Memories

The next second, both of them moved at once.

Clap!

Todo clapped his hands, the crisp sound ringing across the arena.

Their positions changed in an instant.

Todo appeared beside Okkotsu and drove a fist charged with cursed energy toward his body.

Aoi Todo had used his cursed technique to swap places with Rika Orimoto.

"Yuta!"

But Rika thrust out her massive arm between them, easily blocking the blow.

Todo used the recoil to retreat, then clapped his hands again.

He kept shifting positions.

Using Boogie Woogie, Todo searched for openings in Okkotsu's defenses again and again, but Okkotsu gave him no chance.

"Very clever. You keep closing the distance between the three of us so I can't separate you two."

"The instant I clap, you and the cursed spirit immediately check my position. Even if I try to fake you out by not swapping, neither of you leaves an opening."

The coordination between Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto had already far surpassed that of an ordinary jujutsu sorcerer and shikigami.

Aoi Todo, on the other hand, had barely any cursed energy left under Rika Orimoto's relentless attacks.

But even as his injuries mounted, there was not a trace of retreat in his eyes.

"Todo, you've already..."

Looking at Todo before him, Yuta Okkotsu couldn't help speaking up.

"I'm nowhere near done."

As his words fell, Todo clapped his hands again.

Clap!

He appeared behind Okkotsu and, using the force of his descent, concentrated every last bit of his cursed energy into his fist.

There was no technique to this blow.

It had only one purpose-to stay true to his own soul.

Okkotsu's gaze shifted slightly, his eyes now filled with admiration for Todo.

By now, Rika Orimoto and Okkotsu had long since adapted to the position swaps, and they moved simultaneously.

A massive palm blocked Todo's fist, while Okkotsu's blade stopped in front of him.

The match was over.

Todo held his punching stance in silence for several seconds.

Then he slowly withdrew his fist.

"I see."

"So this is the power of a special grade."

He neither fell nor said that he conceded.

"Yuta Okkotsu."

"Next time, I'll win."

"I feel a little bad for my archrival. He's still waiting for me in the finals."

Utahime Iori looked at the two of them in the arena and finally announced:

"The winner is Yuta Okkotsu."

The spectators fell silent for a moment, then erupted into discussion.

Even Dai Li, who had been coasting along this whole time, had watched the entire match attentively. If he had to assess it, it had been a completely one-sided rout. Aoi Todo hadn't even managed to hurt Yuta Okkotsu.

And next, it would be his turn to take the stage and challenge them.

"Come to think of it, I was the one who fired Okkotsu up with what I said."

After all, originally, Yuta Okkotsu had won the Goodwill Event in overwhelming fashion with Rika before her curse was lifted.

No matter how he looked at it, they had become even stronger now.

There were still three hours of free time before the finals, and Satoru Gojo couldn't sit still any longer either. He came down from the judges' seats.

He first found Dai Li, who was still in the spectator stands.

"Well? Those are your opponents in the finals: Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto."

"Can you win?"

"I'll win."

Even Satoru Gojo was shocked by Yuta Okkotsu's current performance, so he felt that the student he should be most worried about now was Dai Li.

After declaring, "I'll win," Dai Li decided to stop holding back. He intended to lift the restriction on his cursed technique, Life and Binding.

After all, Yuta Okkotsu had asked him to get serious.

"I'm going to use my original cursed technique. That's fine, right?"

"Sure, no problem. Use it if you want."

"After all, can you even call yourself young if you aren't hot-blooded?"

After getting Satoru Gojo's permission, Dai Li began to think things through rationally.

My growth curve has to be the most uneven of any jujutsu sorcerer. Whenever I'm backed into a corner, I always think of taking out a loan to solve the problem, so I've neglected my strength under normal conditions.

Sure, being a Grade 1 Sorcerer under normal conditions seems pretty good already. But between feeling satisfied with that and the earlier binding vow preventing me from increasing my cursed energy through training, my strength has started to stagnate.

The prerequisite for improving myself through Life and Binding: Tempering is that I can't use my loan technique in battle.

In other words, if I try to use Life and Binding: Tempering against a special grade opponent right now, I'll pay a terrible price. I might even die.

"Oh, Gojo-sensei, you're here too."

Yuta Okkotsu arrived late and was happy to see his teacher there as well.

Gojo-sensei must have seen that fight.

"You're growing fast, Yuta. You're looking more and more like a special grade."

"Not at all. I'm still a long way from reaching your level, Gojo-sensei."

Yuta Okkotsu spoke modestly.

"No, no."

"You're a special grade because you've reached special grade strength. I'm a special grade because special grade is the highest rank Jujutsu Society has."

Satoru Gojo grinned, his boast leaving Yuta Okkotsu a little embarrassed.

For once, Dai Li chose not to make a snarky comment. He was still thinking with his eyes closed.

"Huh? Has Dai Li fallen asleep again?"

"No, he was just talking to me. But congratulations, Yuta Okkotsu.

It looks like your fight just sparked Dai Li's competitive spirit. Don't let his usual attitude fool you. He used to secretly cheat at pachinko with his cursed technique to win money."

Dai Li hadn't completely shut out his surroundings. He was a little annoyed that Satoru Gojo had exposed his embarrassing past in front of Okkotsu, but he didn't show it. I need to stay calm right now...

"Huh? Isn't Dai Li's cursed technique Projection? Did he project a clamp inside the machine to catch the pachinko balls?"

"Nope, wrong answer."

"As for the real answer, you'll find out in a bit."

Dai Li had no time to bother with the two of them. He was silently repeating something in his mind.

System, are you sure those memories will only be blurred and won't affect my sanity?

[Confirmed]

[The cost involving your memories will be collected by the system. It will not harm your body or mind.]

Memories.

They were the most valuable thing Dai Li currently possessed. He had read the Jujutsu Kaisen manga thoroughly, watched the anime countless times, and debated and discussed it on the Jujutsu Kaisen forum every day.

And information was the most important thing in Jujutsu Kaisen. With the right information, Satoru Gojo might have dodged Sukuna's World-Cutting Slash and avoided ending up as two-point-five.

Kenjaku's plans might even fail, Satoru Gojo might never be sealed, and Sukuna might have no chance to possess Megumi Fushiguro's body and revive.

Dai Li hadn't passed on the information in his memories, and the major events that would shape the world's future had yet to happen. That was why his memories were worth so much in a binding vow.

[Note: To avoid damaging your brain, after exchanging your memories for benefits, you will still remember who the people you have yet to meet are.]

[However, they will become the strangers you know best. You will no longer clearly remember their cursed techniques, names, or experiences.]

"Forget it all, then. It doesn't matter."

Life and Binding activated in an instant.

He offered up his memories, exchanging them entirely for an increase in his total cursed energy!

Combined with the inherent 150% bonus to returns from Life and Binding, Dai Li's total cursed energy increased tremendously.

[The host's total cursed energy has increased massively.]