A/N: Welcome to my latest story: Potential Man. Here we go with this one. Next three chapters are up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) already if you want to see them early.
— — MEGUMI FUSHIGURO
"I don't think we need all this," I said as I stood behind the barricade with the rest of the students as we waited for Angel to work her magic.
"I hope we don't," Shoko said by my side.
"We can proceed now," Okkotsu said from his own position, and then Angel began to chant and prepare her technique. The last day had been an experience. Things had moved quickly once Okkotsu had arrived. He had reported the presence of non-sorcerer armed forces in Sendai as well. The ones that had come to Tokyo had retreated once Nue destroyed one of their helicopters and Gama snapped another in half. The other two helicopters had made an about-turn, and that had been that.
I had sent orders to the Zenin clan members in the other colonies to kill enough of the soldiers to force a retreat and no more. We were going to deny them test subjects, and make it clear that Japan was off limits to all such nonsense.
Ideally, this would be the last of it, but something told me we would still have to deal with this even when Kenjaku and Sukuna were done with.
Angel finished her incantation and then a massive ray of light hit the back of the Prison Realm, and then nothing happened.
"Did the technique fail?" Maki wondered from my other side.
"Unlikely. The back door probably just forced the front door to open," I said.
"So that means…"
"Yes. Gojo-sensei is free, but just not here."
I stood from my position behind the barricade and began to leave.
"Where are you going?" Maki asked.
"He's not here, so why should I be? I have things to do," I said.
— —
"You've changed, Megumi," he said, standing at the doorway of the office I'd commandeered for my use. I looked up and met his blindfolded form. His cursed energy was oppressive even from here…even with how strong I had gotten. He was still stronger. And instead of that worrying me, I smiled.
"I had to," I said, standing up and walking towards him.
"Shoko's told me some of it. You know, those words I told you were to motivate you, not put any pressure on you. I didn't want any of you having to grow so soon," he said, hand behind his head as he scratched it somewhat nervously. I looked at him….really looked at him. Canon had never dwelt on it for very long, but this was the closest thing Megumi had to a father.
The emotions Megumi felt for this man rose within me and I just reached out and grabbed him in a hug. He was clearly taken off guard, but it said something that his infinity hadn't stopped me. He patted me on the back twice.
I let go once I had my fill.
"They said you've gotten stronger," he said.
"I have," I said.
"Show me. I need to stretch my legs," he said.
"You want to spar? Us?" I asked.
"They say you beat that brat Naoya with no trouble. Should mean you can handle sparring with me without dying now," he said, ruffling my hair. I looked up at him, not quite sure if he was being serious. There was one part of Megumi's memories that was clear. Satoru Gojo did not spar. His technique did not lend itself well to non-lethal combat and he didn't have much patience for those who couldn't keep up with him.
"Okay. Let's do it," I said. And then he grabbed a hold of my head and then we were in the sparring field.
I could see Itadori, Okkotsu and the others already waiting in the stands, watching what was happening.
"You already planned this?" I asked.
"Maaa. An audience is good. They'll tell us anything I miss," he said. With those eyes of his, it was unlikely that he would miss anything, but I accepted the point and took my stance, waiting for him to take his own. He just began stretching, making a show of doing so.
"You can come now, Megumi-chan. Do come at me with the intent to kill. Anything less and it won't be worth my time, I fear," he said. I braced myself against the ground and then pushed out. I attempted a kick at his head but it was stopped short by the infinity. The infinity, the neutral application of the Gojo clan's Limitless, was a perfect defence with only two known weaknesses. The sure-hit effect of a domain expansion, or the effect of domain amplification.
I was certain I'd lose a domain clash with Gojo so there was no point even trying now unless I could create a circumstance where I'd be able to open mine before he could get his off and force him out of the fight with the sure-hit of my technique. So that left domain amplification.
I twisted my foot away from his head and attempted a punch at his chest next. This one was shrouded in a domain with no technique imbued into it so when it came in contact with the infinity, it would take on the technique and allow my punch to pass through unhindered. He just twisted out of the way and aimed a knee at my head. I twisted out of the way, falling to the ground, catching myself with my hands and twisting to send a kick at his head. He dodged out of the way of this one and I barely managed to cross my hands in front of me in time for the blast that sent me flying into the distance. I slid across the ground for a bit before I managed to bring myself to a halt.
When I did, I pushed myself back up to my feet, expecting to find him pressing the attack, but he just remained where he had been standing, watching me with a tilted head. That blindfold of his was still on. He wasn't taking me seriously. But what else did I expect.
"Don't mind me if I tilt the odds in my favour a bit, Sensei," I said. And then I formed a sign with my hands. Tiger Funeral with the Divine Dog totality, Mahoraga, and Round Deer rose from my shadow.
