Okarun looked at Momo, then back at the blindfolded man.
The name "Shibuya" sent a jolt of recognition through his mind.
In his world's manga, Shibuya was a graveyard for sorcerers—a disaster of cataclysmic proportions.
"Shibuya... you mean October 31st?"
Okarun's voice trembled, the violet streaks in his hair flickering like dying neon.
Gojo's grin didn't waver, but his posture stiffened ever so slightly.
"Oh? You know something, don't you?"
"Okarun, what is it?"
Momo asked, sensing the genuine terror radiating off him.
"Is it another one of those manga things?"
"It's a massacre, Ayase-san!"
Okarun hissed.
"If we're at the point where he's asking for help, then the 'Curtain' is about to fall. This world... it's about to break."
"Well, if you know what's coming, then you know I can't just let you sit on the sidelines,"
Gojo said, clapping his hands together.
The sound echoed through the forest, and suddenly, the scenery shifted.
In a blink, they weren't in the forest anymore.
They were standing in a wide, paved training arena surrounded by the traditional wooden architecture of Jujutsu High.
"Maki, go get the brat,"
Gojo commanded.
"I want to see how our guest handles him."
Within minutes, a boy with pink, undercut hair and a bright yellow hoodie over his uniform jogged onto the field.
He was beaming with a chaotic, friendly energy that reminded Okarun of a golden retriever—if that retriever could punch through a brick wall.
"Whoa! Are these the new guys?"
Yuji Itadori asked, his eyes widening at Okarun's sleek, vibrating form.
"Dude, you look like a character from a racing game! Is that your technique?"
"It's... it's not a technique,"
Okarun stammered, his mask clicking back into place as his social anxiety spiked.
"I-I'm the Turbo Devil. Well, partially."
"Devil? Like a curse?"
Yuji tilted his head, then shrugged.
"Whatever! Gojo-sensei says I'm supposed to spar with you. Don't hold back!"
Gojo sat on the edge of a stone wall, dangling his legs.
"The rules are simple: Itadori tries to hit you. You try not to get hit. And Okarun-kun? Try using that 'Phase' power. If you don't, Itadori's Divergent Fist will turn your insides into jelly."
"Ready... go!"
Yuji moved like a blurred streak of lightning.
He didn't have the supernatural speed of the Turbo Granny, but his raw physical power was terrifying.
He closed the gap in a fraction of a second, his fist whistling through the air.
"Too slow!"
Okarun's instincts kicked in.
He didn't just run. He phased.
As Yuji's fist was about to connect with Okarun's chest, Okarun's body turned into a series of overlapping, translucent planes.
Yuji's arm passed right through him, the momentum carrying the boy forward into a stumble.
"What the—?!"
Yuji spun around, staring at his own hand.
"I didn't feel any resistance! It was like punching the wind!"
Okarun reappeared five feet away, his body flickering with violet static.
He felt a sharp, stinging pain in his lungs.
'The Phase Devil's power... it's drawing on my stamina way faster than the Turbo power did.'
"Again!"
Gojo cheered from the sidelines.
Over the next ten minutes, the arena became a dance of impossible physics.
Yuji was a relentless force of nature, leaping off walls and floorboards, but Okarun was never where he seemed to be.
He was jumping through "layers" of the arena, appearing behind Yuji, then above him, then momentarily disappearing entirely.
Momo watched from the side, her brow furrowed.
She could see Okarun was getting tired. The violet streaks in his hair were spreading, turning his white locks into a deep, bruised purple.
"Stop!"
Momo shouted, stepping onto the field.
"He's reaching his limit! His body isn't used to this much distortion!"
Gojo stood up, his blindfold reflecting the sun.
"You're right. But did you notice, Okarun? When you phased through Itadori, you didn't just avoid him. You left a 'residue.'"
Okarun looked at Yuji.
The boy was shivering. Small, geometric sparks of violet energy were clinging to Yuji's uniform, slowing his movements down as if he were trapped in invisible molasses.
"You aren't just moving through space,"
Gojo explained, walking toward them.
"You're stalling it. From your knowledge of the future as you said. In Shibuya, there might be thousands of people trapped there. Your power could be the key to pulling them out of the 'dead zones' where my Infinity can't reach."
Okarun panted, his mask retracting to show a determined, albeit exhausted, face.
"If I help... if we save them... you'll find our world's frequency? You promise?"
Gojo lowered his blindfold just enough for Okarun to see the infinite honesty in those blue eyes.
"On my pride as the strongest. We'll get you home, hero."