[20]: Individual Battle II

The next morning, the individual battles officially began.

The location was the largest dojo in the school. Teachers from both sides sat on either side, leaving a large area open in the middle. Once both sides had arrived, Gakuganji and Masamichi Yaga gave brief speeches before quickly explaining the rules. With that, the individual battles began.

"The first match: Shin Shuichi versus Miwa Kasumi."

Despite staying up all night playing games, Shin Shuichi walked into the center of the field looking refreshed. Miwa Kasumi, after taking a deep breath to calm herself, stepped into the ring as well. After bowing to each other, the match officially began.

Both wielding cursed swords, Miwa Kasumi appeared somewhat nervous. Shin didn't immediately use his techniques to end the match but instead took a stance, signaling Miwa to make the first move.

Summoning her courage, Miwa charged forward with her sword. As Shin parried her attacks, he observed her techniques closely. Shin's swordsmanship was quite eclectic, having learned much from Maki initially and later honing his skills through training and real combat.

Miwa's sword style, however, seemed more systematic. It appeared to be from a style called "New Shadow Style," which the second-year homeroom teacher Kusakabe Atsuya also practiced—and he was quite skilled.

Legend has it that during the Heian period, a powerful sorcerer named Ashiya Sadatsuna created a "simple domain" to protect his disciples from the persecution of cursed spirits and sorcerers. This style has been passed down for generations, combining sword techniques with the use of cursed energy and cursed tools.

After exchanging a dozen or so blows with Miwa, Shin realized that she was still far from mastering her technique. Her strength and cursed energy were insufficient, which meant that, even though her sword skills were decent, she wouldn't be able to hold her own against a stronger opponent.

Of course, Shin's standards were high. Compared to most sorcerers, Miwa was still quite capable. There was even a chance she could achieve something in the future, like Kusakabe, who had already become a first-grade sorcerer.

But right now, she was nowhere near that level. Shin's blade found a gap in her defense, forcing her to retreat. Several swift slashes followed, pushing her into a dangerous position.

After a sweeping attack knocked Miwa to the ground, Shin reflected on their sword styles and said to the rising Miwa, "Your sword is too slow, lacks power, and has no conviction."

Seeing Miwa's confused expression, Shin explained cheerfully, "What I mean is, you lack the will to strike down your opponent. Even if you're using a wooden sword and know you can't kill your opponent, when you pick up a sword, you need to understand that it's a weapon—a tool capable of taking life. You need the resolve to fight."

"Why did you come to Jujutsu High? Or rather, why did you enter the world of jujutsu?"

Gasping for breath under the pressure, Miwa hesitated for a moment before answering obediently, "Because I was poor. I have two younger brothers at home, so I became a jujutsu sorcerer to support them."

Shin understood. Ordinary people couldn't deal with curses, but as long as negative emotions existed in humans, curses would persist. The government and other high-ranking officials knew about the jujutsu world, but to avoid public panic (which could generate even more curses), they kept it hidden from society.

There was always a shortage of sorcerers, especially for the dangerous job of exorcising curses. That's why the salary was so high, though it couldn't be openly discussed. Otherwise, sorcerers would likely have a much higher social status.

The higher a sorcerer's grade, the more money they could earn. Miwa's response didn't surprise Shin. She wasn't from a jujutsu family, nor did she seem to have the passion for combat that someone like Todo had, or the personal history of someone like Yuta.

Her reasoning was fine, but it had a flaw. Shin pointed his sword at Miwa. "You don't have the will or reason to become stronger. Right now, you're only thinking about making money through being a sorcerer. Have you ever considered that one day you might face a curse far beyond your strength and die suddenly?"

Before the stunned Miwa could respond, Shin continued, "So, you actually do have a reason to get stronger—whether it's for more money or to avoid dying on a mission. You need the resolve to give it your all and kill your enemy."

Miwa stared at her reflection in the blade, lost in thought. Then Shin spoke again, "You have one more chance—just one. Show me your resolve."

Miwa looked up to see Shin mirroring her earlier stance almost exactly. In her mind, she sighed: *What kind of monster is this?* But the feeling passed quickly.

Shin was right. She hadn't truly committed to being a sorcerer. In school, training with Mai, Nishimiya, and the others had been tough, and missions had brought dangers, but nothing too extreme.

But if she ever faced an opponent like him, how long could she last? She might die in an instant. What would happen to her family? Would she ever see Mai, Nishimiya, or the others again?

She slowly sheathed her blade, taking a stance for a draw. Calming her mind, she felt the flow of cursed energy through the sheath, aware of everything within a small radius around her. Anything that entered that space would trigger a strike as swift as lightning.

New Shadow Style: Simple Domain.

New Shadow Style: Quickdraw.

'So, this is the Simple Domain? And that draw technique is interesting, using cursed energy to accelerate the sword while still in the sheath for a faster strike upon drawing?'

Shin sheathed his own sword and took up a draw stance. He couldn't quite mimic the Simple Domain, but he couldn't help but think how useful Gojo-sensei's Six Eyes would be. If he could easily see through others' techniques and cursed energy flow, he could probably learn this after a few more tries.

"Let's see how fast my draw is without using techniques."

Shin watched Miwa, who was fully prepared, while his cursed energy flowed faster and faster along his blade, making it seem as if the entire sword was engulfed in blue flames.

*Clang!*

The sharp sound of metal echoed as Shin's figure vanished, reappearing in front of Miwa with his blade already drawn. At the same time, Miwa's blade had already slashed out the moment Shin's presence entered her Simple Domain, delivering a lightning-fast draw.

