The pain was constant.
Not the kind you feel after a fall or a superficial wound. No. This was a raw, sharp, internal pain… one that made him grind his teeth even when he breathed. Sitting in the lotus position, bandages stained with dried blood on his torso and part of his face, Naoya Zen'in trembled. Not from the cold. But from rage.
"This is humiliating," he thought, his brow furrowing. "I'm a Zen'in. A prodigy. And yet… a simple wound left me on the brink of death. I can't rely on bandages, doctors… or anyone."
His long, bony fingers rested on his abdomen where the cursed spirit's blow had nearly pierced his organs.
"Sukuna… Gojo… Yuta… they can all heal with a simple breath if they wish. And me? Do I have to wait for a servant to stitch me up like any other mortal?"
He dug his nails into his skin until they bled.
"I need to master it. The Reverse Curse Technique. And I will master it alone."
Training: First Attempt
He had stolen ancient books from the clan archives. Some were sealed. Others were illegible. But every word that spoke of "reverse flow," "reverse energy manipulation," or "polar reversal" was now memorized, etched into his mind like scars.
"You convert negative cursed energy... into positive energy... using a second negative charge... but consciously."
"It sounds stupid," he growled. "But if those idiots can do it, so can I."
He placed both hands on his abdomen. He breathed.
He visualized his cursed energy. Flowing like black water through his body... and tried to bend it, to force it to contradict its own nature.
A whiplash ran down his back.
"Ugh!"
He fell sideways. He convulsed. A trickle of blood ran from his nose. The bandage soaked deeper.
"No... I'm not going to stop."
And he repeated the process.
Internal Monologue – Night
As he lay on the ground, panting, his mind wandered.
"Is this what Touji felt when all ties to the cursed energy were cut? A broken body. An indomitable spirit. No... he didn't heal. He just wouldn't stop."
"But I go further. I'll be able to move after I die, if necessary."
He closed his eyes. He imagined Gojo Satoru's face.
Sukuna's on his throne of flesh.
Yuta's healing simply by wishing it.
"I won't be weak again. Not again."
Side Scene – The Unwanted Visitor
The next day, at the gates of the Zen'in Clan, a guard ran up, his eyes wide open.
"In-Invader! We have... we have..."
He couldn't finish the sentence.
A figure walked calmly down the stone path. Muscular, with visible scars, and a presence that choked the air.
Toji Fushiguro.
He was dressed simply. Black pants, a gray T-shirt. On his back, his sword. In his eyes, nothing.
"Where is the old man offering bounties?" he asked in a dry voice.
The guards didn't dare raise their weapons.
One of the elders stepped out. The same one who had placed a price on the head of a particularly elusive cursed spirit.
"Toji-san... we didn't expect you..."
"I carried out the task. Will you pay or not?"
The old man nodded tensely.
Toji didn't ask for anyone. He didn't look for Naoya. He wasn't interested. Not yet.
But the echo of their footsteps resounded through the clan halls like an omen.
Mage Commission Meeting
Far away, in a circular room lit by floating lanterns, the Mage Commission was debating.
"The Zen'in has developed a technique inspired by time-jumping. And now... he's trying to master TIC."
"What do we do?"
"If we let him grow, he could become another Gojo."
"Or worse... another Sukuna."
One of them stroked his beard.
"I'll propose placing invisible observers around his property."
"What if he detects us?"
"Then we'll know his threat is real."
A younger, older man wearing dark glasses whispered:
"What if Toji finds him first?"
Silence.
Naoya – Third Attempt
Blood.
Pain.
Failure.
"Damn!"
"Damn, stupid technique!"
He threw one of the texts against the wall. He took a deep breath. He trembled.
"I don't understand... what am I missing? Faith? Patience? I don't need patience! I need results!"
But something changed.
For a split second, a blue glow emerged from his palms.
The wound in his abdomen... closed by a millimeter.
"...What was that?"
He stood still. Sweaty. Astonished.
"I felt it... I felt it."
It wasn't healed.
But now he knew it was possible.
Closure
Sitting back down, his eyes closed and his body in tatters, Naoya muttered:
"Satoru Gojo isn't a miracle. Neither is Yuta. They're just men who mastered the forbidden."
"And if they did it... I'll do it too."
And as the candles flickered in her room, the reversed energy shone again… faint, weak, but present.
A promise.