Chapter 185 - 186: I’m Waiting for My Skill; What Are You Waiting For?

Intelligence has leaked. That much was certain.

Although Gojo Satoru and Emiya Shirou hadn't known each other for long, Gojo had heard Shirou's "spoilers." Not only did they turn out to be accurate, but every event Gojo had personally encountered confirmed that Shirou truly possessed the facts. When Gojo sought information, Shirou could simply slap a camera in front of him and manifest exactly what he needed through spirit photography.

At this point, Gojo essentially believed Shirou's self-introduction. He was convinced that Shirou could truly predict the future and possessed a vast wealth of intelligence.

That being the case... how could the secrets of Gojo's own Cursed Technique possibly be hidden from Emiya Shirou?

"This is the downside of being famous.

Because I'm so well-known, anyone gathering intelligence will inevitably start with mine," Gojo mused.

"That's likely how you realized the weakness of the [Limitless], Emiya. I can even imagine how you plan to exploit it."

By increasing the power of an attack to overwhelm the Cursed Energy output of the [Limitless], one could indeed breach it. Conversely, as long as Gojo understood the principle behind this bypass, he could counter the counter.

Although his Cursed Energy wasn't truly infinite, Gojo Satoru—with the microscopic perspective provided by the [Six Eyes]—was undoubtedly the most efficient user of Cursed Energy in Jujutsu Kaisen. If the battle turned into a war of attrition, Emiya Shirou absolutely could not win... Gojo had that much confidence.

But Emiya Shirou's methods for breaking the [Limitless] were not limited to just one.

Shirou could use the projected [Pseudo-Anubis] for a brute-force breach. He could also use the projected [Rule Breaker] to directly dispel the Cursed Energy maintaining the [Limitless].

One could even say that if Gojo followed Shirou's lead and increased his Cursed Energy output to the [Limitless] to combat the brute force of [Pseudo-Anubis], the moment Shirou decided to switch weapons, all the energy Gojo had expended would be wiped clean by [Rule Breaker].

Once Gojo's Cursed Energy was drained in a short burst, the outcome of the battle would be predictable. This was one of the reasons Gojo had hurriedly adjusted the [Limitless] from automatic back to manual.

"But conversely, the fact that you need such a method to break my [Limitless] proves that you truly have no other way around it, doesn't it, Emiya?"

The corners of Gojo's mouth curled into a smile. Though it differed from the casual, effortless grin he usually wore, it was more exhilarated and confident!

It was a simple logic: if Emiya Shirou could directly use [Rule Breaker] to forcibly break the [Limitless], why was he going through such a complex, "brute-force-over-finesse" route now? It wasn't that the new method was ineffective, but compared to the clash of raw power and energy between [Pseudo-Anubis] and the [Limitless], the "once-and-for-all" nature of [Rule Breaker] would clearly be faster.

Gojo, unaware that Shirou was simply conducting an experiment to prepare for his return to the Type-Moon world, naturally assumed Shirou was taking the long way around to exhaust his Cursed Energy.

And why exhaust his Cursed Energy? Because Emiya Shirou couldn't handle his other techniques!

'It's not [Blue]. While [Blue] can create energy orbs similar to small black holes and compress space for high-speed movement, someone with Emiya's reaction speed would never fail to dodge it.'

Whether it was their first meeting, where Shirou perceived the trajectory of his high-speed movement via [Blue], or the fact that Shirou had defeated the physically monstrous Fushiguro Toji, everything proved that [Blue] would be difficult to land.

Following this logic, Gojo quickly ruled it out.

'Similarly, it's not [Red].'

For the same reason: although [Red] had higher destructive power, its activation speed wasn't significantly faster than [Blue].

'In that case, [Hollow Purple] can also be ruled out. No matter how great the destruction, it's meaningless unless it hits.'

After all, Emiya Shirou wasn't Fushiguro Toji. Toji had stood confidently in the path of [Hollow Purple] only because he lacked information. With Toji's physical stats, if even Hanami could dodge it, there was no reason he couldn't have.

'However, this process of elimination tells me exactly what technique I need to use to defeat you, and which one you actually fear...

The one that you can never dodge, regardless of your speed or reflexes—'

These thoughts flashed through Gojo's mind in a rapid sequence. He aimed his hands toward Emiya Shirou, fingers already forming the specific seal.

"—[Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void]!!"

Exactly. If Gojo Satoru had anything that could be called a definitive "sure-kill," it was this!

Even though Emiya Shirou had demonstrated a way to bypass [Unlimited Void] before, Gojo—with the 360-degree, no-blind-spot vision of the [Six Eyes]—had noted something. Because the DISCs created by [Pseudo-White Snake] are visible to non-Stand users, Gojo had seen Shirou make a preparatory motion to remove a DISC from his own brain before ignoring the domain.

As long as Gojo released [Unlimited Void] before that preparatory motion was completed, the information bombardment would hit Shirou's brain first. He wouldn't have the time to complete the action!

However...

"Flashy but useless."

While Gojo's brain was busy formulating these strategies and calculating the next steps of the fight, the projected [Pseudo-White Snake]—taking advantage of the rule that non-Stand users cannot see Stands—had long since moved behind Gojo and reached into his head.

"I was waiting for [White Snake]'s ability. What were you waiting for?"

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