Tokyo, Shibuya District.
The bustling crossroads were a sea of people beneath the glow of flashing neon lights.
Dressed in a simple black hoodie with hands tucked in his pockets, Yoru strolled leisurely through the crowd.
A ten-year absence hadn't changed this city much.
However, the malice and cursed energy lurking in the shadows felt even more pungent than a decade ago.
"What a bunch of revolting flies."
Yoru idly crushed a low-level curse that tried to creep toward him, a flash of disgust in his crimson eyes.
He wasn't in a hurry to find Satoru Gojo at Jujutsu High, nor Suguru Geto at the Star Religious Group.
Instead, he turned a few corners and walked into a somewhat dim alleyway.
From deep within the alley came the muffled thuds of fists hitting flesh, along with arrogant jeering.
"Hey kid, weren't you acting all tough earlier?!"
"A Zenin family bastard has some nerve acting cocky in front of us!"
"We're breaking your legs today for sure!"
Several delinquents with multi-colored hair, armed with iron pipes and baseball bats, had a boy in a black middle school uniform pinned into a corner.
The boy trapped in the middle had signature black sea urchin hair.
His youthful yet cold face bore several obvious bruises and bloodstains, but his eyes were like those of a cornered wolf, radiating unyielding ferocity and resolve.
It was Megumi Fushiguro—the boy whose fate Yoru had forcibly changed ten years ago!
Megumi had now grown into a fourteen-year-old middle schooler.
Although his physical strength was exceptional for his age, he still looked somewhat outnumbered against several seniors wielding weapons.
"Shut up," Megumi spat coldly.
He slowly raised his hands, his slender fingers weaving together quickly to form a seal.
A massive pitch-black shadow began to writhe and swell beneath his feet. It was the most basic yet lethal shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique—
Divine Dog!
With just a thought, this terrifying shikigami would tear these ignorant thugs to pieces.
However, just as Megumi prepared to summon Divine Dog and give these scumbags a lesson they'd never forget...
A voice so familiar it made his very soul tremble suddenly echoed from the alley entrance.
"Megumi."
"How did I teach you back then?"
"For trash like this who don't even have cursed energy, your fists are enough."
"Using a shikigami is an insult to the Ten Shadows Technique."
This sudden voice made everyone in the alley freeze.
The delinquents turned around irritably toward the entrance.
They saw a black-haired, crimson-eyed youth whose handsome features were enough to make anyone look twice. He was nonchalantly sucking on a lollipop as he walked toward them.
"Who the hell are you?! You want a piece of this too?"
"Look at this pretty boy. You want a beating as well?!"
A blonde thug with a baseball bat cursed and swung the weapon toward Yoru.
Facing the whistling bat, Yoru didn't even spare it a glance.
He simply raised a single finger.
*Bang!*
The moment the hard bat struck Yoru's finger, it felt as if it had hit an invisible steel wall, producing a dull, heavy sound.
Immediately after.
*Crack!*
The bat snapped clean in half. Sharp wooden splinters grazed the blonde's cheek, leaving a deep gash!
"Aaaargh!"
The blonde screamed in terror, collapsing into a heap on the ground like a pile of mud.
The other thugs were scared out of their wits. They scrambled over each other to flee the alley.
"M-Monster!"
In the blink of an eye, only Yoru and Megumi remained in the alley.
Megumi stood dazed, his deep eyes staring fixedly at the youth with the lollipop.
He even forgot to finish his seal, allowing the shadow beneath his feet to settle back into stillness.
Ten years.
It had been ten whole years!
The man who had descended like a god during his most helpless and desperate hour to pull him out of the mire.
Instructor Yoru, who had tempered Megumi's weak body into something as tough as steel through the harshest training.
He had actually returned!
Furthermore, the man's appearance hadn't changed even a single bit!
Time seemed to have completely halted for this man!
"What? Don't recognize me anymore?"
Yoru walked up to Megumi and reached out, heavily ruffling that signature sea urchin hair.
"You've grown quite a bit."
"However, I don't remember teaching you to take a beating with such a weak posture."
Feeling the familiar, warm touch on his head, Megumi's eyes instantly reddened.
He bit his lip hard, forcing himself not to let the tears fall.
On that usually cold face, a surge of uncontrollable excitement and joy finally surfaced.
"Instructor Yoru..."
Megumi's voice was raspy.
"Where have you been for the last ten years?"
"Did that idiot Satoru fail to even look after his own student?"
Yoru didn't answer directly. He bit through the lollipop and swallowed.
"Let's go."
"I'm buying you ramen."
"And while we're at it, let me check if your physical combat has regressed over these ten years."
Yoru turned and walked out of the alley, his steps light and composed.
Watching that back, which was still as tall and invincible as it was ten years ago, the weight that had been hanging in Megumi's heart for a decade finally vanished.
As long as this man was here.
No matter what terrifying enemies appeared in the future, no matter how the world changed.
He would be fearless!
Inside the ramen shop, steam rose from the bowls.
Yoru watched Megumi eat ramen in large gulps across from him, a hint of satisfaction flickering in his eyes.
Compared to the self-destructive version in the original story who habitually sacrificed himself and tried to summon Mahoraga at the drop of a hat...
The current Megumi, under Yoru's tutelage, clearly possessed a stronger will to live and absolute confidence in his physical power.
"Full?"
Yoru set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"If you're full, come with me to the underground training ground."
"Let me see if you're qualified to stand on that future battlefield."
Megumi put down his empty bowl, his gaze instantly becoming sharp and determined.
"Yes! Instructor Yoru!"
The lights in the underground training ground were dim and oppressive.
This was a secret property under the Gojo family's name, usually reserved for special training by Satoru Gojo and Megumi Fushiguro.
But today, the atmosphere here felt exceptionally heavy.
Megumi took off his school uniform jacket, revealing firm muscles that were completely unsuited to his age.
Just how terrifying had his physical combat become under Yoru's guidance?
And facing this Cursed-Energy-Less Sword Saint who had been missing for ten years, would he be able to withstand even a casual strike?
The sparks of battle were about to be ignited in this dark, subterranean world!