Setting aside Satoru Gojo's infuriating personality and his utterly sadistic teaching methods, Sherlock had to admit that he was a pretty good teacher.
This was not a joke. He genuinely thought so.
After all, the textbooks at Jujutsu High contained nothing beyond basic jujutsu knowledge, let alone advanced knowledge about things like domains.
It was Satoru Gojo who broke this closely guarded knowledge down, kneaded it into manageable pieces, and fed it to Sherlock bit by bit.
From Reverse Cursed Technique, Cursed Technique Reversal, and Cursed Technique Extension to knowledge of domains and barriers, even cursed energy techniques like Black Flash and skills like Domain Amplification, Satoru Gojo taught them all to Sherlock bit by bit.
He would even demonstrate skills he knew, such as Reverse Cursed Technique, Cursed Technique Reversal, or domains. Even for techniques like Black Flash that he could not demonstrate, he would teach Sherlock their principles and everything else bit by bit.
Of course, this did not stop Sherlock from considering Satoru Gojo the king of shit. After all, this guy's teaching methods sometimes made Sherlock downright miserable.
Apart from basics like hand-to-hand combat and stamina, Satoru Gojo's teaching plan for Sherlock, who had absolutely no foundation, was to have him learn Reverse Cursed Technique based on his assessment, while getting Sherlock to expand his own cursed technique as much as possible in the process.
Because in Satoru Gojo's eyes, Sherlock's [Flying Thunder God] was a cursed technique whose mechanics could be said to surpass his [Limitless] completely.
For that very reason, Satoru Gojo seemed to have long since decided that Sherlock definitely had the potential to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
However, Satoru Gojo had never said this. It only showed in his training.
The good news was that Satoru Gojo's lessons on Reverse Cursed Technique were nothing like Shoko's abstract explanations about going "hey~" and then "whoosh~."
The bad news was that, despite the complete theory and the absence of utterly abstract descriptions, Satoru Gojo's teaching methods still left Sherlock groaning in misery.
What? You wanted to know exactly how Satoru Gojo taught Sherlock Reverse Cursed Technique?
Simple. Go see Shoko!
In the mornings, he ran himself into the ground until he could not run anymore, after which Satoru Gojo carried him off to Shoko for treatment. In the afternoons, they fought at close quarters, and after beating the teeth out of Sherlock, he took him to Shoko for treatment again.
In Satoru Gojo's own words:
"You have to get your body used to the positive cursed energy of Reverse Cursed Technique before you have any chance of learning it!"
Sherlock had only one thought about Satoru Gojo's claim: Bullshit! Sherlock strongly suspected that Satoru Gojo simply wanted to beat him up!
And this was also why Sherlock considered Satoru Gojo a fairly good teacher.
Despite knowing what Sherlock's cursed technique was, Satoru Gojo still turned off his fully automatic Limitless when sparring with him in hand-to-hand combat, trading blows that landed solidly on flesh.
Sherlock could also tell that Satoru Gojo really was training him.
After all, with Sherlock's utterly lousy hand-to-hand skills, if Satoru Gojo really wanted to beat him up, it would only take a single move. Yet when sparring with Sherlock, Satoru Gojo kept his fighting ability just a little above Sherlock's level from beginning to end.
Although he still got beaten up every time, there was no denying that Sherlock was growing rapidly, at a pace beyond anything he had experienced before.
It was no exaggeration to say that, in the few days Satoru Gojo had personally trained Sherlock, Sherlock had grown even faster than he had over the entire period between his cursed technique awakening and his enrollment at Tokyo Jujutsu High!
But even though Sherlock understood that Satoru Gojo really treated him well, he still could not bring himself to like this white-haired asshole cat.
There were two reasons.
First, Satoru Gojo's training was far too torturous. Physical conditioning in the morning, combat in the afternoon, and not even the evenings were free. Satoru Gojo got a doll from Yaga and made Sherlock hold it while sleeping to control his cursed energy output.
Did you know how devastating it was for a kid who loved sleeping to go several days in a row without a single full night's sleep?
During those days, Sherlock sported two enormous dark circles, and his temper was so explosive that every time he saw Satoru Gojo, he wanted to walk up and punch him. And Sherlock actually did just that.
Although Satoru Gojo never fought back against Sherlock's attacks, he even had the presence of mind to critique exactly what was wrong with Sherlock's ambush methods.
Unfortunately, however, not one of Sherlock's attacks actually managed to hit Satoru Gojo.
Every single one was blocked by his fully automatic Limitless!
What? You were asking about hand-to-hand combat lessons?
Heh, a lesson learned in blood and tears: Satoru Gojo really did leave Limitless off at those times, but you had better not use your cursed technique either, or your fate would be quite miserable.
Do not ask how Sherlock knew. Sherlock did not want to talk about it!
And the second reason was the one Sherlock found most unacceptable.
This damned asshole cat actually looked down on his clothing style! He called him old-fashioned!
How were Sherlock's clothes old-fashioned? He was doing work that put his fucking life on the line, so wasn't it normal to wear a hoodie and sweatpants set that let him move easily? How the hell was that old-fashioned?
Besides, Sherlock felt that Satoru Gojo had absolutely no right to criticize him!
Over this, Sherlock had even raided Satoru Gojo's wardrobe, and his conclusion was that Satoru Gojo's taste in clothes was not much better than his own.
This guy was getting by purely on his face and his long-legged physique, standing over 190 centimeters tall!
Satoru Gojo was decidedly unhappy about this. He even squeezed out an entire day to drag Sherlock and Shoko to a shopping mall for a fashion showdown.
Teacher and student each picked out and coordinated outfits, then brought them to Shoko for her critique.
Neither was allowed to ask for help or put the clothes on, ensuring fairness and impartiality as much as possible. Satoru Gojo even paid for both of their purchases, specifically to prevent any unfairness caused by budget constraints.
What? You wanted to know the result?
Well, in Shoko's words, this contest was a complete waste of time!
Teacher and student had equally bad fashion sense! Both were at the very bottom of fashion's depths. Neither had any right to laugh at or criticize the other!
As for the casual clothes in Satoru Gojo's wardrobe that looked fairly good on him?
Well, Shoko did not mention it, but Suguru Geto had most likely helped Satoru Gojo pick them out back when he was still at school.
After all, you expected a sheltered Six Eyes to have good fashion sense? Cut the crap. Hadn't you noticed that after Suguru Geto abandoned the cat, Gojo the cat wore nothing but uniforms?
On this rare shopping trip with his very first disciple, the only conclusion was that both of them were hopelessly unfashionable!
For some inexplicable reason, Shoko felt that she had somehow acquired another task on top of her medical licensing exam.
The task of buying clothes for the idiot teacher and student still arguing in front of her.