"Nothing urgent for now," Gojo said casually, "but—Shingen, you should try not to strengthen your body using your Technique too often. Accelerating your personal time… it might also age your body faster."
Shingen's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying I might suddenly… grow up too fast? Age prematurely?"
Gojo grinned. The image of teenage Shingen suddenly looking like a tired middle-aged man popped into his mind. He burst out laughing. "Pfft—hah! Just imagine you in your twenties with back pain in middle school—what a sight."
After his laughter died down, he added more seriously, "Still, it's something to be careful of. But once you learn Reverse Cursed Technique or master Technique Reversal, it might not be a problem anymore."
Standing nearby, Yaga Masamichi folded his arms. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Reverse Techniques are difficult to master, even for adults. Take it step by step, Shingen. You've got time."
"Exactly!" Gojo chimed in, giving Shingen a playful pat on the head. "That's why for now, we'll keep it simple. We'll say your Technique is object acceleration, nothing more."
Yaga understood immediately. This is to keep Shingen safe.
In the world of Jujutsu, knowledge could be as dangerous as power. Shingen's ability — Time Wheel — was rare and potent. Revealing it too soon would make him a target. Labeling it as a more common "object acceleration" Technique would deflect attention while his skills matured.
Megumi's Ten Shadows Technique was similarly disguised. Most assumed he was just a summoner with generic Shikigami, not a inheritance techniques of a Zen'in Clan. And unlike Megumi, Shingen had no lineage, no clan backing him. That meant Gojo and Yaga had to cover his blind spots.
Later that day, back home, Gojo dumped a chaotic stack of books on Shingen's table — some old, others new — many from the Gojo family archive.
"Here ya go!" he declared proudly. "These will teach you everything about the Jujutsu world! Not that I'll teach you myself. Too much work. You're smart, Genichi — you'll figure it out."
Shingen stared at the mountain of tomes, deadpan. Seriously? You expect a seven-year-old to understand these? I can barely write kanji properly…
Gojo vanished through the door — only to poke his head back in seconds later. "Oh, by the way! You and Megumi should be officially enrolled in school tomorrow. You two play nice, alright?"
Then he vanished for real.
"Wait! What school?! What's the name? The location? HOW DO I EVEN GET THERE?!" Shingen shouted toward the empty doorway.
No response.
He sighed, resigned. "I'll ask the Fushiguros..."
With that, Shingen shoved the unreadable tomes onto a shelf in his room, vowing to deal with them later.
•••••
Life in elementary school turned out to be… boring.
The material was easy, painfully so. The kids were loud and immature. Shingen stood out — not because he was trying to — but because he was already operating on another wavelength.
He focused his time on academics, crushing tests and acing every subject. He drew quiet praise from every teacher, but he made few friends. Most of his social life revolved around Tsumiki and Megumi.
Tsumiki, with her calm and patient warmth, was a natural bridge. Megumi… was another story.
Their first fight — if it could even be called that — wasn't serious. Just a minor scuffle. A few shoves. Some harsh words.
But Shingen didn't hold back emotionally, even if he held back physically. His technique mastery made it laughable — if he had wanted to win, Megumi wouldn't have stood a chance.
Still, he found the sea-urchin-headed boy fascinating. Why are you always sulking? he wondered. You have a sister who adores you, and a real family now. So what's your excuse?
And Megumi, on his part, couldn't quite figure Shingen out. He was talented, confident, and annoyingly smug. Worse yet, he got along with Tsumiki far too well.
It all changed after that one incident.
Some older boys,barely controlled delinquents — had the nerve to mouth off to Tsumiki in the hallway.
Shingen didn't hesitate. He stormed into their classroom alone.
The next five minutes were a one-sided disaster.
By the end, the floor was littered with groaning bodies, and the classroom was a mess of overturned desks and fearful whispers. Shingen left with his shirt sleeves rolled up, not a scratch on him.
He was called to the office later, of course. There was supposed to be a punishment — but strangely, all he received was a warning and a forced letter of apology.
