Yuji took the folder, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at the crime scene photos. Ren caught a glimpse over the kid's shoulder—grotesquely warped, ballooned faces that no longer looked human. Ren didn't react, keeping his expression carefully blank. He already knew exactly who caused it. Mahito.
"Gross, isn't it?" Nanami said, completely unfazed. "But we are not here to play detective with the bodies. We are here to track the culprit. Itadori, what do you know about residuals?"
"They're like footprints left behind by cursed energy," Nanami explained smoothly, his eyes scanning the dark, empty rows of Theater 4. "When a curse operates, it leaves a trail. Our job is to follow it."
Yuji squinted hard, leaning forward so far he almost tipped over. "Uh... I don't see anything."
"Focus cursed energy into your eyes, Itadori," Nanami instructed patiently.
Yuji squeezed his eyes shut, grunted softly, and popped them open. "Oh! I see it! It looks like... glowing slug trails! Going right up those stairs!"
"Correct," Nanami said, turning toward the emergency exit. He didn't bother asking if Ren could see them; he likely assumed Satoru had already vetted Ren's basic sensory capabilities. "Stay behind me. And do not engage unless I explicitly order you to."
They pushed through the heavy fire doors and began the long climb up the concrete stairwell. The air grew colder the higher they went, the thick scent of industrial bleach fading into the smell of stagnant water and ozone.
The climb to the roof ended exactly as Ren knew it would.
The heavy metal door banged open, and two grotesque, warped figures lunged from the shadows of the air conditioning units. Ren kept his hands completely away from his inventory, perfectly content to let the scene play out according to the script.
He watched as Nanami calmly demonstrated his 7:3 Ratio technique, loudly explaining his cursed technique to create a binding vow before cleanly bisecting the first creature with his blunt cleaver. He watched Yuji step into the guard of the second monster, landing a sluggish, double-impact blow that sent a delayed shockwave of blue cursed energy into its chest—the Divergent Fist.
When the monster staggered backward, reeling from Yuji's hit, Ren finally stepped in to play his part. Dialing his raw Heavenly Restriction strength all the way down to a believable, 'athletic teenager' level, he grabbed the creature's rubbery, elongated arm. With a smooth pivot, he kicked out its center of balance and drove it hard into the wet gravel, pinning its shoulder down while Yuji scrambled to secure the other arm.
"Got it!" Ren yelled.
Beneath his forearm, the creature's flesh felt entirely wrong—spongy, feverishly hot, and distinctly human.
Nanami walked over, raising his cleaver to finish it off, but he stopped.
The creature beneath Ren ceased its thrashing. Its swollen, distorted face turned slightly, and its singular, un-warped eye looked up at the gray sky. A clear tear leaked from the corner of it, rolling down the grotesque cheek.
"H... help..." a raspy, broken voice bubbled up from the creature's throat. "...it hurts..."
Yuji completely froze. The faint blue aura of cursed energy vanished from his fists, replaced by pure, visceral horror. He stared down at the monster, his hands visibly shaking. "Did it... did it just talk?"
"Nanami-sensei... what is this?"
Nanami let out a slow, heavy breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone, snapping a quick picture of the distorted face. His voice dropped into a somber, hollow register.
"Step away from it, you two. They aren't cursed spirits." Nanami looked down at the dying creature, his jaw tightening. "They are humans. Someone has maliciously altered their bodies using a cursed technique."
...
The Morgue
The sterile, chemical smell of Shoko Ieiri's morgue at Tokyo Jujutsu High was a stark contrast to the damp roof in Kawasaki.
Ren stood quietly in the corner of the cold examination room, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. He watched silently as Shoko pulled the white sheet over the mutated corpses resting on the metal autopsy tables.
"Nanami is correct," Shoko confirmed, pulling down her surgical mask to light a cigarette. She exhaled a thin stream of smoke toward the ceiling.
"These are ex-humans. But you don't need to feel guilty, Itadori. You didn't kill them. They died of physiological shock from the mutations. They were already dead the moment their souls were altered."
Yuji stood over the metal tables, his head bowed. His fists were clenched so hard his knuckles had turned stark white.
The golden retriever energy was completely gone, replaced by a dark, unadulterated rage at the sheer loss of innocent life.
"Who would do something like this?" Yuji asked, his voice trembling with anger.
Nanami adjusted his spotted tie, his demeanor shifting from the exhausted ex-salaryman to a focused, lethal sorcerer. He recognized the boy's genuine fury and, in his own rigid way, decided to channel it.
"Our target intentionally manipulated the residuals to lead us into that trap on the roof," Nanami explained, turning toward the door. "This is no longer a simple extermination. We will need to use maximum effort to find this curse."
Ren let out a slow, silent breath. The plot was officially locked in.
"I have tracked down a potential location for their hideout," Nanami continued, his gaze flicking between Yuji and Ren. "However, I will investigate it alone."
"Wait, alone?" Yuji protested, his head snapping up. "Let us come with you! I can fight!"
"No. You two will follow the other lead," Nanami stated with absolute finality. "There was one person present at the cinema before the murders took place. The only witness."
"Junpei Yoshino," Ren supplied quietly, saying the name out loud to keep up his attentive facade.
"Correct," Nanami nodded. "Kiyotaka Ijichi will accompany you. He will bring a low-grade curse trapped in a cage to test the boy's capabilities and see if he possesses the aptitude to see curses. Find the boy, and find out what he knows."
Nanami turned on his heel and walked out of the morgue, leaving Yuji and Ren alone with the bodies.
Yuji took a deep, shaky breath, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his bright yellow hoodie. He looked over at Ren, his expression hardening into pure determination. "Let's go find this Junpei guy."
"Right behind you," Ren said, nodding.
But as Yuji turned toward the heavy morgue doors, Ren stopped him, catching the sleeve of his yellow hoodie.
"Hey, Itadori. Give me just a second, will you?" Ren asked, keeping his voice light. "Since we're actually on the Jujutsu High campus right now, I want to take a quick detour before we meet up with Ijichi."