Chapter 111 : Sorry for the Wait!
Jiang Lai collected the finger and left without lingering or any nostalgia. As an [Existence], his hearing was extremely sharp, so he naturally heard Fushiguro Megumi's final low words squeezed from between his lips and teeth.
His heart stirred slightly, but he didn't stop for it, continuing to pretend his amnesiac state.
Jiang Lai was very rational. He knew that outside, with many eyes watching, it wasn't convenient to reveal the truth.
Moreover, with secrets, naturally the fewer people who knew the better. This had nothing to do with trust, just from an objective standpoint, this approach was most appropriate.
Currently, in the jujutsu world, only three people knew that Jiang Lai hadn't truly lost his memory: Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, and Ieiri Shoko.
All three possessed complete memories of the second playthrough restart from yesterday's events. They were the ones who had spent these years laying traps and secretly pressuring the Supervisory Committee.
At this moment, having helped resolve the cursed spirit trouble, Jiang Lai stepped out of the gradually collapsing illusory domain, his form landing nimbly and swiftly in a hidden, safe position. Then he looked down at the finger isolated by spatial techniques in his palm.
Ryomen Sukuna's finger was a troublesome thing. As a special-grade cursed object containing powerful force, it held strong attraction for cursed spirits. Therefore, it had to be properly stored away.
But how to store it and where were the questions.
Jiang Lai pondered.
It had to be entrusted to someone trustworthy and powerful enough to handle accidents involving the finger, like Gojo Satoru or Geto Suguru.
Gojo Satoru was currently not in the country, so he couldn't hand over Ryomen Sukuna's finger to him. Moreover, to solidly establish his situation of being amnesiac and without aid, he'd better be careful not to have such obvious item exchanges with Gojo Satoru.
The same applied to Geto Suguru, it wasn't convenient for him to take such items either.
From this perspective, it was most appropriate for him to keep it himself. So where to put it?
Thoughts flowed through Jiang Lai's mind. After thinking for a few seconds, he suddenly remembered that the game called [Me and Spirits and New Routes] had a backpack function. He wondered if his technique [Electronic Spirits] could also simulate the game's item storage function.
Since there was already the guide Kyubey, it should also be equipped with this function, right?
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated. After his technique confirmed the surrounding area was safe, he switched identities, transforming into the brown-haired boy's appearance.
Jiang Lai knew he needed to handle the finger before Itadori Yuji and the others came out, so he summoned the guide without delay.
Light flowed, and a cute, pink, adorable creature appeared on scene. It was the guide Hiroki Kyubey!
"Mirai." Hiroki Kyubey was artificial intelligence data, wandering through networks daily, so he was always available. Sensing the summon, he came to this place.
His face lit up with a smile, speaking with concern, "What's wrong?"
"Hiroki!" Little Sheep Jiang Lai's face also bloomed with a smile. He showed Ryomen Sukuna's finger to the other, "Can you sense a storage backpack? If possible, help me store this."
Hiroki Kyubey's fluffy big tail swayed. He closed his eyes to sense for a few seconds, then opened them: "I can. There are currently three initial slots available. Just place the finger in front of me."
Jiang Lai was delighted to hear this. He moved quickly, placing Ryomen Sukuna's finger on the ground.
Hiroki Kyubey focused, directing his attention to Ryomen Sukuna's finger. The space around the finger twisted slightly, then swallowed it, entering the invisible backpack space.
"Done." Hiroki Kyubey exhaled, then said, "Can you sense the finger's aura?"
Jiang Lai released cursed energy to test, sensing nothing, and answered: "No. Looks like this backpack is quite useful." His eyes curved into crescents, "Thanks for helping me store it, Hiroki!"
"You're welcome." Hiroki Kyubey showed a cute smile, "Perfect timing. I'll go back and input the finger data into the database of that world. Maybe I can make some new merchandise."
"Eh?" Jiang Lai was slightly surprised, "You're doing merchandise too?"
"Naturally." Hiroki Kyubey winked playfully, "By the way, I'm a Mirai stan! I've made friends with several netizens who also follow Mirai, including one whose address is in America."
"Really? Do you communicate in English?" Jiang Lai asked curiously. As artificial intelligence, Noah's Ark Hiroki could use multiple languages, but because his original form was a Japanese child, he habitually used Japanese daily.
