Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

The Satozakura High School incident drew massive attention. It had been a long time since a Cursed Spirit incident resulted in such high casualties. The previous Hyakki Yagyō, though devastating, caused no civilian deaths due to Suguru Geto's prior warning, allowing for a complete evacuation. Most of the damage had been structural.

But this time… four hundred and thirty-two people were killed—mostly students, along with a few teachers and staff. The cleanup alone would give the higher-ups endless headaches.

The government quickly released a report blaming the event on a terrorist gas explosion, pairing it with a flurry of major entertainment news stories to divert attention. Still, the event caused a nationwide uproar and even attracted international scrutiny. But all that had little to do with Kamihara Hajime, who was on his way back to Jujutsu High. Let those responsible deal with the fallout. With this many casualties, Mahito's group would definitely be watched more closely. Unfortunately, they likely had a hidden Domain as a base. Not to mention the unknown Cursed Spirit that rescued Jogo during their last encounter—it seemed to possess teleportation and sleep-inducing abilities.

"Whatever. Let Gojo-sensei handle it. Time to go."

Yoshino Junpei stood by as Hajime and Itadori waved goodbye. Hajime's words still echoed in his mind:

"You've likely awakened a Technique. If so, Tokyo Jujutsu High might reach out. I recommend you accept and transfer while everyone's attention is focused on this area."

Itadori had looked thrilled.

"Eh? Senpai, you mean Junpei can join Tokyo Jujutsu High? Then he'd be our classmate too!"

"Of course. Sorcerers are in short supply. Any unregistered ones are usually recruited. If they're not suited for combat, they're trained as supervisors or assigned to logistics. Did you think all our gear appears out of thin air?"

"Ohhh! I know that!"

Back at Jujutsu High, Maki and Fushiguro were training hard. Their focus now was improving Fushiguro's and Kugisaki's combat ability—though Itadori would soon join them.

"Hajime!"

They greeted him from a distance as Kugisaki completed her latest round of one-sided "training" under Maki. Their sparring had clearly been intense. Noticing their injuries, Hajime began walking over to help treat them, but before he could act, Fushiguro summoned a new Shikigami—a tall, sturdy deer.

Its form was not especially intimidating, but Hajime immediately noticed the positive Cursed Energy radiating from its body—Reverse Cursed Energy.

Shikigami: Round Deer.

Under its influence, everyone's injuries healed rapidly. Maki stretched her limbs and joked,

"What's wrong? Disappointed we didn't need your help?"

But Hajime wasn't disappointed—he was fascinated. The Shikigami was composed entirely of positive Cursed Energy. Unlike most healers who used the Reverse Cursed Technique directly, this Shikigami could support others passively in battle.

Since unincarnated Cursed Spirits were made of negative Cursed Energy, this positive type acted like sunlight on snow—melting them away effortlessly.

"This is a Shikigami I recently tamed," Fushiguro explained. "It can only use the Reverse Cursed Technique. Hajime-san, do you think I could learn the technique by observing it?"

Hajime nodded. "It's a good idea. Reverse Cursed Energy is hard to grasp from explanation alone. But feeling it in action? That's the best teacher."

He looked over Fushiguro's progress with approval. "You've come a long way. Only three Shikigami left to tame, right?"

"More or less. I recently merged Nue with the Great Serpent. This fusion resulted in something new."

Fushiguro activated his Technique again. The shadows rippled, and several winged snakes slithered out. They looked more like decorative creatures than threats—but Hajime knew better.

"This was my first attempt at a triple fusion. Along with Nue and the Great Serpent, I included Rabbit Escape."

The snakes dissolved into shadow, and the ground suddenly surged. A massive creature erupted like a dragon rising from a fountain. It had a serpent's body with wings just beneath its head. Compared to the smaller versions, this one was far more fearsome. Electric arcs danced around its form as it glided through the air.

"I call it Teng Snake. It's powerful, but the energy cost is heavy."

