Despite the assassination attempt that occurred at the crack of dawn, my body felt remarkably light. It wasn't surprising; I had barely expended any cursed energy dealing with them. I gave Naoya's cheek a few soft strokes as she lay sleeping in my arms, then stood and made my way toward my father.
"Father, it's Touya."
I knocked on the door of the Clan Head's chamber. Before long, my father's voice answered from within.
"Touya. Enter."
As the sliding door opened, I stepped inside to find Father waiting for me.
"What brings you here so early, Touya? Are you feeling the pressure of the match?"
He let out a hearty laugh, but his expression instantly hardened once I shared the morning's events.
"An assassination attempt? This morning? That is absurd..."
"Nothing came of it. Honestly, they were pathetic for assassins tasked with infiltrating one of the Big Three Families."
"Then how did they manage to breach your personal quarters? The security perimeter should have been more than enough to stop them."
"There is likely a traitor within the clan backing them. Once you find out who it is, let me know. I have a few ideas of my own."
"Ideas? What kind of ideas... Hmmm. Very well. For now, go and rest. You have the exhibition match to prepare for. You must meet your opponent in peak condition."
"Yes, Father. I'll do just that."
I offered a formal bow and left the room. On the path back to my quarters, the servants I passed bowed their heads in respect.
"Young Master! Good luck with the match today. We know you will be victorious."
"Yes, I'll do my best. Thank you."
I walked past the bowing attendants and returned to my room. Slipping back into bed beside Naoya, who was still drifting in the land of dreams, I pulled her close. The weight of her leaning against me coaxed me into a second bout of sleep.
-------
"Touya. It is time. Prepare yourself."
"Yes, Father... *Yawn*... I actually feel quite refreshed."
Roused by my father's call, I sat up and shook Naoya awake.
"Naoya, time to get up. The exhibition match is starting soon. Go wash up and get ready. I'm heading out first."
"Mmmn... Alright. Go on ahead, Brother... I'm still so sleepy... I'll be there in a bit."
Leaving Naoya behind, I cleansed myself and let the attendants dress me in my formal hakama. All the while, my mind was occupied with simulations of the upcoming battle against Satoru Gojo.
'He's only five. Limited combat experience. Due to the nature of Limitless, he won't be able to keep it active infinitely yet. Is that it? Is that the extent of my advantage?'
"Well, you've got one thing right. You're a hell of a lot better at fighting than that brat. Provided you can actually land a hit, that is."
I turned toward the familiar voice to find Toji leaning nearby, also dressed in a hakama.
"Ah, Toji. Did you come to cheer me on? How kind of you."
"Me? Cheering? I'm on the side of whoever wins. Though, I wouldn't mind seeing you lose. Watching the Elders' faces rot from the shock would be a masterpiece."
"Good grief. There you go again. Why not just support me for once? Do you really want to see your pupil lose?"
"As long as you don't get outclassed in close-quarters combat, I couldn't care less how it ends."
"Fair enough... Whatever. I'm going in with the mindset to win."
Even though he came all this way just to say those words, the man's personality was truly warped. I knew he didn't mean half of it, though. He wouldn't have bothered showing his face otherwise.
"Thanks, Toji. The nerves are gone now."
"Hmph. I didn't come here to calm you down. I just wanted to see your stiff, panicked face. You're no fun."
I ignored the tsundere as he walked away and went back to my tactical analysis.
'Limitless won't be active at all times, and he's still green. There will be an opening when he shifts to the offensive.'
I remained seated, running combat scenarios until the match was finally called.
------
"Touya. Come forth."
Responding to my father's summons, I stepped into the designated sparring arena. My gaze immediately met that of Satoru Gojo, who looked at me with a spark of recognition. Beside him stood the Gojo Clan Elders, their eyes sizing me up with calculating coldness.
"I knew it! You're that guy from before! The one who was lurking in the shadows like a creep!"
Calling me a creep seemed a bit much, didn't it?
"Could we call it 'observing' instead?"
"Hmph! Observing, my foot! You were just being a low-life voyeur, trying to sneak a peek at my greatness so you could steal my secrets!"
"Wait a second. I don't think 'voyeur' means what you think it means. You're assassinating my character here."
"Not my problem! Let's just fight already. I'll make this quick."
"Before that. My name is Touya Zenin. A pleasure to meet you. You... are a boy, right?"
"Wh-What?! Why are you asking that all of a sudden? Yes, I'm a boy! I'm Satoru Gojo!"
So it was as I thought. His voice was high-pitched, but that's common for kids his age. Fine then. Time for a little provocation.
"Keep this in mind: in this match, you're the challenger."
"Wh-ugh...! Watch your mouth! I won't hold back!"
"Then, let us begin. Are both parties ready?"
"" Yes. ""
Naobito let out a sharp, thunderous clap and roared.
"Begin the exhibition match!"
At that command, Satoru Gojo immediately began chanting the incantations for his Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue at maximum output.
"Phase, Twilight, Eyes of Wisdom..."
"I don't think so."
In an instant, I caused the shadows to swell and swallow Satoru whole. His chanting ground to a halt.
"Satoru, why stop? Please, continue."
"Don't call me so casually! Tsk, what's with these shadows? I didn't hear anything about this!"
------
The Gojo Elders watching from the sidelines began whispering urgently about the technique on display.
"I was told the boy inherited the Ten Shadows Technique. I have never heard of a user who could manipulate shadows independently like this."
"Indeed. He has not even summoned a Shikigami yet..."
