A/N: I did my best to make this feel like an episode of Jujutsu Kaisen Hopefully I suceeded, and hopefully, you're ready for this.

Meanwhile, 'm on the brink of falling into despair. These back-to-back-to-back shifts are destroying my body and mind.

Now they're starting to affect my chapters, and I am NOT a happy camper.

I'm probably going to make a Jujutsu Kaisen plot bin soon, if only to contain all these ideas bounding around in my head. For example I've got requests asking m to write Naruto as Gojo's twin -his name in the clan would be Minoru to mirror Satoru- or Sukuna's descendant, perhaps Nanami's Son, maybe Nobara's best friend, but in reality he's a pure spirit...and those are just the more notable ideas!

SO MANY IDEAS!

Still, here we go. Semi-weekly update, this time around.

Someone asked for this to be updated next, alongside Scarlet Sky and Practice Makes Perfect. Ask and you shall receive~!

Also trying to work on Embers of Hope, but the Holidays are running me RAGGED with my jobs, and I'm still trying to maintain my update schedule.

Hello, hello~! Can anyone see this? Yes? No? Maybe so? Not sure if notifications are working...

With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.

As ever, I own no quotes, references, quotes, themes or memes! They're simply tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. I'm just an old man who writes as a pastime. I don't make any money doing this, not a single cent.

This is ALL done for free. Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story.

Do let me know?

Hope you're ready because someone's about to go crazy. You may think you know who I mean...but do you, do you really?

As for the chapter soundrack, I'd recommend "Delirious" from Jujutsu Kaisen. Its a banger!

"Riddle me this. What happens...when an unstoppable force... meets an immovable object?

An impossible event occurs. The unstoppable force stops, the immovable object moves.

...or do they?"

~?

Delirious

The world shook.

An unseen shockwave lanced out, obliterating the clouds.

Another rattled the ground, while a third set the surrounding buildings aflame. The earth trembled. Heaven quivered.

An unstoppable force crashed down into an immovable object and incredibly...neither yielded. Neither faltered. Neither gave an inch. Reality warped. Time twisted. The very air around them inverted from the sheer force of their collision and still they did not give in. Twin fists reared back as their owners roared and collided with one another; once, twice, thrice now in a blistering barrage of blows felt the world over. To call it a fight would have been an insult; this was a brawl; a brutal beating as the combatants wailed one one another without abandon.

The only blessing was that their fight was contained at the Temple of the Star...for now.

Naruto knew he should care about civilian casualties. Really, he should.

But he was just having too much fun!

What was this wonderful feeling in his chest? He couldn't describe it, even Gojo brought both hands together in a slashing motion and nearly tore his head off; he would have too, if he hadn't blasted him away with a wall of wind. He met him in the air and brought both hands down on his head; though his fists meet Infinity, the sheer momentum behind sent his adversary hurtling to the ground in a plume of smoke-only to clear an instant later as Satoru blasted a massive sphere of Red up at him.

He blocked it and lost an arm for it; then grabbed said arm and whipped it at Gojo, braiding him across the head.

It wasn't a jest.

He really was trying to kill him.

So was he. They were, the both of them, fighting with everything hey had.

It should've been sad. They were friends, weren't they? Friends didn't try to kill each other. Geto would've had something to say if he were here watchingt his. Shoko, normally so quiet and reserved, would've hollered at them to stop, to say nothing of Nanami, Mei Mei, and Utahime, surely.

And yet he couldn't stop smiling.

Was this what it felt like to be fulfilled?

He hadn't felt anything like this since Sukuna!

They were the both of them bloodied and exhausted, far from their best. Satoru had only just dragged himself back from the brink of death, while he...well, he might've expended a little too much energy teaching Toji a lesson. But he'd never felt so alive! Gojo was only freshly awakened and already all the stronger for it. It hadn't even been an hour since he'd awakened his Eyes and unlocked his potential. Only an hour! And already he was fighting this well!

One day he would be even stronger than this. When that day came, he might actually taste true death once and for all. What a day that would be!

But for now, although Satoru Gojo was strong, he was not the strongest. Not here. Not quite. Not yet.

