The next morning, the individual matches officially began.
The venue was the largest dojo in the school. The teachers from both sides sat along either side, leaving a broad open space in the center. Once everyone had arrived, Principal Gakuganji and Masamichi Yaga spoke in turn, briefly reiterated the rules, and the individual matches began.
"First match: Kaito Kamishiro versus Kasumi Miwa."
Despite staying up all night playing games, Kaito Kamishiro was still full of energy as he walked to the center of the floor. Kasumi Miwa took a deep breath to psych herself up before stepping forward as well. After the two bowed, the match officially began.
Both wielded Cursed Tools in the form of swords. Miwa looked somewhat nervous across from him, so rather than immediately ending the match with his Cursed Technique, Kaito took a stance and gestured for her to attack.
Miwa gathered her courage and charged with her sword. As Kaito countered every move she made, he also observed her technique. His own swordsmanship—or perhaps blade work—was actually rather eclectic. Most of what he had learned at first came from Maki, while the rest had been developed and mastered through training and real combat.
Miwa’s swordsmanship, on the other hand, clearly followed a system. Her school was called New Shadow Style, if he remembered correctly. Atsuya Kusakabe, the second-year homeroom teacher at Kyoto Jujutsu High, was apparently a user of that school too—and a rather powerful one at that.
It was said that a powerful sorcerer from the Heian era, Ashiya Sadatsuna, had invented a Simple Domain to protect his disciples from Cursed Spirits and Curse Users. This school had been passed down for a long time. Beyond its sword techniques, it also had methods for combining Cursed Energy and Cursed Tools.
After deliberately exchanging more than a dozen moves with Miwa, Kaito realized that she still lacked polish. Her strength and Cursed Energy were both insufficient as well. Even if her sword technique itself was acceptable, she likely would not be able to endure more than a move or two against a truly powerful opponent.
Of course, Kaito was not comparing her to ordinary people. By the standards of average Jujutsu Sorcerers, Miwa was actually decent. With someone like Atsuya Kusakabe, who had become a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, as an example, perhaps she could accomplish something in the future.
But right now, she was still far from ready. Kaito’s blade slipped through a gap in Miwa’s attack and closed in before her face, forcing her onto the defensive. A rapid series of slashes followed in quick succession, instantly putting her in danger.
After sweeping Miwa’s legs out from under her, Kaito compared their respective sword paths in his mind while speaking to her as she rose.
"Your sword is too slow. It has no power—and no conviction behind it."
Seeing Miwa’s thoroughly baffled expression, Kaito explained in a good mood, "Put simply, you lack the will to cut down your enemy. Even with a wooden sword, even knowing you cannot kill your opponent, the moment you take up a blade, you need to understand exactly what you’re holding. It is a weapon. A weapon that can take lives. You need the resolve to fight."
"Why did you come to Jujutsu High? Or rather, why did you enter the jujutsu world?"
Miwa, who had finally gotten a chance to catch her breath after being pressured by Kaito, froze at the question. Then she answered obediently, "Because I’m poor. I have two younger brothers at home, so I became a Jujutsu Sorcerer."
Kaito understood. Ordinary people could not fight those so-called curses, yet as long as humanity’s negative emotions existed, they would never disappear. The government and other people at the top did know about the jujutsu world. They simply kept it hidden from the public to prevent panic from producing even more curses.
Jujutsu Sorcerers were always in short supply. Exorcising Cursed Spirits was especially dangerous work, so the pay and rewards were high. It was a shame it could not be made public—otherwise, their social standing would be high as well.
The higher a sorcerer’s grade, naturally, the more money they could earn. Miwa’s answer did not surprise Kaito. She was not from a sorcerer family. Nor did she seem like someone such as Todo, driven by a thirst for battle and passion, or someone like Yuta, with a story behind her.
There was nothing wrong with that reason. But it had one flaw. Kaito raised his blade and pointed it at Miwa.