Naobito, the Zenin Clan Head, interjected with a smug tone.
"The child's technique is undoubtedly the Ten Shadows. However, he is a 'Shadow Master' as much as a summoner. He does not simply rely on Shikigami; he masters the shadows themselves."
The Gojo Elders were visibly taken aback by Naobito's proud boast.
"Hmph... Is that so? As the Young Master of your house, I suppose you have much to be proud of."
"Quite. But let us watch. Surely the heir of the Gojo Clan isn't someone who can be defeated by a trick of this level?"
Inside the arena, Touya spoke.
"Satoru, my Cursed Technique is the Ten Shadows. It allows me to summon Shikigami from shadows, but I can also apply the shadows directly. By trapping you like this... I can even drain your cursed energy."
**[Binding Vow: Revealing One's Hand]**—by explaining the mechanics of his technique to his opponent, the potency of Touya's shadows surged. The oppressive force restraining Satoru intensified.
"Gugh. No wonder this felt so disgusting. These shadows..."
Touya's shadows, currently enveloping Satoru, acted as something akin to a simple domain created with cursed energy. The only ways to escape were to deploy a more powerful Domain or to blast it apart by flooding the space with an overwhelming amount of cursed energy.
"Satoru, you don't have a Domain yet, do you? And since you've never fought a Domain user, you likely haven't learned Falling Blossom Emotion. You'd better hurry up and escape. I'm quite enjoying the taste of your cursed energy."
Enraged by the situation, Satoru screamed as he pushed his cursed energy to its limits.
"Dammit! You're really pissing me off! Phase, Twilight, Eyes of Wisdom! Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue—Maximum Output!"
This was exactly according to Touya's plan:
The shadows clutching Satoru were instantly shredded by the sheer, irrational force of the attraction. Satoru finally burst free from the shadows, only to be immediately met by the pouncing Divine Dogs. He reacted instantly, deploying Limitless to block the strike.
"Still not enough to bypass it? That really is a cheat code you've got there."
"Look who's talking! Draining cursed energy just by touching someone with a shadow? You're the one who's a walking cheat!"
"I don't think it compares to being literally untouchable."
As soon as I finished speaking, I summoned Max Elephant and fired a high-pressure jet of water. It was a searingly hot and powerful deluge, but it failed to reach Satoru, stopped cold by his Limitless.
Seeing Touya weave another hand sign for a new summon, Satoru's tension spiked. Using his Six Eyes to track the flow of cursed energy, he was suddenly caught off guard as the Shikigami 'Great Serpent' lunged from directly beneath his feet and bit his ankle. He managed to flare his Limitless in time to turn a crushing blow into a mere laceration, but without a way to heal himself, the injury was a mounting burden.
"Augh, damn it! I got sloppy. You can summon those things from anywhere?!"
"What's the matter? You aren't invincible after all, Satoru. You're just a normal human who bleeds. I planted a shadow beneath yours a long time ago."
"Hah? Don't get cocky. That's the last hit you're getting in today."
Satoru tried to sound composed, but he was reeling internally. While he had sparred with the Gojo household before, they were all weaker than him or unable to challenge his control over Limitless. This was effectively his first real battle against a powerful opponent who could actually counter his technique.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
He tried to drag Touya into a localized singularity, but Touya quickly vanished into the shadows. Satoru cancelled the technique and scanned the area with his eyes to locate his opponent. He activated Limitless to full power, anticipating an attack from any direction.
A massive version of the Divine Dogs suddenly lunged from the floor. To withstand its ferocious power, Satoru focused entirely on reinforcing his Limitless output. The sheer strength of the Divine Dogs caused his barrier to tremble as if it might shatter. At the exact moment he tried to boost his output further, Touya appeared behind him, his body wreathed in the lightning-fast properties of Nue. Retracting the Divine Dogs into his shadow, Touya poured an immense amount of cursed energy into his fist and swung.
"As if that would ever hit me!!"
Satoru spun around, attempting to shift his Limitless focus to block the incoming punch. Looking at him, Touya broke into a wide grin.
"You let your guard down."
Satoru had deactivated the barrier behind him to intercept Touya, leaving himself completely exposed to Max Elephant's water cannon, which hadn't returned to the shadows like the Divine Dogs. The impact from behind hit him with a visceral, agonizing force he had never experienced in his life. The shock caused his Limitless to flick off entirely for a split second. As Touya's fist reached Satoru's face, a flash of black lightning flickered across the arena, as if smiling upon the striker.
**"Black Flash!"**
A punch infused with Nue's specialized electrical cursed energy collided with Satoru's face with devastating impact.
*THUD.*
Satoru was sent flying across the arena, slamming into the ground. He struggled to rise, but his brain, rattled by the brute force and the electrical surge of the cursed energy, refused to recover. A massive Divine Dog stood over him, baring its fangs. The match was over.
"Match concluded. Satoru Gojo is incapacitated. The winner is Touya Zenin."
Still unable to stand from the shock of his first-ever defeat, Satoru looked up as Touya approached him.
"You lost for one reason and one reason only, Satoru. And that is..."
"What... is it? Tell me."
"That is... a secret."
Satoru looked genuinely traumatized by the response. His eyes shook with disbelief, and then they began to well up with tears.
"*Sniff*... You're so annoying! I'm going to kill you! Fight me again next time!"
Touya was a bit surprised to see the future Strongest crying, but he couldn't resist one final jab to seal the deal.
"No thanks. You're kind of trash at this, aren't you?"
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