Chapter 7: He'll Win—But Not Him
He arrived a bit late, so he didn't see the duel between this person and Sukuna.
Gojo studied him for a while. When he got no response, he made a call.
"Ah, Principal…"
"Huh, you don't know either?"
"The higher-ups didn't send anyone?"
"Oh, that's strange then."
Gojo hung up.
Young Yuji and Megumi Fushiguro both froze.
So he really was a complete stranger? And this stranger helped them?
"An overlooked independent jujutsu expert?"
…
Watching Gojo "bully" Sukuna again felt to Yuji like watching a memory, like watching a movie.
But now…
the noise of the outside world pulled him back again.
Yuji looked at Gojo-sensei once more. At different stages, the feeling was different.
"Are you a jujutsu sorcerer too?" Gojo asked.
"A jujutsu sorcerer… you could say that…"
Or rather, I'm the future you hoped for.
Yuji thought.
And he stopped Gojo's little move.
Yes—Gojo wasn't satisfied even getting within a centimeter.
He leaned his head down,
like an elementary school classmate…
as if peeking under a desk to see someone's face still wasn't enough, and he was about to pull off the hood to get a clear look!
So Yuji had to interrupt.
Because it was true—at the instant Gojo tried to lift the hood, the countdown suddenly jumped.
If it was fully removed,
the time he could stay might drop by a huge amount.
At the same time,
Yuji reached out with one hand to lift Gojo's blindfold.
Gojo raised an eyebrow and caught Yuji's hand too.
They held in a brief stalemate.
"You don't like people taking it off either, do you?" Yuji said.
Gojo smiled.
This hood seemed special.
Some invisible technique covered his eyes and nose, leaving only the corner of his mouth and the scar there visible. Nothing else could be made out.
"If you insist on knowing," Yuji chose his words, "just treat me as… a passerby… a remnant of the old era."
"A secret-identity Masked Rider!?" young Yuji blurted.
Yuji lowered his eyes, walked straight up to young Yuji, raised one finger, and tapped his forehead.
"Don't forget what you said earlier… don't let people who shouldn't die, die."
As soon as he finished,
young Yuji fainted.
Yuji flicked him casually, sending young Yuji flying toward Gojo.
"When he wakes up, if he isn't possessed by Sukuna, then he might be a vessel."
With that, he turned to leave.
Gojo paused, then caught young Yuji with one hand.
Inside, he clicked his tongue in surprise.
How does this guy know what I'm about to do, and what I'm saying?
"Wait."
Gojo reached out,
snatched a sweet from Megumi's side.
"Edamame fresh-cream Kikufuku—want one?"
He didn't give Yuji a chance to refuse. As he spoke, he fired it over, so fast it was like a bullet.
Yuji didn't even look—he raised a hand and caught the sweet easily.
Splat!!
The Kikufuku smashed apart from the impact, and plenty of it splattered onto Fushiguro's face.
Fushiguro's forehead twitched with a dark vein.
Gojo smiled slightly.
He really does have skill.
That speed just now—any sorcerer below Grade 1 wouldn't even react…
"You look pretty steady, but you can't be that old, right? You can call me Satoru. What should I call you?"
"My name is… Yuanzhi."
Yuji thought for a moment and made up a name.
"Yuanzhi, huh? That's an old-fashioned naming style. Sounds honest."
Gojo rubbed his chin and suddenly asked something hard to read.
"What do you think of the jujutsu world?"
Not old.
Skilled enough to clash with one-finger Sukuna.
A rare talent.
"Not knowing who I am, and you're already trying to recruit me so casually?"
…
The next morning.
Gojo reported two people: Sukuna's vessel, Yuji Itadori, and Yuanzhi.
First he settled young Yuji.
After confirming he woke up as himself,
he accompanied him to collect his grandpa's ashes, and fed him Sukuna's second finger.
But.
Young Yuji ate it willingly.
[Second finger, one-tenth power]
"It tastes so bad—so bad it makes you want to laugh!!"
Young Yuji clutched his own throat and stuck out his tongue.
Gojo's lips curled slightly.
