Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

"Gojo Satoru! That must be the Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit! I told you the curse recipient shouldn't participate in the exchange event—it's your stubbornness that led to this situation!" Gakuganji snapped, glaring at the screen while Gojo Satoru remained infuriatingly cheerful.

Everyone in the monitoring room wore a tense expression. Even through the screen, Rika's overwhelming presence as a Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit pressed against their nerves. Still unfazed, Gojo stretched with a smile. "Relax. Rika might look out of control, but she hasn't attacked anything around her."

They looked again. Despite the chaos, it was true—Rika wasn't lashing out at random. Under Mei Mei's steady control, the crows overhead continued to relay footage. Several students could be seen nearby, visibly shaken but unharmed.

"I'll go check it out," Gojo said with a grin. "It's probably nothing serious."

"I'll come too," Ieiri Shoko added, adjusting her coat. "Just in case someone's injured."

The two disappeared from the room in an instant.

In the sky, the monstrous form of Rika floated, her lower half dissipating into smoke. Her body was grotesque—jagged ribs protruded from her chest, her clawed hands twitched, and her eyeless face held a gaping maw filled with razor fangs. Tubular growths protruded from behind her skull, twitching like feelers.

From a safe distance, Gojo and Shoko observed her with intrigue.

"Quite the looker," Shoko muttered. "How are you handling this one?"

Gojo removed his sunglasses, blue eyes glowing faintly. "Yuta's done well with her so far. This isn't a total loss of control—it's something else."

He snapped his fingers.

"I'll weaken her just enough so Yuta can reel her back in."

Shoko raised an eyebrow. "Try not to level the area. The students are still nearby."

"I'll go easy." With a playful grin, Gojo vanished from sight, reappearing in the sky across from Rika.

She turned, sensing him, claws twitching. She hesitated, bound by Yuta's lingering control.

Gojo observed the scene: Yuta Okkotsu below, pale and sweating; nearby were Panda, Aoi Todo, and White Wolf—injured but alive.

"Let's wrap this up."

Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue.

Cursed Technique Reversal: Red.

The clash of these forces birthed imaginary mass—Hollow Technique: Purple.

A spark of purple shimmered at Gojo's fingertip, distorting the air around it. He flicked it forward.

A perfectly straight trajectory ripped through the sky. It passed clean through Rika, bored a massive crater in the earth behind her, and kept going.

Rika shrieked, body splitting open. Moments later, she began healing, but her aura had diminished.

As she lunged in retaliation, Gojo gave her a cheeky wave. "Bye-bye!" He vanished once more, reappearing on the ground.

---

Kamihara Hajime arrived at the scene, his Technique bringing him just in time to see Yuta Okkotsu panicking while Panda and Todo nursed injuries. White Wolf whimpered, clearly shaken.

"Hajime! Where's Gojo? I can't hold Rika back anymore!" Yuta cried.

Hajime glanced up. Rika thrashed in the air, screeching distorted versions of Yuta's name. The damage to Panda and Todo looked severe, but likely not fatal. Hajime pieced things together—Todo must've endangered Yuta, triggering Rika's protective instinct. The Curse had manifested to defend him, breaking through Yuta's control.

Hajime stepped forward. "Hold still."

He activated Reverse Cursed Technique, channeling Cursed Energy through his hands. Wounds began to close—slowly but surely. It wasn't on Ieiri Shoko's level, but enough to stabilize them.

"Tch," Hajime clicked his tongue. "You'll be fine until Shoko gets here."

Yuta looked surprised. "Wait—was that your Technique?"

"I swear, did Gojo not tell you anything?" Hajime said, irritated. "That's Reverse Cursed Technique. You can learn it too. I'll teach you later."

At that moment, Gojo reappeared in the air and unleashed another Purple. The sky cracked. Rika was struck again, her shriek echoing like thunder.

"Rika!" Yuta called out in panic.

Hajime placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "She'll heal. A Curse with her energy pool recovers fast—especially one bonded to a powerhouse like you."

Indeed, Rika's mangled form slowly began regenerating, though visibly weakened.

Gojo touched down in front of them. "Yo! Everyone alive?"

Yuta nodded quickly. "But I still can't control her…"

"You did well," Gojo reassured. "Thanks to you, we avoided a real disaster. Leave the rest to Hajime."

"Wait, what?" Hajime frowned. "You just said—"

"You're my student, right? You should share my burdens." Gojo gestured at the recovering group. "I'll take them to Shoko. You and Yuta finish up here. I believe in you."

And with that, he was gone.

Rika surged forward again, despite her injuries. Yuta turned to Hajime nervously.

"Don't worry," Hajime sighed. "I'll go calm your girlfriend down. After that, she's your problem."

Rika, now screeching Yuta's name mindlessly, lunged.

"Stop here."

Hajime vanished.

A beat later, a concussive wave rippled across the area. Rika was thrown back, crashing through trees.

Hajime examined his fists. The cursed sword wasn't suitable—its grade too low to contain the raw energy. So he relied on pure physical reinforcement.

Rika rebounded, her massive form rushing back. Her claws shimmered with energy, but Hajime saw everything clearly. His reflexes, enhanced by his Technique, let him read even high-speed attacks like slow motion.

Time Wheel Spin.

Appearing at her side, Hajime unleashed a barrage—his Cursed Energy output maxed. First punch. Second. Third.

Then he disengaged, canceling his Technique.

Everything detonated at once.

A burst of raw power exploded outward, clearing the area. The forest floor cracked, a pit forming where Rika had stood. She flew like a ragdoll, crashing through trees in the distance.

Breathing out, Hajime activated Reversal to restore his stamina. The effort had been immense. He'd even triggered a Black Flash during his assault.

Still… Rika wasn't down. But her regeneration had slowed.

"One more."

Hajime pointed his fingers, gathering raw Cursed Energy into a blinding mass. The air distorted, leaves scattered.

When the orb grew to the size of a human head, he vanished it using his Technique.

Then—Impact.

A straight trench tore through the forest, all the way to where Rika lay. The devastation was staggering.

Rika's body twitched. She groaned, her form flickering and unstable. Hajime approached and glanced back at Yuta.

"She'll be fine," he said. "Give her a day or two, she'll be bouncing around again."

Yuta blinked. "That… sounded weird."

Rika whimpered and drifted toward Yuta, shrinking down and merging with the sword he carried.

Originally, the link had been the engagement ring they exchanged as children. But with Gojo's advice, Yuta had been working to embed her into a more stable medium—the sword.

Yuta knelt, gripping the blade. "Thank you, Hajime… and Gojo too. I almost hurt everyone again."

Hajime walked over and helped him up. "Don't beat yourself up. You held her back long enough for Gojo to intervene. You did great. Everyone's fine."

Yuta tried to say more, but Hajime cut him off. "Come on, let's get you checked out. You can ask Shoko about Reverse Cursed Technique while we're at it. She's the expert, after all."

---

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