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Currently in Tokyo Jujutsu High, Itadori Yuji, the boy who got acquainted with curses and jujutsu just a few days ago, was now climbing the giant staircase that led to the school that he would be joining to become a jujutsu sorcerer.
"This is really deep in the mountains! Are we still even in Tokyo?"
Yuji looked around. He was surprised to see this much vegetation in a metropolitan area like Tokyo.
"Even Tokyo's like this on the outskirts."
Satoru Gojo, the special grade sorcerer and a teacher at Jujutsu High, was accompanying the boy.
After securing an extension on Yuji's execution, Satoru decided to enroll the boy at Tokyo Jujutsu High so he could personally keep an eye on him.
Naoya was present at Kyoto, but the geezer of a principal at that branch would surely try to have the kid executed.
"Where's Fushiguro?"
"He is fast asleep after getting treated by a sorcerer."
The two continued to climb through as Satoru explained about the Jujutsu High to the pink-haired boy.
"Anyway-"
"Hm? Sensei... correct me if I'm seeing things wrong, but is that a dragon flying in the sky?!"
Yuji suddenly interrupted him and pointed upward.
Satoru looked toward the sky.
There really was a dragon flying overhead.
And much to his surprise, it was an extremely familiar dragon.
Yuji squinted his eyes to see it clearly.
He could still see the dragon, and as it got closer, he could also see a person standing on top of the dragon.
"Woah! A person is standing on top of that dragon!!! Is that Sun Wukong! The great sage equal to heaven?! Is Sun Wukong real?!"
Yuji had his eyes twinkling at the thought that Sun Wukong might be real.
As the dragon got closer, Yuji's excitement began to soar even more.
Satoru was already waving towards the dragon with an excited smile on his face.
"NAO-"
But before he could finish, the dragon suddenly dived downward.
The man standing atop it jumped off and immediately punched Satoru straight in the face, sending him flying across the staircase.
"You dumb idiot of a son!!!"
Yuji's jaw dropped open.
The person he thought was Sun Wukong just jumped down and punched Gojo away, and by how the man called Gojo, he was probably his father.
And from what he can see, Gojo's father looks furious.
"Ow! Daddy! No kinky stuff this early in the morning. Leave it for the night."
Naoya's already irritated expression darkened even further.
He walked over and immediately locked Satoru in a chokehold.
"Agh! L-Let go of me!"
"Why do you have to be such an idiot! Is that how I raised you?!"
"Y-Yes!"
Naoya and Satoru looked at each other.
Gojo gulped. He had done it now.
Naoya's hold on him got even tighter.
"Ow ow ow. It will break! My bones will break."
"You will be fine."
"What do you mean by fine! Let go of me. This is domestic abuse!"
"No, this is just discipline."
The two kept wrestling and arguing for a while before Naoya finally calmed down enough to loosen his grip.
"Umm... if you two are done, could you maybe tell the dragon not to eat me?"
Yuji spoke.
Yuji nervously spoke up.
Naoya and Satoru both turned toward him.
Yuji was currently trapped between the dragon's jaws, with only his head sticking out
"Are you Yuji Itadori?" asked Naoya.
"Hm? Yeah, that's me."
"Good. Stay there until I'm done with this idiot."
"Eh?"
"Be good, Yuji. Shenron won't eat you..." Satoru reassured him before leaning toward Naoya. "He won't...Right?"
"He won't."
Naoya sighed before glaring back at Satoru.
"Now, back to the issue at hand. What the hell were you thinking, bringing Ryomen Sukuna's vessel to school?!"
"Seemed interesting."
"Your idea of interesting is a national-level disaster!"
"Whaaat? No way. Just look at the kid. Do you seriously think he could hurt a fly?"{A/N: Only if the fly looks like Mahito.}
"You were literally the one bragging about how Sukuna took over for ten seconds and nearly demolished the school grounds just by trading punches with you."
"Oi! The important part of that story was how amazing I looked while bullying the curse."
"That is NOT the important part."
