So while improving his own strength, Kamo Shizumi also had to find a way to develop some new tricks.
For example, Choso’s Supernova was simple and unremarkable, but every time it was used, it could produce quite impressive results.
By comparison, Piercing Blood, which was supposedly his ultimate killing move, was practically a joke…
Everyone says you are amazing, yet you have absolutely no achievements to show for it.
Who are you supposed to complain to?
In short, information asymmetry was still extremely deadly in the world of jujutsu.
And another thing…
Kamo Shizumi thoughtfully looked at the palm of his hand.
‘Before, I clearly did not have any memories related to jujutsu.
But once my strength improved, the information related to Blood Manipulation started appearing one piece at a time…’
He had originally thought that he simply did not know how to use it, but it turned out that the conditions had not been met, so it could not be activated.
What was this supposed to be, embedded loading?
So this was also part of Mother’s arrangements?
All he could say was that a thousand-year-old monster really was terrifying.
Creak~ Squeak.
The bus slowly came to a stop, signaling that this journey had finally reached its destination.
At 5:48 in the morning, Kamo Shizumi and Hanami safely arrived in the Kyoto area.
After getting off the bus with Hanami, the latter also took the opportunity to reveal the objective of their mission.
Recovering one of Sukuna’s fingers?
Upon hearing this explanation, Kamo Shizumi’s expression became somewhat complicated.
That was because the upper and lower limits of this mission were vastly different.
If the finger had not been swallowed and had instead been properly sealed, then under normal circumstances, it would not attract any particularly powerful cursed spirits nearby.
At most, they would be Grade 2 or Grade 3 cannon fodder.
—Their strength was probably not much different from mine.
But if the seal had loosened and it had been swallowed by a particular individual, then things would become troublesome…
A Special Grade cursed spirit.
Although the original work had seen that thing get sliced up like salmon by Sukuna, to Kamo Shizumi right now, it was literally a formidable enemy.
There was no way he could fight it.
He could only think about running.
As Kamo Shizumi was thinking this, Hanami, who was leading the way, casually said,
“Do not worry too much. I will handle the confrontation directly. You just need to clean up the remaining cursed spirits… I will protect you.”
Although it looked enormous, its personality was unexpectedly quite good?
There was certainly a sense of contrast in that, but judging from the original work, Hanami really was the relatively gentle one among the Four Disaster Curses.
After all, it was a manifestation of nature.
Of course, cursed spirits themselves were amalgamations of negative emotions.
This positive aspect of Hanami’s personality probably only occupied a tiny corner of its overall nature.
Having a Special Grade powerhouse backing him up, and not an unreliable one like Mahito…
This was simply invigorating!
The two nodded in response, left the station, and continued toward their destination.
Along the way, Kamo Shizumi also learned through their conversations about the general arrangements Kenjaku and the Four Disaster Curses had made during this period.
Their main task was recovering Sukuna’s fingers.
That old geezer’s soul had been divided into twenty fingers, all of which were currently sealed in the conventional sense.
“Although I do not know the reason, Kenjaku suddenly started having us recover the fingers recently… There should be some deeper reason behind it.”
That was probably because the plot was approaching the appropriate stage, and preparations had to begin.
After all, without this process and preparation, Jogo would not have been able to casually pull out ten fingers in the original story as if he were performing a magic trick.
‘So most of the recovery operations are being carried out during this stage…’
The plot could indeed be pieced together without much difficulty.
There was nothing particularly confusing about it.
“By the way, how many have been recovered so far?”
“Two… We do not have very precise information about their locations, so our efficiency has not been very high.”
Then it seemed that there would be plenty more opportunities to carry out similar missions later.
Kamo Shizumi began thinking.
How exactly should he proceed to maximize his own benefits?
As they continued thinking about this, the two left the urban area and headed toward the nearby outskirts.
“Call your father.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“He knows the exact location and the intelligence. I only know the general area.”
Kamo Shizumi dialed the number.
After waiting for a while, the call connected.
Kenjaku’s cheerful, amused voice came from the other end.
“I had a feeling you would be calling around now. So, how is it? Have you reached the vicinity of the destination?”
After briefly explaining their current situation, Kenjaku added some further information.
“Sukuna’s finger has been stored in the basement of a suburban hospital. I do not know the exact location, so just follow the traces of cursed energy and impurity. It should not be difficult.”
It was sealed in the basement of a hospital?
Although he really wanted to make that complaint, considering that the first finger in the original work had simply been placed inside a blind, Kamo Shizumi smiled in resignation.
There was nothing worth complaining about.
The jujutsu world was basically one giant amateur operation anyway.
He was just about to hang up.
But before he could, Kenjaku’s voice came through the phone once again.
“This mission will not be that simple… Do not rely too heavily on Hanami. You need to use your own head as well. I am looking forward to your growth, Muku.”
Beep.
The call ended.
“…?”
What the hell was Mother talking about?
Kamo Shizumi had no idea what metaphor was hidden in those words.
He scratched his head before deciding not to dwell on it for the time being.
As for the hospital where their target was located…
Perhaps because it was situated in a relatively remote area, the entire place looked quite spacious.
The outpatient and inpatient departments were separated, and the hospital occupied a fairly large area.
The moment they stepped through the hospital entrance, Hanami very noticeably stopped.
“…What is it?”
“Something feels a little strange.”
Hanami looked around in every direction before calmly saying,
“It is far too quiet.”
“…”
Looking at the patients, doctors, and traffic moving about in the distance, Kamo Shizumi showed a puzzled expression.
“I mean the cursed spirits.”
Hanami raised its right hand and pointed toward the entrance, then swept its finger toward the outpatient building in the distance.
“Cursed spirits are products of negative energy. The more a place is filled with suffering, sorrow, and other negative things, the easier it is for cursed spirits to be born. That is why places like hospitals and schools are areas where cursed spirits frequently appear.”
The original work had indeed mentioned this.
Kamo Shizumi nodded thoughtfully.
“So you mean that it is strange for there to be no cursed spirits here?”
“Exactly. At the very least, some low-level cursed spirits should have naturally formed here, even if they posed little threat to humans. But this place is far too clean. It is almost as if…”
Hanami paused for a moment before slowly saying,
“As if someone had already cleaned the place beforehand.”
At the same time.
Inside one of the departments in the inpatient building, a doctor finished examining a patient and casually looked through the medical report in his hands.
He then smiled and said to the person beside him,
“Mr. Kamo, there are no problems with your physical condition… The blood clot issue from last time has also left no lingering problems. Your recovery has been very good.”
Kamo Noritoshi, dressed in ordinary clothes, sat in a chair with a smile on his face and nodded toward the doctor.
“Is that so? That is wonderful news.”