Chapter 99

The exchange between the sister schools of Tokyo Jujutsu High School and Kyoto Jujutsu High School is said to be held annually by drawing lots to determine the competition format, but it is basically a day for both team and individual competitions.

Team battles, on the other hand, mostly revolve around both sides competing for the cursed spirits that are thrown into a fixed area and exorcising them to score points.

These cursed spirits are mostly below level two—after all, high-level sorcerers are far rarer than imagined.

For a class like the Tokyo Jujutsu High School, recruiting two top-tier potential talents like Gojo Satoru and Natsuyu Suke is already quite an achievement.

Gojo Satoru's [Six Eyes] + [No Limits] is too rare, while Natsume's [Spirit Manipulation Technique], which allows him to manipulate an unlimited number of spirits, also possesses considerable destructive power.

As for Kazuma Hagoromo, it's normal for a non-family-trained sorcerer like him, who had no one to teach him before entering the academy, to not know how to use his own spells for the time being.

There are even sorcerers who only possess magical power but have not awakened their innate spells—in such cases, they will learn some general techniques or simple domains to fight their enemies, such as barrier spells or [New Yin Flow].

In short, there is a severe shortage of skilled sorcerers in the world of sorcery, and most of them are at level two or below.

For example, Anka, who is Gojo Satoru's senior, has only reached the level of a second-level sorcerer.

"—So that's how it is."

After hearing these explanations, Kazuma Hatori nodded slightly.

After a brief exchange about the topic of mysterious hair, the vengeful Xiao Wu immediately transformed into a doubly happy Xiao Wu, his body pressed tightly against Hagoromo Kazuma with the rustling of fabric as he quietly explained the relevant knowledge to this newcomer to sorcery.

Although schools teach a lot of theoretical knowledge about the application of magical power, they don't also teach them the somewhat heartbreaking truths about the world of magical arts.

There were clearly two chairs with armrests, but Gojo Satoru squeezed them together, making the armrests an unwelcome nuisance, and he almost twisted them off with a single force.

"I thought it was one of those armrest structures that you could just flip up and fold away."

Gojo Satoru muttered a complaint under his breath, almost making Hatori Kazuma let out a noticeable laugh.

It's not like watching a movie or flying on a plane; you can't just bend the armrest whenever you want.

Fortunately, Gojo Satoru stopped in time, and did not subconsciously try to infuse his physical strength with magical power because he hadn't managed to pry the handrails open in the previous attempts, thus avoiding damage to the school property.

"Anyway, this kind of match is super boring."

Gojo Satoru continued to ignore the poor handrail that made a distinct creaking sound, and instead used it to continue whispering in Hato Kazuma's ear.

The voice that reached Kazuma Hatake's ears was soft and gentle, like a cotton candy that had just been licked, so sweet that it made his mood float towards the clear sky.

"If it were up to me, I definitely wouldn't choose this kind of boring battle format."

Kazuma Hatake lowered his voice and asked him, "Which way would you choose?"

"Oh my, there are so many!"

In this conference room where everyone had to keep their voices down, even Gojo Satoru's usual deliberately wicked chuckles softened, becoming a slightly mischievous whisper, like a glass of chilled carbonated soda bubbling away.

On one hand, he seems like he must be extremely malicious, but on the other hand, it's hard not to find him incredibly cute.

"For example, this number of people is just right for playing basketball, and we can also play tug-of-war, ball throwing, horseback riding, obstacle course races, rugby, bowling, baseball..."

Gojo Satoru became more and more excited as he counted, wishing he could actually throw all these interesting-sounding items into those lottery buckets.

Kazuma Hatake listened and nodded—this is pretty much like their school's sports meet.

There will be opportunities in the future.

He whispered to Gojo Satoru, "For example, when you can participate in this exchange next year, you can apply to Professor Yagami..."

Sitting in front of them, Masamichi Noi heard most of the conversation, and his silent expression revealed his utter speechlessness.

The sister school competition was held to determine who was better in sorcery, so how could they possibly play these childish games?

Wu, that kid really dares to think... and the other one is really giving random advice!

However, Masamichi Yagami estimates that Gojo Satoru will most likely not be able to play next year.

He's too strong. Even if Tokyo Jujutsu High School wanted him to play, Kyoto Jujutsu High School wouldn't agree.

Isn't this like suddenly throwing a fire-breathing Tyrannosaurus Rex into a group of dancing groundhogs fighting?

“That makes sense,” Gojo Satoru’s eyes lit up. “Ah, what if Moth-sensei doesn’t agree?”

"I'm here to scare..."

Kazuma Hatori had barely begun to speak when Satoru Gojo covered his mouth with his hand – he had already seen the Night Moth teacher sitting in front of him turn around, and wow, what a scary expression!

Moth said: "…………"

Those two brats!

………

This team battle is finally coming to an end, even though the audience is watching with little interest.

Currently, it appears to be a victory for Tokyo Jujutsu High School.

Although the two sides had several encounters, they were both very restrained in their exchanges, aiming to disable each other's offensive capabilities rather than resorting to lethal attacks.

For the students running and fighting in the forest, by the buildings and along the streams, their current pressure is only about whether they can win, not about the danger to their lives.

The members of the three starter families were restless the entire time, truly feeling that with every minute they stayed there, they were getting closer to death.

They couldn't understand why they were so afraid of that black-haired boy, no matter how hard they racked their brains.

People like Kamo Chokichi, who had seen the black-haired boy before, thought they were mentally prepared and could treat him with a normal attitude... what a joke.

Seeing him is far more terrifying than actually seeing a ghost!

