The places where jujutsu sorcerers most often encountered missions were always the same: schools, hospitals, cemeteries, and so-called paranormal exploration sites.
On October 7th, Asou Akiya prepared to head out on a mission together with Yaga Masamichi.
Mission target: a Grade Two cursed spirit.
Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru volunteered enthusiastically to accompany their teacher, claiming they wanted to supervise Asou Akiya's training in Black Flash. When Ieiri Shoko heard that it would be a group activity, she couldn't help raising her hand as well. "If it's that safe, let me go too."
In a rural cemetery, Asou Akiya was fleeing from the pursuit of a Grade Two cursed spirit, while outside the [Curtain] a crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the excitement unfold.
Today, Yaga Masamichi forbade Asou Akiya from using any Grade One cursed tools, insisting that he confront the Grade Two cursed spirit with pure hand-to-hand combat instead. With no other choice, Asou Akiya picked up his拳法 again, plunging into a fight where every blow landed solidly—or where he himself would be struck just as hard.
After all, that Grade Two cursed spirit was as tall as an entire building floor.
The more wretched and frantic Asou Akiya's escape looked, the more unrestrained and delighted the laughter of his nearby classmates became.
Gojo Satoru shouted through cupped hands like a loudspeaker, "Akiya, I'm taking photos for you! If you don't want to lose face, you'd better hurry up and learn Black Flash!"
Geto Suguru, genuinely concerned about Asou Akiya growing stronger, added thoughtfully, "Gojo, Akiya needs powerful motivation—enough determination to master Black Flash. Taking photos might not be enough. He's not the type to get embarrassed so easily."
Gojo Satoru asked for his opinion, "Then what do you suggest, Suguru?"
Geto Suguru pondered for a moment. "Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to mess with him. That depends on what he wants us to do."
Deep down, Geto Suguru simply didn't want to miss Halloween. Dressing up as monsters with his classmates sounded far too fun to pass up.
"Akiya! If you manage to learn Black Flash, then at the end of the month, on Halloween, Gojo promises he'll wear women's clothes for you!"
"When the hell did I ever agree to that?!"
Gojo Satoru didn't even realize he'd been sold out by Geto Suguru until it was already too late.
Standing outside the Curtain, Ieiri Shoko cupped her hands and shouted cheerfully, "Akiya, did you hear that? Gojo and Geto are both wearing women's clothes for Halloween!"
Geto Suguru's forehead twitched with black lines. "Shoko… you really know how to reinterpret a message."
Ieiri Shoko bit back her laughter and said with forced seriousness, "If you're trying to motivate a classmate, then the two of you should work together a little better."
Geto Suguru hesitated. "I… didn't…"
Suddenly, from within the Curtain, Asou Akiya's fighting spirit surged visibly higher—there was no doubt he had heard Ieiri Shoko's shout loud and clear.
Geto Suguru pressed a hand to his forehead. He remembered that the reason he himself had mastered Black Flash was because he had held his breath and pushed himself desperately to catch up to Gojo Satoru. Without that kind of fierce, burning will to fight, mastering Black Flash in a short period of time was nothing but a fool's dream.
After struggling internally for a moment, Geto Suguru changed his tune with difficulty. "…It's not completely impossible."
Halloween costumes were exaggerated by nature, and women's clothing came in many different styles. He could always choose something more neutral, couldn't he? If Halloween turned into something this ridiculous and entertaining, maybe Asou Akiya's dislike of the holiday would ease a little.
Gojo Satoru stared hard at Geto Suguru, eyes wide with disbelief. Wow—who would've thought Suguru was this open-minded?
Then Gojo Satoru declared loudly, "Akiya! Suguru says he's willing to wear a JK* uniform!"
*{Note: a little reminder, just in case anyone forgot.
DK: High school boy
JK: High school girl}
Geto Suguru: "?!"
Gojo Satoru continued mercilessly, "As long as Suguru agrees, I'll wear one too—just once! So what do you say, dare to make the bet?"
Geto Suguru gritted his teeth. "You think you're the only one with guts?"
Gojo Satoru puffed out his chest proudly and gestured at his waist with both hands. "I can squeeze into a standard-size JK skirt. Suguru'll need a plus-size."
Ieiri Shoko: " ? ! ! "
Geto Suguru's competitive spirit instantly flared. "Utahime-senpai's shrine maiden outfit? I could wear that too."
Gojo Satoru smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "What about Mei Mei's high-waisted long skirt—got the guts?"