Seeing Miwa's strike filled with killing intent and her blade sharp and decisive, Shin finally felt like it was a real contest.

In such a high-speed draw duel, it was inevitable that their strikes would collide. The match would be decided when one of their blades broke.

However, Shin Shuichi didn't do so. At the moment when the blades were about to collide, he slightly adjusted the angle of his cursed blade, causing the two blades to pass by each other. Then, with a flick and twist of his blade, Shin Shuichi disarmed Miwa Kasumi.

Miwa Kasumi's sword, now out of her control, spun through the air, about to fly away.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from above and caught the hilt of the sword, pulling it back. Miwa Kasumi looked at the empty hand in relief, exhaled deeply, and then bowed to Shin Shuichi. "Thank you."

Masamichi Yaga then announced the result of the first match: "First match, Shin Shuichi wins. One point for Tokyo Jujutsu High."

Returning to their seats—well, to be more precise, everyone was kneeling, but Shin Shuichi wasn't used to that and sat cross-legged instead.

Watching Miwa Kasumi being comforted by her team on the other side, Maki sighed, "Looks like there are some normal people in Kyoto after all."

Next, Masamichi Yaga announced the second match: Panda versus Mai Zenin.

Mai's cursed technique wasn't a secret, especially with her sister here. Her technique was called "Construction," which allowed her to create objects from nothing. Moreover, the objects created by the technique didn't disappear after the technique ended.

When Shin Shuichi first heard about this technique, he could only marvel at how incredible jujutsu sorcerers were. Each technique was more outrageous than the last.

Unfortunately, due to her own limitations, Mai could only create a limited amount of material per day, usually just one bullet. She used this bullet in conjunction with her revolver, hiding the cursed energy bullet among six ordinary bullets to catch her opponent off guard.

The battle then began. Panda gave his opponent quite a surprise. Despite his cute appearance, he had excellent close-combat abilities. However, the dojo posed both advantages and disadvantages for Mai.

Panda's large frame wasn't just for show. With his body strengthened by cursed energy, he withstood several of Mai's bullets and remained combat-ready. Although they weren't real bullets, Mai's close-combat skills were severely lacking, and once Panda closed the distance, she found herself in a precarious situation.

The decisive moment came when, after Panda exploited a flaw in her defense, Mai used her cursed energy bullet to hit Panda's core. She had gathered this intel through several previous injuries.

But Panda wasn't just a simple panda. He had three cores. After switching to his gorilla mode, the victory was sealed.

"Second match, Panda wins. Two points for Tokyo Jujutsu High."

"Panda is the best!"

"Tuna mayo!"

Panda scratched his head and laughed as the crowd cheered for him. Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the Kyoto side was somber. After Nishimiya Momo and Miro Kasumi comforted Mai, Noritoshi Kamo spoke up, "Let's just give it our all in the next round. No need to feel bad..."

"Third match: Toge Inumaki versus Mechamaru."

Mechamaru stepped forward, saying, "I'm up."

When Toge Inumaki entered the field, he politely said, "Kelp," though the other side didn't understand. Then, when the official match began, Mechamaru suddenly fired several small spheres from his hands.

The spheres weren't aimed at Toge but at the ground. Upon impact, they shattered and released smoke, and Mechamaru disappeared into the rising fog.

"Disperse!"

With Toge's cursed speech, a gust of wind suddenly blew through the room, trying to clear the smoke. At that moment, a red light flashed from the smoke, and a blazing pillar of fire shot toward Toge.

Toge swiftly dodged, while Mechamaru used various methods to hide his figure and attacked from a distance, trying to wear down Toge's stamina.

Toge realized this and tried to avoid using his cursed technique, focusing instead on locating Mechamaru's position as quickly as possible.

The dojo, fortified with advanced barrier techniques, still managed to hold up under Mechamaru's barrage.

Finally, as Toge's voice became strained and he neared his limit, he managed to spot Mechamaru's form. Mechamaru had run out of tools to conceal himself, and under the direct gaze of a cursed speech user, even the ultimate Mechamaru wouldn't last long.

Left with no choice, Mechamaru surrendered. After all, he had put a lot of effort into creating this puppet, and surrendering would allow him to preserve it.

"If it were a different environment, I might've stood a chance..." Mechamaru thought as he returned to his seat.

Back in his seat, Toge was immediately greeted with concern from his teammates, and a throat remedy was promptly handed to him.

The situation was now almost certain. With three points already secured for Tokyo Jujutsu High, the worst they could do was a tie. One more victory, and the Tokyo school would claim the win in the exchange event once again.

At that moment, Maki looked up and said, "It's probably my turn next." Sure enough, Masamichi Yaga announced the next match: Maki Zenin versus Nishimiya Momo.

The result was inevitable. Flying near the ceiling on her broomstick, Nishimiya Momo tried to attack Maki with wind blades generated by her broom, but Maki's animal-like instincts allowed her to block each strike.

Then, using the room's layout, Maki quickly leaped off the walls and struck Nishimiya Momo down. What followed was a scene of a "grown-up" bullying a "child."

"Maki Zenin wins. Another point for Tokyo."

"Woohoo!"

Shin Shuichi and Panda, who had planned to give Maki an over-the-top congrats, decided not to after receiving a murderous glare from her.

"Next match: Yuta Okkotsu versus Noritoshi Kamo."

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