Yuji Itadori, 15 years old, was originally just an ordinary teenager with exceptional motor skills. Following an incident where he unexpectedly encountered a Cursed Spirit, he swallowed a Special Grade Cursed Object, Sukuna's Finger, to save his companions. In doing so, he became the vessel for the "King of Curses," Ryomen Sukuna, and was forcibly dragged into the struggle of the jujutsu world.
Even though he possesses the extraordinary talent to prevent Ryomen Sukuna from seizing control of his body, many among the conservatives of the jujutsu world still view him as a ticking time bomb and wish to execute him immediately. Fortunately, he survived thanks to the protection of Satoru Gojo.
As a condition for his survival, no longer a normal human, he transferred to Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School as a first-year student. He became a student of Satoru Gojo, joined by two first-year classmates, a boy and a girl.
Before he could even learn advanced techniques, he "died" during a curse exorcism mission due to a conspiracy by the conservatives, nearly dragging his fellow students down with him.
Currently, having been resurrected, he has spent some time receiving private training from Gojo and has grown a bit stronger. For the sake of further training, he has been assigned a new mission. This time, the leader is a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Satoru Gojo's junior, and a mature, reliable adult among adults—Kento Nanami.
Gojo had specifically called in a favor to ask Nanami to look after Yuji Itadori.
In the jujutsu world, sorcerers are divided into five grades: Special Grade, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4. Special Grade is the strongest, and currently, there are only four, with Satoru Gojo being one of them.
It is worth mentioning that Cursed Spirits share the same grading system, but it is calibrated such that a sorcerer of a certain grade is expected to exorcise a Cursed Spirit of the same grade. The elite among them can even defeat Special Grade Cursed Spirits. Thus, as a Grade 1 Sorcerer, Kento Nanami is already at the top tier of combat power in the jujutsu world.
Shortly after receiving the mission, Kento Nanami discovered the suspect's likely hiding place through various clues. He originally intended to send Yuji Itadori away so he could investigate alone. However, a staff member searching the area discovered strange noises coming from a basement and reported it, which Yuji overheard.
"My intuition tells me the culprit is likely there. Let's go check it out together, Nanami-sensei," Yuji Itadori said, his eyes bright with energy.
Finding that the reported location matched his own deductions, Kento Nanami was certain that it was the culprit's hideout. He couldn't rule out the possibility that the strange noises were a trap set by the culprit to lure them in.
Logically, he should find an excuse to send Yuji elsewhere, but seeing the boy's sparkling eyes, he knew a refusal was unlikely to work. Rather than having Yuji follow him secretly, it was better to keep him close where he could be watched.
"Fine. We'll go together, but you must follow my lead and not act on your own." Kento Nanami pushed up his small, round-framed glasses and added, "Furthermore, Itadori-kun, I am neither a teacher nor a faculty member, so you cannot call me 'Nanami-sensei'."
"Then, how about Nanami?"
"I'll hit you."
Thus, Kiyotaka Ijichi, whose secondary job is Assistant Manager and primary job is driver, drove them to their destination: a side entrance to an abandoned underground sewer.
"Itadori-kun, I will go in first. You stay here to back me up and watch for the culprit trying to escape. If you see him, don't make a scene; follow him quietly and wait for me to arrive before acting. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Kiyotaka Ijichi drove off first to wait at the intersection.
Kento Nanami, holding a blunt, cleaver-like Cursed Tool, entered the underground sewer through the entrance, leaving Yuji Itadori to wait alone.
Yuji Itadori swore that at that moment, he truly intended to follow Nanami's instructions and wait. But later, he heard the sound of someone crying. Following the sound, he found the nearest point, though a wall blocked his path. He was certain that on the other side of that wall, there was someone in need of help. His sense of justice prompted him to raise his fist.
"Divergent Fist!"
Using his newly learned technique, he shattered the decaying concrete wall with a single punch and jumped down without hesitation.
After a steady landing, Yuji saw an unprecedented flash of intense light sweeping through everything with overwhelming force, completely turning that section of the sewer into ruins.
