Megumi, It's Me, Itadori!

"Oh my, what a huge commotion~"

Looks like those old geezers at Jujutsu Headquarters will be coming after me for answers again...

Floating in the air without a speck of dust on him, Satoru Gojo looked down.

Looking at "Gotsu in Megumi's skin," who had just emerged from the rubble at the bottom of the crater in a sorry state, he couldn't resist teasing him.

"Megumi... Oh, wait, Mr. Shiratori, was this part of your calculations too?"

"Cough, cough... Ptoo! Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo..."

It took Shiratori Gotsu quite a while to spit out all the gravel and sand that had gotten into his mouth.

He tilted his head back and stared speechlessly at the soles of Gojo's shoes.

It was true that he had overlooked this at first because he had been too excited and eager.

But for the sake of his pride, there was no way he would admit his mistake.

"You know, you really look like a seagull about to shit on a passerby's head right now."

Shiratori Gotsu took a jab at Gojo, changing the subject outright.

Gojo: "..."

He fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"Pfft... Hahahahaha!"

"Even though it's Megumi's body, and it feels a little weird to say this, you really do look like a sloppy homeless man right now!"

"Well, your head looks like a shuttlecock." Seeing that he had successfully changed the subject, Shiratori Gotsu grinned inwardly, though outwardly he looked annoyed as he fired back.

Gojo waved a hand, wearing a smile that said, "What am I going to do with you?" "Well~ you're just jealous of how handsome I am~"

"Anyway, now that everything here is settled, let's head back to Jujutsu High."

By the time Megumi Fushiguro regained consciousness, it was already five in the evening.

He rubbed his head, sat up, and looked around. He was in his dorm room at Jujutsu High.

Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly focused his mind on his Ten Shadows Technique.

Fushiguro could clearly sense that he could summon and use every one of his shikigami at will.

Including Mahoraga.

It wasn't a dream...

He jumped out of bed, stretched a little, then called out, "Shiratori-senpai?"

"Yo, Megumi, you're awake." Shiratori Gotsu's voice came from below and to his right.

Fushiguro was used to this by now.

He immediately raised his right hand, and sure enough, Shiratori Gotsu's big mouth had opened on the back of it.

"Did you take over my body and bring me back after I lost consciousness?" Fushiguro asked at once.

"Yeah. I also grabbed a meal and went shopping while I was at it."

Shiratori Gotsu spoke lightly. "This era really is great~ Food, drink, housing, transportation—it's all much better than four hundred years ago."

Hearing that, the corners of Fushiguro's lips curved up almost imperceptibly. "Senpai... you really are straightforward."

"Isn't life all about eating, drinking, shitting, sleeping, enjoying a good fight, and enjoying watching other people fight?" Shiratori Gotsu replied as though it were only natural.

"What else is there to pursue? Living the life you want to the fullest should be your first priority as a human being!"

Fushiguro was slightly taken aback by those words.

All along, his goal had been to save people unequally.

He had always taken the things Shiratori Gotsu mentioned for granted as the backdrop to his life. He had never given them serious thought, nor did he have any particular desire to pursue them.

At that thought, Fushiguro pressed his lips together, then said:

"But... we're not ordinary people. We're jujutsu sorcerers... Don't jujutsu sorcerers have duties they're born to shoulder?"

"First and foremost, you're 'you,' living as a person. Only then are you 'you,' acting as a jujutsu sorcerer."

For once, Shiratori Gotsu spoke earnestly, his tone a little grave.

"We don't stop being human just because we become jujutsu sorcerers, and we certainly don't gain some duty we must shoulder because of it."

"What we call responsibility is, at its core, just a burden we take from others and carry on our backs, whether willingly or not."

"The responsibilities you carry have shaped you into who you are today, but that doesn't mean they're all you are."

As he spoke, Shiratori Gotsu took control of Megumi Fushiguro's right hand and patted his sea-urchin head.

"So, sometimes, don't pay too much attention to those things."

"You only live once. Live for yourself first."

Fushiguro felt the warmth on his head. Although it came from his own hand and was a little strange, he couldn't help feeling somewhat moved.

Without realizing it, he thought of Itadori and his sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro.

Although their personalities and everything else about them were different, Shiratori Gotsu gave Fushiguro a feeling similar to the one he got from those two.

"Yeah, I understand, senpai... I'll give it some serious thought."

"Oh, right." Shiratori Gotsu suddenly changed the subject.

"Megumi, remember, don't tell anyone for now that you've tamed all your shikigami."

