At the entrance of Jujutsu High.
Six figures clashed back and forth amidst swirling dust and flashing blades, locked in deadly combat.
A blond youth wielding a broken-hand sword stood off against an old man carrying a guitar, the two maintaining a tense ten-meter standoff as they advanced and retreated.
Shigemo Haruta glared at Gakuganji Yoshinobu, his face twisted in disgust as if he'd eaten something vile.
"I love crushing the weak, but this old bastard's no pushover!"
"Twang~!"
A roaring river of metallic guitar notes surged forth, vibrating through the air with enough force to make eardrums and internal organs ache.
Gakuganji passionately strummed his guitar, body swaying to the rhythm as murderous intent poured from every chord.
"Playing that loud without even needing speakers? I should sue you for noise pollution!"
Battered by the sonic assault, Shigemo felt every inch of his body resonating with the sound waves, his organs throbbing in pain as he scrambled backward in disarray.
This was Gakuganji Yoshinobu's cursed technique.
Transforming his body into a sound amplifier, he converted his cursed energy into devastating sonic attacks.
The stronger the sound waves, the greater the cursed energy consumption—and consequently, the more powerful the effect.
Remarkably, this ability affected all living creatures within earshot, and could even destroy inanimate objects through sonic resonance—a rare area-of-effect technique.
Driven back by the relentless onslaught of deadly notes, Shigemo fled in panic.
Though his retreat appeared clumsy—sometimes crawling on all fours without any means to counterattack—he miraculously dodged whenever Gakuganji concentrated his sound waves into a focused beam for a finishing blow. Whether by stumbling at just the right moment or a conveniently placed shrub blocking the path, he always escaped through sheer luck.
"Coincidence? No... He hasn't used his technique yet. It must be non-combative—either survival-oriented or perception-enhancing. Can he evade omnidirectional attacks? Even unseen ones? Or is it something else entirely?"
Gakuganji frowned coldly, eyes locked on Shigemo as he seized every opportunity to unleash lethal sound waves.
Despite his frantic dodging, Shigemo's face broke into a delighted grin.
"Perfect! My luck's holding strong!"
Beneath his eyes, six claw-like black markings stretched across his cheeks.
These were the physical manifestation of his cursed technique.
Shigemo Haruta's technique—Miracle Stockpile.
He could erase and store minor miracles from his daily life memories, releasing them all at once when facing mortal danger to escape death through endless coincidences.
The six claw marks beneath his eyes represented his accumulated miracles—each narrow escape consuming a portion of these markings.
The more lethal the threat, the more markings were expended.
If it were an attack powerful enough to kill him in one hit, surviving such an attack by sheer coincidence would require expending all six of his markings.
However, Gakuganji's sonic attacks, while covering a wide area, lacked sufficient single-target lethality, posing only a minor threat to Shigemo Haruta. Dodging several high-powered strikes had cost him just one marking.
Of the six markings beneath his eyes, only the outermost one on his left had turned into a dotted line. The second marking was slowly fading, while the other four remained untouched.
This technique was incredibly effective for survival, capable of pulling off unexpected feats at critical moments—such as when facing a fatal ambush.
But no matter how formidable the technique, it had its limits. If the opponent was overwhelmingly strong—so strong that even exhausting all accumulated miracles couldn't withstand their attacks—he would still be killed on the spot. Against an opponent far superior to him, the technique was practically useless, only buying him a little more time to struggle.
"In the end, you're just a nimble little monkey—you can't escape my grasp!"
Gakuganji sneered, his face filled with icy killing intent.
Survival-oriented techniques might let him live a little longer.
But they would never let him defeat Gakuganji!
Shigemo Haruta had no choice.
He didn't dare get close to Gakuganji—the area around him was where the sonic waves were strongest, and the attacks left no blind spots. Charging in recklessly could easily result in a devastating blow.
Anyone who understood his technique would likely gamble everything in a desperate rush toward Gakuganji, relying on his miracles to mitigate any fatal injuries. No matter how many markings he had to expend, as long as he could take down the enemy, it would be worth it.
But unfortunately—
Shigemo Haruta had no idea how his technique worked.
His only understanding of it was: "I have really good luck."
And that was it.
Too afraid to charge at Gakuganji, Shigemo could only wait for gaps in the guitar's rhythm or try to wear down his cursed energy. Until such an opportunity arose, he planned to keep dodging and weaving.
But what no one expected was that opportunities weren't limited to just one.
Sshhhk!
Suddenly, an invisible slash tore through the air!
A sound like steel slicing through flesh flashed by, and a severed arm, dripping with blood, was sent flying.
"Guh—!?"
Gakuganji's expression twisted in shock.
A searing pain erupted from his left arm, draining the color from his face.
He looked down—his entire left arm had been cleanly severed at the bicep, the wound so smooth it resembled a fountain of blood, rapidly staining his clothes and the ground beneath him.
"Damn it! I was too focused on chasing my prey—I forgot to watch my back! There's another enemy with long-range attacks!"
Furious, Gakuganji whipped his head around to glare behind him.
The only battlefield directly behind him was where Yaga Masamichi and the curse user shrouded in shadows were fighting.
The shadowy figure held a blade—his technique must be slash-based. He was the one who had ambushed him!
"Principal Gakuganji!"
Yaga Masamichi didn't realize what had just happened until he heard Principal Gakuganji's scream. Turning around, his face displayed rare intense emotions—both shame and fury.
The shadowy figure had feigned an attack on him, using that momentum to openly slash at Principal Gakuganji behind him!
"Only severed the left arm, huh?"
The shadowy figure murmured in a low voice upon seeing the result.
"A bit of a pity."
Whether it was his voice or physique, all his features were concealed by the shadows. No matter how furious Yaga was, he couldn't discern whether the figure was male or female, nor what they looked like.
"This is my failure, and I must make up for it!"
Yaga growled, charging toward the shadowy figure with rage written all over his face.
While reinforcing his body with cursed energy, a swarm of cursed corpses followed at his feet. Each resembled a doll—ugly yet oddly endearing—but their strength and speed were formidable, as if one man could form an entire army.
"I have no interest in you."
The shadowy figure snorted coldly, their tone utterly indifferent.
Not even a shred of killing intent could be sensed.
It was as if they truly had zero interest in Yaga, not even bothering to entertain the thought of killing him.
Their blade almost turned into light, slicing through the incoming cursed corpses like a grid, leaving none able to approach. Even Yaga's powerful strikes couldn't make them flinch.
"Is this guy not even trying? Looking down on me?"
Yaga's fury surged, but his mind remained clear.
No matter how he looked at it, the shadowy figure's movements were too composed.
Their true strength was likely far beyond what they were showing now. If they went all out, Yaga wasn't sure he could withstand it!
"Principal Gakuganji, need any help?"
On the other side, Mei Mei smiled casually as she glanced at Gakuganji.
At her feet lay the blacksmith, Juzo Kumiya, clearly already unconscious.
"Unnecessary!"
From not far away came Gakuganji Yoshinobu's roar, not bothering to hide his anger.
Suit yourself.
Mei Mei shrugged nonchalantly.
If she could fight two battles, her earnings would double.
Too bad Principal Gakuganji wasn't willing. What a shame.
Yaga, his face stern, threw a punch at the shadowy figure.
But at one point, his expression suddenly changed drastically, an unprecedented look of panic flashing across his face.
"Mei Mei, I leave this to you!"
Without hesitation, he turned and dashed toward the school, his legs brimming with cursed energy as he leaped forward.
Master Tengen was summoning him!
Had something happened at the Star Corridor?
Aside from that Special Grade cursed spirit and these three curse users, had someone else infiltrated Jujutsu High?!
"Tsk, this guy's way stronger than the other two..."
Hearing this, Mei Mei eyed the figure shrouded in shadows and couldn't help but mutter.
"This one's not just seven digits—gotta charge eight for this!"
With that, she actively charged at the shadowy figure.
The shadowy figure hadn't even planned to engage with her.
Seeing her approach, they merely raised their blade and casually exchanged a few strikes, just going through the motions.
Occasionally, they even glanced at the unconscious Juzo Kumiya nearby.
Even Shigemo Haruta held out until now.
Who would've thought you, with your burly build and seemingly stronger appearance, would be the first to go down.
Indeed, strength alone is not enough—one must strive to survive.
Okita quietly reflected in her heart.
Especially when she thought of herself, blessed with extraordinary swordsmanship yet felled by illness at a young age, her emotions grew even more profound.
With a single swing of her blade—
An invisible slash tore through the air.
Mei Mei stiffened, instinctively bracing herself—
Only to realize the sound of rending wind wasn't aimed at her, but had instead swept past her.
"What are you—"
Squelch!
Mei Mei froze, then glanced behind her.
