Chapter 99: Shinjuku Battlefield - Unyielding Edge
In the distance, Principal Yaga watched this scene, veins bulging on his forehead with anger, and roared into the communicator:
"Gojo! Are you even listening to me! How many times have I told you not to destroy public facilities! Do you want to bankrupt Jujutsu High!"
The dust and smoke gradually cleared, and Rin's figure slowly emerged.
His right hand was still held in a defensive posture, his sleeve scorched black, and his skin split with wounds so deep the bone was visible. Remnants of black-red Cursed Energy flickered at his fingertips, and every movement sent waves of tearing pain through him.
Behind him, Miguel was unharmed, while the Gargoyle lay on the ground, its breath weak, blood flowing ceaselessly from its broken wings; it was clearly severely injured.
"Rin! Are you alright?"
Miguel hurried over, his voice full of worry.
Rin did not answer, his expression grim and terrifying.
His blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the empty street in the distance, his heart churning with tumultuous waves.
Just now, he had deliberately not dodged, nor had he let Miguel intervene, all to test the strength of Gojo Satoru, but the result left him chilled to the bone.
He hadn't even managed to gauge the full extent of Gojo Satoru's power, yet the opponent's attack had already cost him the severe injury of the Gargoyle and an injury to his own arm.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared before him, as fast as a phantom.
Gojo Satoru floated in the air, looking down at Rin, his Six Eyes filled with disdain:
"Regardless of whether you are Special Grade now, in my eyes, you are nothing more than a brat who hasn't grown up yet."
Facing Gojo Satoru, who floated in the air surrounded by pale blue Cursed Energy, Rin's aura did not weaken due to the previous heavy blow; instead, like a bonfire ignited by a strong wind, it surged up even more fiercely.
He slightly raised his right hand, which hung at his side, and the wounds on his palm—deep enough to see the bone—were healing at an astonishing speed.
Pale red Reverse Cursed Technique energy, like fine threads of light, coiled around the edges of the wounds, pulling and stitching the upturned flesh back together bit by bit.
Beneath the scorched sleeve, new skin emerged from the scabs in a pale pink hue, and even the scorching remnants of Cursed Energy left by "Reversed Cursed Technique: Red" rapidly faded away under the wrapping of the light threads.
In less than three seconds, the hand that had been a bloody mess was restored to its original state, leaving only the hole in the sleeve fluttering in the wind, silently recounting the clash that had just occurred.
Even more shocking was the Special Grade Cursed Spirit behind him, the Gargoyle.
At the roots of its originally broken wings, black Cursed Energy surged like boiling ink, and new wing bones, dripping with blood, emerged from the flesh, quickly covering themselves in a layer of hard, gray-black stone shell.
In just a moment, a pair of wings, wider and with sharper blade-like textures than before, fully unfurled, the tips gleaming with a cold light that made the very air vibrate.
The Gargoyle let out a low hiss, its massive body slowly straightening, its scarlet eyes locked firmly onto Gojo Satoru in the air, while its Cursed Energy intertwined with Rin's black-red Cursed Energy, forming an aura that could not be underestimated.
"Since I dared to stand before you, it means I have made all the necessary preparations."
Rin looked up at Gojo Satoru in the air, his voice steady yet carrying a sharp edge. There was not a hint of fear in his blood-red eyes; instead, they revealed a sense of eager anticipation:
"Do you think that single strike was enough to take me down?"
Gojo Satoru floated in mid-air, his azure Six Eyes not dodging in the slightest, meeting Rin's blood-red Sharingan head-on.
He was, of course, well aware of the threat posed by those eyes.
The ability to predict movements, copy Cursed Techniques, and the genjutsu capabilities that even high-level Jujutsu Sorcerers feared.
Yet the pale blue Cursed Energy around him flowed steadily, and there was even a faint, elusive smile at the corners of his mouth, as if he didn't take this threat seriously at all.
This was Gojo Satoru, the absolute self-confidence born from being "the strongest."
Even if an opponent made perfect preparations, in his eyes, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
"You are indeed impressive, having even learned a life-saving method like the Reverse Cursed Technique; in this regard, you are much stronger than I was at the start."
Gojo Satoru's voice was nonchalant, yet it carried an oppressive force that pierced through the heart:
"However, this is still not enough."
"Whether it's enough, we'll only know after we fight."
Rin stood straight:
"Come on, Gojo Satoru, let me feel it once more—just how strong the so-called 'the strongest' really is."
The moment his words fell, Miguel quickly moved to Rin's left side, the remaining black rope cursed tool winding into a knot in his palm, black Cursed Energy spreading along the texture of the knot, every strand pulled taut.
To Rin's right, the Gargoyle spread its newly formed wings, its massive body leaning slightly forward, sharp claws embedded deep into the ground, ready to charge at any moment.
Two men and one spirit formed a solid triangular line of defense, standing in a standoff from afar with Gojo Satoru in the air.
On the streets of Shinjuku, pale blue and black-red Cursed Energy intertwined and collided in the air, creating shockwaves that sent gravel from the ground flying into the sky, while the glass of distant buildings emitted a "humming" vibration, as if they would shatter in the next second.
Gojo Satoru looked at the three waiting below, and a hint of seriousness finally flashed in his azure Six Eyes.
He slowly raised his right hand, and pale blue Cursed Energy condensed rapidly in his palm; a power even denser and more scorching than the previous "Reversed Cursed Technique: Red" was brewing, causing even the surrounding air to warp.
This duel between Special Grades had only just begun to truly unfold.