yea twrep... I'll be back

Even before he fully regained consciousness, he had already unleashed a powerful punch towards the looming figure he recognized as Toji.

Wack!

He gritted his teeth, determined not to scream as the impact landed squarely in his gut.

"You're slow, twerp," Toji sneered with a condescending grin.

"I'm only five," he gasped, struggling to catch his breath.

"Yeah, when I was five, I had already slain grade 2 curses. You're just making excuses."

"Well, I'm not you. I'm human, not some creature like you," he retorted, his voice laced with defiance.

"Hehehehe," Toji's creepy laughter echoed in the air.

Ignoring the unsettling laugh, he surveyed his surroundings, trying to gauge how long he had been unconscious. Approximately 20-30 minutes had slipped away.

"You're an absolute asshole, you know that? Who in their right mind forces a child to consume one of Sukuna's fingers? I had a one-in-a-million chance of surviving. It was practically a death sentence!" he seethed, his anger simmering beneath the surface. He had become familiar with Toji's relentless training, the brutal fights against curses where his life hung in the balance. But this act was beyond anything he had experienced before. Toji had recklessly gambled with his very existence. And for what?

Sighing heavily, Toji settled himself down, paying no mind to the withering glare he received. "Listen, kid," he grumbled, his voice laced with authority. "This world is in a constant state of change and evolution. It operates on a delicate balance. For every powerful sorcerer, there is an equally formidable curse or a sorcerer aligned with the curses. But those of us with heavenly restrictions that exchange all of our cursed energy into strength, like you and me, we are exceptions. We carry the burden of maintaining the balance, cursed by the world to prevent us from becoming sorcerers. However, what we choose to do with these restrictions is beyond the control of the world."

Toji's gaze held a deep understanding of his own strength. "Otherwise, a curse as powerful as Sukuna would've been born 'cause of me," he added, acknowledging the immense power he possessed. "But people like us are bloody rare, only emerging in the past few centuries. In the beginning, there were only one or two sorcerers per generation, usually not particularly strong. But you and I, we're different. We're stronger and better than most. I've trained you to be the strongest, to honour the deal we made, and to train others like us."

The mention of their agreement brought back memories. In exchange for Toji's training, he'd promised to protect Megumi, Toji's own child, when he eventually became a sorcerer.

"That still doesn't justify why you force-fed me a special-grade cursed object!"

Toji chuckled and reclined, gazing up at the sky, which made him feel truly insignificant. "Because nothing's certain in this world, twerp. I wanted to provide you with a fall-back plan if everything else went south. I knew you'd pull through; you always do. You're like a resilient cockroach, heheh... By the way, how did you manage to survive?" Toji didn't harbour a trace of guilt and cast a curious glance, eager to learn the details of his survival.

"Tsk, tsk. I struck a deal with him, and no, I won't divulge its specifics. Just know that it won't impact anyone else, and Sukuna can't inflict harm on anyone else."

Toji let out a disapproving sound from his mouth, conveying his annoyance.

Toji got up and started walking away. "I have some matters to attend to. I'll be back in a few days," he said.

Toji stopped at the edge of his camp and stood there for a good minute. "You're a good kid, Yuki."

Yuki, as he was now named, stopped and stared at Toji's back with sorrowful eyes. Both of them had a sense of foreboding – Toji's time was up, and he would never return. "Yes, thank you... Toji," Yuki replied, his voice tinged with a mixture of gratitude and sadness. And with that, Toji vanished from sight.

Some time that night, as he watched the flickering shadows of the flames, a worm-like curse slithered (or crawled?) onto his leg and then onto his lap. He gazed at the familiar worm-like curse with recognition—it was Toji's pet, Sōko. The curse spat out a note before shrinking down to the size of a pea, which he promptly swallowed. He picked up the note, finding only a bank account number, two names, and two attached photos. He rested his head back in his chair, allowing the tears to flow freely from his eyes.

After 30 minutes, his tears had long since dried. He now sat there, gazing sadly at the fire with unfocused eyes.

A gentle pat on his shoulder caught his attention. He didn't react at first, but then a voice, belonging to someone with an irritatingly punchable face, resounded in his ears. "You should come with me, kid."

Gojo Pov:

Gojo observed the kid from a distance, his mind filled with curiosity. "Why is this kid so important to Toji?" he questioned. In Toji's final moments, he spoke of the kid surpassing him and doing what was "right." But what did "right" mean according to Toji's perspective? From Gojo's observations, the kid didn't seem particularly extraordinary. He'd followed the trail of the worm-like curse to the kid and felt a strong urge to eliminate him, retrieve the worm, and destroy the Split Soul Katana and the Inverted Spear of Heaven. However, he hesitated. The kid could potentially be of use, and based on Toji's words, he was innocent and held the potential to surpass Toji himself.

"What is the best course of action? What should I do?"

After making his decision, Gojo sported a cocky smirk and teleported down.

A gentle pat on the kid's shoulder accompanied his arrival. "You should come with me, kid."