They went there full of swagger, but that day they got nothing at Yasohachi Bridge.
Not a trace of residuals, not a curse. Nothing appeared.
They even tried tying a rope to Yuji’s foot and making him bungee jump, but nothing happened.
After waiting until sunset and confirming there was still no change, they gathered there again the next day.
“Back to square one, huh....”
They were in a hopeless situation with no clear evidence and no clear way to exorcise it.
As they were making do with snacks bought at a convenience store, Megumi’s junior from school, whom they had run into yesterday, appeared in front of them.
“Fushiguro-senpai!!”
“Who was that again?”
“He’s Fushiguro’s junior.”
“I was asking about Yasohachi Bridge earlier, so I had a feeling, but I’m really glad!”
“Fujinuma....”
Behind Fujinuma, who had come pulling a bicycle, sat a woman who looked a lot like him.
Apparently she was the real reason he had come.
“This is my older sister.”
“She’s my classmate.”
“Thank goodness.... You remembered me?”
Fujinuma’s sister, with her striking freckles, began explaining why she had come here.
“There’s been a death in the Morishita family in our neighborhood. I heard you’d been looking into that and Yasohachi Bridge, so... I thought maybe the two were connected somehow.”
“Connected?”
“I mean, Yasohachi Bridge and Mr. Morishita’s death....”
It was forbidden to leak information about curses to non-sorcerers.
Megumi, deciding this was probably just another trivial matter, tried to brush it off.
“It’s got nothing to do with us. We’re just.....”
“I went there. In middle school, to Yasohachi Bridge at night.”
At that, everyone’s expressions hardened.
“Have there been any strange things at home lately? Anything only you’ve noticed, even if your family hasn’t?”
At Nitta’s request, Fujinuma’s sister began describing what she had experienced.
The automatic doors at the antenna shop her family ran would be wide open only when she came home.
She had felt something ominous inside.
And that phenomenon had started happening every other day, beginning a week ago.
“All four victims took at least two weeks from the time the strange phenomenon was noticed until they died.”
“So we still have some room to breathe.....”
“You didn’t go to Yasohachi Bridge alone, did you? Do you remember who you went with?”
“Um, so there really is some kind of connection....”
“Haha, it has a little to do with the automatic door, but it has nothing to do with Mr. Morishita’s death. Actually, Fushiguro and the others are helping me write a college report!”
Thanks to Nitta smoothly covering for them, her anxiety eased.
Hearing that the ominous matter of a murder case and the strange phenomenon happening to her likely weren’t closely related, she looked much brighter and continued her testimony.
“The ones who went for the courage test back then were two seniors from the club....”
Megumi thought that was the end of it, but her words still weren’t finished.
“Oh, right, Fushiguro.”
“Tsumiki-senpai was there too.”
The instant he heard that, Megumi’s eyes trembled violently.
“Tsumiki means...”
“Fushiguro’s sister...!”
“Really? Then I’ll ask Tsumiki too.”
He answered as if nothing were wrong, but inside he was burning up.
The moment Fujinuma and his sister left, cold sweat began pouring down Megumi’s face like a waterfall.
“Fushiguro.”
“......”
“Fushiguro! Snap out of it! We need to secure safety first!”
Yuji’s voice snapped Megumi out of his panic.
He was right.
First, Tsumiki had to be protected....!
“...I’m fine. Sorry, but I need to step away for a bit.”
After moving a little away from them, Megumi immediately called Ijichi, who was waiting at Jujutsu High.
When he asked for Tsumiki’s protection, Ijichi immediately checked the standby roster and hesitated awkwardly.
[I understand the situation. You mean protecting Tsumiki, correct? But right now, the only people available are grade 2 jujutsushi....]
“Grade 2....”
[And if the number of victims is far greater than we expected, we’ll need to reassess the curse’s grade as well. This assignment was surely allocated on the assumption that Itadori-kun had grown stronger, but if the danger level rises beyond that, grade 2 jujutsushi may not be enough to handle it.]
At Ijichi’s words, Megumi was crestfallen.
There weren’t enough people to request reinforcements from. Worse, if they pushed ahead with the mission as it was, they might not make it out safely.
