The Golden Age Arc

**The Golden Age Arc** (黄金時代編, Ougon Jidai-hen) is an intermediary arc of the *Jujutsu Kaisen: The Star, The Blight, and The Rose* series. It follows the first life of Shichihyaku Fujiwara and his life during the Heian Era, the golden age of jujutsu.

## Synopsis

### The Child Born To Be The Strongest

During the Heian era, a mircale child was born to the Fujiwara clan. a healthy boy, second born to the Fujiwara Clan Head, who was foretold to die before his own birth. His older brother, five years older than he, was born entirely as planned. These two boys would grow up to felp shape the whole of jujutsu, within its golden age.

#### Fallen Leaves, Clouds Call

A whole 18 years after his birth, Shichihyaku Fujiwara, the second son of the now aging Fujiwara Clan Head, has garnered himself a reputation as a recluse and aloof individual. He is whispered about behind his back, many finding his reclusive nature and tendency to skip important meetings in favor of staying in his room to study disgraceful. He prefered things this way, as they did not hinder his ability to leave the Fujiwara Estate to think underneath a slow falling waterfall. One day, both he and his brother, Kyuhyaku Fujiwara, were called by the elders of the clan to an important meeting, to which absence would not be tolerated.

Upon their arrival, Kyuhyaku joked to his brother about his "bookworm attitude", saying it was a rare day indeed that Shichihyaku showed up to a meeting, to which he annoyingly replied that the elders said he'd get his books taken away if he didn't show up. As the high ranking members of the Fujiwara clan arrived, they greeted Kyuhyaku warmly with kind words and smiles, whereas they glared at Shichihyaku and called him a failure under their breath. As the elders arrived, they informed the brothers that as of 1 hour ago, their father, the Clan Head, had died.

While Kyuhyaku was extremely shocked and saddened, his younger brother only stood their, seemingly unfazed. This greatly angered the members of the clan, who accused him of being heartless and without shame. Shichihyaku pointed out that they didn't care about his father at all, only about who to appoint as the next Clan Head. This immediately silenced the Fujiwara members, who returned to their sitting positions. As the elders addressed the two, they brought out their fathers will, which stated that the decision of which of his two sons would become the next Clan Head would be in the hands of the elders. They compared Kyuhyaku, the resolute and dependable sorcerer, who's cursed technique was considered one of the strongest, if not the strongest of their era, to Shichihyaku, who constantly ignored norms and traditions, and whose measly shogi technique was "weak and without purpose". This led to a completely one-sided decision that Kyuhyaku would become the next Clan Head. As the older brother swore to be a good leader just like his father, Shichihyaku simply asked to see his father, leaving the room.

Upon reaching his father's room, he knelt before his bed, where his father's corpse still lay. With no prying eyes around, Shichihyaku angrily shouting his distress at his father's body, who had known about Shichihyaku's training, but did nothing to make him feel less alone. He vented his anger that his father only ever cared about Kyuhyaku, despite all that Shichihyaku did to try to impress him in secret. As Shichihyaku began to leave the room, he heard a distorted voice from his dead father's mouth, ordering him to apologize.

Suddenly, the entire room was blown apart, massive black spikes shooting from all directions. Shichihyaku easily dodged the attacks, but several elders were ripped apart. The whole building was quickly blown to shreds as the vengeful spirit of their beloved Clan Head emerged, ordering someone to apologize to him. As Kyuhyaku took notice he used his technique to attempt to subdue it, but the cubes were blown apart by the anti-gravity properties of his father's technique. As he began to prioritize the safety of his clan, he saw Shichihyaku charging towards the spirit. He shouted to his younger brother not to get close, but in an instant, Shichihyaku activated his techniques innate domain, separating himself and his cursed spirit father from time and space, with a shogi board in front of them. Suddenly a vestige version of his human father replaced the cursed spirit in front of him, smiling and acknowledging that this is what his youngest son had been shirking meetings for.

As the two played shogi together, Shichihyaku's father apologized for not being there for his son, which Shichihyaku told him to keep, saying that the solidarity he felt only helped him understand something. As Shichihyaku set up his last piece for the victory, his father asked what he had finally understood. As Shichihyaku won the match, he revealed it to him: "what I need to do to become The Strongest. Because it's something that I *can* do." As the dust settled, Kyuhyaku arrived on the scene to find the vengeful spirit dissapearing, with Shichihyaku standing over its fading body, for all the Fujiwara clan to see.

#### The Construction of a Heart

Two years after Shichihyaku's victory over the Fujiwara Vengeful Spirit, his younger sister, Funosu is woken in the middle of the night by several caretakers, telling her to hurry to her brother's room. Upon hurrying to Shichihyaku's room, she finds Kyuhyaku is already there, along with several caretakers and Mamoribito, Shichihyaku's personal caretaker, explaining the situation.

As it happened, one year after his victory over his cursed spirit father, Shichihyaku had contracted an unknown illness, to which there wasn't even a name, and no hope for a cure. Mamoribito explained that Shichihyaku ordered him to keep it secret from everyone else, believing that it wouldn't have mattered anyways. To Kyuhyaku and Funosu's suprise, however, their brother had learned to use reverse cursed technique to constantly heal himself within a few months of contracting the illness and had learned such incredible cursed energy efficiency that his cursed energy consumption had become infinitely close to zero. However, he overdid the healing on himself that night, resulting in the illness flaring up unexpectedly. Shichihyaku told them not to worry about him, with Funosu slapping him for being so quiet about his suffering. Meanwhile, Kyuhyaku felt immediately bad that he had become jealous of his brother's growth with jujutsu while he was sick yet couldn't shake the feeling.

As the morning rose, Shichihyaku had breakfast with his siblings, something the three hadn't done since their father died. As they talked, Kyuhyaku's deep seeded jealousy began to flare up as Shichihyaku excitedly talked about his findings on the soul and cursed energy itself. As he was about to yell at his brother, one of his wives entered the room, informing him that the elders had something important to discuss.

As it happened, an unknown woman that the Fujiwara clan had been monitoring had entered one of their lesser estates and achieved victory over the Five Empty Generals, much to Kyuhyaku's shock. He asked for her location, and immediately rushed to the scene. There, he found a woman wearing nothing other than an untied haori waiting for him. Recognizing her strength, he activated his technique, asking her why and how she beat some of the greatest sorcerers in his clan. After creating a True Sphere, she said it was because they "laughed at her solitude". Seeing her potential, Kyuhyaku offered her a place at the Fujiwara Estate, as well as "someone to hold your solitude". With nowhere else to go, the woman accepted, identifying herself as "**Yorozu**".

Upon her entrance into the Fujiwara Estate, Yorozu was immediately noticed due to her complete lack of clothing, as well as her openly flaunting it, with many onlookers calling her disgraceful and turning away. When behind closed doors, she immediately attempted to remove her haori, though Kyuhyaku made sure she kept it on. When she asked what he meant when he said he said he had someone to hold her solitude, he announced his intent to marry her into the Fujiwara Clan through his younger brother due to her strength as a sorcerer, comparing her to some of the greatest sorcerers of their era. While initally annoyed by this "kinky stuff", she agreed to meet Kyuhyaku's younger brother.

Upon meeting Shichihyaku, she immediately took notice of his cursed energy reserves, feeling that even a non-sorcerer would feel weighed down just by being in his presence. However, she noticed that he was also supressing his cursed energy signiture, as Kyuhyaku didn't seem to notice his brother's fare superior cursed energy reserves. When Kyuhyaku was about to introduce them, Yorozu, taken by Shichihyaku's hidden strength, clung to his arm, announcing herself as his wife. Taken aback, Shichihyaku questioned what Kyuhyaku was doing. His older brother shrugged, explaining that her power would be invaluable to the clan, and that if they didn't take her, some other clan would. After ordering Shichihyaku to take her as his wife, he annoyingly agreed.

After taking her back to his section of the Estate, she threw off her untied haori almost instantly, though Shichihyaku acted completely unfazed, returning to his library. When asked by Yorozu what she should do now, he replied that he didn't particularly care, so long as she didn't interfere with his research or training. Yorozu was annoyed by his statement, questioning what he would do if his new wife was going around with other men, to which he replied that he'd keep honing his abilities, as "the strongest sorcerers get used to solitude anyways". Upon hearing this statement, she threw herself at him, claiming that he also knew what it felt like to be strong yet alone. When he responded that he didn't, but was starting too, Yorozu demanded that he keep his solitude with her and her alone.

After a few months of Shichihyaku and Yorozu being married, Funosu noticed her brother's gradual shift into being more involved in the clan, as well as Yorozu's wearing of clothes when not within Shichihyaku's part of the Estate. When she told Kyuhyaku of these changes, he was initially surprised by this, having wanted to use Yorozu to make Shichihyaku leave the clan. However, his jealousy of his borther spiked once more, comparing his brothers wife's adoration and devotion compared to his many wives, who treated him less as a husband and more as a master. His jealousy would take over entirely, however, that same night.

