The dust settled.
The air in the underground cavern was still thick with the pungent stench of blood and charred remains.
Kenjaku looked at En, a mysterious smile in his eyes.
"En."
Kenjaku stretched his arm and spoke slowly.
"I am truly curious. Just where do you come from?"
En propped himself up with his cane, barely managing to lift his head.
"I told you, I have always been just a merchant."
Kenjaku spread his hands, and the terrifying cursed energy behind him slowly receded.
"Forget it if you do not want to say. I acknowledge your strength, and I acknowledge your 'greed'. A chaos-maker like you is exactly what I need for my plan."
"However..."
His tone shifted.
Kenjaku took a step toward En, and the pressure that had just dissipated descended once again.
"Since you say you are a merchant, let us make a deal."
Kenjaku narrowed his eyes and held up two fingers.
"Two things. We need to establish a Binding Vow."
"First."
Kenjaku's gaze swept over En and Junpei, who was beside him, terrified and clutching Fushiguro Megumi.
"Everything that happened here today, especially regarding 'my' existence."
"It must absolutely not be leaked to anyone. Especially not Gojo Satoru."
En sneered inwardly.
'Truly an old fox, still wary of Gojo Satoru.'
But this suited him perfectly.
If he told Gojo now, the Shibuya Incident might not happen. How then could he harvest points in that grand spectacle of chaos?
"Fine."
En agreed readily.
"I do not like to blabber. As long as the price is right, my lips are sealed tighter than a dead man's."
"And that boy over there," Kenjaku pointed toward Junpei.
"Junpei, agree to it," En commanded without looking back. "It is the price of staying alive."
"Yes... I swear, I will not say a word!" Junpei nodded frantically. Under the gaze of two Special Grade powerhouses, he felt like he could suffocate at any moment.
A chain of black cursed energy flashed and vanished in the air, coiling around En and Junpei's hearts.
"Excellent."
Kenjaku nodded with satisfaction, then raised a second finger.
"Second."
"Regarding Ryomen Sukuna."
"You said you want to revive him. I find that interesting."
"So, I want you to make a Binding Vow: on the upcoming October 31st, in Shibuya."
"You must feed all the Sukuna's fingers you have collected to Itadori Yuji."
"I want to see the complete manifestation of the King of Curses on that day."
Hearing this condition, En pushed up his cracked glasses, a meaningful smile curling his lips.
Feeding Itadori a large number of fingers at once in Shibuya would not only temporarily seal Itadori's consciousness and let Sukuna run wild, but it would also completely throw the situation into chaos, creating the perfect conditions for sealing Gojo Satoru.
"Feed them to Itadori, huh..."
En rubbed his chin, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
"This condition is a bit harsh, Mr. Geto."
"Fingers are a scarce resource; each one is worth a fortune. You want me to just give them away for nothing?"
"It is for the advent of a new era," Kenjaku said indifferently. "Furthermore, it is the condition for your survival."
"No, no, no, that is not how the math works."
En shook his head, the light of greed flaring in his eyes.
He suddenly stood up. Though his body was still swaying, his presence was not weak at all.
"Feeding them to Itadori in Shibuya is no problem. I can make that vow."
"However!"
En's cane slammed against the ground with a sharp crack.
En reached out a blood-stained hand, palm up, toward Kenjaku.
"Give me all the Sukuna's fingers you currently have."
"That is my condition."
The air froze.
Junpei's eyes widened as he looked at his boss.
'Is he insane?!'
'They just finished fighting, and instead of running, he dares to extort this monster?!'
Kenjaku was also momentarily stunned.
Clearly, in his thousand years of life, this was the first time he had seen such a fellow who valued money more than his life.
But he had intended to use the fingers as a bargaining chip anyway.
He knew En had been collecting fingers. He did not care about the motive as long as Sukuna was revived.
If he did not give them, En might refuse the Vow, or even hide the fingers or sell them to Jujutsu High.
If he did give them, with the Binding Vow in place, those fingers would eventually end up in Itadori's stomach anyway.
The result was the same.
Moreover, shifting the risk of holding the fingers to En made things safer for himself.
"Hahahaha..."
Kenjaku suddenly laughed.
"Interesting. Truly interesting."
"You are the first person in several centuries who has dared to bargain with me."
Kenjaku reached into the breast of his monk's robes and produced a small, exquisite wooden box.
"There are three inside."
"That is all the stock I have currently collected."
He tossed it casually, the box tracing an arc through the air.
En caught it precisely.
It felt heavy in his hand.
[SYSTEM: ACQUIRED HIGH-VALUE CURSED OBJECT: RYOMEN SUKUNA'S FINGER X3]
[SYSTEM: VALUATION: 150,000 POINTS]
En's hands were trembling slightly.
He hit the jackpot.
He really hit the jackpot this time! Adding the one from earlier, he had a total of four fingers in his possession!
"Deal."
En quickly stuffed the wooden box into his coat, fearing the other party might change his mind.
"I, Hayashi En, swear upon my soul."
"In Shibuya on October 31st, I will feed all the Sukuna's fingers in my possession to Itadori Yuji."
Hum—
Another, thicker black chain formed between the two before merging into their bodies.
Binding Vow — Established.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. En."
Seeing the deal struck, the smile on Kenjaku's face grew even brighter.
"I feel very at ease leaving the fingers in your care."
"Recover well. These next few months are going to be quite lively."
Having said that.
The shadow behind Kenjaku began to twist, forming a vortex leading to the void.
At the very last moment of stepping into the vortex, he took a deep look at En.
Swish.
His figure disappeared completely.
The heavy stone pressing down on everyone's hearts was finally lifted.
"Phew..."
En's body went limp. He really could not hold on any longer this time and slumped to the ground.
"Bo... Boss!"
Junpei rushed over to support him.
"Are you okay? Why did you agree to those conditions? That's Sukuna..."
"..."
En did not speak.
Some things were better kept to himself.
En leaned on Junpei. Although his face was covered in blood and he was incredibly weak, he patted his bulging pocket and let out a greedy, satisfied smile.
"With this startup capital, by the time Shibuya comes around..."
Just then.
Rapid footsteps echoed from the entrance of the cavern.
"Fushiguro!! Mr. En!!"
Itadori Yuji and Kugisaki Nobara rushed in.
Seeing the ruins everywhere and En in such a pathetic state, both were shocked.
"What happened here?!"
"Ran into some trouble."
En managed to stand up with Junpei's help, swallowing the secrets sealed by the Binding Vow.
He pushed up his cracked glasses and pointed to the unconscious Fushiguro Megumi on the ground.
"We will talk after Fushiguro wakes up."
"Let's go. Back to Jujutsu High."
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