"My mission was done, so I came back. I heard you all were on a mission and decided to check in. Even had time to stop by the supermarket for some sunflower seeds. Any other questions?"
Questions?
So many questions!
Didn't you say it'd take at least a week to return?
If you were back so soon, why make us do this mission?!
So annoying!
And how did you even get back?
How did you sneak in without anyone noticing?!
"No, no questions at all!"
Nobara gritted her teeth in frustration internally, but outwardly she shook her head with righteous solemnity.
"Good then."
Roy smiled and nodded, offering the sunflower seeds in his hand.
"Want some?"
"How do you eat these?"
"Like this, let me show you..."
Nobara completely relaxed, not a trace of tension left in her heart.
Since even Roy-sensei, who could simultaneously take on three Special Grade Cursed Spirits, had returned, those curse users were no longer a concern.
This mission had probably turned into nothing more than a pop quiz in Roy-sensei's eyes, and she was the first student to fail.
Nobara sat down beside Roy, mimicking his posture as she started cracking sunflower seeds while glancing at the space in front of him.
There, a luminous screen hovered midair.
Though she didn't know how it was done, the screen displayed the scene unfolding above ground.
Yuji and Megumi were confronting Granny Ogami and her grandson, along with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Before long.
Megumi suddenly summoned a large bird with an owl-like face.
The bird then grabbed Yuji by the shoulders and flew off, with the surviving black dog leading the way, soon disappearing from the screen.
Only Megumi remained in the frame, facing off against the curse users and the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
"This kid... he wouldn't actually resort to Mahoraga, would he?"
Seeing this, Roy felt an ominous premonition and couldn't help but frown.
"What does that mean?"
Nobara asked impatiently, puzzled.
"Fushiguro's Ten Shadows Technique is fundamentally a method of controlling ten shikigami. Among them, there's one particularly terrifying shikigami—Mahoraga."
Roy kept his eyes fixed on the screen as he explained with a deep frown.
Anyone could tell he was in a foul mood.
"But all shikigami under the Ten Shadows Technique must first be tamed—subdued—before they can be used freely. Summoning one without taming it turns it into an indiscriminate weapon!"
No sooner had he spoken.
Megumi in the screen assumed a stance, forming a hand seal with one fist forward and the other back, his face devoid of emotion, as if resigned to death.
"That brat!"
Roy's expression darkened instantly.
"Kugisaki, I'll send you out first. I need to handle this myself now!"
Without waiting for her protest, he lightly tapped her shoulder.
In an instant, Nobara vanished from the dark underground space.
Roy then stashed the unfinished sunflower seeds into his imaginary space and disappeared from the spot in a flash.
...
"Itadori, listen."
Megumi's expression was eerily calm.
Strangely enough, even his emotions felt completely still.
Perhaps it was because, from the moment he chose the path of a jujutsu sorcerer, he had prepared himself to die for it.
"Honestly, I don't think your ideals are wrong, but I also believe my way is the right one. But if we do things your way here, it's over—I know what you're thinking. You want to release Sukuna, don't you?"
Megumi had long seen through Yuji's plan—the guy was terrible at hiding his thoughts.
But if Sukuna were released here, even if he found Nobara and got her out, there was no guarantee Sukuna would follow his expectations—killing the Special Grade Cursed Spirits and curse users before obediently retreating back into his body.
The more likely outcome was Sukuna subduing the curse users and the Special Grade Cursed Spirits, then breaking out of the barrier to wreak havoc!
The evidence is—this special-grade cursed spirit is clearly in cahoots with the curse user. It must have been beaten into submission by someone unknown before pledging allegiance.
Special-grade cursed spirits are intelligent beings—they know fear and understand what it means to submit.
Who exactly was the one who subdued it remains unclear. It might be this old woman, or perhaps that person is still lurking in the shadows.
But since this special-grade cursed spirit has been subdued once, it can be subdued a second time!