### The One Who Deserved It All

The brothers of the Fujiwara Clan lock in combat in secret.

#### Kyuhyaku vs. Shichihyaku

One night, after years of hiding his true feelings about his brother away, Kyuhyaku arrived at Shichihyaku's part of the estate in the dead of the night, waking his brother and telling him to meet him miles away from the estate. Upon both of their arrivals, Kyuhyaku asked his younger brother what he thought of himself. Confused, Shichihyaku proposed they talk about it in the morning, but Kyuhyaku demanded he answer him if he ever thought of him as his brother. Only pausing for one moment, Shichihyaku turned around and attempted to return home, only to be blocked by a gargantuan black cube, the gravity crushing the surrounding area in front of Shichihyaku. Immediately, Shichihyaku blitzed his brother, sending him flying before crashing into the ground, a large crater circling the Fujiwara Clan Head. Enraged, he activated his full technique, several cubes falling from the sky, annihilating the plain which the brothers stood on. Shichihyaku threw a shogi pieace high into the air, only to teleport to it out of the cubes reach. Kyuhyaku shouted at his younger brother that this was the time to determine who was turly worthy of the title "The Strongest". Shichihyaku responded by chanting "Fallen Leaves, Clouds Call, Beckoning", throwing several shogi pieces at Kyuhyaku, who let the pieces fall around him, calling his brother a lousy shot. Suddenly, the pieces exploded with extremely condensed cursed energy, the pressure so dense that it broke several of the cubes around Kyuhyaku. As the brothers battle, the entire terrain is shattered by their destructive power.

As the fight progresses, Kyuhyaku begins to notice Shichihyaku beginning to falter. Believing that he's finally bested his brother, he begins to taunt him, telling him that his hiding away could only take him so far when it came to his "real talent". However, as Shichihyaku collapsed, Kyuhyaku immediately stopped his technique, rushing to his brother. He quickly grabbed Shichihyaku and returned to the Fujiwara Estate, where Mamoribito was waiting with Yorozu, who swooped up Shichihyaku and took him back inside. When angrily confronted by Funosu mere minutes afterward, he could only grumble; "I couldn't even beat him while he's dying".

The next morning, Shichihyaku awoke to Yorozu sleeping next to him, and he felt as though he was beginning to lose his touch as a sorcerer, believing that he shouldn't have succumbed to his illness in such a way if he had spent more time training rather than spending time with Yorozu. Later, he was summoned by Kyuhyaku, who appointed him the leader of the Fujiwara Clan's most prestigious group, The Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad. However, before accepting the offer, Shichihyaku asked his older brother to have Yorozu moved to the Fujiwara Captial, far away from him. When asked why, he had only one response; "Only I should hold my own solitude".

### Whisperings of The Strongest

A full year after Shichihyaku sent Yorozu away, his power and reputation began to grow exponentially within the jujutsu world. As the leader of The Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad, he had gained a massive reputation as an immensely skilled and dangerous sorcerer. However, as his power and reputation grew, so did that of someone else who had been vying for the title of "The Strongest". Talk of another "**Calamity**" were spread throughout the Fujiwara Clan, one that had destroyed several prominent sorcerer clans single-handedly, and was looking to spread its power. When news of the calamity known as "**The King of Curses**" reached the ears of Kyuhyaku, he summoned his younger brother and the greatest members of the Fujiwara Clan to discuss their involvement.

While many in the Fujiwara Clan were for a collective assault on the King of Curses, pairing up with the Head of The Zenin Clan, along with the strongest of the Abe Clan, Shichihyaku recommended that they send him alone. Kyuhyaku, along with Takako Uro, believed that he was being overconfident, reminding him that this person had killed entire clans by himself. However, Shichihyaku argued that if he went alone, he wouldn't have to hold back, whereas "others would drag me down". However, the clan ultimately decided on a full assault against the calamity known as "Ryomen Sukuna", who was patiently waiting for their arrival.

#### The Strongest vs. The Strongest

The battle against Sukuna, The King of Curses, ended poorly for those who were not Shichihyaku Fujiwara and Iroai Zenin. Kyuhyaku looked on in horror as the Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad, as well as the Five Empty Generals were shredded to nothingness, leaving only a horrified and immobile Takako. The Abe Clans forces, as well as The Angel’s Commandments were also killed, with only the strongest of them, Meirei, still alive, who quickly left the battlefield in terror. As the King of Curses attempted to pierce Kyuhyaku with his spear, he was saved by his younger brothers quick movement, who shattered Sukuna's cursed tool, blasting him backwards. Shichihyaku then ordered his older brother to leave as Iroai attempted to summon his trump card, only to be inevitably killed by Sukuna's reaction time, who called him interesting.