Geto Suguru replied without hesitation, calm and confident. "The school uniform I'm wearing right now already has high-waisted trousers. That wouldn't be a problem at all."
Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue appreciatively. "Suguru, you're surprisingly fashionable."
Geto Suguru answered evenly, "It's just normal attire. When we play basketball, no one ever looks surprised."
Gojo Satoru cheerfully exposed his classmate's secrets without the slightest guilt. "That's because I noticed it ages ago. Akiya, on the other hand, looked at you a few extra times—probably never expected you to be such a fake gentleman."
Geto Suguru and Gojo Satoru immediately erupted into a scuffle.
"Who are you calling fake?!"
"You, obviously!"
Ieiri Shoko thought to herself in silence: So am I just a type of JK who's less flashy than these DKs…?
"You two idiots, stop causing trouble!"
Yaga Masamichi's roar thundered from inside the Curtain, cutting off the chaos outside just in time. Judging by his tone, he would very much like to physically tape their mouths shut.
Asou Akiya had already realized the prerequisite for learning Black Flash through real combat training—
Stay away from his classmates.
"With your attention this scattered, don't be surprised if you never master Black Flash in your entire life," Yaga Masamichi said sharply, hauling Asou Akiya away before he could take another heavy hit, and delivering a merciless lecture on his lack of focus and resolve.
Asou Akiya lowered his head in shame. "…But they said they'd wear JK uniforms, Sensei."
Yaga Masamichi rapped him lightly on the head and, with the patient gravity of an adult who had seen far too much nonsense, said, "Stop listening to their pointless drivel. You want to see them make fools of themselves, and they want to see you make a fool of yourself too."
When it actually mattered, how had he fallen for something so obvious?
Yaga Masamichi asked again, "Let's do it one more time. Can you manage?"
Asou Akiya forced himself to rally his spirits and was just about to answer when, from outside the Curtain, Gojo Satoru's brazen, provocative voice rang out.
"Akiya, if you can't pull it off, then just wait—you'll be wearing Shoko's skirt on Halloween!"
"..."
In that instant, all the hot blood surging through Asou Akiya's chest went ice-cold.
Was this really the kind of plot that belonged in a shōnen manga? Even a coming-of-age drama had no business dragging him into cross-dressing like this!
...
Several days later, after failing again and again to grasp the essence of Black Flash, Asou Akiya finally made up his mind. He sought out Yaga Masamichi and, in private, made a careful request.
"Yaga… Dad, is there any mission that involves going to Sendai?"
Yaga Masamichi replied reflexively, "Is there somewhere you want to go?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized that Asou Akiya never chose a destination without a reason. Wherever he went, there was always intent behind it.
Asou Akiya's eyes lit up with anticipation. "I've heard that in Sendai, in Aoba Ward, there's a famous tea shop called Kikusuian. Their specialty, Kikufuku, is supposed to be exceptional. I've admired it by reputation for a long time and really want to try it."
Yaga Masamichi listened and immediately waved it off as a trivial matter. "That's fine. I'll look into it. You can head back for now."
Asou Akiya finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
His classmates were free to joke and tease as much as they liked, and he wouldn't take it personally. Yet beneath that outward calm, driven by a quiet sense of crisis, he had begun to feel that Black Flash was critically important—important enough that it might offer him unforeseen help in the coming year.
There were less than two months left before the end of the year.
Asou Akiya walked back with a heavy mind. Thanks to long-term training, his body had developed muscles akin to those of an athlete; he was no longer the fragile, reed-thin boy he once had been. After half a year of proper nutrition finally catching up, his height had reached 174 centimeters. Compared to himself on April 1st, his build was far more solid now—he was even one centimeter taller than fifteen-year-old Itadori Yuji.
Itadori Yuji, even while bearing the weight of a death sentence, had been able to face the special-grade cursed spirit Hanami and effortlessly achieve what it meant to be "focused," unleashing his first Black Flash in his life—and not just once, but five consecutive Black Flashes in a single day.
The protagonist truly lived up to the title: the Tiger of West Junior High, a master in the realm of hand-to-hand combat.
Asou Akiya admired him deeply.
From another angle, he couldn't help but wonder—if he wanted to learn from Itadori Yuji, did that mean he, too, needed to experience a "death sentence" of his own?
By now, Asou Akiya appeared far stronger than before, many times over. Yet the cost of advancing step by cautious step was that he lacked the do-or-die resolve he had possessed last year, when he had smashed his way forward with nothing left to lose. The safe, sheltered life on campus had gradually smoothed over some of his more extreme emotions.
