Second-Year Seniors

When Maki had walked over earlier, she had been observing Lin Mu the whole time. In her experience, Lin Mu did not seem to be as strong as Fushiguro had claimed.

Either he had not noticed her arrival at all, or perhaps he simply did not care that she had arrived.

Hearing Maki's proposal, Lin Mu snapped out of his thoughts. He had been considering whether there was a suitable way to act alongside Itadori again and had not noticed Maki's arrival.

"A spar?" Lin Mu was taken aback. He remembered there being no sparring scene in the original story. Weren't the upperclassmen supposed to start training them directly?

Seeing Fushiguro avoiding his gaze beside him, Lin Mu finally understood what had happened.

Fushiguro must have told Maki something about him, which was why she wanted to spar with him.

"All of you together?" Lin Mu casually asked, thinking that sparring with the upperclassmen might raise his inheritance progress a little.

Yet to Maki, those words were an outright provocation.

Maki clenched her teeth and thought bitterly, Damn brat. Does he think I'm too weak?

"Since you want all of us to come at you together, then I'll grant your wish!"

Maki thought viciously, then called Panda and Inumaki over, determined to take Lin Mu down a peg.

After learning about the spar, Panda hurriedly waved his hands. "That's not a good idea, is it? Lin Mu is still a newcomer. The three of us against him would be far too unfair."

"Isn't that just bullying him?"

Inumaki nodded. "Bonito flakes."

Maki's mouth twitched as she gritted her teeth. "Lin Mu asked for this himself. It has nothing to do with me."

Panda still shook his head. "The exchange event is coming up soon. We should focus on training."

"Having that kind of spirit is already pretty good, Lin Mu. Sparring can wait until after the exchange event."

Inumaki said, "Char."

Maki snorted and turned her head away. "Fine. Then we'll spar after the exchange event."

Seeing Lin Mu's calm expression, Maki inexplicably felt irritated.

If he had been the arrogant sort, loudly proclaiming that he would crush all of them upperclassmen, Maki would only have found him laughable.

People like that probably had no real ability.

But someone like Lin Mu, who seemed completely unconcerned, was likely genuinely strong. There was a good chance that Lin Mu did not take any of them upperclassmen seriously at all.

Damn it. I want to see what kind of strength you actually have, Maki thought to herself. You'd better not hold us back during the exchange event.

Though Panda and Inumaki said nothing, they too harbored misgivings about Lin Mu's seemingly arrogant attitude.

It was not as if they had never seen geniuses before, but Lin Mu did not seem to fit their understanding of what a genius should be.

Lin Mu had no idea that his unintentional actions had already drawn the attention of the three upperclassmen. He remained focused on reflecting on his battle with Sukuna.

Although the Mangekyo Sharingan and Susanoo he had just acquired were extremely powerful, Lin Mu's proficiency with them was still far too low.

The proficiency provided by the cheat could only ensure that he successfully unleashed them every time.

As for how to use them with less expenditure and greater power, that still required continuous practice afterward.

The more powerful a ninjutsu ability was, the more it depended on later training.

With the newly unlocked Susanoo, Lin Mu could clearly feel his unfamiliarity when using it.

Much of the chakra consumed while maintaining Susanoo was unnecessary, which left the durability and duration of Lin Mu's Susanoo far from ideal.

Mastering Madara Uchiha's abilities truly would not be easy.

Moreover, during his fight with Sukuna, Lin Mu had discovered another problem: he did not have a weapon that suited him.

As a ninja, even a kunai or a few shuriken would do.

Besides, because the Uchiha Clan possessed the Sharingan, they were exceptionally adept at controlling things like kunai and shuriken.

Although Madara rarely used such little toys, that did not mean he could not use them.

On the contrary, Madara was undoubtedly highly proficient with them. Perhaps he was not as skilled as Itachi, but he had certainly reached the pinnacle!

Should I apply to the higher-ups for a custom weapon?

As Lin Mu pondered, Satoru Gojo walked over, clapping his hands.

"Not bad, not bad. Looks like you're all getting along well."

Everyone was surprised by Gojo-sensei's arrival. This was someone who was usually impossible to find, and even catching a glimpse of him was difficult.

As the strongest, he was always on his way to handle one difficult case after another. Why did he have time to watch them train today?

Fushiguro spoke up. "Gojo-sensei, what are you here for?"

Satoru Gojo smiled. "Nothing much. I'm just borrowing Lin Mu for a bit."

Lin Mu's brows twitched, and he could not help feeling delighted. Talk about perfect timing. I was just wondering how I could act alongside Itadori again, and now Gojo-sensei has come.

If he's taking me out alone, then I'm bound to run into Itadori.

I should be able to take part in the series of events Itadori goes through afterward as well.

Lin Mu was beyond excited. Being with Itadori meant more battles, more inheritance progress, and more opportunities to practice his skills.

Satoru Gojo spoke calmly. "I plan to have Lin Mu act with me."

A thunderclap seemed to explode in Maki and the others' minds. "What?! Gojo-sensei personally named Lin Mu to accompany him?!"

"Did we hear that right? That rookie who only became a sorcerer not long ago?"

After all, Gojo-sensei had only ever kept one student by his side before—Okkotsu, who had been designated special grade the moment he became a sorcerer!

They had witnessed that man's strength firsthand. Compared to him, Lin Mu was nowhere close.

What gave him the right?

After hearing this, everyone could not help feeling envious and jealous. The benefits to one's growth from following the person universally acknowledged as the strongest in the jujutsu world were beyond question.

Still, they did not dare question Satoru Gojo to his face. His Six Eyes could supposedly see even atoms; he must have noticed something extraordinary about Lin Mu.

The three upperclassmen's attitudes toward Lin Mu shifted slightly as well, though overall, they still did not think highly of him.

Just as Maki was about to say something else, Satoru Gojo cut her off. "Don't worry. I'll have Lin Mu back in time for the exchange event."

"And when that time comes, I'll even have a surprise prepared for you."

With that, Satoru Gojo left the training field with Lin Mu, wearing a blank, goofy expression.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Lin Mu began looking forward to the days ahead when he would be acting alongside Itadori. Of course, it was not for the inheritance progress—Itadori was his best friend...