A small grove, a field battle, man on man...
Several minutes passed. Schwarzer had already completed her analysis of both combatants, mastering the two new forms of energy: Cursed Energy and Chakra.
Down below, however, they were still engaged in a fist-to-flesh brawl—though it couldn't truly be called that.
Despite being the strongest Special Grade Sorcerer in the jujutsu world, Gojo Satoru's hand-to-hand combat skills weren't particularly formidable. The two were, one might say, evenly matched.
"Kakashi's displayed strength is a bit too weak. It seems the timeline from Naruto is still quite early."
The System also noticed something was off with Kakashi. He was frighteningly weak; his Sharingan was even still at the three-tomoe stage.
"[Speculation] The current timeframe should be around when Naruto just graduated, likely before or after the Land of Waves arc."
"[Judgement] Kakashi does not possess the Mangekyo Sharingan. Without Kamui, his strength is far below Gojo Satoru's."
A professional Machine Ex Machina must be bold in making judgments. As Schwarzer spoke, she played with the Chakra she had just extracted in her hand.
After completing her analysis of Chakra, she discovered that the Kakashi below was merely a clone. In that case, there was no need to worry at all.
She had originally worried Kakashi might single-handedly clear the entire Jujutsu Kaisen world, but now it seemed he was just getting thrashed by Gojo.
Does the absence of Kamui really make such a huge difference?
Yes, my friend, the difference is truly that vast.
The current Kakashi was arguably at his weakest. He had been slacking for a long time and had just been beaten severely by Zabuza Momochi, so he was in very poor condition.
Of course, Schwarzer didn't know any of this. She just felt Kakashi was surprisingly weak. What happened to his reputation for fighting anyone to a 50/50 standstill?
"Have you found any news of the others?"
"Not yet. Japan's surveillance coverage is too low, making it difficult for me to perform optimally."
The System spoke helplessly. Kakashi had intentionally avoided cameras along the way, indicating he had already gained some understanding of modern society.
It seemed impossible to follow the trail back to their hiding place. She doubted Kakashi would let a Shadow Clone return to its origin.
While she and the System were conversing, the battle below was nearing its end, with Kakashi at a disadvantage.
"What is with this guy? Is that Wind Style? No, it's nothing like it. I can't figure it out."
Several minutes of high-intensity combat had left his breathing heavy. Most importantly, his Sharingan was draining too much of his energy.
He had tried various methods, from direct assaults to sneak attacks, but he couldn't touch his opponent's body at all. Every attack was blocked by an invisible barrier.
In other words, he had essentially been getting beaten up this whole time. If not for his ninja-level kinetic vision and the Sharingan, he wouldn't have lasted this long.
"Your hand-to-hand skills are pretty good. May I ask your name?"
"By the way, I'm Gojo Satoru, the strongest Special Grade Sorcerer. You're quite skilled to last this long against me."
In stark contrast, Gojo Satoru looked like he had just warmed up. Seeing that Kakashi no longer wished to fight, he took the initiative to stop.
"The strongest? A Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
Kakashi pulled down his headband, covering his Sharingan. His Chakra consumption was getting a bit high.
"What is a Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
He began to ask questions, following the other man's lead. He could tell his opponent had been holding back, and since there was no compelling reason for them to fight, a normal conversation was the best outcome.
"Eh? You don't even know what a Jujutsu Sorcerer is?"
Gojo Satoru was extremely surprised. He hadn't expected the man to have never even heard of Jujutsu Sorcerers. Was that unique Cursed Energy in his body some kind of Innate Technique?
"Simply put, they're beings who can use Cursed Energy. Based on our fight, you should be able to feel the Cursed Energy inside you."
"Cursed Energy is power born from negative emotions, which ordinary people can't perceive."
"Sometimes, that masterless Cursed Energy gathers and forms beings called Cursed Spirits."
"Because they can't perceive Cursed Energy, ordinary people can't see Cursed Spirits and are simply slaughtered when they encounter them."
"We Jujutsu Sorcerers are professionals who specialize in dealing with Cursed Spirits to protect the lives of ordinary people."
"So, what do you say? Interested in joining us at Jujutsu High?"
Gojo Satoru quickly explained the purpose of Jujutsu Sorcerers and extended a hand to Kakashi with a smile.
"Protect ordinary people?" Kakashi mused for a moment. Cursed Energy was power converted from negative emotions—no wonder the Chakra he sensed from the man felt so bizarre.
However, he could see that this self-proclaimed "strongest" fellow was, surprisingly, a bit of a softie.
He was a newcomer here. It wouldn't be a bad thing to establish a connection with this person. Of course...
"So, what about the compensation? Surely such dangerous work isn't done for free?"
And there it was. Kakashi had asked the million-dollar question: salary and benefits.
It was best to avoid using genjutsu to hypnotize ordinary people for money; his moral compass wasn't that broken.
Hearing this question, Gojo Satoru's outstretched hand paused, and then he pulled it back.
"Eh? Compensation, you say?"
He seemed surprised that someone would ask such a thing. More importantly, while the pay for Jujutsu Sorcerers wasn't bad, it wasn't exactly great either—at least, not enough to justify the constant risk of death.
"A low-grade curse is worth about 100,000 to 500,000 yen. A Grade 1 mission can pay upwards of ten million yen. With your skills, being ranked as a Grade 1 Sorcerer would be no problem."
"I can consider it, but give me a few days."
Kakashi didn't agree immediately. Instead, he casually tossed a kunai with a white strip of paper tied to it.
"Of course, no problem. If you don't want to join officially, you can work as an external contractor. You know, take missions and get paid."
Gojo Satoru could see the other man had his reservations and was likely hiding many secrets. But it didn't matter. After all, he was the strongest.
An external contractor... similar to a mercenary ninja?
Kakashi was tempted by this. Rashly joining someone else's organization seemed unwise, but taking missions was a different story.
"The external contractor plan sounds good. I can agree to that right now. Let's be in touch, then."
After speaking, Kakashi dispelled the clone, vanishing in a puff of smoke right before Gojo Satoru's surprised eyes.
"What the—a ninja?"
Disappearing in a puff of smoke and using a weapon like a kunai... was the guy a ninja enthusiast? Or was his Cursed Technique related to ninjas?
Gojo Satoru picked up the kunai stuck in the ground, muttering to himself.
On such a retro weapon, the attached white paper strip had Kakashi's phone number written on it.
Ninjas use cell phones now?
Gojo Satoru put the paper away. His Six Eyes hadn't detected any trace of the other man's departure.
It seemed he had underestimated him. Was it some kind of teleportation ability?
However, while he hadn't found Kakashi, he had unexpectedly discovered an abnormally powerful mass of Cursed Energy high in the sky.
It was Schwarzer, who had finished analyzing Cursed Energy and was now attempting to convert some of her own energy into it.
"What an eventful time this is."
His blindfold was pulled off completely, revealing a pair of jewel-like eyes staring intently at the sky. He felt an immense pressure...
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