The moment Sukuna appears, whether it's the curse user or this special-grade cursed spirit, they might immediately kneel in submission, then follow behind Sukuna, breaking through the barrier to wreak havoc!
If that happens, it's all over.
Not only would countless nearby residents die, but Yuji would also shoulder the blame for all those deaths. His spirit isn't resilient enough yet to endure that kind of torment—he might very well seek death on his own.
That leaves only one option.
"Yuji, leave now with Nue and the Divine Dogs. Find Kugisaki and escape the barrier together. Leave the rest to me! I have a trump card!"
Megumi clasped his hands together, and under the moonlight, the shadow of a bird formed. Immediately after, a bird-like shikigami emerged from the shadows—its head resembling an owl's, nearly as tall as a person, its entire body crackling with electricity.
"Fushiguro, you're not planning to die, are you?"
Yuji finally realized the flaw in his own approach, but his gaze at Megumi was filled with concern.
"...Of course not. Now go!"
Megumi hesitated for a moment before deliberately forcing a relaxed smile and pushing Yuji away.
Reluctantly, Yuji stepped back, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly as he followed Nue and the Black Divine Dog away from the scene.
"Grandmother, one of them got away."
"No matter. With this special-grade cursed spirit here, none of them will escape!"
Granny Ogami snorted coldly, her face brimming with murderous intent.
Though the job didn't specify a body count, Granny Ogami had never intended to let any of the three leave alive from the start.
Her goal had always been to capture all three. If she couldn't get them all, even if she managed to catch one or two, the remaining one or two had to be killed!
It was obvious—if even one student slipped away and found their special-grade teacher, it would provoke the teacher's wrath. They might even mobilize the higher-ups to hunt her down nationwide. That would be the end.
Right now, they were all trapped within this special-grade cursed spirit's innate domain—escaping wouldn't be so easy!
First, deal with this black-haired brat. Then, it's the brown-haired one's turn.
As for that orange-haired girl, several cursed spirits were lying in wait right beneath where she fell. By now, they should have successfully captured her.
"Alright, kill that brat!"
Granny Ogami glanced at the special-grade cursed spirit beside her and issued the cold command.
"Tch, tch!"
The special-grade cursed spirit turned its head, baring its fangs at Granny Ogami as it let out a mocking laugh, its face twisted with malicious contempt.
"Do you want another beating? I can summon him anytime!"
Granny Ogami's eyes narrowed sharply as she barked at it.
The special-grade cursed spirit froze.
Then, it snarled at her before reluctantly leaping down from the low building.
Just as it was about to step toward Megumi—
It suddenly halted.
A sudden chill shot up its spine, spreading through every limb.
"ROAR!!"
It instantly crouched low, like a beast with bristling fur, letting out a threatening growl in an attempt to drive away the unknown sense of danger.
Opposite it.
Megumi steadied his stance, forming a hand seal with both fists clenched and positioned one before the other.
An overwhelmingly terrifying pressure radiated from him—ten times more intense than that of a Special Grade cursed spirit. Even the faintest wisp of this aura put the Special Grade on high alert!
The Ten Shadows Technique was an innate technique passed down through the Zenin clan's lineage, the absolute pinnacle of their heritage without equal.
Those who inherited the Ten Shadows would initially receive two Divine Dogs—one black, one white. The other shikigami could only be used after being tamed, eventually allowing the user to command ten shikigami at once.
Under normal circumstances, shikigami couldn't be wielded without undergoing the taming ritual.
But for the purpose of taming, any shikigami could be summoned at will.
"In the Zenin clan's thousand-year history, no sorcerer has ever successfully tamed this one!"
A serene yet faintly deranged smile crept onto Megumi's face.
"While the taming ritual doesn't count as successful if anyone other than the sorcerer intervenes in defeating the shikigami, it also means the ritual doesn't strictly require solo completion."
"I'll go ahead to hell and wait for you all. Savor the taste of this one!"