He suspected Gojo had intervened behind the scenes. Either that, or his perfect academic record saved him.
That apology letter, by the way?
Megumi wrote it.
He'd refused at first, but one pointed glance from Tsumiki, and he was done. Shingen sat nearby, smirking. "C'mon, you write so neatly. Besides, it's your fault for not stepping in first."
Megumi's pen almost snapped.
By middle school, things mellowed.
They were still classmates — all three of them. Tsumiki was as kind as ever. Megumi still grumbled, but the tension between him and Shingen had thinned into something closer to teasing banter.
The fights with delinquents continued, but now it was Megumi's turn.
His sharp looks and brooding aura made him popular with the girls. Too popular.
Rejected boys started picking fights out of jealousy — only to find themselves flattened. Word spread. Megumi earned a nickname — something overly dramatic like "The Ice Fang" — though Shingen could never remember it properly.
Shingen, however, avoided trouble in a different way.
On the first day of school, he'd strolled in wearing high-end clothes, dyed hair, and a smirk that screamed "untouchable." When some rougher upperclassmen tried to jump him after school, he beat them down so fast their shoes flew off.
They never came back.
From that point on, no one dared mess with him.
Through the years, Gojo continued his erratic mentorship. Most of it involved ambush sparring, bizarre riddles, or lectures while upside down.
Still, Shingen learned fast, his talent for Jujutsu is overwhelming.Gojo even sure that if Shingen doesn't have Innate Techniques he still became formidable Sorcerer.
By age sixteen, he had reached the point where even Gojo admitted:
"Anything below Special Grade shouldn't be a problem for you in hand-to-hand combat. But don't let your guard down."
•••••
The news came on a lazy weekend.
"You're enrolling in Tokyo Jujutsu High," Gojo said cheerfully.
Shingen, stretched out on the couch with a can of cola, blinked. "Now? I thought I had to finish junior high. Also, what about Tsumiki and Megumi?"
He was dressed casually, his long white-dyed hair tied back — leftover from a recent cosplay. He'd gone as Kakashi to a convention, and the look had kind of stuck.
Gojo waved dismissively. "You've outgrown normal school. Megumi's still not sure if he'll enter the Jujutsu world. Tsumiki... well, she just normal human, and that's fine."
Shingen eyed him suspiciously. "You just want me out of your hair, don't you?"
Gojo grinned. "Yup."
Shingen sighed. "Guess I'll hang out with Panda, then. He's enrolling this year too, right?"
"Correct."
Panda, the special Cursed Corpse created by Yaga, had become one of Shingen's closest friends. They hit it off from the first meeting — something about Panda's straight-faced humor and Shingen's chaos energy just worked.
Then Gojo suddenly appeared again, holding a long wooden box like it was a birthday present.
"Ta-da! Your enrollment gift — a Special Grade Cursed Tool. Custom-picked by yours truly!"
Shingen sat up, intrigued. He opened the box carefully.
Inside was a bow — lacquered red with no string or arrows. But it pulsed with silent power.
"This is Extermination. You use Cursed Energy to form the string and arrows. With your reserves, it's perfect."
Shingen nodded in appreciation. He couldn't wait to try it — though probably not indoors.
Later that evening, he packed his bags. Essentials only: PS4, Switch, some manga, and of course, Shirone.
Before leaving, he made a stop.
He knocked on the Fushiguro door.
Megumi answered, eyebrows already furrowed. "What?"
"I'm heading out tomorrow. Jujutsu High. Just came to say goodbye."
"Tch. You're so dramatic."
"Wrong. This goodbye is for your sister. Don't flatter yourself."
"Whatever."
Inside, Tsumiki welcomed him warmly. She knew enough to understand what Jujutsu High meant.
She made him dinner. He stayed for hours.
When it was time to go, Shingen stood at the door, waving.
"I'll visit when I can."
He turned.
And just like that, Shingen stepped forward, ready to leave behind the ordinary world and enter the Jujutsu world for real — with Time Wheel in his soul and Extermination on his back.
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