At Tokyo Jujutsu High, Satoru Gojo watched the two people on screen—who had somehow gotten the usually aloof Megumi Fushiguro to open up—and began to ponder.
"Judging by their uniforms, those two should be our students too… but why don't I remember them?"
"Or… did that old man go and recruit more students behind my back again?"
Gojo couldn't help but suspect Masamichi Yaga.
That guy's style was simple—once he found a kid with talent for jujutsu, he'd do everything he could to train them.
Although, to be fair… Gojo himself had picked up that same habit.
Still…
Judging by how they interacted with Megumi—
They really did seem like two promising kids worth nurturing.
[The scene continues]
[Under Yasohachi Bridge, on the completely dried riverbed, the three of them carefully searched inch by inch.]
["If the curse is inside the barrier, then the order is crucial."]
["At night!"]
["Enter from beneath the bridge!"]
["And one more thing—the bottom of the valley might have a river!"]
["Crossing a river and a boundary… the act of passing over to the other side holds significant meaning in jujutsu."]
[After a thorough search, they finally discovered a small pool of water that hadn't completely dried up within the cracks of the riverbed.]
[Having confirmed the target, Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki stood side by side in front of the barrier—and stepped forward together.]
["Szzzt—!"]
[The moment their feet crossed into the barrier, arcs of electricity flashed beneath them.]
[As soon as their feet touched the ground again, the electricity vanished—and the earth beneath them burst open with heat, dragging the three into another space.]
["BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!…"]
[Countless stone pillars erupted from the ground, rising in chaotic formations and trapping the three within.]
["Ya~~~~~~"]
[Suddenly, a grotesque mole-like curse—with four hollow black holes where its eyes should be—peeked out from the stone wall above them, letting out a chilling, trembling sound.]
"Damn—scared the hell out of me!"
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Man… that's one ugly-looking freak!"
Across the worlds, countless ordinary viewers were startled by the curse's appearance.
Especially the eerie tremor in its voice—
It sent chills straight down their spines.
On the Thousand Sunny, aside from Usopp and the "emergency food supply" Tony Tony Chopper, who were visibly shaken—
The rest, like Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro, watched with great interest, waiting for the fight to begin.
Ever since the multiverse videos appeared—
They had all benefited greatly from the previous two Instances.
Not only gaining rewards—
But also real combat experience.
What better training ground could there be?
And beyond just battle—
Each of them had their own expectations.
For example, Nico Robin had met Lucy Heartfilia during a random match.
Because they both loved books—
Every time they teamed up afterward, they exchanged books from their respective worlds.
As for Nami—
Each new Instance meant exploring a brand-new world.
And for pirates like them—
Wasn't exploring the vast unknown exactly the reason they set sail?
[The scene continues]
[The moment they saw the mole-like curse appear, the three immediately drew their cursed tools, ready for battle.]
["So it's here…"]
[Yuji, the only one fighting barehanded, cracked his knuckles.]
["Looks worth exorcising."]
[Nobara raised her small hammer, excitement flashing across her face.]
[Unlike his battle-hungry friends, Megumi remained 200% vigilant when dealing with curses.]
[While everyone's attention was fixed on the mole-like curse—]
[Megumi suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from behind.]
['There's another one!']
[As the sound grew closer, his eyes widened.]
["Eh—?! Ehehehehehehe!!! Ehehehehehehe!!!"]
["Spread out!"]
[Turning around and realizing the new threat was charging straight at them, Megumi immediately warned Yuji and Nobara.]
[The three leapt away from their positions.]
["Ehehehehehehe!!!"]
["BOOM!"]
[A dark green figure slammed down where they had been standing moments before, kicking up a cloud of dust.]
[As the dust slowly cleared, the creature's form became visible.]
[Hollow, bleeding facial features.]
[Dark green skin.]
[Bulging, muscular limbs.]
[And on its chest—]
[A grotesque, gaping maw.]
"Damn it—another ugly freak?!"
"Does it ever end?!"
"Are all creatures in this world this messed up?!"
In the Land of Waves, Naruto Uzumaki glanced at the newly appeared curse—
Then turned toward Zabuza Momochi, whose bandages had come undone during battle earlier.
Naruto suddenly stood up, walked a short distance toward him—
And bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry. I was immature earlier."
"I shouldn't have said you were ugly…"
"Compared to that thing—"
"You actually look pretty decent."
"…You brat—!"
Zabuza hadn't expected the blond kid to provoke him again at a time like this.
His hand instinctively moved toward the handle of his executioner blade.
"Ahem." Kakashi Hatake spoke up, interrupting.
"Zabuza, watch the video first. Naruto's had issues with his brain since he was a kid—don't take it personally."
"If you still can't let it go, wait until the video's over. Then you can target him however you want—I probably won't stop you."
Zabuza glanced sideways at Kakashi—
Then slowly released his grip on the sword.
…Right. Watching the video comes first.
As for Kakashi's claim that he wouldn't interfere afterward—
Even a dog wouldn't believe that.
There were no such things as honest agreements between ninjas.
The only question now was—
Whether Haku could arrive in time.
Handling all of them alone…
Was pushing it.
[The scene continues]
[The newly arrived curse, Eso, scratched at the hollow eye socket on its head with a finger and turned toward Yuji and the others.]
["…What's going on?"]
["…Someone got here first?"]