The oppressive aura peaked at this moment, erupting like a volcano in all directions.
"Kill him now!"
Granny Ogami hadn't fully grasped the situation, but decades of experience as a curse user made her bark out the order, urgently commanding the Special Grade cursed spirit below to attack Megumi.
Under the intensifying pressure, the Special Grade cursed spirit could endure no longer. It leapt forth like lightning, slashing down at Megumi with its claws!
"Furuhata, Yura Yura—Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!"
In the next instant, silence fell.
A colossal figure had appeared behind Megumi without warning, standing over his shadow like a looming mist.
Towering over three meters tall, its sheer size exuded natural dominance. Its head bore no eyes, with four wing-like appendages splayed outward as if in flight. A tail extended from its nape, while a wheel-shaped seal resembling a ship's rudder hovered above its head and back, radiating an enigmatic aura.
Swish!
The Divine General's arm flashed like lightning.
A white blade—seemingly fused to its bone—swept down with impossible speed.
A single slash.
The attacking Special Grade cursed spirit was cleaved in two.
Without even a scream, the cursed spirit disintegrated into nothingness, leaving only a single crimson finger that dropped from its abdomen, landing stiffly on the ground.
Witnessing Mahoraga annihilate the Special Grade in one strike, even Megumi—the one who summoned it—found his breath growing ragged, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"The candidates for the exorcism ritual are decided by me. Apart from myself, who must participate, there's also that Special Grade cursed spirit from earlier, and the pair of curse user grandparents..."
And the exorcism ritual could only end with the death of one side.
In other words, either Megumi, the Special Grade cursed spirit, and the grandparents all die, or Mahoraga dies—only then would the ritual conclude.
There was no third possibility.
After witnessing the Special Grade cursed spirit being instantly slain with a single sword strike, Granny Ogami's face paled in terror. She immediately leaped off the low building to flee, with the Mohawk youth swiftly following suit.
But it didn't matter. Unless they were hunted down and killed, Mahoraga would never stop its rampage.
However, Megumi was in dire straits.
Boom!
Mahoraga swung its fist down at Megumi.
The punch was merciless.
If Megumi took that hit head-on, even if he poured all his cursed energy into reinforcing his body and defense—given his not-so-outstanding cursed energy reserves—he would undoubtedly be sent flying and left on the brink of death!
"Hmph, what a troublesome student!"
But at that moment, a familiar figure stepped between them.
With a casual outstretched hand, he effortlessly caught Mahoraga's punch with a resounding snap, standing as unshakable as a mountain. Not even his palm trembled.
Amid the howling wind, Megumi's eyes widened in shock.
"Roy-sensei?!"
***
Meanwhile.
"Grandma, their Special Grade teacher has shown up too."
The Mohawk youth caught up to Granny Ogami's frantic escape, his voice stripped of all dullness, now brimming with tension.
Hearing this, Granny Ogami stumbled, nearly falling flat on her face.
Regaining her footing, her expression twisted into one of sheer dread.
The Special Grade is back?
Why?
Didn't Geto Suguru say he had arranged for him to be sent abroad, with at least another week before his return?
"Damn that Geto Suguru!"
Granny Ogami seethed with fury and resentment, stomping the ground in frustration.
The Special Grade cursed spirit was already dead, and its innate domain had vanished, revealing the original juvenile detention center once more, now shrouded under a massive curtain.
This couldn't go on.
There was no way they could escape a Special Grade's pursuit!
"Grandson, use the strongest one!"
Granny Ogami's face darkened as she immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Understood."
The Mohawk youth pulled out a small plastic bottle resembling an eye-drop container, unscrewed the cap, and downed the murky liquid inside in one gulp.
Granny Ogami sat in meditation, hands forming seals as she chanted incantations.
The remains of the strong were finite—she wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary.
But now, there was no other choice!
"Invocation—Toji Zenin!"