His fist slammed into the younger mans' Infinity. Gojo's technique held. And then.

"Domain Amplification!"

He'd never forget the look on Satoru's face; that split second before impact when his eyes widened; just before his fist came crashing in. Credit where it was due, he managed to twist his head aside and avoid the worst of it, but he reeled back all the same, cheek dented, eye bulging. The wound smoothed out a second later as he applied the reversed curse technique to it. Remarkable. He'd only just discovered how to use it, and already he was a prop.

"So you do have one of those, huh?" he turned his head and spat blood. "Cheeky bastard. What else ya got?"

A fist found his chin and sent him hurtling into the air, perforating a nearby cloud.

"Ha! He flew!"

The reprieve was short lived.

"Naruto!" A wild shout came from above! "Dodge this next one if you can~!"

Now what was he up to? He squinted up past a pair of broken-down pillars with a frown.

Something was shining up there, something bright. What, another red or blue? No, that was a different color. Almost like a unison between the two-

His eyes widened as he realized what, exactly, he was looking at. Not in horror, but sheer childish delight. "Purple! I've never seen anyone who could do it before!"

Let it be known that Satoru Gojo was not the first Gojo of the Gojo clan Uzumaki Naruto had encountered. Far from it. He was merely the most recent. It bears repeating. He had lived through the years, watching as the era of the shinobi gave way to that of the Jujutsu Sorcerer never once sealed away, watching humanity as they became sorcerers. Even in the Heian era. In fact, the "Purple" technique originally stemmed from something he'd once shown a Jujutsu Sorceress in a moment of boredom -

This was that technique. Watered down, perhaps, but he recognized the motion behind it.

He spread his arms wide, grinning ear to ear. "Don't hold back!"

A flicker of motion behind him was his only warning.

...that's my line, you whiskered bastard."

His neck twisted, red eyes widening.

Gojo reappeared behind him, two fingers pressed against his thumb, shining with searing light. His expression was serene; blank, even. There was no hint of that earlier despair he'd seen before. He extended his arm and brought it forward, fingers brushing his back, nearly digging into his spine.

"Imaginary technique," he intoned softly, "Hollow Purple."

He flicked his fingers forward a moment later.

A soft chime filled Naruto ears.

The sound was almost...gentle. It was also much too close, too fast...and too powerful for Naruto to evade in its entirety. He flared his chakra, hardened his body with cursed energy, stood his ground and braced. There was nothing else he could do. Even then he paid a dear price for his stubbornness; the hastily-formed sphere blasted a hole through his torso, obliterated his right arm, ribs, a lung, and half his heart with it. Pain seared through him and he stumbled forward, gasping.

A hand reflexively clutched at the massive tear in his torso and came away bloody.

"Huh," he rasped aloud. "Not used to see this much of my own blood anymore."

Come to think of it, if he hadn't intervened, this would be Toji, dying here.

He tiled his head back and breathed out a sigh.

Bastard. Fushiguro owed him for this.

"Sorry, Yoshino...m'sleepy...

His eyes closed.


(.0.0.0.)


Yoshino Nagi looked up, clutching her son in her arms.

For a moment, she'd felt something.

"Naruto?"


(.0.0.0.)


...is that all?"

Gojo alighted before Naruto's still-standing form, face writ with elation...then anger...followed by confusion now when his adversary refused to move. He expected a witty quip of some sort, some cheeky retort, maybe a bruising backhand as the immortal rounded on him and continued their battle. He thought himself prepared for whatever came next. This was Naruto, after all. Bastard loved living almost as much as he loved Ramen. He thrived on chaos and did what he pleased, when he pleased, to whom he pleased...

.

..

...

But he wasn't moving now, was he?

He'd gone deathly still where he stood, eyes closed, head tilted back toward the sky. A lonely gust of wind blew though the courtyard, ruffling his hair. He didn't move. Didn't react. He just stood there, still as stone and thrice as infuriating, wearing that small selfsame smile of his. Almost as if he'd...no. No, no, that wasn't possible. And yet he continued to bleed from that massive hole in his body, blood dribbling down his crimson pants to pool at his feet.

Was he dead?

Gojo nudged him.

No, that couldn't be it.

