Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

"This is it."

Gojo Satoru took the Tengu fan from Kamihara Hajime, removed his sunglasses, and examined the strange Cursed Object carefully. After a moment, he set it down and said, "This one's different from your average Cursed Object. It's been altered—artificially, I'd say—but the residual Curse energy isn't strong. Doesn't seem like it was used for anything particularly evil."

Kamihara Hajime stood up and stretched, yawning. "Then I'll leave it to you, Gojo-sensei. I have no interest in dealing with the bureaucratic headache that always comes with these kinds of things."

"Hold on."

Gojo stopped him. "I might be tied up for a while. I'll be counting on you to look after Yuji Itadori until the exchange event starts."

Hajime raised a brow. "Wait, you mean Yuji's still being targeted?"

Gojo shook the fan lazily. "Not by the higher-ups—at least not for now. After their recent screw-up, they've got their hands full. But Itadori is still a prime target for Curse users and Cursed Spirits. With Sukuna inside him, there's no telling who might come after him."

Hajime nodded thoughtfully. That much made sense. It was one thing for Itadori to have consumed Sukuna's fingers, but allowing Sukuna to take control and fully revive? That was a risk too great to ignore.

"No problem then. I'll have Kusakabe-sensei informed."

---

Inside a decaying building, three figures darted around, kicking and punching at thin air, seemingly locked in a chaotic battle. Yet, there was no visible enemy. To an outsider, it looked like a group of madmen fighting hallucinations.

Kamihara Hajime sat on a beat-up plastic chair nearby, munching on an ice cream. "Don't look at me! Focus! This thing's just a semi-grade 1. Its Technique is weak, not even suited for combat. Use your heads."

Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki were inside the fray. Since being assigned to Hajime for field training, Itadori had been following him on missions—though Hajime rarely interfered. Otherwise, the training would be meaningless.

Megumi and Nobara occasionally joined these missions, and today was one such case. The target was a semi-grade 1 Cursed Spirit with a weak Technique—nothing fatal if handled correctly.

The Spirit resembled a four-legged beast with sharp claws, fangs, and a whip-like tail. Its most dangerous asset was its Technique: invisibility.

Not only was it completely undetectable visually, but even its cursed aura was faint. It blended perfectly with the environment. Itadori's hand had already been pierced by a surprise strike.

To make matters worse, anything the Cursed Spirit touched could also be rendered invisible. Blood, dust, even debris—it all vanished once in contact.

Itadori kicked up some dirt, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Spirit through the gaps. For a split second, he spotted a distortion in the air. Megumi and Nobara launched a pincer attack, but the Spirit darted away again.

A counterattack grazed one of Megumi's shikigami—Kon—who barely managed to dodge. The confined terrain worked in the Spirit's favor. Its attacks could come from any direction.

Megumi considered his options. He needed to summon Max Elephant, but maintaining it alongside Kon would be too draining.

"I'm switching shikigami. Itadori, Kugisaki—keep it grounded. Don't let it escape to the ceiling. Can you manage that?"

Itadori gave a confident nod. "Got it. Leave it to me."

Nobara flipped her hammer in one hand, nails in the other. "Same goes for me. Just finish prepping whatever Technique you've got, Megumi. We're exorcising this thing today."

Kon vanished as Megumi withdrew it. The Spirit grew more aggressive. Blood sprayed from Itadori's side as he exchanged blows, but his counter hit as well, causing the Spirit to recoil.

"Straw Doll Technique: Hairpin!"

Nobara's nails, previously lodged in the ground, exploded with cursed energy. The Spirit roared in pain, blood spraying across the floor—but the hit wasn't fatal.

The wide-area blast lacked concentrated impact. Against a fast, invisible opponent, it was hard to land a critical blow.

But Itadori seized the moment, ignoring his injuries and charging toward the source of the cry.

"Megumi!"

Megumi, already forming hand seals, expanded his shadow like ink spreading across the floor. With a roar, a massive shikigami emerged.

"Max Elephant!"

The elephant sprayed a torrential blast of water. The sudden downpour soaked everything. The invisible Cursed Spirit lunged, hitting Itadori in the stomach and sending him reeling.

"Kugisaki!"

Itadori shouted. Though she couldn't see the Spirit clearly, she understood Megumi's tactic—the flood would expose the invisible entity.

"Don't rush me, I feel it… Straw Doll Technique: Hairpin!"

Her cursed energy detonated the area by the wall. The Spirit shrieked again, water surging around it and outlining its body for a moment.

In the accumulating floodwater, even an invisible target couldn't fully disappear. The water left an indentation—a missing piece on an otherwise smooth surface.

Itadori spotted it. "Got you!"

He dashed forward like a bullet, stomping through puddles. The Cursed Spirit, now cornered, lunged again, but Itadori evaded and grabbed hold of something—wet, slimy, possibly a tongue.

"Come here!"

He yanked with full force, slamming the Spirit down, then punched forward.

"Divergent Fist!"

The air trembled with impact. Nobara followed up instantly—nails exploded in midair, tearing through the Spirit.

"Catch!"

Megumi tossed a cursed blade. Itadori caught it mid-run and slashed. Blood sprayed with each cut.

"Recall."

Megumi withdrew Max Elephant, and the water slowly drained. The Spirit's corpse faded into view—a massive, reptilian creature. Its tongue, now severed, lay beside Itadori.

"That invisibility Technique was such a pain…"

Nobara muttered. Hajime leapt down from the second floor, having avoided the flooding. Once things settled, he used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal their wounds.

Itadori stretched. "That was wild!"

Megumi quietly noted the usefulness of Reverse Cursed Technique. There was even a Ten Shadows shikigami tied to it. He'd look into that later.

Hajime checked his expensive watch, bought with most of a mission's reward. He couldn't even remember the brand.

"Well, that's done. Still early—let's grab dinner. My treat."

Itadori pumped a fist. "You're the best, senpai! I want steak!"

---

Later, back at Jujutsu High, Megumi began preparing to subjugate a new shikigami. Itadori excelled in close combat. Nobara's Straw Doll Technique had great potential. Megumi's Ten Shadows Technique—an inherited Zen'in ability—was versatile and deep.

Destroyed shikigami passed their power to others, and some could even fuse—like Nue and the toad, forming "Well's Bottom Unknown." Megumi was still testing other combinations.

If no missions came up, they trained. With the third-years suspended, the first-years had to participate in the exchange event.

---

Hajime and Itadori later received a new mission—this time in Kanagawa. Three people had mysteriously died in a movie theater. The signs matched the effects of a specific Cursed Spirit: Mahito.

"Mahito… So we meet again."

Joined by Shoko Leiri, the two headed to the scene.

"Hajime-san," Shoko said, handing him a file, "one other person was in the theater. We haven't approached him yet—he might be connected."

Hajime skimmed the file: Yoshino Junpei, Kanagawa Prefectural Satozakura High School. Lives with his mother. Parents divorced.

"Let's pay him a visit. We'll check for Cursed Energy or any ties to Mahito."

Itadori blinked. "Uh, who's Mahito?"

Hajime sighed. "A repulsive Cursed Spirit. You won't need to fight. Just help investigate. If we run into him, I'll handle it."

While Itadori was a natural counter to Mahito—Sukuna's presence made Mahito's Idle Transfiguration ineffective—Hajime had no intention of dragging this out. If they ran into Mahito again, it would be on his terms.

Too many things were changing, and the future wasn't what it used to be.

---

(50+ Chapters on Patreon)

patreon.com/Zphyr_