The atmosphere inside the Principal's office was always heavy with the scent of old wood, incense, and the subtle, underlying hum of active cursed energy.
Masamichi Yaga sat behind his large traditional desk, his massive frame casting a long shadow across the tatami mats. His hands, usually busy crafting intricate cursed corpses, were resting flat on a thick parchment document. He looked up through his dark sunglasses as the sliding door clicked open.
Yuta Okkotsu stepped into the room, his white Jujutsu High uniform pristine. He bowed politely.
"You called for me, Principal Yaga?" Yuta asked, his voice soft.
"Sit, Yuta," Yaga directed, his deep voice resonating off the walls.
Yuta took a seat on the designated cushion, adjusting the strap of his sword case over his shoulder. Yaga slid the parchment document across the desk. It was an official, high-priority emergency deployment order, stamped with the wax seals of the traditionalist conservative leadership. The higher-ups.
Yuta picked it up, scanning the lines of text. His eyebrows furrowed as he read the details.
"A Grade 2 curse manifestation in a remote mountain village... estimated casualty risk is low," Yuta read aloud, tilting his head in confusion. He looked up at Yaga. "Principal... why am I being assigned to this? A mission of this caliber could easily be completed by a standard Grade 1 sorcerer, or even an experienced Grade 2. Sending a Special Grade across the country right now seems... inefficient."
Yaga let out a heavy, weary sigh, crossing his thick arms over his chest.
"To be completely honest with you, Yuta... I do not know," Yaga admitted, his tone darkening slightly. "The directive bypassed standard school channels. It came directly from the primary executive branches of the higher-ups. They insisted that your specific administrative status required you to oversee this boundary anomaly."
Yaga leaned forward, the light catching his dark lenses.
"They are definitely planning something," Yaga muttered quietly, his voice full of protective anger. "The timing is far too precise to be a mere coincidence. With the Sister School Exchange Event starting tomorrow morning, removing our primary Special Grade from the campus is a blatant tactical adjustment. I am just not entirely sure what their ultimate play is."
Yuta stared at the document for a long moment. He knew about the political friction within the jujutsu world, and he knew how much the conservative faction feared anything they couldn't strictly control.
But instead of looking worried, Yuta simply offered a calm, reassuring smile. He folded the document and stood up, bowing deeply to his principal.
"It's alright, Principal Yaga. I will go," Yuta said firmly. "If it's an official order, refusing it will only cause unnecessary trouble for you and Gojo-sensei. Besides... Oden is still here."
Yuta's eyes sharpened with absolute confidence.
"Oden is more than capable of protecting the Tokyo team," Yuta stated, recalling his classmate's monstrous strength and sharp mind. "No matter what the Kyoto school or the higher-ups are planning for the exchange event, Oden will handle it. I'll focus on finishing this mission as fast as possible so I can return to everyone."
Yaga's expression softened slightly behind his glasses. "Very well. Take care out there, Yuta. The vehicle is waiting near the secondary gates."
"Thank you, Principal. I'll head out now."
Yuta turned and slid the door shut, stepping out into the cool morning corridors of the school.
A few minutes later, Yuta was walking down the wide, winding stone path that led toward the main courtyard of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Suddenly, a massive, overwhelming presence registered in his senses. It wasn't the malicious, slimy feel of a cursed spirit, but rather a dense, roaring wall of pure physical vitality and structured cursed energy.
Yuta stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening slightly.
Two figures were walking up the ancient stone steps leading into the main courtyard. They were clearly students from the Kyoto sister school, wearing their distinct dark uniforms.
The first was a young woman with shoulder-length, light-blue hair, a long katana strapped to her hip. She was looking around the Tokyo campus with wide, polite, and slightly nervous eyes.
The second figure was an absolute mountain of a man. He stood well over six feet tall, his massive chest and shoulders practically straining against the fabric of his uniform. A thick, prominent scar ran vertically down the left side of his face, and his dark hair was tied back in a messy topknot. He moved with the heavy, unyielding stride of an alpha predator.
Aoi Todo and Kasumi Miwa had arrived in Tokyo ahead of their team to scout the grounds.
Todo stopped at the top of the stairs, his sharp eyes instantly locking onto Yuta. A wide, aggressive grin spread across his scarred face.
"Oh? Well, well. Look what we have here," Todo boomed, his voice echoing off the surrounding traditional wooden buildings. "You're Okkotsu, right? One of Tokyo's golden boys."
Yuta blinked, completely caught off guard by the massive teenager's intense aura. He shifted his duffel bag slightly and bowed his head politely. "Uh... yes. Hello. You must be the students from Kyoto..."
Miwa instantly recognized Yuta, her hands flying to her mouth in a quiet gasp. 'Oh my god, it's Okkotsu-kun! The Special Grade! He looks so polite in person!'
Todo entirely ignored the pleasantries. He took three massive strides forward, stopping less than two feet away from Yuta. He towered over the Tokyo student, casting a massive, intimidating shadow over him. Todo crossed his tree-trunk arms, his expression turning deathly serious.
"Okkotsu. Before we get to tomorrow's festivities, I have a fundamental query for you," Todo stated, his voice dropping into a deep, theatrical baritone. "A question that strips away the lies of society and reveals the very blueprint of a man's soul."
Yuta tilted his head, completely bewildered. "A... query?"
"Todo-san!" Miwa pleaded from behind, her face turning entirely red with embarrassment. "We are guests here! You can't just ambush people and start doing your weird interrogation routine!"
Todo raised a massive hand, silencing her without looking back. His eyes remained deadlocked on Yuta.
"Tell me, Yuta Okkotsu... what kind of women do you like?"
Silence fell over the courtyard. The wind rustled through the maple trees, dropping a single leaf between them.
Yuta stood entirely frozen. His mind completely blanked out. He had prepared himself for political traps, ambushes by high-grade curses, or intense tactical questioning from rival schools. He had not prepared to be asked about his dating preferences by a giant scarred teenager on a random Wednesday morning.
"Um..." Yuta stammered, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. He nervously scratched his cheek, his mind flashing back to his childhood memories, which were complicated, to say the least. "I... I don't really have a specific physical preference or type, honestly. I think... as long as there is a genuine connection... and they are a kind, good person... that's enough for me."
Todo stood perfectly still.
For three agonizing seconds, he didn't move a single muscle.
Then, slowly, massive, fat tears began pouring down Todo's scarred cheeks, splashing onto the stone pavement below. His face contorted into a mask of profound, overwhelming disappointment.
"Boring," Todo whispered, his voice trembling with tragic sorrow. "Completely and utterly mundane. A soul with absolutely no flavor, no passion, no spark of individuality!"
Yuta's jaw dropped. "Huh?!"
"I knew it from the very first glance!" Todo suddenly roared, wiping his tears away with a violent motion. "You have an ocean of power, but your spirit is a hollow shell! A man who cannot define his own desires is a man who cannot stand as my brother! You are boring, Okkotsu! And I absolutely despise boring people!"
Without a single fraction of a second of warning, Todo dropped his weight and exploded forward. His massive right fist reeled back, enveloped in a dense, heavy coating of raw cursed energy that rippled through the air like a localized heatwave.
"Todo-san, stop! You're going to start an international incident!" Miwa screamed, her hand instinctively flying to the hilt of her katana as she tried to warn him.
But Todo was completely deaf to her words. He threw a brutal, lunging right hook aimed directly at Yuta's jaw.
The sheer wind pressure from the punch ripped through the courtyard before the fist even arrived. Yuta's instincts, honed by months of brutal training with Maki, kicked in instantly. He let go of his duffel bag, dropping his weight down into a deep crouch.
Todo's fist sailed directly over Yuta's head, the near-miss creating a sharp WHOOSH sound that tore a few strands of Yuta's hair.
Todo didn't hesitate. Sensing the dodge, he immediately transitioned his momentum into a crushing, downward low kick aimed directly at Yuta's ribs.
Yuta crossed his forearms, absorbing the blow.
BANG!
The sheer physical force of Todo's leg sent Yuta skidding across the stone pavement, his boots leaving dark rubber marks on the concrete. Yuta stabilized himself, his arms tingling from the raw, monstrous impact. He looked up, realizing that this insane giant was genuinely trying to beat him into the pavement.
'If I don't fight back... he's going to destroy the courtyard', Yuta thought, his expression hardening as his gentle demeanor vanished.
Yuta took a deep breath, and within a single millisecond, the dam broke.
BOOM!
An absolutely staggering, terrifying tidal wave of pure, thick, blue-white cursed energy erupted from Yuta's body. The sheer volume of his reservoir was so massive that the ambient air pressure in the courtyard plummeted instantly. The surrounding trees shook violently, and the stone ground beneath Yuta's feet began to fracture, spider-webbing outward from his boots.
Miwa's breath hitched in her throat. She felt an instinctual, primal terror grip her heart. She took five rapid steps back, her knees trembling under the sheer weight of Yuta's aura. 'What... what is this?! It feels like I'm standing at the bottom of a collapsing ocean! This is a Special Grade!'
Todo's eyes widened, a manic, ecstatic grin tearing across his face. "Yes! That's it! Show me the weight of that anomaly, Okkotsu!"
Todo charged again, moving at a speed that completely defied his massive bulk. He closed the distance in a fraction of a second, throwing a blinding barrage of strikes. Left hooks, rapid jabs, and heavy elbow strikes.
Yuta stepped forward to meet him. Enveloped completely in his dense, ghostly blue-white cursed energy, Yuta's physical stats skyrocketed, perfectly matching Todo's natural genetic perfection.
The choreography of the clash was mesmerizingly violent.
CLANG! BANG! CRACK!
Yuta parried a lethal left jab with the palm of his hand, the impact creating a brilliant flash of sparks. He slipped under Todo's follow-up elbow strike, driving a heavily reinforced fist straight into Todo's midsection. Todo anticipated the blow, tightening his abdominal muscles and shifting his weight to absorb the impact.
The collision of Yuta's fist against Todo's stomach produced a deafening sonic boom that blew away all the loose dirt and leaves in a fifty-yard radius.
Todo grunted, the force pushing him back an inch, but he used that backward momentum to launch a vicious, spinning backfist. Yuta raised his forearm to block it, the sheer force of the collision causing the stone pavement beneath both of their feet to violently shatter, sending chunks of concrete exploding into the air.
They were moving like twin streaks of light now. Todo a blur of heavy, brutal crimson force, and Yuta a fluid, elegant storm of blue-white energy.
Todo attempted to transition into a wrestling grapple, his massive arms reaching out to lock Yuta's shoulders. Yuta, utilizing his superior agility, twisted his body mid-air, stepping lightly onto Todo's knee and launching himself upward. He spun gracefully, executing a powerful downward heel drop aimed at Todo's head.
Todo crossed his massive forearms above him, catching the kick. The ground beneath Todo completely cratered, sinking down several inches from the sheer weight of the descending force.
"Incredible!" Todo shouted, his muscles bulging as he threw Yuta's leg off him. "Your physical reinforcement is absolute! You're a worthy opponent after all!"
Yuta landed cleanly on his feet. The air around him was vibrating violently, his cursed energy expanding further. Todo grinned wildly, raising his hands, his palms preparing to execute a sharp, decisive clap to activate his innate technique.
The fight was a split-second away from escalating into a catastrophic battle that would level the entire entrance of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
But before Todo's palms could touch, the world stopped.
An absolute, crushing weight descended over the entire courtyard. It wasn't loud, and it wasn't violent, but it was an undeniable, infinite authority that instantly froze the nervous systems of everyone present.
"Now, now. We can't have our lovely guests breaking the pavement before the festival even starts."
A casual, cheerful voice drifted through the clearing.
In the exact millisecond between them, Satoru Gojo appeared. He was standing perfectly upright, his hands casually resting in his pockets. He had one hand lightly touching Todo's right shoulder, and his other hand was gently extended, his index finger resting directly against Yuta's forehead.
The immense, explosive forward momentum of both teenage powerhouses was instantly reduced to absolute zero. They couldn't move an inch forward.
Todo's eyes widened, his breath catching as he felt the casual, terrifying gravity radiating from the man beside him. The manic grin slowly faded from his face, replaced by a deep grunt of begrudging respect. He lowered his hands, stepping back.
Yuta immediately dropped his fists, his massive tidal wave of blue-white cursed energy vanishing into his body in a neat, disciplined breath. He let out a long, exhausted sigh of relief.
"Gojo-sensei..." Yuta murmured, rubbing his forehead where Gojo's finger had tapped him.
"Hi there!" Gojo greeted brightly, pulling his hands out of his pockets and waving to the Kyoto students as if nothing had happened. "Welcome to Tokyo Jujutsu High! Though, usually, people like to check in at the front desk before they start trying to demolish our historical architecture."
Miwa was standing entirely frozen a few yards away, her face rapidly shifting from pale terror to a bright, blushing pink. Her inner thoughts were screaming at a deafening volume. 'Oh my god! Oh my god! It's Satoru Gojo! The real Satoru Gojo! He's right there! He's so tall! His hair looks so soft! I'm actually breathing the same air as the strongest sorcerer in existence!'
Todo adjusted his uniform, letting out a loud, dramatic huff. "Tch. You ruined the flow, Gojo-san. We were just getting to the philosophical core of our relationship."
"Yeah, well, your 'philosophical core' is going to make Yuta miss his car," Gojo chuckled, stepping over and picking up Yuta's dropped duffel bag, tossing it lightly to his student. "Go on, Yuta. Principal Yaga's driver is probably sweating bullets by the gate. Don't worry about the mess here; I'll make sure our passionate friend from Kyoto helps sweep up the broken rocks."
Yuta caught the bag, offering one last polite, slightly apologetic bow to Todo and a deeply embarrassed Miwa.
"I'm sorry for the trouble," Yuta said softly. "Good luck with the exchange event tomorrow."
With that, Yuta turned and quickly jogged down the path, heading toward his assigned mission, leaving the Tokyo school grounds firmly behind him as the shadows of the upcoming war began to lengthen.
---
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