Ren's eyes widened as he processed the offer. "Uh, right now? Well, I am down for special training, but I am not exactly physically fit.
I mean, I just went through the Goodwill Event, you know? My body is pretty sore... but if you say so, we can do it."
As he spoke, Gojo placed a hand on his chin, looking thoughtful.
'What does he mean, I can never catch up to him? 'Ren thought. 'Why? It didn't sound like his usual arrogant tone when he said it. Does it mean I am lacking something I don't even know about? Is there some secret technique that makes Gojo the strongest? No, I have never heard of anything like that...
but what if it's true?'
Gojo placed a firm hand on Ren's shoulder, his voice returning to an amused lilt. "No, you don't have to be physically fit for this training. Let's do it right now, since you're so eager to surpass me."
In a blink, the room blurred. A second later, Gojo and Ren had vanished.
Ren felt the world shift before he was thrown backward onto a hard surface. He landed on his feet, his eyes scanning the area immediately. 'That was fast... the bastard could have at least warned me. Where is he? And am I in some kind of dojo? What is this room? '
He was standing in an old-school Japanese room with polished wooden floors and paper screen doors. Suddenly—TAK!—the door behind Ren slid open.
Ren spun around to see Gojo stepping in. He had changed into casual pants and a shirt, and his blindfold was replaced by a pair of round blue sunglasses.
"Ah, sorry. "I went to change into something more comfortable, you know? " Gojo said, flashing a grin. "Let's get started with the training. Sit down."
Without arguing, Ren sat cross-legged on the floor. 'Let's hear him out before judging,' Ren thought. 'Gojo's teaching style is usually goofy, but if he's actually trying to show me something, I need to absorb every bit of it.'
Ren stared at Gojo, waiting. A second later, Gojo playfully hugged himself, leaning away with a shy expression. "Oh, don't look at me so intensely!"
"I am going to keep looking at you until you actually teach me something," Ren replied, his voice cold and flat.
Gojo sighed, then squatted down until he was at eye level with Ren. "Okay, no more funny business, huh? I guess. Anyway... don't use your cursed technique or Rika. Now, block this!"
Gojo exploded upward, launching a fast kick toward Ren's face. Ren moved on pure instinct, barely dodging the strike.
"Hey! I told you I'm not physically fit!" Ren snapped.
Gojo only smiled, throwing a follow-up punch. This time, Ren blocked it with his forearm. Gojo didn't let up; he began walking forward, pushing Ren back. Ren's heels slid against the wooden floor as he struggled to hold Gojo's fist back.
"I never said this was physical training!" Gojo said. "Stop talking and block!"
Gojo's hand suddenly felt ten times heavier. Cursed energy surged through his fist, and Ren was sent flying.
Whoosh!
THUD!
Ren crashed into the wall, grunting as he scrambled back to his feet. 'Not physical training, my ass,' he thought bitterly. 'How much cursed energy is he putting into a normal punch? This monster! I can't keep blocking—I will just lose.
I have to attack. But I can't use my cursed technique or Rika. The only way I can keep up is with cursed energy reinforcement, but he has more energy and uses it way more efficiently. Not to mention his hand-to-hand skills are leagues above mine. I'm just becoming a punching bag!'
Before Ren could even reset his stance, Gojo appeared in front of him.
SLAP!
A stinging palm hit Ren's face, snapping his head to the left. Before he could recover, a knee slammed into his stomach from the left, buckling his body to the right. A heavy hook was already screaming toward his jaw.
"Overdrive!" Ren muttered through gritted teeth.
A burst of cursed energy exploded through his frame. He managed to bring his arms up just in time to catch the hook meant for his face. The impact sent him crashing through the wooden wall behind him.
CRASH! THUD!
Gojo reached into the debris, grabbed Ren by the shirt, and tossed him across the room like a ragdoll. Ren tumbled across the wooden floor before finally coming to a stop. He glared at Gojo, his face bruised and a deep frown etched into his features.
"What the fuck kind of training is this?" Ren spat.
Gojo smiled broadly. "You did it. Congrats."
Ren's eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean 'I did it'?"
"Well, you did it! You know," Gojo said, waving a hand dismissively. "Let me explain it in a much more 'smarty-pants' way: what you did just now was increase the output of cursed energy reinforcement around your body to not only react to my hook but also block it. That's what I mean."
Ren looked at him with pure disbelief. 'Is he stupid? I can always do that!'
"You might be thinking you can always do this," Gojo continued, as if reading Ren's mind. "And it's true. But you don't do it normally, do you? Ren... you're using the threads in your body to help you with cursed energy control."
Gojo's smile was knowing, as if he could see every secret Ren was hiding.
Ren scoffed. "Yeah, so what? It's more efficient that way, isn't it?"
Gojo paused, looking genuinely surprised. 'How is he not shocked?'
'I already know your Six Eyes can see my soul,' Ren thought, rubbing his sore cheek and stomach. 'It makes sense you would know about my perfected Red Cursed Circuit. I bet you can see the whole thing, can't you?'
"Yes, it is more efficient."
Gojo admitted, his voice becoming calm and factual. "But it's like having autocorrect when you're typing on your phone. Sure, it makes you fast at typing, but the more you use it, the worse you actually get. You become dependent on it. Because of those threads, you aren't actually improving the way you move cursed energy. Your fundamental control is flawed—it's almost like you don't actually understand how to use cursed energy at all."
Ren froze. The words hit him harder than the punches.
'What the fuck is he talking about?'