"No, the other person knows Japanese, so I continued using Japanese." Hiroki Kyubey said, "But that person seems quite busy and doesn't go online much. Occasionally they ask me to buy some Little Sheep daily life merchandise."
"Making more friends is good too. As long as you're happy." Jiang Lai hugged Hiroki Kyubey, embracing the pink adorable creature in his arms.
Hiroki Kyubey continued smiling: "I heard your recent dark merchandise series sold very well. If you have related inspiration, you can let me know. I can also make fan merchandise! I'll save the profits for you."
He hadn't expected Hiroki to recently become enthusiastic about making merchandise too. But seeing the other seemed very happy, Jiang Lai also smiled and patted Hiroki Kyubey's head: "Sure, let me think what other dark tricks I have."
Hiroki Kyubey: "It doesn't have to be dark."
Since outsiders couldn't see electronic spirits, Little Sheep Jiang Lai changed position, letting Hiroki Kyubey lie on his shoulder.
He put the bluetooth earpiece from his pocket in his ear, pretending to be on a phone call, so his conversational movements wouldn't seem abrupt.
Then, Little Sheep Jiang Lai chatted with Hiroki Kyubey on his shoulder while walking out of this narrow alley.
Outside, the sky was just right, warm light illuminating their path ahead.
On the other side.
Not long ago, Nanami Kento, Haibara Yu, and Itadori Yuji had encountered the orchestrator of this illusion layout. As Jiang Lai had guessed, the person behind it was indeed the special-grade cursed spirit Mahito.
Regarding the previous outcome, Mahito was naturally displeased, so this time he specifically found a finger to feed to the cursed spirit whose technique was simulation, laying out this illusory space to carry out his revenge here.
Mahito's target was Nanami Kento. He had held a grudge against the other's attack from the Satozakura School incident last time, so this time he seized the opportunity to kill him.
And being fond of toying with human hearts, he naturally planned to mentally harm Itadori Yuji by killing Nanami Kento, maybe even having a chance to reclaim the fragment lost last time.
He didn't dare directly use his soul-touching technique against Itadori Yuji because Ryomen Sukuna was still inside Itadori Yuji's body.
When special-grade cursed spirit Mahito accidentally touched and disturbed Sukuna earlier, Ryomen Sukuna's cold killing intent was overwhelmingly oppressive. But Sukuna, who enjoyed watching the excitement, spared Mahito this once.
That instant outpouring of cursed energy and killing intent was precisely what Matsuda Jinpei had keenly sensed from afar.
In the later stages of battle, when Mahito found that Nanami Kento, who had fought him before, was prepared for his every move, he shifted his attack target at the last moment.
He planned to surprise attack Haibara Yu, who had been providing side support. Killing Haibara was also a form of revenge against Nanami Kento.
Just when Mahito suddenly shifted targets and tried to touch Haibara Yu, Itadori Yuji moved nimbly and bravely forward to block.
Thus, the soul-touching Mahito once again offended Ryomen Sukuna, who was squatting in Itadori Prison.
This time, Ryomen Sukuna, who had watched enough excitement, no longer gave "this won't happen again" forgiveness.
He directly struck back without mercy. Even among special grades there were differences, and the Curse King's attack, even just one strike, was enough to cause severe damage!
Mahito couldn't dodge in time and took it hard, his soul trembling and damaged!
Coincidentally, the surrounding illusory domain also began to collapse. Mahito looked quite astonished, obviously not expecting someone could deal with the cursed spirit that had devoured the finger.
Mahito had no time to recover the finger. He probably guessed something unexpected had happened on that side. Even if he went, he couldn't retrieve the finger, so he could only retreat again with hatred in his heart.
But his expression still showed a smiling face. When retreating, he was as slippery and agile as a snake. None of the three, Itadori Yuji and the others, could stop him.
After Mahito's form disappeared into the distance, Itadori Yuji wanted to chase, but Nanami Kento grabbed his hood.
The serious-faced adult shook his head, saying: "Can't catch up. They're all very cunning. We need to check on Fushiguro and Kugisaki-kun's situation, as well as Watanabe and the others."
"Oh, right!" Itadori Yuji immediately refocused his attention on his friends.
Haibara Yu called out: "Eh? That running from the distance is... Watanabe's shikigami?"
