Everything has a weakness

In the middle of the lawn, Satoru Gojo solemnly removed his sunglasses, revealing the sky-blue eyes the world looked up to.

Gojo dared not underestimate or dismiss the man before him. Tsukasa Hatayama deserved his full attention and a serious challenge.

Hatayama had no desire to waste words. The Cross Gem on his left ear glowed red, and an immense torrent of red cursed energy erupted from his body.

Even at a distance, the raging cursed energy nearly buckled everyone's knees, leaving them able only to look up at Hatayama.

Compared with them, Gojo looked relaxed as he faced him.

He formed a hand sign with one hand, using Limitless, which interfered with atoms to control space, to block that immense, aggressive torrent of cursed energy.

Intrigued, Gojo asked, "As far as I know, cursed energy can't attack without activating a Cursed Technique. How can yours?"

"Well..."

Hatayama considered it calmly, then said slowly, "This is Cursed Pressure, something I invented. The inspiration came from spiritual pressure in the Bleach manga."

At that, Hatayama really wanted to complain aloud.

The world of Jujutsu actually had the big three mainstream manga. Back when he discovered that, he had wondered whether that one-eyed cat had simply been too lazy to draw a new story.

Fortunately, the Void Cursed Technique wasn't a product of this world, and the Hōgyoku had fused with him. Otherwise, the Six Eyes would have exposed every secret he possessed.

Those Six Eyes were practically a cheat item, able to identify someone else's innate Cursed Technique at a glance.

"So if I deactivate Limitless, your Cursed Pressure could knock me unconscious?"

Gojo's brows knitted tightly. Shocked, he also felt admiration for the man before him. Under that Cursed Pressure, his arrogant way of referring to himself disappeared.

Hatayama was a genius.

While everyone else only knew cursed energy as something necessary to activate Cursed Techniques, he had drawn inspiration from a manga to develop Cursed Pressure that could attack.

Meanwhile, Gojo had yet to master Cursed Technique Reversal: Red.

Compared with Hatayama, it seemed he had been full of himself from beginning to end.

"Your cursed energy and mental strength aren't as strong as mine, so it would probably knock you out."

"But with Limitless protecting you, these little tricks of mine won't work on you."

That turtle shell he couldn't approach really was troublesome for Hatayama. But it was merely troublesome, not impossible to break.

Gojo curled his lip and declared, "Whoever wins, you have to teach me Cursed Pressure. Only with that can I stand supreme!"

"Sure."

Hatayama nodded without refusing. Rather than keeping it to himself, spreading Cursed Pressure far and wide would be the greatest reward for creating it.

Besides, learning it wouldn't be so easy. An enormous reserve of cursed energy was a prerequisite. Otherwise, one blast would drop the user before it dropped the enemy.

"Since Cursed Pressure can't crush that turtle shell, I'll try my innate Cursed Technique."

Hatayama withdrew his Cursed Pressure and parted his thin lips. "Dark Treasure."

The moment he spoke, an even greater torrent of red cursed energy erupted from his body.

Black rings of light formed from cursed energy suddenly appeared in the blue sky.

They filled the sky, their ominous, evil aura enveloping the entire field.

Everyone who had just recovered from the Cursed Pressure froze in astonishment. The appearance of those rings, whose power remained unknown, instantly chilled the air.

It was as though boundless darkness were devouring humanity's last light bit by bit, seeking to drag the entire field into eternal night.

Before anyone could marvel at it, an eye-popping scene unfolded: all kinds of weapons emerged from the rings filling the sky.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Tearing through the air, the weapons rained down on Gojo like a volley of countless arrows.

This monster!

Gojo's lips twitched. Cursing inwardly, he poured more cursed energy into maintaining Limitless, stopping the incoming weapons at a distance they couldn't cross.

Without Limitless to defend him, that sky-filling barrage would have impaled him, punching countless gruesome holes through his body.

Where the hell did this monster come from? How has Jujutsu Society heard nothing about him?

And using a Cursed Technique on this scale should drain his cursed energy. Why do weapons keep pouring out of those rings?

This monster!

I can't keep defending passively. At this rate, my brain will burn out!

"Cursed Technique Lapse-Blue!"

Gojo raised a hand and gathered cursed energy, drawing in the weapons scattered across the grass and forming a massive sphere wreathed in cursed energy.

He controlled the sphere with one hand, using Limitless to block the incoming weapons while dividing his attention to ram the sphere into the black rings overhead and destroy them.

Looking at the field, which had been wrecked beyond recognition, the people on the stone steps could only remain silent. The two had stunned them speechless.

"Compared with those two, we upperclassmen seem pretty unnecessary. Maybe we should consider retirement, so they can stop crushing our confidence."

"Exactly. Jujutsu High might as well close down. With those two around, Sakura Country couldn't possibly be any safer."

"Let's hand every cursed spirit exorcism mission to them. Weak upperclassmen like us should just go home to our mothers."

"Boohoo... why are they so strong?!"

Listening to the dejected voices around him and watching the two display their overwhelming power on the field, Suguru Geto bit his index finger, filled with mixed feelings.

Those two are seriously strong!

