B-Broken?
Saeko Busujima never imagined that after all that negotiation, the final answer she would receive was this.
She had considered countless possibilities beforehand, including but not limited to: it being lost, sold, lent to a friend, or even accidentally dropped down the toilet and flushed away.
For each scenario, Saeko Busujima had mentally prepared various emergency response plans.
But broken... this was the one outcome she hadn't anticipated.
The girl held her breath, leaned closer to the table, and carefully examined the dark brown solids—now reduced to fine powder and small fragments—contained within the small plastic ziplock bag.
Undoubtedly, judging by the color and shape of the fragments, this was unmistakably Sukuna's finger. Even completely destroyed, it still emanated an inescapable, evil aura.
But how could this be possible?
Saeko Busujima couldn't comprehend it. Although she hadn't been at Tokyo Jujutsu High for long—just over a year so far—she had already reached the level of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer. Combined with the influence of the Busujima Style in Japanese society, she had some knowledge of the Jujutsu Association's secrets.
Especially regarding Sukuna's fingers. The truth was, the Jujutsu Association's choice to continue sealing them rather than destroying them wasn't due to some unrealistic scheme; it was simply because they couldn't.
They were fundamentally indestructible. Every method had been tried. Even Gojo-sensei, hailed as the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern era, had attempted to destroy them, but still failed.
At the same time, they couldn't just be left alone. If uncontrolled, the mere existence of the fingers would continuously attract vast numbers of Cursed Spirits to gather and fight over them, like raising Gu蛊 insects in a jar. Eventually, the situation would spiral completely out of control.
There was no solution, much like humanity facing a supervirus far beyond modern technology.
Sealing was the best and only way; there were no other options.
And now, she was being told the finger had been destroyed?
Saeko Busujima's lips parted slightly, momentarily speechless.
"How... how did you do this?"
"Brute force."
The young man's answer was remarkably simple and blunt.
"All this talk of 'indestructible' just means the attack's output hasn't reached the object's endurance limit yet. It's like saying you're going to blow up the Earth with a small handgun – obviously unrealistic. But if you had a True Scripture Star Destroyer, that's a different story."
"By the way, let me reintroduce myself properly. Hanakain Fubuki, acting head of the Hanakain Family of Kyoto."
Acting head – this term might be unfamiliar to ordinary people, but Saeko Busujima, hailing from a prestigious Kendo family herself, understood the weight this title carried.
Being the acting head meant one could make major decisions in the family head's absence. Usually, reaching this position required not only recognition through bloodline but also sufficient strength to command respect.
For example, Gojo-sensei was the current acting head of the Gojo family, one of the Three Great Jujutsu Families.
But again, even Gojo-sensei, the strongest modern Jujutsu Sorcerer whose very existence disrupted the balance between sorcerers and curses from birth, was helpless against Ryomen Sukuna's fingers. So...
Buzz buzz~
A sudden vibration interrupted the girl's thoughts. Saeko Busujima snapped back to reality, pulled her phone from her uniform pocket, and answered the call without even checking the caller ID, holding it to her ear.
"Hello, this is Saeko Busujima, Tokyo Jujutsu High, Year 3 Class A. The recovery operation for Ryomen Sukuna's finger is proceeding smoothly..."
"Busujima-san, it's me, Ijichi! There's a huge problem!"
A somewhat timid male voice came from the other end of the line. Although he seemed to be trying hard to control his volume, unconcealable panic laced his tone.
"Listen, about an hour ago, I dropped off Fushiguro-kun, Itadori-kun, and Kugisaki-san at the location where 'Window' detected the Cursed Womb reaction. I lost contact with them after they went inside. But just now, Fushiguro-kun came out! He brought Kugisaki-san out with him, severely injured! I'm taking Kugisaki-san to the hospital right now..."
"Where is the exact location?"
Forgetting about finishing the last bit of her coffee, Saeko Busujima grabbed her sword bag and stood up from her seat upon hearing this. Her voice instantly lost its earlier calm, her entire demeanor becoming sharp and decisive.
Oho?
Noticing the change in the girl's aura, Hanakain Fubuki raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The location is..."
Ijichi-san on the other end quickly provided the location, adding incidentally.
"Actually, I didn't want to make this call, but Gojo-sensei isn't in Tokyo right now and can't get back anytime soon. You're the only Grade 1 Sorcerer I could reach within Tokyo right now, Busujima-san."
"Understood. I'll head over immediately," Saeko Busujima stated.
"In any case, please be careful. According to Fushiguro-kun, the situation inside the building is completely different from normal. It's highly likely a Cursed Spirit has deployed an Innate Domain. In other words... a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
"Got it. Thank you."
After saying the last sentence, the kendo girl hung up the phone.
But just as she put her phone away, preparing to explain and leave, she turned her head only to see Hanakain Fubuki already walking towards her from the cashier's counter, having paid the bill. He gave her a thumbs-up and pointed towards the door.
"I know you're in a hurry with this sudden emergency, so I've already settled the bill. Remember to transfer half the money to me after you're done. I'm pretty tight on cash this month, still got a cat-girl at home to feed, no money to randomly treat girls to meals... Let's go. Taking a taxi is too slow; I'll take you there directly."
Saeko Busujima: "..."
Did he mean he was coming with her?
The kendo girl hesitated slightly. She was accustomed to completing missions alone and had reasons for needing to do so.
But right now, as Hanakain Fubuki said, taking a taxi would likely mean arriving far too late.
In that case, she could only...
Lightly biting her lower lip, Saeko Busujima nodded.
"Then let's go."
"Uh-huh."
Having settled the bill, the two left the shop one after the other. Outside, the sun in the distance was already a third below the horizon, its fading rays casting an increasingly blood-red glow.
Saeko Busujima scanned the student street, somewhat deserted as club activities hadn't yet finished. "So how are we getting there?"
She clearly remembered they had walked all the way from Kuoh Academy.
The next second, the young man's calm voice sounded beside her.
"Simple. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So, we'll take the straight line."
Eh?
Before the kendo girl could react to what "take the straight line" meant, Saeko Busujima abruptly felt herself being swept up into someone's arms. Immediately after, her entire being was bathed in blazing golden spiritual pressure.
Hanakain Fubuki flashed a mischievous grin.
"Alright then, off we go~"
With that, he pushed off powerfully with his legs, launching both himself and Saeko Busujima in his arms straight up from the ground. They soared into the air, tracing a perfect arc across the sky, leaving a long fiery trail as they shot directly towards their destination.
Like a white comet streaking across the heavens.
A dozen seconds later, the meteor tearing through the sky crashed violently into a juvenile detention center located in a remote Tokyo suburb, smashing through the ceiling and impacting directly inside.
______________________________________
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