So strong! He feels even stronger than that Cursed Spirit with the volcano head from last time! Luckily, Nanami came in from the other side! Yuji marveled internally, while quickly scanning his surroundings. He soon spotted Junpei kneeling on the ground and recognized him as someone related to the mission.
Was he accidentally caught in the crossfire?
Seeing the terrifyingly strong Cursed Spirit turn its gaze toward him, Yuji moved his lead-heavy feet to step in front of Junpei. He chuckled awkwardly and said, " Sorry... I'm just here for my classmate. Can we... can we go now?"
"Heh, what do you think?"
As expected, it won't be that easy. Hurry up and save us, Nanami! Yuji shouted in his heart, bracing himself for a desperate struggle.
Aosora (Aomori) hadn't expected to meet the "Child of Destiny" so soon. Looking at the blunt and honest-looking Yuji Itadori, he thought: If this were the One Punch Man world, he would probably be an outstanding hero. Under other circumstances, he might have given him some "growth benefits." Unfortunately, Aomori had decided to commit to his current persona—the self-cultivation of an actor.
"Human, do you know that you have already offended me?" He couldn't help but adopt a Lelouch-style tone. Regal and authoritative, especially when paired with his magnetic voice.
A Cursed Spirit with intelligence and the ability to communicate? Is he with the volcano-head one? Who was he fighting?
A string of questions flooded Yuji's mind. He was happy to keep chatting to stall for time until Nanami arrived, so he pressed his hands together and said, "I'm very sorry! I was in a hurry just now and broke in directly. I'm truly sorry for disturbing you. Next time... next time I'll definitely follow the rules."
"Boy, you don't take me for a fool, do you?" Aosora didn't hide the coldness in his voice as he walked toward him.
Do we still have to fight? Yuji took a fighting stance. As long as the enemy didn't open with that destructive ultimate move, he was confident he could hold his ground for a while.
Boom!
The next second, a fist slammed into his face, hammering his head into the stone floor.
Why? I couldn't even see his movements!
As if teleporting, the fist touched his face in the blink of an eye. Could this be his Cursed Technique? Yuji recalled the Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had beaten him miserably before; it felt completely inferior to the one in front of him. His heart sank.
I'm not going to die again, am I? I only just came back to life...
Aosora raised his foot and stepped on Yuji's face. This sensation was actually quite nice; he was starting to enjoy it.
"Wait a moment, Aosora-sama!" Junpei finally spoke up. He saw that Yuji was only offending Aosora to protect him. If it were the old Junpei, he would have turned away coldly, but after being bathed in Holy Light, the pain in his heart had dissipated significantly, and he was determined to start over.
Thus, he crawled on the ground, pleading for Yuji: "I know you are a high-and-mighty god. Please be magnanimous and forgive his unintentional mistake!"
"Hmm? You're telling me what to do?" Aosora flicked his hand toward him, and Junpei was sent flying over ten meters as if hit by a truck. He rolled across the ground and coughed up a large amount of blood.
"Junpei!" Yuji's eyes nearly split from rage, but with his head pinned down, he couldn't even look up at Aosora. He could only curse: "Damn it! You bastard, how are you anything like a god? Aren't gods supposed to protect us?"
"How superficial." Aosora applied pressure with his foot, saying, "Do humans only know how to take from gods? Why should I protect you? Being merciful to you is a blessing; you should be deeply grateful."
"A god's moment of soft-heartedness may bestow light upon you, but that doesn't mean a god must continue to give you light. Understood?"
"Then it is also appropriate for humans to crusade against an unjust god, right?" A middle-aged man dressed like a salaryman stepped out from the darkness, his tone flat.
"Nanami!" Yuji shouted in surprise, then quickly warned, "He's very fast, be careful!"
"Mm." Kento Nanami nodded, taking in the entire scene.
The target is an intelligent Special Grade Cursed Spirit. Gojo-san's report mentioned two unregistered Special Grades; there is likely a connection between them. Now Itadori has been captured, making me hesitant to act. This is the worst-case scenario. I can't handle this alone even with overtime. Although I sensed a shocking presence just now and called for reinforcements as a precaution, I don't know when they will arrive. I can only stall for now.
What a pain.
