[37]: Unlimited Void

White silk descended from the sky, gently covering the shattered houses and ruins, softening the devastation into a peaceful scene. Not long after, Shin also received his official Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer certification, along with a sizable reward for his contributions in the Battle of the Hundred Demons Night Parade.

However, to someone like Shin, who already had food, shelter, and no expensive hobbies, the money was just a number. After treating Panda and the others to a lavish meal, he decided to use the remaining money to find a cursed tool or shikigami capable of storing his weapons, as carrying three swords around was becoming cumbersome. Even fitting them in a guitar case made it almost as tall as a person, but finding something suitable wasn't easy, and there were no immediate leads.

Meanwhile, after Yuta Okkotsu successfully dispelled Rika's curse, his ranking dropped from special-grade to Grade 4. Now, it was up to him to climb back up the ranks, but no one doubted that it was only a matter of time. Everyone had high hopes for him.

During this period, Shin asked Gojo what the criteria for being designated as a special-grade sorcerer were. Gojo's response was that there wasn't a unified standard, but all special-grades shared one thing in common—they were extraordinarily powerful.

"Does that mean I can be ranked as a special-grade now?" Shin asked.

Gojo replied casually, "Actually, the higher-ups have been considering it. But since they haven't directly experienced your strength, and the full extent of the cursed spirit Shuten-doji's power is unknown, it's still just a proposal. More importantly…"

Shin finished the sentence for him, "It's also because I've been classified under your faction, right, Sensei?"

"Bingo! If they made you a special-grade sorcerer, they'd feel like my faction would have three special-grades, counting Yuta from before. But... if you were to publicly reveal your technique, you could probably solidify your position as a special-grade."

"By the way, we haven't had a chance to talk about this—did you master the use of Reverse Cursed Technique during your battle with Shuten-doji?" Gojo asked.

Shin grinned proudly. "Exactly, Sensei! In a moment of desperation, I suddenly understood the essence of Reverse Cursed Technique. After that, I was able to use it without any burden, which allowed me to ignore the damage from Shuten-doji's domain. Now I'm so strong that I can't even gauge my own limits anymore, haha!"

Gojo looked intrigued. "Full of energy, huh? Then how about sparring with me, your teacher?"

Shin readily agreed, even bringing along his three cursed swords as Gojo raised an eyebrow. Shin chuckled, "No worries, Sensei. Besides, if I hurt you, you can just heal yourself with Reverse Cursed Technique."

Gojo stood up, walking outside with a laugh. "Well then, Shin, you'd better give it your all. If not, maybe I'll go easy on you."

The two exchanged playful banter as they made their way to the largest training ground at Jujutsu High. Maki, Panda, and the others were out on a mission, so the only spectators were Principal Yaga and the white wolf. Yaga was there mainly to maintain the barrier technique around the training ground, preventing it from being reduced to rubble too quickly.

Originally, they had only informed Yaga so that he wouldn't mistake the coming fluctuations as something more serious. But upon hearing that Gojo was going to spar with Shin, Yaga grew interested and decided to watch.

Shin removed his outer jacket, revealing a simple black-and-white undershirt. His slightly long hair was tied back, and he held Dojigiri and Onikiri in his left and right hands, with Kumokiri sheathed at his waist.

Gojo, standing opposite him, took off his blindfold, revealing his dazzling eyes as he casually stretched.

"Sensei, let's—"

Before Shin could finish his sentence, a massive cloud of dust exploded behind Gojo, and a deep fissure tore across the ground from where he had been standing. Gojo, still in a forward-leaning posture, looked to his left, his eyes lighting up. "Oh, Shin, you didn't even use your technique just now?"

Shin had moved incredibly fast, so fast that even Yaga, watching from the sidelines, hadn't fully reacted. But with his Six Eyes, Gojo had locked onto Shin's strike and deflected it just in time.

"This sword, Dojigiri, is quite effective against cursed energy defenses."