During training the past few days, they had glimpsed Little Sheep Jiang Lai's summoned spirit familiars from afar. Though they hadn't interacted closely, they had some impression of their appearances.
Black wolf-dog Matsuda Jinpei ran following the cursed energy fluctuations, stopping gracefully at a distance.
With his cigarette dangling, he nodded: "They're over there. I came to find you, then lead the way."
Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara completely exorcised the cursed spirit that had been stripped of its finger and severely wounded by Jiang Lai.
After experiencing a series of events and completing this final task, Fushiguro Megumi exhaled heavily, no longer forcing himself to stand straight. His form staggered a few times before he tiredly sat on the ground.
Kugisaki Nobara didn't tease him this time. She also looked very tired, her expression carrying indescribable complexity.
After half a moment of silence, Kugisaki Nobara sighed and spoke first: "Don't get too immersed in your emotions. A lot probably happened in between. But thinking positively, that person helped us before. Maybe his subconscious still remembers something."
"......" Fushiguro Megumi lowered his eyelids, then raised them. His voice was somewhat hoarse but remained calm, "I know. I'm not immersed in emotions, just thinking about what's behind this."
"Gojo-sensei should also have memories. When we mentioned that person multiple times before, he always gave evasive, playful responses." Fushiguro Megumi said, "Gojo-sensei knows more than us, maybe he also knows the reason behind this and who the real enemy is."
"You want to ask him?" Kugisaki Nobara raised an eyebrow.
Fushiguro Megumi's gaze fell on the ground ahead. He stared at the earth, and after a while, said: "I'll ask, but I won't press for details."
"But one thing..." The sea urchin-haired boy narrowed his eyes, slowly saying, "I must know who the real enemy is."
Kugisaki Nobara said: "What? You think there are enemies besides cursed spirits?"
"If it were only cursed spirits, Gojo-sensei wouldn't hide things from us, and wouldn't... just silently listen to news about that person without proactively doing anything." Fushiguro Megumi analyzed calmly, "There must be something more troublesome in between."
Neither spoke for a moment.
Kugisaki Nobara pressed one hand to her forehead, drawing out her voice: "Ahh, how troublesome. Cursed spirits were annoying enough, and now there are other bothersome guys."
Then she lowered her hand, her eyes sparkling, her words firm and powerful. "Of course, all sorts of miscellaneous things will have to be smashed to pieces by this young lady in the future!"
The girl's attitude was bold and unrestrained. Fushiguro Megumi's expression also eased somewhat.
He thought, no matter what, these friends would walk together on the same path.
"Anyway, at least a thousand years later, one regret was made up for." Kugisaki Nobara's tone was light, her brows and eyes lifting, "I still remember what was said a thousand years ago: the spirited trio, now we have it!"
The girl's cheeks suddenly bloomed with a bright smile, which she quickly restrained, coughing once.
"Mm... Itadori-kun, as my bag-carrying assistant, barely qualified!" Kugisaki Nobara deliberately used an affected tone, nodding.
Fushiguro Megumi seemed to maintain his usual indifferent expression, but his lips curved slightly upward.
The orange-haired girl crossed her arms in front of her chest, kicking stones with her feet, then muttered the second half: "Just made us wait too long."
As her words fell, she caught sight of a figure getting closer from the corner of her eye, so she looked up.
In the distance, she saw the pink-haired boy following the black wolf-dog, striding toward them.
Seeing his friends safe and sound from afar, his face broke into a huge smile as he called out loudly:
"Fushiguro! Kugisaki! I'm coming!"
Fushiguro Megumi looked over, his blue-green eyes clearly reflecting the approaching figure.
Kugisaki Nobara straightened her spine, hands on her hips, raising her voice with full momentum:
"Hey, Itadori, hurry up! We've been waiting for you!"
A thousand years of time, we've been waiting for you.
The voice carried over the distance, mixed with some subtle complaints, anticipation, and laughter.
Itadori Yuji was somewhat puzzled by the mixed emotions in those words, scratching his head, but still smiled broadly. His spirits soaring, he waved his arms enthusiastically, shouting back:
"Hi! Sorry for the wait!!!"
He ran with great strides like the wind, crossing dozens of meters, as if crossing a thousand years of distance, bounding energetically toward them.