"And don't use Max Elephant, Piercing Ox, Round Deer, Tiger Funeral, or Mahoraga in battle."

Fushiguro thought for a moment, then replied decisively, "I understand, Shiratori-senpai."

Although he didn't know why Shiratori Gotsu wanted him to do that, his senpai must have had his reasons.

All he had to do was follow his instructions.

A few minutes later, Fushiguro changed into casual clothes and pushed open his dorm room door, only to run into Yuji Itadori, who was moving his things into the room next door.

"Huh?" He froze for a moment.

"Oh! Fushiguro, you're up!" Itadori's face lit up with excitement. "I haven't seen you all day. What were you doing?"

"I asked Gojo-sensei, but he absolutely refused to tell me. He insisted I ask you myself once you woke up."

"...Why are you next door to me?" Fushiguro scratched the back of his head, looking helpless. "Aren't there plenty of empty rooms?"

Itadori pushed several large boxes into his dorm room, then raised a hand to fan himself as he explained.

"Gojo-sensei said it would be more fun with people around and wanted us to get to know each other better, so he put me next door to you..."

"He also said we're going to meet a new student tomorrow..."

"Oh, right..." Itadori suddenly remembered something. "The one inside you..."

"My name is Shiratori Gotsu, thank you." Before Itadori could finish, Shiratori Gotsu opened a "heavenly mouth" on Fushiguro's forehead.

"Eek!" Goosebumps ran all over Itadori again.

Although Sukuna also grew mouths on him to speak, experiencing it himself and seeing it happen to someone else were completely different things.

"Ahem..."

Seeing Itadori's reaction, Fushiguro couldn't help turning his head away. His eyes wandered as he raised a hand to cover his mouth.

"Um... Shiratori-senpai, how about you open a mouth on my hand when you speak from now on..."

"Uh... sure." Shiratori Gotsu agreed and withdrew the "heavenly mouth."

Fushiguro then said to Itadori:

"Anyway, Shiratori-senpai is very reliable and worthy of respect."

"Ah... So he's the complete opposite of Sukuna, who spends every day shouting about killing and eating people inside someone else's head!" Itadori looked as though he had just realized something.

"Don't compare me to that thing, you damned brat."

Sukuna suddenly opened a mouth on Itadori's face, then vanished as soon as he had spoken.

Itadori: "...Sorry, Sukuna pops out from time to time."

Fushiguro: "...I understand. Shiratori-senpai actually does that too."

The next day, at a subway station in Harajuku, Tokyo.

Fushiguro and Itadori were already there, waiting in their school uniforms.

"Come to think of it, aren't three people in the entire first year a little too few?" Itadori asked as he ate a popsicle.

"Have you ever met anyone who could see curses before?" Fushiguro asked in return.

"Hmm... no."

"That's why there are so few jujutsu sorcerers."

Just then, Satoru Gojo also came out of the station.

He raised a hand in greeting. "Sorry for the wait~"

Looking at Itadori's uniform, he looked pleased. "Oh, looks like they finished customizing your uniform in time! Nice, nice."

"Yeah, it fits perfectly!" Itadori replied.

"But why does it look a little different from Fushiguro's? Mine even has a hood."

Gojo explained, "You can have your uniform specially altered if you ask."

"I took the liberty of having that hood added. It looks lively and suits you!"

"Ah... okay." Itadori accepted that without much fuss.

"Anyway, let's go look around first. She's already in there." Gojo pointed to the entrance of a pedestrian shopping street not far away.

A few minutes later, Itadori, wearing "POOK" glasses and holding popcorn in one hand and ice cream in the other, stood silently beside Fushiguro, who carried snacks in both hands.

A short distance away, an orange-haired girl in a standard Jujutsu High uniform had a middle-aged man who was clearly a talent scout cornered against a wall...

"...Are we supposed to go talk to her now?" Itadori watched the girl lift the scout with one hand, looking thoroughly reluctant.

"I'm kind of worried..."

Fushiguro couldn't help glancing at his outfit before saying, "...You're not much better."

"Didn't you buy a bunch of snacks too?"

"Shiratori-senpai wanted them..."

Gojo, meanwhile, waved to her without a care. "Hey, over here~"

"Let's introduce ourselves first. I'm Nobara Kugisaki." Kugisaki put one hand on her hip. "Be happy, boys. The flower among you has arrived."

"Oh..." After Kugisaki introduced herself first, Itadori stopped holding back.

He smiled and pointed to himself. "I'm Yuji Itadori, from Sendai."

