"Oh? Haven't seen you in years, and now your wings have grown?"
Jinsuke's eyes showed a trace of surprise.
Had this kid spent so many years as a sorcerer killer that he forgot what family name he bore?Wasn't this all just the leftover tricks from Jinsuke back in the day?
"Come, let me see just how capable you've become."
Jinsuke widened the distance, curling his fingers in a taunt at Toji.
If words wouldn't work, then fists would. He really wanted to see where this foolish little brother had found the courage to talk to him like that.
"Heh, that's what you said. Don't blame me for not holding back."
Facing the brother who had vanished for years, Toji still carried resentment in his heart. Between men, some conflicts could only be settled by fighting.
Today, he was going to test it — could the brother who once suppressed him still defeat him again?
Toji's eyes suddenly sharpened. He reached into the mouth of the cursed spirit coiled around him and pulled out a crimson three-section staff.
The special-grade cursed tool worth five billion — Playful Cloud!
Clutching it tightly with both hands, Toji bent his knees slightly, a feral grin spreading across his face.
"Don't lose too badly!"
Boom!
In the next instant, Toji's figure blurred, swinging Playful Cloud sideways with a whistling roar.
Jinsuke's body tensed slightly as a wave of heat rippled across him. His muscles bulged, veins protruding beneath his skin.
Clap!
One hand shot out, seizing the descending Playful Cloud.
A tremendous force jolted through his arm, making it go slightly numb.
As the only special-grade cursed tool without any technique effect, Playful Cloud embodied pure destructive force.The stronger its wielder, the stronger the weapon's output. It was a tool meant for the mighty.
In Toji's grip, Playful Cloud carried power enough to hunt most special-grade cursed spirits.
Though Jinsuke's arm tingled from the impact, his face didn't change in the slightest.
With a sudden surge of strength, he reversed the force, channeling terrifying power back along Playful Cloud and, in the blink of an eye, tore it from Toji's hands.
Chuckling, he said:
"This thing's mine now."
He liked this kind of brutally violent weapon quite a bit.
"Hmph!"
Toji snorted coldly, displeasure flickering across his face. Once more, he reached into the cursed spirit's maw and drew forth a wide-bladed longsword.
The special-grade cursed tool — Split Soul Katana!
It ignored both physical and cursed energy defenses, cutting straight into the soul. And the wounds it inflicted could not be healed.
"..."
Jinsuke swallowed hard as he stared at the sword in Toji's hands.
Such treasures… and Toji was the one who got them all.
Without another word, Toji tightened his grip and lunged again, his figure dissolving into an afterimage.
Jinsuke, on the other hand, casually swung Playful Cloud with one hand, perfectly unleashing its power. A three-section staff against a longsword? Too easy.
Clang! Clang!!
Like a stroll in the park, Jinsuke effortlessly deflected every one of Toji's attacks.
"Toji, your fighting style is still just as easy to read."
Lifting Playful Cloud, Jinsuke suddenly smashed it downward toward Toji's charge.
Toji's eyes narrowed as he raised the Split Soul Katana to block.
Bang!
But in his anger-clouded mind, he forgot Playful Cloud's structure.
He stopped the second segment—but inertia carried the third crashing down onto his skull.
The brutal impact made his head buzz violently.
"Hiss—!"
Seeing blood run down Toji's forehead, even Jinsuke sucked in a sharp breath.
Taking a direct hit from a special-grade cursed tool with your head… he had to admit, Toji was a true warrior.
Staggering back two steps, Toji's consciousness blurred.
Thud!
The next second, he collapsed heavily to the ground, knocked out cold.
"...Tch."
Jinsuke's eyes showed a trace of helplessness as he stepped forward to lift his fainted brother.
No one knew Toji better than he did. Though his brother looked calm, meticulous, and cautious… when faced with certain things, he lost his cool.
Like now — so desperate to surpass Jinsuke that he lost his composure. Or when confronting Gojo's awakening, his pride once again drove him into a dead end.
"Reminds me a bit of myself back then."
Jinsuke chuckled, shaking his head.He was just as reckless back in the day—so who was he to lecture Toji?
Supporting his unconscious brother, he had barely taken a few steps when an uninvited guest appeared ahead.
"Well now, surprise surprise~ two of you, huh?"
Covered in blood, Gojo appeared before Jinsuke.
"..."
Jinsuke fell silent, exasperated.
Couldn't he have waited until they left first? Though, even if they did leave, Gojo would probably still find them.
"You've got the wrong guy."
Jinsuke feigned ignorance, pretending not to recognize Gojo.
At that moment, Toji was already regaining consciousness.
The Heavenly Restriction had given him a powerful body and recovery ability. Even after taking Playful Cloud to the head, he could recover in a short time.
"You? How's that possible?"
Toji pushed Jinsuke away, his eyes filled with disbelief.
How could a dead man appear again?
"As real as it gets. I've never felt better."
Gojo brushed his hair back, revealing a half-healed scar on his forehead.
"Reversed Cursed Technique?"
"Correct!"
A crazed gleam spread across Gojo's face as he spread his arms wide, tilting his head back toward the sky.
The moment his throat had been pierced, he abandoned all defenses and focused entirely on grasping the Reversed Cursed Technique.
Cursed energy was the accumulation of negative energy. No matter how strong, it couldn't regenerate flesh. But Reversed Cursed Technique used the principle of two negatives making a positive—converting cursed energy into positive energy, enabling regeneration!
On the edge of death, Gojo had pulled off the impossible — comprehending the core of jujutsu, the Reversed Cursed Technique.
Floating in the air, bathed in sunset, Gojo recounted his enlightenment with drunken ecstasy.
But Toji had already lost patience. Shaking off the dizziness, he pulled out the Inverted Spear of Heaven, lunging at Gojo in a blur.
Gojo slipped away effortlessly, still immersed in his newfound state.
Even a reverse slash was dodged with ease.
Gojo lay back in midair, eyes unfocused, like he had entered a sage-like state.
At this moment, nothing in the world could stir his emotions.
The world felt intoxicatingly clear.
He even felt as though…
Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am honored!
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red"
Dangling upside down, Gojo formed a sword-hand seal, compressing red cursed energy into a small sphere that exploded toward Toji.
The terrifying repulsion force struck against the Inverted Spear of Heaven, blasting Toji deep into the ruins.
But Toji crawled out unfazed, his cursed spirit spitting out a chain that latched onto the spear's hilt.
Swinging the Chain of a Thousand Miles, the Inverted Spear spun above his head at a furious speed.
A feral grin twisted Toji's face. Looking at the man before him, his resentment toward Jinsuke faded, replaced with searing battle lust.
Deep down, he knew — this man had likely become the strongest sorcerer alive!
Only one thought remained in his heart: defeat him!
To show all those who had mocked their brothers that the so-called strongest sorcerer could be slain by a man without a shred of cursed energy.
He would make the world regret ever scorning them.
The innate restraints of Limitless couldn't bind him. Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue's attraction could be blocked with cursed tools or evaded outright. Reversal: Red's repulsion could be countered with the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
Everything was under his control!
"That's enough."
Jinsuke's figure appeared between the two.
Knowing everything about Gojo, he could never allow Toji to clash with him head-on.
This fight had no reason to continue at all.