Just ten seconds later.
Space distorted slightly, and Satoru reappeared in the same spot. Except this time, there was someone under his arm.
Yuji, wearing his Jujutsu High uniform and holding a half-eaten bag of potato chips, looked at the unfamiliar surroundings with a look of utter confusion.
"Eh? Gojo-sensei? Wasn't I just watching a movie in my dorm?" Yuji swallowed the chips in his mouth, baffled.
"It's time for some extracurricular tutoring, Yuji."
Satoru set him down and pointed at Jogo, who was crawling out of the woods ahead.
"Look, that's a Special Grade Cursed Spirit that looks a lot like Mount Fuji. Today, I will show you what the pinnacle of a Jujutsu battle looks like."
Jogo looked at Yuji, who had been brought along, and recognized him as Sukuna's vessel.
But what felt even more humiliating was Satoru's attitude, which completely disregarded him.
Running back mid-fight to pick up a student for observation? Was he being treated as a teaching tool?
"Gojo! How dare you look down on me!"
Jogo's reason was completely incinerated by rage. He slammed his hands together, and the Cursed Energy within him poured out without reservation.
The surrounding trees instantly self-combusted, the ground cracked open, and boiling magma gushed out from below.
"Domain Expansion: Coffin of the Iron Mountain!"
Following Jogo's roar, the surrounding space seemed to be splashed with a layer of thick black ink, rapidly expanding and enveloping Satoru and Yuji.
The scene before them changed instantly. The winding mountain road and woods vanished, replaced by a lava hell enclosed inside an extinct volcano. Magma rivers flowed all around, and the temperature in the air was high enough to make a normal person's hair curl and ignite instantly.
"So hot! I can't breathe!" Yuji clutched his throat, feeling as if his lungs were being roasted dry.
Satoru gently placed a hand on Yuji's shoulder, and Infinity expanded, sealing out the high heat.
"Don't be afraid, Yuji. This is Domain Expansion—constructing a barrier around yourself using Cursed Energy and imbued with an innate technique." Satoru patiently began his lesson.
"Entering an opponent's domain puts you at an absolute disadvantage. Not only will your abilities be restricted, but any technique the opponent activates within the domain is guaranteed to hit."
"Hahahaha! Glad you know!"
Jogo stood on a massive lava rock, looking down at the two with eyes full of cruel delight.
"In my domain, you are lambs to the slaughter! Just turn into ash!"
He raised his hand, and a lava meteorite several meters in diameter condensed in mid-air, hurtling toward Satoru with devastating pressure.
Facing this certain-kill strike, Satoru still wore a smile. "Yuji, watch closely. The best way to counter a domain is to expand your own. When two domains collide, the more refined one will seize control of the space."
Satoru raised his right hand, crossing his index and middle fingers. His left hand gripped the edge of his black blindfold and slowly pulled it upward. Those blue eyes, as brilliant as a galaxy, were completely exposed in the scorching lava hell.
"Domain Expansion."
A clear voice rippled through the hot air.
"Unlimited Void."
Buzz!
A vast set of rules beyond words erupted from Satoru's fingertips.
The lava, the fire, and the falling meteorite were instantly replaced by pure nothingness.
The wild laughter on Jogo's face froze. In his field of vision, a boundless white space appeared with countless black star-like points flickering around. His brain began to stall.
Sight, hearing, touch, smell—all senses were forcibly flooded with infinite information at this moment.
Life, aging, sickness, death, the origin of the universe, the vibration of sand, the trajectory of the wind... countless bits of meaningless junk information washed over his soul like a bursting dam.
He wanted to move, to defend, to think.
But he "could do nothing."
Because he was given too much, he could process nothing.
This is the most terrifying part of Unlimited Void—using an absolute amount of information to forcibly erase the opponent's ability to act.
Satoru strolled leisurely up to the completely stiff Jogo. "This is the gap between us."
He reached out and, with extreme decisiveness, grabbed Jogo's volcano-shaped head, his fingers exerting force.
Snap!
Accompanied by a massive tearing sound, Jogo's head was brutally ripped from his neck.
The headless body slumped powerlessly in the void, and the domain's collapse reached its critical point at that moment.
Unlimited Void was deactivated, and the surrounding scenery returned to the destroyed road.
Satoru, holding Jogo's severed head, turned to look at the stunned Yuji.
"Well, Yuji? Did you learn anything?"
Yuji gulped and nodded frantically, then whispered, "Gojo-sensei, the way you ripped off his head... is so similar to how Yamada-san crushed that Cursed Spirit."
The smile on Satoru's lips stiffened.
He casually tossed Jogo's head onto the ground and stepped on it, grumbling to himself, 'How can I be outdone by that guy even while teaching?'
— — —
Some time had passed since Satoru was attacked by Jogo, and Jogo was subsequently rescued by Hanami.
July 2018, summer in Tokyo.
On the training grounds of Jujutsu High, the sunlight was sliced into mottled patches of light and shadow by the dense tree canopy.
Today was the day the Kyoto Sister School Goodwill Event officially began.
Because of Yamada's intervention, Yuji had not experienced the tragedy at the Eishu Juvenile Detention Center where Sukuna ripped out his heart and he had to be brought back to life, as seen in the original story.
He had survived perfectly intact, and over the past month, under the "double torture" of Satoru and Yamada, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
At this moment, the first and second-year students from the Tokyo school were gathering in front of the steps of the training ground, waiting for the arrival of the Kyoto school delegation.
"Seriously, those Kyoto guys show up at the very last second. They really put on airs." Nobara complained irritably, fiddling with her hammer.
Megumi had his hands in his pockets, his expression indifferent. "Their lead teacher is Iori Utahime. Logically, they shouldn't be late. Unless they ran into some trouble on the way."
"Don't be so tense, everyone. Today is a rare Goodwill Event, we should have a happy fight."
Yuji was wearing a modified hooded school uniform, hands behind his head, with a bright smile on his face.
"Salmon." Toge pulled at his collar, expressing his agreement.
Panda rubbed his furry chin. "Itadori, after being trained in rotation by Gojo-sensei and that terrifying middle-aged man for the last few months, not only didn't die, but is getting more and more energetic. He's a real monster."
Maki shouldered her naginata and gave a cold snort. "With that monster named Yamada watching from behind, he probably couldn't slack off even if he wanted to. Speaking of which, is that guy coming today?"
At the mention of the name "Yamada," the expressions of the Jujutsu High students present couldn't help but change slightly.
Even Maki, who had the most rebellious personality, still felt a faint ache when she recalled the time a few months ago when Yamada had come to Jujutsu High on a whim to "guide" them in taijutsu.
That was a pure crushing defeat, grinding all of your pride into the dirt.