Juzo Kumiya, who had been lying there moments ago, now had his head split clean in two, brains and blood spilling grotesquely across the ground.
Undeniably, irreversibly dead.
"So you're not comrades... I see. That was a pointless question."
Mei Mei shifted into a defensive stance, her focus locked onto the shadowy figure.
"Given how you're all shrouded in darkness, I assume you don't want your true identity exposed. No way you'd let us capture him alive!"
Fair point.
There was no such thing as camaraderie among curse users.
She had only knocked Juzo Kumiya unconscious with the intention of taking him alive—perhaps to squeeze another payout from Jujutsu High. Or, well, to claim an additional bounty.
Alas, that plan was now ruined.
Okita remained silent, casually deflecting Mei Mei's attacks.
Her reason for killing Juzo Kumiya had been guessed correctly.
Her identity couldn't be leaked to Jujutsu High.
If it were, her future appearances by her Master's side would only bring him unnecessary trouble.
"Juzo Kumiya... dead?"
On the other side, Shigemo Haruta witnessed the scene and blinked in surprise.
Suddenly, his face flushed with intense excitement as he stared at Okita's figure, his eyes burning with fervor.
"Incredible... The way you trample the weak is just mesmerizing... So good!"
Gakuganji Yoshinobu glared darkly at the guitar strapped to his back.
His left arm had been severed at the shoulder.
Normally, he could still play the guitar with one hand—his technique didn't require full melodies, just amplifying sound waves. One hand would've been enough to handle Shigemo.
But unfortunately, the headstock of his guitar had been severed along with his arm, the strings snapped, rendering it utterly silent.
He needed to find a way to turn this situation around.
Otherwise, he would die here.
Death itself didn't frighten him—but dying meaninglessly did.
"If I must die, it will only be by that brat's hand!"
Gakuganji growled, his voice seething like flames.
He could only die by Roy's hand.
That way, at least his death could shake Roy's standing in the jujutsu world and drive him out of Japan!
"No way! Before that happens, you'll die by mine!"
Shigemo cackled wildly, his face twisted with manic glee.
He charged forward, swinging his sword at Gakuganji.
"You insolent whelp—don't you dare lay a finger on me!"
Gakuganji snarled as he raised his head.
With a roar, he stirred the air itself, sending a tornado of sound waves crashing toward Shigemo!
Without his guitar, he could only rely on his own voice—his power visibly diminished.
But even weakened, this brat hadn't grown any stronger. There was no way he would lose!
The sonic wave struck head-on, like a tornado charging straight at him. Shigemo Haruta was startled, his face turning pale as he swiftly dodged to the side.
At that moment.
"How disgusting."
Okita muttered under her breath.
"?"
Mei Mei slowly blinked in confusion, a question mark forming in her mind.
This was the first time in her life she had received such an evaluation!
No matter how you looked at it, she was a beauty, wasn't she?
Fine.
Even if it wasn't for the payment, she would make sure to teach this shadowy figure a lesson they'd never forget—letting them know women shouldn't be so casually judged!
The next instant, the shadowy figure abruptly turned.
A single slash was unleashed.
The unseen slash was like an invisible net, tearing through the atmosphere like layers of shredded cloth, sweeping toward Shigemo Haruta's position!
Mei Mei, who had been about to unleash her full power, blinked in slight bewilderment at the sight.
"Infighting? What's going on now?"
You've already killed one.
And now you're trying to kill another?
Are you friend or foe?
"It's here again! That sneaky bastard!"
Gakuganji Yoshinobu's ears perked up the moment he heard the sound of the wind. His heart leaped into his throat as he immediately leaped backward without hesitation.
"What?!"
Shigemo Haruta was utterly shocked, his face drained of color in an instant.
Overwhelmed by terror, he threw himself to the side with all his might—
"The only one allowed to look at me with that kind of gaze is my Master."
The moment Okita unleashed her slash, she averted her eyes from Shigemo Haruta.
Her expression, hidden beneath the shadows, was as cold and piercing as an executioner's, devoid of any emotion, indifferently disregarding all life.
Hmm, I hope Master will look at me with a bit more adoration.
With such thoughts flickering through her mind, Okita pivoted on her feet, her figure vanishing like a phantom from Mei Mei's sight.
"Let this place run red with blood!"
Her Master's orders were clear—aside from Yaga Masamichi, everyone else was fair game.
Killing them all was fine.
Especially Gakuganji Yoshinobu.
So let this place run red with blood!
"Principal Gakuganji!"