Another poke, and he didn't budge.

No, no, no! A thousand times no! He shouldn't have died from that!

"Oi!" He grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. "Naruto! Snap out of it! Wake the hell up already!"

The blond swayed on his feet...and his remaining arm struck like a viper to seize his wrist.

Gojo reeled back. He'd been had! That cheeky bastard, playing dead, drawing him in!

"That hurt like hell." the whiskered warrior hissed. "Now its my turn."

Clawed fingers bit down into Satoru's sleeve, drawing blood.

"Domain Expansion."

With a burst of desperate strength, Gojo swore and ripped his arm free. Too little, too late. He was too close, and there was no way to escape. All around them, the world boiled black, then white, followed by red, sealing them off from the rest of the world in a perfect, circular sphere. The hand grabbing his arm vanished, taking Naruto with it. He whirled in confusion and found himself standing in an empty expanse, his friend-turned-foe-turned-rival nowhere to be seen...

.

..

...until a low whistle caught his ear. He pivoted and found Naruto sat atop a giant red fox, wounds even now closing.

"Phew, that was a close one!" A wild grin split his face. "That almost killed me, you bastard!" he threw his head back and hollered his laughter at the heavens before placing a fist upon his chin. "I hadn't realized the Gojo clan finally found a way to replicate that trick I showed them ages ago. Your ancestors must be so proud."

A bead of sweat ran down Satoru's brow. "Trick...?"

"Were do you think Hollow Purple came from?" Naruto leaned back, lounging atop the slumbering fox like a king upon his throne. "Who do you think first gave them idea to smash cursed energy against positive energy and create a sphere like that?"

Wait, but that would mean-no, nevermind that right now. The past was the past. More importantly, the bastard had a domain. Of course he had a domain. He'd been around during Sukuna's era, hadn't he? Why hadn't he seen this coming beforehand?! Maybe he had. Maybe he'd simply chose to ignore it. Maybe this was his own fault.

"Alright, then." Naruto stretched as the last of his wounds sealed shut. "This was fun, but if that's all you've got, you're going to lose, now."

Gojo gulped despite himself. "Is that so?"

'Buy time. Think!'

In a Domain, any attack by its owner was imbued with a sure-hit effect. That much he knew; which meant he was at a decided disadvantage here. He had the bare basics of his own domain in mind, but nothing concrete. It was incomplete. Shoddy work. Ugly at best. While his awakening may have opened his mind to a great many things, it couldn't simply grant him the elusive pinnacle of Jujutsu sorcery off the bat. Using what he did have now would only give him a hell of a headache, assuming he could pull it off at all.

'I can use Purple at least three more times in my current state...

He wasn't at his best right now, but neither was Naruto. He'd expended a lot of energy fighting Toji and still more slaughtering those cultists. Maybe if he kept his distance-

"I enjoyed myself," the immortal tittered one last time. "So lemme show you...the origin of that technique."

Naruto brought his hands together and a spark of wickedly dark light ignited between his palms. Could light be dark? As he looked on it coalesced within his fingers, two different colors rapidly forming a singular sphere of pure energy. Whatever it was, it reminded him of his Red and Blue mixed together...ohhhshit.

"This is what Purple is based on." the blond help a finger, beaming at him. "My chakra and Kurama's. Blue and red, smashed together to create-

"Purple," Gojo breathed, grinning incredulously as the sphere swelled. "Oi, oi, oi, you old bastard! Just how long have you been around?!"

"Well, you people call it Purple. Mine's quite different." and then his smile faded, allowing him to glimpse the core of steel beneath his ever-present humor. "If you have any tricks left, use them now. You won't survive if this hits you head on."

Panic hardened into resolve in Gojo's chest

A headache would be the least of his worries if he got hit with that.

'Screw it.' He grinned, overcoming his fear. 'Not like I've got anything left to lose.'

Naruto sensed the rise of his Cursed Energy just before he did...and made no effort to impede him whatsoever.

"There it is!" he cackled. "That's more like it! Show me what you've got, Gojo Satoru!"

"Domain Expansion!" he swung a hand up and formed a seal. "Infinite Void!"

