Suguru Geto's bloated human-faced Cursed Spirit had already swallowed all the broken swords.
Only two long swords remained in Sōjun Minamoto's hands—these were meant for Yuki Tsukumo and Satoru Gojo.
The two of them were just helping out, so there were only two swords for them, unlike the thousands handed over to Suguru Geto. Sōjun Minamoto had planned to deliver them personally.
"Those two swords of yours are for Tsukumo, right?" Suguru suddenly asked. "And the other one's for Satoru?"
Sōjun nodded.
"I'll take the one for Satoru to him," Suguru offered.
Sōjun didn't object and handed it over, but still gave a reminder.
"If the broken sword's blade turns completely black, make sure to bring it back. I'll need to extract the Cursed Spirit inside."
Suguru nodded to show he understood.
Still, he felt a bit puzzled. Sōjun didn't seem to care about losing the Cursed Tools themselves, but he did emphasize how they were used and whether the Cursed Spirits were retrieved.
Only then did Suguru realize—when Sōjun said, "These Cursed Tools are all yours," he meant it. It wasn't just lip service.
A strong sense of trust hit him all at once.
Sōjun patted his shoulder, gave a quick farewell, and walked out of the tunnel toward the dormitory.
Even after the White Bone Tree project was completed, Sōjun hadn't moved out of his dorm on the other side. Jujutsu High had raised some concerns, but he shut them down by claiming he'd left a clone behind to watch over things.
Most of the time, he still stayed at that dorm.
The White Bone Tree was indeed a clone, just not the kind the higher-ups thought it was—so his explanation held up just fine.
Sōjun first went to find Yuki Tsukumo, handed her the Thorned Broken Sword, and briefly explained the precautions. Then he quickly took his leave.
Back at the dorm, the resident clone from the medical department had also returned. The two Sōjun Minamotos began preparing for cursed energy source fusion and cut down on going out.
It was the same as usual—nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Until a few days later, when there was a frantic knock at the door.
He opened it, expecting Suguru, but it was Riko Amanai instead.
She looked panicked, and her voice trembled.
"Something's happened. Please—come save Haibara..."
With that, she grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.
Sōjun was taken aback. Was this about the Ubusunagami?
But he hadn't sensed anything unusual near the broken sword. It was still securely fastened at Riko Amanai's waist.
When she'd taken the sword, he'd made sure to reinforce his connection with it. If anything had gone wrong, he should have sensed it right away and been able to act.
And now she was saying Haibara was dead?
That didn't make sense. They should've completed the mission days ago.
When the two of them reached the medical department, Riko didn't stop and led him straight to an infirmary.
Inside, several people were already gathered.
Kento Nanami was lying in a hospital bed. Around another bed stood Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Shoko Ieiri, and Yu Haibara...
Wait.
Yu Haibara?
They were all surrounding the other bed.
Sōjun stepped closer and saw a girl lying there—her body was covered in large areas of charred black skin. Her face was burned beyond recognition, the less damaged areas were swollen and red, her flesh peeled and blistered, and her hair had been completely scorched off.
"What's going on?"
In Sōjun Minamoto's perception, the girl was already dead.
The moment he spoke, Yu Haibara turned around, rushed over, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to the bedside. "Senpai, this is my sister. Please, take a look—can she still be saved?"
Yu's voice was steady, but he choked slightly on the last word.
"Let me see." Starlight flickered in Sōjun Minamoto's eyes.
She was already dead. That was something he had confirmed the moment he entered the room. But death didn't necessarily mean there was no hope. He needed to take a closer look to be sure.
"When did she… when was she brought in?" he asked.
On the other side, Shoko Ieiri immediately answered, "Ten minutes ago. But I examined her—she's been dead for about half a day."
Sōjun understood what she meant. She was referring to the time of death—over twelve hours, but less than a full day. He could see that too, though confirming it in this condition required some time.
And right now, every second counted.
He didn't say anything more. In his vision, the girl's soul was already shattered—fortunately, it hadn't completely dispersed.
"There's still hope," he said softly. "Everyone, step back a little."
Yu's expression lit up instantly. He quickly moved aside, clearing the space. The others followed suit.
Shoko gave him a glance and stepped away as well. She had already checked—she didn't have the ability to bring someone back from the dead.
Sōjun didn't explain further. There really was a chance. The body was still intact, and though the soul was in pieces, it was still there.
That was enough.
A shimmering blue scalpel formed in his hand—visible only to him. The others just saw him lean over the girl, his right hand moving across her body like he was picking something out.
He was extracting fragments of the soul. And the process went smoothly.
Extremely smoothly, in fact—the soul had shattered so badly, it was practically tearing itself from the body. He easily gathered every piece.
Cursed Energy surged as Sōjun wrapped the fragments in blue light, fusing them slowly until they formed a sphere just slightly smaller than a human head.
Sōjun brushed aside the items on the nearby table, cradled the soul sphere in both hands, and kept wrapping it in Reverse Cursed Technique. This wasn't healing—it was just a way to keep the soul from dispersing completely. After all, Reverse Cursed Technique couldn't create something from nothing or fully restore a broken soul.
He regenerated two extra arms beneath his ribs and used his index fingers to carve into the tabletop.
If Tengen were here, he might recognize the structure of a soul barrier—but it wouldn't be one he knew. It was something Sōjun had refined himself.
Once the carving was done, his five fingers snapped off and plunged into the table. An invisible barrier emerged, and Sōjun placed the soul orb within.
Now there was no more need to rush.
He returned to the bedside and began using Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the girl's body.
Her skin slowly regained color. Scars—clearly man-made—were visible across her body, some even cutting deep into bone. Sōjun healed them all. Her burned facial features gradually returned to their original form. Even her hair grew back, restored through the memory embedded in her body.
She looked thirteen or fourteen—adorable, with a short haircut just like her brother's.
Everyone knew Yu and his sister relied on each other. They had no other family.
She had the talent to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer too, but Yu didn't seem willing to let her follow that path.
He often talked about her to others. Last New Year's, he had posted tons of pictures of the two of them in the group chat. He was always saying how cute and well-behaved she was.
And now, seeing her like this—she truly was. Just one glance and you could tell she was a sweet girl.
Now fully healed, she lay quietly on the bed, as if asleep.
Yu looked at his sister and finally broke down. He started crying silently, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing Sōjun.
When Sōjun saw it was time, he gently took the soul and placed it back into the girl's brain.
Blue Cursed Energy surged, accelerating the fusion until the soul fully integrated with her brain.
The seed had been planted. Now, they just had to wait for it to sprout.
"It's done," he said to Yu first, trying to ease the weight on his shoulders.
Everyone gathered around. The girl on the bed had started to breathe, her chest gently rising and falling.
"She'll probably wake up in two or three days."
Smiles bloomed across the tired faces in the room. Yu even lost his balance and sat down on the floor.
"However, there might be some side effects…" Sōjun added, uncertain.
"What kind of side effects?" Yu's expression tensed.
"She may forget a lot of things."
"Only the memories you don't want to forget are the ones that can't be forgotten."
Her soul had been shattered like that. Most of her memories were lost with it. Even if you added what the body remembered, it wouldn't amount to much. In other words...
"She might forget her brother."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake