Could this be Hayashizaki's doing?
No, impossible. He's right here under my watch, and the missing finger is the one in Sendai City. There's no way Hayashizaki, who's currently within Yukinoshita Yukino, could've traveled from Chiba to Sendai while I was watching.
Then again, the higher-ups just found out about the missing cursed object, so there's a delay in the information. Hayashizaki would have had time to act… but how did he even know where the finger was?
In an instant, countless questions and possibilities flooded Gojo Satoru's mind.
Thinking about it now won't help. Leaving Hikigaya Hachiman behind, he stepped aside and called Fushiguro Megumi. "Hey, Megumi? Where are you now?"
"In the dorms at Jujutsu High. What's up?"
Fushiguro Megumi asked with a hint of confusion, "Is there a mission?"
Just as he spoke, lying on his dorm bed, he saw Gojo Satoru push the door open and enter. Fushiguro sat up, "Gojo-sensei? What happened?"
Gojo Satoru walked over quickly, pulling him up from the bed, and started drawing a sigil on the floor. While carving the curse markings with cursed energy, he explained quickly, "Emergency situation. One of Sukuna's fingers has gone missing. I need to send you to Suginawa No. 3 High School in Sendai City to investigate."
"What!? Sukuna's finger is missing?"
Fushiguro's eyes widened in shock. "Could it be Sukuna… or Hayashizaki?"
"I don't know, which is why I need you to check it out."
Gojo Satoru finished drawing the sigil, clapped his hands, and Fushiguro vanished instantly as the wooden floor beneath cracked open. After sending Fushiguro off, Gojo Satoru returned to the orphanage, focusing intently on Yukinoshita Yukino, who was still in battle.
If Hayashizaki really did take the finger, then he hasn't merged with it yet, as his cursed energy hasn't changed since he arrived here. If Megumi can't find the missing finger, I'll have to restrain Hayashizaki until it's found.
Or, I'll break ties with him and exorcise him on the spot.
Meanwhile, Hayashizaki, who was inside Yukinoshita Yukino's body, was unaware he was taking the blame for an unknown thief. He continued counting the points he'd earned today while watching Yukino's actions.
After the previous battles, Yukino was fully in the zone, her cursed energy flowing powerfully through her body. Her physical abilities, already enhanced by the system, had become even stronger, and Hayashizaki had used reverse techniques to heal her previous injuries.
Now, Yukino was in peak condition!
The shadowy cursed spirit had climbed to the rooftop on the third floor, revealing its full appearance to the group.
Its massive upper body was strangely supported by thin, stunted legs that looked like they had polio, yet they could bear its weight. Its body was covered with countless eyes, all varying in size, just looking at it felt mentally overwhelming.
The cursed spirit plunged one of its massive shadow claws into the building below, ripping out a large chunk of stone and hurling it at Yukino.
The rock sliced through the air, whistling sharply as it fell toward her tiny figure on the ground. But before it could hit, Yukino stepped forward, pushing off with her legs, and shot like a bullet toward the cursed spirit's building.
The stone crashed behind her as she reached the building's base. With a slight bend of her knees, she jumped, and under Hikigaya Hachiman's astonished gaze, she ran vertically up the wall, leaving deep craters in the concrete with every step.
Is she even human???
In the blink of an eye, she cleared the three-story height. The shadow cursed spirit roared and swung its sharp claws toward her as she leaped high into the air.
Yukino twisted her body in a backflip, gracefully dodging the attack like a crescent moon. Landing lightly on one of the claws, she balanced like a gymnast after a complex move, then sprinted along the cursed spirit's arm toward its head.
Solidified cursed energy flared in her hands like blue-green flames, and she threw a powerful punch. The energy burst out, shifting instantly from blue-green to black-red, exploding with crackling sounds into bolts of black lightning edged in red.
A Black Flash!
"The cursed energy changed color?!"
Hikigaya Hachiman shouted in amazement. Yukino had left him speechless too many times today—with the aura of a battle god, her superhuman strength that shattered the ground and let her run up walls, and now the sudden shift in the color of her cursed energy.
His mind was too shocked to process anything else.
"That was [Black Flash]."
Gojo Satoru's voice came from behind him.
"You back?"
Hikigaya Hachiman looked back.
"Yeah, just handling a small issue," Gojo nodded, then continued explaining. "Black Flash is when an attack and cursed energy strike within a 0.000001-second delay, creating a space distortion that makes the energy flash like black lightning."
"A Black Flash has 2.5 times the usual power, but it's so hard to trigger that no sorcerer can do it intentionally."
"After using Black Flash, a sorcerer reaches 120% of their potential for a while."
"I see…" Hikigaya Hachiman nodded, understanding. If Yukinoshita Yukino could pull off something this difficult, nothing she did would surprise him anymore.
But just as he thought that, he was caught off guard.
The shadow curse spirit staggered back from her punch, letting out a raspy cry. As it moved, Yukinoshita Yukino leaped into the air.
A strange instinct surged within her. Words Hayashizaki had once said echoed in her mind: "Though Yukinoshita doesn't have a technique now, with time, her body will take on my technique."
Right now, I can do it! A surge of confidence came over her. She raised her hand, bringing two fingers together and drew a line in the air.
Swoosh!
With the sound of a blade slicing through flesh, the curse spirit's left arm suddenly severed.
"That's… Hayashizaki's technique!?"
Hikigaya Hachiman shouted in shock for what felt like the hundredth time today.
…
…
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