Tokyo Colony No. 1.
Tsumiki Fushiguro stood atop a skyscraper. The anti-suicide wire mesh had long been torn away, leaving her standing on the very edge of the roof. Cradled in her arms was a calico cat, curled up lazily in the crook of her elbow, letting out a comfortable yawn. Tsumiki gently stroked the cat, her gaze fixed on the distance—where Ryomen Sukuna was battling Yuji Itadori.
Everyone believed the battle would end quickly. By every metric, Ryomen Sukuna was stronger than Yuji Itadori—overwhelmingly so. In fact, when Sukuna first transferred to Tokyo Colony No. 1, Yuji should have transferred out immediately. That was the decision everyone had agreed upon in advance.
But Yuji Itadori did not choose that path. He requested to stay. He wanted to settle things with Ryomen Sukuna, even knowing that such a settlement might be meaningless. He had to do it.
The young man's intent was clear: As Sukuna's former vessel, he possessed the resolve to face the resurrected King of Curses head-on. It was a spirited approach, and remarkably naive.
If Yuji had made this request at Kyoto Jujutsu High, he would have been thrown into a dungeon to reflect on his stupidity. If he dared to talk back, execution would have been his immediate fate. Such cold pragmatism is the common sense of the Jujutsu world.
But Yuji Itadori was at Tokyo Jujutsu High. And here, Satoru Gojo was the safety net.
When Yuji voiced this thought and was met with a fierce reprimand from Atsuya Kusakabe, Satoru Gojo had laughed heartily and agreed. His reasoning was equally interesting: "If I can't even beat a Sukuna with mere 40 fingers' worth of power, then don't even mention fighting Mahito."
That statement was too grounded, and it persuaded the others to let Yuji stay. Tsumiki sighed. "Truly, full of youthful vigor."
"Because Yuji is a young man, after all," someone suddenly said beside Tsumiki. "And he's not entirely without a chance of winning. After all, his body has been elevated to a level nearly indistinguishable from Ryomen Sukuna's. The gap between him and Sukuna lies only in combat experience and reaction speed."
Tsumiki shook her head gently. "And knowledge. Sukuna-sama's knowledge of Cursed Energy and his learning ability are rare in this world. What's more terrifying is that he can learn while fighting, without the slightest error. Itadori lacks this ability. The longer it drags on, the higher Sukuna-sama's win rate becomes. Itadori is guaranteed to lose."
She turned her head. "Or do you have a different opinion, Megumi?"
The person appearing on the rooftop was none other than Megumi Fushiguro.
He had originally been in Tokyo Colony No. 2, which was currently a chaotic dance of demons. Hiromi Higuruma, Fumihiko Takaba, and Kenjaku were engaged in a battle royale of powerhouses. Although Megumi had become much stronger over the past two months, he was still inferior to those three anomalies. After careful consideration, determining that he couldn't obtain the final [Key] there regardless, he decisively chose to transfer barriers and came to Tokyo Colony No. 1.
To see Tsumiki Fushiguro!
Megumi stared into the distance, but he couldn't see anything. He could only vaguely sense the collision of massive Cursed Energy. He took a deep breath, ending the pleasantries. "Tsumiki, come back. Stop following the King of Curses."
Tsumiki didn't get angry; she simply sighed. "You're quite direct."
"I know the King of Curses has a reputation. In the Jujutsu world, he isn't a traditional Cursed Spirit. Although he plays occasional pranks, for the most part, he is a charismatic leader. The fact that he earned the loyalty of Hakari-senpai proves he isn't absolute evil."
Megumi had thought about this for a long time. His words now were logical and smooth. He turned to look at Tsumiki, his brow furrowed into a tight knot, and lowered his voice:
"But whether he is a villain and whether he is easy to get along with are two different things. Even now, I can't forget that he gender-bent Rice Shower. Rice Shower also found a purchase right in the Dream Migration points shop that could restore her male physiological identity. From this, I can conclude that the Lord of Cursed Spirits truly doesn't care about such things at all. To him, it's just a prank of little consequence."
*No, during Mahito's development phase, using Rice Shower as a Satoru Gojo locator was extremely important. Rice Shower herself didn't know, but effectively, every time we caused trouble, we first checked Rice Shower to see where Satoru Gojo was before acting.*
Rice Shower didn't even know her own contribution, but in reality, she was incredibly useful—so useful that Mahito once said if given the chance, he would definitely turn Rice Shower into a true shrine maiden. Yes, he is a deity, and Rice Shower is his head shrine maiden.
This status was already 'under one god, above all others.' One can imagine Rice Shower's standing in Mahito's heart. Completely unaware of the inside story, Megumi continued:
"His immense power is the source of the danger. The stronger he is, the more dangerous it is to be around him. Perhaps not mortal danger, or perhaps he is reliable during a massive crisis, but in ordinary times, he himself is the greatest danger source to those around him. Just like..."
