Rooftop Battle
The midday sky above Renchoku Girls' Junior High School looked calm, but tension filled the air. Atop the school rooftop, Satoru Gojo stood casually. Round sunglasses covered his eyes, and floating lightly above his palm was Riko Amanai, her body surrounded by a transparent blue aura—a result of the Limitless technique.
"Huh?" Riko looked around, confused by the position of her body. "Are we... flying?"
Gojo grinned. "This is what I call premium delivery service."
Suddenly, shadows appeared around them. Five muscular human figures wearing matching paper masks like the clone appeared, leaping from the edges of the rooftop—shikigami? No, something more real.
Bam!
Gojo thrust his hand forward. A spinning blue orb of energy formed in the air: Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue. With a heavy, echoing roar—
"Gwhoomm"—
The blue cursed field sucked in two of the nearest clones.
They were pulled toward each other by the artificial gravitational force, then crashed mid-air—their bodies instantly shattered into black liquid.
"Were those... shikigami?!" Riko exclaimed, eyes wide.
Gojo chuckled softly.
"Nope. All of those clones are real."
Suddenly, two other clones jumped from behind, aiming straight for Riko with crushing punches.
With lightning reflexes, Gojo ducked Riko's head. The clones' punches struck... nothing.
"Bzzzt..."
In midair, the Limitless activated automatically. Their attacks halted mid-motion, suspended. Spatial distortion was visible in Gojo's glasses, as if reality itself refused to touch him.
"Nice try," Gojo muttered.
With a casual swing, Gojo struck both clones with a regular punch—no technique involved. Their bodies collapsed, immobilized by defeat.
Only one clone remained—it quickly retreated, trying to escape to the edge of the rooftop.
Gojo turned and stepped forward slowly. His gaze sharpened. The Six Eyes were active, revealing the flow of cursed energy jumping between the clones.
"Your innate technique lets you create five clones, including your original body, and you can swap between them anytime. If one's in danger, you jump to the safest one. It's a strong technique."
"But... why are you so weak? Once a clone body's defeated, it can't be summoned again for days, right?"
Clearly shocked, the clone-user shouted,
"How do you know my technique?!"
Gojo gave a mischievous smile.
"Lucky for me... I have special eyes!!"
The final clone stopped. His face was covered by a paper mask. Gojo raised his right hand to the side. Red energy started vibrating around his palm:
Cursed Technique Reversal: Red.
But before it could fire—it fizzled out.
"...Failed again?!" Gojo muttered, looking disappointed.
"Don't mess around! We're in the middle of something serious!" Riko yelled from behind.
Gojo turned his neck slowly, walking toward the confused clone-user. Without a word, he launched a cartoonish uppercut right to the clone's chin—the punch sent him airborne before crashing down with a loud thud.
The fight was over.
Gojo stood there, rubbing his head, still grumbling.
"Ugh, I really thought it would work this time..."
Surveillance from Afar
On a distant office rooftop, 400 meters from the battle site, Tora stood hidden in the shadow of a water tank. Five meters above his head, a shikigami—a crow with glowing purple eyes—watched the scene from afar like a high-resolution camera, sharing its view with Tora.
Crow's Perspective
Gojo's blue Limitless barrier appeared like a bubble of warped space, while the curse-user's clones were fast-moving black silhouettes, each one getting destroyed. When Gojo failed to use Red, Tora curled a faint smile.
"Still not stable, huh, Satoru Gojo?"
His finger tapped the metal railing.
He whispered quietly,
"Soon... the 'Man Without Cursed Energy' will arrive. And your first defeat will begin, Heir of the Six Eyes."
The crow shikigami flapped its wings and returned into Tora's shadow.
"The perfect timing is near—just days after a long, exhausting vacation. Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto are tired."
"They believe the bounty deadline for Riko was designed to give them some relief. They don't expect any more attacks."
Tora couldn't help but admire Toji Fushiguro's experience.
"Truth is, this was all Toji Fushiguro's strategy: he deliberately placed a 30 million yen bounty on Riko's head through underground networks, just to keep assassins coming non-stop—wearing Gojo down, bit by bit... before Toji himself makes his move."
Sky Escort Over Okinawa
The sun scorched the airplane's windows, casting moving light patterns over leather seats. Satoru Gojo walked down the cabin aisle with a light step. Thick sunglasses hid his glowing Six Eyes, shimmering faint blue behind the lenses. His every move was like a dance—dodging food carts, brushing past passengers queuing for the bathroom. His cursed energy vision scanned every face in seconds.
No threats... yet.
At seat 14D, an old man slept with a newspaper on his chest. Gojo read the headline without leaning in:
"Okinawa Festival Canceled Due to Weather."
Ironic—outside, the sky was only lightly clouded.
By the wing-side seats, Suguru Geto sipped orange juice. His hand holding the cup remained perfectly still, but his left index finger tapped gently—plucking an invisible string. Through the window beside him:
A massive white dragon glided like stained glass under the harsh sun, its glimmering pearl-like form the only hint of its shape. Its white tail split the air behind it.
Riko Amanai sat beside him, holding a wet tissue in her fingers. She tried not to look outside—where the dragon's glowing eyes occasionally glanced toward the cabin, but kept its focus on Gojo, who was busy "eyeballing" every passenger one by one.
"Gojo-san... why's he checking everyone like that?" she asked Geto.
"Because the enemy could be anyone, Riko-chan," Geto replied, smiling softly at a crying baby.
"Even a little kid."
A flight attendant hurried down the aisle, carrying a metal tray of full water cups. As she passed by Gojo—who was casually standing near his seat—the tray tilted. A cup spilled, sending water flying toward Gojo in slow motion, as if caught on a high-speed camera.
But—
The water stopped a few centimeters in front of his suit, hanging in the air as if blocked by an invisible layer. Droplets sparkled like crystals before dropping harmlessly to the floor with a soft plop.
The flight attendant gasped, eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump it!"
She reached for tissues, flustered.
Gojo just smiled, hands still in his pockets.
"No worries~ The water didn't even touch this expensive suit,"
he joked with a wink.
The attendant frowned, confused to see not a single drop had landed on him.
"But... I clearly saw—"
"Infinity," Gojo cut her off playfully, tracing a circle in the air with his finger.
"The distance between you and me... is always under my control."
From his seat, Geto exhaled and closed his eyes—knowing full well that Gojo was just having fun with his abilities.
The plane glided over Okinawa's emerald sea. Tiny islands dotted the view like green chess pieces. Geto's dragon circled the plane twice, then descended ahead—as if ensuring a safe landing.