That was the explanation that made the most sense based on what they knew.
It might not have been scientific, but this was Jujutsu. Trying to explain everything through common sense would only give them a headache.
"Jujutsu uses curses, yet your ability goes in the opposite direction. Just what kind of conditions could give birth to something like that?" Satoru Gojo asked with interest.
Akira looked at him strangely.
"Do you really have the right to ask me that? Your Six Eyes are already one of the strangest abilities in the Jujutsu World. I'd say we're even."
"Haha, you're right." Satoru Gojo adjusted his glasses. "I'm probably the last person who should be asking that question."
After all, Satoru Gojo's unique talent, the Six Eyes, was not actually a Jujutsu technique.
It was an extreme enhancement of his perception.
On the microscopic level, he could observe the movement and structure of atoms. On the larger scale, his vision could function like a telescope with dozens or even hundreds of times magnification. When it came to Jujutsu, he could directly observe the flow of Cursed Energy and even perceive the essence of souls.
Compared to his eyes, ordinary microscopes and high-powered telescopes were practically toys.
Of course, such an ability came with its own problems.
Unlike other eye techniques, the Six Eyes could not be freely activated or deactivated. They were constantly working, sending enormous amounts of information into Satoru Gojo's brain.
Even someone like him would suffer from mental fatigue if he left them completely unrestricted for too long.
That was why he usually wore a blindfold or nearly opaque sunglasses. They helped reduce the information entering his brain and prevented unnecessary mental exhaustion.
In other words, even the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer needed to protect himself from his own eyes.
"Still, there's something I should remind you about."
Satoru Gojo's tone became a little more serious.
"Even if you already understand the danger, abilities that are too unusual tend to attract unwanted attention. Some people will want to use them. Others will want to transplant them or take them apart to figure out how they work."
He tapped the frame of his glasses.
"My Six Eyes are the same. If I hadn't been born into the Gojo Clan, there's a good chance someone would've taken me away before I had the chance to grow up."
Gojo paused before adding casually, "Or they might have just dug my eyes out."
He said it as though he were discussing something ordinary.
However, Akira understood how serious those words were.
"Thank you for the warning. I'll become stronger as quickly as possible."
Akira nodded.
Ever since Ralts first appeared before him, he had already considered the possibility of someone coveting Pokémon and trying to take them away.
And as he learned more about the Jujutsu World, that concern only grew stronger.
The Kamo Clan was far from the only potential enemy.
Anyone who discovered the existence of Pokémon and wanted to possess their power could become a threat.
There was no telling how far some people would go to obtain something they did not understand.
This was also why Akira valued his current environment so much.
A place like Tokyo Jujutsu High, where the people around him treated others with genuine sincerity and were generally decent people, was surprisingly rare in the Jujutsu World.
It was worth protecting.
That was one of the reasons Akira had accepted the position of assistant instructor and spent so much time helping his classmates improve.
He was willing to invest his time and effort because he wanted everyone around him to grow stronger together.
After thinking for a moment, Akira looked directly at Satoru Gojo.
"Until I... no, until all of us have truly grown strong enough, I'll have to trouble you to shelter us from the storm."
"Leave it to me."
Satoru Gojo answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Besides, you and your mother already handle most of the teaching work. That leaves me plenty of free time to play around with those old fossils up top."
A smile appeared on his face.
"They seem convinced that I won't actually go to Kyoto. Seriously, what are they thinking? Do they really believe those so-called Grade Ones and Special Grade Ones can stop me?"
His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
Yet Akira could hear the confidence behind those words.
At that moment, Satoru Gojo showed none of his usual playful attitude. He was perfectly aware of his own strength and had no reason to fear the higher-ups.
If they wanted to challenge him directly, he would simply deal with them.
It was that simple.
Thinking about it, Megumi Fushiguro's rebellious attitude probably wasn't entirely caused by puberty.
Growing up under a foster father like Satoru Gojo, it would have been stranger if Megumi had turned into an obedient child who respected authority.
Akira shook his head and returned to the main subject.
"Even so, you shouldn't be careless."
"Hm?"
