Amid the ruins of a battlefield, two figures stood.
One was a man with white hair and blue eyes. Opposite him stood another man with four eyes, black hair, and burn scars across his face, wearing a mocking grin.
"Gojo Satoru… I will never forget your name. As long as I live, I will remember you," the man said.
In an instant, the white-haired man—Gojo Satoru—was split in two and fell to the ground. Blood spilled from his mouth as a single thought crossed his mind:
"I'm sorry, everyone… I failed again."
As his eyes closed, a dazzling light enveloped him. When he opened them again, the battlefield was gone. There was no pain, no wounds. But he noticed something strange: his body had shrunk.
"What's happening to me? Why am I smaller? Wasn't I fighting Sukuna?" he muttered.
When he looked into the mirror on the wall, he saw that he had returned to his childhood. The room before him was unfamiliar—he had never lived here before.
At that moment, the door opened. A woman in her thirties with black hair and an apron appeared.
"Satoru, dinner is ready. Come downstairs," she said.
Satoru looked at her in confusion, but obeyed. When he came down, he found a black-haired man holding a newspaper.
"Satoru, you don't usually wake up this late. Couldn't sleep because you're excited about the ninja academy?" the man asked.
Satoru stared at them as if they were strangers. "Who are you? Is this Sukuna's trick? Did he trap me in an illusion?" he snapped.
The woman asked anxiously:
"You don't remember us? You're joking, right?"
The man set his newspaper aside.
"Satoru, this isn't the time for jokes."
Satoru stepped back and shook his head. "No… I don't remember you."
After the couple whispered to each other, the woman took a deep breath.
"Satoru, we are your parents."
Satoru raised an eyebrow.
"My parents? This must be a joke!"
But the man walked up to him and knocked him out in a single motion.
⸻
Konoha Hospital
When Satoru opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital. A doctor stood over him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gojo, there's no sign of illness. Most likely stress-induced memory loss," the doctor said.
After the doctor left, only Satoru and his family remained in the room.
"What do we do, Sakamoto?" the woman asked, her eyes brimming with tears. "He was supposed to go to the academy today…"
Sakamoto took a deep breath.
"Akira, calm down. We'll find a way. For now, just stay with him."
Akira nodded and stayed by her son's side. A few hours later, Satoru awoke. The woman embraced him.
"My child, I know all of this feels so new to you. You've forgotten us… but don't worry. We're here for you."
For the first time in a long while, Satoru felt something he had almost forgotten: warmth and compassion. He hugged her back.
"I don't remember you… but this feeling is comforting."
A while later, Sakamoto entered.
"The doctor said we can take you home. Let's go."
When Satoru returned, his eyes scanned his surroundings. His new family seemed to be ordinary shinobi. His father, Sakamoto, was a war veteran, and his mother, Akira, was a nurse.
But Satoru had noticed one crucial thing: the Six Eyes were still with him. That meant he could use all of his powers again.
"This new world… a new beginning," he thought.
"And this time, I will stand at the top alone. No one will ever cut me in half again."