"There won't be a next time," Gojo Satoru said excitedly. "My Unlimited Void is useless against Mahito now, but his Dharma Realm Reincarnation Nirvana Realm can still threaten me. I could feel my Soul was almost truly touched by him—just barely."
Utahime Iori next to him complained loudly: "This isn't something to be happy about! You can still laugh?!"
At this moment, they were riding in an official vehicle. The driver was Ijichi. As expected, he hadn't left. Following Gojo Satoru's warning, he had gone five kilometers away to await the outcome of the incident, and now he was tasked with taking everyone back to Tokyo Jujutsu High.
The official vehicle had been drastically altered due to Tengen's Barrier Technique adjustments. From the outside, it looked like just an ordinary official car, but the back seat had been stretched and expanded to resemble a bar. A row of wine cabinets displayed famous liquors from around the world. Tengen stood behind the bar, dressed in bartender attire, gently wiping a glass with a clean cloth in her hand.
Tengen spoke calmly, "Gojo Satoru, you cannot slack off any longer. If you don't strive harder, the Lord of Curses will surely kill you next time. You must ignite the competitive spirit you've never ignited before. You must re-learn all Cursed Technique knowledge from the beginning with the mindset of an apprentice. This time, I will personally instruct you."
Gojo Satoru sat in front of the bar. He was still wearing that black short-sleeved undershirt. Although he managed to protect it well during the fierce battle, there was a clear tear across the chest and abdomen of the shirt—that was where he had been cut in half at the waist.
His right trouser leg was completely torn off. This was because, during the intense fight, he had been forced to use a Binding Vow to survive; his entire right leg had been pulverized at that time.
A wine glass sat on the bar. Gojo Satoru picked it up, gently smelling the aroma of red wine.
"Very well, I was afraid you'd refuse. This battle made me deeply realize that there are very few people in this world who can keep up with me. Kinji and Yuta might reach my current level in another ten years. If Yuji-chan can fully adapt to all twenty fingers of Sukuna, he might be faster, maybe five years? It's hard to say for Megumi; he will only improve once he truly conquers his inner self, otherwise, he will remain stagnant."
"Only you, Tengen, only you can barely keep pace with me right now."
Utahime Iori couldn't take it anymore. She suddenly stood up and roared at Gojo Satoru:
"Can you be serious for once! I saw it! You were cut in half! You were dismembered! Your head was smashed by the Lord of Curses, and even worse, your Soul was almost completely reformed! Satoru! This isn't a joke. The King of Curses is too dangerous, truly too dangerous. You really could have died. You really could have died!"
Gojo Satoru froze, because he actually detected a choked sob in Utahime Iori's voice. Had she cried?
Tengen sighed. "Everyone believed you were invincible under heaven, and Utahime Iori firmly believed you could never fail against anyone. But this battle thoroughly awakened her. She saw you fall behind, experiencing near-death several times. If it were a normal Jujutsu Sorcerer, they would have died countless times already... She feels immense guilt because it was due to her own circumstances that you were pushed into such a desperate situation, and she is also worried about you."
"Hahahaha? Her? Utahime Iori cares about me? Worries about me? Is there some mistake here? She's a genuine Ghost Miko!" Gojo Satoru mocked loudly without hesitation, completely disregarding Utahime Iori's choked voice.
Utahime Iori sat back down, lowering her head and falling silent.
Gojo Satoru's smile faded as he looked in disbelief at Utahime Iori, who was sitting there silently with her head down. "Hey, hey, are you serious? I'm Gojo Satoru, how could I possibly die..."
Utahime Iori remained silent with her head down. Gojo Satoru started to feel awkward.
Tengen said lightly, "We are not children. In this battle, you were the one who repeatedly fell into traps, and you faced life-or-death crises more than once. Let me be blunt: if it weren't for your quick thinking and the fact that your vigilance never dropped, you would have died at least three times already."
