Gojo Satoru felt like he was bathing a husky terrified of water. As Yuan Shanxiao emerged from the bath, shaking his head and splashing water everywhere, Gojo found himself with droplets on his face:

Just because he had limitless power didn’t mean students should disrespect him!

But Gojo said nothing.

He was currently holding the boy’s head down with one hand, preventing him from drowning, escaping, or testing the bathwater’s pressure to assess the feasibility of living deep underwater in isolation.

Gojo sat nearby on a chair, legs crossed, resting his chin on one hand while using the other to hold down the boy. Yuan Shanxiao’s head bobbed up and down, left and right, occasionally diving underwater and resurfacing like a fish.

Gojo was deep in thought.

Even though the boy splashed water all over him, Gojo’s limitless power shielded him from getting wet, so it didn’t disrupt his contemplation.

Even when the boy tried to teach himself how to swim, only to get a cramp and float face-up as if awaiting death, Gojo remained calm, lost in his thoughts.

He was pondering a serious problem.

Leaving such a troublesome student at Jujutsu High—one capable of causing chaos the moment he wasn’t supervised—seemed dangerous, both for the boy and the school.

But taking him along on missions was out of the question. After all, Gojo had promised the boy they would have their final battle first, and this time was meant for the boy to grow and train—

Gojo glanced at the boy, whose face had gone pale as he floated with his eyes closed, blowing bubbles:

What a perfect opportunity for growth.

Expressionless, Gojo lifted the boy out of the water and continued thinking.

He needed to find someone reliable to watch over Yuan Shanxiao while he was on missions.

But—

To be honest, Gojo found it hard enough to manage watching over the boy himself. Expecting anyone else to handle it seemed even more unreasonable. The problem still boiled down to—

The boy himself!

Who else spends their days either avoiding class, dreaming of fleeing to Antarctica, or wanting to live in the ocean?

Gojo realized that the main issue was that Yuan Shanxiao was always stirring up trouble. The root of his mischief wasn’t just fear; it was a lack of urgency about their final battle.

Gojo had figured this out. Even though the boy claimed he didn’t fully understand his technique, that was just his perception. In reality, Yuan Shanxiao had developed his technique significantly, driven by survival anxiety—especially when he realized it was effective for running away.

The boy probably knew how powerful his technique was. However—

He had no idea how powerful Gojo’s technique was.

Since Yuan Shanxiao had just entered Jujutsu High, the rumors about Gojo being the strongest were things he had heard from others or Gojo himself. He hadn’t seen it firsthand.

This boy, who believed he had a strong technique yet genuinely thought he was worthless, was a walking contradiction—a warped genius. He considered himself useless but also assumed everyone else was just as weak as he was.

He didn’t trust Gojo or the other students.

Gojo had deduced this.

Yuan Shanxiao’s admiration for Gojo and the others wasn’t real respect; it was more like the reverence of a coward for someone unafraid of ghosts. He didn’t truly believe these “normal people” could defeat the ghosts. He just figured it was better to hide behind them than face the ghosts himself.

Whether he was strong or weak, his first instinct was always to hide.

No self-blame, no internal struggle—this guy didn’t waste time on things like guilt.

Gojo sighed. Because of this, no one realized that this overly timid boy was actually aware of the gap between his strength and that of regular sorcerers.

Yet despite recognizing the difference, Yuan Shanxiao wasn’t arrogant or dismissive of others.

It wasn’t that he was naturally virtuous. He simply saw everyone else as disposable side characters in a horror movie. Like the doors standing between him and the final monster, he just hoped each door could hold out as long as possible before getting smashed open.

And Gojo Satoru—perhaps in Yuan Shanxiao’s mind—was just the slightly sturdier door.

Gojo: …

At least upgrade me to a different category.

I should be stainless steel at the very least.

…

————

What Gojo needed to do now was make Yuan Shanxiao understand how strong he was. Only then would the boy take their final battle seriously, channeling his destructive energy into self-improvement instead of self-destruction. That way, Gojo could go on missions without worry and return to find the boy still alive.

The boy needed to know.

The white-haired youth, who had been sitting like a statue, finally moved. Without turning his head, he casually reached out and plucked the upside-down boy from the water, lifting him effortlessly.

Gojo stood, holding the drenched boy high. The boy’s soaked white shirt clung to him, heavy with water. He quickly grabbed the collar with both hands, trying to cover the pale skin of his exposed abdomen. His wet black hair hung limp, revealing his usually hidden forehead and eyes beneath dark bangs.

His pale, wet skin glistened with water droplets, and his light eyelashes flicked, sending tiny drops falling. His gray-green eyes stared blankly, meeting Gojo’s brilliant blue gaze with pure confusion and innocence, almost otherworldly.

“Xiao.”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to show you something.”

“Hm?”

“I won’t be the door that protects you, okay?”

Gojo shook the boy, who was still hanging upside down, making him grip his slipping shirt tighter as he frowned in bewilderment. Only then did Gojo smile.

“I’ll be the one who leads you out the door.”

The boy’s pupils contracted into slits for a moment before slowly relaxing as he listened to what Gojo said next. He clutched his abdomen, trying to steady his breathing.

“Let’s fight right now.”

————

Are all the people at Jujutsu High battle maniacs?

Is that the case? Yes.

Yuan Shanxiao asked and answered himself internally as he wrung out his soaked white shirt. He wiped his wet hands on the clean clothes he had just changed into, but after a moment, he realized he was making both his hands and his clothes wet. He stared at the wet shirt for a while, wrung it out again, and wiped his hands on his clothes once more.

Even though Gojo had said, “You don’t seem very motivated. Looks like you don’t think Gojo-sensei is all that strong, huh~”

The white-haired youth cracked his knuckles and smiled. “So, let me show you a thing or two, Yuan Shanxiao-kun. Sound good?”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Is this really a question? Just because you’re smiling doesn’t mean I don’t know you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. How annoying!

So, Yuan Shanxiao smiled back—though, since he was hanging upside down, all he had to do was twist his mouth into a smirk.

“You saw through it all—no, wait, wrong.”

Gojo: …

You don’t think that transition was a bit forced?

“Can I refuse?”

Gojo smiled. “Nope.”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

So why even ask?

How annoying.

Flashback over. Yuan Shanxiao, still stalling, wrung out his wet shirt again. He had been delaying in the changing room for half an hour, knowing that if he stalled any longer, Gojo might drag him out upside down again. With great reluctance, he finally stepped out of the changing room.

One tiny step at a time.

He thought, It’s fine.

I have a teleportation technique, after all.

When in doubt, just run.

After all—

As soon as Yuan Shanxiao stepped out of the changing room, he saw his teacher standing in front of him with a smile, already forming strange hand signs. It looked like his middle finger was pressed behind his index finger. Then his teacher pulled down the high collar of his uniform and smiled brightly at him.

“Are you ready?”

Was it even possible to say he wasn’t ready at this point? Yuan Shanxiao grumbled internally, his feet already angled for escape. He weakly nodded.

Alright, time to run.

Gojo’s smile deepened.

“Then—Domain Expansion—”

Hm?

What?

“Infinite Void.”

Wh—

Wait—

What is happeningggg?!?!