Jujutsu Kaisen: Wheel Of Time

Chapter 20: Individual Battles (Part 2)

The next morning, the individual battles officially began.

The venue was the largest dojo in the school. Teachers from both sides sat on either side, leaving a large open space in the middle. After both teams were present, Yoshinobu Gakuganji and Yaga Masamichi spoke. After briefly explaining the rules, the individual battles officially commenced.

"First match: Kamihara Hajime versus Miwa Kasumi."

Kamihara Hajime, still energetic despite staying up late playing games, walked to the center of the arena. Miwa Kasumi took a deep breath to steel her nerves and entered the ring. After they bowed to each other, the match officially began.

Both used a curse sword. Miwa Kasumi seemed a bit nervous. Kamihara Hajime didn't immediately end the match with his Technique. Instead, he took a stance, signaling Miwa Kasumi to attack.

Summoning her courage, Miwa Kasumi attacked with her sword. As Kamihara Hajime parried and countered, he also observed her moves. Kamihara Hajime's swordsmanship, or rather, his blade techniques, were quite varied. He learned most of them from Maki initially, and then honed them through training and practical combat.

Miwa Kasumi's swordsmanship, however, appeared to be part of a structured system. This style was called 'New Shadow Style.' Atsuya Kusakabe, the second-year homeroom teacher at Tokyo Jujutsu High, seemed to be a practitioner of this style, and a strong one at that.

It was said that a powerful Spellcaster from the Heian Era, Ashiya Sadakata, invented a 'Simple Domain' to protect his disciples from Cursed Spirits and Curse Masters. This style has been passed down for a long time. Besides sword techniques, it also includes methods for combining Cursed Energy and cursed tools.

Kamihara Hajime exchanged more than ten blows with Miwa Kasumi, controlling the pace. He realized that Miwa Kasumi lacked much experience, and her strength and Cursed Energy were insufficient. This meant that even if her sword techniques were passable, she probably couldn't withstand even one or two moves against a powerful enemy.

Of course, the people Kamihara Hajime was comparing her to were not ordinary. If viewed from the perspective of a typical Jujutsu Sorcerer, Miwa Kasumi was actually quite good. With examples like Atsuya Kusakabe, who had become a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, it was possible that Miwa Kasumi could also achieve something in the future.

However, she was far from that level now. Kamihara Hajime's blade exploited a weakness in Miwa Kasumi's attack, forcing her to defend. Then, a series of rapid slashes immediately put her in a dangerous situation.

After a horizontal sweep tripped Miwa Kasumi to the ground, Kamihara Hajime compared their sword styles in his mind while speaking to Miwa Kasumi as she got up: "Your sword is too slow, lacks power, and has no conviction."

Seeing Miwa Kasumi's bewildered expression, Kamihara Hajime, in good spirits, explained, "To put it simply, you lack the will to cut down your enemy. Even if you're holding a wooden sword and know you can't kill your opponent, when you pick up a sword, you must clearly understand that what you hold in your hand is a weapon! It's a lethal weapon. You must have the resolve to fight."

"Why did you come to Tokyo Jujutsu High, or rather, why did you enter the Jujutsu World?"

Miwa Kasumi, panting and finally catching her breath after being pressured by Kamihara Hajime, was stunned for a moment, then obediently replied, "Because I'm very poor. I have two younger brothers at home, so I became a Jujutsu Sorcerer."

Kamihara Hajime understood. Ordinary people couldn't deal with the so-called Curses, but as long as human negative emotions existed, Curses would not cease. Therefore, the government and other high-ranking officials actually knew about the existence of the Jujutsu World, but they kept it hidden from the public to prevent panic and the emergence of even greater Curses.

Jujutsu Sorcerers are always short-staffed. This profession, especially the exorcism of Cursed Spirits, is very risky, so the salaries and rewards are very high. Unfortunately, it cannot be made public, otherwise, their social status would also be very high in plain sight.

And the higher the rank of a Jujutsu Sorcerer, the more money they naturally earn. Miwa Kasumi's answer did not surprise Kamihara Hajime. She was not from a Jujutsu Sorcerer family, nor did she seem to be someone like Aoi Todo, who craved battle and passion, or someone like Yuta Okkotsu, who had a story.