Silently, Asou Akiya told himself: [I need to make a trip to Sendai—to reclaim that sense of urgency I once had.]
There were several places in the world of jujutsu that had left an indelible mark on him, and Sendai was one of them.
So far, the most dangerous places for him in Japan ranked as follows: the Higher-Ups' Headquarters, the Kamo clan, the Gojo clan, the Zen'in clan, the restricted armories of Tokyo Jujutsu High and Kyoto Jujutsu High, Fushiguro Toji's former residence—and lastly, Miyagi Prefecture's Sendai City.
Sendai City was a special place.
Kenjaku had stayed there for a long time, possessing the corpse of a woman and deliberately giving birth to Itadori Yuji.
If he were not assigned a mission, Asou Akiya would never dare to appear alone in Sendai under the identity of a jujutsu sorcerer. Not only was two-year-old Itadori Yuji there at the time, but there were surely watchers planted by Kenjaku, quietly guarding Yuji's growth.
And incidentally, the Sendai specialty that twenty-eight-year-old Gojo Satoru loved to eat was also found in Sendai City.
Because there were still thirteen years until the events of the first season, Asou Akiya couldn't help but wonder whether the edamame fresh-cream Kikufuku had even been invented yet.
October 10th, Monday—a national public holiday in Japan. The Imperial Palace in Tokyo was open to the public for visits. Carrying a mix of idle thoughts and lingering anxiety over his inability to master Black Flash, Asou Akiya followed Yaga Masamichi through a variety of jujutsu-related duties. In the morning, they guarded civilians touring the Imperial Palace; at noon, the two ate in the city and met with assistant supervisors; and in the afternoon, as he had hoped, Asou Akiya boarded a special vehicle bound for Sendai City to exorcise cursed spirits.
The assignment in Sendai was of the relatively easy and straightforward kind: exorcising a cursed spirit haunting a hospital.
One hour later, the mission was complete.
At 5:10 p.m., Asou Akiya and Yaga Masamichi parted ways, agreeing to reunite at their lodging hotel before ten o'clock that night.
Once alone, Asou Akiya again removed his school uniform jacket, wrapping it around his long sword, and headed toward the bustling and popular Kikusuian, where he lined up to buy the famous Kikufuku sweets. When he learned that this branch did not carry the edamame fresh-cream flavor, a trace of disappointment crossed his face, and he could only settle for the more conventional matcha Kikufuku instead.
His footsteps carried him naturally into a leisurely stroll, eating as he wandered and looked around. Along the way, he ran into several high school students just released from classes.
He was remarkably sociable, introducing himself as a kendo enthusiast. Since he was close to their age, he chatted with them enthusiastically, asking which school they attended, how heavy their homework load was, how often parent-teacher meetings were held, and whether the pressure of entrance exams weighed heavily on them.
And just like that, Asou Akiya was invited to visit the kendo club at Sugisawa Third High School.
Even Kenjaku could never have imagined—
That someone would arrive thirteen years in advance, casually wandering through the very high school Itadori Yuji would attend in the future.
"It's a very good school," Asou Akiya remarked sincerely.
He voluntarily exorcised a few low-level cursed spirits lingering on campus, toured the kendo club, and in the end remained with the Go club.
Many of the Go club members became so absorbed in their matches that they lost track of time and stayed late into the evening. Asou Akiya's presence among them blended in perfectly, as though he were simply a beginner learning the game, quietly absorbing experience move by move, stone by stone.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the Go club closed.
Short on cash, Asou Akiya bought a secondhand Go board and a set of used stones from them. After the others gradually departed, he alone made his way in silence toward the rooftop above the school's club building.
He stopped there—on the rooftop of Sugisawa Third High School—the very site of the accident from the first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen, "Ryomen Sukuna."
A moment later, he released his senses. There were no cursed spirits nearby, no traces of cursed energy, nothing but stillness and silence all around.
Asou Akiya sat down cross-legged and set up the Go board.
Time passed, all the way until nine o'clock at night.
By then, Sugisawa Third High School was completely deserted. Asou Akiya ended two full hours of meditation, his spirit and focus sharpened to their peak. He reinforced his five senses with cursed energy, and in his perception the nighttime campus became vividly clear—so much so that even a single mosquito passing through the air would not escape his notice.
He did not erect a Barrier; doing so would only draw Tengen's attention.
