Satoru Gojo's internal shock was indescribable.
A slap.
A simple, ordinary slap.
It had literally slapped Ryomen Sukuna's consciousness right out of Yuji Itadori's body?
This wasn't a conventional cursed technique; it was a direct strike against the soul.
Such formidable power caused his heart, long lonely from being "invincible," to stir restlessly once more.
Following the shock was an uncontrollable ecstasy.
It was the thrill of seeing a brand-new toy.
He immediately turned his head and issued an order to Megumi Fushiguro, who was already dumbfounded, his mind completely blank.
His voice lost its usual flippancy, gradually growing serious.
"Megumi."
"Take Itadori and the two surviving students over there, and leave this place immediately."
"Hurry!"
Jolted by this intense aura, Megumi instantly snapped back to reality. He understood that the ensuing battle was far beyond anything he could intervene in.
He might not even be qualified to watch.
Not daring to hesitate for a second, he sprang into action, simultaneously resolving to go back and put everything into subjugating Mahoraga. Next time, he wouldn't run away.
The next second.
A flash of blue light streaked by.
Satoru Gojo teleported directly in front of Ian.
Standing at the edge of the bloody ruins, he faced Ian, who stood at the center of the purgatory, from a distance.
The air seemed to freeze in that moment.
Pointing at the corpses littering the ground, his expression was unprecedentedly serious. Those cerulean eyes seemed to pierce through his blindfold, locking tightly onto Ian.
"Did you kill all these people?"
Ian slowly released his grip on the black blade.
The pitch-black longsword dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and vanished into the air.
He looked up, responding to the "strongest" jujutsu sorcerer's interrogation with a matter-of-fact, flat tone.
"I killed them."
As his words fell, he tilted his head slightly, as if asking about something entirely trivial.
"So what?"
"What of it?"
Arrogance. Absolute arrogance.
Gojo couldn't remember how many years it had been since someone dared to be so arrogant in front of him. The last man to act this haughty was probably Toji Fushiguro.
At the same time, those words completely confirmed for Gojo that the boy before him was an extremely dangerous "curse user" who had to be subdued right here, right now.
He hesitated no longer.
Hum!
The air let out a faint whine.
Gojo's figure instantly vanished from his spot. In the very next fraction of a second, he appeared behind Ian.
He was so fast that he surpassed visual perception.
Reaching out, he grabbed at Ian's shoulder, intending to restrain him first.
However.
It was as if Ian had eyes in the back of his head.
He merely performed a casual sidestep, not even bothering to turn his head.
Gojo's hand—moving at a speed that even ordinary Grade A jujutsu sorcerers couldn't react to—brushed past Ian's clothes and grasped nothing but empty air.
Missing his first strike, Gojo's assault didn't pause for a single moment.
His figure left behind several afterimages as he launched a simultaneous ambush on Ian from all directions at a speed incomprehensible to ordinary people.
Punches, kicks, knife-hand strikes.
Every single attack was aimed precisely at Ian's vital spots.
The cursed technique imbued in each strike was enough to easily exorcise a Grade A cursed spirit.
Yet, every single attack missed.
Ian's evasions couldn't even be called dodging.
He was simply taking casual steps, turning his body, and tilting his head.
It was as if he were taking a leisurely stroll through the wind pressure generated by Gojo's flurry of attacks.
Every one of Gojo's high-speed strikes hit empty air. The sensation was incredibly awkward and frustrating to the extreme.
After his continuous barrage of attacks completely missed, Gojo came to a halt.
He realized he needed to get a bit more serious. The kid in front of him seemed remarkably powerful; there was no need to hold back too much.
He saw Ian slowly raise his hand, seemingly preparing to counterattack.
'Now!'
A confident smirk curled the corners of Gojo's mouth.
He stopped moving, simply standing quietly in place.
An invisible, absolute barrier quietly expanded around him.
[Limitless Cursed Technique], activated.
He waited confidently for Ian's attack, ready to completely take him down the exact moment his strike was blocked by [Infinity] and exposed a flaw.
Ian looked at him.
A playful smile also appeared on his lips.
And then, just like that, he delivered a simple slap.
There was no precursor of cursed energy gathering.
There was no earth-shattering momentum.
Exactly like the slap that had sent Sukuna flying just moments ago, his hand swung out casually.
"Smack!"
Another crisp, resounding slap.
It echoed once again throughout the deathly silent campus.
Gojo's entire body was sent flying by the tremendous force.
Even the black blindfold on his face was forcefully knocked off by the sheer impact.
He crashed ungracefully into a pile of rubble hundreds of meters away, kicking up clouds of dust.
As the dust settled, it revealed Gojo lying flat on the ground, his cerulean eyes filled with astonishment, shock, and confusion.
Gojo's mind was completely blank at this moment.
'How... is this possible? What kind of attack was that?'
'Why didn't my [Limitless Cursed Technique] trigger?'
'Why was I hit?'
Then, Ian's voice drifted over leisurely, ringing clearly in Gojo's ears.
"A mere 'Limitless Cursed Technique.' What a joke!"
"I don't even know how many ways there are to break through or bypass it."
"I reckon just writing down the names of those methods would fill several libraries."
"Alright, I don't have time to play with you here."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Ian's figure slowly faded from his spot, eventually disappearing completely.
It was as if he had never existed in this world.
The [Curtain] that Gojo had cast to isolate the area from the outside world was practically non-existent to him; it didn't even detect his departure.
Only Gojo remained on the battlefield.
He lay silently in the cold rubble, feeling the burning pain radiating from his left cheek.
How many years had it been since he last experienced this kind of pain caused by a pure, physical attack?
The last time was also against a man just as arrogant—Toji Fushiguro.
Silence.
After a long period of silence.
Gojo didn't feel any frustration or humiliation.
Instead, an unprecedented surge of excitement welled up in his chest.
He chuckled.
'Finally... finally, an interesting opponent has appeared again.'
In the distance, the piercing wail of sirens drew closer.
Jujutsu High's logistical personnel, the members known as [Windows], had arrived.
Wearing matching uniforms, they expressionlessly began to lock down the scene, alter memories, dispose of the corpses, wash away the bloodstains, and cover everything up with black tarps.
The next day.
A news report was broadcast on the local morning television program.
"Yesterday afternoon, a severe gas explosion occurred at Sugisawa Third High School in Miyagi Prefecture, resulting in the deaths of multiple students and severe damage to the school building..."
Citizens eating breakfast in front of their TVs discussed the incident animatedly, lamenting the fragility of life.
No one knew what kind of earth-shattering battle had truly taken place behind that covered-up "accident."