The training ground seemed to expand as the sun dipped lower toward the horizon.
Dust and footprints, cracks in the wooden fences, and the deep gouges in the old target boards—things suppressed by the sweltering glare of midday—stood out with strange clarity under the evening light. The wind was faint, and the air still carried the scent of sun-heated earth from the long day.
A training ground at this hour is usually silent. But that silence didn't necessarily mean it was peaceful.
Itadori Yuji stood in the very center of the grounds.
His hands weren't in his pockets today.
In his right hand, he held a single tree branch. It wasn't a sword, a Cursed Tool, or even a properly crafted wooden training blade. It was just a branch he had picked up from beneath a tree outside the training area.
He stood motionless with it for a long while.
Then, very slowly, he moved only his wrist.
Flick.
The sound of it cutting the air was barely a whisper.
However, a thin fissure appeared in the center of an old target board placed over ten paces away. A beat later, that crack extended downward, eventually splitting the entire target board in half. The cut section was so smooth that it felt surreal.
Yuji looked down at the branch.
It was a twig so thin it looked ready to snap at any moment.
Yet just now, it had become a tool more precise than a sword.
He exhaled a tiny, shallow breath.
That was when he heard the sound of clapping from behind him.
"Whoa."
It was Gojo Satoru.
He was perched on the training ground fence, swinging his legs. It was impossible to tell how long he'd been there, but judging by his face, he had been watching for quite a while.
"Isn't that a bit of a foul?"
Yuji didn't even turn around as he asked, "What is?"
"I mean, if you're doing stuff like that with a twig, what's a normal person's pride supposed to do?"
"You're not normal."
"Flattery is nice and all, but that's not comforting at all."
Gojo hopped lightly off the fence. There was almost no sound when he landed.
Since gaining the Reverse Cursed Technique, Gojo's movements had changed noticeably. He had always been fast and agile, but now there was a difficult-to-describe level of ease layered on top of it. It was the unique intuition of a human who knew their body had been unlocked one level further.
Yuji noticed it immediately.
"How's the body feeling?"
Gojo laughed as he rolled his shoulders. "Fantastic."
"The pain?"
"It's not completely gone."
This time, Gojo didn't try to shrug it off with a joke immediately.
He tilted his neck to the side once and took a long breath.
"It's weird. I'm definitely healed. I'm literally fine. But somewhere deep inside my body, that sensation still lingers."
"Of being cut?"
"Yeah."
Gojo answered so nonchalantly that he chuckled at himself after saying it.
"Man, saying it out loud makes it sound pretty funny."
Yuji tightened and then loosened his grip on the branch.
"It's better not to forget it."
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Are we in lesson mode?"
"You're the type of guy who benefits from them the most."
Gojo didn't deny it this time. Instead, he nodded slowly.
It was the truth.
Acquiring the Reverse Cursed Technique hadn't just been a matter of talent.
It was possible because his body remembered the sensation of death and because he hadn't ignored that fear.
The moment he forgot, he would become dull.
Gojo Satoru knew that much.
He stopped beside Yuji and looked at the split target board.
"But it really is fascinating."
"What?"
"Earlier and right now—when you use power, there's no feeling of you actually putting force into it."
Yuji merely shifted his gaze instead of responding. Gojo continued, his hands in his pockets.
"Usually, when someone is strong, it's obvious. When their Cursed Energy swells, the air changes, pressure builds, and the one watching thinks, 'Ah, here it comes,' and prepares."
"Right."
"But you... your presence is weirdly faint."
Gojo's smile faded slightly.
"To be precise, the moment I sense it, it's already over."
A short silence followed.
It was a compliment, but also an analysis.
Gojo Satoru wasn't just accepting Yuji's strength at face value anymore. He was trying to understand it. He wanted to internalize it so he could eventually surpass it.
Even though Yuji read that intent in his eyes, he didn't look away.
"You'll become the same soon."
Gojo laughed instantly. "Oh?"
"It's already begun."
"You keep talking like that, and you're gonna make me feel really good about myself."
"Feeling good is one thing."
Yuji tossed the branch aside. Before it even hit the ground, the twig split into two pieces.
Seeing that, Gojo looked exasperated again.
"The fact that stuff like that is natural for you is what really bugs me."
"Then put in the work."
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?"
This time, Yuji looked at Gojo properly.
Gojo gave a cocky grin.
"Did you really think I just came here to spectate?"
"No."
"Why do you sound like a guy who was just let down?"
"Because you're going to be a nuisance."
"You really don't have a single nice thing to say, do you?"
Even as he grumbled, Gojo was already warming up. Rolling his wrists and loosening his shoulders, his movements were loose, but his eyes were sharp.
Yuji watched him and asked, "What do you want to do today?"
Gojo rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment. "Hmm."
Then he spoke with total honesty.
"I want to spar with you, but I feel like Suguru would lose it if I had my limbs cut off again."
Without even a trace of a smile, Yuji replied, "I won't cut them today."
"That doesn't reassure me at all."
"Instead of cutting you, I might just make it hurt more."
Gojo narrowed his eyes at that before breaking into a silent laugh.
"I like the sound of that."
That reaction was becoming familiar to Yuji.
Satoru was exactly like that. When he met a wall, he didn't turn back; he moved closer. It was dangerous, exhausting, and sometimes reckless, but that nature was exactly what allowed him to reach higher peaks.
Gojo beckoned with his hand.
"So, today is a theory lesson."
