Yagami Jue had already appeared directly above the fleeing Special Grade Curse User.
"Thousand-Jin Drop!"
Yagami Jue's right leg fell like a colossal axe that could cleave the heavens, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek as it smashed down onto the Curse User's head!
"Boom!"
A dull impact rang out, enough to set anyone's teeth on edge!
The Special Grade Curse User's head was driven straight into his chest!
His entire body was hammered into the hard concrete like a nail!
Only half his body remained aboveground. He died on the spot!
"One left."
Yagami Jue landed slowly and rolled his neck, his bones cracking in a rapid series of pops.
He turned toward the last Special Grade Curse User, who had collapsed onto the ground in terror.
"D-don't kill me! I'll give you all my money!"
The last Curse User had completely broken down.
The Special Grade strength he had always been so proud of was nothing but a ridiculous joke before this boy who had no cursed energy!
"Too late."
Yagami Jue walked over, his face expressionless.
With one stomp, he burst the man's head.
[Ding! Killed Special Grade Curse Users ×3!] [Loot dropped: 150 million yen!]
"Hiss-!"
Hearing the figure announced by the system in his mind, Yagami Jue sucked in a sharp breath.
One hundred and fifty million!
Was this what a Special Grade was worth?!
Killing those three scumbags had earned him more than all his previous earnings combined!
"This feels good! So fucking good!"
Yagami Jue licked the blood spattered at the corner of his mouth, his eyes burning with wild fervor.
He turned toward the masked man standing rigid in the depths of the alley.
"Now it's your turn."
"You dog of the higher-ups."
Looking at the mangled corpses strewn across the ground, the masked man's terror reached its peak.
But as a trusted agent of the higher-ups, he knew there was no escaping tonight.
"Yagami Jue..."
The masked man's voice turned shrill with overwhelming fear.
"Don't get too cocky!"
"Even if you kill us, you won't live much longer!"
"The higher-ups have ordered your death! The entire Jujutsu Society will be hunting you!"
"Even... even the strongest, Satoru Gojo!"
At the mention of Satoru Gojo's name...
There was no hint of avoidance in Yagami Jue's eyes. Instead, they blazed with an unprecedented, arrogant thirst for battle.
"Satoru Gojo?"
Yagami Jue threw his head back and laughed wildly!
"I've been wondering where to find someone to test this strength of over ten thousand points!"
"Don't worry. When he gets here, I'll tell him with my fists."
"Strongest, my ass."
"Before my absolute physical violence, he'll have to get on his knees like everyone else!"
"Whoosh!"
Yagami Jue blurred into motion, appearing before the masked man in an instant.
"You can die now."
He seized the masked man's throat and lifted him into the air with one hand.
"Crack!"
Without the slightest hesitation...
He crushed the man's cervical spine.
[Ding! Killed a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer (special envoy of the higher-ups)!] [Loot dropped: 10 million yen!]
He casually tossed the corpse to the ground.
Yagami Jue glanced at the system panel.
Account balance: 160 million yen!
"Now this is what getting rich overnight really looks like."
Yagami Jue wiped the blood from his hands, turned, and walked out of the dark alley that resembled a hellscape of carnage.
Tonight's slaughter was only the beginning.
Since the higher-ups had ordered his death...
What awaited him next would be an endless stream of assassination attempts and coordinated hunts.
"I have to hurry and get stronger."
"System, take all one hundred and sixty million!"
"Put it all into constitution!"
Although his strength had already surpassed ten thousand, he feared that if his constitution failed to keep up, his own body would collapse from the recoil the moment he threw a punch.
Besides, he would soon be facing experts with all kinds of bizarre cursed techniques.
Absolute defense was the foundation of survival.
[Ding!] [160 million yen successfully deducted!] [Constitution +16000! Current constitution: 20538!]
Boom-!!!!!
A sensation of transformation a hundred times more violent than anything before instantly swept through Yagami Jue's entire body!
If his body had previously been as hard as steel...
Then now!
His muscle fibers, bone density, and cellular activity had completely surpassed the limits of carbon-based life!
He could even be described as an extremely compressed black hole in human form!
