Inside the underground chamber.
Chiyo Shin pulled the cord from his kimono and decided to tie the two special grade cursed tools to his body. Once they were secured, he gave the cord a tug. They probably wouldn't fall off.
Time to get out.
Cursed energy surged from his navel through his entire body. Chiyo Shin leaped upward with all his strength, drove a fist hard into the stone ceiling, and used cursed energy to anchor himself firmly in place.
With his other hand, he channeled some cursed energy into the Vibration Cursed Technique and threw a punch.
"Jujutsu Reversal: Ao Fish!"
At first, the punch caused no visible disturbance. But less than a second later, a rolling roar followed, along with huge chunks of shattered rock.
As the rubble fell, Chiyo Shin released his hold on the ceiling and shielded his entire body with cursed energy to keep himself from being crushed to death.
On the surface, in the forest on a small hill in Miyazu City, Kyoto, birds and animals poured out in droves. The birds flew away from the area, while the animals scattered in every direction.
Then the earth began to heave and shake. A bottomless-looking hole tore open in the ground, reaching all the way down to the underground chamber.
Dazzling sunlight shone into the chamber. Chiyo Shin finally saw the sun again.
Coating both hands with the Collapse Cursed Technique, Chiyo Shin leaped up and shot toward the opening.
At the same time.
"Finally finished buying souvenirs." After politely turning down the young shop assistant's advances, Satoru Gojo walked out of the shop with a bag in his hand.
Two days earlier, Satoru Gojo had received an assignment from Jujutsu Headquarters to exorcise a special grade cursed spirit in an abandoned tunnel in Miyazu City, Kyoto.
After exorcising the cursed spirit, Satoru Gojo had taken the opportunity to pick out some local souvenirs for his adorable students.
Satoru Gojo had just stepped onto the street.
Rumble, rumble.
The earth shook. Passersby screamed in alarm and scattered.
"Earthquake!"
"Run!"
Cries like these rang out all around him.
Satoru Gojo, however, revealed the Six Eyes behind his sunglasses and looked in Chiyo Shin's direction.
Through the analysis of his Six Eyes, Satoru Gojo could tell that the amount of cursed energy in that direction was downright absurd!
Interesting. A cursed spirit or a curse user? Oh, well. Since I found it, I might as well deal with it on the way. I am the strongest, after all!
Satoru Gojo vanished in an instant.
"I might've made a bit too much noise! But whatever, at least I'm finally out." As he spoke, Chiyo Shin removed the cursed tools strapped to his body one by one.
Chiyo Shin had just straightened his kimono and was about to find someone so he could establish where he was in the timeline.
Then he heard an arrogant voice.
While Chiyo Shin had been adjusting his clothes, Satoru Gojo had already arrived from the city.
Looking at the immense cursed energy inside Chiyo Shin a short distance away, Satoru Gojo grinned knowingly. He'd even stumbled across a treasure while out on an errand. In terms of cursed energy alone, this boy had more than Okkotsu.
Wonder what his cursed technique is like. I'll give him a scare and call it a test.
"Yo, kid. You've got a ton of cursed energy in you. Was all this your doing? Pretty impressive!" Standing on a tree branch, Satoru Gojo looked down at Chiyo Shin with a mischievous grin.
Chiyo Shin looked up, and his heart instantly skipped a beat. It seemed he didn't need to confirm the timeline anymore. There was Satoru Gojo, dressed as a teacher.
So what if he's Satoru Gojo? I can't let him intimidate me.
"Yeah, I did it. Who are you, old man?" Chiyo Shin shot back.
"Huh? Old man! You're calling me an old man! You cocky little brat. Maybe I should just get rid of you." Satoru Gojo took off his sunglasses, revealing his handsome face, then appeared in front of Chiyo Shin in a flash and threw a punch.
So fast! Chiyo Shin immediately extended the Collapse Cursed Technique outward and raised his hand to block. Unfortunately, Gojo's punch was already upon him, leaving him no choice but to reinforce his defenses with more cursed energy.
Smack!
Fortunately, at the very last instant, Chiyo Shin caught Satoru Gojo's fist.
Satoru Gojo's eyes widened, as though he were seeing that man from eleven years ago thrust the Inverted Spear of Heaven at him again.
Satoru Gojo froze for only a moment, but Chiyo Shin's fist was already coming at him.
The fist wrapped in the Collapse Cursed Technique stopped dead in front of Satoru Gojo's body.
This time, Limitless kept Chiyo Shin's fist at bay. No matter how the Collapse Cursed Technique tore at it, he couldn't break through that shell.
Satoru Gojo's Limitless regenerated faster than Chiyo Shin could destroy it.
