"Now then, representing the Kyoto branch, I, Azuki Sakata, will be serving as the pilot. It is a pleasure to be here. Without further ado, let me begin by introducing our Shikigami!"
As she made her declaration, Azuki Sakata pulled a single scroll wrapped in sealing charms from her chest.
While the Tokyo school covered a massive area through sheer size, the Kyoto school compensated with 'length,' condensing their cursed charms into the form of a scroll.
"Just as the ink used for the Tokyo school's Shikigami was no ordinary ink, this scroll is, of course, no ordinary scroll. Like Tokyo, we performed a ritual involving 'Cursed Poetry,' 'Mudras,' 'Dance,' and 'Music.' However, our focus was on the papermaking itself—yes, we crafted this washi paper by hand. During that process, we wove our own hair into the fibers. Hair is a remarkably useful medium in sorcery, and I take pride in the fact that it yielded the results we expected. Furthermore, while we didn't perform a ritual on the same scale as Tokyo for the ink, we used a Prussian blue made from our own hair and blood."
Azuki's explanation flowed without hesitation. If her words were true, the time and effort spent on the preparation phase was slightly inferior to Tokyo's, but it was certainly a valiant effort.
However, the winner of this contest would not be decided by the technique used to create the charms, but by the battle between the Shikigami themselves.
For some reason, the moment Satoru Gojo laid eyes on the scroll released from its seal, he began rolling on the ground, his abdominal muscles seizing as he laughed so hard he couldn't make a sound. This display, in turn, began to fill the Tokyo side with a strange sense of 'tension.'
The air was thick with anticipation as everyone watched.
In the midst of this, Azuki Sakata looked around the area and loudly proclaimed the name of the Kyoto school's Shikigami. She poured a massive amount of cursed energy from the supply charms into the scroll all at once. The scroll unfurled on its own, tracing a giant 'Ring' onto the ground!
"Allow us to introduce the Kyoto school's Shikigami!"
"----'SENTAI GAKUGANJER'!!! MOVE OUT!!!"
Along with that unbelievable shout, five colored clouds of explosive smoke—red, yellow, blue, white, and black—suddenly erupted from the ring of the scroll. Emerging from the smoke were five Shikigami. They wore futuristic-looking headphones with antennas and hakama trousers, both matching their respective smoke colors. No matter how you looked at them, they were identical to Principal Gakuganji.
It was immediately obvious what they were: a band. The red one held an electric guitar, the yellow one an electronic trumpet, the blue one an electric bass, the white one a shoulder keyboard, and the black one digital percussion.
This utterly nonsensical five-man rock band consisting of five copies of Principal Gakuganji were undoubtedly the Shikigami of the Kyoto Jujutsu High. The insane name Azuki Sakata had shouted, 'Sentai Gakuganjer,' had not been a hallucination.
As the five of them began to play their instruments in unison, another burst of colorful smoke erupted. This finally broke the paralysis of the crowd, who had been frozen in disbelief, and their brains finally processed the situation before them.
Having been released from a state of mental blankness that was almost like a localized Infinite Void, they followed a lap behind Satoru Gojo, feeling the sharp sting of 'serious laughter' in their own guts.
"Ahahaha! This is the best! I love this kind of thing, it feels so much like a student project!"
"Bwahahaha! I see! If you look closely, that Gakuganji has molds all over his body! Is the concept a prosthetic body like in Ghost in the Shell? But man, the resemblance is uncanny!"
"Haha, this is hilarious. ...But from what I can see, that Shikigami isn't just a one-off joke. Its total cursed energy output is clearly higher than Tokyo's 'Flying Dragon'! I wonder what kind of trick or mechanism is behind this?"
The judges were the ones handling it relatively well, as they were at least trying to evaluate the work. The real Yoshinobu Gakuganji had his eyes wide open in shock—eyes usually hidden by his eyebrows—while Masamichi Yaga, who felt he shouldn't laugh, was in actual agony because his abdominal muscles were 'cramping' from the absurdity of the visual.
