Chapter 34: The Sure Win Method (Patreon)

Chapter 34: The Sure-Win Method

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Under Kento Nanami's careful instruction, Satoru Anjouin had mastered Reinforcement, and the punch he threw now cut the air with a whistling gust.

"Not bad, Anjouin. You really do have talent."

Kento Nanami had already taken a liking to this "junior of the jujutsu world."

The kid was eager to learn, cared deeply about his companions, and followed the rules to the letter.

Anjouin had come asking about the techniques and theory behind condensing cursed energy and Reinforcement so he could teach his own classmates better.

"It's because Mr. Nanami is such a good teacher."

Anjouin had, of course, noticed the gulf between the cursed energy he could condense and the cursed energy Nanami condensed.

"Still, the core of it is worlds apart. Is this the difference between someone who's experienced Black Flash and someone who hasn't?"

"Yes. When the strike and the burst of cursed energy erupt within 0.000001 seconds of each other, space itself warps, and the cursed energy flashes black."

Nanami explained patiently. "In the jujutsu world, this phenomenon is called 'Black Flash.' Its power comes out to roughly 2.5 times the normal output, and ordinarily no jujutsu sorcerer can trigger it on purpose."

"Just as you said — between someone experienced and someone not, the core of their cursed energy is worlds apart. You could even say that anyone who's landed a Black Flash already understands cursed energy on a whole different level."

Anjouin nodded silently.

Black Flash was, without question, a skill every jujutsu sorcerer needed to master.

He resumed manipulating his cursed energy, letting it "flow" from his navel through his chest, shoulder, wrist, and finally his fist.

A trace of admiration showed in Nanami's eyes.

"Yo—"

A voice cut through the lesson without warning.

The figure who appeared — trademark white hair, casual clothes, sunglasses, and an air of easy nonchalance — was none other than the current "Strongest" of the jujutsu world.

—Satoru Gojo.

The protagonist of this age, a man who had upset the balance between sorcerers and curses from the moment he was born.

"So you're Anjouin? Heh heh..."

Behind the sunglasses, his pale blue eyes bore the Gojo family's hereditary trait — the Six Eyes.

Appearing once every few hundred years, it granted 360-degree long-range vision — he could see behind himself, see across vast distances, and even having his line of sight blocked wouldn't hinder his vision.

It let him tell instantly whether someone was a sorcerer.

It let him see through an opponent's technique.

It let him directly track the trajectory of cursed energy.

It let him directly predict the trajectory of cursed energy.

And it let its bearer perform extremely precise manipulation of cursed energy.

So he could see straight through the intricate Bindings woven into Anjouin's body.

"So this is the Anjouin family's secret art?"

The way the Binding was being applied was something Gojo had never considered — he'd certainly never thought of using it to optimize the body's major systems the way one might modify a body through surgery.

The philosophy behind it clearly wasn't a product of that rotten old jujutsu world.

But the Anjouin family's philosophy was too modern — more than modern, even, more like something out of the future — which only made it harder to wrap his head around.

Gojo's musing naturally left Nanami puzzled.

"Ah, it's nothing. Just marveling that the so-called Anjouin family actually exists."

"Guess they really did fall from grace. I flipped through that sloppily-cobbled-together old chronicle back home and couldn't find any mention of an Anjouin family. History really is written by the victors."

Gojo had no interest in exposing other people's secrets. He waved a hand at Nanami, then pulled a small box from his pocket and tossed it over.

"So, I guess this counts as returning it to its rightful owner."

Anjouin caught the small wooden box, just big enough to hold a single finger.

He lifted the lid, glimpsed the finger-shaped object wrapped in cursed talismans inside, and quickly shut it again.

"Is this some kind of test for me?" Anjouin asked.

"You could say that. The seal on it should hold for about another year."

Gojo smiled. He liked sharp kids like this.

"Since it's a test, is there a reward for passing?" Anjouin asked, still perfectly composed.

"If you pass, I'll officially recognize your Gojo Faction."

Gojo wasn't bothered by Anjouin's behind-the-scenes maneuvering — he'd always been the reformist type within the jujutsu world anyway.

True, the old-guard traditionalists had already been gutted, undone by their own creation at Advanced Nurturing High School, leaving the so-called conservative faction a name without substance.

But whether he himself could actually hold up the entire jujutsu world — even Gojo wasn't sure of that.

"Got it."

Anjouin said this while shoving the wooden box into his pants pocket, accepting the terms — and making a mental note to buy a safe once he got back.

Given how often people wandered in and out of his dorm room, a safe seemed like basic precaution.

"If you get stuck, come find me," Gojo said breezily.

That careless posture was an expression of the power he wielded — it was precisely because he was the "Strongest" that he could afford to be so relaxed, so utterly free to do as he pleased.

Now that he'd made contact up close, Anjouin confirmed that the preparations he'd made beforehand had been the right call.

Recalling the hints buried in his intel, Anjouin's face broke into a sudden smile.

"Actually, there is one thing I'd like to ask of you, Mr. Gojo."

"Oh?"

Gojo smiled, sensing something from the boy, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what.

"That 'no-mind' state of yours... ahem, that title of 'the strongest' — I might not be entirely unable to reach it."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, of course, that I intend to show you what I'm capable of, Mr. Gojo."

It wasn't arrogance — Anjouin didn't actually believe he could challenge Gojo as things stood.

He hadn't even worked out what to do with the test Gojo had just handed him — that finger of Sukuna's.

