I'm Here to Talk

Sukuna's Fingers.

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

But this one was especially slender in outline, with a naturally curved, winding shape overall...

"Probably the pinky finger?"

Considering Sukuna had twenty fingers in total, it made sense that these things were scattered everywhere, with the Kamo Lineage having contained one of them.

The question was how exactly to handle it.

Kana Shizumi held it in his hand, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

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

The former had fed Yuji his fill in Shinjuku, while the latter had been gathering them in secret. In the end, aside from the final one used to pin down the doll, they had all basically ended up in Sukuna's stomach.

So...

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

Hey! Sukuna would have one less finger!

He acted as soon as he thought of it.

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

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

[Reward: 3 free attribute points]

Just as expected.

Seeing this, Kana Shizumi fell into thought.

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

Getting the attribute point reward directly meant that no matter how things changed afterward, he had already "eaten" the benefit. There was no way it could be taken back.

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

For example, hiding the finger somewhere nobody could ever find it.

How was eighteen-finger Sukuna supposed to fight Gojo? It had already been a close fight in the original story. With a finger missing out of nowhere, he'd probably have to start frantically attacking Jail-sensei's soles...

But the moment 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, all he had to do later was check the relevant storage records. There was a ninety-percent chance it would be on file.

If Uraume could not find it, Uraume would definitely report it. How would he explain himself when Kenjaku came asking?

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

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

In short.

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

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

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

And collecting fingers itself came with rewards. Now he really had no choice but to look for them.

After putting the item away, Kana Shizumi turned his gaze to the side.

There were only two spots in this entire level. 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 had a structure similar to a bracelet... but its entire surface was a dull red, and it even felt strangely sticky to the touch.

It probably was not anything good.

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

After stuffing everything away in one go, Kana Shizumi left the Kamo Clan Cursed Vault. He had made no noise coming or going, and considering this place was only inspected once every few days...

It would probably be a long while before anyone noticed something was wrong.

A good start. Not bad.

After sending Kenjaku a message, he quickly received a reply.

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

He could keep equipping Cursed Tools? At this rate, he would be armed to the teeth.

With that thought, Kana Shizumi hastened on his way, intending to loot Kyoto Jujutsu High's Cursed Vault before dawn as well.

Naturally, he was much more cautious while acting here. If he were exposed, he was not very confident he could get away unscathed.

What was more, perhaps because he was somewhat wary of the place... Kana Shizumi simply 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 the help of 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 carefully 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 trace of blood between his palms.

In terms of technique, this was a compression method modeled after Convergence, essentially a bootleg attempt.

But the method itself held no special meaning, because judging from the outcome... Kana Shizumi merely wanted to use a "cursed technique" at this moment.

Because only then could he complete the process of drawing something out.

He had merely used cursed energy. Nothing more.

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

"..."

The figure lying within a life-support device silently opened his eyes at that moment.

Something was active near Jujutsu High?

"Mechamaru, go investigate..."

At almost the same moment, Kana Shizumi, standing at the edge of the forest, half turned his head and saw a faint glimmer deep within the woods rapidly approaching him.

Its reaction speed was even faster than expected?

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

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

Surrender, surrender.

"Nice to meet you. I'm here to help you..."

Before he could finish.

"Burning Beam."

A flash of scarlet light suddenly appeared, accompanied by a sweeping wave of heat that shot toward Kana Shizumi's face in an instant.

"..."

Expressionless, he tilted his head aside, dodging the attack, though a trace of helplessness appeared on his face.

He looked at the mechanical puppets in the distance, poking their heads out one by one like rats, and sighed.

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'm here to talk to you."