Satoru Gojo pushed open the chapel doors.
"Amanai!"
All eyes turned toward him. Like a drop of cold water hitting hot oil, the entire classroom burst into chaos.
"What's going on, Riko? Is that your boyfriend?!"
"He's so handsome!"
"He's super tall!"
"Hey, take off those sunglasses!"
"..."
The girls didn't rush over to him—they swarmed around Riko Amanai instead, chattering away with excitement.
Gojo's looks were one thing, but even the female teacher was taking advantage of her authority. Then again, this was an all-girls school.
Only Riko Amanai's face had gone pale.
It felt just like back in school—when her embarrassing older brother would yell her name in front of her classmates, waving his arms as he ran over.
As he walked closer, all she wanted to do was cover her face and run.
"Uh—well, it's an emergency, so… sorry about this." Gojo actually took off his sunglasses, revealing dazzling cerulean eyes. The commotion around them instantly intensified. Flashing a radiant smile, he greeted the students and teachers as he passed through the crowd and stopped in front of Amanai.
"Don't get carried away, damn it!" Riko Amanai snapped, abandoning all restraint. "I told you guys over and over not to show up in front of everyone!"
"The Curse User's closing in. Figure out the rest yourself." Gojo scooped her up with one hand and leapt toward the rooftop. "We're heading straight back to Jujutsu High."
Riko Amanai looked reluctant.
Until Gojo said, "You don't want your friends caught up in this, do you?"
...
Gojo raced across the rooftops with Amanai in tow, quickly reaching the rendezvous point. The others hadn't arrived yet.
As he set her down, his body froze. He pulled her behind him—a paper-bag-headed man stood in their path.
"My 30 million…"
The paper-bag man muttered softly. He'd finally found her. Things weren't looking good on the other side, so he needed to move fast here.
Two identical copies stepped out from his body, forming a triangular formation that surrounded the two of them.
Gojo let out an annoyed sigh.
"I really don't get it. What's so special about this girl? One after another…"
He raised a hand toward the sky and activated his technique.
Boom—
The two doppelgängers were sucked upward and slammed into each other at high speed. The crash sent shockwaves rippling out in all directions.
They melted away like wax, vanishing in seconds.
The remaining one leapt to a nearby rooftop, cold sweat trailing down his temple. Both clones gone in an instant? What the hell?
"The Shikigami disappeared! Which one's the real one?" Riko Amanai exclaimed.
"They're not Shikigami. They're clones. And all of them are the real one."
Gojo ducked low, shielding Amanai's head as he dodged a punch from the remaining paper-bag man, countering with a fist of his own.
But the man refused to back off, sticking to close-quarters combat.
Gojo clicked his tongue.
His technique was sometimes too powerful to use at close range—he had to be mindful of his targeting while also protecting Amanai. Managing cursed energy in this situation was a hassle.
This Curse User's technique could create up to five clones, including the original?
Only three were here now, but under the scrutiny of Six Eyes, the flow of cursed energy was crystal clear—at least two more clones were hiding nearby.
"He can freely choose which one's the main body. If the real one's in danger, he can just switch to a safer clone."
A seriously annoying technique—like dealing with a buzzing fly.
Gojo narrowed his eyes.
"You lost two clones at the same time. You can't form any more right now, can you? At least not for a while?"
"Impressive technique. Still can't figure out why you're so weak."
He was getting ready to end it.
"How do you know my technique?" The paper-bag man's heart sank. He glanced at Riko Amanai again, feeling a sudden urge to retreat.
"Unlucky for you—I've got excellent vision." Gojo took off his sunglasses and levitated them between his palms.
...
The paper-bag man met his gaze—and froze.
A void stretched across Gojo's eyes, dead and barren. Dozens of glowing crystalline eyeballs floated in that space, their pupils uneven, irises spinning in different directions, completely chaotic.
A sense of exposure surged within him. His thoughts scrambled.
Without a word, Sōjun Minamoto waved his hand and instantly erased one of the clones. His body shimmered into a blur, appearing before the next. He reached out, gripped the paper bag firmly, and blood-red strands of hair pierced into the back of the man's head. A crimson glow flickered above him as the man froze, pupils contracting sharply.
Sōjun paused for a moment, sensing.
The man was "gone" now.
...
The paper-bag man leapt backward, putting distance between himself and Gojo. Panic crept into his chest. He glanced at Riko Amanai again, retreating another step.
Then he heard a voice:
"My technique is an infinite convergence. Anything that approaches me slows down more and more—until it can never reach me."
Limitless Technique—possessing the neutral force of Infinity. Once activated, anything targeting the user gets trapped in a state of infinite approach, never able to make contact.
"When it's enhanced, the Limitless becomes a technique with the power of attraction—Blue!"
He's revealing his technique?!
The paper-bag man's heart lurched.
Gojo appeared before him in an instant, holding Amanai with one arm. He aimed two fingers at the man's forehead.
"And this—this is the divergent expansion, the reversed technique with repulsive force: Red!"
Announcing the technique increased its potency and raised its success rate.
The paper-bag man instinctively crossed his arms and leaned back, bracing for impact.
But after a few seconds, nothing came.
Huh?
He heard a soft chuckle.
He cracked an eye open—and a fist filled his vision. In the next instant, he was sent flying through the air.
"Thought that'd work, huh?" Gojo scoffed.
He watched as the man's body melted away.
"Tch. Got away again?"
...
He returned.
Crimson light blazed violently.
Gurgling, swallowing sounds echoed.
Regret and despair flashed in the paper-bag man's eyes. He could've escaped. If only—
His thoughts stopped there forever.
The crimson enveloped him completely. His form reshaped. His height visibly increased—
Until only the paper bag remained. Aside from that, he looked identical to Sōjun Minamoto.
Sōjun nodded in satisfaction. With a thought, the paper mask dissolved into black vapor, flowing back along his hair. New black lines formed across his bare upper body, tracing into a faint, abstract paper-mask pattern.
...
"It's hard to master Reverse Cursed Technique if you don't understand the fundamentals."
A voice came from behind. Gojo and Riko Amanai turned to see who it was.
Sōjun Minamoto stood there, hands tucked into his sleeves. His collar had slipped down, leaving his torso half-exposed, black lines tracing his muscles.
Riko Amanai covered her eyes and peeked through her fingers.
"Naked guy! You total perv!"
She quickly locked eyes with those strange ones again and froze, her voice dying off.
Sōjun ignored her.
Gojo was also looking at the markings, his gaze lingering on the abstract mask pattern.
The two exchanged a nod and launched into a discussion about Reverse Techniques.
Soon, Suguru Geto returned.
"Huh? Where's Kuroi?"
"What? She's not back yet?"
The three of them tensed.
"Wh-what do we do?! Kuroi—Kuroi!!" Riko Amanai screamed, staring at her phone in panic.
Sōjun looked over.
Onscreen was a photo…
Misato Kuroi had been captured.
What a pain, he thought.