Overdrive - Chapter 60

Overdrive - Chapter 60

Ren ran.

Fast.

Focused.

Everything blurred into the rhythmic thump of his own heartbeat and the threads of cursed energy tracing behind his heels. Maki and Panda were still moving behind him, but Ren already had a few red stitch lines in place. All it would take was a simple tug—and trip.

But then… something unexpected happened.

Panda stopped.

'Hmm? Why isn't he—?'

Ren didn't have time to process it. He was almost at Inumaki now. The guy hadn't moved from his spot.

Odd.

Inumaki looked calm. Eerily calm.

He pulled down his collar.

"Don't move."

Shit.

Ren's cursed energy had already tugged the thread around Inumaki's ankle—Inumaki was already tipping forward, falling—but it didn't matter.

The cursed speech had been spoken.

And it hit.

It was like a wall of invisible force crashed into Ren's spine and held him in place. His body locked. Muscles frozen. The brain was stuck in a loop screaming MOVE, MOVE, MOVE—but nothing responded.

And then came the second surprise.

From above.

"MOVE!"

Someone screamed—but not at him.

Maki.

She was falling from the sky.

A wooden spear in both hands, angling straight down like a missile.

Ren blinked.

Back then—when Panda stopped? He didn't give up.

He threw Maki.

Right over Ren's head.

Perfect trajectory.

Perfect speed.

And now, falling fast with a wild grin on her face, Maki descended like a human javelin.

Ren could only think one thing.

'...They're not as bad as I thought.'

Still weak. But that teamwork?

That was impressive.

He had three options now.

Option 1: Summon Kai2 and cause a burst of chaos. Maybe enough to shock the system and break the command.

Risky.

Option 2: Do nothing. Eat the hit. Pray his body holds.

Suicidal.

Option 3… experimental.

Ren smiled.

And deep within his core, the Red Cursed Circuit pulsed.

Overdrive.

A technique he created as a desperate fallback—a way to force his cursed energy to overflow for 10 seconds. Dangerous, draining, but sometimes?

Just what you need.

A hum filled Ren's chest.

And then—

Boom.

A red glow ignited under his skin like thin lines of magma. His entire body surged.

The cursed speech shattered.

Ren moved.

Eyes snapping upward, he threw one hand up and caught the wooden spear midair.

His other hand locked onto Maki's wrist.

He didn't even hesitate.

With a twist of momentum and strength boosted by raw cursed force, Ren spun Maki downward and hurled her into the ground like a sack of bricks—right into Inumaki, who hadn't gotten up yet.

CRASH.

Both of them hit the dirt in a tangle of limbs and wood splinters.

Ren turned—just in time to see Panda charging.

No time for a full dodge.

So Ren stepped into it.

He let Panda's arm glance past his shoulder—

—and spun around with the meanest backhand he could throw.

WHACK!

It connected.

Hard.

Panda's feet lifted off the ground before he slammed sideways into the dirt, skidding a few feet with a loud grunt.

Silence.

Only 10 seconds had passed.

Ren's chest rose and fell in steady bursts.

The red glow under his skin faded, steam drifting faintly from his back.

Gojo was stunned.

Utterly dumbfounded.

Maki groaned somewhere in the dirt.

Panda grunted, trying to sit up.

Inumaki rolled over with a dazed look in his eyes, blinking up at the sky.

And Ren?

He walked calmly to the center of the training field, wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, and looked up at his teacher.

"So," Ren said, smiling with teeth. "I'm skipping class for a week, right? Sensei?"

Gojo didn't answer.

His mouth was slightly open.

Not because of Ren's win—though that was impressive.

But because Gojo saw exactly what had happened.

That last moment—Ren had used a cursed energy overclock.

A self-applied buff—coating himself with cursed energy beyond his natural limits.

Not just reinforcement.

Overdrive.

And the timing—10 seconds?

Perfect.

Precision-level control.

Gojo had only seen a few people ever use something like that.

And none of them were sixteen.

"Who the hell taught him that?" Gojo muttered under his breath. "And the way he used it only when he had no other option… no hesitation…"

He folded his arms.

Behind him, Maki stood up, rubbing her head.

She looked at Ren from across the field, not even hiding the frustration in her glare.

"That little…"

Panda laughed. "Dude really backhanded me like I owed him money."

Inumaki sat up and just whispered, "Salmon."

Which, for once, sounded like respect.

Ren walked past the three of them slowly, hands behind his back like a teacher inspecting his students.

"Not bad teamwork," he said as he passed.

"You're still weak," he added.

"But at least you're not idiots."

Gojo exhaled slowly.

He finally smiled again, then pointed a lazy finger toward Ren.

"Fine. One week off. But if I see you skipping class after that, I'm sending you straight to Yaga for detention."

Ren saluted playfully and walked off.

As the students watched him leave, Panda muttered, "Okay, I get the hype now."

Maki grumbled, "I still want to hit him."

Inumaki just adjusted his collar.

Gojo stood alone in the center of the field, watching Ren disappear into the corridor of Jujutsu High.

He shook his head.

'This kid… might actually be more dangerous than I thought.'