Chapter Text
"Well, well, well, who do we have here who's so kind to join in on the fun?"
Satoru Gojo chuckled, his personality never wavering, even if this person happened to interrupt the little duel between him and the Strongest Sorcerer of History, the malevolent Ryomen Sukuna.
But Sukuna was well curious himself as well as partially irritated as to why this man decided to interrupt him and Satoru. Hell, Sukuna was about ready to throw Cleave at this fool for interrupting, but Satoru suddenly patted Sukuna's shoulder.
"Now now. Don't get too worked up. Let's see who we're dealing with anyway."
Scratch that. Sukuna was ready to Cleave Satoru now, just for daring to do what he did, but for once, Sukuna shoved his intrusive thoughts downward for a moment. He shoved Gojo sideways lightly to give himself space, in which Gojo just rolled his eyes and obeyed for the sake of it. Both of their attention snapped back to the person, however, as he began to approach silently. Gojo let out a shrill laugh as he admired this person's audacity to even approach them.
"Oh ho! He's daring! Hey, kid. Don't you know you're making a mistake? We can kill you instantly if you get in our way."
Sukuna chuckled. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought.
"Can't you hear, brat? We're in the middle of settling something. Unless you want to die horribly as well as this fool, then buzz off."
Not a single word from either sorcerer made the person falter, and suddenly, cursed energy flared from the person lightly.
The two sorcerers laughed at the mysterious sorcerer, obviously not believing that this person even had the chance to fight either of them, let alone just one of them. However, both the Strongest shut up rather quickly. When the sorcerer's cursed energy suddenly surged, the air felt suffocating, and their spines tingled from the overwhelming power emanating from this sorcerer. Gojo muttered in an emotion foreign to him as he could feel his pride sink into his stomach and his cockiness fade away.
"What the hell is this...what's going on?"
Sukuna, however, couldn't help but start chuckling, then laughing malevolently. The suffocating cursed energy was damn near a turn on for the curse, and with exclamation, he called out at the sorcerer in hopes of catching his undivided attention.
"Ha HA! It seems we've severely underestimated you! Oh, the power you hold! Never mind you, Satoru! I demand to duel this man immediately! I must!"
Satoru side-eyed Sukuna in offense, but he held his hand up, though, to protest against Sukuna's wish. Instinctively, Satoru couldn't help but feel that charging in would be a bad idea.
"Don't yet. Let's figure out who this is first. Our usual means of fighting won't work efficiently."
Sukuna wheeled around at the Six Eyes, not believing what he thought he was hearing.
"You're not proposing what I think you are, fool. Why would I fight with you of all people?"
"In case he's a threat to both of us, then it would be a bad idea to make this a three-way fight, or in other words, where no one is on anyone's side. Just this once, we put our differences aside and focus on the potential danger."
Sukuna could just look in disgust. No way would he fight with the very sorcerer he was aiming to kill. It was putrid to even imagine how that would go as Sukuna just shook his head in complete disagreement.
But before Sukuna could protest further, however, the man stopped only meters from the two and reached for the hood that covered his face. Both sorcerers watched with anticipation as they could finally see who decided to pull up and assert jujutsu dominance by flaring his cursed energy like a firework show.
As he did, Satoru caught something that made his heart nearly stop.
...Wait...that scar on the side of his mouth...that's not who I think it is, right?
Elsewhere, the Shinjuku Squad huddled up in Rika as the fight that was being broadcast and watched by Yuuji, Yuuta, and everyone else who joined in on physically fighting Sukuna, if it had gotten to that dire of a point, all watched in confusion as a sudden flash of black energy lit up the Shinjuku skyline and both of the Strongest paused in confusion as another man was now on the battlefield and casually approaching the two. Yuuji watched up close, trying to make out everything that was happening from the distance the cameras were at.
"Who the heck is out there? What's going on?"
Yuuta could only shrug as Kashimo suddenly propelled forward and got a little too close to Yuuji, shoving him to the side slightly as he eagerly analyzed what was going on the TV screen.
"Is that person seriously stupid enough to think he has a chance? Against Sukuna and Gojo? What a joke!"
"Hey, shove it! I don't care if you're the Strongest from the Edo period, I was here first already!"
Kashimo stuck his tongue out at the irritated Yuuji.
"Boo hoo. Don't care."
Yuuji just gritted his teeth as he moved to another TV screen in defeat. He mumbled some offensive words towards Kashimo as he watched his sensei and his archenemy shout at the man. From the microphone mounted on the cameras, everyone within Rika could make out some of the words.
"-e's daring! Don't yo-...-you're making a mistak-"
"-hear, brat? We're in the mid-...-ou want to die-...-buzz off!"
Yuuji frowned. Even if it wasn't him, Sukuna using brat for whomever just seriously pissed him off. He just hated how it rolled off the curses tongue and everything about him.
Please win this, Gojo-sensei...