So it's Nanami.
The serious "working-man" of Jujutsu Kaisen. When he originally died in the series, Aosora had been upset for a while. He hadn't expected to face the man directly now. He decided to have some fun.
"Oh? You motes think you can crusade against a god?" Aosora said coldly. "Disrespecting a god is a capital offense. Are you prepared to be cast into the depths of hell, never to be reborn?"
"Then, my Lord God, do you mind if I call more motes to admire your countenance?" Kento Nanami pulled out his phone, intending to use this as an excuse to stall for time.
Aosora was stunned. He hadn't expected him to be so direct. What should he do? He didn't want to meet Satoru Gojo yet, but if he refused, he'd lose his aura of superiority. His mind raced, and he snorted: "Suit yourself. However, whether I'll be here then is uncertain. There is no reason for me to linger here."
"Furthermore, I haven't forgiven your sin of disrespect yet."
He kicked Yuji in the stomach. The boy curled up like a cooked shrimp, spitting out blood as he was sent flying like a soccer ball, crashing through several brick walls.
"Now, it's your turn."
With Yuji kicked away, Kento Nanami secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since Yuji was Sukuna's vessel, he was tough and shouldn't have any major issues. Sure enough, Yuji soon sat up and wiped the blood from his mouth. He looked fine, though his face was a bit swollen.
"Damn it, stepping on me like that... I'm going to punch him into orbit!"
"Itadori, take the injured person on the ground and leave this place."
"But, you alone..."
"The result would be the same with you here, as you saw just now. Besides, if the injured person isn't sent to the hospital quickly, it will be trouble."
"I..." Yuji thought of how easily he had been defeated and was momentarily speechless.
"Obey orders!"
"Yes!" Yuji gritted his teeth and agreed. He quickly ran over to pick up the unconscious Junpei on his back and left through the hole he had made.
Aosora watched quietly without stopping them. It wouldn't be satisfying to bully the current Yuji or Sukuna; he'd wait until they grew a bit more.
Only Aosora and Kento Nanami remained in the sewer.
"It is an honor. Please let me experience the power of a god." Taking off his glasses, Nanami unwrapped his tie and used it to bind his palm and his cleaver Cursed Tool together. He faced Aosora with absolute seriousness: "Come. I'm ready for off-hours. Please make it quick."
"Fine. Given how weak you are, I'll play with you using only 1% of my strength."
For his first battle against a serious jujutsu sorcerer, Aosora planned to control his physical reactions to gather intelligence. If he finished it in a second, there would be no fun, though "1%" was a bit of an exaggeration.
"1% of your strength? You certainly talk big." Nanami's mouth twitched. He leveled his cleaver and began explaining his technique: "My technique is called 'Ratio Technique.' It divides the target into line segments and forcibly creates a weak point at the 7:3 ratio point. Striking that 'point' triggers a 'critical hit,' dealing massive damage."
Oh, I know this. It's Revealing One's Hand. Aosora raised an eyebrow. Unlike other shonen series, this world has a setting where revealing information about one's technique during battle can boost its effectiveness.
In a flash, Nanami lunged. In his eyes, Aosora's body was divided into line segments. He swung the cleaver toward one of the weak points.
Thud!
The cleaver struck the air about ten centimeters in front of Aosora, unable to move an inch further, as if hitting a wall.
A barrier?
Aosora gave him a mocking smile, clenched his right fist, and punched him in the face. Nanami pulled back his blade to defend, blocking the punch and using the force to retreat and create distance.
The Ratio Technique activated again. This time, a line segment appeared in the void in front of Aosora. His technique worked on non-living objects as well. He closed in again and swung the cleaver at that point.
Aosora wanted to test the durability of his telekinetic shield, so he stood still and let him strike. As expected, the shield was shattered in one hit, unable to maintain its shape.
"Oh, quite capable."
"Thank you for the compliment," Nanami said, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Then I hope you try even harder." The thing Aosora most wanted to see hadn't appeared yet, specifically, the cool-looking Black Flash.
"As you wish." Nanami's cursed energy suddenly surged, even surpassing Mahito's.
Overtime had begun.