"Relax. I also told you the kid suppressed Sukuna again instantly through sheer willpower. He's a once-in-a-thousand-years talent as a vessel."
Satoru and Naoya looked at each other for a while.
"I heard that you talked to the higher-ups to ask for an extension on his execution. Until he gets all of Sukuna's fingers."
"Yeah, since he has a talent as a vessel. Might as well use him-"
"Real reason."
Satoru paused for a second.
"...I don't want an innocent kid to die when there's still hope."
He answered honestly.
Naoya gave him a long side-eye before sighing.
Deep down, he already expected something like this to be the reason.
"For someone who calls himself the strongest, you sure tolerate a lot of nonsense from others."
A new voice suddenly interrupted them.
Naoya and Satoru both looked toward Yuji.
A second mouth had appeared on Yuji's cheek.
"Ryomen Sukuna?" Naoya asked calmly.
"Correct."
"Sorry about him. He does this sometimes to annoy me," Yuji apologised before raising a hand to smack the mouth.
But Sukuna's face instantly manifested on top of Yuji's palm instead.
"You really have an interesting body now," said Satoru.
"Don't tell me you have been using his mouth on your hand for getting head?" asked Naoya.
"HUH?! Why would I do that?!"
"...What does 'head' mean?" Sukuna asked.
Naoya remained silent.
Apparently, the Heian-era menace wasn't familiar with modern slang.
Satoru, however, bravely volunteered to demonstrate through exaggerated hand and tongue motions.
"..."
"..."
"...I've decided. Once I obtain control over this brat's body, you two will be the first people I kill."
"Now now, don't start daydreaming already," Satoru replied casually.
"Don't be rude, Satoru. That's disrespectful," Naoya added with equal calm.
Neither of them looked remotely intimidated.
If Sukuna struggled against Satoru when he was barely serious, then there was no need for him to worry.
Sukuna looked at the two disrespectful youngsters and was internally raging with fury. Still, he cannot do anything because he is being restrained by the boy's body.
"Yuji Itadori"
Naoya called the boy.
"Yes?"
"I'll ask you directly. After that, I'll personally decide whether your execution deserves an extension or not."
Hearing Naoya's words along with his serious tone, Yuji swallowed nervously.
"Are you sure that Sukuna is not able to take over? Because if at any moment you slip up, just know that a lot of people will die."
Yuji's expression hardened.
"...Is he really that dangerous?"
"One of the most dangerous beings that ever existed."
"Hearing you praise me is increasing your likability in my books," Sukuna said smugly as his mouth popped up.
Yuji thought seriously, not even bothering to slap Sukuna's mouth.
"Oi. Sukuna."
"Huh?!"
Sukuna sounded visibly irritated by Yuji's casual tone.
"You are pissed at those two, right? Go ahead. Try your best and take over my body."
No response came from the king of curses.
Satoru and Naoya stood by and waited.
Time passed, and after a whole minute, finally Yuji lowered his gaze slightly and spoke.
"I don't really have any other way to prove it."
Satoru smirked proudly and looked towards Naoya.
Naoya looked at Yuji and sighed.
"Fine. I will let it be for now."
Hearing that, Yuji visibly relaxed while Satoru proudly gave him a thumbs-up.
"Shenron, release him."
The dragon opened its mouth, letting Yuji go free.
"Phew, was just about to become dragon chow. Wait, you called him Shenron. Is it really the wish-giving dragon?!"
Yuji, who was now released from the dragon's jaw, realised the familiar name the dragon had and immediately looked at it with sparkling eyes.
"Of course not. It's just a name."
"Aww..." Yuji groaned in disappointment.
Naoya pulled Shenron back into the shadows.
"Woah! Amazing."
Seeing the giant dragon vanish out of nowhere, Yuji was more surprised than ever. This really looked like magic.
"Yuji Itadori."
Yuji turned around.
"Ah, feel free to call me Yuji. Um..."
"Naoya Zenin. Nice to meet you."
Yuji nodded quickly.
Naoya's tone turned serious again.
