"Divine Dogs!"

Itadori was startled when the head of a black wolf suddenly emerged from a shadow at his feet, instinctively moving just in time to escape a bite.

But as he seemed to retreat, he felt trapped as something coiled around his ankles, his gaze shifting to see the tongues of several frogs holding him in place.

"Damn."

Grinning nervously, he quickly raised his defenses when he noticed a shadow hovering over his body, a powerful impact striking him and sending him across the training field.

"Nue!"

It had been a few weeks since he had been actively training every day. Initially, he mainly trained his combat skills with Maki, but it didn't take long for Megumi and the other students to join him.

Nobara was a bit lazy but had a great sense of combat and could even match someone like Panda. Thanks to daily practice, she eventually managed to unleash a Black Flash during a combat training session.

It was quite painful, especially for Yuji, who was the one training with her at that time. Taking a full Black Flash was anything but pleasant.

But by far, the person Itadori was most excited to train with was Megumi. He had many ideas regarding Megumi's shadow technique, mainly because his friend at the space station was a fan and loved discussing his powers.

His friend also strangely had an obsessive fandom for Kirara, so he had great knowledge of the... girl?

Well, that didn't matter in the end; Itadori wasn't one to judge.

Feeling the electricity resonating through his body, Itadori gritted his teeth as he threw a rock toward Megumi, who dodged while forming hand signs again.

He didn't hold back and gave all the suggestions he had in mind.

The Ten Shadows Technique was an interesting innate technique and quite versatile. It certainly had tremendous potential, but there was one problem.

And that was Megumi himself.

As cruel as it sounded, it was, in fact, true. Megumi limited his own technique, using it in a very... literal way.

Itadori noticed this and decided to help Megumi with it.

He knew that to change the fate of this world, he alone would not be enough. He wasn't omnipotent, and besides, a month was far from enough time for him to get strong enough.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The world of Jujutsu Kaisen was far from a kind one.

Even with monstrous talent and powerful determination, he alone would not be able to face Kenjaku, Mahito, and Jogo all at once.

God knows he would if he could.

That's why he needed his companions to get stronger, so the power gap between them wouldn't be so glaring.

!

Opening his eyes when he felt his feet sinking, Itadori quickly turned and punched, his fist hitting the head of a black wolf directly, dissipating it into shadows.

With this goal in mind, he helped Megumi train his abilities.

And his tips changed the way the boy used his shadows.

The Ten Shadows Technique essentially involves using shadows as a means to summon shikigami.

If destroyed, Megumi became unable to use them again... but then, what was the need to summon them fully?

Summoning them fully, the Shikigami were prone to being destroyed if they faced a greater force.

But summoning them partially, keeping them still in their shadow forms, what would happen?

"Divine Dog!"

After punching, Itadori widened his eyes when another shadow emerged beside him, his grin growing when the wolf's head formed again, its mouth opening to bite.

Itadori stopped it from biting, grabbing its jaw and keeping its mouth open.

!

But as he seemed ready to retreat, the wolf dissolved, the shadow falling to the ground, only to reveal a shoe emerging from within it, a kick hitting the boy's face directly.

The answer to the previous question was: They weren't destroyed, just returning to their shadow state.

Beyond this capability, maintaining a partial summoning opened up many possibilities.

Shaping, transforming, exchanging.

This was the true control of shadows.

Retreating quickly, Itadori watched Megumi sink into the shadows, his eyes narrowing as he prepared.

And observing a shadow forming in front of him, he soon realized it would be another wolf.

But as he seemed ready to attack the wolf, his eyes widened when the shadow changed before his eyes, transforming into a fully formed Nue.

And with the distance between them closing, he realized.

'I won't be able to dodge.'

!

The Shikigami's wing hit him directly, electricity coursing through his body and making his muscles tremble.

'Indeed, with this new way of fighting, Megumi has become a danger.'

With shadows emerging behind Itadori, Megumi appeared, ready to strike.

'But there's a problem...'

Surprising the dark sorcerer, a fist appeared before his eyes, hitting his face directly and sending his body across the field, his back hitting the ground and forcing him to use his fingers to stop his momentum.

"The offensive power of your Shikigami is nothing special; you need to find a way to improve that." Itadori wiped the bloodstain from his lips, approaching a struggling-to-rise Megumi. "But you've improved a lot; your fighting style is much more lethal. I was caught off guard several times."

Offering a hand, Megumi promptly took it, getting up with some difficulty.

"But still, I couldn't beat you." He seemed disheartened, and Itadori could understand that. At least, that's how he felt when training with Gojo.

"Even so, your improvement is undeniable."

Nodding, Megumi managed a smile. Even though he couldn't defeat Itadori, he was still satisfied with his results. He couldn't deny that thanks to the boy, he had broken out of his stagnation with the use of his cursed technique.

"Hey, are you guys done?"

Turning when they heard a new voice, they noticed a smiling Maki walking toward them.

"Now it's my turn! Let's train, Itadori!" The girl threw a wooden sword toward Yuji, the boy promptly catching it.

"Damn, you're really addicted to this, aren't you?" Itadori asked, noticing that the sun was starting to set.

"What can I say?" With a toothy grin, the girl prepared herself.

Megumi, seeing the interaction between the two, just walked away toward the dorms. "I'm going to take a shower."