Ring, ring! Ring, ring!
Click!
"Hello."
"Why is it so noisy around you? Still at the horse races?"
"Yeah, well, I have a family to feed."
"Honestly. The Star Plasma Vessel's group has already headed to the Okinawa Islands."
"Huh? What?"
"That's right. While that's good news, there's another piece of news that might not be so good for you."
"Igarashi Amaha is with the target, right?"
"You knew?"
"Heh, that brat really has a nasty personality."
"Since you already know, I won't waste any more words. When are you taking down the bounty?"
"Tomorrow."
"All right. Don't spend that thirty million too quickly. Megumi still needs-"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Oh dear, the signal suddenly went bad."
Under the sunlight, the sea displayed a striking blue. The waves rolled, like stars twinkling in the night sky.
Splash! Splash!
"Hey! Amaha, hurry up! Over here!" Satoru Gojo stood at the shoreline, cupping one hand around his mouth and frantically waving the other into the distance.
Wearing shorts, with his muscular upper body bare, Igarashi Amaha signaled to Satoru Gojo that he had heard, raising the surfboard in his hand and waving it.
"Hey, kidney-deficient guy, hurry up! We're only waiting on you!" Riko Amanai called out loudly as she watched Igarashi Amaha saunter along without a care.
Igarashi Amaha picked at his ear, appeared beside Riko Amanai in a flash, then kicked her into the seawater. "Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Quit fucking rushing me," he said flatly.
Ignoring Riko Amanai's curses after that, he turned toward Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. "Who's going first?"
"You guys go first. I'm afraid that once you see my skills, you won't have the courage to step onto a surfboard again." Satoru Gojo swept back his bangs, looking utterly invincible.
Igarashi Amaha shook his head and sighed before saying to Suguru Geto, "I keep feeling like something's barking."
"Probably a dog." Suguru Geto looked left and right before speaking as though he had reached a conclusion.
"Want to go big?" Igarashi Amaha suddenly asked, looking at the barely rippling sea.
"Let's hear it." The two gave him curious looks.
Igarashi Amaha smiled, then Cursed Energy surged through his body, stirring up waves across the surrounding sea.
He slowly lowered himself, pressing both hands to the ground as a gigantic totem appeared behind him.
"Hey, hey, you're kidding."
The Cursed Energy surging through Igarashi Amaha erupted, and he uttered a few words with a somewhat excited expression.
-Piece Summons: "Director"-Duet!!
Suguru Geto abruptly turned sideways and shouted to Riko Amanai and Kuroi, who were still playing with water guns nearby, "Hey, get over here! Something big is coming!"
Before the two could react, they felt the entire sea suddenly begin to boil.
Rumble!! Rumble!!
At the sight, Satoru Gojo extended a hand. A tremendous attractive force pulled the two directly behind him. Then he and Suguru Geto stared fixedly at the farthest reaches of the sea, both looking somewhat excited.
"Now this is what we should be playing with!"
Rumble!! Rumble!!
The distant earth itself seemed to tremble, as though desperately trying to restrain something. Unfortunately, restraint was ultimately only restraint, not resistance.
Boom!! Boom!!
The next second, the trembling sea in the distance exploded, and two black shock waves as tall as skyscrapers shot upward!
Whoosh!!!
A tremendous gale suddenly rose, whipping up countless sprays that battered the three standing in front.
Boom!!!
Under that strike, the ocean completely lost its reason. It opened a bloodthirsty maw a hundred meters high and surged toward them!
"Geto!"
"Yeah!"
Suguru Geto flicked one hand, and a flying Cursed Spirit appeared beneath Riko Amanai and Kuroi, lifting the two into the air.
"Next up is a game for grown-ups." Satoru Gojo rolled his neck, grabbed his surfboard, and bent forward slightly, ready at any moment to face the ocean creature's fury.
Suguru Geto beside him did the same, his excitement now reaching its peak.
The sea boiled with waves. Riko Amanai glanced at the roaring waves in the distance, which seemed to be venting nature's wrath.
Riko Amanai felt a surge of absurdity. Forget Jujutsu Sorcerers-even a god would be swallowed whole by a tsunami like this. Without hesitation, she immediately shouted to the three, "Hey, this is already beyond anything reasonable! Those aren't waves anymore, it's a storm! You can't withstand a storm!"
Looking into the distance, the muscles all over Igarashi Amaha's body bulged. He turned to Riko Amanai with a savage grin. "I am the storm!"
Whoosh!
The next second, all three vanished from where they stood. Three figures could be seen on the sea, thrusting toward the storm like sharp swords!
"Don't die out there."
"Worry about yourself."
"I'm invincible!"
Was the giant wave chasing him?
No.
The giant wave was setting him off!
The following day, the third day of escort duty, at the entrance to Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical College.
For some reason, the group felt a sense of resistance as they looked at the familiar gates. Was it perhaps because they were about to part?
They climbed the steps one at a time, countless thoughts running through their minds.
Riko Amanai: Was this where it ended...?
Kuroi: Young lady...
Satoru Gojo: Riko, no matter what choice you make,
Suguru Geto: We'll safeguard your future, so
Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto: Stay a little longer!
Igarashi Amaha: How many did I smoke this morning again? Why does it feel like a few are missing...?
Ring, ring! Ring, ring!
Just then, an insistent ringtone sounded. Everyone turned to Igarashi Amaha, somewhat curious about who was calling.
"Moshi moshi."
"Oh, oh, I see. Huh? How did that happen? Okay, okay, okay. I'll be right over."
Igarashi Amaha hung up with a serious expression, then looked at everyone and said, "We're already here. Leaving now shouldn't count as skipping work, right?"
Looking at the unusually serious Igarashi Amaha, Suguru Geto asked with some concern, "We're about to enter the barrier here, so we're safe now. But what's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
"Yeah, I actually spotted a tiny trace of seriousness in you. Need any help?"
Igarashi Amaha shook his head. "No need. I'll be right back."
With that, Igarashi Amaha became a blur and vanished from everyone's sight.
Since Amaha had said it was nothing, he was probably fine. Suguru Geto withdrew his gaze, looked toward Amaha and the others, and said, "Let's go. We'll be safe once we're inside Jujutsu High."
"Okay."
Elsewhere, Igarashi Amaha straddled a Kawasaki motorcycle, switching off the alarm on his phone as he said, "No need for help with eating. My two friends, though-they're about to get thrashed by a monkey."
With that, Igarashi Amaha put on his helmet and vanished in a streak of light.