Chapter 148: Chapter 148 : Kyoto School, Here to Assist!
"Tch."
In the underground station of Shinjuku, a short-haired girl in a Jujutsu High uniform tossed two long nails in the air, catching them as she grumbled.
"Why do Itadori and Fushiguro get to team up with Nanami, while I'm stuck with some drunk old man and a guy wearing a bandit mask?"
Kugisaki Nobara scowled. "I wanted to team up with Maki-senpai!"
"Uh, well… I'm a senpai too, you know."
The so-called "bandit mask guy" was Ino Takuma, a young Grade 2 sorcerer.
He wore the mask because of his technique, Spirit Channeling: Divine Beasts. His ability allowed him to summon the powers of four sacred beasts, but for it to work, he had to cover his face and act as a medium.
The "drunk old man" was an elder dressed in a white martial arts uniform, lazily strolling behind them with a gourd-shaped flask in hand, taking occasional sips.
This old man was none other than Zenin Naobito, the current head of the Zenin Clan, one of the three great sorcerer families.
"Hah!? What did you just say!?"
Kugisaki Nobara was fierce when she got stubborn. The nails she tossed into the air were struck mid-flight by her hammer, turning them into deadly projectiles that pierced a nearby green-skinned curse.
As she clenched her fist, the cursed energy infused in the nails exploded, blowing the curse into pieces.
"Nothing left," Ino Takuma muttered, tilting his head as he pulled down his ski mask. "First-years are terrifying..."
This hot-tempered girl was one thing, but even Fushiguro, who was also a Grade 2 sorcerer like himself, always had that icy expression, like someone owed him millions of yen.
And he'd heard that two more first-years had joined recently—one of them was the vessel of Sukuna!
While he was lost in thought, Ino stretched out his hands. A spiraled horn, formed entirely of cursed energy, slowly materialized, growing sharper and more solid by the second.
"Summoning Auspicious Beast No.1—Kaichi!"
The horn spun at high speed, launching from his hands like a cannonball. It pierced through several curses in front of him in an instant.
"You two are way too slow."
An old man's voice rang out.
Kugisaki Nobara and Ino Takuma's eyes widened.
While they were still handling their own curses, all the remaining curses in the underground station had been wiped out in mere seconds.
Was this… the work of that drunk old man?
So this was the power of a Grade 1 sorcerer!
"The underground station is clear. Let's move forward. These were just small fries."
Zenin Naobito took another swig from his sake flask, spilling some onto his open shirt.
"Where to next?" Ino asked.
The white-haired old man hooked the gourd onto his belt and stroked his chin in thought. Then, suddenly, he grinned.
"Since we're already in Tokyo, why not take a look at Kabukicho?"
He let out a hearty laugh and strode ahead.
The two behind him exchanged looks but had no choice but to follow. After all, Zenin Naobito was their team leader.
"What's the connection?" Ino grumbled, stuffing his ski mask into his pocket.
"Tch, dirty old man," Kugisaki scoffed, tucking away her unused nails before following.
—
Boom! Boom!
Flames raged, devouring everything around them.
Greenery turned to ash, sewer covers rattled violently before being blown into the air, and fire pillars erupted from underground. The street pavement melted into molten rock. Glass windows shattered, the heat melting shards into glowing orange droplets.
"This… is a Special Grade!?"
Zenin Maki was running for his life, barely dodging the destruction.
Attacking was out of the question—just escaping was already pushing him to his limit.
"We have to retreat! We can't handle this!"
Kusakabe Atsuya barely managed to roll away before a massive fireball exploded where he had just been standing. The blast sent him flying, slamming him into a building wall. His bones screamed in pain.
No time to worry about injuries—he quickly looked around. But no matter where he looked, he couldn't see their terrifying enemy.
"Where are you looking?"
A deep, mocking voice whispered in his ear.
Jogo was grinning, pressing a palm against Kusakabe's cheek.
"What—!?"
Kusakabe's pupils shrank. Heat surged against his face.
This was it. He was going to die—
Slap!
Just as he braced for death, a sharp smack echoed.
The burning sensation vanished.
Gasping for breath, Kusakabe turned toward the tall figure beside him.
"Saved… Todo."
Todo Aoi, a Kyoto Jujutsu student and Grade 1 sorcerer. His muscular frame was imposing, but the most striking feature was the scar running from his forehead, crossing over his left eye, and down his cheek.
He had taken off his uniform jacket, revealing a purple shirt underneath. A smirk played on his lips.
"A Special Grade, huh? That pressure is intense."
Jogo, who had been swapped away in an instant, paused in confusion for a moment but quickly sneered.
"Another fool here to die?"
Not far away, the Kyoto students watched the inferno, the battlefield like a scene from hell. They were smart enough to know not to interfere.
"That fight is beyond us now. Let's go take care of the other cursed spirits elsewhere," said Kamo Noritoshi, his eyes always half-closed. "Momo, you fly ahead and scout for cursed spirits. Try to search in the direction away from that battlefield."
"I know, I know." The blonde girl, with two odd-looking pigtails sticking out from her head, sat sideways on a broomstick, hovering in the air like a witch.
The three of them, along with a robot, moved away from the battlefield, clearing out cursed spirits along the way.
Their movements didn't escape Jogo's senses, but he didn't pay any attention to the flies buzzing away. They were too weak—unworthy of even being killed by him personally.
"What's wrong? Not going to fight?" Jogo looked at the group, who didn't seem relieved by Aoi Todo's arrival. "If you don't act now, you won't get another chance."
"Tsk. Even with Todo here, we're still at a disadvantage. There are three Grade 1 sorcerers here, but even that isn't enough to take on this Special Grade," Kusakabe Atsuya muttered as he carefully scanned the surroundings, looking for a way to escape.
But instead of finding an escape route, he realized someone was missing.
"Wait, where's Mei Mei?!"
...
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