The deeper the group traveled—
the worse the cursed energy became.
The air thickened.
Trees twisted unnaturally.
The ground itself pulsed faintly with lingering malice.
Even the joking had died down a little.
"…There are a LOT here," Megumi muttered quietly.
Geto nodded once.
"A nest."
Takeru cracked his knuckles.
"…Perfect."
Then the forest exploded.
Cursed spirits burst from everywhere at once.
From the trees.
From underground.
From above.
Dozens.
Then dozens more.
The younger students immediately engaged.
Nobara's nails ripped through the air.
Todo was already screaming about brotherhood.
Hakari laughed while throwing hands.
Kirara manipulated positioning perfectly.
Even Tiny Takeru and Tiny Yuji were helping with support and movement.
And at the center of it all—
Takeru and Geto moved like absolute monsters.
A curse lunged at Takeru—
only to get folded into the ground with a single punch.
Another rushed Geto—
and vanished into spiraling cursed energy.
One orb formed.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another.
At first—
Takeru still looked disgusted.
Then after enough fighting…
something changed.
A curse orb flew into his hand.
He stared at it for a second.
Then casually tossed it into his mouth.
Crunch.
Silence.
Takeru blinked.
"…Huh."
Geto glanced over.
"…What?"
Takeru swallowed slowly.
"…That one tasted like barbecue chips."
Everyone froze mid-fight.
"…WHAT?" Yuji shouted.
Geto stared at his own orb.
Then cautiously ate one himself.
Crunch.
A pause.
"…Sour cream and onion."
The entire battlefield stopped.
Nanami looked genuinely disturbed.
"…No."
Takeru grabbed another orb.
Crunch.
"…Salt and vinegar."
Geto ate another.
"…Sea salt."
Tiny Yuji looked horrified.
"…THEY DEVELOPED A TASTE PALATE."
Tiny Takeru pointed dramatically.
"…THEY ADAPTED."
And somehow—
after enough cursed spirit hunting—
both Geto and Takeru had become completely immune to the flavor.
Not only immune.
They were casually eating the orbs while fighting.
A curse charged at Geto.
He absorbed it.
Orb.
Crunch.
Another attacked Takeru.
He exorcised it with a Black Flash.
Orb.
Crunch.
"…This one's spicy," Takeru commented casually.
"Trade you," Geto replied immediately.
They swapped orbs mid-fight.
The younger students stared in complete disbelief.
"…They're snacking," Nobara whispered.
Yuji looked emotionally devastated.
"…Why are they acting like it's movie popcorn."
Hakari was crying laughing again.
"This is the worst thing I've ever seen."
Even Sukuna looked mildly impressed now.
"…Adaptability worthy of curses."
Takeru pointed proudly while chewing another orb.
"Protein."
Geto nodded calmly beside him.
"Efficient."
Nanami covered his face.
"…I miss when cursed techniques were understandable."
Meanwhile—
Tiny Takeru and Tiny Yuji watched with expressions of deep concern.
"…Do we eventually become weird?" Tiny Yuji asked.
Tiny Takeru looked toward Older Takeru casually eating curse orbs like chips.
Then toward Sukuna.
Then toward the duplicate Gojos arguing nearby.
"…I think it's unavoidable."
And somewhere in the cursed forest—
amid explosions, cursed energy, and total chaos—
two Special Grade-level monsters casually snacked their way through an entire curse nest.