Jujutsu Society really is full of heroes!

"Boom!"

Another heavy punch came crashing down, and the old man, drenched in cold sweat, narrowly rolled out of its path.

Debris grazed Kusaka's scalp, sending a crimson streak spraying out.

He had arrived calm and composed, with everything under control. Now he scrambled frantically, rolling and crawling for his life.

Those fists hit as hard as Mount Fuji and moved as fast as a jet.

Was the brat before him really just an ordinary first-year student at Jujutsu High?

At that age, with that strength, his talent might even rival Satoru Gojo's, right?

He still remembered that happy era over a decade ago, when jujutsu sorcerers were too exhausted dealing with cursed spirits to bother with anything else.

With a little cleverness, he could make easy money without restraint and indulge himself however he pleased.

Even without a client's commission, he would pick out weaklings at random, peel off their skin, and plant them in the ground.

Bullying the weak and listening to their agonized screams had been his greatest pleasure.

As curse users, they should have been free to live as capriciously as they liked.

Until, over a decade ago, they accepted a job to assassinate Satoru Gojo.

In an instant, their band of free-roaming hunters became filthy rats who could only hide in the sewers.

Satoru Gojo had been a mere six- or seven-year-old brat back then.

Yet one backward glance from that brat had sent Kusaka cowering in a corner, trembling.

After just one second of eye contact, he understood why cursed spirits were growing increasingly rampant.

Satoru Gojo's birth had upset the balance of the world.

In his daze, he seemed to meet those supremely arrogant, sky-blue eyes again.

No, they're blood-red!

He seemed to hear the cries of the weak again, but why did they sound so familiar... Are those my screams?

Were those random memories my life flashing before my eyes?!!

Kusaka's eyes flew wide open, and he gasped for air.

Seeing the fist closing in, Kusaka panicked and hurled his only cursed tool like a throwing weapon.

Scrambling backward on all fours, the old man shouted, "My cursed technique is Strength Reversal! While it's active, the stronger an attack that hits me, the less damage it does, and the weaker the attack, the more damage it does!"

Just as Fushiguro had guessed earlier, revealing Kusaka's cursed technique did more harm than good.

Although revealing it increased its power, it also made it extremely easy to counter.

For example, if someone suddenly pulled their strength just before an attack landed, a mere flick of a finger could severely injure Kusaka while his cursed technique was active.

Or two people could attack together, one strong and one weak, leaving him equally defenseless.

"You're lying!"

Itadori, who had been watching and learning, raised his hand. "Jiahao's been throwing heavy punches this whole time! If you're not lying, why are you still getting hurt?"

"Itadori."

Fushiguro shook his head and said seriously, "That old bastard probably isn't lying."

Itadori was puzzled. "How? Every hit Jiahao throws looks really hard. He's hitting way harder than when he beat us up this afternoon!"

Maki, who had been watching closely, added, "He really isn't lying. His cursed technique's upper limit has simply been exceeded."

Panda agreed. "If the old man didn't reveal his cursed technique to raise that limit, he'd probably be dead after another couple of punches."

"Panda and Maki are right."

Looking down at the terrified old man on all fours, Jiahao slowly unwound the bandages on his right hand. "No matter how unusual a cursed technique is, it has a limit."

"Just like how, no matter how powerful my Kamui is, I can only transport a few hundred people. I can't pack the whole Earth inside and take it wandering through the universe."

There he went. Bejihao was at it again.

But Itadori and the others easily kept straight faces at a boast of that caliber.

With no Valor Points coming in, Jiahao paused, then looked helplessly down at the terrified old man at his feet. "From the looks of things, you're completely useless now."

"S-spare me!"

"I can tell you who posted the bounty, and who at Jujutsu High sold out your location!"

Kusaka crawled backward on his hands and feet like a stray dog with broken legs, begging, "Spare this old man's life! I'll be your dog!"

Seeing Jiahao remain unmoved and continue approaching slowly, Kusaka screamed toward one side of the summit like a madman. "Save me!!"

"Don't be scared. Didn't you already reveal your cursed technique to raise its limit?"

"Maybe you can take a few more punches and buy yourself a little more time."

"Don't worry. I won't deliberately target your cursed technique's weakness and do something that tasteless."

Jiahao smiled innocently and raised his unbandaged right fist. "I promise this punch won't suddenly get weaker. Just crank your cursed technique up as high as it can go!"

"I want to see... whether your mechanics truly are one of a kind, or my bravado is unrivaled under heaven!"

"Hao Flash!!!"

"Boom!"

Black light blazed, and space shattered!

An irresistible force tore through Kusaka's brain, spraying warm crimson in every direction!

Meanwhile, on one side of the summit.

On a relatively level slope, a white-haired old woman sat cross-legged, continuously moving the prayer beads in her hands as her chanted incantation drew to its end.

Beside her, her grandson, sporting a tuft of blond hair, stood ramrod straight, keeping constant watch over their surroundings.

"Grandma, I think that old bastard's dead!"

"Clap!"

The old woman pressed her palms together and opened her cloudy, ink-dark eyes. "It's fine. The timing is perfect."

"It's ready, my dear grandson."

The curse user Spirit Medium Granny's cursed technique was called "Séance Technique."

Using part of a dead person's remains or bones as a medium, she could summon them into a living person's body.

Although her grandson was weak, if she could successfully summon that man's physical strength and combat instincts, her precious grandson might well be able to fight a special grade!

All she could say was that old Kusaka had died at just the right time.

With the ritual complete, her blond grandson immediately took a transparent container the size of a finger bone from his pocket.

Inside were the remains of the man with the strongest body: the First Heavenly Restriction Tyrant.

Just as her precious grandson was about to swallow the remains, a thin crack suddenly opened in space, then widened.

Bejihao stepped out of the spatial rift, followed by several people, one beast, two chauffeured cars, and a Harley.

"Something's wrong!"

Panda looked at the old woman sitting cross-legged and the young man standing guard in front of her.

The young man's cursed energy wasn't particularly strong, but his aura felt utterly wrong.

It felt like Ultraman's human host was about to transform.

Inumaki, who shared that bad feeling, had already pulled down his collar, ready to stop the young man from swallowing.

The next second...

"Bang!"

Spirit Medium Granny's pupils contracted sharply as her precious grandson's head vanished in an instant, like a firework bursting high in the sky.

"That damned blond punk actually dared try to hurt my students!"

Bejihao spoke with righteous indignation.

Itadori and the others looked at Jiahao with strange expressions.

Something was off. On a scale of one to ten, this was an eleven.

He hadn't uttered a single boast before cleanly killing the man with Kamui, never mind that excuse about hurting his students.

This was far too unlike Jiahao.

Jiahao stood with his hands behind his back, his face the picture of righteousness.

He would never admit that he had struck in anger because Granny's precious grandson looked like the blond livestreamer who had stolen his spotlight on the streets of Tokyo.

"Ah!!"

"My precious grandson!"

Spirit Medium Granny collapsed with a wail, tears spilling from her eyes.

The old woman's hands trembled as she reached through the thick pool of blood, as if trying to embrace her precious grandson's headless corpse.

Her seemingly flawless performance of grief was actually a cover: using her grandson's corpse to hide her movements, Spirit Medium Granny felt around in the blood for the container holding the Heavenly Restriction Tyrant's remains.

Although her grandson had been blown apart, she herself could also serve as a vessel for the Heavenly Restriction Tyrant.

It didn't matter whether her precious grandson died. He had been a test subject meant to eliminate risks from the very beginning.

After all, this was her first time summoning such a powerful body. There might be hidden dangers involved.

Just as Spirit Medium Granny found the container and delight appeared on her face, the soft voice of death reached her ears.

"What are you looking for, Granny? Need a hand?"

Spirit Medium Granny tightened her fist around the container, desperately suppressing the urge to turn and run.

She couldn't outrun him, and clearly couldn't beat him either.

If strength wouldn't work, she could only rely on cunning.

Spirit Medium Granny looked up into Jiahao's smiling, blood-red eyes. Fighting down her terror, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and choked out, "I only wanted to collect my dear grandson's body."

"Young man, this old woman never wanted to attack you. I simply had no choice."

"I'm willing to go back to Jujutsu High with you and tell you about the person behind this. Could you give me a few minutes to bury my dear grandson first?"

Jiahao said nothing and merely continued unwinding the bandages on his right hand.

Fear flashed in the old woman's eyes. She hurriedly lowered her head and tried to stroke her grandson's cheek... but found nothing.

Her old hand slipped down to his chest. "He's my precious grandson! I spent decades raising him, feeding him and cleaning up after him from the time he was little!"

People said young folks these days were compassionate. Perhaps playing the victim would get her through this.

"In that case, I'll send you to reunite with your precious grandson."

"But since you've put so much effort into this performance, I, your king, will give you a chance."

"If you can take one hit, I'll let you leave."

The white bandages drifted into the pool of blood, stirring tiny ripples.

Realizing her act had been exposed, Spirit Medium Granny immediately stood and put some distance between them, bracing herself. "Do you mean that?!"

"This king never lies!"

She had secretly watched part of the fight in which Kusaka was brutalized.

Knowing the brat's right hand was anything but ordinary, Spirit Medium Granny stared fixedly at it, ready to dodge.

As long as she dodged one punch, she would immediately slip into a blind spot and swallow the Tyrant's remains.

Huh? Wait!

Spirit Medium Granny flexed her fist. Where was the container of remains?!

Where did my Tyrant's remains go?!

"Stop looking. I've got them."

Jiahao opened his palm to reveal the bloodstained container, then tossed it into the Kamui Dimension.

They were Fushiguro's father's remains, after all.

They might come in handy sometime.

"You!!"

The moment Spirit Medium Granny spoke, space tore open.

It was too fast for the naked eye to follow. She could only dodge by anticipating it.

Already prepared, Spirit Medium Granny bent forward and lowered her head ahead of time, trying to predict and evade that crushing fist of death.

However...

This time, Jiahao hadn't thrown a punch, but a rising knee bursting with black and red.

You didn't really think this king could only land a Black Flash with his right hand, did you? I just took off some bandages. Did you have to stare so hard?

This knee would teach her to curb her arrogance and impatience!

"Boom!!"

The old woman flew into the air, her upper body gone, as fireworks blossomed.

Watching the blood-red fireworks overhead, Bejihao folded his arms and sighed softly. "She actually dared to block my Hao Flash with her head. Heh, heh, heh!"

"What a Spirit Medium Granny! Jujutsu Society really is full of heroes!"

[Valor Points +57]

[Valor Points +78]

[Valor Points +96]

[Valor Points +888]