"...That guy's outfit… kinda reminds me of Bon Clay."
Aboard the Thousand Sunny, Monkey D. Luffy suddenly commented as he looked at the figure on screen.
"Bon Clay?"
Franky and Brook, who had joined later, looked confused.
"Ah… that guy…"
Roronoa Zoro downed his drink in one gulp and sighed.
"…was a man."
"Wonder if Mr. 2 is still alive…"
Nico Robin added quietly.
Seeing how nostalgic they all looked, Franky and Brook grew even more curious.
"Phew… that guy called himself a 'newkama'… a crossdresser."
Sanji took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled a ring of smoke before explaining:
"We met as friends… became enemies by circumstance… but in the end, still friends."
That explanation only made Franky and Brook more confused.
"In short, he's someone who gave his life to help us."
Nami concluded.
At this point, none of them knew that Bon Clay had merely been captured by Tina and imprisoned in Impel Down—
Not dead.
[The scene continues]
["A mission?"]
[Upon hearing the word, Nobara Kugisaki's expression changed as she looked at the strange figure.]
["Hmm?"]
[Noticing her reaction, the figure was momentarily stunned, his eyes widening.]
["…I thought we were here for the same objective…"]
[Only then did Nobara fully realize the situation and became wary again.]
["Is this thing a Curse… or a curse user?"]
["…And what's that smell?"]
[She seemed to catch a faint, unpleasant scent, her delicate nose wrinkling slightly.]
[The scene cuts back inside the barrier.]
[Within the jagged stone-filled space, flashes of blade light streaked across the area.]
[The mole-like curses emerging from the ground were instantly sliced in half as the blade passed.]
[Megumi Fushiguro wielded his black Chinese-style saber, weaving through the battlefield with agile movements.]
[Each swing of his blade took down another curse.]
["Last one!"]
[In just moments, only a single mole-like curse remained, foolishly poking its head out and staring at Megumi with its four hollow eye sockets.]
["Your pattern is way too simple!"]
[Megumi turned and locked eyes with it—then slashed downward.]
[But just as the blade was about to land, the curse suddenly burrowed back underground, causing the strike to miss.]
[Moments later, it popped out again from behind him, its hollow eye sockets curving into a mocking expression.]
[Megumi remained calm, not even turning his head.]
["I told you… too simple."]
[At that moment, a massive shadow rose behind the curse.]
[A large black wolf had appeared silently.]
["Boom!"]
[With a single swipe from Divine Dog: Totality, the curse was crushed into dust.]
["That should be all of them…"]
[With the final curse destroyed, Megumi finally relaxed, exhaling deeply as he stood still to recover his energy.]
["…For now, Tsumiki should be safe."]
["…Next…"]
[After a brief recovery, Megumi opened his eyes, ready to go help Yuji and Nobara.]
[But the moment he did—he froze.]
[The barrier had not disappeared.]
[And above, on the stone wall, a fleshy bulge pulsed—dripping liquid, as if something was growing inside.]
["…There's more? Wasn't that the main body?"]
["…Why hasn't the barrier lifted?"]
[Suddenly—Megumi's expression changed.]
[The bulge split open—]
[And a familiar blue-gray figure wearing only a loincloth dropped out.]
["…As expected… you can't rely on curses to behave logically."]
["…But something still bothers me."]
["…Why only now are the previously marked humans being killed?"]
["…The first victim was in June…"]
["…June?!"]
[Megumi's pupils shrank as he suddenly remembered—]
[That was when Yuji first swallowed Ryomen Sukuna's finger.]
[As his thoughts connected, the scene shifted—]
[Showing Yuji swallowing Sukuna's finger.]
[The scene cuts again—back to the other side.]
[The strange figure spoke calmly to Nobara:]
["…Our objective…"]
["…is to retrieve Sukuna's fingers."]
Outside the screen—
Every sorcerer, curse user, and curse watching the video froze.
Then—
Shock erupted.
They had just witnessed—
A human swallowing Sukuna's finger…
And surviving.
Not only that—
Judging from Yuji's earlier fight—
He hadn't even lost control.
"…Find him."
Across countless factions—
The same thought appeared simultaneously.
Even Satoru Gojo, standing beside the current Megumi, showed interest.
"…Looks like my future won't be boring."
At that moment, Megumi turned to him.
"You're not worried?"
"About what?"
"That he'll bring trouble—to you, to us, to the school?"
Gojo shrugged casually.
"If he's wearing our uniform, then he's one of us."
"And don't you think those old fossils would've already caught wind of someone eating Sukuna's finger?"
"The fact that he's still free means—"
"We'll be able to protect him."
"So stop worrying about that."
"What matters now is—"
"We need to find this kid as soon as possible."
"…After all…"
"…It's already the end of May."
Unlike the tension among sorcerers and curses—
Yuji's classmates had a completely different reaction.
Watching him swallow that disgusting finger—
They felt nothing but horror… and admiration.
The short-haired club president poked Yuji with her finger in disgust:
"…How can you eat something that gross?"
"Aren't you worried about food poisoning?"