Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Sugisawa Third High School.
Fushiguro Megumi was thoroughly confused. Why would a special grade cursed object be carelessly stored inside a Weather Box?
Even more bewildering, he, a student not yet formally enrolled, had been sent to retrieve it. Something about this felt off.
Megumi sighed. "Forget it. They're probably short-handed upstairs and just dragged me in to fill the gap."
Although he didn't want to admit it, Gojo Satoru was certainly capable of pulling something like this.
Megumi stepped forward and opened the Weather Box.
"..."
Wait. Maybe I opened it wrong. Try again.
Click—
"..."
Click-clack-click-clack... After seven or eight attempts, Megumi finally accepted the truth: the special grade cursed object was gone.
The next day, during P.E. class, the 50-meter dash was underway. Students crouched, gathering energy, focusing on the track, waiting for the whistle.
Among them, a boy with light pink hair drew every eye.
"How fast do you think Itadori-kun will be this time?"
"Five seconds, maybe!"
"Underestimating him! He has to beat his previous 4.13 seconds!"
"Huh? Is that the Tiger of Nishinaka?"
"Shhh—"
The whistle blew.
Itadori Yuji shot forward like a spring, leaving nearby students in his wake. A gust of wind swept past, and he crossed the finish line in an instant.
The slow-to-react gym teacher pressed the timer too late. When he saw the data, his eyes nearly popped.
"Three... 3.27 seconds!"
He rushed to Itadori, gripping his shoulders. "Itadori-kun, listen to me! Talent like yours should go into sports! I can get you into the National Tournament and even the Olympics!"
Itadori scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Teacher, I'm not interested."
"NO~~~"
The gym teacher lost it. Discovering raw talent only to have it wasted was maddening.
"You're not still in that weird club, are you?"
"The Occult Research Club!"
"..."
The teacher was speechless. "Don't waste it on meaningless things! Talent like yours is a gift from the gods..."
Itadori quickly covered his ears and escaped the nagging.
At the hospital, Itadori Yuji's grandfather, Wasuke Itadori, spoke his final words.
"Yuji, you are strong. Help others whenever you can. Even if you're confused, even if no one thanks you, save them first. You should die surrounded by people, not like me."
Without giving Yuji a chance to reply, his grandfather passed away.
A pang of sadness struck Yuji, but he remembered his grandfather's words: If I die a natural death, be happy for me.
He forced himself to stand tall again.
After handling his grandfather's affairs, Itadori ran into Fushiguro Megumi around the corner.
Megumi had been tracking the missing special grade cursed object near Itadori's middle school for several days. Yesterday, he confirmed the target was in Itadori's backpack, but the boy was agile, parkouring over fences and vanishing. Physical prowess without Cursed Energy—ridiculous.
Fortunately, today Megumi finally caught him.
"You must be Itadori Yuji?"
Megumi produced a photo. "I am Fushiguro Megumi from Jujutsu High. I apologize, but the item you possess is extremely dangerous. Hand it over immediately."
Itadori froze, then handed over an empty box.
Megumi frowned. Is he messing with me?
Itadori slapped his forehead. "Oh! Right, I gave the contents to my upperclassmen!"
Seeing Megumi's serious expression, Itadori scratched his head. "Uh… will this be bad?"
"More than just bad. People will die!"
Megumi grabbed him and dashed toward the school.
At Sugisawa Third High School, a dark study room flickered under faint candlelight. Sasaki and Iguchi frantically peeled Talismans off a cursed tool.
"Sasaki, I have a bad feeling about this!"
"This is the thrill of investigating the occult! Almost there, keep going!"
Finally, the Talisman came off, revealing a twisted, hideous finger.
Cursed Spirits from several kilometers around converged on the location, drawn like cats to fish. Shadows twisted and spread across the study room, and the candlelight flickered.
Sasaki and Iguchi scrambled, running straight into Megumi and Itadori.
"Itadori! Run!"
"Monsters! So many monsters!"
Megumi realized immediately something was wrong. He told Itadori to escort the two away while he charged alone into the study room.
Countless Cursed Spirits swarmed around Sukuna's Finger. Megumi summoned his Shikigami.
"Divine Dogs!"
The black and white dogs protected him, repelling the spirits, allowing him to reclaim Sukuna's Finger.
Meanwhile, after ensuring their safety, Itadori turned back to find Megumi being attacked.
Finally, he saw the creatures: the dreaded Cursed Spirits.
Itadori, fearless, shouted, "What kind of monsters are these?" and charged, fists swinging.