[15]: Kyoto Jujutsu High

"It's your turn, Yuta."

Gojo Satoru signaled for Okkotsu Yuta to step forward. Beside him, Panda, who had dragged Shin Shuichi back, cheered loudly, "Yuta, you got this! Knock out Gojo-sensei!"

Yuta, gripping his wooden sword tightly, felt a bit nervous. He gave a small, awkward smile at Panda's cheer. He had been watching the previous battles closely. He was still working on mastering Rika's curse, and thinking about the fast-paced action he just saw, he wondered if his current strength would be enough.

"Well, I'll just do my best!" Yuta tightened his grip on the wooden sword, and with that thought, the tension inside him seemed to ease. Memories of various training sessions flashed through his mind...

A surge of cursed energy erupted from Yuta's body, but under his control, it gradually returned to him. Gojo raised an eyebrow. That's quite an extraordinary amount of cursed energy. Maybe… Yuta's theory is right. It wasn't Rika who cursed him, but perhaps he had unknowingly cursed Rika…

Now fully prepared, Yuta exhaled slowly. With cursed energy enveloping his body, he moved at an incredible speed, leaving only a faint afterimage in the air as the edge of his wooden sword aimed directly for Gojo's face.

But in the blink of an eye, Gojo's figure vanished.

"He's using it! Gojo-sensei's teleportation."

Yuta's reaction was quick. He immediately spun around, swinging the wooden sword in a circle, and sure enough, Gojo had appeared behind him. Gojo easily dodged the swing.

"You've improved quickly! You look much livelier than before. As expected from my student."

Gojo effortlessly avoided Yuta's strikes, and then, when Yuta wasn't expecting it, he tripped him. Yuta quickly rolled twice on the ground and ended up crouching.

The wooden sword, which had been pulled back to his waist, slashed out again in a powerful strike. However, this time, Gojo's outstretched hands clasped together, stopping the sword mid-swing.

"I told you to treat me like an enemy. You're still hesitating, Yuta. Your strength isn't enough like this. You'll suffer for it later."

Yuta was momentarily stunned, and that was all Gojo needed to send him flying with a powerful kick. In midair, Yuta felt like his body was about to fall apart.

Quickly getting back up, Yuta saw Gojo beckon him with a hand, "Come again!"

...

The afternoon continued like this. Gojo Satoru, like a machine that knew no fatigue, engaged in one-on-one battles and group fights. Eventually, it turned into a trial where the students pushed themselves to their limits.

Breaking through their physical limits, squeezing out their cursed energy and techniques, even Ms. Ieiri Shoko, who had come to watch, couldn't help but complain to Gojo. She had already treated the students several times.

"The situation is worsening. Curses have been increasingly detected everywhere. Grade 2 and Grade 1 cursed spirits are appearing more frequently, and there have even been sightings of Special Grade spirits…"

Gojo spoke calmly, outlining the current unstable situation. Thinking about the confirmed sighting of a Special Grade cursed spirit, he couldn't help but feel worried.

It wasn't that he was worried about how to deal with the Special Grade spirit. What concerned him was that this might only be the signal before the storm.

Ieiri Shoko also had a troubled look on her face. Gojo stood up and clapped his hands, signaling the students who were resting to come over. As he walked toward them, he left them with a few words: "So… the burden on the young ones is getting heavier. I hope they can grow and stand by our side while they're still under our protection."

A new round of "tough love" from Gojo-sensei quickly began again, and Shin Shuichi used this opportunity to practice various techniques. With Gojo's Six Eyes, he received immediate feedback.

Shin also discovered that when using his "Reversal" technique on himself, his cursed energy and other states would return to the moment he had selected—essentially a kind of "refresh."

"Reloading, huh."

However, there were some things that couldn't be refreshed. His consciousness would always retain memories from before the reset and then return to that moment, rather than re-creating an earlier version of himself.

Shin temporarily called this "mental energy," because after using his Reversal technique repeatedly, he felt dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and confusion. The more he used it in succession, the stronger these sensations became.