"From you?"
"I'm actually pretty smart, you know."
"With your mouth, maybe."
Gojo ignored the jab and continued. "About the Reverse Cursed Technique. I've learned it, but things haven't quite settled yet."
It was a surprisingly candid admission.
Yuji focused on Gojo more intently.
Though Gojo's face still held its characteristic playfulness, his eyes were genuinely serious.
"I can use it. I can heal. My internal sensation probably isn't wrong, either."
"But?"
"But it doesn't feel like it's completely mine yet."
Gojo looked down at the palms of his hands.
"I definitely achieved it, but maybe because the sensation of that moment was so intense, things feel more ambiguous now. If I try to force it, it feels like it'll slip away, but if I don't think about it at all, I'll lose the thread again."
Yuji gave a short nod. It was a natural symptom.
A sensation snatched from the brink of death is so overwhelming that reproducing it later can be difficult. At the time, your entire body and soul are converged in a single direction, making it possible. Once you're back to safety, idle thoughts and comfort return, muddling the clarity.
Yuji spoke.
"What you're trying to do right now is 'remember' it."
"Exactly."
"That won't last long."
Gojo's eyebrows shot up. "Why?"
"Because that wasn't a memory; it was a state of being."
A brief silence fell between them.
Gojo chewed on those words.
Not a memory, but a state.
The description was uncannily accurate.
Until just now, he had been trying to recall the feeling of that specific moment. But what really mattered wasn't the scenery he saw or the pain he felt, but how his body and consciousness had been aligned.
Gojo smiled very slowly.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You're annoyingly good at explaining things."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It was one."
Gojo turned truly serious now. He stood tall in front of Yuji.
"So, what should I do?"
"Don't try to remember. Just enter that state again."
"Easy for you to say."
"If it's you, you can do it."
Gojo narrowed his eyes, peering into Yuji's face.
"If you keep saying things like that, I'm gonna get the wrong idea."
"About what?"
"That you actually like me quite a lot."
"I'm not gay."
This time, even Yuji had a microscopic flicker of what looked like a smile. Gojo didn't miss it and immediately smirked.
"You just laughed."
"You're imagining things."
"That excuse doesn't work anymore."
A short silence filled with the remnants of laughter lingered between them. But that air was shattered by an unfamiliar set of footsteps.
It was a woman.
The rhythm was light, and her suppression of Cursed Energy was skilled. Yet, she didn't seem to have any intention of hiding her approach entirely.
Gojo turned first. "Oh."
The figure walking from the end of the corridor had long hair tied back. A slight furrow in her brow, sharp eyes, and an atmosphere that seemed perpetually on edge.
It was Iori Utahime.
The moment she stepped into the training area and saw Gojo, she scowled openly.
"Why are you the first thing I see?"
Gojo shot back instantly. "That's quite an intense way to show you're happy to see me."
"Do you want to die?"
"Wow, someone's in a bad mood today."
Utahime ignored him and shifted her gaze. The moment she met Yuji's eyes, she paused for the briefest of moments.
She wasn't as obvious about it as Riko.
But Utahime wasn't exactly comfortable in Yuji's presence, either. After the events at the Tombs of the Star Corridor, she had witnessed firsthand just how dangerous a man Yuji was.
She quickly composed her expression and spoke. "Yaga-sensei is looking for you."
Gojo looked up at the sky. "Ugh, I hate that."
"If you hate it, move faster."
"Why just me?"
Utahime's eyes narrowed coldly. "He wants both of you."
Her gaze was now directed squarely at Yuji.
Yuji asked plainly, "What is it about?"
"Additional contact from the Higher-Ups."
Silence.
The look in both Gojo and Yuji's eyes sharpened simultaneously. Utahime noted the change but continued.
"He said you'll hear the specifics from him, but given the atmosphere, it isn't anything good."
Gojo clicked his tongue. "Geez. They really won't let us finish anything."
Utahime completely ignored the grumbling. Instead, for a split second, she stared at Yuji a bit longer.
Her gaze was oddly complex.
Caution, discomfort, acknowledgment, and even a certain unexplainable draw toward him.
Utahime probably wanted to deny all of it, but she couldn't hide it completely.
Yuji met her gaze head-on.
He didn't exert any cold pressure, nor did he intentionally keep his distance.
It was that very indifference that made Utahime even more flustered.
In the end, she was the first to look away. "...Just hurry up and come."
Gojo watched the reaction and smirked. "Sure."
Utahime immediately glared at him. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." Gojo spoke while holding back a laugh. "The air at the training ground today is just... really interesting."
Utahime's brow furrowed deep. "Satoru."
"Alright, alright. I'm going." He turned toward Yuji. "Let's go, Yuji."
Yuji gave a small nod.
As the two began to walk side-by-side, Utahime instinctively stepped to the side to let them pass. Gojo almost laughed again seeing that, but Yuji spoke in a very low voice first.
"Satoru."
Gojo glanced at him. "Yeah?"
"Be quiet."
Gojo laughed even harder at that. "Wow, this is actually hilari—"
Utahime let out a deep, heavy sigh. "I have no idea why I was the one sent to pick up these two specifically out of the three of you."
It was more of a lamentation than a question, and none of the three disagreed with the sentiment.
As they left the training grounds, a breeze blew past. The scent of the air just before nightfall brushed against them.
It had felt like an ordinary day, but it didn't seem like it was going to end as one.
And that premonition was, as usual, correct.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 36
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T