Choso the guinea pig

She glanced again at the things in her hands.

She had gone downstairs, treated a new patient, and brought these things up along the way.

Buying them had been rather troublesome. After all, who could have imagined that, with Shibuya in such chaos, someone would still want daifuku and takoyaki?

Yue Liusi had probably realized that, which was why he had left the task to them.

What a strange person...

"Did you get them?"

Shoko Ieiri had grown somewhat accustomed to Yue Liusi appearing out of nowhere. She raised her hand and gave the bags a shake.

"You seem to be in a bad mood?"

"Sweets do help regulate your mood, though I'm not particularly fond of them myself."

Judging Yue Liusi's mood wasn't difficult for her. Shoko Ieiri had thought he had suffered some setback in Shibuya.

Yue Liusi grabbed Shoko Ieiri's shoulder, and a second later, the two were back on the rooftop.

"A lot of people will die over there."

Shoko Ieiri looked in the direction Yue Liusi indicated. It was where Sukuna had opened his domain to subjugate Mahoraga.

The domain had yet to be withdrawn, and the battle was still going on.

"That's..."

"Sukuna."

Shoko Ieiri's pupils contracted slightly.

Seeing was believing, as the saying went. From what she could see now, the King of Curses truly lived up to his name.

"Curious? Want to get closer?"

Yue Liusi suggested with a chuckle.

Shoko Ieiri didn't answer, merely raising her hand toward him.

The next instant, they arrived atop a closer high-rise.

And at that moment, Sukuna unleashed Furnace: Open.

Boom!!!

A towering pillar of flame shot into the sky. Searing heat washed over them, and the fire lit up the night sky as well as their faces.

"You really do have some nerve, actually daring to come here with me."

"One wrong move, and you'll die, you know."

As she listened to Yue Liusi's teasing words, the flames shone in Shoko Ieiri's eyes.

"You'll protect me, won't you?"

"You're awfully full of yourself, miss."

"Whether it's because of my Reverse Cursed Technique or not, you'll protect me either way, right?"

"Heh."

Yue Liusi chuckled, feeling a little bored.

"Are you always this unflappable?"

"You really are the same sort as that Gojo guy."

With that, he waved a hand without waiting for Shoko Ieiri to say anything more.

"Wait a moment."

Watching Yue Liusi disappear, she felt no panic, even though Sukuna's battlefield wasn't far away.

She sat down unhurriedly and took out the food.

Meanwhile, Yue Liusi had already arrived inside the subway station.

"What exactly is that guy's Cursed Technique? It actually put me under an illusion..."

Choso was thinking about the person who had forcibly taken Itadori away earlier, unaware that the man had already appeared beside him.

"Come along."

"Who's there!"

Choso startled, blood instantly gathering in his hand. But before he could strike, an enormous force hit him from behind!

Boom!

Choso was flung straight out, smashing heavily through a wall. Before he could get up, the figure blazing with red and white light, radiating terrifying heat, was already in front of him.

"I don't know what's so good about sweets. That Satoru guy is always thinking about them too. Tsk..."

Bang!

A dark shape suddenly hurtled over and slammed into the building, closely followed by a figure wreathed in light.

A few seconds later, Yue Liusi returned to the rooftop carrying the unconscious Choso.

His Lava Release Chakra Mode faded, and he casually tossed Choso aside.

"This is..."

Shoko Ieiri blinked, a little surprised.

"An enemy, but he can become one of us."

"He has a special constitution. Reverse Cursed Technique won't hurt him. Use him for teaching."

As Yue Liusi explained, he picked up the food she had brought and began eating, polishing it off quite rapidly.

Shoko Ieiri was somewhat speechless at the sight. He made eating look like nothing more than a task to complete.

She picked up a takoyaki ball and put it in her mouth, considerably more refined than Yue Liusi, then shifted her gaze to Choso.

After examining him for a moment, she nodded.

"He really would make good teaching material. Quite an unusual specimen..."

Specimen?

Yue Liusi raised an eyebrow. He knew Shoko Ieiri wasn't treating Choso as human at all. Her professional instincts had kicked in.

"Not this one. He'll be a companion later."

"Judging by this... he's connected to Itadori?"

At her words, Yue Liusi's hands paused before he nodded.

Right. With her eye, she really might be able to tell.

Beside them, Choso was gradually coming to and heard their conversation too.

Before he could make any move, Yue Liusi's gaze landed on him.

"I guarantee you'll die the second after you attack."

"Also, you have another younger brother waiting for you."

Choso's pupils suddenly widened.

In fact, during his earlier fight with Itadori, some memories he had never had before had already awakened.

And then there was what this woman had just said about him being connected to Itadori.

Although he couldn't verify Yue Liusi's words, for some reason, he had an inexplicable feeling that the man was right.

And Yue Liusi was clearly on Itadori's side.

Holy shit, no, couldn't you have said so earlier? I never said I wanted to be your enemy!

Of course I'd help my own little brother!

Why did I get another beating for nothing?

[Task three completed]

Yue Liusi's eating became much more elegant. Come to think of it, he was a little hungry after all that fighting.

With the final task completed, new tasks had refreshed as well.

Yue Liusi's hands paused briefly.

"Wait for me again."

Before his words had even faded, he had already disappeared.

A few breaths later.

Shoko Ieiri immediately noticed what Yue Liusi had brought back.

Were those... two pieces of some sort of bodily tissue?

Yue Liusi offered no explanation, casually putting them away in small containers.

In the distance, the signs of fierce combat erupted once again.

"It's not over yet?"

There was a hint of surprise in Shoko Ieiri's voice. With the domain withdrawn and things quiet for a while, she had thought the battle was already over.

And now it had started again?

"Looks like the talks broke down."

Yue Liusi naturally knew what had happened. Things had returned to their proper course, with only a slight change in the order. After dealing with Mahoraga, Sukuna still had a battle with Jogo.

As for exactly what had been said, he didn't know.

Or perhaps, given Sukuna's temperament, this fight had been inevitable.

"Who do you think could stop him?"

Looking at the flames filling an entire building and the violent commotion of the battle, Shoko Ieiri couldn't help asking softly.

"With Satoru Gojo absent, everyone else is powerless."

Yue Liusi shook his head. Gojo and Sukuna stood in a league far beyond the rest.

With Satoru Gojo sealed, fifteen-finger Sukuna was still rather overpowered at this stage. Yue Liusi didn't yet have a way to withstand his slashes.

He could stay alive with the Flying Thunder God Technique, but if staying alive was all he could manage, why go up against him?

There would be opportunities in the future.