Chapter 2: Returning 68 Years to the Past!
The speed of the countdown didn't seem fixed.
The more he interfered here, the faster it rewound.
The less he interfered, the slower it rewound.
It was an invisible intuition rising from deep inside him.
"Whew."
Yuji took a deep breath.
"A bit too spiritual."
He didn't dwell on it.
What he needed to confirm now was...
Was this a dream, or a parallel world,
or had he truly come back?
Yuji had seen countless movies, novels, anime...
During the most boring stretch of his life, he watched a lot, a lot.
So he had endless guesses.
Time travel
wasn't impossible.
After all, this was a world of jujutsu.
No matter what kind of technique appeared, it was possible.
"But it's too real."
"And there's no trace of a domain here—no cursed energy fluctuation at all."
Yuji looked around.
If it was real...
then so many regrets.
Then the friends and comrades who had died.
Even his grandpa—still alive, still able to...
Without realizing it, he ended up following the nurse, Sugisawa.
She didn't notice, just walked on her own, soon arriving outside a hospital room.
"Mr. Wasuke Itadori, your call—Yuji is asking what you want him to bring!"
"What a pain!"
A cranky old man's voice sounded from inside. "Tell him not to worry about me and go to his club activities!"
He held a handset. On the other end was his grandson.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Young Yuji.
"You heard him, Itadori. Which club are you in? Go to your activities first," Nurse Sugisawa said.
"Alright. I'll come tomorrow evening." Young Yuji's voice was a little low.
Maybe he understood his grandpa didn't have long.
"Go on already! All of you, stop bothering me!"
The old man, Wasuke Itadori, barked loudly.
Nurse Sugisawa flinched.
Just then,
a heavy feeling landed on her shoulder—someone patted her.
She turned.
A stranger in a hood.
"I'll do it."
Yuji stepped past Sugisawa and entered the room. In his eyes, a different kind of light danced.
That light...
hadn't appeared in nearly seventy years.
"Hey!"
Sugisawa was about to grab him.
But Old Man Wasuke Itadori was still shouting, "Are you deaf? I said—"
Today, his spirit seemed unusually good. Extremely good.
Not like the listless weakness of the past few days.
But...
when the hooded Yuji drew close, his voice suddenly dropped.
All at once, he became much calmer.
"Eh—what is this!?"
Sugisawa's eyes widened in disbelief.
Wasuke Itadori was a white-haired old man, bedridden.
Bad-tempered and stubborn!
Even though his grandson visited him every day, brought him flowers, and yelled only because he loved his only family...
he still shouted at his grandson all the time.
So aside from his grandson,
no one wanted to visit him.
But...
today was unprecedented!
This man was incredible!!
"It's fine. You should step out first... Miss Sugisawa."
Yuji turned his head slightly, a dependable smile at the corner of his mouth.
That profile, the glimpse of his face, left Sugisawa staring for a moment before she snapped back, nodded, and withdrew.
Wasuke Itadori raised an eyebrow. "Who are you...?"
He couldn't see the full face, but just from the voice, it felt familiar.
Like Yuji.
But steadier than Yuji—more seasoned, with a trace of confidence that was hard to notice.
How to put it...
Like his son, Yuji Hisashi.
But not exactly.
"Seriously. You're this old and you're still so hot-tempered."
Yuji came closer, sat in the visitor's chair, hands resting on his knees, hanging naturally.
He didn't look up. "Being able to see you again... is really nice."
"It's my fault back then..."
"I didn't listen to your last words properly. I didn't stay with you through your last day."
His voice was slow, but full of strength.
"Hey, hey, hey. What are you mumbling to yourself? Answer my question."
Wasuke Itadori's pale brows stayed knitted. "And listen—if you're a man, don't blame yourself for everything."
"Fierce as a tiger, a staff to support—life stubborn and strong. I'm Yuji Itadori."
He told the truth.
Sure enough,
the moment he said it,
the countdown sped up by several seconds.
"A distant relative... who are you again—no, that's not it. There isn't one." Wasuke Itadori couldn't recall.
Yuji smiled.
"Let's say I'm Yuji Hisashi's illegitimate son."
"Hah. You're lying! Don't underestimate an old man who's about to die."
Wasuke Itadori knew something.
He only had one brat of a grandson.
"You won't die..."
Yuji placed a hand on him.
At a level only sorcerers could perceive, a special fluctuation flickered out.
[Reverse Cursed Technique]
Simply put, it meant manipulating your cursed energy to convert it into positive energy, achieving healing.
Even injuries like severed limbs could be healed.
Reverse Cursed Technique wasn't easy. Healing yourself was one thing—many people could do that—but using it to heal others...
was hard.
Even Satoru Gojo never learned it.
As for Yuji, he'd been able to do it for a very, very long time.
He never lacked cursed energy, so he healed many people, and his mastery and understanding had reached the peak.
"Bzzz!!"
Unfortunately, it didn't work.
Birth, aging, sickness, death—those were natural laws.
Injuries could be healed, but illness and disease were different.
"Heh. You sure act familiar..."
Wasuke Itadori felt a gentle force. It was comfortable, but that was all.
Yuji's gaze flickered. His parents died early—he'd only seen them once, at birth.
After that, almost nothing.
Only his grandpa.
So...
he would find a way!
'Idle Transfiguration can change the soul and affect the body—maybe it would work.'
'Capture Mahito and force him to heal Grandpa...'
Yuji pulled his hand back, ideas forming.
But Wasuke Itadori suddenly pressed down on his hand.
"No need... Are you thinking about how to cure this old man?"
"Don't bother."
"Even if I get better, so what? At my age, the people I know just keep disappearing..."
"A man just needs to face death calmly in the end."
Yuji paused at that.
"Do you have any wishes?"
"No!"
"Got it." Yuji smiled. "You're a cool old man."
Dusk deepened.
He stayed with him all night.
No one came to question his identity as a caregiver—it went smoothly.
Near morning.
Wasuke Itadori said, "Alright, go. I don't know who you are, but there's no need for this."
"Then I'll come again in the evening," Yuji said.
"No need!"
"Do you want breakfast?"
"You're noisy. I've got no appetite... You young people should spend your best years on meaningful things, not on an old man like me!!"
"I'm an old man now too."
Yuji went to the door, about to leave.
"I'm strong—that's what you said."
"But I've disappointed you. I still haven't died surrounded by crowds, and I never got to experience a cool way to die."
"But I did fulfill the promise—or maybe the curse."
"I helped a lot, a lot of people."
"As long as it was within my ability, I saved everyone I could... just like now..."
Those were the words his grandpa said before he died—words Yuji had remembered ever since.
"I also know the truth about my parents."
"Goodbye. Being able to come back and see you one more time... I'm satisfied, Grandpa."
That last "Grandpa."
Before leaving, he took off his hood.
The old man's pupils shrank.
Yuji put it back on, returned to the hallway, and a few seconds later he heard the old man's soft voice.
"If you really helped a lot of people, then once in a while... you should rest, and help yourself too."
...
"You've grown up a lot, kid..."