"Wait—seriously, I'm fine!"
Yuji raised both hands slowly, palms open, as the last of the black markings faded from his skin. His breathing was heavy, but steady. Aside from bruises and a dull ache that settled deep into his bones, he felt… normal.
More normal than he had any right to, if Megumi was to be honest.
"More importantly," Yuji continued, glancing at Megumi's bloodied uniform and trembling stance, "you and I are both pretty beat up. Let's just—y'know—go to a hospital?"
Megumi didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't lower his hands, still locked mid-formation, shadows writhing faintly at his feet.
I can't tell, he thought grimly. Is that really Itadori speaking? Or the cursed object pretending to be him?
One wrong judgment meant thousands dead.
Mahoraga's wheel hovered at the edge of Megumi's thoughts, a guillotine waiting to fall. He got into the summoning position.
Then—
"Yo, kid. What's the situation?"
Megumi nearly jumped out of his skin.
Two figures stood behind them, where there had been absolutely nothing a moment ago.
The first was unmistakable: tall, white-haired, blindfolded, hands in his pockets like he'd just wandered in off the street.
Satoru Gojo.
"…Gojo - Sensei?" Megumi breathed.
The second man stood beside him, just as tall, broader in the shoulders. Golden-blond hair caught the moonlight, sharp eyes slit like a predator's, whisker-like markings etched naturally into his cheeks. His presence was heavier—dense, like coiled steel wrapped in calm.
Before he could react—
"Damn it, kid," the blond man snapped, irritation bleeding through his controlled tone. "How many times have I told you not to try to summon Mahoraga? Are you trying to destroy the whole city?"
Megumi flinched.
"…Uzumaki-sensei?"
Gojo leaned over Megumi's shoulder. "Wow. You're really messed up." He pulled out his phone. Click. "Hold still. The second-years are gonna love this."
"Gojo-sensei! Uzumaki-Sensei! Why are you guys even here?!" Megumi demanded.
"Tracked your phone," Gojo said breezily, snapping another picture. "Wasn't planning on coming, but wow. You look terrible."
Naruto didn't even look at him. His gaze was locked on Megumi.
"I sensed something," Naruto said, pointing his thumb toward Yuji, "Kurama was worried. That usually means something's gone very wrong." He ignored the shouts of objection in his mind.
Then his eyes flicked back to Megumi.
"And you still haven't answered my question, Fushiguro."
Megumi looked away.
Uzumaki-sensei had used his last name.
That was never a good sign.
Shit.
Gojo hummed. "Oh, right. The higher-ups were whining about a missing special-grade cursed object, so I figured I'd stop by while sightseeing." He looked at Yuji. "So? Find it?"
Yuji raised a hand sheepishly.
"…Sorry. I ate it."
Silence.
Wind rustled. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.
"…Huh?" Gojo said.
Naruto's posture changed instantly. "You did what?"
"I—uh—swallowed it?" Yuji repeated. "On purpose?"
Gojo stared at him for a second.
Then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha—oh wow. That's incredible. Kid, that's actually hilarious."
"Satoru." Naruto's voice dropped, sharp enough to cut glass. "This is not funny."
Gojo waved him off and strolled up to Yuji, crouching to inspect him. "Huh. It really did fuse with you." He tapped Yuji's forehead lightly. "Anything feel off?"
"…Not really?" Yuji answered honestly.
Naruto scowled. "We have bigger problems than your curiosity."
He turned to Yuji. "Can you switch with Sukuna?"
"…Who?" Yuji blinked. "And how do you know about curses, Uzumaki-sensei? I thought you were just our P.E teacher."
"It was a personal mission of mi-" Naruto was interrupted.
"Just do it," Gojo said lazily. "Ten seconds. I'm the strongest, I can handle it."
Naruto snorted. "Our last spar says otherwise."
Satoru instantly got annoyed. "That's because your Domain Expansion is bullshit!" He pouted like a child. "I would have won if you hadn't used it."
"Oh, so I'm supposed to just stand there and let yours fry my brain?!"
"But the cursed chains are unfair!"
"Says the guy who tried to lobotomize me!"
Naruto stomped his foot like a toddler.
The rooftop cracked as they clashed heads.
Megumi stared.
'My teachers are children. Absolute toddlers.'
Seriousness returned.
Gojo shoved a shopping bag into Megumi's arms. "Hold this."
