Night beneath Yasohachi Bridge

At a convenience store.

"No leads. Yasohachi Bridge was completely deserted. I couldn't sense any cursed spirits or cursed residue." Chiyo Shin tore open his boxed lunch and squatted on the ground.

"Looks like we're back to square one." Akari Nitta was baffled too. Something had to be wrong with Yasohachi Bridge. Every lead pointed there, so how could there be no trace of a cursed spirit?

Yuji Itadori took a bite of his rice ball and said, "But we can't keep wasting time like this.

"Yasohachi Bridge is a famous haunted spot. Those four people who died can't be the only ones who were cursed.

"And with the death rate at a hundred percent so far, we can't let there be any more victims."

"You're right, Itadori," Nobara Kugisaki agreed.

"Fushiguro! I finally found you guys."

Their discussion was interrupted.

A delinquent boy with a pompadour came pedaling toward them, panting, with a girl riding on the back of his bicycle.

Megumi Fushiguro looked at him in confusion. "Fujinuma?"

"Boss Fushiguro, your lackey's here to see you," Chiyo Shin teased with a cheeky grin.

A vein twitched on Megumi Fushiguro's forehead. "Eat your food."

Fujinuma wheeled his bike over to the group with the girl.

"Who's this?" Nobara Kugisaki asked Megumi Fushiguro, gesturing toward the girl.

"A classmate of mine," Megumi Fushiguro said.

"This is my older sister," Fujinuma introduced her. "Yesterday, I told her you were investigating Yasohachi Bridge. She has some more leads."

Fujinuma stepped aside for his sister. "Thanks for remembering me, Fushiguro."

Fujinuma's sister cleared her throat twice, then got to the point in a low voice. "Mr. Morishita, who died the day before yesterday, was our neighbor. I heard you were investigating him and Yasohachi Bridge, and I thought there might be a connection."

"Mr. Morishita's death and the bridge's..." Megumi Fushiguro was about to say "curse."

Chiyo Shin quickly reached over and pinched his thigh.

Megumi Fushiguro caught on and swatted his hand away. "They aren't connected. We're just..."

Before he could explain, Fujinuma's sister said something shocking. "I went under Yasohachi Bridge at night in my second year of middle school."

"What?" Everyone was stunned.

Chiyo Shin hurriedly finished his food and stood up.

"Has anything strange happened at your house lately?" Akari Nitta asked at once.

Fujinuma's sister thought back. "Yes. My family runs a local specialty shop. Lately, I've noticed that the automatic door stays open whenever I'm home alone.

"My parents noticed too, but they just think the automatic door is broken.

"But my gut tells me there's something there by the door."

By the time she finished, Fujinuma's sister was trembling a little.

Akari Nitta walked over and asked, "When did the automatic door start malfunctioning?"

"About a week ago," Fujinuma's sister said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

That meant they still had some time to deal with it.

For all four victims, at least two weeks had passed between the first signs of something wrong and their deaths.

"Did you go to Yasohachi Bridge alone that time?" Nobara Kugisaki asked.

"No. Two older students from the test-of-courage club were there. Oh, Fushiguro, Tsumiki was there too."

Megumi Fushiguro froze for a full second before forcing himself to sound calm. "I see. I'll ask her when I get home."

After sharing what they knew, Fujinuma and his sister said goodbye and left.

Once they were gone, Megumi Fushiguro's head dropped, and cold sweat poured down his face.

Chiyo Shin took out a tissue and handed it to him. "Megumi, head home for now. Your sister's safety matters more than this mission."

Megumi Fushiguro looked up at everyone, and they all nodded.

"Don't hesitate. We've got everything here covered."

Megumi Fushiguro nodded in agreement. "Then I'm counting on you."

Akari Nitta drove Megumi Fushiguro home, leaving Chiyo Shin and the other two at the scene.

Yasohachi Bridge, night.

"The key details were nighttime and under the bridge. No wonder we didn't find anything." Chiyo Shin looked up at the underside of the bridge, where the presence of the curse was faint.

"Once we cross this river, we'll be there." Yuji Itadori looked toward the other bank of the little river.

All three stepped across together.

Barnacle-like protrusions instantly sprouted around them, and several four-eyed cursed spirits emerged from their openings.

Nobara Kugisaki pulled out her hammer. "Here they come."

"Let's make this quick." The temperature around Chiyo Shin rose as he took his stance, but before he could shout the name of his move, something interrupted him.

A voice sounded behind them. "How did someone get here before us?"

Chiyo Shin and the others turned to find a strange figure with two mouths and hollow eyes standing there.

A cursed spirit? No, a person? Could a person look like that?

Chiyo Shin raised his hand and sent a blazing fire dragon charging at the enemy before him.

Kechizu wasn't very intelligent, but even he knew the person before him was more than he could handle.

The flames were right in his face. Before he could roll out of the way, a pool of shadow suddenly appeared beneath him, and two hands reached out to pull him away.

The flames blocked Chiyo Shin's view. When his attack ended, all that remained was scorched ground and several dead cursed spirits.

His presence is gone. Is he dead?

Chiyo Shin settled on his answer. "Itadori, Kugisaki, go exorcise the cursed spirits around us. I'll keep watch. That monster from earlier isn't dead."

"Got it," Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki replied.

"Are you all right, little brother?" Eso looked anxiously at his brother, circling him to check him over.

That had been far too close. If not for the connection between them as brothers, his younger brother might not have survived.

"I'm fine, brother, but I don't think we can finish the mission our eldest brother gave us." Kechizu had only suffered some burns on his face, nothing serious.

Seeing that his brother was all right, Eso calmed down. "We have to finish what our eldest brother asked us to do. A promise between brothers must be kept."

"We can't split up again.

"That monk who was with our eldest brother before we left warned us too. He said there was someone with a baby face among them who was extremely dangerous."

Eso stroked his brother's head. "But if we pick the right moment, we might still have a chance. Even he won't be able to keep fighting once he's infected with our blood poison."

"I'll do what you say, brother." Kechizu nodded.

Beneath Yasohachi Bridge.

Chiyo Shin held the special grade cursed spirit that had just been born from Sukuna's Finger in one hand. "No wonder the curse's presence was so strong here. It was this finger."

As the special grade cursed spirit struggled violently, he reached in and pulled the finger out of its chest.

The special grade cursed spirit instantly wilted, its cursed energy plummeting. Chiyo Shin tossed it to the ground and burned it up.

Nobara Kugisaki and Yuji Itadori had also finished exorcising the cursed spirits lurking beneath Yasohachi Bridge.

Seeing that the exorcism was complete, Chiyo Shin called Megumi Fushiguro.

At the hospital, Megumi Fushiguro's phone rang as he stood beside Tsumiki's bed. It was Shin.

"Hey, Megumi. The cursed spirits are gone. You can stop worrying."

"Thank you."

"Oh, come on, no need to be so polite with me. My phone records calls automatically. I'm definitely going to play that thank-you on repeat every day."

A vein twitched on Megumi Fushiguro's forehead. He held the phone away and hung up.

Listening to the disconnected tone, Chiyo Shin walked over to Itadori with a thoroughly satisfied expression and waved Sukuna's Finger. "I'll hang on to Sukuna's Finger for now. When Gojo gets back, we'll decide whether to let you eat it."

"I didn't want to eat that stuff in the first place." Yuji Itadori stuck out his tongue.