Mai lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.
After a long silence, she spoke in a muffled voice, “What do you know…”
“Believe whatever you want.” Arata leaned back against the tree, looking up at the patches of light filtering through the leaves.
“Mai, it’s about time you grew up.”
The forest fell silent for a few seconds.
Maki looked down at her sister on the ground.
Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.
She sheathed her blade, walked over to Arata, and leaned against the trunk right next to him.
“Why do you look so drained?” Maki’s eyes scanned him, her brow furrowing.
“Did you run into Todo?”
“Yeah.” Arata nodded, lifting his shirt to reveal a midriff covered in dark bruises.
“That guy hits like a truck.
If I hadn’t reinforced myself beforehand, I probably wouldn’t be standing.”
Maki stared at the bruises for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and pressed down on his abdomen.
Arata sucked in a sharp breath.
“Siss!
What was that for?!”
“Checking if your ribs are broken.” Maki withdrew her hand, her tone flat, though her fingertips still tingled from the burning heat of his skin.
She let her hand drop to her side as if nothing had happened.
“Besides, don’t you have Reverse Cursed Technique?
Why not heal it?”
“I need to save every drop of cursed energy I can.
I don’t have near-infinite reserves like Yuta.
Besides, my ribs aren’t even there, why were you poking that low?” Arata rubbed his stomach, then noticed Maki handing him a small bottle.
“What’s this?” Arata took it and checked the label.
“Bruise ointment.
Found it in Panda’s bag; supposed to be pretty effective,” Maki said coolly.
“Use your Reverse technique for the internal stuff yourself.”
“Where’s the gauze?
I need to wrap this after applying the meds.” Arata naturally extended his hand toward Maki.
“You brought some, right?”
“No, I forgot.” Maki looked at him expressionlessly.
“I was planning to wait until after the event to try this, but…”
Blue ripples of cursed energy began to flow from his palm.
Gradually, the light solidified, materializing into a clean piece of gauze and a roll of medical tape.
“That’s…
my Construction technique.” Mai’s eyes widened, even forgetting to wipe her tears.
“Your team must have researched my abilities before the match.
I finished the copy the moment I touched your shoulder earlier,” Arata explained while bandaging himself.
Hearing this, Mai instinctively touched her shoulder, where a lingering warmth seemed to remain.
She opened her mouth to speak but ended up just turning away with a muffled, “Pervert.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you didn’t notice.
Why the name-calling?” Arata blinked innocently.
Maki didn’t say a word.
She just watched him wrap the wound.
The bandage job wasn’t pretty, but it was sturdy.
She reached out and pressed the edge of the tape; Arata hissed in pain but didn’t pull away.
“Acceptable.” Maki withdrew her hand, ignoring Arata’s resentful glare, though the curve of her lips softened slightly.
Meanwhile, in the observation room.
Gojo, Yaga, Mei Mei, and Utahime were watching the live feed transmitted by crows via Mei Mei’s Black Bird Manipulation.
“As expected of my student.
Already mastering a new technique.” Gojo sat with his legs crossed, looking as proud as if he had actually taught Arata something.
“To use Construction, one must have a deep understanding of the structure, components, and properties of the target object.
That boy doesn’t look like a scholar, yet he completed it in an instant.” Utahime held her teacup, her eyes scanning the three students on screen who had started chatting.
“Gojo, is his technique really just ‘Copying’?”
“It’s Copying, yes, but it’s not as simple as it looks.” Gojo lifted a corner of his blindfold, revealing a single cerulean eye.
“Whether it’s the backlash from Cursed Speech or the strain from Flowing Red Scale, the damage to Arata-kun’s body is entirely caused by his own subjective consciousness.”
“What do you mean?
Is there a connection?” Utahime looked at him, puzzled.
Gojo ignored her question and continued: “When he went on a mission with Toge, he witnessed the side effects of Cursed Speech.
Without realizing it, he established a Binding Vow in his mind.
This Vow dictates that any technique Arata copies must retain its original drawbacks.”
“That’s just your theory,” Utahime said skeptically.
“My cursed energy reserves are slightly lower than Yuta’s, but Arata-kun’s reserves far exceed Yuta’s.
But because of this ‘shackle,’ even a simple command like ‘Don’t move’ causes him significant internal damage.” Gojo pulled the blindfold back down.
“That doesn’t sound like something the ‘Strongest’ would say~” Mei Mei toyed with her hair, her tone playful.
“He replicates any technique perfectly, and his proficiency on the first try is deeper than many veterans.
If what you say is true, Gojo, could he use Limitless?”
“Actually, Arata-kun’s grasp of Reverse Cursed Technique isn’t that deep; you could even say he’s quite bad at it.
But regarding Limitless…
that’s what I was getting to.
He doesn’t just copy techniques; he copies special constitutions.” Gojo’s tone turned unusually serious.
“The first time he touched Maki, Arata-kun vanished from the perception of my Six Eyes for a split second.
I am certain his body is now linked to the Heavenly Restriction.
If Arata breaks those shackles…”
The room fell into a brief silence.
“What happens if he breaks them?” Yaga was the first to speak.
Gojo smiled, his voice carrying an unreadable quality.
“Imagine the peak physical body of a Heavenly Restriction combined with the pinnacle of jujutsu concepts: the Limitless.
If Arata breaks that subconscious shackle, he might become the first Heavenly Tyrant capable of using the Limitless.”
Utahime’s hand froze mid-air, a look of gravity crossing her face.
“Such power is too dangerous, both for him and the jujutsu world.
If he isn’t monitored, the higher-ups will surely cause trouble.”
“Cause trouble?” Gojo tilted his head.
“The old fossils can plot all they want, but as long as I’m alive, they won’t dare make a move.”
“You’re too carefree,” Utahime sighed.
“If he truly breaks those shackles, the entire balance of the jujutsu world will be shattered.”
“Balance?” Gojo chuckled.
“That balance was already shattered the day I was born.”
Utahime opened her mouth but found nothing to say.
On the screen, Arata raised his hand again to use Construction.
This time, he created two lollipops.
Facing Maki’s judging gaze, he smiled and handed one to her.
Gojo watched the scene, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Besides, the kid has a rather adorable weakness.”
“What?” Utahime asked instinctively.
“Maki Zenin.” Check out other works!