Nurarihyon's Favor

Taiga Yashima had been in the laboratory the previous day when the experiment accidentally produced a cursed spirit with a stable cursed energy structure.

After a full night of observation, the cursed spirit showed no energy leakage.

It also lacked the ability of a true cursed spirit to absorb cursed energy freely from its surroundings.

Even so, the result was worth celebrating.

The moment the research report was ready, Yashima rushed to the agency.

"Boss, yesterday. Yesterday, we finally happened to... no, after dedicated development, we finally pushed the experiment forward by a large step."

He had not slept all night. His eyes were bloodshot, and grime had gathered at the corners. Compared with his usual precise appearance, he looked completely disheveled.

"Where is the sample?" Ren asked.

Yashima's excited expression froze.

Bad.

How did he forget that?

The sample was still locked in the laboratory. He had been too excited and left it there.

"The sample... the sample..."

"Forget it," Ren said. "Give the report directly."

Half an hour later, Yashima placed the report back on the desk and looked carefully at Ren.

Ren was thinking. There was no anger on his face.

Yashima let out a silent breath, and his body relaxed.

Ren tapped the desk with one finger.

Based on the current report, complete success was still far away. They had only produced a small ordinary cursed spirit. Creating a perfected imaginary cursed spirit remained a distant goal.

Still, it was progress.

Ren had personally created two special-grade imaginary cursed spirits before, but the method had been extremely troublesome. If Yashima's process became practical, the next stage of Ren's plan could continue.

"I understand," Ren said. "If there is nothing else, return and continue the research."

Yashima wanted to leave as soon as the report ended. He bowed quickly and withdrew.

Ren stretched where he sat.

He tapped one finger, and his body slipped into the mirror.

"Vacation is better when I take it myself."

At the same time, in Tengen's residence, a figure flowed through the window and into the room.

"Our Lord Tengen is resting?"

The voice was ancient, like someone already near the end of life.

Tengen slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the figure seated opposite him, his gaze sharpened slightly, then relaxed.

"Why did you come?"

His tone was calm, almost familiar.

"Because I wanted to."

The figure laughed.

"That body of yours does not look very good. Your taste has changed too. Sitting on such a tall chair must be uncomfortable."

A light clack sounded as one of the visitor's swords struck the chair frame.

Tengen was not offended. He waited for the visitor to finish.

A finger landed on the table.

"Ryomen Sukuna's finger?" Tengen asked. "Why give this to me?"

As a special-grade cursed object, Sukuna's finger was useful whether one intended to revive Sukuna or not. Carrying it could strengthen cursed energy and attract power.

"This thing is useless in my hands," the visitor said. "Better to give it to you. I can earn a favor that way, right?"

Sunset entered the room and lit his figure.

He wore a black haori. Two swords hung at his waist. He looked like a samurai, but also vaguely like a monk who had wandered too far from a temple.

"Nurarihyon," Tengen said, "you bring me a favor every year. I am afraid I will not be able to repay them all."

He did not touch the finger.

Too many favors became debt that could not be returned.

Besides, in Tengen's hands, this object could only be sealed. It brought him no real benefit.

Nurarihyon's wrinkled face curved into a smile.

"If you do not want it..."

He paused.

"Then consider it a favor I am asking of you. Keep this thing here for me."

"Oh?"

Tengen showed interest.

In all their meetings, Nurarihyon had rarely asked him to repay anything.

"May I ask why?"

Nurarihyon inhaled from his pipe, then exhaled smoke into the air. The cloud lingered without dispersing.

"No special reason. I want to take a long trip. Carrying this with me is inconvenient."

Tengen did not press further. If Nurarihyon did not want to speak, forcing him would be meaningless.

"In that case, I will hold it."

Tengen extended a finger. Purple cursed energy condensed at the tip, and his hands formed a seal.

"Seal."

Cursed energy became ropes that wrapped around Sukuna's finger.

Purple light flashed.

When the light vanished, all excess cursed energy disappeared. A yellow talisman with black writing rested on the finger.

Not a trace of cursed energy leaked outward.

Nurarihyon clapped.

"No matter how many times I see it, your sealing technique is still beautiful."

He had met Tengen countless times. Each visit, he brought strange gifts. Some were special-grade cursed objects. Watching Tengen seal them had always felt like watching a performance.

Tengen smiled helplessly.

Nurarihyon was different from other cursed spirits.

He disliked humans, yes, but he rarely showed it directly. His anger and joy did not appear easily. He spoke in winding circles and liked making connections everywhere.

If not for his identity as a cursed spirit, Tengen would almost have believed he was an old underworld boss.

"By the way," Nurarihyon said suddenly, "did Shuten-doji die here?"

Tengen paused.

"Did you not kill him?"

Nurarihyon's smile disappeared.

The room became quiet.

Because Tengen was still alive and possessed powerful sealing arts, Nurarihyon had assumed Shuten-doji's march toward Tokyo could not possibly return alive. But Tengen's answer meant his guess had been wrong.

After a long silence, Nurarihyon looked at Tengen.

"It seems you know something."

"Not clearly," Tengen said, "but I can guess."

"Can you tell me?"

Tengen nodded.

"If my guess is correct, he provoked someone he should not have provoked."

Nurarihyon's face did not change, but shock moved through him.

"Has that ancient sovereign returned?"

He was not thinking of Ryomen Sukuna.

He was thinking of a being older and darker, a terror whose name alone had once pressed on the world for a thousand years.

If that existence returned, it would be disaster for humans and imaginary cursed spirits alike.

Tengen saw the direction of his thoughts and knew he had misunderstood.

"No," Tengen said. "A human."

Nurarihyon looked at him.

"A human?"

"A human no one should provoke."

For a long moment, only the sealed finger lay between them.

Nurarihyon slowly smiled again, but this time the expression carried no ease.

"Interesting."

Tengen watched him.

"Are you still taking that trip?"

"Of course." Nurarihyon stood. "All the more reason now."

His figure moved toward the window.

"The world has become lively again. If I stay in one place too long, I may miss the next good story."

Tengen said nothing.

Nurarihyon flowed out the way he had come, leaving only faint smoke behind.

When the room returned to silence, Tengen looked down at the sealed finger.

With this, another of Sukuna's fingers rested in his care.

Outside, the sun had almost set.

The jujutsu world had survived Shuten-doji's march, but survival did not mean peace.

Far away, Gojo and the others were still entering the sea and sunlight of Mirror World.

Ren had slipped into his own vacation as if the world had not just trembled.

Yashima's laboratory was still chasing a manufactured curse that could sustain itself.

Folly and the elder watched Ren through broken time.

Nurarihyon had chosen to move.

And Tengen, who had lived long enough to see too many eras, understood one thing more clearly than anyone.

The old era was not returning.

A stranger one was beginning.

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