Taunting

"Formation! Black Rope Binding!"

The four men in black scattered instantly, each pulling out a length of jet-black rope that exuded an ominous aura.

It was a Special Grade Cursed Tool-the Black Rope.

In the original story, this thing could even interfere with Satoru Gojo's Limitless.

Bzzzt!

The four black ropes wove together in midair into a huge net, carrying a chilling aura as it descended over Yagami Jue's head.

This was a Sealing Formation developed specifically to counter Heavenly Restriction.

Anyone caught beneath it would have their physical strength forcibly suppressed to the level of an ordinary person.

In the distance, Junpei and Asakura Yuki both rose to their feet in alarm.

"Yagami, get out of the way!"

Asakura Yuki cried out.

She could sense the terrifying malice contained within that black net.

And yet.

Yagami Jue didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.

He merely watched the descending rope net coldly, his lips curling into a deeply mocking smirk.

"Using a Special Grade Cursed Tool against me?"

"You sure think highly of me."

"But aren't you misunderstanding what 'strength' means?"

Just as the Black Rope net was about to touch Yagami Jue's hair.

Yagami Jue moved.

He didn't even activate the Opening Gate.

He relied solely on his speed and strength stats of a staggering 120,000.

His right hand shot out, seizing the center of the rope net before the Black Rope could interfere with him!

"Rip... apart!!!"

Yagami Jue let out a low roar, the muscles in his right arm swelling instantly and bursting straight through his sleeve!

Grabbing one end in each hand, he violently tore them apart!

Crack!!!

A deafening snap rang out, accompanied by the piercing screech of shattering cursed energy.

That supposedly indestructible Special Grade Cursed Tool, the Black Rope, which could interfere with even gods.

Under Yagami Jue's utterly savage, brute force.

Was ripped clean in two down the middle, as though it were a rotten straw rope!

And that wasn't all.

The enormous impact generated by the snapping ropes rebounded along their lengths.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The four Black-Clad Jujutsu Sorcerers didn't even have a chance to react before the backlash sent them flying.

They slammed hard into the mountainside, their teeth scattered across the ground.

Dead silence.

The mountain behind the school fell deathly quiet.

The documents in Investigator Okubo's hands dropped to the ground with a clatter.

His eyes bulged and his lips trembled uncontrollably; even his gold-rimmed glasses had cracked from the shock.

"A... a Special Grade Cursed Tool... torn apart with his bare hands?!"

"Not even Satoru Gojo can destroy that thing by force!"

"What... what kind of monster are you?!"

"Kind?"

Yagami Jue slowly approached Okubo, who had collapsed on the ground.

With every step he took, Okubo felt the ground beneath his feet tremble, as though a mountain were bearing down on him.

"I'm a Pay-to-Win Player. Got it?"

Yagami Jue stopped in front of Okubo, grabbed him by the collar, and hoisted him straight into the air.

"Go back and tell those higher-ups."

"If they want to capture me, they shouldn't embarrass themselves by bringing toys like these."

"If anyone dares interrupt my training again, I'll storm straight into Jujutsu Headquarters and gouge out every one of those old bastards' eyeballs to snack on with my booze!"

"Get lost!"

Yagami Jue casually flung him away, and Okubo rolled dozens of meters down the mountain path like a ragged sack.

"Quick! Let's get out of here!"

Abandoning even his documents, Okubo scrambled toward the Jujutsu High gates with his four gravely injured bodyguards.

Watching those beaten dogs flee.

Yagami Jue brushed the dust off his hands in disgust.

"Fuck. Having these flies disgust me first thing in the morning-just my luck."

He turned toward Junpei and Asakura Yuki.

"What are you staring at? Done training already?!"

"Junpei, you lost power halfway through that punch again! Go smash that tree down, or you're not getting lunch today!"

"Yuki, go collect those four broken black ropes."

"They're Special Grade Cursed Tools. Even if I ripped them apart, the materials should still sell for a decent amount."

Asakura Yuki obediently ran over to clean up the mess.

Junpei gritted his teeth and launched another suicidal charge at the ancient tree.

Meanwhile, beneath the shade of a distant tree.

A white figure leaned there quietly, an amused smile on his lips.

"Good grief. How rough of you, Jue."

Satoru Gojo strolled out, biting into an edamame-flavored ice pop.

"That was Jujutsu Headquarters' precious treasure. Destroying it like that will leave them too heartbroken to sleep."

Yagami Jue shot Satoru Gojo a sideways look and snapped, "If they can't sleep, they can go kill themselves. Just don't bother me."

"And you, Mr. Busy Gojo-why aren't you helping your little Itadori level up? What are you doing here mooching off my air?"

Satoru Gojo chuckled, walked up beside Yagami Jue, and lowered his voice. "That investigator wasn't wrong. The higher-ups really are unhappy with you."

"But I've brought you some good news, too."

"The prize pool for the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event has been finalized."

"If you take first place at the Goodwill Event, besides the usual cursed tools, the higher-ups have put up a treasure they've been keeping tucked away."

"Oh?"

Yagami Jue raised an eyebrow. Anything Satoru Gojo called a "treasure" had to be worth serious money.

"What is it?"

With an air of mystery, Satoru Gojo traced a shape with his hands.

"An antique from a thousand years ago-a fragment of 'Heaven-Reversing Cloud.'"

"It's only a fragment, but the energy it contains alone makes it worth at least this much."

Satoru Gojo held up five fingers.

"Five hundred million?"

Yagami Jue curled his lip. Five hundred million wasn't enough to get him that motivated.

"No."

Satoru Gojo shook his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Five billion."

"Because it's the ultimate defense-piercing material, capable of bypassing any cursed technique's defenses."

"Five billion?!"

Yagami Jue's eyes instantly lit up like a pair of two-hundred-watt bulbs.

"Holy shit! Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

"System! Did you hear that?! Five billion!"

With that five billion, he could open the Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain!

Then his strength and speed would skyrocket once more to an inhuman level!

"I'm going to that Goodwill Event, no matter what!"

Yagami Jue slapped his thigh fiercely, pulverizing the solid wooden bench beside him in the process.

"But Jue, you're public enemy number one at the school now."

Satoru Gojo watched him with obvious delight at his predicament.

"Over at Kyoto Jujutsu High, that old man Gakuganji has given his students strict orders."

"They're to 'execute' you at the Goodwill Event, fair and square."

"Are you sure you don't need me to clear away a few obstacles beforehand?"

"Execute me?"

Yagami Jue sneered, his eyes brimming with arrogance.

"Let them come."