Chapter 161: Jutsu Shiki vs. Jujutsu
Ren's Rikugan swept across the sky, analyzing the crown of lacrima that formed the Thunder God's Palace. Each magic crystal was a bomb, linked by a nasty backlash enchantment. If he simply destroyed them, the feedback would strike the person who cast the spell, and potentially everyone else trapped in Freed's runes below.
A frontal assault on the lacrima was a trap.
He could use Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue to pull all of them into a single point of compressed nothingness, but who knew what other tricks Laxus had planned. It was too risky.
'First, I deal with the pawns,' Ren decided, his voice the light, arrogant drawl of Gojo Satoru. 'It's not too late to deal with the big boss and his floating bombs after I've cleaned up the trash.'
His gaze swept across the chaotic streets of Magnolia, his Six Eyes filtering the panicked energy of the civilians from the angry, corrupted magic of his guildmates. He ignored the small-fry battles and searched for the other two members of the Raijinshuu.
"Found one."
Ren took a step and the world shifted. He appeared in an alleyway, stepping out onto a main street just as Bickslow finished his previous fight.
At this moment, several members of Fairy Tail—Vijeeter, Nab, and Macao—lay groaning on the ground, defeated by Bickslow and his "babies."
"Ren!!" Vijeeter cried out, seeing him.
Ren's sudden appearance startled Bickslow. He leaped back, his five tiki-like puppets zipping through the air to form a protective perimeter around him. "Babies, babies, look who it is! It's the new big shot!"
Like Evergreen, Bickslow had witnessed Ren's battle against Jose Porla. He'd seen the giant... the "Whitebeard" elder. He knew Ren was a monster.
Before the battle began, Laxus had explicitly instructed them: if they encountered Ren, they should run. They were no match for him; Laxus would handle Ren himself.
'But...' Bickslow's tongue flicked out, his eyes wide behind his helmet. 'This form... it's not the old man. It's a new one. He looks... small.'
According to all intelligence, the Whitebeard form was Ren's strongest, an overwhelming force of nature. But that transformation was almost impossible to use in the confines of a city; it would destroy everything.
'As long as it's not that Whitebeard elder,' Bickslow thought, a greedy, ambitious idea taking root, 'I might not lose! If I can defeat this guy, I won't just be helping Laxus clear an obstacle... I'll become famous overnight!'
Bickslow stuck out his tongue and licked his lips; such a thought was indeed very tempting.
"Go! Babies!!" Bickslow controlled the wooden puppets, his magic flaring. "Peke, Peke! Fire 'em up!"
The puppets' mouths opened, firing a barrage of green light bullets at Ren.
The light bullets all stopped dead in the air, halting a perfect inch from Ren's body as if they had hit an invisible wall.
"What?!"
Clearly, this situation was completely unexpected for Bickslow. "Again! Hit him again, babies!"
"Linear Formation!! Baryon Formation!" he shrieked.
The five puppets linked up in a precise line, their magic combining. They collectively fired a single, powerful laser slash, far stronger than the bullets.
Ren simply raised his hand. The slash stopped in front of his palm, hovering harmlessly. Then, as Ren waved his hand aside with a bored, dismissive flick, the direction of the slash immediately changed.
Crack—!
The laser beam, Bickslow's own attack, veered ninety degrees and sliced a nearby house cleanly in half.
"Ugh..." Bickslow stumbled back, his confidence shattered. Seeing that this attack still had no effect on Ren, he immediately got cold feet. His bravado evaporated. "Babies, run! We're running!"
He turned to flee.
Whoosh!
Ren instantly appeared in front of Bickslow, his movement a silent, instantaneous cut through space.
"Teleportation?! Damn it!!"
Bickslow's hair stood on end; he never expected Ren to be able to move instantly. He had nowhere to go.
Bang—!
Ren didn't even use a named technique. He just kicked. A simple, Cursed Energy-infused kick slammed into Bickslow's chest.
"Ugh ah!!"
Bickslow felt a terrifying, sharp pain from his abdomen as the invisible force shattered his armor and broke his ribs.
Whoosh—! Boom boom boom!!
Bickslow's body crashed backward like a cannonball, smashing through a nearby building, shattering the wall, and disappearing into a cloud of dust and debris, his puppets clattering uselessly to the ground around him.
"Dealt with two," Ren said, dusting off his shoulder. "One more to go."
Whoosh!
The next instant, the scenery blurred and resolved. Ren arrived in front of Cardia Cathedral. The rain was heavier here, and the air was thick with a magic he could see.
Freed Justine was already standing in front of the massive cathedral doors, his sword drawn, seemingly waiting for Ren's arrival.
