An Overly Quiet Hospital

So while improving his own strength, Kana Shizumi also needed to figure out how to develop some new tricks.

For example, Choso's Supernova was plain and unassuming, yet it produced considerable results every time it was used. Compared to that, Piercing Blood, supposedly a finishing move, was practically a joke... Everyone said it was powerful, yet it had absolutely no record to show for it.

Who was he supposed to cry to?

In short, information gaps were still deadly in the Jujutsu World.

Besides...

Kana Shizumi looked thoughtfully at his palm.

"Before, I clearly had no memories related to jujutsu, but once my strength improved, knowledge related to Crimson Blood Manipulation started surfacing one by one..."

He had thought he simply did not know it, but it turned out the conditions had not been met, so it could not be triggered.

What kind of embedded loading was this...

So this had been Jail Mom's arrangement too? A millennium-old monster really was terrifying.

Creak.

The bus slowly pulled to a stop, signaling that this journey had reached its end.

At 5:48 in the morning, Kana Shizumi and Hanami safely arrived in the Kyoto area.

After following Hanami off the bus, the other party promptly told him the objective of this mission.

Recover Sukuna's Fingers...

Hearing that, Kana Shizumi's expression became somewhat subtle.

Because the gap between the best- and worst-case scenarios for this mission was enormous.

If the finger had not been consumed and was instead properly sealed away, then under normal circumstances, it would not attract many Cursed Spirits.

They would probably just be Grade 2 or Grade 3 small fry—roughly around his own level.

But if the seal had loosened and it had been consumed by a specific target, then things would become troublesome...

A Special-Grade Cursed Spirit.

Though Sukuna had sliced them up like salmon in the original story, to the current Kana Shizumi, they were a literal "formidable enemy."

He could not fight one at all. All he could think about was running.

As he mulled it over, Hanami, who was leading the way, casually said,

"Don't worry too much. I'll handle the direct confrontation. You just need to clean up the remaining Cursed Spirits... I'll protect you."

Despite looking huge, Hanami had an unexpectedly nice personality?

There was a certain contrast to it, but according to the original story, Hanami was indeed among the gentler of the Four Calamities.

After all, Hanami was a derivative of nature—though Cursed Spirits themselves were conglomerations of negative emotions, so perhaps that positive disposition only occupied a tiny corner of the whole.

Having a Special Grade big shot helping out, and not an unreliable one like Mahito... This was downright inspiring!

The two nodded, left the station, and continued toward their destination.

Along the way, Kana Shizumi also gained a general understanding through conversation of the Four Calamities' and Kenjaku's arrangements during this period.

Their main focus was recovering Sukuna's Fingers.

That old man's soul had been split into twenty pieces, all of which were currently in conventional sealed states.

"Though I don't know why, Kenjaku suddenly started having us recover the fingers recently... There should be some deeper reason behind it."

That was probably because the plot was drawing near, and preparations needed to begin.

After all, without this process and preparation, Jogo would not have been able to pull out ten fingers like a magician in the original story.

"So most of the recovery is being done at this stage..."

The plot all made sense. There was nothing particularly difficult to understand.

"By the way, how many have been recovered so far?"

"Two... Since their exact locations aren't very certain, efficiency hasn't improved."

Then it looked like there would be plenty more chances to carry out similar missions later.

Kana Shizumi began thinking.

What exactly could he do to maximize his own benefits?

As he pondered that, they left the city and headed toward the nearby outskirts.

"Call your dad."

"...Huh? Why?"

"He provided the exact location and intelligence. I only know the general area."

Kana Shizumi dialed the number. After waiting for a while, the call connected.

Jail Mom's cheerful, smiling voice came from the other end.

"I figured you'd be calling around now. How is it? Have you reached the vicinity of your destination?"

After briefly explaining their current situation, Kenjaku added,

"Sukuna's Finger is being kept in the basement of a suburban hospital. I'm not sure of its exact location, so just follow the traces of filthy cursed energy. It shouldn't be difficult."

It was sealed in a hospital basement?

He had wanted to complain about that, but considering that the first finger in the original story had been placed right inside some window blinds, Kana Shizumi merely smiled in resignation.

There was nothing to complain about. The jujutsu world had always been a giant amateur operation.

He was about to hang up.

But before he could, Kenjaku's voice came through the phone once more.

"This mission won't be so simple... Don't rely too much on Hanami. Use your own head too. I'm looking forward to your growth, Unblemished."

Beep.

The call ended.

"...?"

What the hell was Jail Mom going on about?

Unable to understand the implication in those words at all, Kana Shizumi scratched his head and ultimately chose not to look too deeply into it for now.

As for the hospital at their destination.

Perhaps because it was already rather remote, the entire place looked quite spacious. With separate outpatient and inpatient buildings, the grounds covered a considerable area.

The moment they stepped through the hospital gates, Hanami visibly paused.

"...What is it?"

"Something is a little strange."

Hanami looked around, then said in a steady, calm tone,

"It's too quiet."

"..."

Kana Shizumi looked puzzled at the patients, doctors, and traffic bustling about in the distance.

"I mean the Cursed Spirits."

Hanami raised a right hand and pointed toward the entrance, then swept it toward the outpatient building nearby.

"Cursed Spirits are born from negative energy. The more a place is filled with suffering, grief, and other negative things, the more likely Cursed Spirits are to be born there. That's why places like hospitals and schools are hotspots for Cursed Spirits."

That had been mentioned in the original story. Kana Shizumi nodded thoughtfully.

"So you mean it's unreasonable for there to be no Cursed Spirits here?"

"That's right. At the very least, there should naturally be some insignificant Cursed Spirits, perhaps even ones that pose limited harm to humans. But this place is too clean, as if..."

After pausing for a moment, Hanami slowly said,

"Someone had cleaned it up beforehand. That's what feels strange."

At the same time.

In a department within the inpatient building, the doctor who had finished the examination roughly glanced through the report in his hand, then smiled at the person beside him.

"Mr. Kamo, there's nothing wrong with your condition... The thrombosis issue from last time has left no traces either. You're recovering very well now."

Kamo Noritoshi, dressed in casual clothes, sat in a chair with a smile and nodded to the doctor.

"Is that so? That's wonderful."