Fushiguro rubbed his neck. "I'm Megumi Fushiguro."

Kugisaki narrowed her eyes.

That Yuji Itadori kid looks like a total hick... He definitely ate his own boogers when he was little...

Megumi Fushiguro... Just gave his name. What a conceited guy... He must be the type to set a seagull soaked in oil on fire!

"Sigh..." She sighed. "I've really landed in a mess..."

Just then...

"I'm Shiratori Gotsu, from four hundred years ago."

"Huh?" Kugisaki looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

Then she saw the mouth on the back of Fushiguro's right hand.

"Eek!!!" Goosebumps broke out all over her. "What the hell is that?!"

The corner of Fushiguro's mouth twitched, and he turned his head away.

"Uh... actually, I've got one too..." Itadori raised a hand with an awkward smile...

...After spending a few minutes learning what was going on, Kugisaki stood petrified on the spot.

"So... one of you has the King of Curses inside him..." She looked at Itadori.

"And the other has a jujutsu sorcerer from four hundred years ago who calls himself a 'guardian spirit'?" She looked at Fushiguro.

"...This is the worst!"

After that, everything unfolded just as it did in the original story. Itadori and Kugisaki completed their entrance test and officially became jujutsu sorcerers.

Time flew, and before they knew it, two weeks had passed.

"Our Windows confirmed the presence of a cursed womb about three hours ago."

Outside the Eishu Juvenile Detention Center in West Tokyo City, Kiyotaka Ijichi explained to Fushiguro, Itadori, and Kugisaki with his hands behind his back.

"We guided roughly ninety percent of the people to safety, then sealed off the facility based on the situation at the scene. The residents within a five-hundred-meter radius have all been evacuated."

"At present, five inmates are in the second dormitory with a special grade cursed womb."

"The cursed womb is extremely unstable. If it fully metamorphoses, it is expected to become a special grade cursed spirit."

"Please be clear on your mission: you are only to locate and rescue any survivors."

Ijichi pushed up his glasses, his expression grave.

"If you encounter a special grade cursed spirit, you have only two choices: run or die."

"After you enter the facility's dormitory, I'll lower the Curtain."

"Please be careful."

With the Curtain lowered, the three arrived at the entrance to their mission site.

"The special grade cursed womb in there has already metamorphosed into a special grade cursed spirit."

Shiratori Gotsu warned them, "Once you enter this door, you'll be stepping into its manifested Innate Domain."

"Space inside is distorted. So, you three kids, be careful not to get separated."

"Yeah, understood, senpai." Itadori loosened up, answering with enthusiasm.

"Got it, old man." Kugisaki tied her Cursed Tool bag around her waist.

"Let's go!" Fushiguro reached out and pushed the door open...

"So we ended up getting separated after all..."

Fushiguro and Kugisaki walked along a dim corridor, one behind the other.

"Where the hell did that idiot Itadori run off to...?" Kugisaki folded her arms, her face full of annoyance.

Divine Dog: White walked ahead, following Itadori's scent as it grew stronger and weaker, leading Fushiguro and Kugisaki in circles.

"Is your Shikigami really reliable...?" Kugisaki asked, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Before Fushiguro could reply, an immense pressure descended on them both.

"This pressure..." A thin layer of cold sweat coated Fushiguro's forehead.

"Special Grade...?!" Kugisaki clenched her teeth.

It's here? The Cursed Spirit Dai... huh?

Inside the Innate Domain, Shiratori Gotsu saw what the Cursed Spirit nearby looked like and was completely dumbfounded:

That's not right... That's not Daiten at all. Is this the butterfly effect?

Or...

At that very moment, in an unfinished building not far from the Juvenile Detention Center, Kenjaku, wearing the classic "Suguru Geto skin," was looking in the center's direction with a delighted expression:

"Oh my... Sorry, Shiratori Gotsu."

"Although the Binding Vow said you wouldn't interfere with my plans, you're still an unpredictable factor, after all~"

He rolled a glossy piece of vertebra in his hand—it was Hajime Kashimo's Incarnation Cursed Object.

"...So, let me find you a little trouble."

"The Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit, Shuten-dōji, should be able to hold you up for a while, at least~"

Wait, no, it's that thousand-year-old scheming bastard Kenjaku!

Shiratori Gotsu suddenly realized what was going on.

When all was said and done, this had been a trap laid by Kenjaku from the start.

Knowing that Shiratori Gotsu had incarnated in Megumi Fushiguro, Kenjaku would surely find a way to hold him up so his plans wouldn't be ruined.

