Tiger, switch out-!

Wh... what?!

At Sukuna's words, Itadori's expression changed in an instant-

He quickly looked at Ijichi, who was anxiously waiting at a red light. The dinner rush wasn't quite over yet, and the roads were still crowded. Traffic was terrible.

Driving back wouldn't get him there in time-

Itadori told Ijichi as fast as he could, "I just remembered I left something at Junpei's place! Take Nanamin to get treated first, and I'll come find you afterward!"

He swiftly braced a hand against the open car window and slipped his entire body through it.

Then he pushed off with his foot and shot back the way they had come, vanishing in an instant like a whirlwind-

Ijichi, who hadn't even had time to react, stared blankly after the boy who had suddenly disappeared.

"I... Itadori?!-"

What did you leave behind that you have to run that fast?!

The finger, aaaaah-!

As Itadori ran, he listened to Sukuna's detailed explanation. He didn't doubt Sukuna's claim that images of the area around the finger had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Right now, he was only worried about Mrs. Yoshino. Having experienced it himself, he knew all too well how terrifying it was for a finger to fall into an ordinary person's hands!

[Hurry, hurry, hurry!!-]

Sukuna was urging him on just as anxiously inside his mind.

[Damn it, I can sense curses starting to appear near the finger!]

...Fuck, that stitched-up bastard was actually using his finger to stir up trouble!

If something really happened to that woman, how was he supposed to face Tiger?!!

He had already seen Nagi Yoshino wake up, pick up his finger, and study it in confusion-and behind her, a curse was slowly materializing...

He could sense that they were still over a thousand meters away. At Tiger's speed, they probably wouldn't make it!

He quickly shouted to Itadori:

[We won't make it! Tiger, switch out-!!]

"Okay!"

Itadori switched in a heartbeat.

Black cursed markings appeared, and the already blindingly fast boy suddenly left an afterimage, as though he had vanished on the spot.

Sukuna wrapped his entire body in cursed energy, moving so fast it was almost like teleportation.

Eight hundred meters-six hundred meters-four hundred meters-

He could already "see" the disgusting curse that had materialized reaching toward Nagi Yoshino. It was just about to touch her-

His field of view suddenly opened up. There were no longer any buildings between him and Junpei Yoshino's house-

Without a second thought, he pressed two fingers together, raised his hand, and slashed-

An invisible Dismantle instantly tore across more than three hundred meters, shooting straight into Junpei's home-

At that moment, Nagi Yoshino was staring at the strange finger in her hand, her face full of confusion.

What was this thing... and how had it ended up in her house?

Then she suddenly felt something whip overhead from left to right, stirring up a rush of wind.

She looked up blankly, only to discover in shock-

A gash over two meters long had suddenly opened in the wall to her left, and wind came rushing through it.

On the other side, a sudden clatter erupted as pots, bowls, and dishes crashed to the floor and shattered. Another gash over two meters long cut through the kitchen, splitting the wall on that side as well-

Her open kitchen was a complete wreck. Almost nothing inside remained intact-

Nagi: "..."

Noooo-!!!

My kitchen!!!!-

The tremendous crash also woke Junpei Yoshino, who had been sleeping upstairs.

He quickly got up and went downstairs, immediately spotting a dying curse beside the dining table, sliced in half. His pupils contracted sharply.

Mom!

He hurriedly turned in concern, only to see his mother crouched amid the shattered kitchenware, tearfully clutching the microwave that now lay in two halves on the floor-

The moment she saw him, her tears started falling.

"Waaah... Junpei, my kitchen... my kitchen's gone... waaah..."

Junpei: "..."

For a moment, he didn't know whether to feel relieved that his mother was safe or cry with her over their kitchen.

...No, wait, why was there a curse in their house?!

He swiftly summoned his shikigami, "Moon Dregs," while rushing to his mother's side, warily watching the grotesque curse still writhing on the floor.

Standing over a meter tall, Moon Dregs gave off a faint aqua-blue glow as he positioned himself between them and the curse, protecting the two behind him.

Should he get rid of it...?

Junpei hesitated, having never actually fought a curse before.

But this curse had threatened their home. He absolutely couldn't leave it alive.

Yet just as he was about to act, a tremendous bang suddenly came from the front door-

Someone kicked the heavy security door clean off its hinges and sent it smashing into the wall. "Itadori," who had only just left them a short while ago, rushed in from outside and shouted anxiously.

"Hey! Are you two okay?!!-"

Nagi: "..."

Junpei: "..."

They both looked at the security door, now folded up like a sheet of paper-

Their expressions were identically stunned-

...They had been okay, but now it was hard to say...

Nagi felt as though her brain couldn't keep up. Too many strange things had happened tonight.

She desperately needed a topic an ordinary person could handle to clear her head.

She looked up at "Itadori," and then noticed the black cursed markings on his face.

"...Um... Itadori, why are you back? And what's that on your face... tattoos?"

Sukuna froze.

Oh crap, he'd been in such a hurry to get here that he'd forgotten to switch back to Yuji!

He quickly turned around, rubbing haphazardly at his face with both hands as he replied.

"Ah... well... it's just... I saw a cosplay shop nearby! I bought some stickers and put them on!"

He turned back around, his face now completely clean.

Itadori, who had switched back in an instant, quickly picked up where he had left off-

"-Sorry, I was in such a hurry to get here that I forgot to peel them off."

Nagi sighed in relief. "...Okay, that's good. Kids shouldn't go getting tattoos just anywhere, especially on their faces."

"...Oh, right, who were you cosplaying again?"

Itadori: "..."

How was he supposed to answer that?

His mind raced before he replied, a little uncertainly:

"...'Ryomen Sukuna'...?"

Sukuna, who had just returned to the Inner World and hadn't even settled into his seat:

*[...]*

*[????]*