But with Ms. Ieiri's treatment, these symptoms improved significantly, confirming Shin's earlier theory.

He had hoped to use his Reversal technique to exploit several bug-like possibilities, such as constantly "refreshing" himself during battle. This would not only prevent injuries but also give him access to infinite cursed energy

Unfortunately, it wasn't possible. He could only use it as a recovery method with a cooldown. It seemed that mastering the Reversal technique further would be necessary. If he could combine it with his Cursed Technique Reversal, he might be able to use it with almost no side effects. Just thinking about it excited Shin, but he set those thoughts aside for now.

Gojo's special training didn't last long. By the next day, he had to leave halfway through because of other matters that required his attention. Before leaving, Gojo dramatically pretended to wipe away a tear, saying, "I know my beloved students must be so sad to see me go. Don't worry! When I come back, I'll have even better training for you!"

"No, please don't!"

Ignoring the group's cries of despair, Gojo left with a smile. As for raw strength, Gojo was undeniably unmatched. He knew everything there was to know about jujutsu. But when it came to teaching others, it was a different story.

In Gojo's own words: "Isn't this simple stuff? I'm explaining it clearly!" Yet in reality, everyone listening felt completely lost. Shin Shuichi had learned Reversal Technique under Gojo's guidance, but the time and effort it took, along with the struggles involved, were hard to put into words.

That's why Gojo preferred hands-on teaching. "If you can't learn with your head, then let your body learn first!" he'd say, giving a thumbs up.

Though they complained about Gojo's training, they did gain a lot of improvement. After all, facing a powerful opponent without the threat of real harm was an invaluable experience.

...

Several days passed quickly. During this time, Shin Shuichi met two returning second-year students. Yes, senpais! But what he saw was a man and a woman(?) who seemed to be a couple.

The male senpai, named Hakari Kinji, was tall with thick hair slicked back, making him look like… a broccoli? His square face had some stubble, and both his eyebrows were cut in two places, making him look less like a student and more like a delinquent uncle from the streets.

The female looking senpai was named Hoshi Kirara. From their appearance, they looked like a fashion-forward young person. They had bangs, mid-length hair, several decorative studs around their lips and chin, and they wore a crop top that revealed their slim waist. Their most striking feature was her eyes. Their pupils were shaped like pentagrams, and their eyes had needle-and-thread-like patterns.

There wasn't much interaction between the two groups. Hakari-senpai seemed to have a slight disdain for the exchange event or something else and left with a wave after a few casual words.

The day before the exchange event, the principal and students from Kyoto Jujutsu High had already arrived. The location of each "Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event" is hosted by the school that won the previous event, meaning that Tokyo Jujutsu High was the winner last time.

In a large room typically used for meetings, both principals, teachers, and students were gathered. The principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High was an old man leaning on a cane, dressed in traditional white clothing with wide pants. His head was bald, with only pure white eyebrows and a beard.

Both were quite peculiar: his beard was long enough to reach his chest, but his eyebrows were the most striking feature—thick, white, and drooping down to the length of his face. This was the first time Shin Shuichi had ever seen real eyebrows like these.

On the Tokyo Jujutsu High side, the leading teacher was Gojo Satoru, while Kyoto Jujutsu High's representative was a woman dressed in a shrine maiden outfit. Her originally beautiful face was marred by a scar running from her right cheek to just above her nose.

The woman, named Iori Utahime, had been Gojo Satoru's senior during their high school years, and they seemed to know each other well. As soon as Gojo arrived, he grinned and said a few things to her, which only made her look even more annoyed and angry at his arrival.

Ignoring whatever those two were arguing about, Shin Shuichi's attention was drawn to a black-haired girl with a bob cut among the Kyoto students. Even though the hairstyle was different, she looked so much like Maki.

The girl was also looking at Maki, her expression hard to read. Shin Shuichi leaned over to Panda and whispered, "Hey, Panda, do you see that? That person looks so much like Maki, right?"