"You are carrying one of the most dangerous curses ever known to mankind within yourself. If, for any reason, you ever feel like you are about to lose control of yourself and Sukuna is about to take over, I want you to immediately call either Satoru or me and inform us. Even if you feel a slight feeling that shit is about to hit the fan. Call." Naoya said seriously.
Yuji stood with his back straightened and gave a 90° bow.
"I understand."
"*Sigh* I really hope that I don't regret this. If only this kid were evil and ran away instead of jumping in to fight beside Megumi."
Megumi had personally called Naoya and asked him to help stop Yuji's execution after the idiot jumped into battle against a Grade 1 curse just because he thought Megumi was in danger.
"Hm? Megumi?" Yuji blinked in confusion.
"Megumi Fushiguro. The urchin-haired kid you helped. He actually had things under control, by the way. You unnecessarily threw yourself into this whole mess."
Hearing that, Itadori flinched.
"Still..." Naoya continued. "You showed one of the qualities needed to become a proper sorcerer."
"Yes."
"Then, you have the right mindset. Jujutsu sorcerers are those who protect society without coming into the limelight. No one knows what we all stake our lives for, nor how difficult and scary the reality of the world is. We just work to keep the world safe and sound and somewhat better than it would have been if we stopped working and let all hell break loose. Jumping in to save someone totally unrelated. That is one of the qualities that is needed to become a good sorcerer."
Yuji scratched his head awkwardly in embarrassment.
"Hehe..."
"The other requirement is having common sense and thinking before acting. From what I've heard, you severely lack that."
"Ugh."
Yuji immediately deflated at the comment.
"You Jujutsu sorcerers try to make things boring no matter the era."
Sukuna commented.
"Boring or not. It is what needs to be done. Not everyone is as mentally deranged as you. I for one enjoy peace and playing around," retorted Naoya.
Sukuna smirked.
"Wait until I obtain a body. Then I'll 'play' with you personally."
"I hope that never happens. But if it does....well, let's not jinx that."
Sukuna and Naoya said their piece and waited for the other to say more.
"Alright! Enough tension. I'm already late. Yaga's gonna murder me if we delay any longer. I would like to talk to you more, but I am kinda busy. Bye Bye."
Satoru grabbed Yuji and ran away.
"Yuji! Ask Megumi to share my contact with you. Remember to call if the pedo within starts to act up!"
"Got it!"
As the two ran got out of sight, Naoya took out his phone.
"Hello."
"So, how is the vessel?"
Gakuganji's voice echoed through the call.
"He seems fine. Sukuna is under his control and cannot take over."
"What is your opinion regarding his execution?"
Gakuganji asked seriously. He knew that Naoya Zenin was slightly insane, just like Satoru Gojo, but still, between the two of them, Naoya was usually the more rational voice. Not to mention, unlike Satoru Gojo, two of the students who will be in proximity to the vessel were closely related to him.
Maki Zenin, Megumi Fushiguro, and, if he were to stretch it even further, Satoru Gojo.
These three were people Naoya deeply cared about and would not want to put them in danger.
"Yuta Okkotsu was in a similar situation, but his curse turned out to be a love-struck girl who only acts to protect the boy....Ryomen Sukuna won't be like that. He is the embodiment of death and destruction. If he is unsealed, we don't know how much worse the situation can get. So I ask you, Naoya Zenin, as a Special Grade sorcerer, what is your own opinion regarding this whole situation?"
Hearing Gakuganji's question, Naoya didn't know what he should say.
On one hand, he directly met with Yuji and saw that he had control over Sukuna, and the kid himself doesn't seem to have any ill intentions.
However, on the other hand, he couldn't bring himself to say that he was totally fine with how things were happening. There was a reason why Ryomen Sukuna was feared, and the cursed fingers growing stronger and stronger each passing day was enough proof for that.
If by any chance he got control of the body. He wouldn't want to imagine how f*cked things could get.