Chiyo Shin realized that Collapse couldn't break through Satoru Gojo's defenses.
He switched to the Vibration Cursed Technique, hoping to blast Satoru Gojo away, but to his surprise, that technique couldn't do anything to him either.
Satoru Gojo remained rooted to the spot.
"Ha ha ha ha! To think I'd run into something this interesting on a business trip. What a surprise! This trip was worth it. Two cursed techniques?" Holding off Chiyo Shin's fist, Satoru Gojo threw his head back and laughed.
"Kid, come back to Jujutsu High with me." Satoru Gojo stopped laughing and addressed Chiyo Shin seriously.
"What the hell? You showed up ready to get rid of me, and now you want me to follow you to some shitty school? No way." Chiyo Shin refused indignantly.
"What a disobedient little brat. Guess I have no choice." Satoru Gojo appeared behind Chiyo Shin in an instant and struck the back of his head.
Chiyo Shin had no time to resist before he was knocked out cold.
"Might've hit him a little too hard. But it's fine. Shoko should be able to patch him up. Haha, found myself a promising kid." Grabbing Chiyo Shin and the cursed tools on the ground, Satoru Gojo vanished.
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"Satoru, you're saying you just found this boy?" Masamichi Yaga asked, looking at Satoru Gojo.
"That's right. I found him deep in the mountains. He looked all alone with no one to rely on, so I brought him here," Satoru Gojo said firmly.
"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Masamichi Yaga asked, looking Satoru Gojo in the eye.
"Uh, maybe I teleported a little too fast on the way back. Yeah, that must be it." Gojo sounded certain again.
"Never mind. Take him to the dorms. If he still hasn't woken up by tonight, go find Shoko. Understood?" Masamichi Yaga knew his student's temperament well. This boy had most likely been abducted, but what could he do about it?
"Yes, sir." Satoru Gojo picked Chiyo Shin up and cheerfully headed for the dorms.
Tokyo Jujutsu High dormitory, 4:32.
Chiyo Shin opened his eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, still somewhat dazed. After taking a moment to recover, he spoke. "Fuck! I've been kidnapped."
He got out of bed and looked around. It was a student dorm room at Tokyo Jujutsu High, and his cursed tools were lying on the floor.
He opened the door and stepped outside. There wasn't a soul in sight. That damned Satoru Gojo kidnapped me and then disappeared.
Chiyo Shin had barely finished complaining inwardly when a figure approached from ahead. A closer look confirmed it was Satoru Gojo.
Chiyo Shin opened his mouth and swore, "You bastard."
"Don't get so worked up, kid," Satoru Gojo said unconcernedly.
"Oh! Right. Why were you underground in Miyazu City, Kyoto?"
"I went down through that hole earlier to take a look. Some of the place was filled with huge rocks, but I could still make out a few traces. How did you get in there?"
Gojo's question took some of the wind out of Chiyo Shin's sails, and his bravado faded. He definitely couldn't let Satoru Gojo learn his true origins.
All he could do was stammer, "I don't know why I ended up in that underground chamber either. I was already there when I became conscious. Then, as you know, I broke through the rock and got out."
"I see. Amnesia? Well, it doesn't matter. As long as you join Tokyo Jujutsu High, we can work things out." After giving it some thought, Satoru Gojo waved a hand dismissively.
Chiyo Shin looked rather unenthusiastic.
Seeing Chiyo Shin's reaction, Satoru Gojo had no choice but to bring out his trump card.
"If you don't join, you'll have no legal identity. Once you step outside this school, you'll be struggling to survive and begging to get by," Satoru Gojo said ominously.
"Then I guess I'll join." After thinking it over, Chiyo Shin gave in.
"All right! Make yourself at home here for now. I'll go sort out your paperwork."
Satoru Gojo took a few steps forward, then turned back. "Also, I'll be your teacher from now on. My name's Satoru Gojo. Remember to call me Gojo-sensei next time!"
Chiyo Shin immediately introduced himself. "Gojo-sensei, my name is Chiyo Shin."
The principal's office at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
As he worked on a cursed corpse with both hands, Masamichi Yaga asked Satoru Gojo, "Have you verified his identity?"
"I took a look at that underground chamber. Judging by the traces inside, this boy is probably an artificial creation, like the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. He was created a long time ago, but only recently developed consciousness," Satoru Gojo said with rare seriousness.
"I see. Satoru, I won't stop you from doing what you want to do, but you still need to be careful. You can't save everything." Masamichi Yaga set down the cursed corpse and looked at Satoru Gojo.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. I'm the strongest, after all." Satoru Gojo returned to his usual flippant self.
Before you continue