No Rika, No Mercy – Chapter 59

No Rika, No Mercy – Chapter 59

Ren looked at Gojo, his tone casual and unbothered. "Hmm, do you plan on teaching me a lesson or something? By making those three jump me? You know I'd still win."

Gojo smiled, wide and teasing. "Yup, I know."

Behind him, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki blinked in confusion. Their gazes bounced between Gojo and Ren, a silent collective: He thinks Ren would win??

"But," Gojo added smoothly, "that's with Rika, right?"

Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You can't summon her, my dear student. I forgot to tell you this, but—you're not allowed to use Rika."

Ren blinked.

Then nodded with zero hesitation. "Makes sense," he muttered.

Gojo's smile twitched. He was actually annoyed by how calmly Ren accepted the rule.

'No complaint? No 'this is unfair'? Ugh, what the hell. If someone had told me to fight without my Six Eyes when I was sixteen, I'd have walked away on the spot!'

Maki, sensing the shift, grabbed a wooden spear and stepped into the training field. Her eyes were fiery, sharp with confidence.

"Come on then," she snapped. "Or are you all talk?"

Panda shrugged and followed her, cracking his knuckles lazily. Inumaki stood and trailed behind, unreadable as always.

Ren raised a hand lazily. "If I win, I'm skipping class for a week."

Gojo's brow twitched behind his blindfold.

"You what?"

Ren smirked and stepped onto the field.

"Now it's Maki, Panda, and Inumaki versus Ren!" Gojo declared. "And yes, you can team up on him. Three-on-one, baby! Aaaand—*start!*"

Maki didn't wait. In one clean motion, she sprinted toward Ren, spear ready to strike. Her speed was sharp, honed. The ground thudded softly beneath her precise steps.

Ren grinned.

'Faster than I expected… but still not crazy fast.'

Cursed energy bloomed from within him—thin, tight, and controlled. In a flash, his entire body was coated.

Inumaki's eyes narrowed.

Panda's smile faded slightly.

Gojo—observing closely now—noticed it: Ren's cursed energy control.

'Wait a second… That's some insane precision. Most Grade 1 sorcerers leak a little under pressure. But this kid? Nothing. Not even a twitch out of place. His cursed energy wraps his body like a perfect second skin…'

Gojo's mind spun with calculations. 'How is he doing that?!'

He didn't know about the Red Cursed Circuit.

None of them did. In fact, the last time Gojo had a little fight with Ren, Ren had not even used the red cursed circuit. Why? because curse energy control would be useless against Gojo...

But right now for Ren? That was the trick. That incomplete, flawed—but brilliant—system gave him an edge no one else could see.

Maki came in fast, her spear arcing up for a diagonal slash.

But her foot—caught on something.

She stumbled, losing momentum.

"What—?"

She looked down and saw it too late: a red thread, nearly invisible, laced across the ground.

Gojo blinked. "Wait. That's his cursed technique? Red Stitch…"

Ren flicked his wrist, and the string unspooled with a soft snap.

Maki crashed forward with a grunt, planting her spear into the ground to avoid falling flat.

Ren didn't attack her.

He just smiled.

"Come on, Maki. Keep up."

Panda launched forward behind him, his heavy feet pounding the dirt. "Not bad! But let's see you dodge this!"

A wide jab flew at Ren's jaw.

Ren turned casually, slipping under the punch like he was dancing, and murmured, "Fast, but come on, big guy. You can do better."

He stepped in—and hit Panda square in the jaw with a clean uppercut.

Then, without missing a beat, knee to the stomach.

Panda stumbled, breath pushed out of his lungs in a hard huff.

Gojo's jaw dropped slightly. 'That… that combo… That's mine. That's the same one I used on him. When did he—?!'

Ren thought it calmly as he moved, 'I'd be stupid not to study the only real fight I had. The fight with the strongest sorcerer in the world.'

Just as Ren landed, Inumaki was preparing to speak.

He opened his mouth.

Ren's eyes flicked to the boy.

He tugged his hand hard.

There it was—a red thread snapped taut, jerking Inumaki's leg and pulling him backward, disrupting his balance.

'Ha,' Ren thought. 'You idiots… Maki and Panda are distractions. The real threat is the cursed speech user. He's the only one here who could actually make me lose this fight.'

Inumaki fell to one knee, unable to complete the command.

Ren moved toward him.

(To be continued)