To say more would be rude, so Megumi shut his mouth.
Tsumiki smiled and finished his sentence for him. "Just like your teacher, Satoru Gojo, right?"
Megumi's face soured, and he didn't say a word.
Satoru Gojo was good at everything, perfect enough to be written into a lore book—except for his personality. Except for his personality!
Important things must be said twice!
And the King of Curses was simply a powered-up version of Satoru Gojo! Just thinking about it made Megumi uncomfortable all over. He felt that the longer Tsumiki stayed by the King of Curses' side, the more likely something would go wrong. He didn't know what would happen, but just as unexplained tragedies inevitably occurred around Satoru Gojo, being around the Lord of Cursed Spirits would surely yield the same results!
Dammit, to this day, Megumi remembered the shock of Satoru Gojo daring to openly wear a woman's knee-length skirt, kicking open the classroom door to greet them. It had completely shattered the illusion of 'Special Grade' into dust.
Tsumiki said indifferently, "I refuse."
Megumi wasn't surprised at all. He sighed, "I knew it."
He extended his hands, slowly but firmly forming a seal. "Then, I'll have to try using force."
Tsumiki turned her head away, looking toward the battlefield of Ryomen Sukuna and Yuji Itadori. Even though Megumi had shown hostility, she had absolutely no intention of responding to combat. She continued to gently stroke the calico cat in her arms, and the cat continued to yawn as usual.
Megumi frowned. "I'm really going to do it."
"I know," Tsumiki said.
"...You don't intend to prepare for battle?"
"I don't," Tsumiki said. "When Yuji Itadori is defeated, it will be my turn to battle Sukuna-sama. I need to conserve my stamina. Of course, I'm not stopping you from attacking me, but there is a prerequisite to your attack... Megumi, can you actually 'attack' me?"
Megumi took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "Don't look down on me! Tsumiki!"
—Technique Release:
—Ten Shadows Technique: Divine Dog!
From Megumi's shadow, a fierce canine shikigami suddenly lunged out. It pounced ferociously at Tsumiki, yet she didn't even glance at the Divine Dog, her expression calm as she watched the distance. The Divine Dog quickly reached Tsumiki's side, and then the dog...
It...
It froze awkwardly.
It opened its mouth, wanting to bite but daring not to, glancing furtively back at Megumi.
Megumi's face was dark and gloomy, his hands frozen in place. "Pfft." Someone couldn't hold back a laugh.
Megumi felt a massive palpitation in his heart. Subconsciously, he reinforced his arms with Cursed Energy and raised them to his face. In the next instant, a powerful fist appeared beside his face, striking the guard he had just formed.
BOOM!
The immense impact force violently shattered Megumi's defensive stance. Megumi's entire face distorted; the bones in his hands were shaken into fragments by the impact. Before the pain could even register, he flew backward like a cannonball.
In the spot where Megumi had stood, a man appeared. He had robust muscles and a scar at the corner of his mouth. He watched the flying Megumi, rolled his neck, making a *crack-crack* sound, and looked at Tsumiki with a grin:
"That kid. If you really didn't fight back, he'd probably hesitate until the end of time. Although his combat power has arguably found a footing in this world, that personality... it's truly disgraceful."
Toji Fushiguro. Just like that, he appeared here.
He said, "What should we do? Just let him go like that?"
"What do you intend to do?" Tsumiki asked.
"I can guarantee he absolutely won't disturb your fight with Sukuna." Toji laughed. That smile couldn't be described as savage or gentle, but one thing was certain: it was born of genuine amusement.
A father beating his son—it's only natural law! That was what Toji Fushiguro thought.
"Megumi has traveled in the Dream Migration for two months. His strength has grown sufficiently. Especially with Mahoraga and Domain Expansion, he likely uses them quite proficiently. Even you, I think, have a possibility of being unhorsed," Tsumiki said.
"Are you worrying about me?"
"I wanted to say: Please hurry up and die," Tsumiki said.
Toji shrugged. Before he could speak—"!"
A giant owl rose from below the high-rise. Megumi stood atop the massive avian shikigami. The owl flapped its wings, whipping up the atmosphere. Toji's bangs were blown back, making his slightly gloomy face look like a demon god.
He looked up and waved a greeting to Megumi:
"Yo, Megumi. Long time no see. Papa missed you."
Megumi made a rasping sound, spitting out a piece of flesh laced with blood—perhaps soft tissue from his cheek, or maybe a fragment of his tongue. He rubbed his hand; it had already been fully healed. At this moment, he was completely different from the gloomy boy of moments ago. He laughed wildly:
"I missed you too, [Father-sama]!"
Toji grinned. "That's great. Let's get properly acquainted then, Megumi."
"Just what I had in mind, you shitty old man!" Megumi formed a hand seal, his impressive lung capacity fueling a roar: "—With this treasure, I summon..."
Toji's pupils constricted. "Mahoraga right off the bat?!"