As he searched desperately for a solution, one face flashed through his mind.
Wasn’t there someone?
A grade 1 jujutsushi.
“Ijichi-san, what about Yoshino?!”
[Ah, Yoshino-kun was available. He’s out at the moment, but once he returns, I’ll ask him to protect Tsumiki.]
Megumi, who had been about to say “please,” stopped short.
If this wasn’t the kind of curse that attacked directly, but instead a technique that activated from inside the marked human, then sitting nearby and guarding her would be useless.
The only way was...
to exorcise it right now.
“No. Send Yoshino here. We’ll proceed with the mission.”
[Understood. Please be careful.]
After hanging up, Megumi let out a sigh of relief.
Before he knew it, Yuji and Nobara had come up beside him and were crouching there, waiting for the result.
“Why were you talking to Ijichi?”
“Is Tsumiki okay?”
To the two of them, who were staring at him anxiously, Megumi answered with a determined look.
“No problem. More importantly, the mission just got a lot more dangerous.”
“Then what happens now?”
“We judged that the mission can’t be handled by us alone. We requested reinforcements.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Yoshino.”
And on the other end, after the call ended, Ijichi was reporting the situation to Junpei, who had just returned after eating outside.
“What’s going on, Ijichi-san?”
“The difficulty of the mission assigned to Itadori-kun’s group has increased. We judged that they can’t resolve it on their own. Normally, they should withdraw, but...”
“You’ll need to join them.”
At those words, the corners of Junpei’s mouth rose.
“Leave it to me.”
“Should I drive?”
“No. I’ll go myself.”
--------------------------
The reason Junpei said he’d go himself wasn’t only because Ijichi looked like he was about to collapse and die from overwork...
It was mainly because he couldn’t contain the boiling blood in his veins.
The symbolism of his first mission with his friends.
The anticipation of how far his stronger self could go.
That was what set Junpei’s motivation on fire.
Of course, the biggest reason was that he wanted to get away from the close-quarters combat training he’d been doing with Panda.
“Tap!! Taaaaap!!!”
“What am I supposed to do? Panda doesn’t understand a word I say.”
“Graaah!!”
Just remembering it made his whole body shiver with goosebumps.
Anyway, he shoved the horrible memories from just a moment ago into a corner of his mind, climbed onto Nue, and immediately entered the address into his phone map before flying straight there at a higher altitude.
Ordinary people couldn’t see cursed energy, and they couldn’t see curses either. Even if they could, they wouldn’t be able to recognize him riding on Nue as it flew at high speed.
About thirty minutes later, Junpei arrived at Yasohachi Bridge faster than expected.
“Yo.”
“You got here fast.”
The kids who had arrived first greeted Junpei as he jumped down from Nue.
“My body was aching, so I couldn’t wait.”
“Hmm. You missed me that much? Yoshino, you really can’t do anything without this big sister, huh?”
“...And if I did?”
Trying to hide her embarrassment, Nobara attacked him with words, but Junpei was no longer so easy to push around.
His counterattack, delivered while hiding the twitch at the corner of his mouth, instantly made Nobara’s face flush red.
“Junpei’s grown up...!”
“Could you two please be serious for once?”
Unlike Yuji, who looked ready to pop popcorn any second, Megumi was irritated because Tsumiki had him in a hurry.
He wanted to exorcise the curse as quickly as possible and go check on his sister’s condition.
Junpei scratched his head with an awkward smile.
“Sorry, Fushiguro. So what do you need me to do?”
“I’ve already made a plan, but... Nitta-san will explain the details.”
“Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Yoshino Junpei.”
“Huh, a grade 1 jujutsushi...! I’m Nitta Akari! Nice to meet you!”
After greeting Nitta, Junpei heard the outline of the plan from her.
Since Fujinuma’s sister hadn’t gone up onto the bridge, the courage test must have taken place under it.
The reason no residuals had been found was probably because they hadn’t entered the barrier in the proper order.
And the entry condition was likely tied to going under the bridge at night and...
crossing what had a jujutsu meaning as the “other shore.”
