"Boss?"
At that word, Gojo Satoru's brows shot up.
He stepped in front of Geto Suguru, Limitless fully activated.
"Hey, you. That entrance was a bit too much, don't you think? And who's the scary guy behind you?"
Gojo's gaze locked onto Toji.
"If I'm not mistaken, he has a complete Heavenly Restriction, right? Not a trace of Cursed Energy. Completely clean."
"His name is Toji Fushiguro. A hired killer."
Rin slipped his hands into his pockets, looking at the two as if their vigilance meant nothing.
"The Star Religious Group paid him thirty million to kill that girl. But I burned the place down last night and recruited him as a bodyguard while I was at it."
The moment those words fell, both Gojo and Geto sucked in a sharp breath.
Burned down the Star Religious Group. Recruited a Heavenly Restriction assassin of this level.
The sheer weight of information in that casual statement was overwhelming.
"You… what exactly do you want?"
Geto clenched his fists.
He had thought this man simply wanted to help Riko on a whim, but now it was clear that his methods and strength were far beyond what Jujutsu High could handle.
"Relax. I'm not here to cause trouble."
Rin's gaze shifted to Riko Amanai, who had already come ashore and was trembling behind Kuroi.
"All the flies chasing her have been taken care of. In other words, she's safe now."
Rin walked over to the beach chair, casually picked up Geto Suguru's unfinished drink, and took a sip as if it were his own.
"Don't you want to stop her from assimilating with Master Tengen? Now that all the obstacles are gone, just let her live a normal life under a new identity."
Gojo Satoru fell silent for a moment, then pushed up his sunglasses.
"The higher-ups won't give up that easily. If Master Tengen doesn't assimilate, the barriers across Japan will collapse."
"That's their problem, not mine."
Rin set the glass down, his gaze turning cold.
"If Tengen turns into a cursed spirit because he didn't get his 'refresh,' I'll just head to the Tombs of the Star Corridor and cut him down myself."
The sheer arrogance of those words left the jujutsu sorcerers speechless.
Kill Tengen, a being who had existed for a thousand years?
Only someone who defied all common sense would say such a thing so casually.
"Enough talk."
Rin turned and looked at Gojo. A three-tomoe Sharingan slowly formed in his eyes.
"Kid. Now that Riko's matter is settled, it's time to settle ours."
Gojo frowned slightly.
"What are you talking about? What do we have to settle?"
"I told you before, I'm just looking for some entertainment."
Rin raised a hand and pointed at him.
"I heard you and Geto Suguru are called the strongest duo."
"Show me everything you've got. Let me see if this so-called 'strongest' can make me break a sweat."
The blazing Okinawan sun hung high in the sky, waves crashing rhythmically against the white sand.
Yet the air on this private beach, which should have been filled with a carefree holiday mood, had turned heavy.
Hearing Rin's provocation, "Let me see if you can make me sweat," the corner of Gojo Satoru's lips slowly curled upward.
He casually removed his small round sunglasses and tossed them onto the sand, revealing those sky-like Six Eyes.
"Old man, confidence is a good thing."
Gojo stood with his hands in the pockets of his beach shorts, a vast surge of blue Cursed Energy swirling around him. The air itself distorted faintly under the influence of Limitless.
"But if you overdo it in front of me, you'll die an ugly death."
"Satoru, don't get careless. His ability is strange."
Geto Suguru's expression darkened. His hands were already forming seals as several grotesque Grade 2 Cursed Spirits crawled out from the shadows behind him, preparing to attack from the flanks.
But before the spirits could move—
A large figure stepped in their path like a phantom.
Toji Fushiguro clenched his fists, his beast-like eyes fixed on Geto.
"Hey, you summoner brat."
Toji grinned, flashing sharp white teeth.
"My boss wants a one-on-one with that white-haired guy. You're fighting me. If you don't want to die, bring out all your strongest cursed spirits."
Geto frowned, and his instincts screamed that the man in front of him was extremely dangerous.
"Suguru, I'll leave that to you. I'll deal with this loudmouth first."
With those words, Gojo Satoru vanished from the beach.
It was ultra-high-speed movement driven purely by Cursed Energy and physical control. To ordinary eyes, it looked no different from teleportation.
In an instant, Gojo appeared in Rin's blind spot to his left.
He didn't use any technique, instead whipping out a brutal kick with his long right leg aimed straight at Rin's head.
The speed and force of the strike were enough to blow apart even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
But Rin didn't even look at him.
He remained standing there, one hand in his pocket, without the slightest movement to dodge.
Whoosh—!
Satoru's sweeping kick passed straight through Rin's head without meeting any resistance. The force of the strike carved a long trench into the nearby beach.
"That intangibility again?"
Rather than being frustrated, Gojo's Six Eyes shone even brighter.
"As long as you want to attack, you have to become tangible. Let's see how long you can keep hiding."
Using the momentum of his missed strike, he twisted his body mid-air. His left hand formed a sign as a pale blue sphere condensed at his fingertips, radiating a terrifying gravitational pull.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
The miniature spatial singularity was driven straight toward Rin's chest.
At the same time, Gojo fully activated Limitless. He was certain that no matter how Rin countered, the infinite distance surrounding him would make any attack meaningless.
"You're far too confident in that shell of yours."
Rin chuckled softly.
Within his pitch-black eyes, the crimson hexagram rotated silently.
Just before Blue could touch him, Rin pulled his right hand from his pocket and extended it forward.
A Kamui vortex opened in his palm.
In an instant, the space in front of him, along with the gravitational force of Blue, was warped and erased into another dimension.
Without any obstruction, his hand passed through the empty space and seized Gojo by the collar.
"Now—"
Gojo realized Rin had solidified and tried to counterattack, but Rin moved faster than his thoughts.
In the next moment, Rin's left hand formed a blade, crackling with razor-sharp Chidori lightning.
Puchi.
The lightning pierced through Gojo's throat.
Blood sprayed out, staining the white sand red.
Rin's strike was precise. It avoided the carotid artery and cervical vertebrae, but severed the trachea.
"Cough… Gah!"
Gojo's eyes widened. Clutching his throat as blood poured out, he staggered back a few steps before collapsing onto the sand.
With his airway destroyed and oxygen rapidly draining from his lungs, the shadow of death loomed over the genius for the first time.
"Satoru!!!"
On the other side, Geto, who was being suppressed by Toji, saw the scene. His eyes went bloodshot as he tried to rush over at all costs, only to be struck hard in the abdomen by Toji's fist.
The blow forced him to his knees, retching.
"Getting distracted in a fight? You're still too green, kid."
Toji sneered, pressing his foot down on Geto's back.
The sound of the waves seemed to fade into the distance.
Gojo lay on the beach, his vision growing dim.
Blood loss caused his body temperature to drop rapidly. Those once brilliant Six Eyes began to lose their focus.
"So this is… death…"
___
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