" SUKUNAAAAAAAA!"

Itadori Yuji's voice echoed throughout the entirety of the Tokyo no.1 colony, shaking the entire colony to its' core. Or at the very least, the remnants of the colony.

"Shut up, brat. I'm tired of hearing you call my name so frivolously. I thought you had lost that habit of incessantly screaming after defeating that blue-haired cursed spirit."

The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, bit right back. An invisible slash flew across the world - nicking Itadori directly across his chest. Cursed energy bit past his clothes and dug into his flesh. He had been running at Sukuna, but the move stopped him in his tracks.

Sukuna stood directly opposed to his previous vessel, both surrounded by nothing but destruction. It would not even be correct to refer to it as a city anymore, but instead, a wasteland - sliced and crushed to pieces by the intense fight that had occurred just moments ago.

Yuuji, for what felt like the trillionth time, stared behind Sukuna at the scenery his visage partly blocked, while forcing himself to stay conscious through the pain.

Off by the side was Hakari's body, ripped into many smaller frozen pieces. His luck had finally run out, after a hard fought battle against Sukuna's loyal ally and servant, Uraume.

Higuruma had died somewhere far off after his domain had failed to give the sentencing needed to strip Sukuna of all of his abilities. He'd fought well, maybe the best out of all of them, but it just wasn't enough against the demonic monster that was Sukuna.

Yuji didn't even know where the others were, but what he did know was that he was the last one alive.

Mei Mei, Choso, Maki, Ino, Kusakabe…they had probably all died at some point, too. At least, Yuji knew he had been fighting for some time without any help at all.

For some reason, Sukuna had saved him for last, even though he had more than enough time to kill him before.

The last-ditch effort to kill Sukuna had failed. Yuji didn't even know what happened to Yuta or Takaba, but without any appearance from them, he assumed they had failed at their jobs, too.

Once again, he was…

"Once again, you're too weak to prove all of that worthless drivel you usually spit, brat." Sukuna grinned maliciously, his inhuman features disgusting every part of Yuji's inner self with their inexplicable evil.

No, it wasn't that. It was that Yuji could see it. The depravity deep within Sukuna's soul. And the fact that it was also pure. Sukuna had no doubts or contradictions - he only cared about ultimately satisfying himself.

It was an uncaring, prideful, selfish, all-encompsssing greed for power that even his teacher, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in history, couldn't beat.

"Well, don't feel too bad about it. You're accomplishing that old goal of yours, aren't you? You'll die here. Not alone, but pathetically, surrounded by those you flocked together with in life." Sukuna took a few steps forward while staring down at Yuji, who had long since lost the strength to stand on his legs. "It's an end you can't complain about…right?"

On his knees, blood spilling past his lips, all Yuji could do was try to keep himself alive and conscious while watching Sukuna approach. As much as he willed his body to lash out - to give that piece of shit the hardest punch he could to his face and gut, a thousand times over, nothing happened.

Pain alone wouldn't stop him…but death certainly would.

"Perhaps I was expecting a bit too much from your last show. At least that judge back there was interesting, but you don't have anything else." Sukuna's gaze didn't waver, despite his disappointment. "Well…you were at least an attention-grabbing clown for the past few minutes, brat."

Sukuna's eyes quickly shifted from malicious glee to clear disinterest in a matter of moments, and he raised one of his four hands, in clear preparation for either a Dismantle or a Cleave.

' Sukuna…' Yuji thought with pure hatred in his mind, even as he watched his execution - his final execution finally be readied. His cursed energy - what little was left of it - flared.

He was calm - calm enough to fight, but he could obviously never forget it. How he had failed to protect Junpei, how he failed to meet Gojo's expectations, how he allowed Nanami and Nobara to die, Todo losing his arm, the thousands of people being killed in Shibuya because of him…

The air itself surrounding Yuji turned almost completely black and viscous, like mud. Red sparks surrounded him,and his once clear blue cursed energy turned sickeningly dark. In front of him was the thing that had made his life hell, the thing that, once it left, would probably ravoverage not only their country, but the whole world.

If only he could have a little more time…a little more power, another chance…

He'd be able to do it. Surpass even what Gojo-sensai wasn't able to do. Kill Sukuna and exorcise him from this world. He could-!