"Everyone knows they can't defeat you in a direct fight. That means anyone seriously planning to deal with you will look for other methods."
Akira raised a finger.
"For example, they might search for something capable of nullifying your technique. Or they could take advantage of special terrain, specific Jujutsu techniques, or Cursed Tools to seal you."
Satoru Gojo listened without interrupting.
"I've looked into this," Akira continued. "For the first possibility, there's the Inverted Spear of Heaven, also called the Ame-no-Nuboko. As for sealing you, there's the Prison Realm, a relic left behind by a holy monk."
"Oh, those two?"
Gojo didn't seem particularly concerned.
"You don't need to worry about the Inverted Spear of Heaven. As for the Prison Realm, that thing has been missing for years."
"Missing doesn't mean it can't be found."
Akira immediately replied.
"If someone is determined to deal with you, they'll naturally search for anything that might work. Otherwise, why would they deliberately provoke you when they know they can't win?"
He spread his hands.
"That would be no different from committing suicide."
"Hmm. That makes sense."
Satoru Gojo nodded thoughtfully.
"So, what do you think I should do?"
"The best option would naturally be to keep anything that can threaten you under your own control."
Akira had clearly thought about this beforehand.
"If that's impossible, then at least investigate how those things work. Their principles, activation conditions, limitations, anything that might help you prepare countermeasures."
He paused before continuing.
"Most schemes are dangerous because the target doesn't know about them. Once you understand how a trap works, dealing with it becomes much easier."
"And if the opponent has no other tricks left, the rest comes down to strength."
Akira looked at Gojo.
"When it comes to raw strength, who have you ever been afraid of?"
At this point, Akira had finally revealed his real purpose.
He had not brought up those two Cursed Tools simply to satisfy his curiosity.
He had come specifically to warn Satoru Gojo.
In fact, ever since entering Tokyo Jujutsu High, he had been looking for a suitable opportunity to discuss this matter.
The problem was how to approach it.
He couldn't exactly walk up to Satoru Gojo and tell him that his supposed invincibility wasn't absolute.
Considering Gojo's personality, there was a good chance he would laugh it off or turn the conversation into some ridiculous joke.
More importantly, Akira needed a convincing reason for knowing such things.
He couldn't simply reveal everything he knew about the original course of events.
In the original story, Satoru Gojo had been sealed because of a moment of carelessness.
His enemies took advantage of that brief opening, and the consequences were disastrous.
As long as Satoru Gojo remained active, Kenjaku would never dare put his plans into motion so openly.
Even if someone gave Kenjaku several times his current courage, he would still have to think carefully before making an enemy of Satoru Gojo.
That was how much influence the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer possessed.
For Akira, keeping Satoru Gojo around was essential.
As long as Gojo remained on their side, they would have someone capable of holding back the greatest threats in the Jujutsu World.
Only with that foundation could Akira develop his strength and carry out his own plans without constantly worrying about everything collapsing around him.
And once he became strong enough...
*Kenjaku, and people like you.*
*Jogo, Hanami, Dagon.*
*And Ryomen Sukuna.*
*All those named and unnamed Curse Users and Cursed Spirits.*
*Have you washed your necks clean yet?*
Thinking about the future, Akira couldn't help feeling a little excited.
Of course, that was still a matter for later.
For now, he needed to make sure Satoru Gojo took his warning seriously.
Unfortunately, he was dealing with Satoru Gojo.
Akira had always been someone who preferred to think things through before acting.
Even after receiving advice from Kento Nanami, changing that habit overnight was impossible.
Satoru Gojo, on the other hand, had developed an entirely different set of habits.
As a student, he frequently skipped class.
After becoming an adult, he continued skipping work whenever he had the opportunity.
Now that someone like Akira was willing to handle the troublesome thinking for him, Gojo was naturally delighted.
Why waste his own brainpower when someone else was volunteering to do the work?
After all, maintaining his so-called invincibility already placed a heavy burden on his mental CPU.
The Six Eyes constantly fed information into his brain, and even with his exceptional abilities, that still required processing power.
Whatever mental capacity remained for Makoto was already limited.