Now it's confirmed. Not only does he have physical tolerance—he can keep his sense of self even against Sukuna. A once-in-a-thousand-years genius.
"You can say you've made up your mind?" Gojo asked.
"Not at all. I still think, why do I have to be sentenced to death? But we can't just leave curses alone… That dying request is such a pain…"
Young Yuji spoke.
"I'll eat all of Sukuna's fingers. After that, I don't care. I'm doomed to die anyway, right?"
He already knew.
He would swallow all of Sukuna's fingers, then accept execution, dying together with Sukuna.
It was the most convenient, and the best way to die.
"That's not necessarily true."
Yuanzhi, waiting off to the side, said calmly, "Sometimes reality is the opposite of the ending."
Doomed to die?
In reality, everyone slowly died—only you lived.
"Alright. Pack your things properly today." Gojo said.
"Where are we going?" young Yuji asked.
Gojo opened the door.
Fushiguro was standing outside. "Tokyo."
"From here on, you'll transfer to the sorcerer school I'm at—Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High."
Gojo hopped out too, held up three fingers, and added at just the right time, "First-years, including you, makes exactly three…"
"So few!?" young Yuji poked the other side. "Hey! Then what about Yuanzhi…?"
"I've already enrolled once."
Yuanzhi shoved both hands in his pockets and walked out.
"Hm?"
Fushiguro raised an eyebrow, looking at Gojo.
What does 'already enrolled once' mean?
Gojo spread both hands, saying he didn't know—he'd only just heard it too.
No, no… you don't know and you still act this casually…
Fushiguro felt powerless.
Gojo put his hands behind his head.
"It's fine. I've got a feeling it'll be interesting."
…
After that, it was free time. Young Yuji packed a bag and went to pay respects to his grandpa.
But he found
someone had arrived earlier than him.
"Yuanzhi!? You… were you waiting for me? And you came to pay respects to my grandpa too—thanks, that's really kind."
The man called Yuanzhi didn't answer, just walked.
"Man, this guy is really weird…"
Young Yuji scratched his head and walked in. "If I lived like this, it'd be super boring."
He began to pray seriously.
But at that moment, someone patted the top of his head. Yuji jumped and hurriedly backed away, turning around.
Looking closely—
it was Yuanzhi.
"Y-you, why'd you suddenly…"
"This afternoon you'll have an interview with the principal. Be ready."
…
Sure enough.
When they arrived in Tokyo, and reached Jujutsu High, Gojo immediately brought the two of them to the attic where the principal was.
"Next, you'll have an interview with the principal. If it goes badly, you might be refused admission, so do your best."
"As for Yuanzhi…"
"Whether you stay, and what 'post' you'll take, depends on what you're good at. The principal will interview you."
Gojo walked ahead. "It'll be strict too."
At this moment,
Yuanzhi—who was Yuji in disguise—seemed even more familiar with this place. He nodded at the words.
"So we really have to interview with the principal…"
Young Yuji muttered, then jolted. "If I get rejected, doesn't that mean I'm executed immediately!?"
"What, aren't you the boss?"
A mouth split open on his face, grotesque. "Not ranking by strength—how boring…"
"Sorry, teacher, he shows up sometimes." Young Yuji hurriedly slapped his own face.
"Your body is really interesting." Gojo looked like he was pondering.
"I still owe you one."
A Sukuna mouth grew from the back of his hand. "When I take over the brat's body, I'll kill you first."
Then he looked at Yuji.
"No, no—I'll kill you first."
Gojo said, "So you'll be the second person Sukuna fixates on. What a shame. But I'll protect him."
"Is he that famous?" young Yuji asked.
"Ryomen Sukuna…"
Yuanzhi explained for Gojo. "A four-armed, two-faced demon god… the King of Curses…"
Speaking of it—
Yuji had later tried transforming into Sukuna's complete form too, experimenting with it…
Four arms were convenient. You could form two hand signs at once.
"Then between him and you, sensei, who's stronger?"
"Well… if Sukuna gets all his fingers back, it'd be a bit tough."
"Would you lose?"
"I'll win," Gojo said as he walked forward.
Yuji's steps paused slightly.
He'll win—yes.
But he didn't say who would win.