Watching Sukuna stride away, Megumi Fushiguro wrestled with himself for a moment before sighing.
He had to admit that when Sukuna appeared just now, he really had felt saved.
...Sukuna actually hadn't hurt them. He'd helped them fight the curses instead...
He felt awkward. He thought he ought to thank him, but couldn't quite get the words out.
...Forget it. I'll find another way to thank him later...
...Maybe get him a thank-you gift...? But what? More snacks?
His gaze unconsciously fell on the Divine Dogs beside him.
A few things Itadori had said earlier suddenly flashed through his mind...
...No, no, no! What was he thinking?!
He wasn't thinking anything!
...The mission, right! The mission wasn't finished yet!
He quickly called Nobara over, and they went to search for the other two targets.
Sukuna went to find Faucet, while Megumi Fushiguro and Kugisaki split up and found the other two human corpses. By the time they regrouped, Sukuna had already changed back into Itadori.
Watching Itadori rub his throat with a miserable expression, Megumi Fushiguro asked, "Did you eat the finger?"
Itadori nodded glumly. "Yeah... My throat just feels a little uncomfortable."
He paused, his voice growing subdued.
"After I ate it, Sukuna said he was a little sleepy and went back to sleep..."
Worry crept onto his face.
There hadn't been any reaction like this when he'd eaten the fingers before. He didn't know why it was happening this time.
He was worried something might happen to Sukuna, and the distress was written all over his face.
Megumi Fushiguro was silent for a moment. "Let's go back to school first. I'll tell Teacher Gojo what happened."
On this mission, there had been one Special Grade that was already fully developed when they arrived, and one grade-one curse. Without Sukuna, they would all have been wiped out.
No matter how short-handed they were, a mission like this normally should never have been assigned to first-year students.
Especially when Teacher Gojo was away on business...
Megumi Fushiguro glanced at Itadori and put his suspicions aside.
Even though he could imagine that someone had arranged this to test Sukuna inside Itadori...
All he could do was improve his own strength as much as possible, so he could be of use if danger struck again.
The three of them carried the five deceased people's bodies out of the curtain.
Ijichi, who had been waiting outside the whole time, lit up when he saw them emerge unharmed and let out a deep sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
He rejoiced inwardly.
As a supervisor with little combat ability, all he could do was pray that these young jujutsu sorcerers wouldn't die or get hurt.
He hoped every jujutsu sorcerer he watched leave would return safely. That alone would be enough for him.
With the mission complete, he contacted other supervisors to help handle the aftermath, then carefully drove Megumi Fushiguro and the other two back to school.
Inside Itadori's inner world, Sukuna lay quietly asleep with his eyes closed.
After he ate the third finger in the Juvenile Detention Center, a cold, sinister current that nevertheless felt incredibly pleasant flowed out of the dissolving finger.
He felt as though he were soaking in a warm spring, so comfortable he couldn't help wanting to sigh.
He lazily said a few words to Tiger, then soon fell asleep.
Then he had a dream-
In the dream, an endlessly expansive blue sky stretched overhead, dotted with white clouds. Below lay a lush green meadow stirred by a gentle breeze.
He saw "himself" lying on his side on the soft grass, his head propped on one hand, his whole body relaxed. He wore a white kimono very similar to the one Sukuna had bought that day.
"He" lay there, his face indistinct, yet radiated a leisurely, serene calm.
Sukuna froze for a moment, then quickly caught on.
Was this... him from a thousand years ago?
His eyes widened slightly, his gaze fixed firmly on "himself," as though trying his hardest to capture his own past memories.
...So I already liked wearing white a thousand years ago? No wonder I wanted that kimono so badly when I saw it!
He felt rather pleased. Apparently, he was already gravitating toward recovering his memories without realizing it.
At that thought, he tried moving closer. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see the other figure clearly. His memories seemed shrouded in fog, impossible to make out.
He sighed and gave up on that.
His gaze shifted downward, and he suddenly froze.
There seemed to be a little ball of something white and fluffy on "him"...?
He looked over and went utterly still.
A tiny fox, snowy white all over without a single patch of another color, had curled itself into a soft little ball and was sleeping quietly on "his" stomach.
Its two slender white ears twitched now and then, while faint, slow breaths came from its small pink nose.
...Huh?
Sukuna stared blankly at that Little White Fluffball.
...A little fox...?
Only after a long while did the realization finally hit him, leaving him stunned-
...So I actually kept a fox a thousand years ago?!
He hurried closer, his gaze settling on the little fox-
The little fox's fur was incredibly soft, as clean and pure white as snow.
A big, fluffy tail almost as long as its body wrapped snugly around it.
Its tiny head was buried in its fluffy tail, its eyes narrowed contentedly.
Every so often, the tip of its tail gave a gentle flick or two, making his heart quiver.
It... it's kind of cute...!
Sukuna's heart thumped, and the corners of his mouth rose without him noticing.
He felt as though he really liked this little fox...!
A thousand years ago or now, he seemed to like it just the same.
As he watched the little fox, a sense of familiarity surged through him.
He felt delighted. His past self had certainly had good taste!
After basking in that for a while, he stared at the little fox for a long time, then suddenly felt a little envious.
A little fox that white and soft looked wonderful to pet.
But this was a dream. He couldn't touch it at all.
A pang of jealousy struck him-he envied his past self a little.
Ah... He sighed regretfully.
No wonder he'd coveted Megumi Fushiguro's Divine Dogs. He'd kept a little white, fluffy animal like that right from the start.
Just as he was imagining being able to touch that fluff, the scene around him suddenly shattered-
Like a mirror breaking, countless spiderweb cracks spread outward from the center-
Behind the shattered mirror lay a deep, shadowy crimson darkness, thick with the smell of blood-
He plunged headfirst into that dark abyss!
The stark contrast jolted Sukuna awake.
Cold sweat soaked his clothes. He panted rapidly, struggling to calm himself.
He opened his eyes, and his vision gradually came into focus.
Then the sight before him made his breath catch again-
The once pitch-black inner world had changed into an immense, wide-open space.
Above his head was an enormous spine of some unknown creature, filling the entire space overhead and stretching beyond sight.
Beneath it lay an endless ocean of dark red blood, quietly giving off a faint crimson mist.
He stood atop a mountain of bones made from hundreds of skulls and skeletal remains, surrounded by a sea of blood.
As far as he could see, this seemed to be the only isolated island in the entire space.
This was...
His heart tightened, and he immediately realized something.
...Was this... an innate domain?
This was his innate domain?!
-His... inner world?!!
Sukuna stared at it all in shock.
He simply couldn't imagine that this could actually be his inner world-?!
He... had this really been his style a thousand years ago??!
Sukuna gazed at this space that defied everything he had imagined. Only after a long while did he murmur.
"Tiger..."
His eyes were vacant, his voice dry.
"...I'm way more than just a little vicious..."
He closed his eyes with a headache, wailing inwardly.
...I'm freaking a billion times more vicious!!
What exactly did I do a thousand years ago... to end up with an inner world full of mountains of corpses and seas of blood?
-Wouldn't that warrant sending me straight off for a Reforge?!
Before you continue