"Are we really going to fight?"
Amber, seeing that Satoru Gojo had no intention of backing down, finally asked, "The other me is really strong..."
She still liked Gojo quite a bit. Even after he got reduced to that 'Go/jo' situation, she never joined in kicking him while he was down, just quietly stopped paying attention—though even avoiding the news, it felt like updates were shoved in her face anyway.
Plus, Gojo's reason for fighting her now was to assess her threat level.
Only after confirming that would he know how to protect her. So, he was clearly on her side. What if, during the fight, Dark Amber accidentally killed him...?
Gojo, unaware of Amber's internal worries, simply thought the girl was being kind-hearted and didn't want to hurt him. He flashed a confident grin. "Don't worry. I'm the strongest, after all."
"...Alright."
Since he insisted, Amber could only repeatedly remind Dark Amber to hold back.
"By the way, since you said she's controllable," Gojo suddenly added, as if remembering something, "then switch back control of the body after one minute. Consider that part of the assessment."
After all, if she couldn't even guarantee dominance over her own body, trying to vouch for her in the Jujutsu world would be pointless.
"Understood."
Amber nodded. "Shall I begin, then?"
"Go ahead~"
Gojo adjusted his stance slightly, carefully observing the girl across from him.
The relatively thin layer of cursed energy covering the girl's body began to expand rapidly, pouring out from her chest. In less than a second, it had completely surpassed his own—the strongest in the Jujutsu world.
"Whew~ Seriously scary."
Gojo wasn't surprised by this phenomenon. Watching Amber, who had now closed her eyes, he quipped lightly, "So, are you 'her,' or the curse now?"
"If those eyes of yours aren't just for show, shouldn't it be obvious?"
The once-reserved girl's voice had become teasing and eerie. She then opened those blood-red eyes, her smile growing increasingly dangerous.
She spread her arms wide at her sides, a blatantly provocative gesture. "You think you can just pick a fight whenever you want? That makes me look bad."
"Oh?"
Seeing this, Gojo made a show of pondering seriously before replying with curious amusement, "Curses care about things like that? But you're not even human."
"Hahaha."
His words made Dark Amber's already hostile gaze turn savage. What she hated most was being treated as a monster. If she hadn't been no match for Fu Hua, and feared Amber would hate her for it, Fu Hua would've been her first target.
Now, here was someone actively provoking her rage.
"Before we start, let's set a rule," Dark Amber said.
"A rule?"
"Right. I'm not like that coward who's afraid to hurt anyone. But if I end up killing you, she'll probably come crying and bothering me. So, the rule is: as long as you beg for mercy, I'll stop. Simple."
"Haha."
Gojo laughed too.
He was very familiar with this rule—usually, he was the one setting it for others.
"No problem at all. And don't you worry—as a teacher, I know exactly how to step over ants without crushing them. After all, I'm the adult here. So, no need to set any rules for my side."
Gojo threw the provocation right back.
"Fine. But let me remind you of one thing."
Seeing this, Dark Amber smiled, a deceptively gentle expression that almost made it seem like the shy girl had retaken control.
But with his Six Eyes, Gojo could see her cursed energy was primed and ready. Just as he grew wary, the girl suddenly vanished from his sight.
What was this? The Six Eyes hadn't caught any precursor to her disappearance, nor any trace of cursed energy activation.
As he wondered if she'd simply taken control and fled, a sharp sense of danger erupted behind him. His intuition, faster than the Six Eyes this time, made Gojo dodge—but her attack speed surpassed his expectations. Even reacting instantly, his sleeve was slashed open.
Wait… slashed his sleeve? With what?
Gojo's heart sank. He couldn't perceive her technique at all.
"I'm not like that coward. If you want to talk to me, you'd better watch your tone!"
Standing where Gojo had just been, Dark Amber slowly retracted the arm she'd used to 'slash' with her scythe, her face full of mockery.
"What was that move just now?"
Gojo brushed off the girl's retort, asking curiously.
"Revealing your techniques to others so casually—that's a habit only you Jujutsu sorcerers have."
His complete lack of concern for pride made taunting him feel pointless, but her disgust for him compelled her to sneer anyway.
"Oh? Is it because revealing it would mean it could be countered?"
Gojo smiled.
He hadn't felt his technique being neutralized at all, meaning whatever was in her hand wasn't a cursed tool that nullified techniques, and her technique itself wasn't the type that broke others' techniques.
Though 'types' existed, he'd never actually seen a technique specialized in breaking others'.
So what could it be? A spatial technique, perhaps?
"Calling yourself an adult, yet resorting to taunting a little girl?"
Dark Amber laughed too.
"For little 'her,' I am an adult. But for you? Not necessarily."
Gojo was adept at needling.
"The great strongest sorcerer, and this is all you've got? Fine, I'll tell you... but on one condition—that you survive long enough to hear it."
The moment she finished speaking, Dark Amber vanished again. Gojo's expression turned grave. A second time, and he still saw no cursed energy movement accompanying her disappearance.
A scythe, composed of varying shades of blue like an ocean, swept from behind him once more without any warning. This time, prepared, Gojo moved faster, one hand already gesturing toward the direction of Dark Amber's attack.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
He wasn't going all out. After all, even if she was an incarnated curse, this was still his future student's body. Within controllable limits, he didn't want to harm her.
But that didn't mean this strike was weak.
The earth and trees within a dozen meters twisted instantly under a powerful gravitational pull. With a violent surge, everything was ripped away, leaving a circular scar dozens of meters wide and hundreds of meters long carved into the uninhabited mountains in the blink of an eye.
But even while attacking, Gojo hadn't forgotten to evade. To his astonishment, his attack didn't even seem to touch her for a moment—it passed right through her as if she were air.
Glancing at his mostly torn sleeve, Gojo let out a low laugh. "You really are a dangerous one, aren't you? But... isn't it about time?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.