Inside Exchange No. 8.
Hayashi En stood before a full-length mirror, adjusting his newly tailored dark gray suit vest.
Having been reshaped by his [SYSTEM: SPECIAL GRADE CONSTITUTION], his frame was now lean and upright. His muscle lines were fluid rather than exaggerated, brimming with explosive power.
En pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and turned his gaze toward the counter.
A weapon he had just "stocked up on" from the system mall lay there quietly.
To purchase it, En had nearly emptied all the liquid capital he'd just earned from the baseball game bets and merchandise sales.
[SYSTEM: POINT BALANCE: 3,032]
[SYSTEM: SPECIAL GRADE CURSED TOOL: GOLDEN RULE]
It looked like an ordinary gentleman's cane.
About 95cm long, its entire body possessed a matte black finish.
The shaft was solid black, appearing heavy and indestructible.
The handle was cast in gold, designed with a motif combining a scale and a coiled serpent. Two crimson gemstones were embedded where the snake's eyes would be.
[SYSTEM: CURSED TOOL NAME: SPECIAL GRADE CURSED TOOL - GOLDEN RULE]
[SYSTEM: ORIGIN: EXCHANGE NO. 8]
[SYSTEM: TYPE: SPECIAL GRADE CURSED TOOL]
[SYSTEM: CURSED TOOL EFFECT: 1. ACCUMULATION: WHILE SHEATHED, THE CURSED TOOL AUTOMATICALLY ABSORBS AND STORES THE KINETIC ENERGY AND IMPACT GENERATED FROM EVERY BLOCK OR STRIKE, CONVERTING IT INTO "KINETIC DEBT."]
[SYSTEM: 2. LIQUIDATION: THE MOMENT THE BLADE IS DRAWN, ALL ACCUMULATED "KINETIC DEBT" WILL ERUPT AT ONCE, ATTACHING TO THE FIRST SLASH TO DEAL SEVERAL OR EVEN DOZENS OF TIMES THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER.]
[SYSTEM: PRICE: 45,000 POINTS.]
[SYSTEM: REMARKS: AS FOR NEGOTIATION, YOU CAN USE A THREE-INCH SILVER TONGUE, OR A TWENTY-EIGHT-POINT-FIVE-INCH INDESTRUCTIBLE CANE.]
Having readied his equipment, En picked up the cane named Golden Rule and tapped it lightly against the floor.
Aside from its powerful effects, the fact that it looked incredibly cool was naturally another reason he chose this cane sword.
"Junpei, is the car ready?"
"Ready, Boss!"
Yoshino Junpei's energetic voice drifted in from outside.
"Let's go."
...
At the entrance of Jujutsu High.
Fushiguro Megumi was carrying his cursed tool bag, preparing to leave the school gates with a solemn expression.
He had just received news about his sister Tsumiki's curse manifesting. He was frantic and hadn't even planned to call Itadori and Kugisaki.
"Fushiguro!"
Itadori and Kugisaki caught up, panting for breath.
"You bastard! Where do you think you're going by yourself?!"
Kugisaki grabbed Fushiguro by the collar.
"We're accomplices, aren't we?!"
"It's different this time..." Megumi gritted his teeth. "It's too dangerous, and it's a personal matter..."
Screeech—
A black business van glided smoothly in front of the trio, blocking their path.
The window rolled down slowly.
It revealed a young man in the driver's seat wearing a black suit and tie, his hair meticulously combed.
"Yoshino... Junpei?"
Itadori's eyes widened. "What's with the outfit? Are you going on a blind date?"
The current Junpei had shed his former gloom and naivety.
Wearing a pair of tactical sunglasses, he looked like a sharp, ace bodyguard.
"I'm here to drive."
Junpei pushed up his sunglasses and spoke in a highly professional tone.
"Boss says this is called corporate image."
"Boss?"
Before the three could react, the rear sliding door opened automatically.
Hayashi En sat on the leather seat, hands folded over his black gentleman's cane. He wore a smile that was impossible to read.
"Get in, everyone."
"To... where?" Megumi stood dazed.
"Saitama Prefecture, Yasohachi Bridge."
En tapped the floor of the van lightly with his cane.
"Don't look at me like that, Fushiguro-kun. I'm a logistics consultant for Jujutsu High. I have an obligation to ensure the school's 'high-value assets'—meaning you guys—don't accidentally get scrapped over some impulsive personal reasons."
"Furthermore..."
En glanced at Junpei in the passenger seat.
"This is also our new employee's first field internship."
Megumi fell silent for two seconds before finally pulling the door open and stepping inside.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." En took out a small notebook. "I'll be charging the travel and attendance fees to your account."
"..."
...
Urami East Junior High, Saitama Prefecture.
The investigation process was just as En expected, filled with a certain adolescent sense of awkward comedy.
When a group of bleached-blonde delinquents on modified motorcycles saw Megumi, they snuffed out their cigarettes in unison and bowed ninety degrees, shouting, "Hard work, Fushiguro-san!"
Itadori and Kugisaki were rolling on the ground laughing.
"Fushiguro-san? Hahahaha! So that's the kind of persona you have?"
Megumi's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. He wished he could summon Mahoraga right then and there to silence them all.
"Splendid."
En stood to the side, chuckling.
He held up his phone, the camera steadily recording the scene.
"Junpei, take a note."
En spoke to Junpei, who was holding a notebook.
"If we sell this video to Zenin-san or Gojo-sensei, the starting bid will be 50,000 yen. If it's an exclusive buyout, we can bump it up to 100,000 yen."
"Yes, Boss! Understood. Intelligence is money!" Junpei took notes with a look of utmost seriousness.
Fushiguro Megumi: "..."
...
After the investigation.
When he learned that all the deceased had visited Yasohachi Bridge for a test of courage, and that Tsumiki had been there as well, Megumi's face turned pale instantly.
"The trigger for the curse... is Yasohachi Bridge."
Megumi's voice trembled.
If that was truly the case, then Tsumiki right now...
"Don't panic."
A gloved hand pressed firmly onto Megumi's shoulder.
En stood behind him, leaning on his cane. His gaze behind the lenses was calm and profound.
"Panic will only cloud your judgment and make your sister die faster."
"Let's go."
En turned and looked toward the long-abandoned bridge spanning the river in the distance.
Under the setting sun, the bridge looked exceptionally eerie.
"Let's go to the scene."
The group arrived beneath the bridge.
It was overgrown with weeds and filled with a chilling aura.
Just as Megumi was about to form a hand seal to summon the Divine Dogs for clues, En suddenly raised his cane to stop him.
"No need to look."
En walked to a spot beneath a bridge pier and tapped the ground lightly with the tip of his cane.
"Thud."
The sound was dull. It didn't sound like it was hitting soil, but rather a layer of invisible drum skin.
"This is the boundary."
En narrowed his eyes.
In his Special Grade perception, the spatial structure here was highly unstable.
He turned his head and looked at Megumi.
"The entrance is right here. As long as you cross the threshold of life and death—meaning jump down from above—you can enter the barrier."
En pushed up his glasses, his tone turning serious.
"Junpei."
"Here!" Junpei snapped to attention.
"For this operation, stay close to me."
En's gaze swept across the dark underside of the bridge.
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
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