At that moment—
"Hmm~ Warm-up's over!"
A clear and frankly excited voice cut through the slightly solemn afterglow of the training ground. Everyone followed the voice and saw Satoru Gojo standing on a relatively intact open space in the center of the field.
He had taken off his signature black blindfold and casually draped it over his fingers, revealing a pair of pale blue "Six Eyes" that seemed to contain the entire starry sky. Instead of his student uniform, he had changed into a well-fitting dark blue tracksuit, making him look taller and leaner.
Then, in full view of everyone, Satoru Gojo did something that stunned them all.
He slightly closed his captivating blue eyes, took a deep breath, slowly lowered his body, stretched out his arms, and began performing smooth, elegant, rhythmic stretching and rotating exercises—side lunges, lunge twists, and even a small but very standard spinal twist.
Megumi Fushiguro silently pressed his forehead with an expression that said, "Here we go again."
Panda's beady eyes blinked. Toge Inumaki's collar twitched before he finally spat out two words: "...Kombu?" (Translation: What's happening?)
Zen'in Maki also snapped back to reality, watching the white-haired man in the center of the hall doing standard warm-up stretches, the corners of her mouth twitching.
Indeed, no matter how many times I watch, there's no lower limit to how offline this guy can be.
On the edge of the training ground, Utaha Kasumigaoka put her special glasses on her nose, her crimson eyes looking through the lenses, calmly observing Satoru Gojo. Her gaze didn't linger on those graceful warm-ups.
"A warm-up... really?" Utaha murmured to herself, unconsciously tapping her fingers on her phone case. "Announcing his appearance in such a showy way at a time like this... the purpose probably isn't just 'itching for a fight.'"
She remembered the "Headquarters assessment" that Principal Yaga had mentioned earlier, the energy shock that Genji's awakening might cause, and the vigilance, greed, and hostility hidden in the shadows towards "unknown powerful beings."
"He's going to use this fight, which is concrete and intuitive enough," Utaha's gaze swept over the surrounding students, some excited, some nervous, and finally landed on Eriri, who seemed oblivious and was still watching Gojo warm up. "To show everyone watching in the shadows the level of Lord Zen'in Genji's power."
"Using the most crude and effective method—a real battle—to draw boundaries and create a deterrent. So that those 'high-level executives,' blinded by power, can understand what kind of existence they are trying to calculate, control, and even use. Thus... reducing the trouble from stupid decisions you don't know about."
The corners of Utaha's mouth tightened into a very faint arc of understanding.
Very clever, and in line with Satoru Gojo's style—seeming carefree but actually unfathomable.
A private sparring match gaining open, strategic deterrent value.
At the same time, beside Eriri, Genji's figure gradually shifted from intangible to solid.
"No lower limit... combined with those 'Six Eyes'..." Genji murmured to himself, his voice only audible to himself—and there wasn't as much calculation in his tone as Utaha's, only the pure curiosity of a researcher and a hint of the fighting spirit that had been dormant and excited for a long time.
"It's been a thousand years, and I haven't really done anything seriously..." He flexed his wrist, though the action was meaningless for a shikigami's body, it was more of a prelude to something long-lost and ready to devote himself to.
"I'm a bit bored. Just in time to see how strong this 'strongest,' chosen by the era, really is."
He didn't think about intimidating the higher-ups or any political calculations. He had grown tired of playing those games a thousand years ago and had no intention of doing so again.
At this moment, in his eyes, there was only Satoru Gojo as an individual and the "possibilities" of cursed techniques from this era that he represented.
---
In the center of the hall, Satoru Gojo completed his last graceful "swallow" movement and stood firmly. He opened his pale blue eyes, his gaze precisely fixed on the now-materialized Genji, a smile blooming on his face so bright it seemed almost arrogant.
"Lord Zen'in Genji~" He drawled, his tone relaxed, as if inviting a friend to play. "I'm bored. Want to... stretch your muscles a bit?"
No politeness, no greetings, just a direct invitation.
The training ground instantly fell silent. All the students held their breath, watching the two people on the field without blinking. Itadori excitedly clenched his fists. Kugisaki involuntarily leaned forward. Megumi Fushiguro's expression was unprecedentedly serious. Panda and Inumaki stiffened. Maki's sweating stopped. Megumi Kato watched quietly. Utaha raised her phone again.
