The newly opened sushi restaurant was just as popular as expected. A small line had already formed outside by the time Sol and Tatsumaki arrived, so they quietly took their place at the end.
Before long, the restaurant manager noticed them. The moment he recognized Sol, his face lit up with excitement. He hurried over personally and respectfully invited the pair into a private dining room.
Being the World's Ruler certainly had its conveniences.
Inside the room, Tatsumaki picked up the menu and immediately ordered several expensive limited edition dishes. Satisfied with her selections, she handed the menu to Sol.
Sol added a few standard sushi platters and a bowl of soup before returning the menu.
While waiting for the food, neither of them spoke much.
Tatsumaki absentmindedly played with the tableware, occasionally glancing through the window at the city as the evening lights gradually illuminated the streets.
Sol simply sat quietly.
The silence between them never felt awkward. Instead, it carried the comfort of mutual understanding.
The dishes arrived quickly, each one carefully prepared and beautifully presented.
Tatsumaki's eyes narrowed with satisfaction as she tasted the sushi, clearly pleased with the restaurant's quality.
Sol ate at his usual steady pace. Whenever he noticed Tatsumaki lingering over a particular dish, he quietly slid it closer to her without saying a word.
"This one's really good."
Tatsumaki pushed a plate of seared salmon belly sushi toward him.
Sol picked up a piece, tasted it, and nodded.
"Mm."
The meal ended in the same peaceful atmosphere in which it had begun.
As they left the restaurant, Tatsumaki floated slightly ahead with her arms folded, a faint, nearly invisible smile resting on her lips as though she was still thinking about the seared salmon belly.
Rather than heading straight home, they took a leisurely walk through the evening streets, enjoying the rare chance to relax after work.
Every now and then, Tatsumaki's attention was drawn to the brightly lit displays in shop windows. She would glance at the small trinkets inside before quickly looking away, pretending they hadn't interested her at all.
At that moment, Sol's communicator vibrated.
He took it out and glanced at the message. It was a brief report from Child Emperor regarding the training progress of Yuji Itadori and the others.
Tatsumaki looked over.
"What happened with those three brats?"
"Nothing. Their training is progressing normally."
Sol put the communicator away.
Tatsumaki gave a quiet hum.
"Hm."
She didn't ask anything else.
...
Hero Association Headquarters, Training Ground Seven.
Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki had just completed another round of high intensity simulated combat.
All three collapsed onto the floor, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
"Huff... huff... This training equipment is insane!"
Yuji wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stared at the advanced facilities automatically resetting around them.
"It's a hundred times better than the training grounds at Tokyo Jujutsu High!"
Megumi steadied his breathing before nodding.
"The energy simulations and environmental accuracy are beyond anything I expected. The improvement to cursed technique control is obvious."
He could already feel that his command over his shikigami had become noticeably more precise after the latest session.
Nobara grabbed a recovery drink delivered by a nearby service robot and took a long drink.
"It's exhausting... but it's actually fun."
She glanced fondly at the specially designed war hammer the Hero Association had prepared for her training.
After resting for a while, Yuji suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Oh, right! Megumi, Nobara, do you remember what Sol was like when he first showed up at Tokyo Jujutsu High?"
The two looked toward him.
"Why are you bringing that up now?" Nobara asked.
Yuji scratched the back of his head, his excitement growing.
"I just got curious. Sol is unbelievably strong now, but he couldn't have started out like this, right? What was he like back then? How did he become this powerful?"
Megumi fell silent.
He had wondered the same thing.
That quiet classmate whose actions often defied expectation now possessed power beyond their understanding. He had even become the ruler of another world far stronger than their own.
His past had to be filled with incredible stories.
Nobara also leaned forward with interest.
"Yeah. There's no way someone is born that ridiculously strong."
Yuji became even more animated.
"Let's ask someone here! They must have records of Sol's past. Maybe there are old battle videos. We could even compare them to how strong he is now."
Megumi and Nobara exchanged glances before nodding.
They were genuinely curious about Sol's past.
The three made their way to the technical department, where Child Emperor was busy working.
"You want to see Sol's old combat records?"
Child Emperor adjusted his glasses as he looked at the three eager visitors.
"The Hero Association database contains battle footage from different stages of Sol's career. They're used for research and training purposes."
Yuji's eyes immediately lit up.
"Seriously? Please let us watch them!"
Child Emperor led them into a data analysis room lined with large display screens.
After several quick commands on the control console, an encrypted archive appeared on the main monitor.
Numerous video files filled the screen.
Each file listed its date, location, opponent, and a brief ability assessment.
As Yuji and the others scanned down the list, the descriptions became increasingly unbelievable.
Some tags included entries such as "Against God" and "Power of Erasure."
They could barely comprehend what those titles implied.
Megumi unconsciously held his breath.
Just reading the labels made him imagine battles capable of destroying entire worlds.
Child Emperor pointed toward the files near the top.
"These are Sol's more recent battles."
His finger slowly moved down the archive before stopping at one of the oldest recordings.
The label read:
Sol vs. Minotaur Monster
"If you want to understand Sol's journey," Child Emperor said as he selected the file, "this is probably the best place to begin."
"This was his very first recorded battle."
"His opponent was a Minotaur Monster, classified as a Tiger level threat at the time."