Chapter 236: Exchange
After relocating to a training room, Vahn and Gojo positioned themselves roughly ten meters apart, encircled by a mountainous vista and flanked by a large lake.
"So, any rules? How will we determine when the match is over...?" asked Gojo, casually stretching each of his legs before placing his palms against the small of his back and loudly popping it.
"If you're worried about seriously injuring or killing me, don't be," stated Vahn, wearing a confident smile as he assured, "Even if my body appears to be destroyed, I can recreate it. And as long as you're within this place, you will respawn at the platform we arrived at, even if you're atomized or reduced to subatomic particles."
"Suggesting you have the power to do both..." hummed Gojo, popping his neck and loosening the joints in his fingers and wrists as he stated, "Then let's settle on a traditional best of five. The first to destroy their opponent three times is the victor."
"When you're ready, come at me however you please," responded Vahn, smiling. The information Sis had provided made it clear Gojo wasn't to be underestimated, but as the man originated from a world where exceeding the speed of sound placed you among the strongest in the verse, the only real danger was the man's Cursed and Reverse-Cursed Techniques.
'He's not just being cocky...he's strong...' thought Gojo, the smile on his face growing as he couldn't recount a time when his opponent felt beyond his reach rather than the opposite being true. Vahn didn't possess an iota of Cursed Energy, but in its place, something unfathomable permeated his being, surging outward from a source even his Rikugan(Six Eyes) couldn't perceive.
"Alright, I usually let my opponent go first, but I can't ignore Dragon God-sama's invitation~" hummed Gojo, causing Vahn to experience a sense of tugging within his mind as space contracted along a linear path within his domain, allowing the white-haired Sorcerer to near-instantaneously to his left.
'That felt weird...' thought Vahn, casually raising his left hand to block the swift, scythe-like heel kick Gojo launched at his head. A sonic boom was produced when the kick approached its maximum velocity, but there was no feeling of impact when it appeared to meet Vahn's forearm. Instead, it felt like he was wearing a metal gauntlet and someone was attempting to force two identical magnetic poles together.
"Well, that's not good..." remarked Gojo, retracting his foot and performing a swift back handspring to create distance. Under normal circumstances, his body functioned as a kind of spatial anchor that repelled anything that drew near it, allowing him to effortlessly bat aside objects and opponents regardless of their mass. When he tried kicking Vahn, however, it was like trying to reposition all the water within a large aquarium by kicking a pillar protruding from its base.