Such a reason is fine, but it has a drawback. Kamihara Hajime held up his blade and pointed it at Miwa Kasumi: "You don't have a reason or will to become stronger. All you're thinking about now is making money through your identity as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Have you ever considered that one day you might encounter a Cursed Spirit far beyond your strength and suddenly die?"

Before the stunned Miwa Kasumi could say anything, Kamihara Hajime continued, "So... you do have a reason to become stronger. Whether it's for more money or not wanting to simply die on a mission, you must have the resolve to kill your enemy with all your might."

Miwa Kasumi looked at her reflection in the blade, momentarily lost in thought. Then Kamihara Hajime continued, "One move. You only have one chance. Let me see your determination."

Miwa Kasumi looked up and saw Kamihara Hajime taking an almost identical starting stance to her own earlier. She sighed inwardly, 'What kind of monster is this!' But these emotions came and went quickly.

Indeed, as Kamihara Hajime said, she didn't have much resolve for her work as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Although she trained hard with Mai, Momo Nishimiya, and her other companions at Kyoto Jujutsu High, and occasionally encountered danger during missions, to be honest, it wasn't too outrageous.

If she were to encounter an outrageous enemy like him in the future, how long could she last? Perhaps she would die as soon as she made a move. What about her family? Mai, Nishimiya, Mechamaru, her companions at Jujutsu High, perhaps she would never see them again...

Slowly sheathing the blade, Miwa Kasumi assumed a drawing stance. Calming her mind, she felt the Cursed Energy flowing within the scabbard. The immediate surroundings within a certain radius became clear in her mind; anything that stepped into it would trigger her lightning-fast strike.

New Shadow Style, Simple Domain.

New Shadow Style, Iaijutsu.

"Is that the Simple Domain? And this Iaijutsu is also interesting. Covering the blade with Cursed Energy and accelerating it by circulating it within the scabbard, then it becomes incredibly swift when drawn?"

Kamihara Hajime also sheathed his sword and assumed a drawing stance. However, he couldn't imitate that Simple Domain at the moment. At this point, he couldn't help but marvel at how useful Gojo-sensei's Six Eyes were. If one could easily see through an opponent's Technique and Cursed Energy flow, wouldn't one be able to learn such things by just observing a few times?

"Let's see how fast this strike can be without using a Technique!"

Kamihara Hajime stared at the poised Miwa Kasumi, the Cursed Energy flowing faster and faster on the sheathed blade in his hand. The entire sword seemed to be burning with surging blue flames.

"Clang!"

A sharp metallic scraping sound rang out. Kamihara Hajime's figure had already vanished from his spot. Appearing before Miwa Kasumi was the blade already drawn from its scabbard, and the blade in Miwa Kasumi's hand had already automatically launched that lightning-fast strike the moment Kamihara Hajime 'touched' her Simple Domain.

Watching Miwa Kasumi's Iaijutsu strike, filled with killing intent and incredibly sharp, Kamihara Hajime finally felt it was somewhat decent.

In such a high-speed Iaijutsu duel, it was no surprise that their slashes would collide, and then one of their blades would be severed, determining the victor.

However, Kamihara Hajime did not do so. The instant the blades were about to collide, Kamihara Hajime slightly deflected his blade. The two swords grazed past each other, and then Kamihara Hajime flipped and twisted his cursed tool.

The rapidly swinging blade, encountering this sudden change, immediately lost control. The sword in Miwa Kasumi's hand flew out, spinning as it was about to fly off to the side.

Then, a hand reached out from the air, accurately appearing on the hilt, pulling it back. Miwa Kasumi looked at her empty hand, let out a long breath, then bowed to Kamihara Hajime: "Thank you."

Yaga Masamichi then announced the result of the first match: "First match, Kamihara Hajime wins. Tokyo Jujutsu High gains one point."

Returning to his seat, or rather, everyone was kneeling on the ground, Kamihara Hajime, unaccustomed to it, sat cross-legged.

Watching Miwa Kasumi return to the opposite side and be comforted by her companions, Maki exclaimed, "So there are normal people in Kyoto after all!"

Next, Yaga Masamichi announced the next match: Panda versus Mai.

Mai's Technique was no secret, especially since her sister was also there. Her Technique was called 'Construction Technique,' and its purpose was to construct matter from nothing. Furthermore, the constructed matter would not disappear after the Technique ended.