The battle between the "God" and the "Strongest of Our Time," a thousand years in the making, was about to begin.
Genji floated a few steps forward, meeting Satoru Gojo at a distance of over ten meters. He didn't answer verbally, only slightly raised his right hand.
In an instant, the deep indigo shadow beneath him rapidly spread and expanded, like a living creature, instantly covering a small half of the training ground. The shadow was not flat, but churned and boiled violently, as if some terrifying being was being born within it.
"Then..." Genji finally spoke, his voice calm, but with an indescribable majesty. "As you wish."
He spread the five fingers of his right hand and gently shook them toward the surging shadow.
Roooar—!!!
From the depths of the shadow erupted a terrifying blend of canine howls, eagle screams, and the roar of wild oxen unlike any known creature! The soundwave, wrapped in a powerful cursed energy impact, made Itadori and the others, who were closer, involuntarily take half a step back, their eardrums tingling.
Immediately after, a colossal figure tore through the boiling sea of shadows and soared into the sky!
It was an incredibly massive combined shikigami.
It had a silhouette reminiscent of a griffin from Western mythology, but more grotesque, sacred, and filled with Eastern majesty. Its main body was as robust as a giant lion, covered in black, shiny fur like the Jade Dog, but flowing with shimmering silver lunar lines of cursed energy. Two pairs of enormous wings extended from its shoulder blades—one pair, the thunder and lightning wings of the crane, with a wingspan of over ten meters, the feathers woven from solid, pale blue lightning and thunder, crackling and shedding electric serpents; the other pair, slightly smaller, like the fire wings of a mythical phoenix, blazing red, sprinkled with small flames.
Its head was not a simple dog or eagle, but a blend of some majestic dragon and griffin features, with a spiral thunder and lightning horn on its forehead, sharp fangs in its mouth, and golden and red eyes burning with lightning and flame respectively. Its limbs were strong and powerful, the edges of its claws gleaming coldly, and its tail was a flexible plasma whip.
Particularly noteworthy was that on its broad back, near the neck, there was a faint structure resembling a "saddle," but it looked more like innate armor, decorated with complex ancient runes.
This combined shikigami simply hovered there, the cursed energy it emitted making the surrounding air viscous, the light distorted, and the ground of the training ground trembling slightly.
"What is that?!" Yuji Itadori gasped, pointing at the giant, his voice changed. Sukuna inside him also seemed restless, with a quiet, amused sneer.
Megumi Fushiguro's pupils sharply contracted. As the successor of the Ten Shadows Technique, he could more clearly feel the many familiar and unfamiliar cursed energy sources within the shikigami's body, as well as the terrifying qualitative change in power after their perfect fusion.
"This is..." Megumi Fushiguro's voice was a little dry, staring at the texture of the shikigami's thunder and lightning wings, the form of its fire wings, the familiar canine outline, and the majestic sense of power—a word that appeared only sparsely in the most secret clan records.
"A Chimera Shikigami..." He murmured, as if convincing himself. **"The fusion of basic shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique... a new shikigami formed from their merger. Judging by its characteristics, it has at least combined the strength and tenacity of the Jade Dog, the thunder and lightning of the crane, aerial superiority, and... the raw power of the ox. There may be other characteristics..."
"Chimera?" Itadori didn't understand.
"It's just a forced fusion!" Kugisaki explained to Megumi, her eyes shining. "Combining different shikigami like building blocks to become stronger! But this is way too much, right?! This size! This cursed energy!"
"Salmon!!" Inumaki couldn't help but raise his voice, his purple eyes full of shock.
Panda's beady eyes nearly popped out. "This time, Satoru... is in for it..."
Zen'in Maki looked up at the giant beast that seemed to have stepped out of myth, her hand holding her staff slightly tense. This... is the complete Ten Shadows Technique? No, this might not even be complete. Just one summoned combined shikigami has this much power...
Utaha's breathing was a little rapid. She adjusted the observation mode of her special glasses, trying to analyze the flow of cursed energy and the structure of the runes on the shikigami's body, but the amount of information was too large and complex, making her a little dizzy. This is... a thousand years of research and refinement of the Ten Shadows Technique... integrating and reorganizing the characteristics of the shikigami in an optimal way...