Although the strike hadn't broken through Gojo's Infinity technique, it still stirred up some memories. If it had been any other sorcerer or cursed spirit, their defenses would have been shattered, deciding the outcome then and there.

And that was without Shin even using his technique.

"Shin, your Reverse Cursed Technique can heal even fatal injuries, right?"

Shin immediately understood what Gojo meant. His grip on the sword tightened, and his eyes ignited with fierce determination.

"That's right, Sensei. Bring it on. I'll give it everything I've got."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Gojo's figure vanished from his original position, and Shin felt a gust of wind brush against his back, even hearing the faint sound of fabric tearing.

'So fast! It's teleportation using his technique.'

But Shin reacted just in time. With his heightened sense of time perception, the world around him seemed to slow down. When he activated his technique, the slow-motion world came to a complete halt.

As he moved out of the way, Shin turned to see Gojo's hand aimed at where his left side had just been, poised to deliver a devastating blow.

'If that had connected, I'd have lost a kidney,' Shin thought to himself, grinning. He raised both swords in a defensive stance, his breath steady and deep. The next moment, a storm of sword strikes filled the air, each one swift and precise, as if the moonlight had broken through the clouds or the wind had rippled across water.

The space around Gojo became filled with the crisscrossing flashes of Shin's blades, cutting through the air in a relentless barrage of slashes. Shin poured his cursed energy into each strike, pushing his limits as the blade marks seemed to fill the entire space.

When Shin finally reached the peak of his acceleration, he deactivated his technique. In the blink of an eye, the flurry of strikes came to life, tearing the surrounding area to shreds.

At the same time, a tremendous force repelled Shin backward. The countless sword strikes, which had filled the space like shards of glass, shattered as if struck by an invisible hammer. The ground beneath Shin compressed as though a massive weight had been dropped, but not a single speck of dust rose.

Just as Shin activated his technique to enter his accelerated state, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw a fist-sized hole in his side. Unable to continue accelerating, Shin was forced to deactivate his technique and heal the wound.

The damage disappeared in an instant, even his torn clothing restoring itself, as if by magic.

But in that same instant, Gojo's next attack arrived. There was no warning or visible movement—Gojo simply pulled himself toward Shin with his technique, crashing through anything in his path. The speed was something that no amount of physical enhancement could match. Even with his technique, Shin could only deactivate his time-stop for a brief moment, allowing Gojo to close the distance and land a devastating punch.

The force of the punch, enhanced by Gojo's immense cursed energy, nearly shattered Shin's right shoulder and chest. The bones and blood seemed to burst apart, but it was as if the damage had been nothing more than an illusion. Shin reappeared behind Gojo, managing to activate his technique once again, only to be met with another overwhelming force.

Realizing that his three cursed blades couldn't harm Gojo, Shin dropped the swords into the ground and unleashed a powerful cursed energy strike toward Gojo. When that too proved futile, Shin gathered cursed energy at his fingertips, forming a translucent sphere connected to Gojo by a thread of cursed energy.

The battle turned into a turn-based game, where Shin would attempt new strategies, only for Gojo to counter effortlessly during each pause in the technique.

Shin experienced almost all of Gojo's techniques, including Blue and Red, but nothing could break through Gojo's defenses. Likewise, every time Gojo landed a blow, Shin simply healed himself, leaving him unharmed.

"How can I break your technique?" Shin asked.

Gojo grinned. "First, you'll need to master Domain Expansion."

Hearing this, Shin sighed in frustration. "I've been trying to grasp Domain Expansion ever since my battle with Shuten-doji, but I haven't made much progress. I even tried studying barrier techniques, but it didn't help."

Gojo replied, "Don't rush it. Sometimes, it just takes a moment of enlightenment. Here, let me give you a little taste of my domain."

"Huh?"

Before Shin could react, he heard Yaga shout from the sidelines, "Gojo, don't do anything reckless!"