The world twisted, painting itself black, white, then black again.

He'd been right. It was ugly, incomplete, not finished.

But it was enough.

Reality twisted around them as their Domains clashed in the center, fighting for dominance, all negating the sure-hit. Their wills slammed against one another and with it, he felt Limitless slam back into place. Naruto cried out in pain. Gojo looked up to see his foe still perched upon the sleeping fox, now bleeding fro his eyes and nose, but still conscious...and grinning from ear to ear

"Now that's more like it! You gave me a damn migraine with that...

His hands swept forward, bringing the massive sphere to bear upon him.

...now make sure you focus on that reversed curse technique of yours...or you'll die."

Gojo flared his cursed energy, twisted to the side, and fired off another Purple at maximum strength.

Naruto's tailed beast ball blasted forth to meet it. Imaginary Purple met it head on.

Together, the techniques clashed in the center of their domains and...

.

..

...waitaminute. Why am I on the ground?"

Gojo raised his head from where he lay and blinked, trying to make sense of things. He could feel himself already healing, his body mending, the icy coldness of the reversed cursed technique surging through his soul as it struggled to regrow flesh and born and organs. It took him a moment to realize why he was recovering the latter; when he looked up, his heart sank into his stomach...

.

..

...what was left of it.

Ah, hell. Was that his torso standing up there?

Thankfully he was already well on his way to growing another one; he'd begun focusing solely upon that the moment his Imaginary Purple broke down; upon pushing himself to the very pinnacle of his ability. Dodging was impossible, so he'd turned all his attention onto the reverse curse technique once more; determined to subconsciously regenerate the damage the moment it registered.

And he'd succeeded!

Hakari would've been proud.

Still, he didn't think he could pull off something like that again anytime soon. His head was killing him and he knew just how close he'd come to death. Without the reversed curse technique he would've perished on the spot. Even then regrowing his entire lower torso hurt like hell.

A shadow fell over him.

"Hmm. You really are something, regrowing half your body. I thought that might kill you.

It nearly did! He'd pushed himself to infinity and beyond and even then...it nearly hadn't been enough.

The Blond Bastard could've finished him. Still could, here and now, while he was growing back the last of his legs.

But he didn't.

That rattled Gojo's confidence as only Toji had before.

Naruto made a sign with his fingers and let the domain drop. With its release, the last of the setting sun spilled through to shine down upon them both.

But with it came a different kind of darkness.

It creeped down into his very soul, infecting his every thought.

"...why'd ya let me live?" he stared up at him. "Because I'm weak?

It couldn't be. Because if he was, if he wasn't strong, he wasn't Satoru Gojo, and if he wasn't Satoru Gojo, then who was he-

"You need to stop that!" A hand smacked him upside the head, driving those thoughts right out his skull. "I let you live because we're friends. That's it. That's the reason you're alive. Now get up, put your big boy pants on, get stronger, and kick my ass.

...just like that?"

"Yup." Five firm fingers clasped his and dragged him to his feet. "There's always someone stronger out there. So get stronger, Satoru. Strong enough to kill me."

A bitter laugh tumbled out of him. "Do you want to die that badly?"

An elbow sank into his ribs. "I want a challenge and you'll be that someday. You and maybe Geto if he tries hard enough. So surpass me! Throughout heaven and earth, you alone are the honored one. Nothing can change that. He winked. But there's nothing wrong with getting a little help every now and again, is there?

Just get stronger, huh? Was that really all there was, to it? Alright, I have just one more thing to say...

"Sure thing." the berserk blond beamed.

Gojo slugged him.

It was a punch wholly devoid of cursed energy but it still snapped his head back and sent a tooth whistling through the air.

"You nearly killed me ya bastard!

Naruto delivered the same courtesy. "You started it, Gojo!"

In a matter of moments, they were at it again, trading blows like pros.


(.0.0.0.)


"Aaaand now they're punching one another! Somebody stop those two!"

Geto took a good long look at the dueling duo, winced now...and sat down. "I think...not.

Nanami mirrored him with a weary sigh. "I'm not getting involved in that. What about you, Haibara?

Yu Haibara crossed both arms before his face. "Nope! Even I'm not dumb enough to put myself between those two!"