"I cannot say it clearly. I want to trust the boy and Satoru and avoid taking an innocent life if possible...but the risk involved is too much for me to agree to it. The boy clearly showed signs that Sukuna was suppressed, and by how Sukuna was described in the texts, I hardly believe he is the type to be suppressed by a random boy instead of running around and causing mayhem. However, if the suppression is only a temporary thing and Sukuna surfaces after taking in enough fingers and getting stronger, then...."
"I am not asking for your hesitation. I am asking for the way we should proceed."
Gakuganji demanded an answer.
Naoya turned silent and thought.
"...It is also true that we have finally found a way to get rid of Sukuna's finger....How about this? We let Yuji Itadori be for now; however, he is not allowed to consume any of Sukuna's fingers on his own. The finger will first need to be transported to a secure and isolated location guarded by high-grade sorcerers. Satoru and I will be present outside as well, hidden, of course, to not alert the boy or Sukuna and suppress him if things go out of control."
"Hmm....you are proposing that if not all, we might as well use the boy to his fullest and destroy as many fingers as possible in case he were to go out of control. Having him take the fingers under watchful eyes and in an isolated space also reduces the risk," murmured Gakuganji, thinking if there was anything he was missing.
"Having a living and moving Sukuna container is dangerous, but it is also one of the ways to get rid of him. We need to take at least this much risk if we are willing to eliminate that curse."
Gakuganji turned silent. The growing strength of Sukuna's fingers was no secret to the Jujutsu society. It was one of the reasons why curses were starting to get stronger. The cursed energy leaking from those fingers gave birth to stronger-than-average curses, and if that curse were to consume a finger, then it was a truly dangerous situation.
Even now, they were only somehow able to contain the fingers by sealing them, but the time when those fingers could not even be sealed was not that far off either.
"No pain, no gain, huh..." muttered Gakuganji.
"No pain, no gain..." repeated Naoya.
Both of them sighed.
The monster from the Heian Era was causing problems even while dead.
That fact alone spoke volumes about how terrifying Ryomen Sukuna truly was.
"Also, Principal," Naoya added. "I'll be late, so ask Utahime to handle the first-year orientation."
"Understood."
"Oh, right. How many first-years are we getting this year?"
"Just 1."
"...That's it?"
"After the expulsion of the Tokyo 3rd years, the number of students was not balanced. Tokyo initially got 2 students until this Sukuna vessel came, raising the total count to 3."
Naoya fell silent.
Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi were expelled because they got into a scuffle with the orthodox dumbasses from the HQ.
Long story short, Hakari beat the crap out of those bastards and out of spite, Hakari was expelled from Jujutsu High.
Kirara followed Hakari as well, and now the two were running an illegal fight club involving people who could use CE to fight while both sorcerers and non-sorcerers could place bets on the fighters.
Headquarters still hadn't learned about the gambling aspect, but Naoya had already investigated it personally.
Naoya and Satoru once went to meet the expelled students and question whether the boy had an actual death wish, doing something like this. But the gambler simply told the two special grades that there was a rule that fighters could only use CE reinforcement at most in the fights to not reveal the secrets of Jujutsu to the normal people.
Naoya still had some things to say about this whole business since running a fighting and gambling ring was illegal even by normal laws.
Still, he decided to let it be for now. It wasn't like he hadn't himself ever broken any laws, and the things that he had done were far more serious crimes than Hakari's and Kirara's, and the two kids weren't causing any harm to society in any way.
They already had too many things on their plates, and Naoya and Satoru didn't want to burden them any more. They can't openly support them, but they would also not snitch on them and make sure they won't get caught easily as well.
Jujutsu Society needed a reformation, and for that, Naoya and Satoru were raising strong sorcerers. Hakari and Kirara were part of that, too, and Hakari had his own ideals that he wanted to implement in the Jujutsu world and make it freer for people to express themselves.
Whether that ideology will gain support when it is pushed for implementation was a different matter.
For now, the younger generation needed experience.
Only by seeing the ugliness of the world firsthand could they truly understand what kind of future they wanted to build.
Back in the present:
The dragon roared as he climbed aboard and flew into the sky.
He seriously needed a break after today's nonsense.
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The official plot starts now. For the first time, I am posting it early. Do stone the fic.