After hearing everything, Junpei felt a familiar sensation rise up.
“I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before...?”
Even Gojo Satoru couldn’t keep a technique-infused barrier open forever.
That meant this was an incomplete domain...
Ah.
The parking lot mission he’d done with Nanami.
Back then, he had definitely opened a door marked “No Entry Except Authorized Personnel” and entered the curse’s incomplete domain.
And that sign, which he had thought meant nothing, was clearly a binding vow.
The act of an uninvited guest opening the door and walking in.
That carries great jujutsu significance.
“I’ve done a similar mission before.”
“Really?”
“Then this should be easy to understand. Enter the barrier according to the conditions and exorcise the curse. That’s it.”
“It might not end with just that...?”
“What?”
“In the mission I did, there was a separate core to the hidden barrier. It might not end just by catching the curse. The main body could be hiding somewhere else, or there could be a partner.”
“......”
“For reference, that mission was at least grade 1 difficulty. I think they said it was right on the verge of special grade.”
At Junpei’s words, everyone swallowed hard.
In particular, Megumi, whose family was involved, looked like he was about to drown in anxiety.
“Tsumiki......”
Just hearing the story made it obvious this wouldn’t be easy.
Reading something in his expression, Junpei’s eyes curved with concern.
“Fushiguro, are you okay?”
“...Yeah.”
“You don’t look okay at all.”
Since Megumi didn’t seem inclined to speak, Nobara stepped in.
“His family got caught up in it. His sister.”
“If you say that....!”
“What, if I say it? Is brooding over it alone going to solve anything? You really never talk about yourself.”
“Yeah. I’m not saying you have to tell us everything, but... at least lean on us.”
“We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Megumi’s expression softened a little.
By contrast, Junpei’s face, after hearing that his sister had been dragged into this, hardened severely.
Someone he couldn’t save.
Someone who had been dragged into a curse because of him.
He saw his mother overlapping with her.
“The feeling of someone important getting caught up in this is... horrible.”
“...So you know.”
“There probably isn’t anyone who knows it better than I do.”
So this time, I’ll save her. So someone like me won’t appear again.
Friends and comrades would not lose their families.
He had gotten stronger for that reason.
“Let’s go. To save your sister.”
As if that were the signal, the kids all headed together beneath Yasohachi Bridge.
Watching them from behind, Megumi smiled faintly.
“Everyone... thank you.”
No matter how many times he thought about it.
They were friends far too good for him.
-----------------------------
Night fell, and they crossed the stream under the bridge according to plan.
The moment Yuji’s foot stepped over the bank of the stream...
Fwoosh
The scenery beneath the bridge changed, revealing the true form of the barrier.
It looked like some kind of natural cave, with barnacle-like holes and pillars packed tightly together.
From the largest hole of them all, the curse that was probably the culprit in this murder case poked its head out.
Naaaaah
The first thought that flashed through Junpei’s mind the moment he saw it was this:
That thing looked like a twisted whack-a-mole game from hell.
“There it is.”
“Looks worth exorcising.”
Just as everyone finished preparing for battle and took their stances,
“Huh? What’s this, a guest who came before us?”
A creature that looked like a human grotesquely stretched out forced its way through the barrier.
Its height was shorter than an ordinary human’s.
But a human face was stuck to its forehead, blood continuously streaming down from it, and beneath that was a mouth stretched into a long tear.
It looked far more like a curse than a person to anyone who saw it.
“What the hell is this guy!”
While everyone was thrown off by the unexpected arrival, Yuji, with cursed energy wrapped around both fists, stepped toward the intruder.
“Fushiguro, this guy’s a separate case, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you guys focus on that side. I’ll exorcise this one.”
“What, you gonna play with me?”
While Yuji faced off against it, Junpei examined the suddenly appeared intruder more closely.
The total amount of cursed energy wasn’t that much.
Its appearance was grotesque and it seemed intelligent, but...
It’s weak.
Unless it had some unexpected technique, there was no way Yuji would lose.
Rather, the owner of this barrier, who might be hiding some other power, was the more dangerous one.
“While Yuji handles that, I’ll focus on this side.”
