I Came to Talk to You

Sukuna's Fingers.

Judging by their appearance, they were all shriveled, mummified things with long nails.

But this one's outline was especially slender, with a naturally winding curve to it...

"Probably the pinky finger?"

Considering Sukuna had twenty fingers in total, it made sense that these things had been scattered across various places, with the Kamo Lineage now housing one of them.

The question was what exactly to do with it.

Kana Shizumi held it in his hand, his expression turning thoughtful.

"In the original story, Sukuna's Fingers were mainly gathered by Jogo and Uraume..."

The former had stuffed Yuji full of them in Shinjuku, while the latter had been making arrangements in secret. In the end, aside from the one used to nail down the straw doll, nearly all of them ended up in Sukuna's stomach.

So...

"If I take this away, does that count as changing the plot?"

Hey! Sukuna would have one less finger!

He acted as soon as the thought came to him.

Kana Shizumi casually slipped it into his pocket, and a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.

[You have distorted the plot of "Uraume's Collection"]

[Reward: 3 free attribute points]

Just as expected.

Reading that, Kana Shizumi's expression grew thoughtful again.

"This finger was originally supposed to be taken by Uraume and handed over to Sukuna. But I've intercepted it..."

Receiving the attribute points directly meant that no matter how things changed afterward, the reward had already been "eaten." There was no way it could be spat back out.

The question was whether he could use this opportunity to alter some future plot points.

For example, he could hide the finger somewhere no one would ever find it.

How was an eighteen-finger Sukuna supposed to fight Gojo? The original battle had already been incredibly close. If he lost a finger out of nowhere, he might really have to go all out attacking Jail-sensei's shoe soles...

But as soon as that thought arose, Kana Shizumi quickly suppressed it.

"No, I can't hide it."

The Kamo Cursed Vault was practically Kenjaku's backyard. Even if he did not know the exact arrangements, checking records of similar stored items afterward would most likely reveal it.

Uraume would definitely report it if they could not find it. How would he explain things if Kenjaku questioned him?

He could not exactly say he wanted to see the ending where "Gojo wins," could he...

Besides, he himself had some kind of "surveillance" on him with unclear activation conditions. For all he knew, Kenjaku might be monitoring him right now.

In short.

"I can take this finger, but I need to hand it directly to Jail Mom afterward."

He could let this one go for now, but that did not mean there would be no future opportunities. After all, this had given Kana Shizumi an idea...

As long as he possessed at least one of Sukuna's Fingers, he could keep the initiative over future plot developments in his own hands. Greater control would mean more chances to fleece rewards later.

And there were rewards for collecting fingers in the first place. Now, he had no choice but to seek them out.

After putting the item away, Kana Shizumi turned his gaze aside and looked toward the other side.

There were only two spots in this tier. One held the finger, while the other contained a red ring-shaped object wrapped in silk cloth.

Kana Shizumi picked it up and examined it in his hand.

It looked somewhat like a bracelet... but its entire surface was a dull red, and it even felt subtly sticky to the touch.

It probably was not anything good.

But since he was here, he might as well take it... Pack it all up!

After stuffing everything away, Kana Shizumi left the Kamo Clan's Cursed Vault. Since he had made no noise entering or leaving, and this place was only inspected every few days anyway...

They would probably not discover anything was wrong until much later.

A fine start. Not bad at all.

After sending Kenjaku a message, he received a reply almost immediately.

[Well done. Keep Sukuna's Fingers safe; they'll be useful later. As for that bracelet... bring it back first. I'll make some alterations, and it should be just right for you afterward.]

He could equip more cursed tools? At this rate, he would be armed to the teeth.

With that thought, Kana Shizumi quickened his pace, intending to raid Kyoto Jujutsu High's Cursed Vault before dawn as well.

Naturally, he was far more cautious during this operation. If he were exposed here, he was not confident he could escape unscathed.

Perhaps because he was wary himself... Kana Shizumi merely confirmed that the Six Paths Tsuji cursed tool was not stored there, then turned and left.

The process had gone smoothly in the most literal sense.

That was not only thanks to his advanced Barrier Technique, but also because he had been sufficiently careful.

However, simply leaving like this would not be enough to complete this "mission."

So, after retreating to a relatively safe distance, Kana Shizumi cautiously dispelled the Curtain around himself.

At the same time, he brought his hands slightly together and used cursed energy to refine and condense a bright smear of blood in his palm.

In terms of technique, this was a compression method modeled after Convergence—a cheap imitation of it.

But the method itself held no special significance, because judging backward from the outcome... Kana Shizumi merely wanted to use a "cursed technique" right now.

Because only then could he complete the process of awakening it.

He had used cursed energy. That was all.

And at almost the exact same moment, in a corner of the forest, certain things that had been dormant... were drawn by the cursed energy and began to move.

"..."

The figure lying inside a life-support device silently opened his eyes as well.

Something was moving near Jujutsu High?

"Mechamaru, go investigate..."

At nearly the same moment, Kana Shizumi, standing at the edge of the forest, turned halfway around and saw a faint light flickering deep within the woods, rapidly approaching him.

Its response was even faster than he had expected?

It seemed Kyoto Jujutsu High's security measures and surveillance work had all been outsourced to this guy.

As his thoughts churned, Kana Shizumi withdrew his cursed energy and slightly raised both hands.

Surrender, surrender.

"Nice to meet you. I came to help you..."

Before he could finish.

"Burning Beam."

A flash of vivid red light suddenly appeared. Accompanied by a sweeping wave of heat, it shot at Kana Shizumi's face in an instant.

"..."

Expressionless, he tilted his head aside, dodging the attack while showing a trace of helplessness.

He watched the mechanical puppets popping their heads out one after another in the distance like rats, then sighed softly.

So he still had to beat them up before they would listen to him?

As a final struggle, Kana Shizumi made one last attempt.

"Kokichi Muta, I came to talk to you."