On the screen, a blood-red pupil trembled with shock.
The owner of those eyes was Ryomen Sukuna, the supposedly invincible King of Curses. But what truly horrified the audience was the sight that followed: Sukuna was kneeling on the rooftop, his face pressed toward the concrete.
And Leo Vance's Gojo Satoru was leisurely sitting on Sukuna's back as if it were a park bench.
"And then, the cream inside these... it's truly artisanal. You can taste the quality," Gojo continued to explain to Megumi with a dead-serious expression, completely ignoring the monster beneath him.
UCLA Multimedia Lab.
"Leo is... he's actually doing it! He's incredible!" Ava stared at the screen, her eyes sparkling like stars. "If anyone ever calls him 'King of Cringe' again, I'm throwing hands. I'm serious!"
Next to her, Jordan was nodding rapidly, her eyes fixed on the silver-haired figure. "Look at that posture. He's not even trying, and he's dominating the scene. The charisma is just... off the charts."
It wasn't just the two of them. In the classroom, the atmosphere had shifted from mocking skepticism to stunned silence. Leo's Gojo was calm, composed, and effortlessly cool. By mixing high-stakes action with a nonchalant, bratty attitude, he had created a visual contrast that was absolute poison for anyone trying to hate-watch.
Chloe Vance sat with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed. He's such a show-off, she thought. Does his ego have its own zip code? But despite her stubbornness, she felt a traitorous heat in her cheeks. She had to admit, for a few seconds there, her "lazy, mess of a brother" looked like the coolest man in the world.
"I have to admit," a guy in the back row whispered, "In this specific frame, Leo Vance is officially more handsome than a young Brad Pitt. There. I said it."
"Shut up, man! Have you seen his Malibu paparazzi shots? Don't let the CGI fool you!" another student argued.
"Character actions do not reflect the real person!" someone else shouted, though they were clearly struggling to believe their own words.
The battle on screen didn't stop.
The kneeling Sukuna suddenly exploded with power, pushing off the ground and lunging at Gojo with sharp, blackened claws. Gojo, however, didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.
He moved with a ghostly, supernatural agility. Every time Sukuna swiped or kicked, Gojo's figure vanished into thin air, reappearing a split second later a few feet away. Sukuna couldn't even touch the hem of his black tactical jacket.
"After all," Gojo joked, appearing suddenly behind Sukuna, his back turned to the villain. "I have to show off a bit in front of my students."
Sukuna roared, slashing backward with enough force to cut through steel. Gojo simply caught both of Sukuna's wrists mid-swing and sent him flying with a casual toss.
"This guy... he's impossibly fast!" Sukuna thought, hovering in mid-air for a fraction of a second. "No, wait... it's not just speed..."
Gojo suddenly unleashed a single, precise punch. A massive shockwave erupted, blowing Sukuna through a stone railing and across the rooftop.
"Seriously," Sukuna spat, blood oozing from his lip as he stood back up, his eyes wide with a mix of rage and excitement. "You sorcerers are a pain in my ass in any era!"
Sukuna charged again, swinging a claw that shattered the concrete floor.
BOOM!
Half the rooftop was reduced to rubble. Sukuna laughed amidst the dust, looking for the corpse. But the next moment, his pupils contracted.
Emerging from the settling dust, the silver-haired man stood with a slight, mocking smile, holding up his fingers as if counting.
"Seven, eight, nine... that should be enough."
Thud.
As Gojo's voice faded, Sukuna's consciousness abruptly dissipated. Lucas Miller's expression shifted instantly from a demonic king to a terrified teenager. Itadori was back.
The viewers were left reeling. The fight was short, but the choreography was fluid, graceful, and devastatingly efficient. When did the "Hellraiser" learn to move like a world-class martial artist? The "haters" felt their narrative of a "failed vanity project" slipping through their fingers.
The plot accelerated. Yuji Itadori agreed to become a vessel for Sukuna to prevent his immediate execution. Gojo then took him to the Academy of Jujutsu, explaining the history of the King of Curses.
The audience learned that Sukuna had ruled over a thousand years ago, defeating every sorcerer who dared challenge him. Even in death, his twenty fingers were indestructible Grade-S cursed objects. He was the ultimate, invincible boss.
Naturally, the viewers were dying to know the answer to the big question.
"Instructor," Itadori asked, his voice full of genuine curiosity. "Between you and him... who's stronger?"
"Well," Gojo said, tilting his head thoughtfully. "If Sukuna regained all twenty fingers and his full power, it might be a little tricky."
Itadori looked worried. "Would you lose?"
Gojo looked directly into the camera and by extension, into the eyes of every viewer. With a calm, absolute confidence that made the entire world believe him, he replied:
"I'd win."
There wasn't a hint of doubt. It was a statement of fact, as indisputable as gravity.
The streaming comments exploded:
["I'd win!" Holy mother of... the confidence!]
[I feel like I could fight prime Mike Tyson right now! I'd win! (Disclaimer: I will not actually win).]
[Leo Vance's acting has undergone a literal rebirth. Not a hint of cringe. Not a hint of oil. I love this man. I hate myself for it, but I love him.]
The episode concluded with Principal Yaga's intense interview and Itadori's final acceptance into the Academy.
"You pass. Welcome to the Academy of Jujutsu!"
As the ending theme began to play, viewers across the country stared at their screens in disbelief.
"That's it? It's over?"
They had never felt forty minutes pass so quickly. They had come for the "greasy" memes and the train wreck, but they were leaving with a new obsession.
"I didn't even get to make one meme about him failing," a top influencer complained to his stream. "I have to watch the next one. Just... just one more."