...Heh, but you're underestimating the current Megumi. It's just a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.

The corners of Shiratori Gotsu's mouth lifted. "Megumi, attack it. Don't hold back!"

"I know, senior."

Fushiguro immediately formed a hand sign and attacked the figure charging straight at him:

"Bouncy Bomb: Fifteen-hit combo!"

The furious bombardment lasted two seconds.

Then the Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit Shuten-dōji was successfully exorcised.

He was this strong...? He took down a Special Grade Cursed Spirit in an instant?!

Kugisaki, who hadn't even had time to act, stared in shock at the unruffled Fushiguro.

But...

She covered her mouth, unable to stifle her snickering. "What the hell is Bouncy Bomb? A kid's toy? That's so childish!"

"..." Fushiguro rubbed his nose. "It's a perfectly fitting name..."

"A Special Grade Cursed Spirit, how boring. I'm afraid I'll forget you the very next second," Shiratori Gotsu quipped.

"You're right, senior," Fushiguro immediately replied.

They had only just relaxed when a vast, utterly evil presence suddenly and forcefully filled the space around them.

"Shit!"

"This is bad!"

Shiratori Gotsu and Megumi Fushiguro both reacted in the next instant.

They couldn't have been more familiar with it. It was Sukuna's presence.

"No time to explain!" Fushiguro immediately formed a hand sign. "Toad!"

The enormous frog Shikigami swallowed Kugisaki whole and, led by Divine Dog: White, followed the scent of their path in, running toward the exit.

"Senior, what should we do now?" Fushiguro asked, his expression grave.

"Sukuna's come out, which means Itadori ran into an enemy he couldn't defeat."

Shiratori Gotsu spoke rapidly. "It must be the Special Grade Cursed Spirit maintaining this Innate Domain, and Sukuna will kill it soon."

"When that happens..."

Before he could finish, what they had anticipated came to pass.

The eerie surroundings abruptly changed back into the cold corridors of the Juvenile Detention Center.

Immediately afterward...

"Well, well, look who it is?"

Megumi Fushiguro stiffly turned to look-

That mocking gaze, that evil smile... Those cursed markings left no doubt!

"Sukuna...!"

Damn it, why is this kid spacing out?! As Shiratori Gotsu complained inwardly, he forcibly seized control of the body.

Immediately afterward, he clenched both fists and completed the chant in less than a second:

"Furube, Yurayura, Eight-Handled Sword, Divergent Sila Divine General-Mahoraga!"

That was right. Unlike the Ten Shadows Technique Sukuna had obtained by taking over Megumi Fushiguro's body in the original story, which was independent of Fushiguro's own technique,

Shiratori Gotsu and Fushiguro were in a symbiotic relationship, and each had given the other access to his Cursed Technique.

So even if Shiratori Gotsu controlled the body and used the Ten Shadows Technique, the Shikigami he summoned would still be tamed.

"Huh?"

Sukuna looked at the enormous white Shikigami before him and felt its terrifying presence. His smile vanished in an instant.

"Beat him up!"

Before Sukuna could say anything, Shiratori Gotsu gave the order, and Mahoraga's fist, as big as a cooking pot, slammed down on top of Sukuna's head.

It punched through two floors in an instant. Sukuna crashed into the underground parking garage, his entire body embedded in the floor.

Blood poured from his mouth in torrents. With the power of only three fingers, he was no different from a speed bump before Mahoraga.

As Mahoraga's fist came down again, he could only roll awkwardly out of the way, then raise a hand and point at it:

"Dismantle!"

An invisible slash swept across Mahoraga's body. A thin line of blood appeared, then vanished without a trace the next instant.

It couldn't break through its defenses at all.

Sukuna froze for a moment.

Just then, Shiratori Gotsu jumped down through the gaping hole in the floor and shouted an order:

"Don't let Ryomen Sukuna get away, Mahoraga!"

At his command, Mahoraga immediately punched Sukuna in the abdomen again, sending him flying.

"W-wait!" Sukuna, his head bloodied from being smashed hard against the wall, suddenly called out to stop them.

The next second, he raised his head with an innocent expression of joy, as though he had just seen a good friend:

"I'm back! Megumi, it's me, Itadori!"

"..." Shiratori Gotsu fell silent for two seconds, then broke into a delighted smile. "I'm not Megumi. I'm Shiratori Gotsu."

The next moment, Mahoraga swung its fist again, smashing it into Sukuna's face.