As Kyuhuaku fled, Shichihyaku unleashed his maximum cursed energy output, which elated Sukuna, who told him to "Show me everything! Shichihyaku Fujiwara!". Immediately, Shichihyaku closed the distance, engaging his four-armed enemy in a fist fight, further impressing Sukuna as he began to overcome his multi-limbed adversary, punching him hard enough to put a whole in Sukuna's side, forcing him to put distance between them in order to heal himself. Taking advantage of this, Shichihyaku follows close behind him, activating his innate domain, forcing Sukuna into a game of shogi. As they played, Sukuna asked his opponent how he became so strong, which Shichihyaku retorted to him, "Why did you?". As Shichihyaku won, he clobbered Sukuna, dealing significantly greater damage to him, with Sukuna noting his massive increase in cursed energy output as he soared across the battlefield, crashing down hard, sending multiple Cleave attacks at Shichihyaku, who immediately healed with his reverse cursed technique. As the battle intensified, the two opened their barrierless domains, smiling widely as they began to unleash their full strength.

As their domains wiped out everything within the 200-meter distance, they engaged in another hand-to-hand bout, with both getting cut and shredded by their opponents' domains. Believing that Shichihyaku's technique was now locked by his domain, Sukuna attempted to use his other cursed tool to electrify his opponent. However, he was suprised by Shichihyaku's wide grin as he activated his **Maximum: Great King General of Knowledge**, which crushed Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine, leaving only Shichihyaku's Temple of Finality, which was revealed to be imbued with his second cursed technique, one he had awakened through a "painstaking amount of studying and training". As the gargantuan shikigami slashed Sukuna, his entire right side was blown away, leading to him bleeding profusely. As he attempted to recover using reverse cursed technique, he noticed that it wasn't working. Shichihyaku, still pursuing him, explained that his shikigami invented a way to harm him while stopping him from using reverse cursed technique, which was a product of Shichihyaku understanding Sukuna's abilities. Out of tricks, Sukuna shot several desperate Dismantle attacks at his opponent. Shichihyaku, too tired to dodge them, simply took them as he walked toward his crawling opponent, who called Shichihyaku "The greatest opponent he'd ever known."

Smiling, Shichihyaku took out a shogi piece, claiming he wouldn't forget Sukuna as long as he lived. However, his illness had resurfaced due to his overworking, causing him to falter long enough for Uraume to swoop in, creating a barrier of ice in front of himself, saving Sukuna and sculking away, leaving Shichihyaku to collapse on the battlefield, victorious over The King of Curses, and cementing himself as "The Strongest". He was later picked up by his sister, who told him of some troubling news.

### The Fall of the Wisteria Plain

Days after Shichihyaku's victory over Sukuna, Kyuhyaku became violently bitter, feeling that Shichihyaku's victory over Sukuna had derailed him. Whispers of his younger brother replacing him as Clan Head spread throughout the clan, with many criticizing Kyuhyaku's strength in facing The King of Curses. As an elder of the clan approached him as these thoughts raced through his head, Kyuhyaku's fist flew, striking and killing the clan elder. Shocked, Kyuhyaku decended deeper into the pits of madness, believing that this was the end for him. However, his malicious feelings towards his brother, coupled with a plan to put the blame elsewhere, led to even more dire consequences.

After revealing the death of the clan elder, Kyuhyaku put the blame on Takako, who had been mentally unstable ever since she returned from battle. As she was executed, Kyuhyaku told her that it was Shichihyaku who ordered her execution. Upon Shichihyaku's late return, he discovered Takako's execution, as well as his brothers scheming to have him killed out of jealousy. Enraged, Shichihyaku killed the entire Fujiwara Estate's residents, leaving only his sister alive. When confronting his lethally injured brother, he asked him why he chose to hate him, before killing Kyuhyaku.

With his sickness becoming stronger and stronger, Shichihyaku hatched a plan with Mamoribito, planning out his reincarnation 1000 years from now, in order to stop the insane plans of Kenjaku. Turning himself into a cursed object, Shichihyaku waited for over 1000 years to be reincarnated, where he began his plan.