Just what he expected of someone raised by Lord Su-Super Popular-kuna!

Nanami began assigning tasks.

Although Itadori had demonstrated rapid recovery, Nanami's instinct to protect children still led him to give Itadori only a simple task-

He was to go with Ijichi to investigate a boy named "Junpei Yoshino"-the other human student who had been at the crime scene.

And so.

Three hours later.

Sukuna rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again.

He stared in utter bewilderment at the scene before him-

At the dinner table, his Tiger was having a wonderful time chatting with the Yoshino mother and son, tossing out jokes that had both of them roaring with laughter.

Nanami had only just assigned his Tiger to investigate Junpei Yoshino...

So how had they ended up having dinner at the boy's house in such a short time?

And getting along with their target, Junpei Yoshino, like they were buddies?

...Was his Tiger a little too good at socializing?

Hmm...

...The student really had surpassed the master! Just what he expected of someone raised by Lord Su-Super Popular-kuna!-(Absolutely!)

After a few rounds of drinks.

Of course, Junpei Yoshino's mother, Nagi, was the only one drinking, and she also became the first to fall asleep at the table.

Junpei quickly fetched a blanket and draped it over his mother's shoulders, his gaze tender as he looked at her.

"Your mom really is a good person, Junpei."

Itadori's admiration was heartfelt.

Junpei murmured a quiet agreement. To him, the most important person in the world was his mother.

For her sake, he could endure anything.

Bzz, bzz-

Itadori's phone suddenly rang. He immediately answered and found that it was Mr. Ijichi.

"Uh-huh, okay... Yeah, nothing's wrong... Okay, got it."

He hung up and spoke to Junpei apologetically.

"My... uh, the guy who's probably my boss is here to pick me up. I have to head back."

"But I think I'll come again. It was really fun talking with you both."

He gave him a huge smile.

"See you next time!"

"...Yeah, okay."

Junpei hesitated, but in the end, he said nothing more.

Though Mr. Mahito had told him to deliberately get on good terms with Itadori... surely a day or two wouldn't make much difference.

He thought that, for today, this... was enough.

He walked Itadori out and watched him get into a black sedan.

Itadori leaned out of the car window, smiling and waving goodbye.

He raised his hand and waved back.

...Were all Jujutsu Sorcerers... like Itadori?

He was Mr. Mahito's enemy, and yet...

He stared for a while in the direction the car had disappeared.

Then he went upstairs and collapsed onto his bed.

...The power Mr. Mahito had given him... was he really going to use it for revenge?

But if he did, Itadori would probably see him as an enemy, wouldn't he?

He didn't want to become Itadori's enemy...

Besides, if he did that... his mom would probably be disappointed too.

He let out a heavy sigh.

His mother was the one person he never wanted to disappoint.

Itadori was in a good mood as he sat in the car.

After talking with Junpei for so long, he was convinced that Junpei had nothing to do with the deaths of those three people at the movie theater.

Ijichi, meanwhile, spoke anxiously as he drove.

"Mr. Nanami just confronted the curse we've been looking for, and he was injured-he said it was a humanoid special grade cursed spirit with stitches on its face!"

"Injured?!"

[Special grade?]

Itadori and Sukuna were both startled.

Itadori asked nervously, "Is Nanamin badly hurt? Where is he now?" (*Nanami is pronounced "nah-nah-mee" in Japanese. In the original, Tiger affectionately added an "n," making it "Nanamin." It's Tiger's personal nickname for him, something like "Nana-dear~.")

Ijichi answered, "Judging by Mr. Nanami's tone, his injuries probably aren't serious. We're going to meet up with him now, then take him to Miss Ieiri for treatment."

Miss Ieiri... right, she could use Reverse Cursed Technique too.

Hearing that the injuries weren't serious, Itadori breathed a sigh of relief.

Ijichi continued, "He asked me to tell you to be careful if you encounter that special grade cursed spirit. That cursed spirit seems rather unusual. Ordinary Cursed Energy attacks have absolutely no effect on him and can't inflict any real damage."

Itadori's expression grew serious, but he wasn't overly worried.

If all else failed, he could switch with Sukuna. With Sukuna around, they should be able to handle any special grade cursed spirit.

Sukuna, meanwhile, frowned in thought inside his inner world.

...Another special grade? Hadn't special grades been showing up a little too often lately?

First the special grade cursed womb, then Volcano Head, whom Gojo had fought, then the one that released flowers and rescued Volcano Head, and now this Stitches...

So special grades were actually something you could run into at any moment...?

...Suddenly, "Special grade" sounded awfully cheap... Did he really need to discuss applying to the higher-ups for a new "super special grade" title with Gojo?

How could he, the King of Curses, be in the same grade as something that popped up everywhere?

Sukuna's train of thought abruptly stopped.

He froze.

Just now... he had suddenly sensed the presence of his finger...!

An image surfaced in his mind-

He saw someone with stitches on his face unseal one of his fingers, then place it... in front of Junpei Yoshino's sleeping mother-Nagi Yoshino!

He jolted in alarm!

What was going on?!-

...Stitches?!

...Could that be the humanoid special grade cursed spirit with stitches on his face that Ijichi had just mentioned?!

[Yuji! Tell Ijichi to stop the car, now!!]

He immediately roared inside Itadori's head-

[That Stitches curse has one of my fingers, and he's put it in Junpei Yoshino's house!!]