Loot Drop!

All things considered.

You could say that if this ability were handed over to certain people, they could come up with far more tricks.

Kokichi Muta was wasting his talent. What a shame.

"We're here."

After arriving ahead of time and waiting for a while with the others, Kana Shizumi seemed to sense something and slightly raised his head.

The sky had already been dim, with only the streetlights left to illuminate the area... yet even so, the sudden gloom that spread overhead made both of them distinctly feel the fluctuation of cursed energy.

It was a "Curtain."

And one with an extremely high degree of completion and concealment.

Kana Shizumi slightly raised his head. Looking at the sky that seemed to have been cut off, he couldn't help sighing inwardly.

He had spent half a month cramming Barrier Technique under Kenjaku and raised his proficiency to the "high" classification.

But that was actually the level an ordinary person could reach—Kenjaku had merely used his own understanding and teaching to shorten something that would otherwise require decades of relentless refinement.

Like a cramming-style educational approach, it allowed Kana Shizumi to understand the true essence of Barrier Technique, but not to achieve a genuinely "top-tier" level.

Looking across the entire original story, Kenjaku and Tengen, those two sisters, were unquestionably at the very top when it came to Barrier Technique.

Sukuna's two open domains also showed just how deeply he had studied the subject. Ranking further down... Kana Shizumi's current level was probably about equal to Ijichi's during the Shinjuku Showdown.

He could independently construct a barrier and add a few of his own "clever ideas" to it.

That was all.

As his thoughts churned, Kana Shizumi narrowed his eyes and watched a shadow approach from the distance.

Above them, a vulture-like Cursed Spirit beat its wings and slowly skimmed over the ground.

Kenjaku and Mahito jumped down from its back. Both parties nodded to Kana Shizumi in greeting. Then... Kenjaku rubbed his chin with a curious expression as he studied Kokichi Muta's mechanical puppet.

They were here... a historic meeting between three sides.

"I see. So this is another result of Heavenly Restriction—a curse produced by exchanging the body for cursed energy?"

Kenjaku seemed to have seen straight through everything at a glance.

Kokichi Muta didn't even need to introduce himself. Kenjaku had already obtained everything he wanted to "see."

Good grief... just how far can those eyes see?

Of course, that was only a bit of snark. For someone who had lived for a thousand years, Heavenly Restriction probably wasn't all that rare.

The reason it had piqued his interest now was most likely because Kokichi Muta's innate technique could create a chemical reaction when combined with such a gift.

"Unblemished, well done."

Kenjaku smiled at him and nodded slightly before casually raising his right hand and giving it a light wave.

"Go back and rest for now. I have other things to tell you later."

—That was, in another sense, an order to leave.

It seemed Kenjaku didn't intend to let him listen any further... though that wasn't surprising. This involved one stage of the high-difficulty dungeon known as the Gojo Operation, so there was no such thing as being too cautious.

After all, if the arrangements went wrong and the Prison Realm sealed the wrong person...

The so-called villain faction would probably get steamrolled by that white-haired lunatic within minutes... and Sukuna wouldn't even get a chance to struggle.

As long as Yuji took his time and ate them one finger at a time, Sukuna would have nowhere to cry inside there.

A literal prison sentence!

"Thanks for your hard work today! I'll come hang out with you later!"

Mahito happily waved at him. Kana Shizumi forced a smile and was about to turn away.

But Kenjaku suddenly spoke.

"Right... no time to waste. Give me the things first."

Kana Shizumi quickly understood.

He turned back, took out the wooden box containing the fingers and the bracelet, and handed them both to Kenjaku.

There was nothing particularly secretive about it, since Mahito was rotten to the core anyway. It didn't matter... sooner or later, he'd become a ticket into the battle royale.

And Kokichi Muta beside them?

Ever since Kenjaku had cast the Curtain, he'd kept making movements as though he were looking around.

Most likely, Kenjaku had added something to the Curtain that had cut off his connection with the outside world...

For someone who had probably never experienced walking since the day he was born, the failure of Puppet Manipulation was clearly extremely uncomfortable.

Put simply, Kenjaku standing here already meant he had Kana Shizumi completely under his thumb, so Kana Shizumi wasn't too concerned about what Kokichi Muta thought.

Kenjaku's gaze swept over the items before he took the wooden box containing the fingers.

He opened it and examined the object inside... and the corners of Kenjaku's lips couldn't stop rising.

It wasn't to the absurd extent of looking increasingly like he was about to climax, but every one of his features had been pulled into a genuinely delighted smile.

"Sukuna's Fingers... hehe, this is rather something to look forward to."

Others wouldn't understand what he meant, but Kana Shizumi roughly did.

He was probably looking forward to Yuji's growth as well... if Sukuna heard that, he'd likely mutter, "Disgusting Kenjaku."

"I'll take this. It isn't of any use to you, after all."

What else could I do? Could I even refuse?

Kana Shizumi nodded slightly while Kenjaku picked up the bracelet on the other side and held it in his palm, examining it for a moment.

Then he spoke in a rather sentimental tone.

"I never expected to see this thing again after so many years... hehe. As expected, as long as one lives long enough, one will always see things beyond expectation."

That tone was somewhat strange. Kana Shizumi raised an eyebrow and looked up, only to see Kenjaku lift his head as well and look back at him.

"Unblemished, this cursed tool was something I left behind back then... it can be used together with Crimson Blood Manipulation. There are still a few minor issues that need correcting, though. Give me some time, and I'll pass it on to you afterward."

Was Jail Mom about to drop more loot again?

Nice!!!

Kenjaku's understanding of Crimson Blood Manipulation was absolutely beyond the current meta. Precisely because he had learned it himself, he was so familiar with techniques like Piercing Blood.

Otherwise, things like rotating your head to disperse force were way too demanding on the imagination...

Kana Shizumi's rapid progress in Crimson Blood Manipulation these past days was also partly thanks to expert instruction.

By comparison, Itadori had it much worse in that regard.

After all, with Choso's eagle-like language system, there was no way to expect him to teach anything useful.

Kana Shizumi happily agreed. At the same time, Kokichi Muta, who had already waited past the limits of his patience, spoke up.

"How much longer are you going to make me wait?!"