Especially his close friend Tsukasa, who stood effortlessly in place, unleashing indiscriminate, large-scale attacks without any sign of running out of cursed energy.

His Dark Manipulation really, really, really, really is powerful!

Having witnessed how strong Gojo was, Utahime Iori wearily buried her face against Shoko Ieiri's chest and sulked by herself.

She had a feeling that after this, Gojo would mock her even more relentlessly. How was she supposed to survive the days ahead?

Mei Mei was only slightly shocked before contentedly returning to sorting her banknotes. Nothing was more enjoyable than counting money and saving it.

After seeing that student ID earlier, she had known this quiet young junior wouldn't lose.

Special Grade Sorcerer-what an enviable rank.

So far, Tsukumo was Sakura Country's only Special Grade Sorcerer. Though she didn't accept missions, there was no question that she possessed the strength to destroy a country.

The young junior before her had entered Jujutsu High as a Special Grade Sorcerer, showing just how incredible his strength and talent were.

Sure enough, geniuses inspired resentment and envy wherever they went.

Meanwhile.

Gojo streamed with sweat as he controlled the sphere. The strain of Limitless felt almost like throwing his brain into a blazing fire.

Part of his attention drifted to a thought. If I mastered Cursed Technique Reversal: Red, its positive-infinite repulsive force could destroy these annoying weapons.

The problem is, I still don't understand Reverse Cursed Technique at all. I can't use the Cursed Technique Reversal derived from it, much less Red.

At that moment, Gojo felt like a sheep on the plains-a despairing sheep about to be devoured by a vicious wolf.

Suddenly.

Just as Gojo sank into helplessness, the black rings continuously firing from the sky vanished, along with the weapons embedded in the grass.

Gojo froze, then angrily looked at the composed Hatayama. "What are you doing? Pitying me?"

"I don't need your pity! I need you to beat me fair and square! Do you realize you're trampling on my pride?!"

"You're overthinking it. I prefer hand-to-hand combat to Cursed Techniques."

Hatayama reached behind his waist and drew a plain little knife.

Its pale-yellow handle instinctively made it look like something used to chop vegetables.

Facing the furious Gojo, Hatayama smiled and said, "Before I came to Jujutsu High, my mother gave me some advice."

"She told me to get along with my classmates, not to argue with them over little things, and never to use my size to bully someone smaller and weaker."

"She told me to be kind and caring whenever possible, and look after younger classmates. It sounded long-winded, but I took every word to heart."

"But this is a contest of strength, and I don't want to lose..."

As those words, which sounded like a simple explanation yet rang with conviction, fell, Hatayama's red irises transformed into brilliant, multicolored spirals.

The furious Gojo met his eyes. In an instant, he felt the threat of death surge from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

Hatayama lowered himself into a slight crouch, holding the knife in a reverse grip as he warned with a friendly smile, "Make sure you dodge, okay? Otherwise... you'll die."

"You bastard! Stop looking down on me!"

Suppressing that inexplicable sense of impending death, Gojo struck first. With a sweep of his hand toward Hatayama, he sent the sphere overhead hurtling straight at him.

Rather than fear, Hatayama smiled. As the massive sphere reached him, he casually swept his knife along a red line no one else could see.

The sphere split in two and turned to ash before everyone's eyes.

"This..."

Gojo was too stunned to speak. Blue hadn't exploded as he had imagined. Instead, Hatayama had sliced it apart effortlessly.

Had Limitless failed, or had Hatayama used some other ability?

His eyes!

Gojo suddenly noticed the change in his eyes and asked incredulously, "Do your eyes have another ability?"

Hatayama made no attempt to hide it, nodding in acknowledgment as he explained casually, "Everything has a weakness. My eyes can see the Death of All Things."

"Even if a god stood before me, I could kill them for you to see!"

"Stop trying to fool me! You make it sound so convincing!"

"Take this!"

Gojo shot forward like a bullet, black-and-red sparks flashing around his right fist as he drove it toward Hatayama's handsome face with tremendous force.

"Black Flash, huh..."

Hatayama swiftly stepped back, then clenched his raised right hand. Dark matter rapidly condensed into a small black wall before him.

But all of that was ultimately external power. Before the critical strike of Black Flash, it shattered completely, bursting apart like fireworks.

Gojo focused his eyes. Hatayama was already gone, leaving behind only two patches of grass cracked like spiderwebs.

"So that's the critical strike, Black Flash. A shame I've never learned it."

At that moment, Hatayama's calm yet impressed voice sounded behind him.

When did he get behind me...?

Gojo felt a chill run down his back, but with Limitless protecting him, he said fearlessly, "I can teach you if you want to learn."

"No need. I've already learned it!"

"What?!"

Gojo spun around. A savage fist crackling with red lightning and fiery flashes was hurtling straight toward his handsome face.

Fortunately, Limitless's interference prevented the savage fist from reaching him.

But before Gojo could sigh in relief, a small knife swept along a fleeting red line invisible to the naked eye, and Limitless dissolved as though it were made of paper.

Hatayama dispersed his raging cursed energy and drove his heavy fist into Gojo's jaw, sending him flying with a single punch to land at Masamichi Yaga's feet.