“[Moonlit Wave].”
Junpei summoned [Moonlit Wave] and drew a sharp sword from inside it.
Since he’d chosen one he liked from the arsenal at Jujutsu High, it fit his hand perfectly.
Megumi and Nobara, having drawn the intruder’s attention, also pulled out a sword and a hammer respectively and charged at the curse.
“Black Scale.”
“Cursed Speech, Resonance.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sword wrapped in black scales smashed the curse’s emergence point, and cursed energy flowed along the nails Nobara had driven into the other points as they pursued the curse.
Slink
But the curse dodged nimbly.
Moving from hole to hole at incredible speed, it wore an irritating grin as if it were mocking them.
“It’s fast. But it’s not counterattacking....”
“Maybe it gave up attack power in exchange for a wider technique range. If we keep smashing the exits like this, it’ll create an opening.”
“Like whack-a-mole?”
“Exactly.”
It was weaker than expected. Much weaker.
Something felt off.
“Am I missing something? Usually, if something has an incomplete domain, it should be special grade level... But this domain feels more like a binding vow on that thing.”
Four people had died.
There was no way this was all there was.
There had to be something even more ominous and powerful hiding inside this barrier—
Grab!
Then a hand that shot out from outside the barrier seized Nobara.
Nobara’s body was dragged away by the force from outside.
“Kugisaki!”
“I’m fine. You just keep whacking that mole.”
Saying that, Nobara was sucked into the outer space.
Junpei reached out to grab her, but the barrier had already closed.
“What, is that my big brother? Then I’m going too!”
Kechizu, who had been fighting Yuji, abandoned the fight and leaped out after her.
“They’re running away?!”
“Then chase them—”
Megumi tried to shout at Yuji, but someone moved faster than he did.
In the sensation of time slowing down, Junpei’s body accelerated.
“Yoshino!”
Junpei hurled himself outside the barrier, his eyes bloodshot with bulging veins.
Before anyone could stop him, his body vanished with a wavering sound effect.
“Tch, I’ll go too—!”
It was Megumi who stopped Yuji from following.
Normally, Megumi should stay here and handle the place he could manage alone, while sending Yuji after the unknown enemy outside. But...
Junpei’s earlier words were bothering him.
That one was grade 1 difficulty or higher.
If that was true, then there was still something hidden that they hadn’t seen yet.
So they needed to distribute their strength more efficiently.
Since Junpei had gone, the other side probably wouldn’t lose easily.
They’d keep Yuji as insurance against any unknown danger, and clear this place quickly first.
If it ended here, they could join up fast. If not, they still had Yuji left, so they could respond somehow.
“Wait, Itadori! Yoshino went over there, so it’s fine! If anything, this side is much easier, so exorcise it quickly and regroup!”
“...Yeah!”
Yuji nodded and charged at the mole curse.
It was something he could do only because he trusted Junpei and Nobara completely.
Once again, battle was about to begin.
-----------------------------
And outside.
“Heh-heh, I should go to big brother~”
As Kechizu, having come out of the barrier, hummed and ran off, a figure approached from behind at tremendous speed.
Its shape, faintly lit in yellow, was like a bolt of lightning.
Slash!
“Huh....?”
Something flashed past, and Kechizu’s leg was severed in an instant.
“Aaaah!! Big brother!! Big brother!!!”
The one who had cut off his leg kicked off a foothold and leaped down from the air.
The blade of the sword in his right hand was covered in black scales that vibrated faintly, and Kechizu’s blood, spilled from the cut, dripped down in drops.
It was Junpei, who had burst out of the barrier the instant Nobara was abducted.
Junpei, with veins bulging all over his forehead, ground his teeth and slowly approached Kechizu.
The killing intent and immense amount of cursed energy he radiated made Kechizu tremble like a leaf.
“I’m gonna die! I can’t beat that!”
As Kechizu desperately tried to crawl away, Junpei’s sword drove into his back.
Thud!
“Gaaah!!”
“Your big brother. Where is he right now?”
If you tell me nicely, I won’t torture you before I kill you.
So before I get any angrier, hurry up.
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