A Few Things About Transmigration

"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."

As Ryomen Sukuna's chant rang out, the ruins of a shrine rose from the ground, while the bones of unknown creatures slowly emerged from the earth. Even the sky seemed to darken into a dim, crimson red.

Countless slashes rained down upon Toho Tetsu. The sensation of his body being repeatedly split open and carved apart nearly made him cry out in pain.

Without a Domain of his own, he could only repeatedly use Simple Domain and Falling Blossom Emotion to negate the sure-hit effect while desperately using Reverse Cursed Technique to repair his body, just as Gojo Satoru did when his technique burned out.

Yet no matter how hard he tried to attack Sukuna, his attacks were always effortlessly deflected before being returned with even greater force.

Who knew how long it had been before Sukuna seemed to grow tired of playing. He kicked Tetsu away, then stood where he was and formed a hand sign.

"Dragon Scales. Recoil. Twin Meteors."

The chant was followed by agonizing pain from his waist, as if his very soul had been cleaved apart.

When Toho Tetsu looked down, he saw that his body had been split horizontally in two at the waist. The connection of his cursed energy had been completely severed, and his consciousness was beginning to fade.

The next second, he abruptly opened his eyes and gasped for air. Realizing that he seemed to be lying on a bed, he hurriedly sat up, lifted his clothes, and examined his waist.

Only when he saw that there were no obvious wounds did he finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

Thank goodness... that had apparently just been a dream. He had often joked about things like "me fighting Sukuna," but when he encountered the true King of Curses in a dream, he finally understood just how powerless and weak he was.

But... where was this?

After confirming that his body was intact, he turned his attention to the surrounding environment.

This place looked like an infirmary. He was lying on one of a row of steel-framed beds. The cabinet beside him held all sorts of medicine, while a black desk stood some distance away, covered with books, strange instruments, and props.

The room was empty, with no one here but him. Yet both the sunlight shining on his body and the realistic sensation of the mattress beneath him told him that this was a real world, not a dream.

But... this was completely wrong too.

"This shouldn't be happening. Why? Why was I suddenly thrown into the world of Jujutsu Kaisen...?"

Toho Tetsu did not rush to leave. Instead, he sat on the bed and began recalling everything he had experienced before.

His consciousness and memories had stopped at the moment he faced the cursed spirit, at the instant he threw that punch with everything he had.

After throwing that punch, he seemed to have seen flashes of black and red light, and then he lost consciousness.

Before that...

He had met Utahime Iori, and Utahime had used a boosting technique on him while giving him some initial instruction on how to control cursed energy.

Before even that, he had suddenly encountered a cursed spirit, which had set its sights on him and attacked.

Thinking about it now, perhaps it had attacked him because he possessed cursed energy but did not know how to control it, allowing it to leak out and be detected?

After all, ordinary people who did not know how to use cursed energy were the finest food for cursed spirits. If it swallowed him, perhaps it could evolve and become an even stronger cursed spirit.

And before that...

When he recalled the memories from even earlier, Toho Tetsu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Because he remembered. He remembered what had happened before he abruptly appeared in that subway station.

He had only just gotten home. After eating dinner and taking a shower, he had been happily listening to a Jujutsu Kaisen commentary video while chatting with an online friend he had only recently met.

"I recently designed a technique. It's interesting, and absurdly powerful too. If I had this technique, I could definitely beat Sukuna."

As he said that, he sent the explanation for the technique he had designed to his online friend, who quickly replied.

"This technique is indeed pretty interesting, but are you sure it can really beat Sukuna?"

"Of course!"

"If you were given the chance, would you want to try it?"

He had assumed the other person was joking, so he laughingly agreed.

"Sure. This time, I'll be the one fighting Sukuna."

Then he appeared in that damned subway station.

No, could someone tell him why some random online friend had the ability to make people transmigrate? Was the world he had originally lived in even the real world?

And if what that online friend had said was true, did that mean he now possessed the technique he had created?

Just as Toho Tetsu was about to get up and test it, the infirmary door was pushed open. A middle-aged woman with extremely noticeable dark circles entered. When she saw that he was awake, she paused.

"You're awake?"

"...Yes."

Looking at her face, he froze for a moment before remembering the point in time he had transmigrated to.

If Utahime was still in high school, then it was normal that he could not see Shoko right now.

