The king of self-destruction

Unfortunately, Sukuna couldn't hear any of that at the moment.

Instead, Kamo Xu kept spewing little "blessings" like a dam bursting its banks, cursing as he walked.

Not only was he loud, but he was also carrying a special grade cursed object that was immensely nourishing to curses, making him stand out like an open flame in pitch darkness.

Small-fry cursed spirits swarmed out like maggots, charging toward Kamo Xu like moths to a flame.

Normally, low-level cursed spirits like these wouldn't lose their minds and confront an enemy with hundreds of times their cursed energy, but the Purple Phoenix Claw was simply too tempting.

Every cursed spirit wanted to swallow it. As long as they ate it, they would definitely grow stronger.

Desire drove their bodies, turning what little reason they had into fuel for their impulses.

Annoyed by the sight, Kamo Xu casually waved a hand. Huge swaths of cursed spirits exploded into scraps of flesh, their blood and organs mingling to coat the entire corridor.

Tap... tap... tap...

Kamo Xu's shoes made sticky, wet sounds as he stepped across the floor stained with the cursed spirits' foul blood. If he remembered correctly, there should still be a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit around. That thing should be the strongest creature here aside from Sukuna.

Weird. Where is it?

Whatever, I'll take it as a bonus. It'll follow the scent of Sukuna's Finger here anyway. I can just slaughter it then.

For now...

Kamo Xu stopped amid the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, looking toward a student who came running around the corner of the corridor.

The face looked familiar to Kamo Xu. Spiky black hair, with features that resembled the man whose name was synonymous with physical prowess.

Is that Megumi Fushiguro?

He had fought his way up to the fourth floor with two dogs-uh, the Divine Dogs-and had to slam on the brakes the instant he rounded the corner.

The sudden sight before him set alarm bells ringing in his head!

The blood covering the entire corridor and the cursed spirits' gradually dissipating limbs immediately led him to a conclusion.

This guy is strong! He just killed a huge number of cursed spirits!

And that enormous source of cursed energy is on him too...

Wait... why are there two enormous sources of cursed energy?

Megumi Fushiguro could easily identify one of them. It was Sukuna's curse.

But he couldn't make sense of the other. That enormous mass of cursed energy contained far too many things, as if it had gathered endless malice into one body and unleashed a terrifying torrent of hatred.

If Sukuna's cursed energy was a single, unified whole...

Then the energy of the man before him was like interwoven threads, like piled stones, like a towering curse built brick by brick.

The pressure left him struggling to breathe...

There's something wrong with this guy!

Megumi Fushiguro didn't hesitate. A monster with that much cursed energy was absolutely beyond his ability to handle! He immediately raised both fists to face the mysterious man before him!

Holding his clenched fists high, he stared warily at Kamo Xu and demanded, "Who are you? Why do you have Ryomen Sukuna's finger? Someone told me there should be two other students here. Where are they?"

His nervousness made his initially level words grow increasingly heated, until they became a shouted interrogation.

Holy shit, the legendary king of self-destruction.

He got that crazy streak from his dad too...

Kamo Xu raised both hands without making any other moves, leaving the finger plainly visible to Megumi Fushiguro.

If this kid Fushiguro really goes for mutual destruction and dies before I do, how am I supposed to explain that to Toji Fushiguro?

Despite acting as though he didn't care what happened at home, that man still loved his family deep down.

It'll be real fun if he stabs me a couple more times over this...

"Don't be so nervous. I'm just a passing jujutsu sorcerer who happened to stop here to punish evil."

"You expect me to believe that bullshit? Give me your name!"

Seeing that nothing he said would get through to the boy, Kamo Xu remembered a certain Toji Fushiguro who had stubbornly crouched in an alley for five whole minutes before showing himself. He could only sigh. The caution came from his father too...

"Kamo Xu. You probably haven't heard of me..."

"Kamo Xu!?"

Contrary to his expectations, Megumi Fushiguro seemed to recognize the name. Now Kamo Xu was amused instead.

"You seem to know me?"

"I do. Your name is on Jujutsu High's wanted list... You got into an argument with Gojo-sensei, then the two of you fought. Gojo-sensei, the Strongest, was defeated..."

If the person in front of me really is Kamo Xu... there's no point fighting him.

For one thing, he couldn't win. For another, Satoru Gojo had talked to him about this man.

"You mean Asahi? He's my friend, one of my best friends... He's a guy who never says what he really means and loves talking nonsense. He's a decent person... but his methods are too extreme."

"And he really loves lying. Just watch his eyes when you meet him."

Satoru Gojo snatched the plastic shopping bag from Megumi Fushiguro, rummaged around, and picked out a small snack he was willing to eat. Tearing open the wrapper, he stuffed it into his mouth and spoke to Megumi Fushiguro through the food.

But he kept spraying crumbs as he talked, making Megumi Fushiguro edge farther away.

"He says he'll do whatever it takes to get stronger, but the things he's carrying keep him from attacking [humans]."

"If you run into him, you'd better make sure you're clean. Either you have no [hostility], or you have no [curse]. Otherwise, even if you actually summon Mahoraga..."

"[That lunatic will still slaughter you without sparing any cost.]"

Megumi Fushiguro didn't dare gamble. If this wasn't Kamo Xu, he still had a chance to summon Mahoraga and take his opponent down with him.

But if it really was...

He wasn't sure he would even have a chance to summon that otherworldly divine general...

Most importantly, the Kamo Xu before him didn't seem interested in fighting him, which left him a little puzzled.

After all, Kamo Xu had betrayed Jujutsu High and fled, and Jujutsu Society had put him on its wanted list. Although he hadn't been classified as a curse user, one thing was beyond doubt...

He should have been an enemy of anyone from Jujutsu High.

That was how it should have been...

"Ah... that white-haired dumbass is still as disgusting as ever."

Kamo Xu looked disgusted as he disparaged Megumi Fushiguro's teacher right to his face.

"Although I agree that he's disgusting, could I trouble you to hand that finger over to me for that white-haired dumbass's sake...? It's something Jujutsu High needs."

"Sure, here..." Kamo Xu said.

He extended his hand, the Purple Phoenix Claw resting in his palm. Megumi Fushiguro froze.

He's just... handing it over that easily?

He instinctively reached out to take it, but just then...

Crash!

Glass shattered. Under their stunned gazes, a pink-haired boy burst through the window and kicked toward Kamo Xu's face...

"Are you the guy who's fighting Megumi Fushiguro?!"

Holy shit, don't!

Fushiguro was dumbstruck. How had this guy gotten in here?!

And wasn't this the fourth floor? How had he gotten up here?

Wait, is he about to attack Kamo Xu?

Shit!

"Wait! Mr. Kamo, he's..."

Before he could finish...

The kick aimed at Kamo Xu stopped cold.

Kamo Xu caught the powerful kick with his other hand, seizing the sole of the boy's shoe in the process.

Lacking combat experience, Itadori immediately lost his balance. The back of his head slammed into the solid stone floor with a loud thunk.

Nice sound, right? A good sound means a good head!

Itadori, however, didn't feel good at all. He was clutching his head and howling:

"That hurts!!!"