Plans

Aside from those rewards, Lu Yun had confirmed one other thing.

He did not need to kill his opponent outright to obtain rewards from his golden finger. Granted, the reward information had hinted at that from the very beginning.

What he still did not know was exactly what counted as a defeat for earning a reward.

Did his opponent have to lose consciousness completely? Or would a surrender be enough?

Lu Yun would have to test that.

"You two certainly made quite a racket."

The voice came from behind him. Lu Yun turned and saw Angel, who had been drawn over by the noise of their fight.

"Oh, it's you, Angel. Thank goodness you and Kurusu are all right."

At the sight of them, Lu Yun tipped his head back slightly, then quickly lowered it, an exaggerated smile spreading across his face.

"Eww... what's with that expression?"

Angel sounded disgusted.

Hana Kurusu was startled by Lu Yun's sudden movements too and backed away several steps.

Huh?

Not expecting that reaction from them, Lu Yun gave a couple of awkward laughs and stopped fooling around.

Sure enough, no normal person could pull off that expression.

Having just reenacted one of Yuta Okkotsu's iconic scenes, Lu Yun felt indignant.

No wonder poor Itadori froze on the spot. Who could keep a straight face seeing that?

Only after he returned to normal did Angel ask:

"So, have you fulfilled your agreement with Kashimo?"

"Of course. Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

Hearing that he had already resolved things, Hana Kurusu sounded apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Lu Yun. We weren't much help."

Lu Yun waved a hand.

"Don't say that. Helping me leave the barrier was already a huge help. Besides, their fight wasn't something you could intervene in. You might even have gotten yourselves killed. So, since everyone came out safe and sound, that's something to celebrate."

Hana Kurusu thanked him.

"Thank you, Lu Yun. You're such a good person."

Completely oblivious to having been handed the good-guy card, Lu Yun smiled breezily.

"Aw, it was nothing."

Angel continued:

"What next? Are we going to find Sukuna?"

Lu Yun shook his head.

"No rush. We've still got plenty of time. Now that I'm free of the binding vow, let's clear out some of the pests in this barrier first."

It was still only the second day of the Culling Game. The original story's events for this period had yet to properly begin, and with his symbiosis with Hajime Kashimo successfully established, Lu Yun had no reason to rush into anything else.

Since he had some time to spare, Lu Yun planned to farm more points and let the story unfold as closely to the original as possible. That would allow him to make better use of his knowledge of the plot.

As long as he reached Tokyo by November 8 and joined the protagonists before Itadori and the others headed to the Tombs of the Star Corridor, there should be no problem.

"Oh, right. What about those two? Do you need me to dispose of them?"

Those two naturally referred to Uro and Ryu Ishigori.

Angel had no fondness for people who had come back to life through incarnation.

Besides, they were seriously injured and probably could not withstand Angel's [Jacob's Ladder].

In Angel's eyes, this was the perfect opportunity to eliminate them.

Lu Yun stopped Angel before she could act.

"I still have a use for those two."

Angel asked in confusion:

"What use could they possibly have?"

As a modern man, Lu Yun could not possibly have any connection to these two people from centuries ago. She did not understand why he was stopping her.

"See? You're getting ahead of yourself again."

Lu Yun reluctantly explained,

"Think about it. Who's our primary target?"

With that prompt from Lu Yun, Angel immediately understood his meaning, though she sounded doubtful.

"You want them to join the team taking down Sukuna too? Will they agree?"

"They will."

Lu Yun walked confidently toward Ryu Ishigori.

"Hey, Ryu!"

Lu Yun sat down naturally beside him and greeted him.

Ryu Ishigori was resting on the ground. Hearing the voice, he opened his eyes impatiently, but when he saw "Hajime Kashimo," he held his temper.

"It's Kashi... no, who are you?!"

Ryu Ishigori sensed something amiss and instantly went on alert.

An impostor? Or a disguise cursed technique? No, neither.

Both the body and cursed energy of the man before him were identical to Hajime Kashimo's. Yet Ryu Ishigori's soul still rejected the idea that this was Hajime Kashimo.

Lu Yun paused, then grinned and said as if by reflex:

"Prison Realm, open."

"What the hell?"

Utterly baffled, Ryu Ishigori looked from side to side but found nothing.

"Ah, sorry. Wrong show."

Lu Yun scratched his head sheepishly.

Realizing he had been played, Ryu Ishigori snapped:

"Answer me already! Who the hell are you?"

Oops. The memes have rotted my brain. I took that too far.

Seeing how worked up he was, Lu Yun quickly raised both hands to show he meant no harm.

"Easy, Ryu, easy! I'm only here to ask for your help!"

After Lu Yun briefly explained his relationship with Hajime Kashimo and demonstrated his distinctive electrical cursed energy, Ryu Ishigori finally calmed down.

"That's Kashimo for you. He pulled off something we couldn't so easily."

Ryu Ishigori looked deeply at Lu Yun and sighed in admiration.

Not everyone could so readily give up the chance to live again.

This was a second life that countless people could only dream of, yet Hajime Kashimo had abandoned it after just a few words from this kid.

"Looks like I'm still nowhere near pure enough. The King of Curses, huh? Makes sense. Only someone that strong deserves to be his opponent."

Ryu Ishigori had naturally heard the legends of Ryomen Sukuna too, and he was equally curious about the strongest sorcerer from a thousand years ago.

"All right, kid. I'm in."

"Then it's settled. Someone will come get you when the time comes."

Once Ryu Ishigori agreed, Lu Yun rose to persuade his next target.

Walking slowly over to Takako Uro, Lu Yun glanced at her body, concealed by the effects of her cursed technique, and said:

"Stop pretending, Uro. You've been awake for a while, haven't you?"

At Lu Yun's urging, Hajime Kashimo had refrained from killing Takako Uro outright.

Realizing she had been exposed, Uro snorted.

"Tch. So you noticed."

Lu Yun was speechless. The cursed technique burnout that followed the destruction of her domain had worn off ages ago, and Uro's cursed technique had long since recovered. But who could keep a cursed technique active while unconscious from severe injuries?

Lu Yun was not blind. Of course he could tell Uro was pretending to be unconscious.

While feigning unconsciousness, Uro had been secretly observing Lu Yun's movements, so she naturally knew what he wanted now. Before he could speak, she rejected him first.

"If you're here to invite me to fight Sukuna with you, you can leave."

Recalling that nightmarish figure, Takako Uro clutched her head in pain.

"I saw him with my own eyes. He was a being beyond sorcerers and cursed spirits, beyond even the strong. A calamity with an overwhelming sense of self, utterly indifferent to others."

What a load of crap! What haven't I seen? I've even seen Sukuna reduced to a blob.

She was twenty thousand years too early if she thought that would scare Lu Yun.

Unimpressed, Lu Yun let out a sinister chuckle.

"Heh heh heh, Miss Takako Uro. You wouldn't want to throw away the second life you worked so hard to obtain, would you?"