"The first condition: render the man known as the strongest jujutsu sorcerer—Gojo Satoru—unable to fight.
The second: revive Ryomen Sukuna and make him join our side.
And then, there's a third—though I wouldn't exactly call it a condition. More like… insurance.
Successfully capture that blonde girl."
"Ryomen Sukuna… that legendary figure? Reviving him won't be easy.
There are twenty fingers in total—some are with us, some are with Gojo Satoru, and some… even we don't know where they are."
"You're mostly right. But you got one thing wrong—Ryomen Sukuna's fingers aren't in Gojo Satoru's hands.
They're in the hands of the higher-ups in the jujutsu world."
The man grinned.
"The difficulty of taking fingers from the higher-ups and taking them from Gojo? Totally different."
"You keep praising Gojo like he's some sort of god. Is he really that strong?
Even if all of us curses teamed up—can't we just kill him with sheer numbers?"
"He'd escape easily… Just kidding. No, he'd exorcise every single one of you—with no effort.
Rather than trying to kill him, I strongly suggest you find a way to seal him."
"Seal him? With what?"
"A special-grade cursed object—Prison Realm."
At the mention of the name, Volcano-head immediately got excited.
"Prison Realm!?"
"Is that forbidden object in your hands?!"
Volcano-head got so hyped, literal flames shot out of his volcano head.
"Jogo, calm down. You're making things too hot."
Just then, a trembling waiter approached them, voice quivering:
"S-sir… have y-you decided… what to order…?"
The man glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"So he can sense the presence of curses… Foolish. Should've run when he had the chance."
The moment he finished speaking, a scream rang out beside him.
"Ah—!" The scream lasted only a few seconds before it was abruptly cut off.
All that remained was a charred, pitch-black corpse.
"Geto, how many of Sukuna's fingers would you say my power is equivalent to?"
"Being generous? Around… eight or nine."
"Good. Then hand me the Prison Realm. I'll add it to my collection.
In exchange, I will be the one to kill Gojo Satoru."
A terrifying blaze erupted…
…
"Hey hey, Big Sis—where are we going to do good deeds today?"
Itadori Yuji asked happily.
Lumine gave an awkward smile.
"Do good deeds… Why does exorcising curses sound like helping old ladies cross the street when you say it?"
Paimon chimed in, "Exactly! No sense of caution at all. One day a curse is gonna turn the tables on you!"
"Haha, like that'd happen. Big Sis will totally save me."
Fushiguro Megumi spoke up, "You rely on Lumine way too much.
You're a grown man depending on a girl—are you even a man?"
Nobara Kugisaki rolled her eyes and said,
"Oh? From the way you talk, I guess you're very brave, huh?"
"Of course! I'm super brave, okay?"
"Pfft, really? Wasn't it you yesterday who got so scared by Big Sis that you said 'the moon is out' and wanted to go to bed—in the middle of the day?"
"I clearly said 'it's getting late'! Stop twisting my words!"
Paimon chimed in, hands on her hips,
"Seriously, these three are so confusing. One moment, Yuji and Blacky are a team. Then it's Yuji and Nobara. Then it's Blacky and Nobara.
I can't keep up with their dynamics!"
Just then, a new voice called out from not far away—
"My, you all get along so well. Aren't you going to introduce me, Megumi?"
Fushiguro Megumi looked up.
"Zen'in-senpai? You're back."
"Don't use my last name—just call me by my name. Looks like you're the new first-years.
I'm Maki. Second year. Remember that."
The speaker was a confident, cool-looking woman holding a wooden sword.
"Be nicer to the underclassmen, Maki."
Two more people walked over slowly.
"Hey there! Species: panda. Name: Panda. Favorite food: also panda—just kidding!"
"Bonito flakes, bonito flakes."
"What he means is, his name's Inumaki. That's it. Done."
Everyone stood there, stunned.
"P—Panda!?"
"Haha, first time reactions like that are to be expected," Panda chuckled.
Paimon's mouth practically drooled.
"A species I've never seen before… Do pandas taste good?"
"You're the first one to ever say that to me!!" Panda yelled in exasperation.
Zephyr remarked, "Go ahead and try. In our country, they're known as 'the beast that'll get you jailed for life.' You're welcome to give it a shot."
"Uhh... jailed for life...? Never mind, Paimon will pass…"
Panda's eyes twitched rapidly—then he looked at Zephyr, suddenly realizing something.
"Wait a second… you're different. Are you… a cursed corpse too!?"
"That's great! Finally, someone like me!"
"What cursed corpse!?" Paimon cried, offended.
"Paimon is not a cursed corpse! Paimon is a little fairy, a traveler drifting across nations, and also a gourmet!
Paimon's favorite thing is tasting weird and interesting food like you! Keep talking nonsense and Paimon will eat you!"
"Eeeh!? You wanna eat me?! Help! Someone restrain her!"
"Hmph. Paimon might spare you. But only if you pay Paimon 100 Mora as protection money."
"Mora?"
"Bonito flakes, bonito flakes."
Maki Zen'in said,
"Panda, stop making those dumb jokes."
"Eh? That wasn't dumb at all!"
"Yeah! Paimon was being serious!" Paimon added firmly.
"Oh? I'd heard rumors the school discovered a new species called a 'little fairy.' Seeing it in person… you really are extraordinary."
"Hehe~" Paimon beamed.
"Such a unique creature… makes me really want to dissect it."
"Eep… Traveler… help…"
Lumine stepped forward, hands on her hips.
"Oh? What now, tiny girl? Trying to stand up for this even tinier one?"
Lumine replied coolly,
"Paimon is emergency food. She's not to be used for anything other than emergency food purposes."
"Waaah Traveler, Paimon can't believe you still remember that joke…"
Maki raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting… So you're the one who took down that special-grade cursed spirit? Impressive.
Even if it was just a cursed womb, that's still a special-grade.
Didn't expect a little shrimp like you to take it down. Want to have a go with me?"
Itadori Yuji shouted,
"Hey! Is that any way to talk to Big Sis!?"
Nobara Kugisaki added,
"If you wanna challenge Big Sis, you'll have to step over our dead bodies first!"
One minute later.
Both of them were lying flat on the ground, bruised and beaten.
"S-Sorry… Big Sis…"
"We… we tried our best…"
"Hmph, overestimated yourselves."
Panda sighed awkwardly.
"Maki, seriously… I told you to go easier on the first-years."
"Tuna… mayo…"
"Hmph! You think spoiling them is being kind?
It's exactly because of attitudes like yours that the younger generation is going soft.
Hey, you—wanna spar with me? If you refuse, I'll totally look down on you."
Paimon puffed up,
"It's not like we don't want to accept. It's just… all of Lumine's cursed techniques are super powerful.
We're afraid she might accidentally hurt you."
"Haha, don't worry! I really don't think she could hurt me.
And if she somehow does, that just means my skills were lacking. I won't hold it against her.
But wait… why are you the one answering me, tiny fairy!?"
//END