"You have no reason or will that compels you to become stronger. Right now, all you’re thinking about is making money as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Have you ever considered that one day, you might encounter a Cursed Spirit far beyond your strength and suddenly die?"
Before the stunned Miwa could say anything, Kaito continued, "So you do have a reason to become stronger. Whether it’s to earn more money or to avoid dying so easily on a mission, you need the resolve to give everything you have to kill your enemy."
Miwa stared at her reflection in the blade, momentarily lost in thought. Then Kaito spoke again from across from her.
"One move. You have only one chance left. Show me your resolve."
When Miwa looked up, she saw that Kaito had assumed an opening stance almost identical to her own. She sighed inwardly. What kind of monster is this now? But those emotions came and went quickly.
Kaito was right. She had never had much resolve for the work of a Jujutsu Sorcerer. At school, she trained hard with Mai, Momo Nishimiya, and the others. The missions she had taken on had occasionally been dangerous, but honestly, none of them had been too outrageous.
If she encountered an absurd enemy like him in the future, how long could she last? Maybe she would die the instant they fought. What would happen to her family then? She might never see Mai, Momo, Mechamaru, or her other Jujutsu High companions again...
Miwa slowly sheathed the blade bearing her reflection and assumed an iaijutsu stance. As she calmed herself, she sensed Cursed Energy flowing through the scabbard. Everything within a close radius around her was perfectly clear in her mind. The instant anything stepped into that range, it would invite her thunderous slash.
New Shadow Style: Simple Domain.
New Shadow Style: Batto Sword Drawing.
"So that’s a Simple Domain? And this sword draw is interesting too. You coat the blade in Cursed Energy and accelerate it by circulating that energy within the scabbard, so when it leaves the sheath, it becomes incredibly fast?"
Kaito sheathed his own sword and took an iaijutsu stance. He could not imitate the Simple Domain just yet, though. Once again, he could not help admiring how useful Gojo’s Six Eyes were. If you could easily see through someone else’s Cursed Technique and the flow of their Cursed Energy, you could probably learn something like this after watching it a few times.
"Let’s see how fast this slash can be without using my Cursed Technique!"
Kaito fixed his gaze on Miwa, who stood poised to strike. The Cursed Energy on his sheathed blade circulated faster and faster, until the entire sword seemed to be burning with raging blue flames.
Clang!
A sharp screech of metal rang out. Kaito vanished from where he stood, and before Miwa was the blade he had already drawn. The instant Kaito "touched" her Simple Domain, Miwa’s sword automatically launched its thunderous sword-drawing slash.
Only when he saw the killing intent within Miwa’s fierce, razor-sharp slash did Kaito feel that she finally looked somewhat convincing.
With two sword-drawing slashes colliding at such speed, their blades should have struck each other. One sword would then have broken, determining the winner.
But Kaito did not do that. At the instant their blades were about to collide, he slightly angled his sword. The two blades passed by each other, and Kaito twisted his Cursed Tool with a flick of his wrist.
The sudden change made Miwa lose control of her high-speed blade. Her sword flew from her hand, spinning as it shot off to one side.
Then a hand reached through the air and caught it precisely by the hilt, pulling it back. Miwa looked at her empty hand, let out a long breath, and bowed to Kaito.
"Thank you."
Masamichi Yaga then announced the result of the first match. "First match: Kaito Kamishiro wins. One point to Tokyo Jujutsu High."
After returning to their seats—or rather, everyone else was kneeling on the floor while Kaito sat cross-legged, unable to get used to that posture—Kaito watched Miwa return to her side and receive consolation from the others.
Maki sighed. "So Kyoto does have normal people after all!"
Yaga then announced the next match: Panda versus Mai Zen’in.
Mai’s Cursed Technique was no secret, especially with her sister right here. It was called the Construction Technique, and it allowed her to create matter from nothing. Even after the technique ended, the matter she created would not disappear.
When Kaito had first heard about that technique, he could only marvel at how incredible Jujutsu Sorcerers were. Sure enough, one Cursed Technique after another was completely ridiculous.