Utahime flung up her arms with an aggravated shout. "Honestly, you three!" she looked to the left, "Mei Mei, please, talk some sense into-

Her fellow sorceress was munching on popcorn. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"AM I THE ONLY SANE ONE HERE?!


(.0.0.0.)


Someone knocked at her door.

Yoshino Nagi looked up from the sofa, bottle in hand.

She knew she shouldn't be drinking. Really, she shouldn't. But she was just so nervous...!

Trembling fingers found the latch and unlocked the door, fumbling for the doorknob now. She got it on the third try and peeked through the gap.

A familiar face stared back at her. Bright eyes and blond hair, whiskered cheeks, dimpled now in the slightest of smiles. He looked tired; he smelled worse, like he'd just come straight from a fight tonight. His clothes didn't look all that much better, they were covered in blood and full of holes...

.

..

...but he'd kept his promise.

"Hey." Naruto smiled for her. "May I come in?"

She craned her neck back and looked toward the stairs. "Quietly, now. I just put Junpei down for bed."

His smile grew an inch, weary, but just as she remembered. "Then we'll have to be quiet."

Yoshino sniffed. "You smell awful. Shower first, THEN you can see your son.

He leaned on the door, smiling down at her. "Mind if I use yours?"

Just like that, something sparked in her heart.

She remembered fond times in that shower.

Humming softly, she stepped away...

...and let him back into her life.

A/N: Because lets face it, we've got a time skip coming up and that end scene deserves another chapter dedicated to it, and tying up lose ends.

That said, would you like weekly updates?

Do you want this to remain a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard! Really need to hear from you, here.

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself isn't popular? Well...I'll not continue it. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.

So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive, sad as that may sound.

Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly? Hope you enjoy the previews.

We've got some new ones and some are...intense.

They've been expanded and then some!

I cut down on them to avoid spoilers.

Read at your own risk:

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

SPOILERS AWAIT YOU!

YE BE WARNED!

(Previews)

Hello, Naruto. Its so nice to see you again. Have you been well?"

Sit your ass down, Tengen. We need to have a talk...

She sat.


"Seras! Time to use the canon~!"


"These are children, you idiot. Not monsters." Naruto looked away from the cage. "Where are their parents?

The portly man beside him bridled. "Dead, as they should be! Those two are the source of our village's woes! They're responsible for it all! If you won't kill them, then WE WILL-

Enough.

He slashed a hand backward, casually obliterating the man's skull before he could finish speaking. The woman beside him shrieked and tried to run, only to burst into blue flame before she could reach the door. She fell to the floor, shrieking, flinging herself around in a mad frenzy, trying to put the blaze out. He left her to that, uncaring as she expired; as the fire from her body began to engulf the room. Idiots, the lot of them. Sometimes he forgot how STUPID humanity could be.

Another flick of his fingers shattered the bars of the cage, freeing the occupants within.

"Well aren't the two of you just adorable!" he crouched down before the twins with a smile. "What're your names?"

...Hanako. the smaller girl mumbled.

"Mimiko." answered the other, warily meeting his eyes.

"Hmm. Alright then." he patted their heads. "You work for me now. How's that sound?"


...I've only ever met a handful from the Zen'in clan that I liked. Maybe we should teach the rest a lesson."

Geto sighed. "Naruto, no."

"You gonna stop me? What about you, Gojo? You saw what they did to Maki. Doesn't that make you angry?"

Satoru tilted his glasses down. "What're you suggesting?"

"Let me go for a walk."


"Isn't it obvious? You're weak.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! I'm going to enjoy swallowing up that smug face of yours!"


"Listen, son. Everyone has a heart. Be it a human, or a curse, or a monster."

What about you, dad? Every time I ask mom, she just laughs."

...yup. Even me. Now drop and give me twenty!"

"I take it back! You're a heartless bastard!"

"Says my slacker of a son! Hop to it~!"


"Hey, Sukuna! Long time no see! Care for a drink?"

An eye creaked open.

"You again...?"

EDIT: Hope you enjoyed! Looking forward to your feedback~!

Hope you have a great day,

~Nz.