Instead, he placed a binding vow upon himself to confirm the surrounding safety:
"From 21:00 tonight until 22:00 tonight, in exchange for not using cursed energy no matter what danger I encounter, if any human, cursed spirit, or curse hears the secret I openly speak on this rooftop, my cursed energy will immediately increase, and I will receive instant feedback through this 'binding vow.'"
Asou Akiya opened his eyes calmly and looked forward, as though someone were seated across from him, ready to play a game.
That's right.
He allowed himself a long-forgotten act of imagination.
He imagined a short-haired woman with stitches running across her head, sitting opposite him.
"Good evening, madam. My name is Asou Akiya—the one who has imagined you into being." His gaze was hazy, dark as the night itself, as he spoke softly to himself. "We are seated here as Black and White upon the board. I would like to play a game with you."
The short-haired woman smiled, vivid and lifelike, exactly as she was in the original work.
["Little one, you're far too impatient."]
Asou Akiya replied calmly, "It's not that I'm impatient—it's that you are too formidable, and my time does not wait for me."
The short-haired woman asked:
["So now, are you prepared to stake your life?"]
Asou Akiya answered, "I have had such thoughts."
Asou Akiya continued, "At this very moment, I am experiencing the sense of crisis you bring with you."
His gentle voice stopped there. He no longer used honorifics toward an enemy. Killing intent surged forth like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"That child is your most important trump card. I've flipped half of Itadori Yuji's identity face-up on the table—are you angry? Do you want to kill me?"
The short-haired woman he had imagined—the ultimate villain of this world, Kenjaku—burst into laughter.
["Once I take over Geto-kun's body and synchronize his memories, I won't be angry at all. I'll capture you, Asou-kun, pry open your skull, and come see you in person."]
"..."
Asou Akiya envisioned the scene vividly: she abandoning Kaori Itadori's female body, seizing the long-coveted vessel of a cursed spirit manipulator, approaching gracefully in Geto Suguru's appearance. The face would still be that face, yet her bearing would carry an indescribable, unsettling allure—something bewitching and monstrous. Kenjaku would stand before him, calmly undo the stitches across the head, lift the skull, and reveal a soft, pink brain baring its teeth in a grotesque grin.
He murmured as if in a dream, "This really is hell."
Kenjaku—cursed technique unknown, origins suspected to trace back to the Three Great Families, gender indeterminate, having lived as both man and woman.
A conspirator who delighted in stealing the bodies of jujutsu sorcerers, lurking in the shadows for a thousand years.
This was… his opponent.
The human world was hell. The future was hell. This whole thing is enough to make even a reincarnated soul feel its hands tremble with fear.
Geto Suguru's death on Christmas Eve of 2017 had been the result of that woman's schemes unfolding in the shadows.
The Shibuya Incident on Halloween night of 2018 had been the product of her direct orchestration.
And Gojo Satoru being cleaved in two on Christmas Eve of 2018 had come about because she issued the challenge, deliberately forcing a decisive battle between Ryomen Sukuna and Gojo Satoru.
Hahaha—come, then!
Asou Akiya was so terrified he almost laughed out loud. The corners of his eyes reddened, fear interwoven with a rage too deep to put into words.
"Madam, let us dispense with idle chatter."
"As for next year's Star Plasma Vessel incident, I trust you already have a complete plan in mind."
"I respect my classmates' choices. If, even with the intelligence I provide, they still choose to let Amanai Riko go, I will have nothing more to say. Therefore, when it comes to the outcome of the Star Plasma Vessel mission, our objectives are—at least on the surface—aligned."
"I am your opponent."
"What I intend to wager against you is five years of youth belonging to Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru."
"This match will begin in the year 2006 and conclude in 2009, lasting a full four years. The rules are as follows:
Neither side may alert the jujutsu world Neither side may reveal the identities of the players to outsiders And neither side may flip the board in anger and abandon the game midway."
["And what is the condition for victory?"]
"If Gojo Satoru becomes the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern era, and if Geto Suguru graduates smoothly from Tokyo Jujutsu High, then I win."
"Otherwise, it counts as my loss—and your victory."
["Very well."]
On the rooftop, one man and one hallucination conversed face to face, naked killing intent spilling unmistakably into the air.
Asou Akiya resolved to counter Kenjaku's forthcoming moves by playing an opposing game—dismantling the board the enemy intended to lay down by answering it from the other side entirely.
A battle of illusion and strategy began.