Unfortunately, because of her own limitations, Mai could only create a limited amount of matter each day—roughly one bullet. Combined with the revolver she carried, she would conceal that Cursed Energy bullet among its six rounds to catch her enemies off guard.
Then the fight began, and Panda gave his opponent a surprise. Beneath that adorable appearance lay impressive close-quarters combat ability. More importantly, the dojo offered Mai both an advantage and a massive disadvantage.
Panda’s massive body was not just for show. Reinforced by Cursed Energy, he took several of Mai’s bullets and remained capable of fighting. They were not live rounds, after all. Mai’s close-combat ability, meanwhile, was much weaker. Once Panda closed in, she was constantly in peril.
The decisive moment finally came. After Panda caught an opening, Mai played along and struck Panda’s core with that Cursed Energy bullet. She had acquired the information about that location by taking injuries several times.
But Panda was not merely a panda. He had three cores. Once Panda switched into Gorilla Mode, the law of victory had been decided.
"Second match: Panda wins. Tokyo Jujutsu High, two points."
"Panda rules!"
"Tuna mayo!"
Panda rubbed the back of his head and grinned amid everyone’s cheers. Kyoto’s atmosphere, meanwhile, grew somewhat gloomy. After Momo and Miwa comforted Mai, Noritoshi Kamo spoke up.
"Just give it everything you have from here on out. Don’t blame yourself..."
"Third match: Toge Inumaki versus Mechamaru."
Mechamaru stepped out. "I’m up."
After taking the field, Toge politely said, "Kelp," though naturally, his opponent did not understand him. At the signal to begin, numerous small spheres suddenly fired from Mechamaru’s hands.
The spheres were aimed at the ground. The moment they struck it, they shattered and released clouds of smoke. With a flicker of movement, Mechamaru disappeared into the rising haze.
"Blow away!"
At Toge’s Cursed Speech command, a fierce wind arose from nowhere inside the dojo, about to scatter the smoke. At that moment, a red light suddenly flashed within the haze, followed by a blazing pillar of fire that shot toward him.
Toge swiftly evaded. Mechamaru continued using various methods to hide himself while launching long-range attacks to wear Toge down, intending to drag him to his limit.
Toge noticed that too. He therefore used his Cursed Technique as sparingly as possible, trying instead to locate Mechamaru as quickly as he could.
This dojo truly deserved to be called one reinforced by sophisticated Barrier techniques. Even under Mechamaru’s relentless bombardment, it still retained its general shape.
Finally, when Toge’s voice had become distorted and he appeared close to his limit, he found Mechamaru. Every tool Mechamaru had used to conceal himself had been depleted. And once a Cursed Speech user had a definite target, even Ultimate Mechamaru probably could not withstand more than a few commands.
Left with no choice, Mechamaru surrendered. This puppet had taken an enormous amount of work to make. Surrendering in this situation would at least preserve it.
If the environment had been different, maybe I could have kept fighting... Mechamaru thought as he returned to his place.
As soon as Toge returned, everyone immediately gathered around to check on him. The throat medicine they had prepared was promptly handed over.
The overall situation was essentially decided. Tokyo had already secured three points. At worst, they would draw. As long as they won one more match, the winner of this Goodwill Event would once again be Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Maki looked up. "I should be next." Sure enough, Yaga announced that the next match would be Maki versus Momo Nishimiya.
The final result did not need to be mentioned. Flying near the ceiling, Momo repeatedly used the wind blades raised by her broom to attack Maki, but Maki’s beast-like instincts let her block every strike with her sword.
Then, making use of the room’s layout, Maki rapidly ran across the walls and interior structures before knocking Momo out of the air. What followed was the ugly sight of an adult bullying a child.
"Maki Zen’in wins. Another point for Tokyo."
"Woohoo!"
Kaito and Panda had wanted to welcome Maki back in a more exaggerated fashion, but under her nearly murderous glare, they sheepishly swallowed their words.
"Next: Yuta Okkotsu versus Noritoshi Kamo."
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