"Freed."
This was Ren's first time seeing Freed outside of the anime. In the show, besides being handsome, Freed was also a very reliable man. Although he didn't have much screen time, he left a deep impression, especially with his Jutsu Shiki (Rune Magic), which could even restrain an elder like a Wizard Saint.
"Ren."
Freed also assessed Ren. This man who had continuously created legends since joining the guild. Compared to the recklessness of Bickslow and Evergreen, he was much calmer. He stood in the rain, his green hair plastered to his face, his eyes sharp and resolute.
Ren's gaze swept around Cardia Cathedral. Under the flawless discernment of his Rikugan, Ren saw that the entire area was a death trap. The air, the ground, the walls—everything was densely covered with overlapping layers of magical runes. "You've really prepared thoroughly."
"After all, my opponent is you," Freed replied, his voice level. "No amount of preparation is too much."
"What? You're so eager for Laxus to win?"
"Yes! I am a member of the Raijinshuu, a follower of Laxus. Our mission is to assist Laxus in achieving his ideals."
"Even if his ideals will harm his guildmates, it doesn't matter?"
"..."
Freed was silent for a moment, the rain dripping from the tip of his rapier. He then stated firmly, "It doesn't matter! I am Laxus's personal guard! I am Laxus's comrade! I will carry out all of Laxus's orders!"
"I see," Ren said, his playful tone gone. "Then I won't say any more."
Ren stepped forward.
Whoosh—!
A Jutsu Shiki barrier, invisible a moment before, rose from the ground in a wall of purple text.
[Rule: Anyone inside this Jutsu Shiki who uses magic will suffer from oxygen deprivation.]
Ren raised his hand, and a swirling, crushing Blue Sphere appeared in his palm. He pressed it towards the barrier.
Crack—!
The barrier was directly gnawed away and shattered upon contact with the sphere of impossible gravity.
"What?!"
Freed was greatly astonished. He knew that his barrier might not stop Ren, but for it to be destroyed so easily—and for Ren to be completely unaffected by its rule—still left him in disbelief.
Normally, the rules of a Jutsu Shiki are absolute. Ren, currently in his Full-Body Take Over form, was clearly using magic. He should have suffered oxygen deprivation and collapsed immediately upon entering.
"What? You find it unbelievable?" Ren asked.
"Why haven't you collapsed after using magic? This is impossible!" Freed demanded, his composure finally cracking. "Within a Jutsu Shiki barrier, the rules are absolute, and everyone must obey them! How are you unharmed?!"
"Simple," Ren explained, holding up a finger. "You have your Jutsu Shiki (Rune Magic), and I have my Jujutsu (Cursed Technique). Your runes are written on the ground. My techniques are inscribed in my very being."
"You also have a 'Cursed Technique'?!"
"Yes! But it's not quite like yours," Ren said, his voice laced with the arrogance of a professor. "The Cursed Technique I possess is called Limitless. In simple terms, it brings the concept of 'infinity' into reality. It divides the concept of distance between me and anything else into an infinite magnitude. For example, one centimeter can be divided into 10 millimeters, or 10,000 micrometers, 10,000,000 nanometers... and I'm not even sure what other units of measurement exist after that."
[Akarin's Note: Jujutsu (Cursed Techniques) and Jutsu Shiki (Rune Magic) are different, despite their similar names. Ren is using the power system from Jujutsu Kaisen (Gojo Satoru's), while Freed uses his innate Fairy Tail magic. Ren's "Limitless" creates an infinite, slowing barrier around him.]
"From the moment I entered this barrier," Ren continued, "the rules you created began to act upon me. However, that effect also had to continuously cross the 'Infinity' protecting me. Unfortunately for you, before the rules of your barrier could even reach me, the barrier itself had already been broken by my Blue."
Freed's face immediately turned serious upon hearing Ren's words. This was the first time he had encountered someone like Ren. If what the other party said was true, wouldn't all the Jutsu Shiki rules he had created be completely ineffective against him?
However, he didn't fully believe what Ren said. This was Cursed Technique magic he had studied for many years. It had to be a bluff.
Whoosh—!
As Ren took one more step, the next Jutsu Shiki barrier appeared, this one even more complex.
[Rule: Within this Jutsu Shiki, magic is not allowed.]
Freed watched intently. Ren, who was still maintaining his Gojo Satoru Full-Body Take Over form, did not vanish. His magic was not dispelled. He stood inside the "magic-less" zone, still brimming with power, his hands still in his pockets, his blindfold still in place.
Freed immediately understood that Ren had not lied. His Jujutsu truly did make him immune.
"Monster!!"
[Akarin Note:
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