use the alert from Jujutsu HQ. It was considered a crime to unseal Satoru Gojo, so the Zenin Clan is going to execute Megumi, Maki, and Mai as rebels who want to do it. Naoya is amused by this plan, and while killing his own daughters will increase Ogi's credibility, Naoya wonders if he is okay with the idea. As Ogi stands and takes his sword stance across from Maki, Jinichi reveals to Naoy that the plan was Ogi's idea.

Ogi activates the Falling Blossom Emotion and applies it to put down the sword. He kept Mai alive as a bargaining chip in case Maki arrived with unknown cursed tools to cause an emergency. Aware of all the potential contingencies, Ogi braced himself for a single powerful slash. Maki wields Juzo Kumiya's masterpiece, the cursed instrument Dragon-Bone. After accumulating strength and cursed energy, the user can eject them from the black disc to increase its cutting power. Maki plans to take advantage of Ogi's ignorance of Dragon-Bone and pretend to enter the duel with a single strike, when in reality he intends to strike more than once.

Just before ending the feud, Ogi asks why Maki thinks Naobito was chosen as clan head instead of him. Maki asks if it's because he's a horrible person who's willing to kill his own children, prompting the start of the fight. Ogi draws his blade as Maki flips Dragon-Bone into a reverse grip. Blocking Ogi's first slash, he follows up with an attack of his own, using the momentum given by the cursed energy shooting out the back of the blade. Ogi tries to fight back, but the blade of his katana is broken, allowing Maki to get behind him and deliver the finishing blow.

With extreme reaction time, Ogi quickly turns and counters with his Burning Cursed Technique, slashing Maki before the broken blade even hits the ground. Maki's injured eye is cut, her glasses are broken, and her lower abdomen is also cut open. Left with serious injuries, Maki does not understand what has happened until she realizes that Ogi's blade has been replaced by the flames of his cursed technique. As she falls defeated, Ogi sheds a tear and reveals that he couldn't become the head of the clan because his children are worthless.