The forest was strangely quieter before the night fully settled in.
The cicadas that had been shrieking like mad during the day had finally lost their momentum. All that remained near the shattered barrier was the scent of crushed stone, damp earth, and the lingering scars of battle.
Only moments ago, the air had been thick with the sounds of life and death, but now, even the slightest brush of the wind felt piercingly sharp.
Gojo Satoru remained behind alone.
To be precise, he had told the others to go ahead and stayed a little longer.
Geto Suguru had already left with Amanai Riko and Kuroi Misato. Itadori Yuji didn't seem to have any intention of staying at first, but Gojo had pointlessly grabbed him, saying, "Wait a second." After that, Gojo didn't quite know what to say, so the two of them ended up standing side-by-side next to a collapsed stone pillar outside the barrier.
Gojo opened and closed his hand.
His newly regenerated fingers moved with haunting naturalness. He expected the sensation to feel foreign, but it was quite the opposite.
It was so vivid it was eerie. The way the joints folded, the sensation of blood flowing through his veins, even the chill of the night air hitting his skin—everything was clear to an unnecessary degree.
He closed one eye, opened it, and breathed in again.
The scents mixed in the air were distinct and layered.
Dust, blood, grass, tree sap, and the heavy resonance of the ancient barrier.
He could see better, hear better, and feel better than ever before.
"It feels disgustingly good."
Yuji, who was leaning against the pillar beside him, turned his head.
"Pick one. Is it good, or is it disgusting?"
Gojo laughed.
"I mean both are good."
He looked down at his palm again. Just a short while ago, this hand had been severed and rolling on the ground. Now, it was perfectly intact.
It was strange. He felt like he was going to die. He thought it was really the end. But now that he was alive, his first thought was, Wow, fascinating.
Gojo slowly rolled his neck.
A lingering stiffness remained. His body had been restored, but the sensation of death hadn't vanished. It was still nestled somewhere in his spine. The moment he was cut down by a hair's breadth, the feeling of blood bursting and his body becoming light, and the cold fact that his life could have truly ended.
Strangely, he didn't hate it.
Gojo let out a smirk.
"Don't I seem a bit crazy?"
Yuji replied flatly.
"You were always a bit like that."
"You really don't have a way with words, do you?"
"I don't tell lies, either."
The response was amusing enough that Gojo laughed silently once more. Then, he cast his gaze forward.
A short distance away, he saw the epicenter of their battle. The cracked earth, the severed walls, the torn-up pillars.
Looking at it felt like rewinding the events that had just transpired back into his body.
The prototype of Red.
He couldn't explain it accurately.
It was different from Blue. It was definitely the opposite direction, a sensation he had squeezed out from deep within himself by force. He hadn't grasped it consciously. In that moment, the single thought that he had to push back was just insanely clear.
Whether it was because he didn't want to die, or because he wanted to reach something—that part was still vague.
Gojo asked quietly.
"Yuji. You knew instinctively... that I could use Red, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I thought that... Red would be impossible to use unless I mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique. But strangely, it just happened. You... you were certain I'd do it, weren't you?"
Yuji didn't answer for a moment.
That silence felt more like an affirmation, and the corners of Gojo's mouth quirked up.
"I knew it."
Yuji finally spoke.
"It wasn't perfect."
"I know that much myself," Gojo admitted readily. "It was incredibly crude. Honestly, if you asked me to explain what I just did, I couldn't."
"Still, the direction was right."
"The direction, huh..." Gojo repeated the word like a mumble. He liked the sound of it. It meant that even if he hadn't mastered it yet, he at least hadn't taken the wrong path.
Yuji added without looking away, "Red isn't a technique you were originally supposed to use yet. But your talent... was exceptional from the start."
"That's true."
"Still weaker than me, though."
Gojo chuckled for a moment.
"Seriously... you won't give me a single compliment till the very end, will you?"
"But you succeeded in learning the Reverse Cursed Technique."
"True."
The words were plain, but the meaning behind them was vivid.
Gojo fell silent for a while after hearing that.
In the end, it was true. What he gained today wasn't achieved through talent alone. Having talent didn't mean everyone could walk into that exact moment and survive.
He took a very long, deep breath.
"Tell me."
"What?"
"How was it? To what extent?"
Yuji understood the meaning behind those words immediately.
Gojo wasn't asking about his current power level. He wanted to know how far he had gone in that battle, and exactly how much he was still lacking. He wanted to know the truth.
Yuji thought for a moment.
"It was faster than I expected."
Gojo turned his head.
"Is that it?"
"I just praised you."
"Hey." Gojo laughed shortly and swept his hair back. "You know I'm asking seriously, and you still have to say it like that."
Yuji straightened his body, moving away from the pillar. This time, he spoke a bit more slowly.
"Everything you built up until now was solid. The Limitless, the Blue, the sense of how to use them. The problem was that you relied on them too much."
Gojo didn't object.
"Today, for the first time, you doubted them. You learned with your body that the Limitless might not be absolute, and you realized that you can't survive with only an outward-reaching force."
"And?"
Yuji gave an incredibly brief smile.
"And that means the real thing starts now."
A short silence followed.
Gojo listened to those words and finally burst out laughing. Strangely, he didn't feel offended. Even the fact that he had almost died just moments ago felt like a strangely settled piece of the past.
"You really have a knack for making people go crazy."
"The same goes for you."
This time, Gojo's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh. I think that might be the best compliment I've ever received."
"If it had been anyone but you... they wouldn't have made it this far."
It wasn't some grand statement. However, Gojo felt that short evaluation lingering longer than it should have. Yuji wasn't a man who handed out praise often. To be precise, he didn't bother with it. If a guy like him said that much, it was the absolute truth.
Gojo tilted his head back to look at the sky. Through the gaps in the torn barrier, darkness was slowly descending.
"I think I might understand what Suguru is thinking."
Yuji quietly raised his eyes. Gojo kept his gaze on the sky as he spoke.
"That expression. Feeling good but not good at the same time."
"...."
"The fact that I've grown stronger is definitely a good thing. But the fact that you were at the center of that process... that's not exactly a simple story."
Only then did Yuji look up at the sky as well.
He had seen Geto's expression too.
Wary respect. Joy mixed with anxiety. The complexity of being on the same side, yet feeling like they couldn't just be on the same side.
That feeling would likely only deepen from here on out.
Yuji said briefly, "Geto is smart. He'll be fine."
Gojo let out a faint chuckle. "That's why he's more of a pain. That guy... he doesn't open up about his troubles easily. It's worrying."
"Is that so? Seeing him in person... it does seem that way."
That one line was funny again. Gojo laughed for a long while before finally stopping.
Then, he asked with total sincerity, "Yuji."
The way he spoke the name was much more natural than before. There was no awkwardness, no distance, and none of the suspicion that had accompanied the use of his surname.
Yuji only moved his eyes to look at him. "What?"
"Since when have you been this strong?"
The question was simple, but its content was not. Gojo wasn't asking about the scale of his power. He was asking how he had learned to fight like that, how he could drive someone to the brink of death while maintaining a perfect, necessary boundary until the very end.
He was asking about the time and the weight behind it.
Yuji didn't answer immediately.
For a while, only the sound of the wind passed by, mixed with the chirping of night insects in the distance.
Then, he spoke. "It took a long time. It was a path that... no one could easily endure."
Gojo didn't ask further. That single sentence was enough. 'Taking a long time' meant there were countless things buried in between. There were likely deaths that couldn't be explained, losses, and moments let go.
Gojo nodded very slowly. "I see. So you have your own struggles too."
Then, he spoke of his own side of things. "I don't think it'll take me that long."
Yuji's eyebrows quirked up ever so slightly.
Gojo grinned. "What? You don't believe me?"
"No... it's not that, but wouldn't you be an old man by the time you're done? However—" Yuji said plainly, "Since it's you, it feels like it might actually be true. It's enough to make me laugh."
Gojo couldn't laugh this time. Something in his chest grew strangely warm. He scratched the back of his neck for no reason.
"Well, then that's enough."
Yuji tilted his head. "What is?"
"Next time." Gojo's blue eyes glowed quietly. "It's going to be a lot more fun than it was earlier."
Yuji let out a short laugh at those words. It was incredibly brief and vanished quickly, but it was undoubtedly a laugh.
"That's for sure."
It was right then that footsteps were heard from the forest path a short distance away. It was Geto.
He was alone.
Gojo asked as soon as he saw him, "What about Amanai?"
"Kuroi-san took her ahead." Geto looked between the two as he approached. His eyes checked Gojo's condition first, then moved to Yuji. "I'll make up a reasonable excuse for the teacher. Regardless, we can't stay here long."
Gojo's lips curled up. "Suguru, you really are a good friend."
Geto shot back flatly, "It's just that you're always a troublesome one."
He said the words, but a shallow sense of relief was buried at the end of his voice. He, too, had only truly relaxed after seeing Satoru standing there perfectly fine. Gojo pretended not to notice.
Instead, he said playfully, "But I've gotten way stronger now."
Geto immediately sighed. "Do you know... how many times you've said that today?"
"Important facts need to be emphasized multiple times."
"If you have the energy to chatter like that, I guess you really are fine."
"Yeah. Extremely fine." Then, looking sideways, he added, "It's thanks to Yuji."
Geto's gaze briefly shifted to Yuji. It was a short eye contact. Within it, many emotions passed—wariness, acknowledgement, anxiety, and a very faint gratitude. In the end, Geto didn't speak of any of it and only gave a small nod.
Yuji didn't say anything either. The silence that settled between the three wasn't awkward. It was just a bit complex, a bit unfamiliar.
"Let's go," Geto turned around first. "Amanai will be waiting and fuming again."
Gojo chuckled. "Wow, hearing you say that makes it perfectly clear who's actually the most anxious one."
Geto spoke without stopping his stride. "Shut up."
Gojo laughed louder. Then, naturally, he tapped Yuji on the shoulder. "Let's go, Yuji."
If it were before, he would have timed the name-calling or acted awkwardly. But not this time. It had already become far too clear.
Yuji glanced down at the hand on his shoulder and spoke shortly. "You go ahead."
"Hey, you were so eager to go first during the fight, and now you're being modest?"
"Quiet."
"You just smiled, didn't you?"
"You're imagining things."
Geto, listening to the exchange ahead of them, finally laughed. The laugh was brief, but for the first time today, it was perfectly natural.
Leaving the collapsed barrier behind, the three entered the forest path. The night was deepening, and the summer humidity remained heavy. Strangely, their footsteps were lighter than before.
Someone had nearly died, someone had become stronger, someone harbored an as-of-yet inexplicable anxiety, and someone had to admit his feelings had deepened.
Yet, for now, everyone was alive.
And on that forest path in the middle of the night, Gojo Satoru called out that name once more, casually as ever.
"Yuji."
"What?"
"Next time, I'm gonna make you break a sweat too."
Yuji turned his eyes away as if he were hearing something ridiculous. "I certainly hope so."
A short reply. But that single phrase was enough. Gojo grinned, and hearing that, Geto quietly looked up at the sky. It was still a walk before they reached the place where Riko was waiting. But even within that short distance, the world before today and the world after had already completely changed.