Megumi peeked inside.
"…Kikufuku?"
"Yep! Sendai specialty. Zunda and cream are the best."
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "You bought desserts while people were dying? Was it before or after your mission that you decided to go hunting for souvenirs?"
"It's not a souvenir," Gojo replied cheerfully. "I'm eating it on the train."
Predictably, he didn't answer that last question.
"I hope you choke to death." Naruto was still pissed it seemed.
"Impossible. Reverse cursed technique." Satoru quipped, before dodging a gold cursed energy chain that was whipped at his head.
Megumi's eye twitched.
Then—
Something moved.
Megumi's instincts screamed.
"Behind you—!"
Too late.
Sukuna erupted with Yuji's body, launching himself forward with murderous glee.
"My Kikufuku isn't like other souvenirs," Gojo said calmly, as if he hadn't noticed—
CRASH.
Smoke exploded outward.
When it cleared—
Gojo sat casually on Sukuna's back.
Naruto's foot pressed Sukuna's head into the concrete.
"…And the whipped cream is exquisite."
Sukuna snarled, veins bulging as he forced himself up.
Gojo hopped back lightly. "Alright. I'll show off a little. Let me handle this, Naruto."
Naruto appeared beside Megumi in a blink, grabbing him, before moving back to give Gojo space.
"…Fast," Megumi muttered.
Sukuna lunged.
Gojo vanished.
Hands collided. Fists blurred. Sukuna struck with inhuman savagery—each blow capable of leveling the building—but none of them landed.
Infinity warped the space between them anyway, not that it was needed. The only time the two made contact in their physical battle was when Gojo hit Sukuna.
Gojo slapped Sukuna across the face with a closed fist.
Blood sprayed.
Sukuna skidded backward, tearing through a railing, and into the building below.
"Whoops…" Gojo said, as he stared at the direction of the destroyed railing. "Didn't mean to do that. Have I gotten stronger?" He mused with a grin, before following the path of destruction.
"…You jujutsu sorcerers," Sukuna growled, "are always a pain."
Gojo appeared above him.
CRASH.
The rooftop collapsed.
Debris froze mid-air around Gojo, suspended helplessly.
"Seven… eight… nine…"
Yuji strained.
The markings faded.
"…Ten."
Yuji collapsed, gasping.
Sukuna screamed as he was being dragged back into the depths of Yuji's mind.
"Again? …How," Sukuna snarled, fading, "are you suppressing me…?"
Yuji groaned. "Ow…"
Gojo winced theatrically. "Oops. My bad kid."
"…You really can control it," Gojo said, impressed. "He's like you, Naruto."
Naruto shook his head. "Not really. Mine's nicer. And it's not "control", Satoru."
Yuji blinked. "He's… annoying. I can hear him."
"It's a miracle that's all he's doing." Gojo said—then flicked Yuji's forehead.
Yuji dropped instantly.
Golden cursed chains erupted from Naruto's body, binding Yuji securely.
"There," Naruto said. "Stable."
Gojo clapped. "Welp. That's that."
Megumi swallowed. "What… now?"
Gojo turned to him. "What do you think?"
"…Execution," Megumi said quietly. "That's the rule. But…"
He clenched his fists.
"…I don't want him to die."
Gojo smiled.
"Hehehe. Leave it to me."
Present — The Sealed Room
"…And that's the recap," Gojo finished brightly. "But the result's still the same."
Yuji stared.
"You're executing me?"
"Yep!"
"…That doesn't line up."
"Meh. I tried."
Gojo pulled out another finger.
"There are twenty total. You ate one. We have six."
"Fingers and toes?"
"Four arms." That was better…? Not really. Four fucking arms?
"Oh. Right."
Gojo blasted the finger through the wall.
"SATORU YOU MOTHERF—!"
Naruto swore from outside.
"We can't directly destroy them," Gojo continued. "So we're letting you eat them."
"…Huh?"
"When you die," Gojo said calmly, "Sukuna dies too. Either it happens now, or when you eat all twenty."
Naruto entered the room, arms crossed. "Third option exists. Make friends with him."
"…Good luck with that." Gojo added dryly.
Yuji swallowed.
Naruto met his gaze.
"Let's start from the beginning, Yuji Itadori." Uzumaki-sensei said seriously.
"What do you know… about Jujustu?"