After dismissing it, Fushiguro added, "I wish I had more info. Most of what I know comes from Gojo-sensei. If I had access to real records…"

Hajime thought of the Zen'in clan. As the origin of the Ten Shadows Technique, they likely had plenty of archived material. But Fushiguro's ties to them were complicated.

Maki scoffed, "Those bastards wouldn't give you anything without draining you dry."

Fushiguro's tone remained calm. "Doesn't matter. If someone in the past could master it, so can I."

Despite his calm, Fushiguro's view of the Zen'in clan was no better than Maki's. The people he respected—Gojo-sensei, Hajime-san, Maki-senpai—were all outsiders to that clan's twisted values.

"Those not of Zen'in are not sorcerers. Those not sorcerers are not human."

He had no intention of seeking help from them.

"Alright, enough talk," Maki said, stretching. "We still need to prepare for the exchange event. Hajime-san probably can't join, right?"

"Huh?" Itadori blinked. "What exchange event?"

Everyone turned to Hajime.

"Ah… Sorry," he scratched his head. "I forgot to explain."

Fushiguro quickly summarized the event. Itadori lit up.

"Wait, Senpai can't participate? Why?"

Panda answered, arms folded. "That's the word from Principal Yaga."

Hajime shrugged. "That's about right. If Yuta Okkotsu were here, it'd be the same. Otherwise, what's the point of calling it an exchange event?"

He grinned. "Guess I'll just pull up a chair and watch while you all work hard."

He hadn't given it much thought when Gojo-sensei mentioned it. Whether he participated or not didn't matter. He was often busy—and with Fushiguro's progress, he felt confident in the team.

"You lazy jerk…" Maki growled, turning her gaze to Itadori.

"Alright, Itadori, your turn."

Itadori groaned, but quickly sprang to his feet. His physical endurance let Maki go all out during training, and with Hajime and now Fushiguro's Shikigami around, minor injuries weren't a problem.

He got beaten the hardest in training, but he accepted it. A former high school athlete who could toss a shot put over thirty meters and sprint 100 meters in under ten seconds—he hadn't needed martial arts before. Now he was learning through Maki's relentless sparring.

She saw potential in him—a sorcerer without a Technique, yet with a powerful body and sharp instincts. At this rate, he'd be able to exorcise Grade 2 or even Grade 1 Curses on his own.

But was that enough? Could he handle monsters like Mahito?

"Is a sorcerer without a Technique really capped at this level?"

"No. I'll push past it. Limits are made to be broken."

He flipped himself up after getting slammed by Maki's staff and immediately began analyzing his form, searching for a better way.

Hajime waved as he walked away. "Keep going, you've got this. Megumi can hold the fort. I'm going to see the principal."

He made his way to Yaga's workshop, where the principal often worked on Cursed Corpses. When he opened the door, White Wolf bounded up to him in excitement.

After ruffling the dog's fur, Hajime stepped inside.

"Kamihara, did you need something?" Yaga asked, looking up from his work.

Hajime picked up a cat-shaped doll. "You've seen the Satozakura High report, right?"

Yaga nodded, frowning. "Yeah, the situation is grim. The victims' bodies are being examined—they were drained of blood, almost ritualistically. Very abnormal."

"Also, during the mission, we found someone who seems to have awakened a Technique. He was just caught up in things, but we should act quickly."

"I'll have someone check him out. If he qualifies, he can enroll."

Then Yaga remembered something. "By the way, you won't be joining the exchange event. You understand, right?"

"Yeah, I figured. What about Yuta? Still not back?"

"He's searching for the Black Rope. It's an incredibly rare Cursed Tool. Apparently, it can be manufactured, but the conditions are harsh. Could be a wasted trip."

Hajime set the cat doll down, watching it wander toward the other Cursed Corpses before falling still.

"No worries. I'll play with him when he returns. Alright, Principal, I'll be heading out."

He waved at White Wolf.

"Come on, silly dog, let's go."

---

100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter

200 Powerstones = 3 Bonus Chapters

Let's gooooo.