The battle had ended, but the aftermath lingered.
Residual dregs from the dissipated cursed spirit permeated the ruins of the abandoned building.
"Hey, Yoru."
Satoru Gojo kicked at the rubble on the ground while using those Six Eyes of his—which seemed capable of seeing through everything—to unabashedly scan Yoru's body.
"The way your body is built is really interesting."
"Your muscle density is three times that of a normal person, and your cardiopulmonary function is ridiculously powerful."
"And..."
Gojo pointed at Yoru's chest.
"Your body temperature has been staying above 38 degrees, hasn't it?"
"In that state, a normal person's brain would have fried long ago, yet you're acting like nothing's wrong."
"Is this a side effect of that strange breathing technique of yours?"
Yoru straightened his slightly disheveled collar, not denying it.
"Something like that."
"It's called Total Concentration: Constant."
"By maintaining a specific breathing rhythm, I keep my body in a constant state of combat readiness."
"Though it places a heavy burden on the body, it's a shortcut to becoming stronger."
Gojo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Total Concentration: Constant..."
"Sounds pretty impressive."
"However..."
He suddenly shifted his tone, adding a hint of provocation.
"If Suguru and I had handled that cursed spirit just now, we would have finished it in three minutes."
"Your physical skills are strong, but not having cursed energy is a fatal flaw after all."
"Without the opening Suguru and I provided, you wouldn't have even been able to land that blow with your steel pipe, right?"
That was the truth.
Currently, Yoru had lost Shiranui, and his Synchronization Rate was unstable due to the suppression of time travel.
Facing a Semi-Special Grade Cursed Spirit was indeed a bit of a struggle.
But he didn't get angry; instead, he looked at Gojo with a calm expression.
"Indeed."
"That's why I said this was a practical lesson."
"A truly strong person doesn't just know how to use their own power."
"They must also know how to utilize the power of their companions."
"In that last fight, if I had been alone, I might have struggled."
"If it had been just the two of you, you might have wasted more time because of your arrogance."
"But with the three of us together..."
Yoru paused, his gaze sweeping over Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.
"We are invincible."
"The strongest trio, aren't we?"
Gojo froze for a moment.
Then he scoffed and turned his head away.
"Tch, who's part of a trio with you?"
"Suguru and I are the strongest; you're just a tag-along."
Despite his words, the slight upward curve of his lips betrayed his true feelings.
Clearly.
The phrase 'strongest trio' sat well with him.
Suguru Geto watched the two bickering from the side, a resigned but gentle smile on his face.
"All right, Satoru."
"Since the mission is complete, let's head back."
"Masamichi-sensei is waiting for our report."
At the mention of Masamichi Yaga, Gojo's face immediately fell.
"Ah... another apology letter to write."
"I think I accidentally broke the load-bearing pillars of this building..."
"Suguru, I'll leave the apology letter to you!"
"No, Satoru. Do your own work."
Watching the two of them joke around.
A strong sense of fate welled up in Yoru's heart once again. This was...
The time before they went their separate ways.
Before they had experienced the cruelty of the Star Plasma Vessel incident, and before they had tasted the despair of Yu Haibara's death.
They were like two rough stones that had yet to be ground into sharp blades—crude, yet brimming with infinite possibility.
"Let's go."
Yoru patted both of them on the shoulder.
"I need to make a trip to Jujutsu High as well."
"There are things I need to discuss with Principal Yaga."
Gojo arched an eyebrow.
"Oh? You're going to the college?"
"Perfect. I haven't had enough action yet. How about we head to the training grounds for a round once we get there?"
"I won't go easy on you this time."
Yoru smiled.
"Anytime."
The three of them walked out of the abandoned building side-by-side as the sunlight bathed them once more.
Gojo walked in the middle with his hands behind his head, looking completely carefree.
Geto walked on the left, maintaining his honor student composure, though his eyes held a newfound curiosity toward Yoru.
Yoru walked on the right. Though his hands were empty and he lacked any ripple of cursed energy,
His back seemed as immovable as a great mountain.
Steady, profound, and radiating a reassuring strength.
A popular song was playing in a nearby convenience store.
It was the melody of that summer, 'Ao no Sumika'.
'No matter how far apart we are...'
'These feelings will surely reach you...'
The upbeat rhythm carried an indescribable sense of fate, saturated with the youthful atmosphere unique to that era.
Looking at the two beside him, Yoru thought to himself.
'This time.'
'The ending to this song will never be a farewell.'
'Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, and... Shoko Ieiri, whom I haven't met yet.'
"I will protect your youth!"
Just then, Gojo suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He turned to look at Yoru, a light of almost beast-like intuition flashing in his eyes behind the sunglasses.
"Hey, Yoru."
"You're a strange guy, but I can't help but feel..."
"That you know us very well? That look in your eyes, it's like..."
"Like you've been watching us for a long, long time."
Yoru's heart skipped a beat.
But his expression didn't change as he replied calmly.
"Perhaps."
"Maybe in some future timeline."
"We're already old friends."
Gojo blinked, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Old friends in the future?"
"I like that! Then it's settled!"
"From today on, you're an unofficial member of our 'strongest' duo!"
"However..."
Gojo pointed at the steel pipe in Yoru's hand, which was twisted like a pretzel.
"As a companion of the strongest, isn't that weapon of yours a bit too pathetic?"
"Want me to sponsor you with a cursed tool?"
"The Gojo family is loaded, you know!"
Yoru looked at the scrap metal in his hand and casually tossed it into a trash can.
"No thanks."
"My sword..."
"I'll find it myself."
That was Shiranui, his deepest bond with this world.
Just wait. Soon.
That crimson blade, which severs all causality, will once again in this era...
Bloom!
Meanwhile, in the shadows not far away.
An inconspicuous fly-like cursed spirit was silently watching it all. Was that...
Mei Mei's Black Bird Manipulation?
No.
It was a darker, more malicious gaze, coming from the 'Brain' hiding in the shadows, orchestrating all the conspiracies.
"An anomaly..."
"Has appeared?"
But the three of them didn't notice that gaze at the moment.
They were basking in the sunlight of 2006, walking toward Jujutsu High.
Stepping forward with purpose.
This year.
Satoru Gojo was 16.
Suguru Geto was 16.
Yoru... mental age unknown.
Their story had only just begun!
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