Time Position - Stasis

Sovereign Wind Array might not be the strongest of the Eight Absolute Techniques, but it was certainly the hardest to understand.

The nine palaces determined fortune and misfortune. The eight directions defined position and change. To the eyes of the array, all things in the world had their places and meanings.

Truth and falsehood, real and unreal, did not matter the same way inside it.

Everything had a definition.

Inside the array, all definitions returned to the heart of the one who controlled it.

After his insight into time, Ren's control over Sovereign Wind Array had reached a new stage. Its progress had leapt directly to sixty percent.

Causal threads he had once failed to understand now lay clear enough to read.

Yemo's technique replicated every force in the world.

Ren's Sovereign Wind Array created a self-contained world inside its range.

That was why his strike could cross the layers of replicated air and land directly on Yemo's body.

Now the array had fully opened at Ren's will.

Time inside it lost ordinary meaning.

Even Yemo's consciousness began to stiffen.

Not a domain, yet stronger than one in this moment.

"A hidden rat who sends a body in his place," Ren said, looking at Yemo trapped in stopped time. "How boring."

He could feel it. This was not Yemo's true body. It was an awareness hidden behind a cursed-energy vessel. That was why Ren could halt its time so cleanly.

"Damn it."

Yemo's thoughts continued in some strange empty place even as his body remained frozen.

"A field that controls time."

If his true body did not come, he could not judge Ren Zenin.

He had thought this cursed-energy body would be enough to handle him. It was strong enough to send Toji flying with one punch, break through Gojo's Infinity, and erase Geto's curses.

But before Ren, while Sovereign Wind Array held time itself, an incomplete technique and an incomplete body became nearly useless.

"Next time we meet," Ren said near Yemo's ear, "I will exorcise you too."

His tone carried a strange childish insistence, like someone determined to obtain a toy.

He lifted his hand and closed it in the void.

The frozen space shook.

Cracks appeared.

Yemo's body began to collapse under them. The brilliant cursed energy dimmed. The vessel shriveled like a deflated wineskin, and the awareness inside it was erased.

Blue light swept across everything like a beautiful, deadly wave.

When it cleared, Yemo's cursed-energy body had shattered completely.

Ren dropped lightly to the ground.

"You got stronger again," Gojo said.

Battle intent rose in his heart because of Ren alone.

In just a few days, he could feel the difference. The Yemo vessel that had troubled him had been helpless in front of Ren.

The man who had once walked only half a step ahead now seemed to have moved one more full step forward.

That step felt like the distance between earth and sky.

"What is it, Gojo?" Ren asked, looking into those blue eyes. "Do you think you cannot keep up with me?"

His voice carried a deep loneliness.

"If even you admit defeat, this world becomes far too boring."

For one instant, Gojo seemed to see his old self.

One person standing alone at the top of an endless mountain, looking back and finding only empty air behind him.

Then Gojo laughed.

The small confusion in his eyes vanished.

"What nonsense," he said. "You'd better walk faster. Much faster."

His grin widened.

"Otherwise you will find my shadow standing in front of your road forever."

He had the right to say that.

He was Satoru Gojo.

He was the strongest.

Everything in the world was supposed to fall behind him. That was simply how things should be.

Beside them, Geto looked at Gojo shining with confidence and felt something twist inside him.

He wanted to declare his future that easily too.

But in front of Ren, who could suppress him completely, Gojo's figure only became more distant.

Satoru, I really tried.

I cannot catch up.

Ren did not notice his thoughts. He walked over to Toji and tapped his chest with one fist.

"You worked very hard for a raise."

Toji smiled faintly.

"Of course."

Even if he had fought to protect a friend, he would never say that kind of thing aloud. Words like brotherhood and affection did not suit the life Toji had lived.

"Boss."

Nanami stepped forward and bowed ninety degrees.

"I'm sorry. I was too weak. I was no help at all."

When everyone else had fought near full strength, Nanami had judged himself with absolute reason. No matter how he measured the battle, he did not have the strength to change it.

So he had stood before Ren with the resolve to die, guarding his boss while Ren was lost in insight.

Ren looked at the self-reproach on Nanami's face.

He said nothing.

For a man like Nanami, careless comfort would only insult the conviction behind that choice.

Ren patted his shoulder lightly and shook his head.

Then the warmth in his smile vanished.

Playful malice replaced it.

"You've watched long enough," Ren said.

His voice was soft, yet it entered every mind clearly.

High heels sounded in the darkness.

Gojo lost interest immediately. He snapped his fingers, and the Curtain covering Headquarters began to fade.

"Next time we meet," Gojo said, grabbing the injured Geto, "be careful not to get left behind by me."

Limitless lifted them into the air.

He left without waiting for Ren to answer.

As heir of the Gojo clan, Gojo did not enjoy politics, but he understood enough. What happened next carried the smell of conspiracy and negotiation. However close he and Ren were, knowing when to step aside was also respect.

A woman in uniform walked out of the darkness.

She wore red glasses and carried herself with deliberate charm.

"First meeting, Mr. Ren," she said. "I am the new acting chairman of Jujutsu Headquarters, following the previous Number One."

Her smile deepened.

"According to regulation, you may call me Number One."

She had inherited the title.

Ren looked at her and felt only disdain.

The Sovereign Wind Array had not fully withdrawn. All unimportant traces of a person's past became faintly visible to him inside it. Whatever glamour this woman tried to project, what Ren saw was something dirty.

"I have no interest in what kind of business Headquarters conducts," he said. "After the previous chairman died, I lost what little interest I had in your organization."

His eyes narrowed.

"But I will remind you once."

"Don't make trouble for me."

Red light appeared faintly in his pupils, like a blood moon hanging in the sky.

"Otherwise, I think Headquarters can become much quieter."

He did not look at her again.

The array withdrew, and his body vanished like a bubble.

Only those red eyes seemed burned into the new Number One's mind.

After a long moment, she woke from the daze with a cough.

She looked at the blond boy before her.

"Little brother, interested in joining Jujutsu Headquarters? With your talent, you could make a name for yourself very quickly."

Her technique could glimpse potential. Ordinary sorcerers looked like small flames. Stronger ones looked like lamps.

Nanami was a fire that could burn a field.

As for Ren and Gojo, she did not even dare look directly. Just sensing their presence felt like facing the sun.

Nanami's expression remained serious.

"I appreciate the offer," he said. "But my name is Kento Nanami. I am an intern at Ren's agency."

He opened a notebook.

"Next, I would like to discuss the compensation your Headquarters owes our agency."

His voice allowed no refusal.

Some things the boss could ignore.

As an employee, Nanami could not.

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