"Mission complete!"
After handing things over to the police and the cleanup crew, Tokiya Shingen was finally free.
Lately, his days had been nothing but training at school and running missions.
It had been a while since he'd had any time to himself.
So instead of heading straight back—
He decided to take a walk around the city first.
Maybe pick up some souvenirs for everyone, too.
By the time he returned—
Maki Zenin, Panda, and the others had already completed their missions.
Though—
Maki had run into a bit of trouble.
She'd been slightly injured in battle.
Thankfully—
Nothing serious.
Meanwhile—
There was something even more shocking.
Yuta Okkotsu's "girlfriend"—
Rika—
Had fully manifested.
And during the mission—
She had torn the curse apart.
Completely.
And then came the bombshell:
"Yuta's classification… is Special Grade."
Maki had said it herself.
That meant—
Only three known Special Grade sorcerers existed:
Gojo Satoru — the strongest
Yuki Tsukumo — overseas
Suguru Geto — now a curse user
So—
Yuta was the fourth.
Thinking back to Rika's overwhelming presence…
It made sense.
"K-Kind of… yeah…" Yuta stammered, overwhelmed by the attention.
Panda gasped dramatically.
"Salmon…" Toge Inumaki chimed in.
Maki crossed her arms and scoffed.
"This bean sprout doesn't look Special Grade at all."
"Without that curse, he's completely useless."
But then—
She remembered.
Back then—
He had saved her.
And those children.
He's weak…
But if he keeps moving forward…
"…That's enough."
"Let's go. Training."
Maki turned first.
Panda slapped Yuta's shoulder.
"Come on! Let's walk the path to becoming stronger!"
Yuta nodded firmly.
And just like that—
They walked down the hallway together.
Sunlight streamed through the windows—
Falling across their smiles.
…
"Hah… hah…"
Yuta leaned on his wooden training sword, gasping.
His body—
Felt like it didn't belong to him anymore.
Across from him—
Maki stood ready.
"Get up."
"You've rested for five minutes already."
Nearby—
Panda watched from the grass.
"Yuta's amazing…"
"Maki and Shingen have been rotating against him."
"This is his seventh round, right?"
"Salmon."
Yuta himself had asked to get stronger.
So Maki—
With a cold smile—
Designed this training.
Relentless.
High-intensity sparring—
Alternating between her and Shingen.
His improvement—
Was obvious.
But the cost—
Was immense.
This training pushed him to his limits.
As for injuries—
They weren't a concern.
After all—
Shoko Ieiri was there.
A master of Reverse Cursed Technique.
When Yuta stood again—
Taking his stance—
Maki finally smiled.
"Ready for a storm?"
Nearby—
Shingen had just finished his turn.
But then—
He spotted someone approaching.
Masamichi Yaga
And—
A familiar presence.
Shingen's eyes lit up.
He ran over immediately.
At the same time—
A white blur sprinted toward him.
"White Wolf!"
The massive dog leapt—
Knocking Shingen flat—
Licking and nudging him wildly.
After wrestling it into submission—
Shingen finally got a good look.
White Wolf had changed.
Bigger
Stronger
Dark streaks in its fur
Denser cursed energy
In fact—
It now rivaled a typical Grade 2 curse.
In combat mode.
Though—
It was still a cursed corpse.
Unlike Panda—
Who was a one-of-a-kind mutation.
White Wolf still required Shingen's cursed energy for combat.
But now—
It was far more capable.
Yaga stepped forward.
Shingen smiled.
"What upgrades did you give White Wolf?"
Yaga nodded slightly.
"First—overall enhancement."
"With enough cursed energy, it can exorcise weaker Grade 2 curses alone."
"Second—tracking."
"It can now detect cursed energy more accurately and over a wider range."
Shingen nodded gratefully.
Soon—
The others gathered.
And naturally—
White Wolf stole all the attention.
Even Maki—
Who initially looked unimpressed—
Ended up petting it.
"Good dog…" Yuta muttered emotionally.
Shingen had White Wolf demonstrate its combat form.
Its body expanded—
Muscles tensed—
Claws and fangs sharpened—
A powerful presence.
…For about two seconds.
Then it ran back—
Asking for head pats.
Still—
In battle—
It was reliable.
Especially its tracking ability.
After a short break—
Yuta was dragged back into training.
Yaga left—
Busy as always.
…
Days passed.
Life returned to routine.
Training.
Missions.
Growth.
Yuta improved rapidly.
In pure physical combat—
He could now hold his own against Maki or Shingen.
After morning training—
Shingen was practicing his technique—
When he heard Panda shouting.
"Shingen! The Kyoto Exchange Event is coming up!"
Shingen blinked.
Oh.
Right.
That event.
Panda explained:
"It's a competition between us and Kyoto Jujutsu High."
"Usually second and third years participate…"
"But since they're not around…"
"And with Yuta being Special Grade…"
"They decided first years will compete."
Shingen nodded.
"With Yuta… we'll win, right?"
Panda handed him a cold drink.
"Not guaranteed."
"Rika won't be allowed."
"But still…"
"We've got a good chance."
"What's the format?"
"Team battles, individual matches… something like that."
They reached the field.
Inumaki was running laps—
White Wolf following him.
Maki and Yuta were sparring.
After a while—
The match ended.
Maki won.
She turned.
"You heard, right?"
"It's next week."
"We're increasing training intensity."
Everyone agreed.
Panda raised his fist.
"Let's give it everything we've got!"
"Heyyy~ my energetic students!"
They turned.
Gojo Satoru stood there—
In casual clothes—
Wearing sunglasses.
After greetings—
Maki muttered:
"What's this unreliable blindfold doing here?"
Gojo grinned.
"I came to see you all!"
"Seeing this energy…"
"I'm fired up!"
"So I've decided—"
"Special training before the exchange event!"
Everyone else didn't react much—
But—
Shingen's face went dark.
He knew.
"Special training" meant—
Hell.
Gojo's training wasn't based on what you thought your limits were—
It was based on your actual limits.
And he would push you—
All the way there.
Shingen finished his drink.
Calmly.
"…Hell is coming."
Panda blinked.
"Huh? What did you say?"