One week after the goodwill event.

"What do you think, bro?!"

In a downtown clothing store, Todo picked up a jacket and held it in front of Itadori, a satisfied smile on his face.

After the school event, Itadori and Todo kept running into each other around the city... Actually, Itadori believed the man was creating situations for them to meet, but he didn't mind much.

He really didn't dislike Todo's presence; the sorcerer was quite decent, in fact.

They had gone to a few idol events together, as Todo was a die-hard fan of Takada-chan, a famous idol.

Itadori couldn't say he saw the man as extremely close, but he considered him a friend and someone he could trust.

He knew Todo would help him if he asked, and it was with that in mind that he called him to walk around downtown.

He wanted his help.

"I think it's great." Offering a thumbs up, Itadori gave a small smile.

"Well, it's a shame I don't have any money. I spent it all on Takada-chan last time." With a disappointed look, he put the jacket back.

As they left the store, they started walking. The city was bustling, and the stars could already be seen in the night sky.

Itadori couldn't help but notice this. The stars always reminded him of his past life, bringing a bit of anguish to his chest.

His mind drifted to moments when he didn't have to worry about curses.

"Hey, bro." Blinking when Todo's voice sounded beside him, Itadori turned to see him. "I can tell you didn't just call me to hang out."

Itadori seemed surprised. Todo was indeed quite perceptive.

"Yes, you're right." Itadori stopped, nodding as he seemed to think for a moment. "I need your help."

Todo smiled at this. "Just say the word! I'd never refuse to help my best friend!"

Itadori felt satisfied with his response. The implantation of memories was really something he needed to understand, as it had made someone like Todo feel such confidence in him.

"..."

Itadori had thought a lot about what he was about to say.

The situation in Shibuya would get out of control very quickly, and both managers and civilians would die in alarming numbers. Of course, some things would be better, after all, Sukuna would hardly take control of his body, which would prevent part of Shibuya from being wiped off the map.

But still, some things needed to be done to ensure everything went in favor of the sorcerers.

Todo, with Boogie Woogie, could easily handle some important matters.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He was an essential piece for Itadori in this plan.

"I feel something bad is going to happen, and I need you to be ready to help me." Itadori said seriously, Todo frowning in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Itadori rubbed his chin, pondering what he should reveal. "Do you remember the explanation of my technique?"

Todo nodded. "Assimilation, similar to Yuta Okkotsu's."

"And you also remember that my wolf devoured the arm of that nature curse, right?" Todo nodded, trying to understand where the boy was going.

"Since then, I've been receiving information from nature. It's not very detailed, as my connection with this technique is weak, but it's enough for me to say they've been devising a plan.

I believe they discuss the plans in a domain, where nature can't reach. But sometimes, I receive information from some curse users, it seems to be one of those who attacked the goodwill event.

I remember Nobara saying she encountered a short blond during the event, so there's a chance it's him."

Todo blinked at this information but didn't doubt the boy's words. After all, there was no reason for his best friend to lie to him.

"I need you to be ready to act when they move. I'll send you a message as soon as I feel it's about to happen."

Itadori explained, a firm look in his eyes as he stared at Todo, who nodded determinedly. "Got it, bro."

"Oh, and one last thing... The blond, if you find him, bring him to me."

.

In the middle of a forest, a curse walked slowly among the trees, its numerous eyes moving around, searching for any prey that crossed its path.

It didn't have a name, but it knew it was a curse born from the fear of flies, the human fear of being infected by these creatures, the fear of their grotesque appearance.

That's what it was, a curse born from humans.

And now, it had an insatiable desire to feed on its creators.

And this forest was its hunting ground...

At least, that's what it believed.

!

The fly jerked its head violently when one of its eyes noticed a movement, a bush rustling as a sign of something present.

And before it could even move, darkness took over its vision.

"Domain Expansion..."

Freezing when the environment around it completely changed to a snow-covered forest, the curse went on full alert.

"Hunting Ground."

This voice instilled fear in its body, its wings buzzing as it seemed ready to try to escape.

"Get him."

But startling it when a shadow appeared behind it, the fly fell as it felt its wings being torn off, its head turning to see a huge wolf finishing devouring them.

"As long as I recover my cursed energy, I can expand my domain as many times as I want."

The curse noticed a voice saying, turning to see a pink-haired human walking towards it.

"But I need time for my mind to rest, or I could overload my brain."

At this point, the curse felt it was in danger. It had seen that wolf move at a speed it couldn't even react to, despite its fly vision.

But at the same time, knowing there was no way to escape, as a curse, it couldn't just give up.

It would attack since the second option was simply accepting death.

!

The fly lunged, its vision fixed on the human, as in its eyes, he was the most vulnerable at that moment.

But like a dog playing with an insect, the wolf simply crushed it with its paw, pinning it to the ground.

"If I can get around this, I can keep the accumulation of strength."

With a disheartened sigh, Itadori stood before the curse. "But with my current capabilities, that's certainly not going to be possible."

The curse opened its mouth, about to try to beg, even though it couldn't say a single word.

But so fast that its eyes couldn't even keep up, its head was crushed by a kick, ending the hunt.

"..." Itadori felt his cursed energy reserves fill up, allowing him to maintain his domain for a longer time.

This was something he had realized. By successfully ending a hunt, he completely recovered his cursed energy reserves, allowing him to keep his domain up for longer.

But he only received this reward if he killed the marked target, which meant that by doing so, he needed to undo his domain and expand it again to mark the next target.

This meant expanding his domain against someone like Jogo, who Itadori could say he had very little chance of defeating, was simply suicide.

His own reserves weren't enough to maintain his domain for long, making its strengthening effect practically useless.

"But I don't need to mark him as my target."

The realization came to him the moment he said those words, a malicious smile forming on his lips.

"Damn, I already know what to do."

.