---
In the center of the hall, Satoru Gojo looked up at the combined giant beast hovering above Genji. The cynical smile on his face didn't change a bit, but the fighting spirit in his eyes grew even more intense. In his blue Six Eyes, it seemed as if galaxies were spinning, frantically analyzing every detail of the shikigami before him.
"Oh, oh, oh" He whistled, his voice light. "Such a big guy came out? Looks like I need to get a little more serious"
Genji ignored Satoru Gojo's taunts, gently raised his hand, and pointed at Gojo.
"[Divine Beast Xiang]." He calmly announced the name of the combined shikigami. "Go."
Roooar—!!!
The combined shikigami, named "Divine Beast Xiang," let out an earth-shattering roar, and its lightning and flame wings suddenly flapped!
Bang—!!!
Thunder seemed to erupt from nowhere over the training ground! Blazing white lightning and crimson waves of flame intertwined, transforming into a devastating thunderstorm that rolled towards Satoru Gojo's position! The speed of lightning, the flash of flame—they were perfectly fused in this strike, covering all space for evasion!
At the same time, Xiang's massive body also moved. It didn't charge directly, but drew an arc in the air with an elegant and swift posture that belied its size, circling behind Satoru Gojo's flank. Its enormous mouth opened, and a highly concentrated breath of lightning and flame was expelled, arriving moments before the thunderstorm, forming a perfect pincer attack with the thunder and fire from the front!
Before the attack even landed, the devastating energy fluctuations already made the barriers at the edge of the training ground sound alarms. The students watching felt their skin tingle and found it hard to breathe.
However, Satoru Gojo, at the center of the storm, just tilted his head, the corner of his mouth curling into a ruthless smile.
"What a warm welcome~"
He stood still, not dodging or avoiding, but casually raised his right hand, spread five fingers, and aimed them at the oncoming thunder and firestorm.
Buzz—
Everything in front of Satoru Gojo—the raging thunder and lightning, the surging flames, the tearing air, even the light and sound—suddenly stopped, an inch before his palm.
Not blocked, not nullified.
It was "stopped."
As if an absolutely insurmountable wall of "infinity" stood between Satoru Gojo and the destructive energy.
The thunderstorm and fire hung in the air, maintaining their surging form, but could no longer move forward. The mixed breath coming from the side and rear also froze the moment it touched the invisible boundary.
The entire training ground looked strange: on one side, a frenzy of destructive energy; on the other, a white-haired man strolling lazily; and in between, an absolute "static" line separating life and death.
For the first time, a distinct light called "interest" flickered in Genji's deep indigo eyes.
Facing the stopped attack, Xiang let out a low, anger-suppressed roar.
Its thunder and lightning wings suddenly flapped back, and its massive body shot upwards with incredible agility. At the same time, the thunder horn on its forehead erupted with a blinding light, and a more compressed, dark blue lightning spear, as thick as an arm, instantly condensed and accurately shot at Satoru Gojo below!
This strike was as fast as real lightning, the energy highly concentrated, attempting to pierce the "infinity" defense at a single point.
Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes had already predicted this attack. Instead of using the "stop" again, he shifted his feet slightly.
Click.
With a soft sound, his figure instantly vanished from its spot.
The dark blue lightning spear missed, blasting the ground into a bottomless pit with edges as smooth as a mirror.
And Satoru Gojo's figure appeared in the air dozens of meters away, as if born from nowhere. He looked down at Xiang below, briefly disoriented by the loss of its target, then looked at Genji nearby, the smile on his face growing brighter and brighter.
"Almost done warming up~" He turned his neck, making a soft cracking sound. "Then, Lord Zen'in Genji, let me also... move something a bit more real?"
As the words fell, he slowly raised his hands and pressed his palms together in front of his chest.
Pale blue cursed energy erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption, its force so immense that the barriers of the entire training ground began to tremble and flicker violently! The cursed energy outlined and compressed behind him, as if preparing to create something...
Genji watched Satoru Gojo's movements, felt the eruption of cursed energy, completely different from his own yet equally unfathomable, and the corners of his lips finally lifted slowly into a clear, anticipatory smile.
This is getting interesting.
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