The Divine General's presence stretched across the battlefield. Even now that he was on my side, he was no less imposing.
"Oh, you managed to tame him? That makes you the first in history," he said.
"I'm also the first in history to be Satoru Gojo's student, am I not?" I asked cheekily.
"Tsumiki is good for you. There's a sense of humour there now," he replied. Mahoraga pushed off the ground, taking the lead. Tiger Funeral followed with the ferocity of the Divine Dog giving her even more speed and strength to work with.
Round Deer remained behind, bathing the field in its positive energy to disrupt Gojo's control. He just shrugged and waited. Mahoraga's sword of extermination was stopped cold by the infinity and he punched the Divine General in his chest, sending it flying away while Tiger Funeral attempted a swipe with claws the length of knives. That also stopped against the infinity. He tried another punch with the opening but was forced to abandon it as I came in with a punch of my own. His hand unclenched and grabbed a hold of my punch. He twisted and hurled me into the air. Mahoraga closed the distance again, done healing from the punch.
Gojo hurled Tiger Funeral right at my flying form, obstructing my vision of the fight as he exchanged blows with the Divine General. I twisted, reinforcing my body with even more cursed energy, and grabbed Tiger Funeral as she flew at me, using her as a platform to push myself off against.
Gojo turned away from the place he had been able to step to as he exchanged blows with Mahoraga, and a second later, I landed there. Mahoraga attempted another slash that was stopped cold by the infinity and now the wheel above his head spun. I turned, attempting a kick at the back of his head. This time instead of dodging out of the way of the attack, he increased the output to his infinity. My kick was stopped and sparks came from where domain amplification and the increased output infinity came into contact. He turned and thrust his palm in my direction.
I abandoned my kick and pushed myself into the ground. I felt the invisible force as it travelled above me. I pushed off the ground as Mahoraga was sent flying away.
"Unsummon it or I'll destroy it," Gojo said, eyes still cloaked in that blindfold of his.
"What?"
"That's the Divine General. It's adapting to my technique. It will have a way through my infinity in two more exchanges. Unsummon it now or I'll destroy it," he said, smile still in place.
"Sure," I said, forming a sign and returning Mahoraga to my shadow.
"Now let's keep going. I haven't broken a sweat yet."
Tiger Funeral landed behind him and tried to approach. Piercing Ox and Divine Dog rose from my shadows. The former charging straight ahead while the latter remained by my side, waiting for an opportunity. Nue rose next with the Orochi totality, causing him to grow to the point where he was the size of a building.
"Your reserves have grown something fierce," Gojo commented as he pointed a hand out at me.
My shadow rose, solidifying itself to form a wall that blocked the Blue with an explosion of force.
"Interesting. That's not in anything I've read about the Ten Shadows," he said as his infinity brought a stop to Tiger Funeral's attack and Piercing Ox's charge. I twisted, reaching into my shadow and grabbing Transcendence. Nue sparked with energy and blasted me with lightning. It flowed into the cursed tool as I drew the bow and fired. It was stopped by the infinity as well.
"Piling on more and more attacks won't help against the infinity. You should know that by now," he said. I shrugged, closing the distance and dropping Transcendence back into my shadow. I twisted around him to catch him out from a blind spot. Of course the wielder of the Six Eyes had no such thing. Domain amplification applied to my fist, I punched out. He dodged out of the way, not increasing the output of his infinity this time and making my plan moot. He vanished in a flicker of space next and all my own attacks shot at me.
I kept my momentum from the punch, falling into my shadow. The blast of lightning that came from Transcendence missed me by the barest of margins. Tiger Funeral jumped over Piercing Ox and he kept charging onwards. I rose from my shadow again, staring at him.
"You aren't even going to take off the blindfold?" I asked.
"Can you make me?" he asked in return, making a come-hither gesture. Tiger Funeral led the charge this time. Her fists could not breach the infinity but she could distract him by attempting dozens of attacks in seconds. I shot out at him next, domain amplification giving me an in with the infinity. He slapped my fist away and returned one of his own. I redirected upwards. Blocking one of Gojo's punches felt like getting hit by a truck and that wasn't the kind of experience I wanted to repeat. He punched again and I leaned out of the way, allowing it to miss my head by the barest of margins, and then I deactivated domain amplification. Our shadows locked and I took control of his movements.
"Oh?" he asked, tilting his head. He broke his head out of my control so quickly. I felt him bring his cursed energy to bear, fighting against my hold with his superior reserves and control.
"Domain Expansion: Dance of a Thousand Shadows," I intoned, bringing my hands together.
My shadow deepened and cloaked us both in a barrier that drowned the world as we knew it in darkness. This was a place where I alone was blessed with sight because all of it was my shadow.