Tengen gently wiped the glass, looking at Gojo Satoru with her four pure white eyes. "Gojo Satoru, starting today, you are no longer invincible under heaven. You must recognize this fact yourself."
I never thought I was invincible under heaven. Gojo Satoru really wanted to argue this way; normally, he would have argued like this. But now, just seeing Utahime Iori sitting there silently with her head down, those frivolous words simply wouldn't come out.
He suddenly recalled the past. In truth, his past wasn't worth mentioning; what was there to say about a past where he was invincible since birth? The only setback he encountered was during his high school years, but within a day, he had crushed that setback with his own hands.
It was rare for anyone in this world to casually joke around with him now. In high school, at least his teacher Principal Yaga and his best friend Geto still dared to mess with him without restraint. But after the incident with Riko Amanai, Geto never joked with him again, and Principal Yaga, his teacher, never laid a hand on him either.
Gojo Satoru actually understood this perfectly. Since he was invincible under heaven, was provoking the strong as a weak person not courting death? In the Jujutsu World, if you dared to do that, no one would sympathize with you even in death; they would only stand over your grave and teach younger Jujutsu Sorcerers that this was the consequence of provoking the strong.
His students still joked with him, but that was because those students simply didn't understand the ecological structure of the Jujutsu World before this. How did the older generation treat Gojo Satoru?
After Geto Suguru resolved to betray the Jujutsu World, Gojo Satoru met with him once and ultimately let him go due to the attachment in his heart. At that time, he sat on the steps looking dejected when Principal Yaga approached him. Principal Yaga was still his teacher then and questioned Gojo Satoru uncompromisingly, asking why he let Geto Suguru go.
Gojo Satoru retorted impatiently, "Do you really need me to say it out loud?"
Given their usual relationship, Principal Yaga could have continued to press the issue, as this was indeed a very serious matter; the destruction caused by Geto Suguru was immeasurable. As a teacher at Jujutsu High, he was responsible for this. Facing Gojo Satoru, his responsibility was to continue questioning him and making him understand the seriousness of the matter, making him aware of his mistake.
But he didn't do that, because Principal Yaga clearly knew that Gojo Satoru was a strong person, and he was the strongest person in the world who was currently sulking. Facing a strong person, the weak should never provoke them.
Gojo Satoru was wrong about this matter, so what? Even if he was wrong, who would dare to question him further? Not even Principal Yaga himself! Joking aside, in front of a true powerhouse, the weak must maintain a conscious humility, otherwise, they will be ridiculed even in death.
Only this Ghost Miko—even now, if Gojo Satoru dared to say a single unpleasant word, she would dare to smash a teacup right on his head.
If it had been Utahime Iori who found Gojo Satoru back then instead of Principal Yaga, she would definitely have dared to point at his nose and scold him, and Gojo Satoru would certainly have had a huge argument with her, but he would never lay a hand on her—that was the nature of their relationship.
Principal Yaga personally severed the closest bond between them, while Utahime Iori never did.
This was also why, when facing a spy mission that might cost her life, Utahime Iori accepted it without hesitation, because although she looked down on him, she believed in him more than anyone, trusting that he could handle everything.
Gojo Satoru's voice had never been so gentle. He spoke softly to Utahime Iori:
"I won't die. I swear it."
Utahime Iori tossed her head aside. "Sentimental. Who cares if you live or die? Better die where I can't see you."
Gojo Satoru really hated this kind of scene, or rather, he didn't know how to comfort people at all. If he knew how to comfort people, Geto Suguru wouldn't have walked down that path; he simply wasn't cut out for that stuff! He felt goosebumps all over his body, preferring to fight Mahito for another three hundred rounds than to face a genuinely caring Utahime Iori.
Damn it! I never dreamed I'd actually be cared about by someone! Gojo Satoru complained loudly in his heart. He stiffly changed the subject:
"Tengen, do you know any skilled Construction Technique users?"