Although Shoko later became Jujutsu High's doctor in the original story, and her technique was indeed well-suited for the position, she probably did not stay permanently in the infirmary when she was still a student.

"Please wait here for a moment."

After nodding at him, the middle-aged woman called out toward the hallway.

"Utahime, come in. He's awake."

Before long, high school-era Utahime Iori stepped into the infirmary. When she saw that the person who had awakened was lively and well, a flicker of surprise appeared on her face before turning into a complicated expression.

But Toho Tetsu did not notice that at all. Only when he saw a familiar character standing before him again did he finally feel that he truly existed in this world.

"You're the one who helped me yesterday, right? Thank you so much. If it hadn't been for you, I probably would have died at that monster's hands."

He sincerely thanked Utahime.

That online friend had simply thrown him into a subway station where cursed spirits appeared, and he truly had been driven into a corner at the time.

If Utahime had not appeared and taught him how to use cursed energy, he probably would not have been able to escape that place at all, let alone fight Sukuna in the future—or get beaten senseless by Sukuna.

From that perspective, the online friend was unbelievably unreliable. The contrast between the two was simply too great.

Besides, Utahime was one of his favorite female characters. Adult Utahime was certainly more charming, but her youthful appearance now was also rather cute.

Although being thanked did make Utahime Iori feel a small burst of delight, the boy's overly enthusiastic manner still made her somewhat uncomfortable. After pausing for a moment, she spoke in a somewhat complicated tone.

"No need to thank me. I have many questions I want to ask you, but come with me first... someone wants to see you."

Although he sensed that Utahime's attitude toward him seemed somewhat strange, Toho Tetsu did not think much of it. He simply followed behind her toward Jujutsu High's teaching building.

Before long, the two stopped outside an office. After they knocked on the door, a deep and stern middle-aged male voice came from within.

"Come in."

When he entered the office and saw the middle-aged man seated behind the desk, wearing black square-framed sunglasses and sporting a bun on his head, Toho Tetsu immediately recognized him.

Tokyo Jujutsu High's principal at the beginning of the original story—Yaga Masamichi. On the surface, he was a fierce, strict, stone-faced tough guy, but beneath that hardened exterior lay pure passion and tenderness.

As he observed the other man, the other man was observing him as well.

To be honest, when Yaga Masamichi had learned everything that happened from his student and the Assistant Supervisor, he had thought he was listening to the plot of some novel.

An ordinary person who knew nothing at all had merely received guidance from a third-year student, yet he was able to control cursed energy, injure a cursed spirit, and even trigger a Black Flash to instantly destroy a Grade 2 cursed spirit.

Such an experience sounded far too fantastical.

But when he later saw the unconscious Toho Tetsu, he confirmed that the boy likely possessed considerable talent.

The cursed energy surrounding him was so dense it nearly overflowed. Even a brief sense of it revealed an immense amount, perhaps even comparable to the Special Grade Sorcerer he had once seen.

But that only made this matter even more suspicious.

An ordinary person with such talent had happened to appear at the scene of a cursed spirit attack orchestrated by Curse Users, then had coincidentally come into Jujutsu High's sight.

More importantly, after contacting the police to search for information on the boy before them, they had found absolutely nothing.

Whether in domestic information networks or foreign ones, the result was zero.

Put together, these things were far too strange. If this boy were a spy planted in Jujutsu High by a group of Curse Users, or by someone harboring ulterior motives and schemes, then everything seemed explainable.

Yet when he truly met him and looked into those clear eyes, which carried a trace of sincerity, he dismissed his earlier thoughts.

Because in his view, some things could not be concealed. But if that was the case... then this was troublesome.

He set aside his thoughts and spoke again.

"I am Yaga Masamichi. This is Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School. My apologies for bringing you here so soon after you woke up.

We have some questions for you. Your answers will determine how we handle you from here on out."

Hearing that stern voice, Toho Tetsu realized that something was wrong and forcibly suppressed his joy at seeing an anime character standing before him.

That was right. How had he forgotten? While he was deeply familiar with these people, to them, he was a complete stranger.

Not to mention that the higher-ups of the jujutsu world seemed to care deeply about all kinds of security issues.

When a sudden variable like him appeared before them, the first thing he would receive would definitely not be kindness, but rather the most rigorous investigation and handling. Many events in the original story had proven that.

"I understand. Please ask."