On the massive screens of Global Stream, a hazy, heartwarming filter suddenly covered the lens. It was a flashback, but not one the audience recognized.
The setting was a sunny high school rooftop in suburban America. Lucas Miller's Yuji Itadori and Ashton Stone's Aoi Todo were wearing matching school blazers. Itadori was sitting on the ground, leaning against a vent, lazily flipping through a Shonen Jump magazine. Todo stood beside him, looking over his shoulder, a half-eaten sandwich in one hand.
The school bell chimed - a nostalgic, ringing sound. Todo took a deep breath, his face a mask of romantic determination. He was going to confess to his crush, the school's most popular girl.
Itadori didn't even look up from his comic. "Todo, don't do it, man. You're going to fail. You're not her type, and I really don't want to spend the whole afternoon comforting you while you cry into a bowl of ramen."
Todo ignored the warning, his chest puffing out. "A great man once said: 'What kind of fool thinks of failure before he even acts!' I'm going in!"
The scene cut to the school hallway. Todo stood before a beautiful girl, his head bowed. "I've liked you since freshman year! Please, go to the prom with me!"
"I'm sorry, Todo. I... I just don't see you that way."
The rejection was swift and brutal. A dejected, soul-crushed Todo walked through the school courtyard, with Itadori walking silently by his side.
"Is there... is there a chance she's just playing hard to get?" Todo asked, a tiny, pathetic glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Not a chance in hell, bro," Itadori said, patting Todo's massive shoulder with a sympathetic smile. "Come on. I'll buy you the extra-large spicy miso ramen. Let's go."
The memory dissolved. The scene shifted back to the brutal reality of the New York Academy forest.
"How embarrassing! I, who call myself the Invincible King, actually shed a tear!"
Ashton Stone's Todo was actually weeping, his face a mess of snot and tears, completely moved by the "void friendship" he had just hallucinated. He looked at Itadori with eyes full of a terrifying, intense bromance. "Itadori... it seems we are true, sworn brothers destined by the heavens!"
The live chat on Global Stream was a hurricane of laughter:
[LMAO! Todo just 'Created Friends Out of Nothing'! Is this his actual Cursed Technique?!]
[He fabricated a ten-year friendship in three seconds just because they both like Jennifer Lawrence. I am dying!]
[Leo Vance's imagination is illegal. He just gave the protagonist a high-level bodyguard through the power of 'Delusion'.]
[Did they keep a straight face while filming this? Ashton Stone's crying face is a masterpiece of comedy.]
[Wait, if my dad and I like the same type of girls, does that make us sworn brothers? Should I call him 'Bro' at dinner tonight?]
Starlight Management, West Hollywood.
Della Rose was laughing so hard she had to lean on Maya West for support. "Hahaha! Oh my god, Leo is a genius! Todo is officially my favorite character. Ashton Stone is killing it!"
Maya West, however, felt a deeper emotion watching the screen. "Indeed, Ashton Stone was the biggest star in the world when he was eight. Then, the industry did what it always does to child stars, it used him up and threw him away when his voice changed. He couldn't even get an audition for a commercial last year. I didn't expect Leo to dig him out of the 'has-been' pile and turn him into a comedy icon."
Maya herself had been a child star. She knew the cruelty of the business. If you aren't the 'current' trend, you're invisible. Seeing Ashton Stone reinvent himself as a hulking, hilarious powerhouse was a testament to Leo's eye for talent. Leo wasn't just casting actors; he was resurrecting careers.
As the "sworn brothers" continued their spar, the choreography shifted from brutal to educational.
"Super-human resistance to blows! And he's actively utilizing the terrain to his advantage!" Todo thought, growing more and more excited with every punch he threw.
Thud! Itadori delivered a flying kick that connected squarely with Todo's jaw.
"And his speed! It's breathtaking!" Todo beamed, looking like he'd just received a Christmas present instead of a concussion.
The audience began to suspect that Todo might be a masochist, but they couldn't help but fall in love with him. He was pure, chaotic, and oddly wholesome in his pursuit of "Best Friend" status.
While the "brothers" bonded through violence, the scene shifted to the depths of the forest, where the mechanical sorcerer Mechamaru and the hyper-realistic CGI Panda began their battle.
This was the moment the world experienced the charm of the "Kung Fu Panda" of Jujutsu.
Mechamaru was revealed to be a tragic figure. Due to a "Heavenly Restriction," he was born with a fragile, paralyzed body that couldn't even withstand natural sunlight. He lived his entire life in a dark room, controlling his mechanical puppet from miles away.
He looked at Panda, a literal stuffed animal who could walk freely in the sun, laugh with friends, and feel the breeze and he was consumed by a bitter, justified envy.
The battle was spectacular. The CGI for Panda was so high-tier that you could see every individual hair on his coat bristling with Cursed Energy. When the "Iron-Eating Beast" mode was activated, the screen practically shook.
After a grueling fight, Panda eventually pinned the mechanical puppet to the ground.
"Do you have any wishes? Anything you want to do once this is over?" Panda asked. There was no mockery in his voice, only a deep, ursine sincerity.
Mechamaru's puppet lay broken, reflecting the image of his healthy companions in its sensors. He just wanted to be with them. To touch the grass. To see the sky without a monitor.
"After seeing how ugly I am... after seeing what I really am... you'd still help me?" Mechamaru's voice crackled through the speakers.
Panda let out a soft, warm chuckle. "Buddy, look at me. Do you think I care about what someone 'looks' like? I'm a literal Panda!"
The audience was moved to tears. One was a gentle, protective bear; the other was a tragic soul trapped in a cage of metal.
[Panda is the realest G in the show. No wonder the ancients called them 'Iron-Eating Beasts'!]
[Why am I crying over a robot and a bear? Leo Vance, what are you doing to my heart?!]
[The special effects for Panda are better than most Disney movies. How is this a TV show budget?]
[Wait... the tag says 'Healing'. Does that mean Mechamaru gets his body back? I'm getting suspicious after Junpei... something feels like a hidden knife is coming.]
In his penthouse, Leo Vance watched the social media feed and smirked. They were catching on. The "Healing" tag was doing its job perfectly. The more they loved the characters, the more it would hurt when the "Shibuya Incident" eventually arrived. Everything, as he always said, was for the Art.