The more one knew about the sorcerer Yoshinobu Gakuganji, the more the 'ZGYAAAN' of the five electric-sounding Shikigami tore through their composure.
However, the one who suffered the most was Satoru Gojo. With his Six Eyes, he had understood the contents the moment he saw the scroll, and the reality of the hilarious Shikigami exceeded even his expectations.
"Heh...! Heh...!"
"Satoru, breathe slowly. Calm down..."
"This is a severe case of diaphragmatic spasms. Naoya, Cursed Technique Reversal. Don't reject it, Gojo. ...Alright Naoya, stop his breathing until he hits his limit. Until I give the signal. ...Okay."
"Cough...! ...My bad, Shoko. You saved me... cough."
At the moment when a minor emergency medical intervention was required just because Gojo was laughing so hard, it could be said that Kyoto was the 'strongest' for a fleeting instant.
Regarding the Shikigami themselves—as Noritsugu Kamo at the judges' table noted—they weren't just flashy, surreal, or funny.
"I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying it! These Shikigami, the 'Goryoku Sentai Gakuganjer,' are a team of five. Furthermore, the concept incorporates 'Principal Gakuganji,' 'Sentai Heroes,' and 'Vows.' For example, while the Gakuganjers are making their grand debut before you today, the possibility of them failing to appear—and us losing by default—existed right up until yesterday—"
As Azuki Sakata began her explanation, she revealed the Binding Vows placed upon the 'Gakuganjers':
1. [If Principal Gakuganji discovers the existence of the 'Gakuganjers' before their introduction on the day of the event, the cursed charms will explode and the Shikigami will be destroyed.]
2. [Azuki Sakata must keep the Gakuganjer charms on her person at all times leading up to the day of the introduction.]
3. [Twenty-four hours after being revealed to Principal Gakuganji during the introduction, the charms will spontaneously combust and can never be used again.]
4. [Should the Gakuganjers be defeated, the members of the Kyoto school must change into full-body spandex suits of the same color as the unit they designed within 30 minutes, and spend the following week wearing nothing but those spandex suits.]
5. [Should the Gakuganjers be defeated, the members of the Kyoto school will take responsibility by shaving their heads and remaining bald for one year starting the following day.]
These five 'Binding Vows' were a manifestation of the Kyoto school's grim determination. As Noritsugu Kamo pointed out, the collective cursed energy output surpassed that of the 'Flying Dragon.'
"Focusing on Binding Vows... I like it. I believe they should be actively incorporated as long as they are within an acceptable range. ...Still, they played it well. The combination of the charms self-destructing and the requirement to carry them creates an indirect vow of suicide or self-harm. Additionally, while the other vows are comedic, they carry a very strong sense of 'punishment.' It feels like they've hit the exact line of what's barely permissible for a student exchange event. Well done, Kyoto."
"Furthermore, if the jujutsu those Shikigami use... if the performance functions as a ritualistic 'Music,' it wouldn't be surprising if it's quite powerful. I use Shikigami too, but a support-type like that might be an interesting option."
"Hmm. Strengthening via Binding Vows is certainly a factor that can determine the outcome of a sorcery battle... though, speaking personally, I don't know much about special effects shows... but isn't this a bit too weak? Tokyo has a four-meter giant robot, while Kyoto has five android look-alikes of Gakuganji. Even if the total cursed energy output is the same, those Gakuganjer fellows don't seem to have any particular abilities from what I can see..."
In response to the mixed reviews from the judges' table, Azuki Sakata wore a defiant smirk. She pointed a finger sharply at Tokyo's 'Flying Dragon' and made a loud declaration to the judges.
"No need to worry! The strength of the Gakuganjers will be proven in actual combat!"
At her words, Masamichi Yaga and the real Principal Gakuganji finally managed to restart their brains. With trembling voices, they declared the start of the 'Shikigami Showdown,' and the First East-West Jujutsu High Contest moved at last into its final phase.
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