At least the "ghosts" that ordinary people understand can be explained by the "cursed spirits" in the world of sorcery.

But this black-haired boy terrified them so much that it was completely unreasonable!

This led to the fact that as soon as the team battle ended and the winner of the day was announced as Tokyo Jujutsu High School, the three old men from the "Big Three" all stood up in unison, including Yoshinobu Rakuganji, the principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High School, who was also a member of the core conservative faction of the supervisory department.

The night moth, who was about to say a few polite words to the defeated side, was startled and looked around blankly.

After all, in the first playthrough, Kazuma Hato was very polite to Principal Yamo and didn't make him suffer the torment of a living devil, which kept his favorability rating in a positive number.

"Ahem, something's suddenly come up..."

"Now that the match is over, I shouldn't linger any longer..."

"Also, remember to tell the students to get some rest, they've worked hard..."

The excuses they came up with were more and more casual, and the way they walked was more and more nimble.

Zenji Naoya also tried to slip away, but Gojo Satoru grabbed his shoulder and pinned him to the spot, unable to move.

"Don't rush off, Zen monk."

Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow, meeting his exceptionally kind smile.

"I remember your name is Naoya, right?"

He pretended that he was really meeting Zenin Naoya for the first time, but the force of his hand was so strong that the other man could barely straighten his back.

"We're about the same age, let's chat."

Hato Kazuma stood next to Gojo Satoru, his gaze also fixed on Zenin Naoya, conveying a clear message: "You dare to try running away."

Zenin Naoya, surrounded by two demons: "…………"

Damn it, I knew he shouldn't have come to join in the fun!

Why can't he control his love for excitement? He used to want to see the bottom student and immediately went to see it and was amazed; now he wants to see the level of students at the sorcery college and made a special trip to see it, only to be even more frightened and lose his composure...!

If Gojo Satoru heard this, who knows how much he would roll his eyes.

What do you mean by "liking to join in the fun"? This person just wants to use their status, skills, position, or anything else that allows them to surpass others, in order to smugly savor the feeling of superiority.

If Hagoromo Kazuma had scared him this much before even appearing on stage, who knows what kind of contemptuous things he might have said to the sorcerers who were competing.

Lines like "Is this all the sorcerers outside of Zen temples are capable of?" or "No wonder they say [those outside of Zen temples are not sorcerers, and those who are not sorcerers are not human]" are lines that will make your blood pressure soar.

At most, I might add, "Oh dear, they've worked so hard, I'll reluctantly give them a compliment."

As the son of the current head of the Zenin family, and a genius sorcerer who has awakened his family's inherited techniques, Zenin Naoya naturally receives top-tier resources.

As students who received elite family education and were very close in age, Gojo Satoru and Zenin Naoya had met each other since childhood.

However, they don't get along very well with each other.

Gojo Satoru felt extremely disgusted by Zenin Naoya's behavior of being quite accustomed to the family's rigid rules and even taking advantage of his status and strength to bully weaker family members.

Zenji Naoya knew he couldn't beat Gojo Satoru, and since Gojo was the already designated next head of the Gojo clan, he had to maintain a facade of harmony.

But it was precisely that attitude of treating people differently based on their status that made Gojo Satoru even less willing to deal with Zenin Naoya.

However, today is different.

Gojo Satoru was extremely interested. He could understand the old men from the three main families, but why was Zenin Naoya, who was only a year younger than him, so frightened by Hatori Kazuma?

After the entire conference room became empty, Gojo Satoru blinked his blue eyes innocently at Yomotsu Masamichi, who was looking at them.

"Teacher, I was just chatting with him."

Gojo Gosho used his "Innocent Confusion Technique" to subtly exert force in his palm, forcing Zenji Naoya to follow him.

"We've known each other for a long time—"

Hagoromo Kazuma also cast a cold glance at her, startling Zenin Naoya, who was about to speak.

Zenji Naoya: "..."

Zenji Naoya, bearing his humiliation and burden, echoed, "That's right."

"That's it, we'll chat for a bit and then we'll let him go... no, I mean, send him back!"

As he spoke, Gojo Satoru led his men away, quickly leaving the conference room and making their escape.

Moth said: "..."

Well, he's the designated successor of the Zen family after all, and not even his student at the college... there's no need to interfere too much.

—On the other side, Gojo Satoru picked up Zenin Naoya and casually found a corner, letting him find a place to sit.

Kazuma Hatake then gestured for him to kneel.

This is a formal sitting posture with both knees on the ground, buttocks resting on one's own feet, and back straight. It is a rather formal and traditional etiquette. Although both men and women use it, nowadays it is more women who need to learn and strictly adhere to it, while men often choose to sit cross-legged casually.

It's hard to say whether Hatori Kazuma didn't hold a grudge from the previous game against Zenji Naoya's request to kneel.

You said so many nasty things to him, and you think a few punches are enough? Dream on.

Zenji Naoya was completely stunned when he heard this request.

"...Do you know who I am?"

Zenin Naoya stared wide-eyed, finding it hard to believe that he, as a core member of one of the three great families, a genius sorcerer, and the future head of the Zenin family... was being driven by this nobody to perform such a humiliating, feminine ritual!

"You'd better be careful, the retaliation from the Zen family could be..."

"Say one more word and I'll make you kneel down in reverence."

Kazuma Hatake spoke calmly, his assertive attitude of "You're welcome to try" startling Satoru Gojo, who silently exclaimed "Wow!" with his expression.

Who knew that black pea shrubs could have such a commanding presence!

The person threatened by Kazuma Hatori: "..."

Zenji Naoya was cursing under his breath.

Zenji Naoya obediently did as instructed.