"Not a challenge. Not another test. Just a demonstration."

"Anjouin." Nanami couldn't help speaking up in warning.

He hadn't expected Anjouin to be this bold — this reckless.

It wasn't that he thought Anjouin could hurt Gojo — no, in front of Gojo's Infinity, he couldn't even manage to touch the man.

"Hahahaha, ha ha ha, interesting, this is genuinely interesting, hahaha!!"

Gojo made no effort to hold back his laughter.

That bright, buoyant, thoroughly delighted sound rolled across the shoreline.

It drowned out the night wind, drowned out the rustling hush of the waves.

"Sure. Show me, then."

"Show me everything you've got. I like you, kid."

Gojo tucked both hands into his pockets, genuine interest sparking behind his sunglasses in those pale blue eyes.

"Do you agree?"

"Of course I agree."

Having a junior this talented and driven — Gojo found it refreshing, far better than the decaying Three Great Families.

In the jujutsu world, cursed technique decided everything.

Overwhelming cursed energy. Top-tier techniques.

Which meant that, more often than not, a fight's outcome was already decided before it even began.

Days like that were naturally dull. Ever since his awakening, no enemy in the jujutsu world had been able to stand toe-to-toe with Gojo.

Well, a handful of fools didn't really count as enemies.

The times were changing, and an age of curses was drawing near, but even so, he felt little fear.

He, right now, had not stopped growing.

Gaining unrivaled power after his awakening hadn't brought his growth to a complete standstill.

Plenty of people mistakenly assumed he'd stopped growing altogether — after all, even if he had, he'd still be the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of this age.

But that assumption was simply wrong.

No one could actually tell how strong he currently was.

Before he grew stronger, one blow was enough to deal with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. After he grew stronger, one blow was still enough.

He understood the shifting world better than any other jujutsu sorcerer, and he pursued greater strength more actively than any of them.

But the next moment, Gojo's pale blue eyes went wide.

"Binding established—"

Now that Gojo had agreed, it was Anjouin's turn to weave the "Binding" between the two of them.

"Just as I thought — against someone as invincible, as 'strongest' as you, striking first is always the surefire method to win."

"Anjouin..." Nanami froze, unable to make sense of what he was hearing.

"I ask [Satoru Gojo] to cooperate with [Satoru Anjouin] in completing a [Binding]."

"Binding prerequisites, set."

"Additional Binding effect: disclosure of countermeasures and disclosure of technique."

Anjouin said it flatly. "Someone as strong as Satoru Gojo has always had absolute confidence in his own power."

"Or you could say he doesn't stay all that guarded against the 'weak.' He tends to give them the chance to show what they've got."

By the famous card-game veteran's theory: it's the King's fun little duel — turn one, set out ace card; turn two, let your opponent build their field; turn three, crush them with raw power.

But when it goes wrong: turn one, set out ace card; turn two, the opponent assembles a one-turn-kill field; and the King instantly flips the table and rage-quits.

The weakling's first move — that's the universal blind spot of characters like this: invincible, unbeatable, "the strongest."

More precisely, it's the weakness of any character with a strong man's pride.

"My technique is 'Restriction and Vow' — to a jujutsu sorcerer, that means 'Binding.'"

"Countermeasures disclosed, technique disclosed — I see. A Binding built on disclosed information." Nanami grasped Anjouin's trick in an instant.

Disclosing one's technique was never really about handing information to the enemy — it was about accepting a disadvantageous condition, leaking information in the middle of a confrontation, in exchange for a Binding with amplified effect.

So revealing his own countermeasures against Gojo was, in the same way, a Binding paid for with information.

Nanami had wondered, at first, how the boy even knew a technique like disclosure.

The instant Anjouin revealed his own technique, it all clicked.

"A technique built entirely around Binding."

"And he gets agreement first, then fills in the missing cursed energy and technique effects afterward?"

There was no denying it — Anjouin's imagination when it came to applying his technique really did set him apart from other jujutsu sorcerers.

Get Gojo's cooperation first, then reinforce the Binding's effect by disclosing both his countermeasures and his technique.

"The cost: one piece of intel related to the cursed sorcerer Suguru Geto, its source unexplainable... Do you agree?"

Anjouin activated his technique, 'Binding,' on Gojo once again.

"Agreed."

It was bait Gojo couldn't refuse.

And it was a price both sides considered fair — an equivalent exchange.

On Anjouin's side, there was only the faint risk of exposing his information network. On Gojo's side, there was a deep, lingering obsession with his missing best friend.

"Surrender all resistance against me, and in return I will bear no hostility, no intent to harm, and will not endanger Satoru Gojo's life, directly or indirectly..."

Anjouin kept muttering the terms, though of course his own cursed energy could never sustain something like this on its own.

So it was Gojo's own cursed energy that began sustaining the Binding's existence.

Yes — since Gojo's cooperation was required, the cursed-energy backing was, naturally, part of what the Binding demanded.

"In front of me, halt your technique. Stop [Infinity]."

Anjouin said this while walking toward Gojo.

Beyond the universal countermeasure against the strong—

—next came the countermeasure tailored specifically to Gojo.

"Countermeasure disclosed once more — bait him with information, disarm him with his own pride, stack Binding upon Binding... all to buy a single, one-time chance to touch him."

He walked right up to Gojo and lightly pressed his index and middle fingers — held together — against the man's chest.

Ah.

He really had touched the "Strongest."

He'd actually touched him.

A wave of helpless exasperation rose in Anjouin.