There was a low rumbling, a rumbling which caused Sukuna to arch an eyebrow, before-

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sukuna laughed sickeningly, as if amused. He stared at Yuji with an interest he never had, particularly at the cursed energy surrounding him. "So it's only now that you do this, brat? To think you'd be chosen by that…now I see what Kenjaku was trying to do."

Yuji blinked, noticing that his point of view, for some reason, was randomly falling down to the ground. He heard a sickeningly wet sound, like a fish flopping over on a counter.

"Well, you might've been an interesting side dish if you had figured it out earlier. As you are now though, you'll never be able to reach the apex."

It was then that the realization came to Yuji, when he felt Sukuna's foot on top of his head, slowly pressing down more and more.

'Ah, I see.'

Yuji thought.

'He already cut off my head.'

"You started to reach something interesting, brat. But in the end, weak trash…is still trash." Sukuna's foot pressed down even harder, and Itadori could sense his very bones breaking beneath the foot of the King of Curses.

"Die. Die cursing me, brat. Maybe then you'll become something worth my time."

Itadori Yuji's strong flame of life finally flickered out, snuffing out every remnant of true resistance left to Ryomen Sukuna.

The sorcerers had unimaginably, irrevocably lost.

An unimaginable era of suffering, destruction, pain, and raw power was all left to be ushered in.

For Sukuna and Kenjaku, the Heian Era, the golden era of Jujutsu Sorcery had been incarnated again on earth. They had won.

"Yuji."

Even after he closed his eyes and accepted his death, Yuji could still hear something. That stern voice that still held an underlying tone of kindness…the voice that had started him on this journey in the first place. The voice of the man who had raised him.

'... Grandpa…'

"Are you really satisfied, Yuji?"

' ...no. No, of course I'm not. I'm not, damn it! I failed everyone. I couldn't even follow your last wishes anymore! What the hell am I, even? Why did I even…exist in this world?'

" Then, would you do it again, if you could?"

' Wh-...what? What are you saying, grandpa? I can't do it again. I can't go back. I-'

" Yuji, just answer me, you stupid kid."

' ...I'd do it all over again. In the blink of an eye. I'd save everyone I could. I would be stronger. I wouldn't let anyone die to Sukuna. Not Mahito. Not any other curses. Never again.'

"I see. That's just what I expected to hear from you, Yuji."

' Wait, gramps, why are - why is your voice getting fainter? Where…where are you going, gramps?'

"Yuji. Take that second chance at life and get out of here. Experience it - grab hold of it - life without the curse I placed on you. This time, Yuji, you…well, I'm sure you can handle it all without me telling you to do anything else."

' What - what are you talking about? Grandpa?'

'Why aren't you responding anymore?'

'G-Gramps? Grandpa? G-GRAMPS?!'

"GRAMPS!" Yuji shouted while he opened his eyes, and…

The world was beautiful.

Whatever darkness he had been in before wasn't there anymore, but that wasn't what confused him. It was the fact that there was no sign of any hellish landscape. No dead bodies, splatters of blood, or remnants of pain from battle in his body. He couldn't even feel any cursed energy, from spirits or sorcerers alike around him, besides his own.

As far as he could tell he was just laying in a random patch of grass, surrounded by some short walls and fences that made him think he was in front of somebody's home. In their front yard, specifically.

' An illusion? Did I…get teleported somewhere, somehow? But when? Todo, Gojo-sensei, they all…no, let's not think about that. Get up and figure things out, Itadori Yuji! You can't stop moving!'

Yuji got to his feet, but immediately stumbled over, rolling roughly onto his back. It didn't hurt, but it was…odd. His legs and arms, they weren't the same. It was like he was piloting a body he wasn't used to, despite it obviously being his own.

' What the…why do I feel so unstable?'

Yuji lifted his head up while correcting his position, finally looking behind him. And the moment he saw it, the moment he saw the scenery behind him, his gaze frantically switched down to his arms and legs.

They were far shorter, smaller, weaker-looking…this was…him. But not him. He had the limbs - no, the entire appearance of a child. It was like he was three years old all over again. This realization just led to another, somehow even more unbelievable one.