Even a nuclear bomb exploding right beside him would not harm a single hair on his body!
"Phew..."
Yagami Jue exhaled a long stream of white vapor.
His body now felt so light that he could take flight at any moment, yet the slightest exertion could unleash kinetic energy capable of destroying heaven and earth.
"This feeling of having everything under my control is incredible."
With his hands in his pockets, he disappeared into the boundless night.
The next morning.
Sugisawa Third High School.
Although half the school building had collapsed the previous night, the administration insisted on holding classes in the remaining half.
Yagami Jue entered the classroom as the bell rang, acting as though nothing had happened.
Yet the atmosphere in the classroom was more oppressive than ever.
Every student, including Kenta Sato, who had constantly provoked him before, looked at Yagami Jue as though they had seen death itself!
They barely dared to breathe!
The police had suppressed news of what happened the night before.
But some students who lived nearby had still heard that earth-shaking crash. Some had even seen the distant figure hanging in the air like a demonic god!
That figure's silhouette had looked exactly like Yagami Jue!
"Y-Yagami..."
Asakura Yuki turned around from the front row.
She looked much more energetic today, and the dark circles beneath her eyes had vanished.
"I... ran forty kilometers last night."
Biting her lip, she looked at Yagami Jue cautiously, afraid he would mock her again as he had yesterday.
However...
To everyone's surprise...
Yagami Jue did not berate her today.
He merely gave her an indifferent glance.
"Oh."
"Keep it up."
It was only a few short words.
But to Asakura Yuki, they sounded like heavenly music!
He didn't berate me!
He acknowledged me!
Asakura Yuki's eyes reddened with excitement, and she nodded vigorously.
"I'll keep working hard!"
Watching the girl's foolish expression, Yagami Jue sneered inwardly.
Silly girl.
Once those rabid dogs from the higher-ups come after us, that little bit of stamina won't even be enough to run away.
Just then...
Someone shoved the classroom door open.
A tall man wearing a black blindfold, with spiky white hair, swaggered inside.
Satoru Gojo.
"Hey, good morning, everyone!"
Satoru Gojo waved and walked up to the teacher's desk as though he belonged there.
"I'm here to see someone."
His gaze, hidden behind his blindfold, passed straight through the class and locked firmly onto Yagami Jue in the corner.
"You there, your name's Yagami Jue, right?"
"Come outside for a moment. Your teacher has a little private business with you."
At those words...
The entire class erupted!
"W-who is this guy? He looks so full of himself!"
"He actually dares to mess with Yagami? Does he have a death wish?!"
Only Asakura Yuki felt an unprecedented, terrifying pressure the instant she saw Satoru Gojo.
Even though the man was smiling...
That aura, as though he stood above everything, made her tremble all over.
Yagami Jue remained seated without moving.
He raised his head, his deep black eyes calmly meeting Satoru Gojo's gaze.
Their gazes collided in the air, almost seeming to throw off visible sparks.
"Busy."
Yagami Jue spat the word out coldly.
"If you want me, drag your ass over here yourself."
Arrogant!
Arrogant beyond all bounds!
Every student in the class sucked in a sharp breath.
Yet Satoru Gojo was not angry in the slightest.
Smiling, he walked over to Yagami Jue's desk and planted both hands on it.
"Quite a temper you've got."
"I heard from Megumi that you killed a Special Grade Cursed Spirit with a single punch?"
Satoru Gojo lowered his voice, a hint of teasing in his tone.
"And those hundred-odd corpses in the Black Market alley last night were your handiwork too, weren't they?"
At those words...
Yagami Jue's gaze instantly turned exceedingly dangerous.
"You investigated pretty fast."
"So? Are you a dog the higher-ups sent to kill me?"
Satoru Gojo burst out laughing.
"The top brass? Those rotten higher-ups can't order me around."
"I came to find you simply because you're very interesting to me."
Satoru Gojo leaned close to Yagami Jue's ear and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"A body with absolutely no Cursed Energy, yet power on par with a Special Grade."
"Do you... want to fight me?"
Fight him?
A feverish grin curled Yagami Jue's lips.
He had been waiting for this day for a very long time!
"Sure."
Before you continue