Chapter 55 – Compensation?
"Don't get too full of yourself, brat."
Zen'in Shinsuke stomped hard against the air itself, each step thundering like an explosion. His body blurred into afterimages, darting through the sky at speeds the naked eye couldn't follow.
A heartbeat later, he was above Gojo Satoru, his massive shoe — easily over forty centimeters long — slamming down.
"Bang!!"
His heel clipped Gojo right across the head, sending him crashing downward.
"No way!?"
Gojo's aura flared violently as he forced himself to stop mid-fall, shock flashing across his usually smug face.
This… this is taijutsu!? He's literally walking on air!
For a brief moment he stared in disbelief — this was straight out of legends, stepping on the sky itself. But Gojo had no time to gawk. Red cursed energy spun at his fingertips as he prepared another blast.
Shinsuke, however, only felt irritation. Gojo looked practically unharmed. Damn turtle shell defense… If only I had the Inverted Spear of Heaven, breaking through that technique would be child's play.
The crimson "Red" sphere lanced forward, but Shinsuke tilted his head slightly and let it sail past.
"…Hm? Someone's coming?"
Both of them paused, sensing multiple cursed signatures rushing in their direction.
"Guess it's about time we wrap this up. Let's end it with one last move."
Shinsuke grinned, knuckles popping, cords of muscle coiling up his forearms like steel cables.
"Don't dodge this one, kid."
He clenched his fists. Heat shimmered around his arms.
"Morning Peacock!!"
For a split second there was silence — and then his fists blurred into a storm of strikes, so fast the friction against the air itself ignited into a barrage of flaming blows.
"BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!!"
A rain of blazing fireballs filled the sky, like the heavens themselves had turned crimson and were crashing down. Even Gojo's eyes widened.
"You've got to be kidding me… you're not even human anymore!!"
Who the hell produced elemental attacks purely by punching!?
But he didn't panic. His hands moved in a blur, drawing in cursed energy until it condensed into a massive azure sphere.
"Technique Lapse — Blue! Maximum Output!"
The orb roared with terrifying suction, dragging Shinsuke's flaming punches into its core before they could devastate the mountains below.
The azure sphere swelled, streaked with fire, until it became a colossal fireball. With a flick of his body, Gojo hurled it past Shinsuke. It streaked into the sky, exploding in a dazzling firework that shook the air itself.
The blast left space trembling.
"Gojo! Zen'in-sensei! Stop fighting!!"
Yaga Masamichi's voice rang out as he sprinted onto the scene, other Tokyo Jujutsu High teachers and students hot on his heels.
After all, this mountain range was their school's territory, used for inter-school exchanges. The sheer destruction had triggered alarms. Many had assumed a group of curse users had attacked, only to discover… it was Gojo and Zen'in tearing the place apart.
Yaga's face darkened. If I'd been any later, these two maniacs would've flattened the mountain.
But the combatants ignored him.
Shinsuke locked eyes with Gojo, a wicked grin tugging at his lips. "You've got one last chance, kid. Wanna risk it?"
Gojo hesitated. His hands rose into a mudra over his chest, cursed energy surging — but when he saw Shinsuke's half-smiling, half-daring expression, his fingers stilled. Slowly, he let his hands fall.
"…Forget it. No point anymore."
He'd wanted to beat Shinsuke black and blue. But this guy… was hiding power even Gojo couldn't read.
Sure, Hollow Purple was devastating — but with Shinsuke's monstrous state, it might not even land. And if it did… without Reverse Cursed Technique, Shinsuke would be crippled or dead.
Gojo didn't want to kill him. He just wanted to vent his grudge.
Now? It wasn't worth the risk. And if Shinsuke pulled out yet another freakish technique mid-battle… Gojo might start doubting whether the man was even human at all.
As Gojo let his energy fade, Shinsuke exhaled, letting his own state regress. The aching in his body began to fade almost instantly. He smirked. Knew it — the synergy of Heavenly Restriction and the Eight Gates' regenerative feedback. Maybe… just maybe, I'll even open the Eighth Gate someday without dying.
Looks like… no one alive could actually force him to open all Eight Gates.
---
"What the hell is going on with you two?!"
Yaga Masamichi arrived with a crowd of teachers and students in tow. One glance at the cratered earth and flattened forest, and his head started throbbing.
"Gojo! Old man! Why were you fighting? Who won?!"
A disappointed Tengen's Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, puffed her cheeks. Ugh! I missed such an epic showdown?! Why didn't anyone tell me they were going to fight!
"That," Shinsuke said innocently, spreading his hands, "you'll have to ask Gojo."
Everyone immediately turned toward Gojo.
"Oi oi oi, what's with those looks? I just wanted to spar with him, alright? Teachers sparring now and then — that's totally normal, isn't it?"
Of course, he wasn't about to admit he'd only picked the fight because the higher-ups gave him a convenient excuse to finally beat on Shinsuke — and still hadn't succeeded. Saying that out loud would just wreck his pride.
"Sparring?!" Yaga pointed at the obliterated landscape, his voice cracking. "Does this look like sparring to you?! Do you have any idea how much it's going to cost to fix all this?!"
His eye twitched. "You're both paying for the damages! The school isn't covering this!"
Shinsuke coughed into his fist and waved dismissively. "Ahem, this was all Gojo's doing, nothing to do with me. If anyone's paying, it's him."
Then, without hesitation, he bolted. "Maki, we're heading back!"
"Oh! Coming!"
From deep in the forest, Maki quickly sprinted over. Inwardly she let out a sigh of relief. Thank god I ran far when they started. Otherwise, I'd be a casualty by now.
"You—!"
Gojo nearly cursed out loud when he realized Shinsuke had shoved all the blame onto him. But then he thought about it. Damn it… technically, it was his fault.
If I'd just let his firestorm hit, the damages would be split…
"…Fine. Whatever. Principal Yaga, I'll get you the money later."
He figured he'd just go squeeze it out of the old fossils in the higher-ups. If they refused to cough up? Well, maybe he'd take a page from Shinsuke's playbook.
"Hey hey hey, Gojo — so who actually won?"
Riko still only cared about that, bouncing on her toes with anticipation.
All the teachers pricked up their ears.
Gojo's mouth twitched. He hesitated. This was… tricky. Neither had gone all-out, and admitting the truth would be humiliating.
"…Call it a tie."
And with that, he vanished in a flash — running away just as decisively as Shinsuke.
Like hell he'd admit out loud that the strongest sorcerer had just gone toe-to-toe with a guy who didn't even have cursed energy.
"Hsss…"
Several teachers — including Kusakabe — sucked in sharp breaths. "As expected of Zen'in-sensei. I always knew he wasn't simple."
"Right? No wonder the two biggest troublemakers in the jujutsu world keep butting heads. Their strength really is on the same level."
"Tch. What a waste of time." Mei Mei hefted her axe and walked off. She'd been hoping for a big payday, only to discover it was just an internal squabble.
"Alright, enough gawking. Back to your duties." Yaga sighed and waved everyone off, already pulling out his phone to arrange damage assessment.
He had a decent idea of what really sparked this battle — most likely something to do with the higher-ups.
Otherwise, why would those two maniacs fight this seriously? It couldn't just be because they didn't like each other… right?