Hidden Inventory, Part 4

Eating at a dumpling stand, Toji takes a call from Shiu Kong and learns the escorts have not yet returned to Jujutsu High, which suits the Time Vessel Association since the absence draws more than just lunatics toward the bounty. The representative notes that the thirty million already handed over only covered a service charge, meaning that should a rival killer claim the vessel first, Toji could walk away with nothing. The Sorcerer Killer is unbothered, trusting the Gojo boy to handle anyone who comes. Satoru, after all, is the first Gojo in a century to wield the Limitless cursed technique alongside the Six Eyes, and Toji doubts he could kill the girl while Satoru is near.

Toji's plan is to spend the remaining thirty-nine hours feeding curse users at the escorts to grind them down, free labor since none can actually claim the prize. The representative realizes the two-day limit now works in their favor and makes gathering recruits easier. Toji adds that events are accelerating faster than expected, so he will deploy soon himself and tells the rep to have the thirty million ready, brushing off talk of the man's cut. Over at the campus, the three protectors begin sweeping for the target. Renchoku Girls' Junior High is where Riko sits in a music class, taking place in the chapel or perhaps the music room, so Satoru, Suguru, and Kuroi fan out. Suguru bears straight down on the attackers, leaving Satoru and Kuroi to split off in search of Riko, which irritates Satoru, who wanted to stay close.

Roaming alone, Suguru turns a corner and meets an old gentleman who instantly shields his front and back with shikigami, having recognized the school uniform and assumed multiple foes. Each sizes the other up, the old man reading Suguru's ability as a form of curse manipulation. The veteran keeps talking while angling to close the distance, but Suguru warns him not to bother scheming and floods the corridor with a giant worm-like curse. Believing himself victorious, Suguru is surprised when the curse user slips in through a window behind him, exploiting the blind spot. As his life flashes before him with memories of a beloved dog, Suguru overwhelms him in close combat with a flurry of swift blows, observing that fighters with only one route to victory are simple to manipulate. He then presses the man on whether his backer is the Time Vessel Association or instead Q, while Satoru and Kuroi press on toward the chapel, near where the paper-bag curse user lurks. The chapter corresponds to the anime's twenty-sixth episode.