If he used too much of it, he would have to replenish his energy by consuming enormous amounts of sugar.
At this point, his love of sweets had long since exceeded the level of an ordinary sweet tooth.
It was approaching the same ridiculous category as pure peach juice or that admiral's coffee.
A completely unreasonable habit that might as well be some bizarre form of Domain Expansion.
And now, this very person was looking at Akira with a perfectly innocent expression.
"I see. I'll pay attention to it."
Hearing that, Akira finally felt a little relieved.
Then Gojo immediately added, "Oh, and I'll leave investigating their principles and activation methods to you too."
"...Hah?"
Akira stared at him.
For a moment, he wondered whether he had heard incorrectly.
"This is for your own good! Can't you put in at least a little effort yourself?"
Satoru Gojo tilted his head.
"Then why did you go out of your way to research all that information?"
He looked at Akira with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Don't tell me you had some other reason?"
"..."
Akira froze.
Of course he had another reason.
The problem was that his original reason was something he couldn't possibly explain.
After a brief pause, he quickly came up with another answer.
"Because I've been thinking about how to land a proper punch on you at least once."
"Oh?"
Satoru Gojo's interest immediately rose.
He clenched his fists and grinned.
"Then come on, give it a try. I'd be really happy if you managed to hurt me."
Akira looked at him in disbelief.
"Are you some kind of masochist? Do you really have to get beaten up before you'll remember anything?"
"Well, what can I say?"
Satoru Gojo shrugged.
"Ever since graduating from Tokyo Jujutsu High, I hardly ever get the chance to be injured anymore."
He looked Akira up and down.
"But with you, maybe there's actually some hope."
"..."
*This guy.*
*He's definitely a masochist.*
Akira was becoming more convinced by the second.
Who in their right mind would get excited at the thought of someone finding a way to hurt them?
Then again, expecting Satoru Gojo to think like a normal person was probably his mistake in the first place.
"Fine, fine. I'll organize the materials later and give them to you. Just make sure you actually read them."
"Sure, sure."
"And as for how I'm going to hit you..."
Akira suddenly smiled.
"Heh. It'll be in a way you'd never expect."
"Oh? Now I'm really looking forward to it."
Satoru Gojo answered with complete confidence.
He didn't seem worried in the slightest.
If anything, he looked genuinely excited.
Seeing that reaction, Akira felt another headache coming on.
*This Demon King really is infuriating.*
And the worst part was that Gojo had the strength to back up his attitude.
After casually accepting the challenge, Satoru Gojo turned around and prepared to leave.
Even the handsome profile he showed while turning away seemed deliberately annoying.
Akira watched him take a step before suddenly remembering something.
"Wait a minute."
"Hm? What now?"
Akira pointed toward Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto, who were still not far away.
"What about their situation?"
Satoru Gojo followed his gaze.
"Now that we understand Rika Orimoto's true nature, shouldn't we reconsider the matter of Curse Removal?"
Akira thought for a moment before continuing.
"Actually, considering their current relationship, does Rika really need Curse Removal in the first place?"
He had initially believed that removing Rika's curse was the obvious solution.
However, after learning more about her nature and observing how she interacted with Yuta, he was no longer so certain.
The situation was clearly more complicated than simply eliminating a dangerous curse.
"And if we do remove it, could that cause some kind of negative effect on Yuta? After all, the connection between them is already..."
Akira stopped speaking.
A finger had suddenly pressed lightly against his lips.
"Hm?"
Before he could react, Satoru Gojo leaned closer.
The distance between their faces narrowed, and Gojo's usual careless smile faded.
"Akira."
His voice was quieter than before.
"That's not something for us to decide."
Akira blinked.
Satoru Gojo glanced toward Yuta and Rika before continuing.
"The only people who have the right to make that decision are those two."
He spoke slowly, making sure Akira understood what he meant.
"Whether it's a curse or love, whether their relationship is an obstacle or a bond, that's something they have to figure out themselves."
Gojo lowered his finger.
"Whatever you or I think about it doesn't count."
His gaze remained on Yuta and Rika.
"And in the end, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks either."