Alternate Copy?

The next morning.

Itadori and Fushiguro finished washing up and left the Dormitory, only to run straight into a listless Jiahao.

Seeing the dark circles under Jiahao's eyes, Itadori froze. "Jiahao, don't tell me you spent the whole night watching the moon?"

Staying up all night to admire the moon wasn't something a normal person would do, but Jiahao clearly wasn't normal.

Jiahao waved a hand with a yawn. "Something came up last night. Ran into a real son of a bitch."

With that, Jiahao used Kamui and landed back on the big bed in his dorm room.

"A son of a bitch?"

"What does that mean? Was he watching the sunrise?"

Itadori muttered under his breath.

Fushiguro's face remained expressionless. "You still aren't used to his grand declarations? Maybe the sun was whispering to him."

After breakfast, Fushiguro and Kugisaki headed to the training grounds to practice close combat with the second-years, while Itadori followed Satoru Gojo to the basement of Jujutsu High.

"In close combat, Yuji, you're already on par with the upperclassmen."

"What matters most right now is learning to control your cursed energy."

Gojo continued, "I'll teach you cursed energy control now. As for practical combat training later, I'll arrange for a reliable senior to take you under his wing!"

Itadori nodded with a goofy grin.

He knew his teacher, Satoru Gojo, was a busy man. Having him personally teach him cursed energy control was already enough to make him happy.

As Gojo explained the basics of cursed techniques and cursed energy, the sunny Itadori slowly lowered his head.

"A cursed technique is engraved into a sorcerer's body at birth. You can't awaken one later in life..."

The more Itadori heard, the lower his head drooped. "So no matter how hard I work, I can never learn cool moves like Thunderclap, Flame, or Bomb..."

Seeing Itadori's dejected expression, Gojo smiled. "Don't worry, Yuji."

"You might not have a cursed technique now, but as the vessel of the King of Curses, you'll eventually be able to control Sukuna's technique."

Itadori's eyes instantly lit up like lightbulbs. "Because Sukuna's inside me, I'll awaken a cursed technique soon too?!"

At that thought, Itadori's expression changed. "Then could Jiahao really be possessed by some invisible swagger spirit?!"

"He originally awakened one cursed technique, then awakened a second after being possessed?!"

"No."

On a sunny beach manifested from cursed energy, Kenjaku lay in a lounge chair and voiced the same theory as Satoru Gojo.

"What he controls is probably an Alternate Copy technique."

"Alternate Copy? What does that mean?"

Beside Kenjaku, a special grade cursed spirit with a volcano for a head narrowed his single eye. "How's that different from an ordinary Copy technique?"

Kenjaku said, "I think the biggest difference is that its range crosses dimensional boundaries."

"A technique that crosses dimensions?!"

Mahito, a humanoid cursed spirit covered in stitched scars, had been swimming in the sea just a moment earlier. Now he leaned in curiously.

"That sounds pretty interesting. Tell us more, Geto."

Kenjaku smiled at Mahito with narrowed eyes. "There's a special grade sorcerer in Jujutsu High's second year who controls a Copy technique, but he can only copy techniques he's seen in reality."

"The new student I encountered last night is a little different. I suspect he can copy moves from films, anime, and even novels."

"As for the activation conditions... perhaps he has to imitate an anime character's outfit, manner of speaking, and so on."

Kenjaku's theory was essentially the same as the analysis made by Jujutsu High's Higher-Ups.

The eye-catching cosplay outfits he constantly changed into, coupled with his baffling, over-the-top words and deeds.

If those were the activation conditions for his Copy technique, then Jiahao's delightfully bizarre mental state would all make sense.

"Hey, hey, Geto!"

Mahito raised his hand, his face full of curiosity. "By that logic, couldn't he copy Goku from Dragon Ball and blow up our planet with one Spirit Bomb?"

Kenjaku shook his head. "I doubt he can copy a technique that far beyond the norm."

"Or even if he can, he wouldn't have enough cursed energy to unleash a technique powerful enough to destroy the Earth."

"That's a relief!"

With an exaggerated expression, Mahito patted his pounding chest and wiped nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead. "Then I won't have to face some terrifying monster to protect world peace!"

"What the hell are you babbling about?!"

Jogo, who had nearly been squeezed into a pile of sand, kicked Mahito back into the sea. "Who cares about Alternate Copy? If he's a sorcerer from Jujutsu High, I'll just burn him to ashes!"

"Don't get worked up, Jogo. You'll heat things up."

Kenjaku narrowed his eyes and fanned away the hot air spilling from the top of Jogo's head. "That guy isn't an enemy... at least, not yet."

"If we want to reverse the current positions of humans and curses, our greatest obstacle is the man called the strongest jujutsu sorcerer... Satoru Gojo."

"Our current fighting strength isn't enough to handle Satoru Gojo. Ideally, we should bring Ryomen Sukuna-Yuji Itadori-into the fold."

The Sukuna's Finger at the Juvenile Detention Center a while back had been bait deliberately planted by Kenjaku.

Testing had confirmed that Sukuna could be forcibly awakened if Itadori lost consciousness or swallowed enough fingers at once.

"Satoru Gojo, Satoru Whatever!"

Jogo widened his single eye, his tone dripping with disdain. "If you say Satoru Gojo is our biggest obstacle, then I'll go deal with him myself!"

He didn't want Sukuna joining them and lording it over them, so he wanted to take care of Satoru Gojo on his own.

Kenjaku easily guessed what Jogo was thinking and had no intention of stopping him.

Unless these brainless, arrogant cursed spirits experienced Satoru Gojo's strength firsthand, they would never obediently follow the plan.

A person could lecture a spirit all day and teach it nothing.

One lesson from reality was all it took.

Kenjaku spread his hands. "You're welcome to try."

Jogo smiled confidently, turned, and left.

Try it and die!

Night fell, with the full moon hanging high overhead.

Itadori was watching movies in the basement to train his cursed energy when Gojo teleported back and whisked him away.

A few seconds later, Itadori stood on the shimmering surface of a lake, looking at the volcano-headed cursed spirit opposite him.

Somehow... this plot felt familiar.

The battered, dirt-covered Jogo's expression flickered when he saw Sukuna's vessel suddenly appear.

Then Gojo teasingly delivered that classic line: "Don't worry. Go all out. After all, you're weak."

Huh, why has Gojo-sensei started talking like Jiahao?

Itadori stared blankly, and the volcano across the lake erupted the next instant.

"Fuck!"

"Who the hell is setting off firecrackers outside this king's dorm room?!"

Back in the Jujutsu High Dormitory, Jiahao opened his bleary eyes, jolted awake by the thunderous noise.

He spread his cursed energy to sense his surroundings. A moment later, realization dawned on his face. "Oh, it's our darling little volcano, who only ever plays in the top leagues."

"With all that noise, they must be having a pretty good time."

Recalling the events of the original story, the first image that flashed through Jiahao's mind was the suggestive sight of Satoru Gojo and Jogo holding hands, their fingers interlaced.

Jiahao shuddered. "Forget it. I'd better not go interrupt them."

Jiahao scratched his butt cheek, then flopped back down to sleep.

He still hadn't recovered from staying up all night admiring the moon.

After all, the experts said sleep was especially important for teenagers.