Suddenly, a tingle went down Yuuji's spine, and he shuddered without explanation.
"What the-"
"You too, huh?"
It was Kashimo again, and with a sigh, Yuuji nodded as he looked at Kashimo's face at a trace on the TV.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
Yuuta approached both of them, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Everyone felt that. Our cameras, for whatever odd reason, didn't pick up on it visually, but that man is a sorcerer, and an overwhelmingly strong one if anything...Shit, this isn't a part of the plan! What the hell is going on down there!?"
Yuuji's attention went back to the screen as he could see the facial expressions of his sensei and his enemy change in seconds. Sukuna seemed almost joyous about the development, and he was shouting something at the sorcerer in glee. Satoru, however, seemed to go frozen as his face dropped in disbelief, and what Yuuji could barely make out, fear.
That really worried Yuuji. Nothing, not even Sukuna himself, had faltered Gojo that much to where he didn't have his signature smirk on.
The other time that Yuuji was aware of this happening was when Kenjaku, wearing the body of Suguru Geto, had tripped up Satoru to trap him in the Prison Realm back in Shibuya, but even Yuuji didn't see it play out and only got Satoru's side of the story after he got unsealed.
Whoever decided to intervene really wanted to show he wasn't all appearance, as the black trench hoodie (or whatever it was) blocked his face and head.
Not only, he was rather tall. It wouldn't be crazy to say that the sorcerer was even taller than Gojo and Sukuna, being in his current state and not whatever his true form would be.
Could that sorcerer really take on either of the two?
As Yuuji watched closely in silence, it seemed like everyone else had shifted closer to the screens as well, as they analyzed everything that unfolded between Gojo, Sukuna, and the newcomer. Gojo and Sukuna seemed to be chatting amongst themselves from what Yuuji could tell as the sorcerer approached. The microphone, for an odd reason, no longer picks up on anything now, as the wind has increased its gust, and it could only be assumed that they were discussing what to do.
Then, the figure grabbed its hood as it stopped short of the two and started pulling it off. Sukuna and Gojo looked again, watching as the hood slowly came off. Sukuna had yet to react, but as whoever was showing their face, Gojo's eyes shrank, and whatever fear was on his face was now pure disbelief. It was only a second later when Sukuna's facial expression mimicked Gojo's for a brief moment before scrunching in anger. The figure had now fully pulled his hood off, and their pink hair waved in the wind, which looked very uncanny to Yuuji's hairstyle and color. Gojo's face then shifted from disbelief to something unidentifiable, and Sukuna's fangs flared as he shouted something at the man. Eager, Yuuji turned to Yuuta.
"Is there another camera angle av-"
But he stopped himself. Yuuta, along with everyone else, stood or sat in shock and disbelief. He then felt everyone's wide-eyed gaze slowly shift to Yuuji, and another tingle went down his spine.
"...Guys? What are you all seeing that I can't?"
Yuuta did a double-take at the screen, then back at Yuuji.
"...just come here and promise you won't freak the fuck out."
Yuuji gulped as he felt his skin tingle and his hands get sweaty. Slowly, he walked towards Yuuta, his heart pounding out of his chest as everyone's gaze followed his form.
This is really scary. What's happening? Who's the person? Why is everyone staring at me like I'm not supposed to be here?"
Finally, Yuuji stopped short of the Yuuta and stared at the sorcerer.
"What the hell is going on, Yuuta?"
All Yuuta did was raise a slow finger and point at the TV he was previously watching. Not able to hold it in anymore, Yuuji's head swung at the TV and looked at whatever was on the screen.
This time, it was Yuuji's turn to feel his heart stop and stare in his own wide-eyed expression.
No way in hell that's who that was.
He was standing right here, watching the broadcast like everyone else.
And yet, that face was unbelievably a match to his. Even the scars were, and so the hair.
"Yuuta...How the hell am I down there right now?"
"...Yuuji?"
"BRAT!?"
Itadori blinked, looking at the two sorcerers who stood in front of him. One of them was Satoru Gojo, his sensei and mentor who he cared for dearly and died, what Itadori would describe it, a horrendous death. He never saw him up close during the battle of Shinjuku, but seeing him again after 83 years almost broke him. The other one, as much as he hated him, was Ryomen Sukuna (who was currently possessing Megumi's body to fight against Gojo and have the advantage of wearing such a familiar face to make Gojo falter in his moves). As much as he hated Sukuna, though, even he missed how he nagged him in his head from time to time. He couldn't lie, however, that the reactions of the two were funny to him.
Satoru was the one to break the quick silence that fell for a moment.
"Yuuji, what the hell are you doing here!? I thought I told you to let me handle it!"
Sukuna was next, no surprise.
"And how the hell are you so strong!? Weren't you a pest the last time we fought?"
Itadori could only close his eyes and sigh. This was going to be a long day, no doubt.
Maybe he shouldn't have screwed around with that Time Travel technique after all.
"...you two have no idea."