Panda had, of course, noticed too. Meanwhile, Maki, seeing them whispering and glancing her way, felt a vein pop on her forehead.

"She's my twin sister, Zenin Mai. Could you two stop being so sneaky?"

"Ohh!"

Shin Shuichi and Panda both exclaimed in low voices, which only made Maki more eager to punch them on the spot. At that moment, Yuta Okkotsu quietly spoke up, "Shuichi, Panda... shouldn't we be more focused on the robot? And that other guy looks really fierce. He's been staring at us this whole time."

Shin Shuichi turned his gaze to Kyoto's students. There were six of them in total: two boys, three girls, and a robot! The robot wasn't the futuristic kind that Genichi had in mind but looked more like a puppet infused with some kind of jujutsu, wearing Kyoto's school uniform.

Of the two boys, one, who stood a bit farther away, was a traditionally handsome man with his eyes mostly closed. In Shins' view, he looked different from modern handsome guys like Gojo or himself—his traditional attire and aura made him more like the heir of an ancient noble family.

The other male was much simpler, a brawny man with a massive, muscular build that even the school uniform couldn't hide. He had a scar running from his left forehead down past his left eye, and his hair was tied up in a way that made him look tough and unapproachable.

The three female students seemed more harmonious by comparison. Aside from Maki's twin sister, who appeared to have some tension with her, the other two girls looked friendly enough. One of them, a girl with long blue hair and slightly slanted bangs, smiled when she noticed Shuichi looking her way.

The last girl had a very petite figure, with blonde hair tied into two thick pigtails. Her face was extremely cute and eye-catching, and she seemed to be a mixed-race student. She also wore distinctive earrings, and next to her was a broom. Was she cosplaying as a witch?

By this time, Kyoto's principal and Masamichi Yaga had finished their discussion. Yaga stood up and said, "The principal of Kyoto and I have agreed on the format of this exchange event, which is largely the same as previous years. Now, you all can get to know each other better. From now on, you are all comrades on the same front."

The blue-haired girl, who had just greeted Shin Shuichi, was the first to stand up, bowing slightly as she introduced herself, "Hello, everyone. My name is Miwa Kasumi, a first-year student at Kyoto Jujutsu High. Please take care of me!"

"Nishimiya Momo, second-year." This was the tiny blonde girl.

"Mechamaru, first-year." Naturally, this was the mechanical doll.

"Zenin Mai, first-year. Huh? What? Hasn't my sister ever mentioned me to you guys? That's a bit hurtful." Despite her words, Maki's twin sister, Zenin Mai, didn't show any signs of being truly upset. Instead, she had a playful smile on her face.

"Kamo Noritoshi, second-year. Nice to meet you all." This was the handsome man with his eyes mostly closed. Shin Shuichi raised an eyebrow at his introduction. The Kamo family, huh? One of the three big sorcerer families, along with the Gojo and Zenin families. Interesting.

On the Tokyo Jujutsu High side, introductions followed in turn. Yuta Okkotsu and Maki were the first to speak, followed by Panda, who also introduced Inumaki Toge, who usually only spoke in rice ball ingredients.

Panda naturally drew the most attention, especially from Miwa Kasumi and Nishimiya Momo, whose eyes were practically glowing.

Finally, it was Shin Shuichi's turn. He hadn't had the time to get a haircut lately, so his slightly longer hair was casually tied behind him, giving him an effortlessly laid-back look. Although Miwa Kasumi's expression remained calm, her mind was racing: 'Another handsome guy! But Gojo-sensei is still the most handsome. I have to figure out a way to take a picture with him.

"I'm Shin Shuichi, a first-year. Please take care of me."

Last up was the burly man. His stern face gave nothing away, and after a brief awkward silence, he finally spoke, "Todo Aoi, second-year."

"I say... are all of you first-years? Are you... looking down on us?"

°°°

A/N: Stonezzzz

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