Gojo waved him off casually. "Don't worry, I'll only maintain it for a very short time."

Then, Gojo raised his hand, intertwining his index and middle fingers. A burst of light radiated from Gojo's position, expanding outward for just a brief moment before retracting.

"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."

Shin barely had time to think. He'd been considering activating his own technique to try and escape, but he hesitated. After all, Gojo had promised to control the domain's power, and Shin figured it might be worth experiencing firsthand.

And so, without warning, Shin found himself trapped in Gojo's domain. Even though it lasted less than a second, the sensation was overwhelming. An infinite stream of information flooded his mind, entering without his consent, and his senses absorbed everything around him at once. He was aware of every detail in his surroundings but couldn't move a muscle. His body and mind felt disconnected, as though split into two separate entities.

The sheer volume of input was stifling, drowning Shin in a flood of endless, meaningless data. It reminded him of how time seemed to stretch endlessly when he activated his own technique—except here, in Gojo's domain, there was no escape. Shin's body and mind screamed for release, yet there was nothing he could do to stop the torrent.

The strangest part was how his sense of time became distorted. Although he felt like he had been stuck in the domain for an eternity, only a few seconds had passed. When the sensation finally ceased, and the world returned to normal, Shin gasped for breath, suddenly aware of every fiber of his being. His body was drenched in sweat as if he had been submerged in cold water.

He blinked and saw Gojo standing before him, smiling playfully. Next to him, Yaga looked both relieved and irritated.

"How was it?" Gojo asked, the grin never leaving his face. "I didn't keep you in there for more than a second, I promise."

Shin took a deep breath, still trying to shake off the overwhelming feeling of disorientation. He glanced over at Yaga, who was clearly upset with Gojo's reckless demonstration, but said nothing.

"That… was intense," Shin admitted, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "It's like nothing I've ever felt before. It's more than just information overload; it's like my brain was split into pieces, and I couldn't process it all."

"Exactly," Gojo said, looking satisfied with Shin's description. "That's the power of Unlimited Void. When I trap my opponent in it, their senses receive infinite input, paralyzing their body and mind. It's the ultimate form of sensory overload. Even if they can resist the physical effects, their brain can't handle all the information."

Yaga finally spoke up, his voice stern. "Gojo, you can't just use your domain on students like that, even if you controlled it."

Gojo laughed, dodging Yaga's punch playfully. "Relax, Yaga. It was for educational purposes! I wanted Shin to experience the difference between domains firsthand."

Shin, still reeling from the experience, remained quiet, reflecting on the vast difference between the domain of Shuten-doji and Gojo's Limitless Void. Shuten-doji's domain had been powerful and dangerous, but it targeted the body directly with attacks. Gojo's, on the other hand, went after the mind, attacking on a level that couldn't simply be dodged or healed.

He understood now why Gojo had said that only a domain could fight against another domain. Without his own domain to counter Gojo's, Shin had been utterly helpless inside Limitless Void. He would need to focus more on understanding domain expansion if he wanted to reach that level.

"You're right, Sensei," Shin finally said. "I need to master my own domain."

"Don't rush it, Shin," Gojo replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Domain expansion comes naturally when you're ready. Just keep working on it, and one day, you'll get there."

Then, with a playful grin, Gojo added, "In the meantime, how about you take a mission to clear your head? I've got something for you to do."

Shin raised an eyebrow, immediately suspicious. "What is it this time? You always sound so vague when it's something annoying."

Gojo waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing like that! It's about Megumi. The next batch of students hasn't been finalized yet, but I've decided to officially enroll him. Since it's been a while, how about you go back and visit him? You haven't seen him in person for a while, right?"

Shin scoffed. "I keep in touch with Megumi and Tsumiki all the time. I've even sent them some stuff recently. But fine, I'll go check on them."

He then smirked mischievously, thinking about seeing Megumi in person. 'I'll finally get to mess with him in person. Let's see how long he can keep up that poker face.'

°°°

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel