Eight Years Later.
"...and long-distance teleportation are more than enough to make me invincible."
Satoru stretched his arms behind his head, looking entirely unbothered. "I can just take my time figuring out Reverse Cursed Technique and Domain Expansion later. Why do we have to train so hard right now? Wouldn't it be better to just lie flat and slack off? Besides, even if the sky falls, I've got my big brother to hold it up!"
"Idiot!!!"
Smack!
"Ow! That hurts!" A comical, egg-sized lump instantly sprouted on Satoru's forehead.
Mirai stared down at his foolish otouto's careless attitude with profound disappointment. Playing the dual role of older brother and exhausted father figure was draining his soul.
When they were younger, Satoru had been highly motivated by Mirai's overwhelming strength. Up until he was ten years old, Satoru constantly declared that he would train hard and forge a new era. But as he grew older... human nature took its course. The quintessential traits of a dissolute, idle, and unapologetically lazy teenager began to take root.
Of all the things Mirai had tried to teach him, Satoru had completely ignored the concept of "self-discipline." Instead, he had taken Mirai's occasional, sarcastic jokes about "lying flat and doing nothing" as his literal gospel.
Mirai was utterly speechless.
Gojo Satoru merely rubbed his bruised head, offering a shameless, cheeky grin. "Hehe~"
"Satoru, how many times do I have to tell you?!" Mirai barked, exasperated. "The Limitless technique is not invincible!"
"As long as a technique relies on cursed energy, there will always be a way to silence, restrain, or shatter it." Mirai held up his fingers, ticking them off one by one. "Take your absolute defense, the Neutral Limitless, for example. I can name at least four distinct ways to bypass it off the top of my head."
"Special Grade cursed tools like the Inverted Spear of Heaven or the Black Rope."
"The guaranteed-hit effects of a Domain Expansion."
"The neutralizing properties of Domain Amplification."
"And, of course... my Mahoraga."
Mirai crossed his arms. "This is exactly why I've been drilling the importance of pure physical combat into your thick skull! A battle between sorcerers ultimately boils down to a fundamental clash of raw stats. It's a simple numerical game where the big fish eat the small fish."
"For the absolute apex masters of the jujutsu world, Reverse Cursed Technique is standard equipment. When both sides can instantly heal fatal injuries, it's impossible to determine a winner until someone's cursed energy runs dry. And when the tank is empty, what's left? Pure, unadulterated martial arts. In the jujutsu world, throwing hands reigns supreme!"
Mirai's voice rang with sonorous authority, his Six Eyes shining with intimidating brilliance. For a brief second, the spectral, hulking shadow of a horned demon seemed to loom behind him.
"But..." Satoru opened his mouth to argue, but Mirai had officially run out of patience. He was done talking.
"Mahoraga!"
At Mirai's command, the towering, terrifying shadow of the Divine General materialized, instantly eclipsing Satoru's pitiful, lazy, and scrawny frame.
"Chase this brat at a three-minute mile pace. Do not stop until I say so!" Mirai ordered ruthlessly. "If he stops running, or if his pace drops for even a second, poke him in the ass with the Sword of Extermination. Show no mercy! Poke him hard!"
Without wasting another breath, Mirai stomped heavily on the ground. His body accelerated instantly, exploding forward like a fired cannonball and easily overtaking Shoko, who was jogging comfortably ahead.
BOOM!
His extreme velocity generated a violent shockwave. Dust and debris whipped inward, rushing to fill the vacuum left behind by his afterimage.
Ieiri Shoko pinched her nose and squeezed her eyes shut against the gale. Waiting for the dust to settle, she glanced down at the radar speedometer in her hand.
It recorded Mirai's peak acceleration at 50 m/s—a staggering 180 km/h.
Good grief, Shoko thought. Is he even human? He was outputting those numbers relying entirely on raw physical strength, without utilizing a single drop of cursed energy. If he actually used cursed energy reinforcement... Shoko let out a heavy sigh, unable to even fathom how absurdly fast Mirai would be if he went all out. The sound barrier would shatter.
In comparison... Satoru was significantly cuter. The key factor being that she could actually bully Satoru.
Shoko glanced over her shoulder at the white-haired idiot currently sprinting for his life, desperately trying to avoid getting skewered by Mahoraga. Shoko squinted her dark eyes, a thoroughly smug, relieved smile spreading across her face as she maintained a steady, comfortable jog.
Hehe~ Stupid Satoru. Just stay back there and eat my dust.
Residing at the absolute bottom of the food chain, Gojo Satoru watched as Mirai casually completed a lap, effortlessly lapping him with graceful strides. Satoru was so "moved" by his brother's tough love that tears of sheer terror welled up in his eyes.
"Wow... I am so lucky to have such a wonderful older brother!" Satoru wailed sarcastically.
Raising a hand to wipe away his "tears," Satoru's sprinting pace dropped by a fraction of a microsecond.
Mahoraga's combat instincts flared. A flaw in the pacing? I'll poke it!
"OUCH!" Satoru shrieked, bounding forward. "Stop poking! Stop poking! My butt is going to bruise!"
Satoru reached back to rub his injured glutes. Pulling his hand away, he saw a faint trace of bright red blood. His vision instantly swam.
However, Mahoraga showed no mercy. Another flaw? I'll poke it again!
"AH!" Stab! "IT POKED ME!" Stab! "IT POKED ME AGAIN!" "ONII-CHAN! CALL IT OFF!" "YAAAAAOWWW!"
For the rest of the afternoon, the rubber track echoed with a symphony of agonized shrieks, completely drowned out by Mirai's cheerful laughter and Shoko's mocking encouragement. Scorching sweat dripped onto the pavement.
Running for his absolute life beneath the setting sun—this was the beautiful, blood-stained youth of Gojo Satoru!
A/N: For this week, every 100 Powerstones will get ya'll an extra chapter! Thank you! Please drop reviews guys ^^