A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
Finally, the exchange event between Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu High kicked off.
"Miss Hikari, here are your IDs."
Early that morning, Gojo Satoru handed Uchiha Hikari a messy bundle of documents.
Matters from other worlds weren't something to share with too many people.
So, on the surface, Hikari and her group needed identities that could pass muster.
For example… "foreign sorcerers" acquainted with Gojo Satoru.
The Jujutsu world was already full of bizarre abilities, so sorcerers like Esdeath and Yamato weren't entirely out of place. There were others like Rimei, who wielded the Ice Condensation Curse Technique, or the Heavenly Tyrant, who sacrificed cursed energy for overwhelming physical strength. Thus, slapping a "sorcerer" label on Esdeath and the others didn't seem too odd.
"…As you can see, this is the map of the exchange event venue."
"Tokyo's students will enter from here, Kyoto from there. Barring any surprises, both groups' activities will be centered in this area…"
"Per the event rules, I'll be with Utahime and the others in the monitoring room. I'll only head to the scene if something unexpected pops up…"
Though Hikari had already "foreseen" what would happen at the exchange event, the venue was pretty large. The few scenes from the anime weren't enough to pinpoint every curse's exact location, so they needed Gojo, who had insider knowledge, to make some educated guesses.
"Based on your foresight, Miss Hikari, the event might deviate slightly from the original plan, but not by much."
"The only uncertainty now is the location where Jujutsu High stores Sukuna's fingers."
Yup.
The Jujutsu higher-ups were too wary of letting Sukuna revive too quickly, so they hadn't told Gojo where the remaining five fingers were kept. Knowing his personality, if Gojo found out, he'd probably sneak in, steal them, and feed them to Yuji Itadori himself.
Still, as a teacher at Jujutsu High and a direct disciple of Principal Yaga, Gojo had some insider info.
"Based on my guess, Sukuna's fingers are likely stored at one of these three locations, with this one being the most probable."
"…"
Hikari followed Gojo's finger to the map.
Three spots: two relatively close, one farther out.
"Well, good thing there's three of us," Hikari said after a moment's thought, pointing at the map. "Esdeath and I will take these two spots. Yamato, you head to this one. Sound good?"
"If you spot Mahito, contact us immediately via phone. And… don't let him touch you directly."
Hikari had her reasons for the warning.
In terms of raw power, Mahito was far weaker than Gojo, or even the other Special Grade Curses like Jogo.
But his ability might be the most dangerous of them all.
Because Mahito could "see" and touch souls.
Physical attacks, no matter how strong, were no issue for Esdeath or Yamato. But soul-based attacks?
Hikari wasn't sure.
In theory, someone with a will as strong as Esdeath's wouldn't be easily altered. Yamato was less certain, but it was a risk either way. Until they knew for sure, caution was the best approach.
"Got it," Esdeath and Yamato nodded.
Esdeath then asked about the other sorcerers at the exchange event.
"Well, they're no match for me, obviously," Gojo said with a grin. "Most of the participants are newbies like Yuji, but there are a few with interesting abilities. I'll introduce you if we get the chance."
In Hikari's view, the most intriguing sorcerer wasn't Megumi Fushiguro with his Ten Shadows Technique or Aoi Todo with his hand-clap teleportation.
It was someone less noticeable for now—Mechanicmaru.
The Jujutsu world's tech level wasn't much higher than the real world's, yet Mechanicmaru had hand-crafted a Gundam. He'd also seemingly mastered soul-splitting techniques akin to Orochimaru's, leaving three backup bodies with his consciousness before his death, making him the MVP with the highest participation rate in the Shibuya Incident.
Such talent felt wasted as a sorcerer.
If she could recruit him to train under Dr. Gero and give him some time… building a real Gundam wouldn't be too much to ask, right?
Hikari planned to reach out to him after the event to gauge his interest.
After breakfast, Gojo left with Yuji Itadori.
Yuji's "resurrection" was still a secret from Megumi and the others, so the teacher-student duo wanted to surprise everyone. This meant prepping a gift box big enough to hide Yuji in.
Hikari, after watching some TV, took Esdeath and Yamato from the Gojo residence to the exchange event's venue.
"…That should be it up ahead."
They were in a suburban area of Tokyo, a mountainous region with sparse human presence and dense vegetation.
Hikari paused at the top of a small hill, gazing down at the forest below. She quickly spotted a few vague figures among the greenery—likely Yuji and his group. A panda stood out in particular: a high-grade cursed corpse created by Principal Yaga and a second-year student at Tokyo High.
"Looks about time," Hikari said. "According to Gojo's intel, they should be entering the venue soon."
"Let's move, then," Esdeath replied.
Hikari handed new smartphones to Esdeath and Yamato, confirmed their plan, and activated Shangri-La. Two massive teleportation arrays appeared, sending them to their designated spots.
Hikari left a shadow clone on the hilltop, then used her Flight Technique to head to the final location.
For Yuji Itadori, today was one heck of a day.