When Kamihara Hajime first heard of this Technique, he could only marvel at how wondrous Jujutsu Sorcerers were. Indeed, each Technique seemed more outrageous than the last.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons of her own, Mai could only construct a limited amount of matter each day, roughly one bullet. Combined with Mai's revolver, this Cursed Energy bullet would be hidden among six bullets, used to catch the enemy off guard.

Then the battle began, and Panda gave the other side a surprise. Beneath his cute exterior lay impressive close-combat abilities, and most crucially, while the dojo offered advantages to Mai, it also presented significant disadvantages.

Panda's tall stature wasn't just for show; reinforced by Cursed Energy, he withstood several bullets from Mai and still maintained his fighting capability. Although they weren't live rounds, Mai's close-combat ability was much weaker, and after Panda closed in, she was in constant peril.

The decisive move in the battle eventually appeared. After Panda caught Mai off guard, she used that Cursed Energy bullet to hit Panda's core, turning the tables. This position was information Mai had gained through several injuries.

But Panda wasn't just Panda; he had three cores. When Panda switched to his gorilla mode, the rules of victory were sealed.

"Second match, Panda wins. Tokyo Jujutsu High, two points."

"Panda, saikou!"

"Tuna mayo!"

Panda rubbed his head, chuckling amidst the cheers, while the atmosphere on the Kyoto side was somewhat subdued. After Momo Nishimiya and Miwa Kasumi comforted Mai, Kamo Noritoshi spoke up, "Just give it your all next time. Don't blame yourselves..."

"Third round, Inumaki Toge versus Mechamaru."

Mechamaru stepped forward and said, "I'm up."

After Inumaki Toge entered the arena, he politely said "Kelp," though the opponent didn't understand. Then, as the official start was announced, Mechamaru's hands suddenly shot out many small spheres.

These small spheres targeted the ground. Upon hitting the ground, they shattered, releasing a lot of smoke. Mechamaru simply blurred and disappeared into the rising smoke.

"Blow away!"

As Inumaki Toge's Zouge commanded, a strong gust of wind suddenly appeared in the room, attempting to disperse the smoke. Just then, a red light suddenly glowed from within the smoke, followed by a scorching pillar of fire that shot out.

Inumaki Toge quickly dodged. Mechamaru continued to use various methods to conceal his body, then used long-range attacks to wear down Inumaki Toge, attempting to push him to his limit.

Inumaki Toge also noticed this, so he tried to avoid using his Technique as much as possible, instead trying to quickly pinpoint Mechamaru's location.

This dojo truly lived up to its reputation, being reinforced by advanced barrier techniques. Despite Mechamaru's relentless bombardment, it largely maintained its structure.

Finally, when Inumaki Toge's voice was already distorted and presumably nearing his limit, he eventually found Mechamaru's figure, because all the tools he used to conceal himself were exhausted. And under the clear target direction of a Zouge user, relying solely on this ultimate Mechamaru probably wouldn't withstand many blows.

In desperation, Mechamaru chose to forfeit. It took a lot of effort to create this puppet, and surrendering in this situation could preserve the puppet.

"If the environment were different, I might have been able to fight..." Mechamaru thought as he returned to his seat.

Upon Inumaki Toge's return, he was immediately greeted with warm inquiries from everyone, and the prepared throat medicine was promptly handed over.

The situation was essentially decided. Tokyo had already scored three points, making the worst outcome a draw. If they won one more match, the victor of this exchange event would once again be Tokyo Jujutsu High.

At this moment, Maki looked up and said, "It should be my turn." Then, as expected, she saw Yaga Masamichi announce that the next match was Maki versus Momo Nishimiya.

The final result was a foregone conclusion. Flying high near the ceiling, Momo Nishimiya continuously used wind blades created by her broom to attack Maki, but the latter's wild instincts allowed her to block every single one with her sword.

Then, Maki utilized the layout of the room, swiftly stepping on walls and internal structures to knock Momo Nishimiya down. What followed was an unpleasant sight of an 'adult' bullying a 'child.'

"Zen'in Maki wins. Tokyo gains another point."

"Woohoo!"

Kamihara Hajime and Panda, who had intended to exaggerate their welcome for Maki, sheepishly remained silent under Maki's almost murderous gaze.

"Next up is Yuta Okkotsu versus Kamo Noritoshi."

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