This wasn't just anyone's house he had ended up in front of. It was…

"My house?" His voice, extremely unfamiliar, oddly immature and uncertain slipped past his lips, all facts which he paid no attention to. He was too absorbed by the unbelievable scene of his home in front of him.

It was standing there like it had never been left behind. Pristine, untouched, rustic. Comfortable…

Yuji's feet began moving without him even realizing it. He stumbled over himself again, but forced himself to keep running at top speed. He ran up the stairs to the door and shoved it open, slamming the door against its frame with unusual force, despite his young age.

When he rushed inside, nothing changed about the situation. No, what surprised him was just how much more familiar everything was becoming to him. There was no sound of an illusion breaking, or any weird things out of place, not immediately at least. He rushed through the hallway, ignoring everything that didn't stand out to him. He looked into the kitchen. He ran from room to room, scanning every little inch of the place for any imperfection, but he found almost nothing. It was no wonder this place felt so nostalgic. Why the air seemed so familiar…he was back in his hometown. Back in Sendai, where he grew up, back, long before… anything had happened.

It wasn't an illusion or a fake. Everything here was absolutely real.

Yes, everything was almost perfect. He had found almost nothing to go against the thought that somehow, miraculously, he had done something as ridiculous as travel back in time with no consequences.

That was when he found the shrine for his grandfather.

Somehow, deep down, Yuji understood. It was almost instinctual, the way the tears flowed from his eyes while he stood in front of what should've been an anomaly in time. He was sent back, but not without a sacrifice.

"Gramps…"

For a while, Yuji just sat there and cried. The tears emptied from his eyes like never before. In a way, he felt like he had not only regressed back in time, but also emotionally and mentally. He physically couldn't hold anything back anymore.

Perhaps it was just because he finally had the luxury to cry. He did not contain a demon within him, there was nothing to atone for yet, nobody important to him should be dead…Yuji cried. Even though he promised to always fulfill his role without caring, he cried. Because no matter how much he accepted that he could now change everything, the past he experienced would never go away.

The life his grandpa had sacrificed just to give him this chance would never go away.

It was only once night fell that Yuji was able to calm himself down and take time to actually try and gather the facts about what had happened to him.

He sat down on the living room couch while staring blankly ahead of him, enveloped in darkness, now that the warm sun had long set.

' In this place, grandpa died way ahead of time…just like before, I don't know anything about my mom, and who knows where my dad is…? Weirdly enough, I'm somehow still living on my own, apparently thanks to some money grandpa saved up, and the fact that he managed to bribe some neighbor to act as my guardian…'

Yuji groaned. ' Just how the heck did that grumpy old man even do it? Well…I guess money talks, huh? Even for someone like him' He chuckled. It was a comforting thought to imagine his grandpa politely asking someone to act as his guardian in his stead, just to let Yuji live alone.

"Well, it makes sense. He wouldn't really want to shove me on some random relatives who probably don't even know I exist." Yuji shrugged, hopping up off of the couch. He looked down at his own body, clad in a childish shirt and shorts combination. "I guess I'm…about three? And the year…2006."

Yuji brought both fists up to his side, opening and closing them. A strong, bright blue aura surrounded them. That familiar feeling rushed through his body, though it was extremely slow, and not anywhere near as powerful as he remembered it. The circulation of cursed energy had become a matter-of-fact to his life now.

Still, it was slow. Almost like he was using cursed energy for the first time, when it still felt like it took all his effort just to move it around.

"...I guess I gotta get some training in, huh?"

Yuji didn't have any grand plans yet. He wasn't that smart or capable, yet. However what he did have was the entire year of accelerated growth he had experienced, and lessons from nearly every sorcerer around. Not to mention, as sickening as they were to him…some of the memories he shared of Sukuna taking over.

As Itadori thought about the situation, he immediately came to a conclusion.

"Six months."

It was currently January. Yuji didn't know all the details, but what he did know was that during this year, he needed to get explosively stronger. Six months was the longest he'd give himself, before beginning to fight to expel curses again for the rest of the year. Fighting curses, mastering his previous lessons, and doing more cursed energy training on the side.

Any other person might have taken a break, or concluded that it was laughable for anyone other than Satoru Gojo himself to consider fighting at such a young age. However, Yuji had made a promise to his grandfather, who allowed him this second chance.

