The Strongest's Change of Heart

"Don't push yourself, big hero."

Ieiri Shoko had somehow already come to stand beside him.

An unlit cigarette hung from her lips, and faint dark circles lay beneath her eyes.

The dark circles showed a subtle tendency to deepen.

The girl's slender wrist rested on Lu Ping's shoulder as she skillfully activated her signature technique.

The gentle [Reverse Cursed Technique] flowed swiftly into Lu Ping's body through the point of contact like a cool spring.

Positive energy coursed through every limb and bone.

It quickly repaired the tiny tears in his muscles, greatly easing the suffocating exhaustion.

Lu Ping let out a long breath, feeling his muddled mind finally clear up somewhat.

"Thanks, Shoko."

The short-haired girl withdrew her hand and shot him an irritated glare.

"Save the politeness. If you risk your life like that again, I won't even bother collecting your corpse."

She sternly warned the boy before her.

"You haven't even officially been promoted to Grade 1 yet. Don't ruin your body's foundation ahead of time."

Shoko pointed at her temple, her tone turning exceptionally grave.

"My Reverse Cursed Technique can only repair physical injuries in the conventional sense."

"If you keep draining your cursed energy beyond its limits for too long, the technique circuits engraved deep within your soul and body are very likely to burn out."

"For this kind of special damage involving the brain's delicate structures, even I wouldn't dare guarantee I could put you back together completely."

The medical expert's warning was no exaggeration.

Lu Ping nodded solemnly.

As a user of two techniques, he understood better than anyone the dangers of operating on two fronts. He would have to be more cautious from now on.

Although the "Three Corpses Manipulation" could operate automatically within his body, while the Ten Shadows was a summoning technique, the former supplied cursed energy and the latter consumed it, creating a complementary relationship.

But if he also expended additional cursed energy to enhance his own physical abilities on top of that, the burden on his body would increase, making it easier to reach his breaking point.

No wonder the bodies of shikigami users had always been considered their weak point. Controlling cursed energy to manipulate shikigami while simultaneously using it to strengthen one's body was indeed difficult for sorcerers with limited cursed energy.

Lu Ping could not help thinking so.

Satoru Gojo walked over from the side and draped an arm around Geto's shoulders.

"Shoko's right, but there's no need to make it so grim."

The white-haired boy looked at Lu Ping with a grin.

He put away his usual frivolity and once again expressed his thanks solemnly.

To prove that he bore no ill intent,

Satoru Gojo deliberately showed everyone his right hand, which had completely deactivated the [Limitless Technique].

Then he clenched it into a fist.

And very lightly tapped Lu Ping on the chest.

It was merely a simple gesture of trust between boys.

"We really are lucky to have you around."

Behind his black lenses, Satoru Gojo's azure eyes shone with sincerity.

"During the Hoshimi Shrine incident last time, it was fortunate you were there to save Shoko."

He turned his head to glance at Suguru Geto beside him, safe and sound, and a brilliant smile tugged at his lips.

"And this time, you brought Geto back safely too."

The strongest troublemaker tilted his head.

There was a hint of matter-of-fact pride and expectation in his voice.

"So what, does that mean I'm next?"

"If you truly need it, of course I wouldn't mind offering whatever help I can."

Lu Ping's tone remained calm. He did not go along with the other's words by offering empty pleasantries meant to draw them closer.

The boy looked toward those azure eyes hidden behind the pitch-black lenses and naturally added,

"It's just that someone bearing the title of 'the strongest' may rarely have need of someone else to lend a hand."

Satoru Gojo paused slightly.

He had originally assumed this kid would brush it off with some nonsense like, "Well, you're the strongest," just as everyone else at Jujutsu High would.

They would share a knowing joke, and the matter would be forgotten.

He had not expected such an utterly serious promise instead.

Satoru Gojo's smile faded as he reexamined the "classmate" before him through his lenses, someone who looked ready to collapse and still needed Shoko's support just to remain standing.

Within the Six Eyes' field of vision, a vast torrent of information raced through his mind.

It made the Three Great Families' genius, who had always held himself in high esteem, fall into rare and profound thought.

Before today, in his subconscious, the so-called "strongest duo" had been a flawless closed loop.

Suguru Geto and he—one mastered the Limitless and close-quarters combat, defending and counterattacking, while the other commanded an army of cursed spirits for overwhelming firepower. Together, they could sweep aside every fool in the current Jujutsu World.

As long as the two of them stood together, they were an inviolable rule.

But now, as he looked at Lu Ping's calm profile, the indestructible duo seemed to reveal a faint gap, one that could accommodate a third person.

Who could fill that position?

The first person the white-haired boy thought of was Ieiri Shoko, standing nearby with a cigarette in her mouth.

But the instant that thought arose, he decisively snuffed it out.

As the only precious national treasure in all of Japan's Jujutsu World capable of using the Reverse Cursed Technique on others, she was unquestionably a rear-line medic.

She lacked an offensive technique suited for charging into the front lines. Sending the designated healer to the battlefield to soak up pressure was not tactics—it was a missing brainstem.

Once that factor was stripped away, his gaze returned to Lu Ping.

Calm, decisive, possessed of exceptional tactical awareness, and holding one of the Three Great Families' top inherited techniques in his hands.

This kid truly was the ideal candidate to fill the vacant position of "the third person."

However, as the divine child standing at the pinnacle of the Gojo Clan, he understood better than anyone the Jujutsu World's cruel law of the jungle.

Potential that had not been realized was nothing more than a blank check that could turn into worthless paper at any moment.

It was like that dark joke widely circulated among sorcerers—only a living genius was called a genius; one who died midway could only be called premium expendable material.

A high-potential sapling needed time to grow, and even more, it needed someone to hold an umbrella over it through the wind and rain.

Ever since they had carried out that exorcism mission together at Hoshimi Shrine two days ago, Satoru Gojo had keenly noticed that some sort of qualitative transformation was taking place within this kid.

Though they had barely been acquaintances before, after watching him work nonstop over the past two days, his rate of growth had been like riding a rocket.

The variety of his tactical choices and the precision of his cursed energy control changed almost by the day.

Even the Six Eyes, practically a cheat ability, could not see through the underlying logic behind such an unreasonable leap in growth.

Could it be that in the life-and-death struggles of the past two days, this kid had somehow landed the legendary, elusive "Black Flash" and thereby grasped the secrets of the Cursed Energy Core?

As his thoughts turned, the strongest troublemaker made a decision in his heart.