Jujutsu Kaisen: Limitless

After bidding farewell to Suguru Geto and Mishima Shiko, Minamoto Sōjun returned to his dormitory. His clones, scattered at various locations, stopped their tasks and converged, merging into his main body.

His strength was steadily increasing. While his physical and spiritual limits remained untested, he had already broken through the limits of his cursed energy. Each day, the curses his clones brought back significantly contributed to the completeness and depth of his spiritual markings.

These markings symbolized the growth of his cursed energy. His next major goal was to engrave these black lines onto his eyeballs, aligning them with his mental domain to create an inseparable inside-out balance.

But before that, the quality of the other eyeballs needed to reach a weight standard—nine levels of mass manipulation equivalent to the strength of 13.5 nations.

As expected, the eyeballs modified by Yuki Tsukumo's technique underwent significant internal changes. Their cellular structures became more compact and unique, with distinct patterns of repulsion and attraction between billions of cells, creating a dense and profound composition.

Minamoto Sōjun's task was to reconstruct his other eyeballs to the same standard and absorb a large number of curses to sustain this reconstructed stellar cluster.

While mass didn't equate directly to strength, the energy and significance of the Starry Eyes continued to increase, enabling him to achieve extraordinary feats, such as enhanced dynamic vision and even glimpses into the future.

Unfortunately, he currently had only one Starry Eye, and the path forward remained long and challenging.

Minamoto Sōjun snapped back to the present. A more pressing matter demanded his attention: his promotion to Special Grade.

The Process of Becoming Special Grade

How does one attain Special Grade status? Surely, it doesn't involve destroying an entire nation for proof. The promotion process had two steps. First, he needed to exorcise a Special Grade cursed spirit to demonstrate his strength. Upon success, the second step involved a review by a panel of non-Special Grade sorcerers, who would then assign an additional task via a lottery system. This process reflected the limitations of the current system.

As a part of this system, Minamoto Sōjun naturally had to follow these rules.

He wasn't particularly concerned about the title of Special Grade. His strength needed no external validation. However, the title would grant him a firm foothold within the Jujutsu world and the school, securing his position and influence.

Merely controlling the school's barriers wasn't enough. He wanted the higher-ups to abandon any notion of undermining him through covert methods.

It would save him a lot of trouble.

The Preparation

The next day, Minamoto Sōjun woke early, refined his cursed energy, and adjusted his mindset. This routine had become second nature to him. Since breaking through the limits of his cursed energy, training had once again brought him joy. The satisfaction of overcoming intense negative emotions and then relaxing afterward was uniquely rewarding—almost addictive.

It was like how gym enthusiasts felt on leg day: the indescribable mix of pain and relief after a max-effort squat. Not that he was a masochist—he wasn't.

After submitting his promotion application, which met all the requirements for strength and contributions, the higher-ups had no choice but to approve it despite their reluctance.

The additional Special Grade task was promptly assigned, with the test set for three days later. His examiner? Yuki Tsukumo.

As the only publicly acknowledged Special Grade sorcerer and the top figure in the Jujutsu world, her role in this evaluation was an overt attempt by the higher-ups to suppress him.

Minamoto Sōjun didn't mind.

If he succeeded in this promotion, no one could limit him through authority. He would become the sole Special Grade at the pinnacle of the system—stronger than those above him and ranking higher than those stronger. In other words, the highest and strongest.

The higher-ups understood this well but had already fallen into Minamoto Sōjun's rhythm, unable to implement effective countermeasures.

From his first kill, to taking control of the school's vital barriers, and now his promotion application, his plans had steadily and relentlessly advanced, leaving them perpetually on the defensive.

The Meeting with Yuki Tsukumo

Two days later, Yuki Tsukumo returned to Tokyo Jujutsu High. Despite being a sorcerer affiliated with the Kyoto branch, she had recently been visiting Tokyo frequently.

She went straight to Minamoto Sōjun's residence.

"'But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons." Knowing their thoughts, Jesus told them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?"'"

"..."

When Yuki Tsukumo pushed open the door, she saw Minamoto Sōjun sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor, a flyhead hovering in front of him, reciting… the Gospel of Matthew?

The flyhead, having devoured numerous peers recently, seemed to have developed intelligence. It was now fluent in conversation and capable of understanding most literal meanings.

"Well, well, long time no see!" Yuki greeted as she barged in.

Minamoto Sōjun was mildly exasperated. Calling her polite seemed off, as she never knocked when entering someone's home. Calling her rude seemed equally off, as she always greeted people.

"Not long, just about a month," he replied with a faint smile, hinting at something. "Why didn't you say goodbye before leaving last time?"

Yuki scratched her head awkwardly. "Heh… things were urgent."

Her demeanor suddenly shifted. She stood tall, her eyes narrowing sharply as she locked her gaze onto Minamoto Sōjun.

"Your Special Grade promotion task is to fight me. Let me be clear—I won't hold back. You'd better give it your all. Special Grade isn't child's play," she declared, pointing a thumb at herself. "It's earned through strength. If you can't gain my approval, you'll just have to stay at the lower ranks for a few more years."

Internally, Yuki was already amazed. Hearing about his rapid growth had shocked her. How could someone become so overwhelmingly powerful without any bottlenecks? Hadn't he just been promoted to Grade 1 not long ago?

The higher-ups had given her a detailed report on him, including his techniques, battle achievements, and growth trajectory. The records were so dazzling they almost seemed unreal.

"Old-timers will eventually be replaced by newcomers—it's only a matter of time," Minamoto Sōjun said gently, yet his words carried a sharp edge.

This irritated Yuki. Did he just call her old?

"Fine, fine. If I don't stomp you tomorrow, I'll write my surname backward!" she shot back.

"Upside down or reversed left-to-right?" Minamoto Sōjun called out as she left.

From a distance, he saw her stumble slightly before quickening her pace.

"She's definitely not confident," Minamoto Sōjun thought, clenching his fist with a smile.

He would win.

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