"What is going on with Miwa Kasumi and Mechamaru lately? They're acting so weird!"
Momo Nishimiya, her hair tied in its signature twin soaring braids, looked utterly perplexed.
Noritoshi Kamo corrected her calmly, "It's Kokichi Muta now. Mechamaru was just his puppet. Since Muta-kun has his body back, things have changed."
"True," Momo waved a hand dismissively. "But the way they're acting is super suspicious! Every time Muta sees Miwa, he bolts like a mouse seeing a cat. Then Miwa chases after him, shouting things like 'Coward!' and 'Get back here!'"
"That..." Kamo shook his head. "I wouldn't know."
Momo spotted Souma Gojo strolling past. "Sensei! Do you know what's up with Muta and Miwa?"
Souma blinked innocently. "Maybe they're just in love."
"EHHH?!"
Jujutsu High Interrogation Room
"So, is this everything you know?"
Satoru Gojo spun a pen around his fingers with practiced boredom. Beside him, Riko Amanai adjusted a high-intensity lamp, aiming the searing light directly into Juzo Kumiya's face.
Juzo squinted, leaning back. "Hey! Cut it out! I already told you everything I know!"
Souma stepped into the room. "How's it going?"
Satoru handed over the interrogation notes. "That's the gist of it."
Souma skimmed the pages. "The Shibuya Incident... Goal: Assassinate the Six Eyes Twins. My, what a confident little plan." He walked up to Juzo. "Have you heard of the Prison Realm?"
"Eh? What's that?"
Souma didn't answer. Instead, a small orb of blue light flickered in his palm, radiating a terrifying gravitational pull. Juzo's face paled. "Wait, wait! I really don't know!"
"Souma, want me to try?" Riko raised her hand. "You brothers are strong, but I'm much better at this kind of thing."
Souma curiously stepped aside. Riko reached out, and the air around Juzo began to skyrocket in temperature.
"What... what's happening? It's... so hot! Water! Give me water!"
Just as Juzo was panting like a dog in midsummer, the temperature plummeted. From extreme heat to bone-chilling cold, Juzo found the transition agonizing. His body began to shake uncontrollably.
Riko kept toggling the temperature. Finally, broken by the "Fire and Ice" treatment, Juzo cracked.
"I remember! Prison Realm! That's it! That foul woman said they were going to use the Prison Realm to seal Satoru Gojo!"
Satoru froze. "Why is the target me and not my brother?"
Juzo stammered, "They said... Souma is likely impossible to seal, so they'd just seal the 'easier-to-bully' younger brother instead..."
"..."
Satoru's eye twitched. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up. Souma gave him a sharp look, and Satoru weakly sat back down.
"He's speaking the truth," Souma said. "Why are you getting worked up?"
"I'm not worked up!" Satoru huffed, turning his head away while Riko giggled behind her hand.
"Oh, right! One more thing!" Juzo added. "They mentioned the Black Rope and the Inverted Spear of Heaven can break the Prison Realm, so during the Shibuya Incident, they're sending people to destroy those two cursed tools!"
Souma's brow arched. The Black Rope was with Mimiko and Nanako, and the Inverted Spear was in Toji's possession. This required a very specific plan.
"So? Is that enough info?" Juzo asked hopefully.
Souma nodded. "Yes. It's enough. You've outlived your usefulness. You can die now."
"Wait! Wait! I still have value! I... I can make cursed tools! Special Grades!"
As Souma's fist stopped inches from his face, a bead of cold sweat rolled down Juzo's nose.
Souma smiled thinly. "A craftsman? Good. I have a bone-sword from the Yamata-no-Orochi. I heard you made the Dragon-Bone blade. See if you can fuse them."
Juzo stared in shock at Souma's teasing expression. "You were messing with me?"
"What, are you unwilling?"
"...I'm willing!"
Underground Laboratory
Souma laid the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings out on an exam table.
Shoko Ieiri looked over, lighting a cigarette. "What are these?"
"Special Grade cursed objects. The Death Paintings." Souma smiled. "Technically, they're failures. I need you to help me analyze them."
"Analyze what, specifically?"
"If they weren't failures—if they were the finished product—what would they look like?"
Shoko paused. "I see. Manami!" She called for her assistant, Suguta Manami. The two donned gloves and began the delicate process of dissection. Shoko glanced at Souma. "We're doing science here. Wait outside."
Souma shrugged. "They're Special Grades. I'm here for your protection."
Shoko smirked. "Then you're going to be waiting a long time."
"That's fine. I can wait."
Manami looked between the two of them, feeling a sudden, suspicious sense of being a third wheel.
Nearly half a month passed before the research bore fruit. Shoko stood before a microscope, her eyes widening. "What on earth is this?"
Souma stepped up. "What did you find?"
"I traced the experimental logic of the creator," Shoko said, her voice filled with professional awe. "I took a tiny sample and continued the process along his hypothesized path. I managed to create a microscopic amount of cellular tissue. This... it isn't human, and it isn't a cursed spirit. It's a hybrid mutation."
"It has the strength and regeneration of a curse, but unlike a human, it doesn't leak cursed energy. It has no fixed form. It's like..."
"Evolution," Souma and Shoko said in unison.
Souma murmured, "A new species altogether."
Shoko rubbed her chin. "Whoever started this was insane. However, this evolutionary process requires a colossal amount of cursed energy. Even if I drained you dry, Souma, it might not be enough."
Souma rolled his eyes. "Please don't phrase it like that."
"Oh? Are you shy?"
"No."
"Dinner's on me this afternoon."
"I want—"
"Dafuku and mochi. I know."
Manami stood at the lab bench, watching their retreating backs. That "third wheel" feeling was back, stronger than ever.
Sunken Star Palace
Tengen was not surprised by Souma's arrival, but he was very surprised by his request.
"You want me to teach you barrier techniques?"
Souma nodded.
"Very well. What do you wish to learn? Barriers are categorized into many types: sealing, defensive, cloaking—"
"All of them."
Tengen blinked. "What?"
"I want to learn all of them," Souma said firmly. "And beyond that, I want your thousand years of experience and knowledge. Give it all to me."
Tengen sighed. "It is impossible. You cannot process that much—"
Before the words could leave Tengen's mouth, Souma removed his sunglasses, his Six Eyes burning with a brilliant, celestial blue.
"What if I keep the Six Eyes at maximum output? What if I study day and night, without pause?"
Tengen froze. "Your brain would be destroyed by the sheer volume of information."
"Then I'll burn my brain out and restore it with Reverse Cursed Technique. Over and over."
Tengen looked horrified. "Are you mad? Why such desperation? What are you trying to achieve?"
Souma's face was expressionless, his gaze cold. "I need a barrier technique that even Kenjaku cannot bypass."
Tengen remained silent for a long time before finally sighing. "Very well. Have it your way. Follow me."
As Tengen turned, Souma followed silently. His hand brushed against a gilded box tucked into his robes.
Inside were two of Sukuna's fingers.
One had been retrieved by Yuta Okkotsu before his enrollment after exorcising a Yuki-onna. The other had been found by Toji beneath the Yasohachi Bridge.
(OG Author's note:Don't think I wrote those chapters for fun; they were seeds! I mentioned two fingers were missing—did you really think I'd forgotten?)
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