Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

"Mission accomplished."

After handing things over to the police and the cleanup crew, Kamihara Hajime had nothing else to do at the scene.

He hadn't been out much lately—constantly training at Tokyo Jujutsu High or getting sent out on missions—so he decided to stroll around for a bit and pick up some souvenirs before heading back.

By the time he returned, both Maki and Panda had also completed their missions. Maki had a slight mishap and sustained a minor injury, but fortunately, it wasn't serious.

Word was that Yuta Okkotsu's girlfriend, Rika, had fully manifested during a mission, completely annihilating the Curse they were up against.

Even more shocking—according to Maki—was that Yuta Okkotsu had been rated as Special Grade.

To put that into perspective, only three Special Grade Sorcerers were currently known: Gojo Satoru, the strongest; Yuki Tsukumo, who operated mainly overseas; and Suguru Geto, now classified as a Curse User.

So, was Yuta the fourth? Given the overwhelming power radiating from Rika when she manifested… it didn't seem impossible.

"N-No, not at all," Yuta stammered, clearly uncomfortable under everyone's stares. Panda was bursting with excitement nearby, and Inumaki Toge chimed in with a cheerful "Salmon."

Maki stood off to the side with arms crossed, pouting. To her, this bean sprout didn't look like a Special Grade at all. Without that Curse, he was basically a featherweight.

But still… he had saved her and those two kids back then. He was weak, sure, but his determination to grow stronger was undeniable.

"Let's go. Training starts now."

Maki turned and led the way to the training ground. Panda slapped Yuta on the back. "Come on! Let's grow stronger together!"

Yuta nodded with a smile, and the group followed after her. Warm sunlight filtered through the windows, casting a golden glow over their retreating figures.

---

"Haa… haa…"

Yuta leaned on his wooden training sword, chest heaving. His limbs were so numb they didn't even feel like his own. Across from him, Maki still looked fired up.

"Hurry up. Five minutes is more than enough rest," she barked.

On the nearby lawn, Panda stretched lazily. "Yuta's holding up pretty well. Maki and Hajime are taking turns sparring with him. What is this, round seven?"

"Salmon," Inumaki agreed.

After Yuta volunteered to strengthen himself quickly, Maki devised a brutal training plan: she and Hajime would alternate as his sparring partners, each pushing him to his limit.

Though exhausting, the results showed. Yuta was progressing fast, both physically and mentally. As for injuries? With Ieiri Shoko around and her Reverse Cursed Technique, there was no real problem.

Yuta slowly rose and took his stance again.

Maki smirked. "Ready to face the storm?"

Hajime, who had just finished his sparring session, was about to watch from the sidelines when he noticed Principal Yaga approaching—accompanied by someone else.

The next moment, that "someone" bolted toward him with uncontainable joy.

"White Wolf"

The dog launched itself at Hajime, tackling him to the ground and frantically licking his face.

After wrestling the energetic pup into submission and giving it a well-earned head rub, White Wolf finally calmed down and crouched by his side. Hajime took a better look at his old companion.

White Wolf had definitely grown—now, even sitting down, its back reached his waist. Its strength had increased too; that tackle had caught Hajime off guard.

More black fur had spread across its coat, and the Cursed Energy within it was now significantly denser. In terms of combat power, White Wolf was probably close to an average Second Grade Curse.

Of course, that was in combat mode. Unlike Panda, White Wolf wasn't a unique mutation—it was still one of Principal Yaga's finest Cursed Corpses, but not a miracle like Panda.

Still, it was impressive. White Wolf could function autonomously, consuming very little energy. But for combat, Hajime still had to actively supply it with Cursed Energy.

Back when Hajime first arrived at Jujutsu High, Yaga had taken White Wolf for "upgrades." Apparently, he'd made great strides with his technique and wanted to enhance White Wolf's capabilities.

Hajime turned to greet him. "Principal Yaga, what kind of upgrades did you make?"

Yaga smiled with restrained pride. "Overall, its performance improved. If supplied with enough Cursed Energy, it could exorcise weaker Second Grade Curses alone."

He paused, then added, "And I improved its tracking. Now it can detect and follow Cursed Energy trails more accurately over longer distances."

Hajime nodded in gratitude.

By now, the others had noticed the excitement and wandered over. Even Maki—who usually kept her distance—couldn't resist giving White Wolf a few pats after it playfully nudged her.

"Good boy," Yuta said softly, admiration in his eyes.

To demonstrate, Hajime had White Wolf shift into combat mode.

Cursed Energy surged from its body, muscles swelling, fangs sharpening, one paw nearly the size of Hajime's face.

It looked fierce—until two seconds later, when it sat down wagging its tail, asking for belly rubs.

Still, in real combat, it was a force to be reckoned with. With that tracking ability, they might've caught their last target much faster if White Wolf had been there.

Soon, Maki dragged Yuta back to training. Yaga left not long after—he had a principal's workload to handle.

The following days settled into routine: training, missions, and classes. Yuta had a lot of catching up to do, especially when it came to the Jujutsu World.

As for Hajime and Inumaki, being Second Grade Sorcerers, they often took on missions alone. Inumaki's Cursed Speech was especially effective against lower-grade Curses, while Hajime focused on improving his synergy with White Wolf.

Time passed quickly. Yuta improved fast, especially in martial arts and swordsmanship—he was already starting to keep up with Maki and Hajime.

After one morning session, Hajime was working on his Technique when he heard Panda calling.

"Hajime! The Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event is coming up!"

He blinked. Oh right, the inter-school competition. He'd almost forgotten about it.

Panda walked over. "It's usually for second and third-years, but most of them aren't around. Since we've got Yuta now—and the goal is to train first-years—they're letting us compete alongside Kyoto's first-years."

Hajime joined him at the vending machine. "With us and Yuta, we'll win easily, right?"

Panda handed him a cold drink. "Not a sure thing. Rika can't show up during the event—it's just an exchange, not a war. But Yuta's strong even without her. And we can use Techniques and Cursed Energy, so we've still got the upper hand."

"What kind of events are there?"

"Group battle, individual battle… we'll find out the details soon."

When they arrived at the field, Inumaki was running laps with White Wolf happily trailing behind. Maki was sparring with Yuta again.

Not long after Hajime and Panda showed up, Maki claimed victory. In pure physical combat, she still held the advantage.

"We've only got about a week," Maki said, wiping sweat from her brow. "Let's kick our training into overdrive."

Inumaki and White Wolf trotted over in agreement. Panda threw up a fist.

"That's the spirit! Let's go all in!"

"Hi, hi! My adorable students, seeing you all so fired up brings tears to my eyes~!"

They turned. Gojo Satoru, in casual clothes and his signature shades, had appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone greeted him. Maki narrowed her eyes. "Why is the blindfolded slacker here?"

Gojo grinned, hands behind his head. "Is that any way to talk to your beloved teacher? I came to see how my cute underclassmen are doing! And now that I'm here, I've decided—special training starts now!"

Maki and Panda didn't react too strongly.

But Hajime's expression darkened.

Gojo's "special training" was true hell—designed to push students not just to their perceived limits, but their actual limits. Hajime had experienced it once before. It was a beautiful nightmare.

He took a long drink and muttered, "Hell is coming…"

Panda blinked. "Huh? What was that, Hajime?"

---

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