(50 Power Stone Bonus)
Chapter 23: The Battle Begins
Fast, truly and incredibly fast.
Gojo Satoru had not expected the attack launched by the woman claiming to be Medea to be so fast, so swift that he was injured before he could even react. Speed like this was simply unnatural.
If the previous wound could be chalked up to a moment of carelessness, then this one was because he genuinely lacked the time to react at all.
This meant the opponent actually possessed the capability to kill him.
Instantly, Gojo Satoru grew excited.
Ever since he killed Fushiguro Toji, he had stood at the peak of absolute invincibility for far too long, to the point where he believed he belonged to an entirely different level in this era—the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, a truly peerless existence.
Yet now, a mysterious and unpredictable new leader had suddenly appeared within the Star Religious Group.
And right in front of him stood another individual named Medea, whose attacks were so blindingly fast that even he could not react in time.
This was truly...
Gojo Satoru pulled off the blindfold covering his eyes. His pale blue Six Eyes gleamed with a mesmerizing light, signaling that he was finally going to get serious.
Regardless of whether Medea was an enemy or not, he wanted to fight her, to experience the thrill of battle that he had not felt in ages.
Yes, the sheer joy of combat.
"Be careful, Lady Medea."
The moment Gojo Satoru finished speaking, his entire body vanished from the spot in an instant.
The very next second, a massive explosion resounded.
The defensive magic cast by Medea blocked Gojo Satoru's assault with utter ease, but the sheer force of the impact still triggered a thunderous boom and a shockwave visible to the naked eye.
Gojo Satoru witnessed this sight, the exhilaration in his eyes completely unconcealed.
The stronger the enemy, the happier he became, because it meant he could finally do what he hadn't done in a long time... unleash his full power!!
Gojo Satoru used one hand to channel Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue, while his other hand formed Cursed Technique Reversal: Red. When the two were brought together, they formed Gojo Satoru's ultimate technique.
"Hollow Purple!!!"
An absolute mass of energy capable of erasing space itself was unleashed from Gojo Satoru's hands, consuming the space directly ahead of him.
The range of this energy blast was so incredibly long, and its area of impact so vast, that it would leave anyone utterly dumbfounded.
Fortunately, this technique was fired toward Medea, who was suspended in mid-air, and did not strike the ground below.
Otherwise, the entire headquarters of the Peace Council and even the surrounding streets would have been completely obliterated.
Facing this surging wave of energy that could rip through space itself, Medea couldn't help but offer a word of praise, "Not bad."
In the blink of an eye, she vanished from her position, deftly evading the technique, and materialized directly behind Gojo Satoru.
Gojo Satoru naturally tracked Medea's figure using his Six Eyes. Just as he was about to redirect the energy wave to turn back, a beam of light, a shockwave laser firing from the tip of Medea's finger, shot straight toward Gojo Satoru's head.
Cursed Technique: Neutral Infinity!
This was Gojo Satoru's passive Limitless technique. The move possessed no offensive capabilities whatsoever, but its defensive power was absolute. The closer an attack came to Gojo Satoru, the slower its movement became.
Ultimately, the attack would come to a complete halt right in front of him, unable to touch a single hair on his head.
It could be described as an incredibly broken ability.
The shockwave laser beam unleashed by Medea naturally ground to a halt as well.
The next second, the space-consuming energy wave swept back around, swallowing Medea whole in an instant.
Yet Gojo Satoru felt no joy, nor any sense of pride in defeating his foe.
Because he noticed that before his technique could even arrive, Medea had once again relocated.
"Teleportation, is it? Truly a very practical ability." Gojo Satoru had to admit that this move was also highly broken, whether for attacking or evading, it was remarkably useful.
Even so, he believed that the final victory would still belong to him. If asked why, it was because he was the strongest.
"Oh? Oh-my? What's going on?"
Right as Medea and Gojo Satoru were clashing, Yumesaki noticed that something was amiss.
Medea had been gone for far too long.
Logically speaking, with Medea's strength, assassinating a mere chairman of the Peace Council shouldn't have taken this much time. Yet Medea had been gone for a while and had not returned, making him wonder if she had run into some trouble.
Clairvoyance magic, activate.
Feeling worried, Yumesaki cast a spell to lock onto Medea's location, only to freeze instantly.
He couldn't comprehend it—why was Medea fighting Gojo Satoru?
How did these two even cross paths? Looking at the situation, it wasn't just a simple sparring match; it was an all-out, full-power battle. After all, Gojo Satoru had already unleashed a definitive ultimate move like Hollow Purple.
Aside from his Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void, Gojo Satoru was holding absolutely nothing back.
"Umu, what is the matter, Praetor?"
Hearing Yumesaki's startled exclamation, Nero couldn't help but ask.
Even Asuna was staring at Yumesaki with a look of utter bewilderment.
Yumesaki said, "Medea is currently fighting someone."
"Who is the opponent?" Nero asked with deep curiosity.
"Gojo Satoru, who can be considered the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the current era," Yumesaki said while narrowing his eyes.
He wasn't lying; Gojo Satoru was indeed the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, but this world didn't just consist of Jujutsu Sorcerers; there were also evil spirits, curses, and monsters.
Gojo Satoru was the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, but he was not necessarily the strongest individual among all the powerful entities out there.
However, Nero didn't think that far ahead. Hearing the word strongest, her eyes instantly lit up and she immediately declared, "If that is the case, what are we waiting for? Open the portal, Praetor. I shall go and aid Medea in defeating this person right away."
