Dodgeball Training

Sid's training plan was dodgeball.

The balls—energy spheres he created with Nen.

The player—Su Wu.

The game venue—the open ground in front of District 12's church.

The spectators—all the children of District 12.

At that moment, a group of children dressed in matching undershirts or long-sleeved shirts stood two hundred meters away, craning their necks to watch.

The open ground had been left uneven and strewn with rocks after Uvogin's fists had wreaked havoc on it not long ago. One careless step was enough to trip you up.

That was also why Sid had chosen this place for the game.

"Step outside this circle and you lose."

"Kid, are you ready?" The man standing among the rocks called out. He had brown hair and eyes, stood nearly one meter ninety tall, and was powerfully built, with clearly defined muscles visible even beneath his priest's robes.

He looked at the boy standing opposite him, who still seemed a little unaccustomed to the Gravity Ring he was wearing.

Without even waiting for the boy to react, he raised both hands. Nen formed into bullets, and dozens of them shot toward his opponent.

"So he really is Release-type," Su Wu remarked as he watched the Nen bullets take shape, unsurprised.

"You're not allowed to come any closer," Sid ordered the group of children watching from the side.

If the energy bullets he'd prepared for the boy hit any of the other children... they'd probably be laid up for days.

The boy didn't look that much older than these children, maybe eleven or twelve at most. Was he even twelve?

But unlike the other children, he was born with Nen. Those eyes were the best proof.

Like the Kurta Clan's scarlet eyes, such an inborn trait marked its bearer as a natural Specialization-type ability user.

The Kurta clan was one example. But their extraordinary inborn talent had also drawn others' attention, ultimately leading to the clan's annihilation.

"Got it," the children replied in a scattered chorus.

A circle a hundred meters in diameter, dozens of Nen bullets, rocks scattered everywhere, the weight on his body, and no use of Cursed Energy.

The Six Eyes didn't count, since they were a passive skill. As long as he wasn't blind, they would keep working.

At that moment, the Six Eyes clearly saw the Nen bullets' trajectories. The bullets, formed from Nen, trailed long, brilliantly colored tails like a meteor shower—beautiful, but dangerous.

His movements stiff beneath the weight, Su Wu still forced his body into motion. He rolled sideways along the ground, then planted a hand and sprang up before he could even think, performing one clumsy move after another just to dodge the "poisonous" meteors.

Just as a meteorite crashing to earth would leave a crater, the Nen bullets that Su Wu dodged shot straight into the open ground. They slammed into the earth, punching little craters into it and kicking up clouds of dust and flying stones.

They made Su Wu, already stumbling through his desperate dodges, look even worse.

At the sight, Sid vanished from where he stood and appeared behind Su Wu a moment later.

With training, Release-type ability users could also achieve instantaneous movement.

"You need to remember to dodge me, too, not just the balls." He placed a hand on Su Wu's shoulder. The next moment, his other hand struck the boy in the lower back without warning.

The punch threw Su Wu off balance. As he pitched forward, he ran headlong into the oncoming Nen bullets.

Several Nen bullets struck him at once. Their impact sent his already tottering body reeling backward.

"Looks like this isn't powerful enough for you," Sid said thoughtfully.

The next moment, the number of Nen bullets doubled, and each one grew a size larger.

"Keep it up," Sid said with a kindly smile.

The intermittent sounds of Nen bullets hitting their target made the onlooking children wince.

"That's brutal..."

"It must hurt like crazy."

"Worse than our training."

They whispered among themselves, watching the figure in the open ground nearby.

The snow-white bandage that had originally been wrapped around his forehead was now stained red with blood. More injuries covered his body, and blood poured from his nose as if it would never stop.

In the Six Eyes' vision, Nen bullets like a meteor shower from the heavens came at him without pause.

Su Wu caught his breath and wiped away his nosebleed. The instant the Six Eyes sensed movement, he immediately sprang away from where he stood.

But Sid's fists and feet kept appearing around him, striking or kicking him toward the Nen bullets so he could face another shower of meteors.

It was like an invisible yet dense drizzle, coming from everywhere and driven by a gale, soaking him through when he had no umbrella.

Unable to use his abilities, he had no way to dodge. His eyes could see the attack, and his brain could react to it, but his body couldn't keep up.

By the time the game ended that day, he was sprawled on the ground, bruised and bloodied, gasping for breath.

"You've got a pretty impressive physique," Sid praised the kid, who was exhausted and in a sorry state.

Even his shock of white hair was now filthy, but the kid had taken nearly a thousand of his Nen bullets.

Even so, he was only exhausted. Though his body was covered in bruises, swelling, and bleeding cuts, none of his injuries were particularly serious. They were all superficial. Once he got his strength back, he'd be running and jumping around again.

Su Wu struggled to his feet, dusting off his clothes and his dirt-covered white hair as he caught his breath. After a while, he flashed a confident, cocky grin. "Of course."

The muscles in his face pulled at his wounds when he smiled, but he didn't react. Instead, he asked as if nothing were wrong, "Are we stopping? I'm nowhere near my limit."

What a kid. Always trying to save face.

Sid made a silent, exasperated comment to himself. But after looking after children for several years, he didn't call the boy out. He simply waved a hand, understandingly.

"Yeah, that's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

At that, Su Wu turned and headed elsewhere.

He'd found a pretty good house in District 12. A group of children had occupied it, but once he set his sights on it, he simply took it over.

The children knew better than to fight him, so they'd sensibly moved to another house.

Back at the house, he shut the door and collapsed on the floor, not wanting to move a muscle.

"It hurts so much..." His eyes were vacant, his thoughts sluggish.

Was this what he had to go through in the early stages of becoming invincible?

"System, when are you going to give me Limitless and Reverse Cursed Technique?" He couldn't help urging the system.

If he had Limitless and Reverse Cursed Technique, he could keep training until he ran out of the blue energy needed to use Reverse Cursed Technique.

Whenever he got hurt, he could heal himself and continue training until he could no longer use Reverse Cursed Technique.

But if he really did that, Sid would probably be the first one to run out of energy.

[Once the host's character compatibility with Gojo Satoru reaches sixty, you will obtain the Limitless skill. Once your compatibility with Sukuna reaches sixty, you will obtain Reverse Cursed Technique.]

[Once your compatibility with both characters reaches eighty, you will obtain the Domain skill.]

[When your total character compatibility reaches fifty, the system will unlock the shop.]

The system's answer was meaningless to Su Wu right now.

It was like a pie painted on a wall: he could see it, but he couldn't eat it.

"Then why did you give me three skills right at the start?" Su Wu asked, puzzled.

[The system provided those as a safeguard to ensure the host wouldn't die immediately upon arrival. All interpretive authority belongs to the system.]

So the system had given him a head start from the beginning.

Otherwise, when he first arrived, he might not have been able to use his abilities at all?

"Fine." Su Wu accepted that explanation.

Being invincible from the start would be like those shoddy browser games that promised level 999 with one slash—no fun at all.

Having to build up step by step was more exciting, and made for a better experience.

"Bang, bang, bang." Someone knocked on the door. They were hitting it hard without holding back, and even the ground shook along with it.

"I left the first-aid kit by the door for you." Sid's voice reached Su Wu.

He slowly got up and went to open the door. No one was there; only a first-aid kit sat on the ground.

An undisputed case of raising him right.