Tengen was still thoroughly enjoying the gossip. Hearing Gojo Satoru talk about serious matters now, she exuded an atmosphere of regret. Gojo Satoru stared at her with a blank face, so she had no choice but to follow the topic.
"Why do you want to find a skilled Construction Technique user?"
"There is a high wall between fighting barehanded and using weapons," Gojo Satoru said in a deep voice.
"You shouldn't be the one saying that," Tengen sneered. "You are the most traditional Jujutsu Sorcerer. Even if you never said it out loud, deep down you believe that using weapons is a last resort. Anyone with a Cursed Technique shouldn't use weapons."
"I was wrong," Gojo Satoru admitted readily. "I was tortured by that god-slayer sword! My Limitless was useless against that Tsukumogami, I was completely constrained! I need a tool that can at least counter that Tsukumogami. That's why I don't know the Tsukumogami Manipulation Technique; if I knew it, I'd wish I could conjure a Tsukumogami like Mahito did!"
Gojo Satoru had never admitted a mistake so readily, because even when he was wrong, he could forcefully turn the situation around with his overwhelming strength. All the problematic Jujutsu Sorcerers he protected were like this, even his mentor Yaga was among those he shielded, without exception.
But now he admitted his mistake so readily, which could only mean one thing:
He felt threatened, but he wasn't discouraged. He wanted to win!
Tengen set down the glass and the white cloth, leaning her hands on the bar, and asked with interest:
"I thought you would say the Limitless was omnipotent and could handle everything."
"Before this, I also thought Limitless was omnipotent and that I had a way to handle any situation," Gojo Satoru said, a faint, fanatical battle intent hidden beneath his calm expression. "But this fight showed me the limitations of Limitless. When facing opponents weaker than me, I can fight with Limitless however I want, but when facing opponents who are evenly matched with me or slightly stronger, the greatest use of Limitless is actually just superior mobility."
Limitless granted Gojo Satoru almost omnipotent physical performance:
His offensive power was unmatched in the entire world. His ability to expand and compress space could easily deliver blows beyond common sense. Even Yuta Okkotsu and Kinji Hakari felt lingering fear after being hit once.
With Limitless active at all times, his defense could block almost any form of attack, even filtering things out inside his body. He could do something similar back in his high school days; it was only when he activated Limitless fully that he was called the strongest of the modern era.
Yet, all of this was less important than the mobility granted by Limitless.
Faced with Limitless, which could freely manipulate the shrinking or expansion of space, as long as a distance was within Gojo Satoru's Cursed Energy perception, any distance to him was just one step away. Even pure instant movement or spatial displacement was far inferior to Limitless.
Offense, defense, and mobility—he excelled in all areas. Both pinpoint offensive capability and wide-area destructive power were fine, and his resistances were all-around. Coupled with the Six Eyes that could precisely process Cursed Energy, this was the entirety of Gojo Satoru, that man.
Mechanically, he was the pinnacle; numerically, he was also the pinnacle!
But today, he had witnessed the limitations of Limitless, witnessing them with piercing heartache.
Against Mahito's defense, Limitless's offensive power was completely ineffective. In the end, Gojo Satoru couldn't even determine what Cursed Technique Mahito's invincible defense belonged to. His long-range attacks, Blue and Red, were completely useless; he could only rely on the long casting time of Hollow Technique to break the deadlock, but that long casting time allowed Mahito to react more calmly, making it impossible to land a hit, and he was even taken advantage of by his opponent, nearly dying.
Defensively, he was completely countered by Miroku and kirigiri. His hand dared not even touch the blade of the ancient sword Tsukumogami for long, because his hand could be automatically cut off at any moment. This forced him to avoid kirigiri's blade every time he attacked. Yet, kirigiri was a straight-bladed greatsword over two meters long, wielded like a long spear, making it extremely difficult for him to get close, which greatly reduced his hand-to-hand combat effectiveness.
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