Three choices

"What now? Do I just watch you show off?"

Dai Li strolled ahead of Satoru Gojo with his hands behind his head.

The Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer inside the Curtain had sensed their arrival and immediately followed their cursed energy to find Satoru Gojo and Dai Li. According to him, the special grade cursed spirit inside had resumed absorbing Sukuna's Finger.

It would only retaliate if they attacked it recklessly. As long as they left it alone, it would not come out.

"We still shouldn't get careless when recovering Sukuna's Finger. Once we find that cursed spirit, we'll deal with it straight away, then seal the finger and store it at Jujutsu High."

"It's pretty rare to see you acting so serious."

Dai Li felt that Satoru Gojo was only pretending to be serious to impress his student. After all, he would not care even if Sukuna revived. With only one finger, Sukuna could hardly cause trouble in front of Satoru Gojo.

"That's a special grade cursed object left behind by Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses who stood at the pinnacle of Jujutsu Society a thousand years ago. One careless mistake, and he could use that finger to incarnate and come back to life."

"Who's stronger, him or you?"

"Well, if Sukuna regained all his power, it'd be a little tough."

"So you couldn't win, then."

"I'd win."

Dai Li reached Factory Building No. 2, where the cursed spirit was lurking. Satoru Gojo had already used Limitless to fly into the air, his deep blue Six Eyes taking in every fluctuation of cursed energy inside.

A figure lurked in the shadows of the abandoned building. Only its upper body had a human outline, while its lower half was covered in tentacles. Wisps of black mist wreathed the broken edges of its body.

Overlapping layers of hard, dark purple scales covered its surface, and blue markings of varying shades spread along its torso. It had no distinct facial features; even its face was covered in scales. Two narrow slits seemed to serve as its eyes. It was looking upward now, staring toward the source of the cursed energy fluctuations.

Following Satoru Gojo's instructions, Dai Li stayed outside the building and watched the cursed spirit from a distance.

The cursed spirit inside remained completely motionless. Based on what the Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer had learned by probing it earlier, its intelligence was limited, and it only reacted to cursed energy. Now it was staring fixedly at Satoru Gojo in the sky.

Air currents tore a gap through the clouds high above. Satoru Gojo hung in midair, his uniform fluttering wildly in the fierce wind.

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue, Cursed Technique Reversal: Red.

Hollow Purple."

He casually raised one hand, and the space in front of his fingertips slowly collapsed inward.

A black-purple gravitational vortex quietly took shape. The purple light carried an oppressive weight that threatened to devour everything. This was-

-Hollow Purple.

Below, the special grade cursed spirit still absorbing Sukuna's Finger sensed the lethal danger. Its scales abruptly stood on end, and dense cursed energy exploded outward as it desperately tried to erect a barrier.

"Too slow."

As his flippant words fell, Satoru Gojo flicked his fingertips.

The collapsing vortex erupted in an instant, and the purple sphere plummeted with a roar.

The beam slammed straight into the cursed spirit's body. Its hard purple scales shattered and scattered like scraps of paper.

The violent impact whipped up a raging gale. When the flying dust had settled a little, a massive hole had been blasted through the special grade cursed spirit's body. Its remaining scales scattered in all directions before everything disintegrated in an instant, leaving only a finger to fall from its body.

The special grade cursed spirit had been exorcised in a single blow.

"He just blasted it like that because special grade cursed objects can't be destroyed. Now he's blown the whole building open."

Dai Li had watched Satoru Gojo unleash his ultimate move, Hollow Purple, from start to finish.

"That definitely counts as using a cannon to kill a mosquito, doesn't it?"

"I thought it was pretty troublesome, actually. That cursed spirit was probably a defense-focused special grade cursed spirit. It would've been pretty hard to deal with without that move."

Satoru Gojo shifted slightly, his hands casually tucked into his pockets as he drifted down from the sky. He showed no sign of fatigue from unleashing such a top-tier cursed technique.

"Unbelievable. Let's recover Sukuna's Finger first."

"You head down first. Looks like someone called me again just now. That's how busy handsome guys are."

Dai Li strode into the devastated crater.

Stone and soil pulverized by Hollow Purple's shock wave lay mixed together in thick layers, burying what had once been level ground.

"That's some intense cursed energy. At least I won't have to search this whole pile of rubble."

Dai Li cleared away layer after layer of rubble. An old, dark finger bone lay quietly at the bottom of the crater.

"It looks so disgusting. So this is Sukuna's fried chicken foot?"

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained a key item: Special Grade Cursed Object-Sukuna's Finger.]

[You may use your cursed technique, "Life and Binding," to sacrifice Sukuna's Finger in exchange for a reward. This reward will be issued by the system.]

"Holy crap, I've hit the jackpot."

"I know anything the system gives me has to be good, but how am I supposed to explain this to Satoru Gojo?"

I couldn't find it? I lost it? I pawned it?

[Sukuna's Finger is a unique special grade cursed object and may only be sacrificed once. Other fingers cannot be sacrificed afterward.]

[Since he is one of the requirements for the host to complete the mission, only the cursed energy contained within the finger will be extracted. Once its cursed energy recovers, Sukuna will still gain the normal increase in strength from consuming this finger.]

"Then there's nothing else to discuss. Sacrifice it."

After hearing his considerate system's answer, Dai Li immediately activated his cursed technique, "Life and Binding."

The sacrifice target was the special grade cursed object in his hand, Sukuna's Finger.

[Cursed technique activated successfully. Special Grade Cursed Object-Sukuna's Finger detected.]

[The reward for this cursed technique will be issued by the system. Please wait.]

"I have to wait? Did the system go rummaging through its own collection?"

[You may choose one of the following three rewards for sacrificing the special grade cursed object, Sukuna's Finger.]

[1: The host's cursed energy control will immediately rise to the level of a Special Grade Sorcerer.]

[2: The host's physical strength will increase significantly, with the additional ability of universal weapon mastery, allowing the host to wield any cursed tool with exceptional proficiency.]

[3: The host will awaken a second innate cursed technique.]

I misjudged you, system. I thought you were a useless freeloader planning to ride your host's coattails. Every single one of these three is powerful.

"I can't rush a choice like this. I need to calm down and think it through."

Dai Li suppressed his delight and tried to consider his options rationally.

The first option would immediately give him special grade cursed energy control. Combined with his current reserves, which already exceeded those of an ordinary Grade 1 Sorcerer, it would instantly propel him into the upper ranks of Grade 1 Sorcerers.

The advantage was an immediate, enormous boost in combat power. Combined with his loan-based cursed technique, he would be able to contend with a Special Grade Sorcerer, but only someone like Suguru Geto. It would still be nowhere near enough to fight Sukuna.

The second option would greatly improve his physical abilities. That did not seem quite as useful. After all, plenty of Jujutsu Sorcerers were not particularly physically powerful, and reinforcing himself with cursed energy could achieve a similar effect. Still, it did come with universal weapon mastery.

Unconditional proficiency with any cursed tool would be a pretty big improvement for me, since I don't have an offensive cursed technique. But there are still plenty of limitations. I can't get my hands on a special grade cursed tool right now.

Third, awaken a second innate cursed technique.

Does that even need explaining? All that talk about limitations, all that overthinking-I was just giving myself an excuse to pick option three without feeling guilty!