Chapter 5: Long Time No See, Sukuna
He thought of an idiom.
The butterfly effect.
The more he changed, the bigger the butterfly effect became, and the advantage of arriving first would disappear.
So.
He had to act only at truly critical moments.
That was Yuji's strategy.
Because,
he…
also wanted to stay here as long as possible.
Is the current situation related to the butterfly effect,
or…
because of my arrival,
did I break the balance of the jujutsu world, causing the cursed spirits' side to grow stronger?
Yuji thought about it.
This problem shouldn't happen.
Because he carried blood that was half human, half cursed spirit.
The stronger the cursed spirits, the stronger humans became.
The stronger humans, the stronger cursed spirits became.
A cycle that could not be broken.
Like yin and yang.
Mutually generating and restraining, endlessly flowing.
But…
in the future world,
Yuji was both human and cursed spirit.
No matter how strong he became, he would not break the jujutsu world's balance.
So why would coming here break it?
Could it be because he was an outsider…
As he was thinking,
the commotion outside drew his attention.
"Hurry, go, take those two and leave!"
"You're a jujutsu sorcerer too!!" Megumi Fushiguro shouted.
Right after that,
young Yuji,
forced into it,
swallowed the cursed object finger.
"If you have no cursed energy, then gain cursed energy. It's the same choice." Yuji watched quietly.
Young Yuji tore apart the giant tick cursed spirit's hand.
Then,
the giant tick was enraged and scrambled at him, only to be ripped apart by a single claw.
Its entire head was gone.
Only the body collapsed.
Fushiguro froze for a beat, then shouted toward another direction.
"Watch out!!"
At the same time,
the other Grade 2 cursed spirit, a giant tick, came at Yuji's side and bit down hard.
"Get lost."
The voice was low.
Yuji's attention stayed on the front.
He casually reached out with one hand, grabbed a corner of the giant tick's head, and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!!
The ground cracked for more than ten meters.
The giant tick rolled its eyes back.
Yuji flicked his hand.
Its five-meter body was hurled dozens of meters into the air, turning to ash from top to bottom.
Even with only one-tenth of his strength.
Even with only the power of a single finger from back then.
At eighty-three, Yuji's cursed energy and strength still made dealing with a mere Grade 2 cursed spirit effortless.
"Uh, uh, uh…"
Fushiguro hunched, holding a combat stance, but he could not find words.
What was going on?
A Grade 2 cursed spirit could be exorcised by a Grade 2 sorcerer, but it shouldn't be this easy…
Yes, at the same rank, sorcerers were stronger than cursed spirits.
But how easy it should look,
he truly did not know.
This was at least Grade 1 level, or…
close to it?
The clouds parted.
Moonlight poured down.
Inside young Yuji, something seemed to awaken. A second pair of eyes appeared beneath his own.
Cursed markings spread in rings across his face and body, grotesque.
Heh heh heh heh… hahahahahaha!
"Sure enough, it's best when you feel the light for yourself!"
Young Yuji looked like a completely different person, laughing wildly and viciously.
He tore open his clothes, throwing off restraint.
"Cursed spirit flesh is boring!"
"Where are the humans, where are the women!?"
"This era is amazing, women and children writhing like maggots!"
Controlling young Yuji, he stepped onto a guardrail, threw his arms wide, and faced the glittering city lights ahead.
The night view.
So beautiful.
So orderly.
So peaceful.
It would become a tool for him to vent his desires to the fullest.
"How wonderful!"
"The slaughter can—"
Before he could finish.
At some point,
a figure appeared at his side, the one he had ignored, and extended a hand.
Then…
he felt his neck seized.
A force beyond description erupted.
His body was forced down.
Whoosh!
Boom!!
A terrifying, explosive impact shook the air.
In Fushiguro's vision, the stranger flashed forward.
One hand in his pocket.
He grabbed the incarnated Yuji and slammed him into the ground behind.
A shrieking tearing sound rang out as the ground split again.
Ten meters.
Twenty meters.
Thirty meters.
Cracks spread at a terrifying speed until a spiderweb covered the rooftop.
"Using someone else's body to mess around is very rude."
Yuji bent one knee slightly, maintaining the pressing-down posture.
"Sukuna."
Beneath him was young Yuji, or rather, Sukuna.
Clean, fluid movements.
No wasted motion.
No nonsense.
"Give him back."
Yuji looked at Sukuna wearing his face. It was his first time seeing it like this.
A strange sensation.
Fresh.
And that interruption was, without question, an absolute humiliation for the King of Curses, Sukuna.
"Bastard!!"
Sukuna's eyes went bloodshot.
With only one finger's power as well, he seemed to have no way to fight back at all.
He tried to resist.
But the next second,
his consciousness was pushed back down by young Yuji.
Yuji then grabbed his younger self and lifted him up again, making him stand straight.
"A Special Grade cursed object got a body… and then got subdued…"
"What is this guy's background!?"
Fushiguro could not think anymore.
So many monsters had appeared all at once today.
Normally, besides teachers, you never saw anyone…
"What's going on here!?"
All of a sudden,
someone appeared.
He wore a black blindfold, had a tall, slender build, and wore a Jujutsu High uniform, with white hair.
"G-Gojo-sensei, why are you here!?" Fushiguro said.
Speak of the devil, and he arrives.
"Yo. I wasn't planning to come, but wow, you're pretty beat up."
The man called Gojo-sensei leaned in slightly to look at him.
The next second,
with total whiplash, he pulled out his phone to record the mess.
"I'll show this to the second-years."
"Come on, look here."
He snapped photos back and forth.
The phone flashed repeatedly.
He was relaxed.
As if he did not take what happened here seriously at all, looking completely scatterbrained.
"A Special Grade cursed object went missing, so the higher-ups are really annoyed."
"So I came to take a look, and do a little sightseeing."
"Well, did you find it?" Satoru Gojo said.
Yuji released young Yuji, and at that moment Fushiguro shouted.
"Don't let go, right now he—"
Yuji ignored Fushiguro and gave young Yuji a push, speaking softly.
"It's fine. Your future teacher is calling you. Go over there."
Young Yuji staggered forward a couple steps, raised his hand.
"Uh, um, sorry. I ate it."
Yuji was also watching Gojo.
Gojo-sensei.
The last time he saw him was when he was cut in half…
So unreasonable.
So…
unacceptable.