NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Challenge
After hearing Makima's explanation, Gojo remained silent, thinking about what he had just discovered. This girl's technique is extremely powerful... I'd say one of the strongest. She can control any entity she deems inferior. His eyes rested on Makima again, who was looking back at him with a calm smile, slightly tilting her head. With her personality... anyone could be considered inferior in her eyes.
Scratching his head, Gojo allowed himself a smile. "Control someone here," he said in a relaxed tone, but his true intention was to test her technique. Makima looked around. She saw Rika, focused on her task of not breaking sticks, and decided not to interrupt her. But when her eyes returned to Gojo, she noticed he was smiling at her defiantly. It was clear: he wanted her to choose him.
She had already tried to control him before, but the results were minimal. Perhaps because she was still weak, or maybe she wasn't fully focused. Gojo, leaning forward, let his glasses slip slightly down his nose, revealing the intense blue of his eyes. Makima observed him, her golden eyes contrasting with his. Without missing a beat, her lips curved into a slight smile.
"Destroy the place," Makima ordered, her voice soft but authoritative.
Immediately, Gojo felt a sharp pain in his head, a piercing sensation that quickly grew. It was the same feeling he had experienced the first time she tried to control him, but on that occasion, it was just a slight tingle. Now it was much more intense, as if something was trying to force its way into his mind.
Gojo, gritting his teeth slightly, murmured through a laugh: "Wow... it seems you can."
However, before he could finish speaking, a golden chain shot toward him, stopping right in front of his face. It floated, trembling in the air while the Infinity protected him. Gojo smiled at the sight of the chain.
Makima smiled slightly, watching the golden chain stop just in front of Gojo, unable to penetrate his Infinity. But although her technique hadn't broken that barrier, the mere fact that it had caused a reaction in him was significant. Even so, she showed no frustration, only curiosity.
Gojo, scratching his head with his typical carefree expression, let out a soft laugh. "What were you trying to do?" he asked, his blue eyes gleaming behind his glasses. He knew she had attempted something beyond the obvious, and he wanted to understand just how far her technique had reached.
Makima, without losing her composure, responded as her golden eyes observed him closely. "I wanted to see if you were paying attention," she said calmly, her smile barely noticeable. The power play between them was clear, but she didn't admit it outright.
Gojo leaned forward a bit, letting his gaze rest on the golden chain. "So... that's the famous Infinity," Makima commented, not taking her eyes off him. She knew her technique hadn't achieved the desired result, but she was learning more than it seemed. Gojo, on the other hand, kept assessing her capabilities.
Gojo maintained his smile, but his mind kept analyzing what had happened. Interesting... This girl has potential, he thought, as he felt the tension between them growing. But both knew that what had just happened was only the beginning.
Makima calmly watched from a distance where two students were talking. Her smile remained intact as her gaze focused on them, both standing too close to each other. One of them, Kirara, looked at Hakari with a smile, then glanced back at the girl who was talking to her sensei. Without warning, a thought was transmitted from her mind to Hakari's.
"Hit the one next to you."
Kirara, as if something compelled her, threw a punch directly at Hakari's chin, lifting him into the air. Hakari, completely confused by what had just happened, fell backward to the ground, his mind processing the idea that he had just been hit for no reason.
Kirara, visibly bewildered, quickly bent toward him, apologizing. "What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Hakari, holding his chin and rubbing the struck area, still stunned.
"I... I don't know," Kirara responded, frowning. "I suddenly felt the need to hit you."
Hakari, still panting, sat there complaining and rubbing his chin. "What the hell, Kirara? That makes no sense!"
From afar, Gojo, who had been observing the scene, couldn't help but frown as his expression became more serious. His gaze shifted toward Makima, who remained silent with a soft smile, as if everything was part of a game. Without a word, Gojo turned his attention back to her, the gleam in his eyes showing that he wasn't as relaxed as he seemed.
Makima wasn't looking at him, but her voice was clear, as if she had anticipated Gojo's reaction. "Something like that happens with most," she explained without changing her tone, not even turning her head toward him. "Once you feel it, there's no turning back. It's... something natural."
Gojo remained thoughtful, the silence between them growing heavy, until he finally broke the tension with a question: "That command you gave earlier, 'destroy the place,' if your technique had worked on me, would you have stopped?"
Makima, still smiling, brought a finger to her chin, thoughtful. She raised both hands to shoulder height, in a gesture suggesting she didn't have a definite answer. "Who knows?" she said calmly. "Maybe."
Gojo let out a sigh, not a sigh of relief, but one full of resignation. He knew that if his Infinity technique hadn't protected him, he would have been vulnerable to what she could do. But what really worried him wasn't just her technique; it was the possibility that Makima, with her power, could alter him in ways even he couldn't foresee. Her words confirmed that she hadn't shown her full potential.
"Interesting," Gojo murmured, his eyes shining with a mix of fascination and caution. "This girl... will definitely be one of my biggest headaches." And not just figuratively. The latent threat of her power was something even Gojo couldn't ignore.