As Sukuna's vessel, he'd been the center of attention from both Tokyo and Kyoto High since entering the venue. Especially when Kyoto's team ganged up to hunt him down, putting him in serious danger.
But at the critical moment, Aoi Todo—inexplicably treating him like a best friend—stepped in, defusing the chase and turning it into a sparring session disguised as a duel. Through this, Yuji's hand-to-hand skills improved significantly, and he even awakened the devastating Black Flash.
He couldn't help but share the news in their group chat.
Oni Princess: Black Flash… sounds pretty cool. Wanna spar with me later?
Tiger of Nishi-Naka: Uh… sure. Just go easy on me, Miss Yamato.
Oni Princess: Relax, we're all buddies here. No way I'd go all out on you.
Tiger of Nishi-Naka: By the way, those Special Grade Curses still haven't shown up. Could your arrival have spooked them into changing plans, Miss Hikari?
Nameless: Unlikely. We've barely met anyone besides you and Gojo these past two visits. Even if Kenjaku has spies in Jujutsu High, there's no way they could've predicted our arrival. Just wait—it should happen soon.
Tiger of Nishi-Naka: Who's Kenjaku?
Nameless: Uh…
Hikari froze, unsure how to respond.
How to put it…
Should she just say, "It's your mom"?
Kenjaku, one of the Jujutsu world's big bads, had been around for over a millennium, just like Sukuna. He'd once possessed Noritoshi Kamo of the Kamo Clan, one of the Big Three Families, and fathered the nine Cursed Womb Death Paintings through human women.
And, literally, he was Yuji Itadori's mother.
About a decade ago, Kenjaku possessed Kaori Itadori, Yuji's mom, conceived him with Yuji's dad, and then vanished mysteriously. Hikari didn't know the specifics of that messy family drama and didn't dare ask. All she could say was, "That's some wild stuff."
While chatting in the group, Hikari's eyelid twitched. She sensed a dimming in her peripheral vision and looked up to see a massive black barrier descending from the sky.
"Whoa~"
Veil.
A large-scale concealment technique that hid an area from non-sorcerers.
Though Hikari wasn't a sorcerer, her spiritual power—unlocked by Kikyo—let her vaguely see its outline.
If the veil was up, that meant…
"It's starting, huh?"
Hikari exhaled softly, standing by a stream and scanning her surroundings.
Splash!
Twenty minutes after the veil dropped, in a building a few kilometers from the exchange venue, a young man with a stitched-up face and a black grid-patterned outfit held a dark red finger, examining it closely while whistling a carefree tune.
Behind him lay several sorcerers in pools of blood.
"So this is the Two-Faced Sukuna's finger that Geto was talking about?" Mahito muttered. "Man, for something so important, the guards were pathetically weak. No challenge at all."
He clicked his tongue, stuffed all five of Sukuna's fingers into a bag, swallowed them, and strolled out. Leaping from the building's top window, he headed back the way he came.
This was the edge of the mountainous area, still covered by dense forest.
Mahito walked leisurely, as if on a casual hike.
Suddenly, he froze, sensing something. He turned to look diagonally ahead and spotted an unfamiliar figure.
"Hm?"
On a tree trunk about ten meters away stood a black-haired girl with a spiky ponytail, dressed in a casual T-shirt and jeans. She waved at him, flashing a faint smile like she was greeting an old friend.
"Yo~"
"…"
Mahito blinked, caught off guard.
He'd seen his fair share of people.
Since being born as a curse, he'd transformed and killed over a thousand humans.
So, he could tell at a glance: the black-haired girl didn't seem old—maybe thirteen or fourteen. Pale, delicate features, a petite frame, sitting on the branch with her legs dangling in the air, white sneakers swinging lightly under her denim shorts.
By all accounts, just an ordinary human girl.
But…
When did she get so close?
Had someone tailed him from Jujutsu High?
Though puzzled, Mahito grinned wickedly. "Another one looking to die? Since when did Jujutsu High train kids this young? Or… you're not from the school, are you?"
"Guess," Hikari replied, propping herself on the branch and hopping down lightly to the ground.
"Born from fear and resentment… Mahito, right?"
"I'm curious about something," she continued. "What do I look like in your eyes?"
Hikari was genuinely curious if this soul-seeing curse's perspective differed from others'.
But Mahito wasn't in the mood to answer.
His grin widened, voice dripping with mockery. "Oh, I'll tell you all about it… after you become part of my collection!"
As he spoke, he reached into his mouth, pulling out several thumb-sized lumps and tossing them out.
In a breath or two, the lumps—each shaped like a human face—swelled into grotesque giants, charging at Hikari with claws and fangs bared. Their bodies looked like skinned livestock or bloated corpses, oozing a sickly yellow and blood-red hue.
Transfigured Humans.
Though their forms were utterly warped, these were still humans. Living ones, at that.
Hikari closed her eyes briefly, letting out a soft sigh.
"I knew it'd be bad…"
"But your sick taste? It's straight-up nauseating."
With those words, her figure flickered. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, she shot forward, slamming a fist into one transfigured human, then spinning into a side kick that sent another flying.
Bang!!
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