He could remember Nobara's smiling face, just before she died.

The shock on Megumi's expression, just before Sukuna forced him to become his unwilling new vessel.

"You're…"

Gojo's body, grotesquely cut in half.

Nanami exploding into a mess of gore and blood.

"...a strong kid, Yuji..."

The sight of everyone from Jujutsu high dying by Sukuna's vicious cuts.

The thousands that had been massacred when Sukuna only briefly took over his body in Shibuya.

"...so help people."

Everyone…everyone…

"I'm never going to make another excuse again. I'll get strong. Strong enough to save anyone. Not because you told me, gramps, and not to do something stupid like 'have a proper death' again…but just because I want to."

This was the resolve that Yuji made. A resolve he swore to, regardless of whatever situation he found himself in. No longer would he be a cog, but that one that ripped out the mechanisms that turned those gears entirely.

'Just like…no, stronger than Gojo-sensei.'

His cursed energy flared on his palms, burning darkly.

Even if it was a ridiculous thought, he'd make it come true. He had to. The only other outcome that was left for him was death, and he'd experienced that once before already.

Somewhere deep inside of himself, he knew there'd be no second chance.

"But first…" Yuji yawned, surprised at just how tired he felt. "Sleep, sleep. Man, why the heck do I feel this tired? Ah…" He brought a hand to cover his mouth, his eyes dimly flashing in realization. "Oh right, I guess kids don't really stay up late, huh?"

He closed his eyes, lazily walking his way out of the living room and up to his room. To be honest, there was a part of him that wanted to reach out to his friends right away. To jump into having the silly laughs and moments he used to have with them before everything became hell, all because of him and his weakness.

Even if it'd never be the same. Even though he would always bear the sin of failing them once. The weak part of him still wanted that selfish kindness that only this second life could grant.

But he could be patient in reuniting with everyone, considering he'd have lots of free time.

Free time…

Wait.

Free…time?

Yuji's mind clicked into overdrive as he entered his room and saw the dumbest thing he could've ever hoped to see. A picturesque kindergarten uniform, complete with a blinding red bag and one of those big yellow hats that Yuji always thought looked a little dumb, even if they gave you really good shade.

"E-Eh?! No way, how could I forget?!"

Kindergarten…right. Yuji was still technically a "regular kid." He'd have to either go to school or explain to a bunch of people why he was skipping it entirely.

"This is gonna be so stupid…uuuugh…" Yuji put his head in his hands, jumping onto his bed and rolling around. Between training, expelling curses, and getting used to school life, things were going to get stupidly complicated. Eventually, Yuji just sighed, relaxing on the bed while staring up at the ceiling.

"Well…I guess I could get good grades this time, at least?"

Although he said it, Yuji wasn't sure. If anything, he'd just put even less into studying stupid, random school subjects than he did before. Maybe he'd somehow become even worse of a booksmart person than he was, despite literally going back in time.

"Maan…this is really where I could have used you guys." He thought of Nobara and Megumi. They'd definitely whip him into shape if they were here. Especially Nobara. She wasn't as smart as Megumi, but she probably would've taken on the challenge, if Yuji begged her good enough.

Although, thinking about it…Kugisaki right now might be as stupid as him?

"Wait…why am I thinking so hard? These are kindergarten grades!"

That's right, none of this really mattered that much, anyways. If anything, this was probably the freest time that Yuji would have in his young life. He needed to focus. Focus on getting stronger, that was all that mattered.

"But before that…"

Yuji closed his eyes and let out one final yawn, relaxing into the nostalgic comfort of his bed. The feel, the smell…all of it was so familiar and welcoming. For the first time in a long time, Yuji felt truly safe.

"Die. Die and curse me, brat. "

"...let's get some sleep."

Little did anyone know that this same Itadori Yuji, now only three years old, sleeping quietly in an empty childhood home would bring about incidents the likes of which the jujutsu society had never seen.

Greater than the past events which had happened in Shibuya and The Culling Games. More turbulent than the Heian Era itself.

They would be events that exceeded the boundaries of jujutsu within Japan. The start of an age which would come to be known as the first, and only

Era of International Jujutsu Sorcery.