Scattering the Bait

Koki grumbles about having to swap out of her uniform, since hers is wrecked and caked white by the fire extinguisher, and when Aira remarks on her perpetually gloomy face, Koki snaps at her to hush. Kinta then shows off the hair accessory he built from nanoskin, a hidden camera meant to expose whoever handed Koki the knife. Spotting how well Kinta has bounced back, Jiji marvels at the recovery, which Kinta chalks up to one brief contact with Queen, leading Jiji to suspect the nurse wields some kind of power. Momo tells the group to keep their distance from Koki until the target takes the bait, then notices Okarun looking dejected and asks what is wrong. He laments failing to change Momo back even after they found the pygmies and apologizes for being useless, swearing to himself to grow stronger. Momo rejects that view of him but recommends he train under Seiko.

Over at a gyoza restaurant, Seiko sits down with two men: Payase, who collects cursed items and whose newest piece is a painting that sparks fires inside his house, and Kashimoto, the partner who keeps getting on his nerves. Seiko asks Payase to safeguard the cursed trunk tied to the Fairy-Tale Card, which he happily agrees to, then asks Kashimoto if he knows any way to return a pygmy to full size, explaining that her granddaughter shrank after leaving the trunk. Kashimoto says the answer is the Uchide-no-Kozuchi, an enchanted mallet kept by the god Daikokuten, which supposedly enlarged Issun-boshi with a single swing. He adds that Daikokuten and the worshipped Okuninushi are one and the same, and sends Seiko toward the Izumo Taisha. Thankful for the lead, Seiko rises to depart; just as Kashimoto extends an offer of help, a jiangshi from a sudden pack boots him aside.

Kinta hides a nanoskin spy camera in Koki's hair, shaped like an ornament. Okarun resolves to be more useful and discover a way to undo Momo's transformation. Seiko sits down with Payase and Kashimoto, two men who collect cursed items, handing the former the Danmara trunk. Kashimoto points her to the Uchide-no-Kozuchi at the Izumo Taisha, a tool that can enlarge tiny people. A swarm of jiangshi then knocks both collectors out.

Released December 10, 2024 in Volume 21 of the Ultimate Yokai Saga, the chapter plants Kinta's hidden camera as a trap and sends Seiko on a side quest. It introduces the collectors Payase and Kashimoto and the Uchide-no-Kozuchi as the cure for the pygmy curse before a jiangshi ambush strikes.