I felt him settle into a stance. Simple Domain. He was blocking the sure-hit of my domain. I scoffed. Like I would even let such a thing hit him. Accidentally absorbing Gojo wasn't high on my list of priorities. He reached out a hand towards his blindfold, removing it.
"Interesting. So you managed to master it truly," he said, looking around the domain with something resembling surprise.
"I did," I said, not even attempting to attack. The sure-hit of the domain could let me breach the infinity and the only way to get him to drop it was engaging him in hand to hand. He hadn't even tried in all our previous exchanges and now something told me I stood even less of a chance. It was frustrating seeing how big the gap between us was. I hadn't tried the Cursed Technique Reversal aspect of my technique yet, but none of them had anything that could breach the infinity. It gave me more hope, fighting against it myself.
Mahoraga was the best tool for bypassing the infinity out there. If Sukuna didn't have him, then the fight could go differently from how it had in canon. Maybe he would find it funny for Gojo to not have the infinity but Takaba's technique being able to do something like that would just be cheating. Just pure cheating. I doubted it was possible.
"A well-formed domain, indeed. But do you know what happens when someone attempts to open a domain of their own within yours?"
"The domains of both sorcerers will clash and the more refined one would win," I said.
"Good. Let's see," he said, dropping his simple domain. My sure-hit didn't even attempt to latch onto him. He twisted his fingers and spoke out, "Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."
I felt my domain shatter in less than a second. That was how long the clash between us lasted. And then he was next to me, hand on my head.
"I think it's safe for us to say I win this one," he said.
"Sure thing, Sensei," I shrugged. It wasn't like I thought I stood much of a chance. The infinity was just too much of a cheat code and even without it, Satoru Gojo was one hell of a sorcerer.
His domain dropped and we found ourselves back on the field. I felt my technique settle into burnout before I fried the part of my brain and regrew it again as quickly as I could.
"Sensei?" I called out to him as he walked away.
"Yes?" he replied, turning back.
"I didn't say I was through with you. Domain Expansion: Dance of a Thousand Shadows," I said, bringing my hands together again.
The domain formed even faster. This time, plunging us into a world of darkness once again. Sensei's blue eyes marked out his position as he looked around. I could sense every bit of movement from him, of course.
"Interesting. So you used cursed energy to destroy the part of your brain that contains your cursed technique and then Reverse Cursed Technique to heal it. I thought I was the only one reckless enough to try something so stupid. You don't even have the Six Eyes, so why would you have done such a thing, Megumi?" he asked.
"It just made sense to me. Reverse Cursed Technique comes from the brain just like your regular innate technique. Can't be the entire brain, it has to be a part of it, so I just had to find what went inactive when I was in cursed technique burnout, and since it's such a small part of the brain, it was easy to isolate, destroy, and heal in quick succession," I said with a shrug that he shouldn't have been able to see in the oppressive darkness that shrouded us.
"So does that make this my win?" I asked with a smirk. He returned it as I felt his lips curve upwards. He formed the hand sign with his hand again and spoke out.
"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void." Once again, his domain overcame mine, but now it was not so instant. I was able to resist his attempt to wrestle control of my barrier from me for slightly longer than a few seconds this time. Once again, we were in that starry realm that was his technique and he had his hand on my shoulder. "Now you should yield for real, Megumi," he said.
"I yield," I shrugged. He nodded and the barrier shattered. He kept his hand around my shoulder this time, dragging me along with him towards the others.
"Do you think you'd beat Megumi, Yuta?" Gojo-sensei asked as we approached the watching group. The Special Grade upperclassman stared down at us, giving me an assessing look.
"I think I'd win," he said.
"What about without Rika?" Sensei asked again.
"I— I don't know," he said.
"I think Megumi stands a good chance," Sensei said after.
"Should we spar later on?" Okkotsu asked, directing the question to me.
"I'd love that," I said.
"Good, good. But that's not all. While I was sparring with Megumi, I had a thought," Gojo said.
"What were you thinking, Sensei?" I asked.
"I'm stronger than Sukuna," he said, the words dripping with clear confidence.
"But I don't know about that body he's got now. The technique is too much of a wildcard. I think he'll use a binding vow or two to narrow down the scope in exchange for removing the restrictions baked into the technique. He's going to be stronger than he was when he was alive for sure. So I might as well get stronger myself," he said.
A/N: I think it makes sense that for someone as prideful as Gojo to see one of his students get so strong in such a small amount of time, he'd want to get stronger as well. Add that he doesn't know Comedian as well as he knew the Ten Shadows, he should be more cautious than he was before. As far as we know from Canon, it was mostly the High School students training and using Ui-Ui's technique to help them. I don't think there's anything Gojo could gain from Swap training but there are other ways he could train as well to get better. Next three chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early.