Urgent Dispatch from Tokyo School

Kyoto Jujutsu High, a corner of the library late at night.

Shiyue Shuo leaned against a bookshelf, directing Kokichi Muta beside him.

"Do something technical with the sender information. It might not fool that guy, but at least don't let them catch us red-handed." Shiyue Shuo lowered his voice.

Kokichi Muta's slender fingers flew across the keyboard. "Are you really so certain about the intelligence? Saitama Prefecture, Yasohachi Bridge, a Special Grade curse, Sukuna's Finger, and a cursed womb. You know the curses' plans so well. Are you a spy too, or a double agent?"

"That's right, I'm a double agent, codename..." Shiyue Shuo grinned wickedly at Kokichi Muta. "What are you even thinking? I worked hard to find all this information."

"Found it?" Kokichi Muta looked utterly baffled.

"Don't worry about it. We're allies. I definitely won't harm you."

As the send button was pressed, an anonymous email capable of shaking the entire Jujutsu Society silently passed through layers of encrypted networks and landed in Satoru Gojo's inbox.

"Hopefully, this will make him more cautious."

Saitama Prefecture, Yasohachi Bridge.

The frigid night wind swept over the dried-up riverbed, making sounds like mournful sobs. Night had already fallen, and beneath the moonlight, the entire bridge looked sinister and eerie.

On the Shinkansen platform, all of Kyoto School's second-years had arrived. Noritoshi Kamo still looked calm and restrained, while Kasumi Miwa seemed somewhat nervous, occasionally tightening her grip on her sword. Mai leaned against a pillar, spinning her revolver.

"Yo, friends from Kyoto School. You got here early."

That unmistakably flippant voice came from above the stone steps. Satoru Gojo still wore his black teacher's uniform. Behind him, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki were sizing up their comrades who had come from afar.

Gojo's gaze swept across the Kyoto students, lingering briefly only on Kokichi Muta before he smiled. "We received word that a Special Grade curse would be appearing around here." Gojo clapped his hands, his expression turning a little more serious in an instant. "Well, since the intelligence was so detailed, I went ahead and borrowed some people from old man Gakuganji."

Before long, the group stepped into the hollow domain beneath Yasohachi Bridge.

Almost the moment they entered, an incomparably frigid wave of cursed energy swept over them. Their surroundings twisted in an instant, while the roars of Transfigured Humans rose one after another from the shadows.

According to the original plot, there should only have been the curse awakened by the Finger's resonance, along with Kechizu and Eso of the Death Paintings. But because Shiyue Shuo had appeared, not only had Kokichi Muta been saved, Shiyue Shuo had also displayed considerable strength, causing the curses' plans to change.

Nobara Kugisaki clutched her nails, her wary gaze sweeping over the shadows writhing endlessly in the surrounding darkness.

"Everyone, be careful. The density of cursed energy here is highly abnormal." Megumi Fushiguro formed a hand sign with one hand, and the shadows beneath his feet shook violently.

Yuji Itadori, meanwhile, was fired up for battle. A faint glow of Divergent Fist power had already wrapped around his fists. "Whatever comes, we'll just knock it all flying!"

Just as everyone braced themselves, several black figures radiating the aura of Special Grades slowly emerged atop the ruins.

"Oh my, looks like they prepared quite thoroughly." With one hand in his pocket, Satoru Gojo looked toward the distant woods through his blindfold, a playful curve lifting at the corner of his mouth. "They even prepared such a huge gift package specifically for me."

At nearly the same moment, an overwhelmingly powerful burst of cursed energy erupted in the center of the city several kilometers away. Even through the Curtain, the massive blaze was faintly visible.

"Is that... Sukuna's Finger?" Yuji Itadori's expression changed slightly.

Gojo's Six Eyes had already caught the anomaly in the distance.

"Even though I know it's a diversion, if we leave it alone, the ordinary people over there will be in trouble." Gojo turned around, and a rare hint of seriousness entered his flippant tone. "Everyone from Kyoto School and Tokyo School, I'll leave this place to you. No problem, right?"

"Of course, Gojo-sensei!" Yuji Itadori shouted back.

Gojo vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving only a shattered afterimage in the air.

With Gojo gone, the surrounding cursed energy surged in at once. The crushing pressure made Kasumi Miwa's breathing turn hurried.

"They're here!" Noritoshi Kamo barked.

A dark-red wave of cursed energy swept in from the flank like a flood. It was Eso's technique, charging straight toward Shiyue Shuo, who appeared to be the weakest among them.

"Mai-senpai, get back!"

Instead of retreating, Shiyue Shuo stepped forward. He did not activate any offensive talismans. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused all his attention on the wheel engraved with the Twelve Talismans within his mind.

The cursed energy within his body was converted through the wheel at extreme speed. The air around him seemed to distort strangely as an invisible Ripple spread outward.

"Buzz—"

The dark-red wave of cursed energy, originally powerful enough to pierce through reinforced concrete, struck an invisible wall when it reached half a meter from Shiyue Shuo's body. That violent energy was neutralized by the Ripple in an instant, turning into scattered fragments of light that fell to the ground.

The scene fell silent for half a second.

"He blocked it?" A look of extreme shock flashed through Megumi Fushiguro's eyes.

"This is the ability I figured out through special training these past two days—Ripple!" Shiyue Shuo supported himself on his slightly aching knees. His tone was weak, but his eyes shone brightly.

Shiyue Shuo was still immersed in the joy of success when the curse attacked again.

"Don't space out! It's not over yet!" Mai Zenin's gunfire shattered the silence as three cursed-energy-infused bullets shot precisely toward the charging Kechizu.

Another precise dark-red wave of cursed energy shot toward Shiyue Shuo, aimed directly at his forehead. Eso had clearly come with a purpose; there was no longer any probing in his attack.

"Shuo!" Kokichi Muta's pupils constricted as several mechanical arms instantly sprang from his wide sleeves, trying to block it.

However, the enemy was too fast.

That dark-red wave of cursed energy was extremely vicious. It did not explode violently. Instead, like a red-hot steel needle, it pierced through the center of Shiyue Shuo's forehead in an instant.

"Bang!"

The wave of cursed energy smashed through the stone wall behind him.

The scene fell silent at once. Kasumi Miwa's wooden sword slipped from her grasp and struck the ground with a sharp clatter. The fingertips Mai Zenin had on the trigger trembled violently, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

"Shuo—!" Kokichi Muta's roar broke through the disguise of his mechanical voice. He drove his mechanical arms at any cost, violently tearing apart the Transfigured Humans blocking his path.

In everyone's vision, a translucent, bloody hole appeared in Shiyue Shuo's forehead. Blood ran down the bridge of his nose, his eyes unfocused, and his body collapsed backward like a pile of mud that had lost all support.

Within his mind, the talisman engraved with the image of the Spirit Dog began spinning in a frenzy.

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