Yumesaki didn't refuse. No matter the reason behind Medea and Gojo Satoru's fight, he would stand on Medea's side unconditionally, because Medea was his companion.
Furthermore, Yumesaki didn't believe Medea would ever do anything that violated moral boundaries.
Therefore, this matter was definitely Gojo Satoru's fault.
Considering that Gojo Satoru possessed a highly broken ability, before bringing Nero to the battlefield, Yumesaki took the time to explain Gojo Satoru's various powers to her first, so that Nero would be fully prepared.
"Umu, I understand completely. Leave the rest of the battle to me, Praetor."
Seeing Nero's face full of confidence, Yumesaki opened a portal and brought Nero along to the coordinates of the battle.
Upon arriving at the scene, Nero immediately locked onto Gojo Satoru's position as he fought with Medea.
"Umu, so you are the one named Gojo Satoru."
Nero gripped her beloved sword, Aestus Estus, and pointed the tip of the blade directly toward Gojo Satoru, "How dare you attack my companion, face my strike."
Although Nero looked incredibly adorable and did nothing but make umu-umu noises all day, when it came to actual combat, she wasn't soft-hearted in the slightest.
After all, she was a Heroic Spirit summoned under the Saber class. Since gaining a physical body, she had also been injected with the Superhuman Serum and had eaten a Devil Fruit, making her strength even greater than during her time as a pure Heroic Spirit.
With a single swing of her blade, a Flying Slash extending dozens of meters split the earth into a deep trench, tearing through the ground directly toward Gojo Satoru.
Cursed Technique: Neutral Infinity.
Caught unprepared, Gojo Satoru, who faced this sudden ambush, immediately activated his technique to protect his life.
Watching the massive Flying Slash grind to a halt just inches before him, Gojo Satoru couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
That was close, just a tiny bit closer and he would have been cleaved clean in two.
Where on earth did these two suddenly come from?
Just as Gojo Satoru was feeling perplexed, he saw Medea land right in front of the two newcomers, which made him realize they belonged to the same group.
"So you guys are her comrades. No wonder you're so fierce. But it doesn't matter."
Gojo Satoru flashed a wild grin, his battle spirit soaring. No matter how many enemies there were, he wouldn't mind at all, because he was the strongest.
Yumesaki paid no attention to Gojo Satoru. He quietly asked Medea about what had actually transpired and why she had suddenly ended up in a duel with Gojo Satoru.
Medea briefly explained the origin and progression of the incident.
Yumesaki understood then, "I see. In short, Gojo Satoru was the one who provoked you first, right?"
Medea asked out of curiosity, "Does Master know this person?"
Yumesaki replied, "I do. The strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, right? Gojo Satoru of the present, and 2.5-jo Satoru of the future."
Gojo Satoru tilted his head to look at Yumesaki, suddenly feeling an unprecedented wave of malice washing over him, causing him to shudder involuntarily, "Hey, explain yourself clearly. What exactly do you mean by 2.5-jo Satoru of the future?"
For some reason, he instinctively felt that the nickname carried an extremely foul omen.
Seeing Gojo Satoru dropping into a crouch, ready to pounce and attack at any given second, Yumesaki offered no concession, "It's simple, really. It means that in the future, you will have your waist cut completely in half by someone else, changing your name from Gojo Satoru to 2.5-jo Satoru."
"Impossible." Gojo Satoru denied the claim flatly, "I am the strongest."
He refused to believe there was anyone alive capable of severing his waist, and even if the King of Curses Sukuna were to fully reincarnate, it still wouldn't be possible.
"No wonder so many people want to beat you to death, your tone of voice is incredibly arrogant," Yumesaki remarked, glancing at Gojo Satoru out of the corner of his eye.
Gojo Satoru let out a soft snort, "It doesn't matter, since none of them can actually defeat me anyway."
Yumesaki didn't dispute this. After all, Gojo Satoru within the narrative of Jujutsu Kaisen was indeed exceptionally grand, immensely powerful, and possessed an unmatched presence. In the modern Jujutsu society, there really weren't many who could stand as a proper opponent against him.
It was just that, later on, the line "I'm sorry, I couldn't make Sukuna-sama unleash his full power" utterly dragged this high-and-mighty figure down into a total clown.
Every time he recalled that particular line, Yumesaki wanted to laugh, the smile at the corner of his lips becoming entirely impossible to suppress.
For some unknown reason, seeing Yumesaki's smile made Gojo Satoru feel highly uncomfortable, as if that very smile was mocking his entire existence.
"It seems you are their leader."
His Six Eyes shone with a brilliant radiance, staring intently at Yumesaki. If a subordinate like Medea was already this extraordinary, then their leader ought to be even more formidable.
Gojo Satoru could no longer contain his excitement and slowly raised his right hand.
Yumesaki turned his head and asked Medea, "Do you wish to continue fighting?"
Medea shook her head. Now that she understood this whole ordeal was a misunderstanding, she had zero desire to prolong the conflict.
Seeing that the opposition intended to retreat, Gojo Satoru's face fell with reluctance. It was rare to find opponents worthy of a good battle, so how could he possibly let them leave just like that?
"That won't do, I—"
Gojo Satoru intended to speak, but the moment his gaze met Yumesaki's eyes.
Suddenly, his brain went entirely blank.
Unable to think, unable to feel, he stood perfectly still on the spot, frozen without moving a single muscle.
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It looks like I'll need to increase the number of Power Stones required for the Bonus Chapter from 50 to 100.
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