The slow tapping of a cane against the ground announced someone’s arrival from the entrance to the field.
Principal Gakuganji approached us with the slow gait of a man his age, slightly hunched over and resting much of his weight on a long, dark wooden cane.
To his right walked a rugged-looking boy with a buzz cut, faded at the sides, and both hands wrapped in bandages from his wrists to his knuckles.
He had a calm, almost Zen-like expression and didn’t seem to pay much attention to his surroundings.
To Gakuganji’s left was an athletic girl with brown hair tied into a low ponytail.
She walked upright, with a firm posture and a much more direct gaze than her companion.
I guess these are the two third-years.
That completes our team.
The three of them stopped in front of us.
“Akira Fushimi.
Third-year, Semi-Grade 2 sorcerer,” he said calmly, looking around at the group.
“Although I already know almost everyone here.
I just hope we can put on a good performance this year.”
“As long as you don’t get in the way of Kamo, my new great friend Nagi, and me, that’ll be enough,” Todo corrected him with contempt.
“After all, you third-years are weak.”
Akira decided not to take the bait and maintained his relaxed attitude.
“We’ll give it one hundred percent.
At least we won’t go off and do whatever we want, Todo,” the girl shot back, giving Todo a challenging look.
“I’m Reina Tachibana.
Third-year and also a Semi-Grade 2 sorcerer.
And you must be Nagi.
We haven’t met yet, so welcome.”
Gakuganji raised his cane and struck it firmly against the ground several times.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
He waited a few seconds until everyone’s attention was on him.
“Listen carefully, youngsters.
This event is a unique opportunity to demonstrate your abilities, so you’d better rock hard.”
The old man definitely seemed to have an obsession with music.
The moment he mentioned rock, a fiery expression crossed his face, although he quickly returned to his usual stern demeanor.
“There is another matter I want you to keep in mind during the competition: Yuta Okkotsu.”
“Okkotsu is no ordinary student.
He is bound to Rika Orimoto, a Special Grade vengeful cursed spirit whose power and nature we still do not fully understand.”
“Due to the tremendous danger he represents, I myself have advocated for the boy’s execution ever since Rika severely injured four students several months ago.”
He rested both hands on the top of his cane.
“However, Satoru Gojo prevented it.
He personally took responsibility for supervising Okkotsu and managed to postpone his execution with the intention of teaching him to control Rika.
For now, we have allowed him to remain alive and study in Tokyo.”
“If she fully manifests and Okkotsu loses control of her, do not attempt to fight Rika.
Abandon the battle and get as far away as possible.”
Gakuganji gave no further details about Okkotsu and moved straight on to explaining the event.
“The group test on the first day will take place in the forest near the campus.
Each team will have one flag, with your bases located at opposite ends of the forest, one to the east and the other to the west.”
“Your objective is simple: capture the opposing team’s flag and bring it back to your own base before they do the same.”
The capture-the-flag game we used to play in elementary school.
“You may freely engage members of the opposing team to stop them from advancing or to defend your position, you cannot touch your own flag unlees the other team has taken it away from your base.
Try not to inflict any serious injuries on your opponents.”
Gakuganji turned his attention toward Kamo.
“You have until tomorrow to decide how you’ll divide the team and what strategy you’ll follow.
Kamo, you’re in command.”
“Understood,” he replied.
“Tomorrow, Nagi, Kamo, Todo, Nishimiya, Reina, and Fushimi are to report to the school entrance at eleven in the morning.
Don’t be late.”
Whew, thank God.
At least we don’t have to wake up that early this time.
I’ll actually have time to shower.
“Those of you who aren’t participating may join the teachers and the principals of both schools.
The forest has monitoring systems, both digital, and an special barrier technique developed thanks to master Tengen and through the use of shikigami, such as Mei Mei’s crows, so you’ll be able to follow the test from the observation room.”
Gakuganji struck the ground one last time with his cane.
THUD!
“That’s all.
Make use of the time you have left.” Then he himself left too.
We all turned our attention toward Noritoshi Kamo.
He had moved a few meters away and was practicing archery against several targets set up at the far end of the field.
Only a few minutes earlier, he had explained his cursed technique to me, Blood Manipulation, which allowed him to control his own blood and use it in different ways.
He had coated the tips of several arrows with it.
Once fired, he could alter their trajectory in midair.
One of the arrows buried itself in the center of the target.
“We need to split up,” he said as he prepared the next one.
“Part of the team will defend our flag, while the rest will be responsible for capturing theirs.”
“How clever, blind boy,” Todo muttered.
“But we need to know how they divide their five members.
Most importantly, we need to keep track of Yuta Okkotsu and Kinji Hakari.”
He released the string.
Twang!
The arrow shot forward and curved slightly during the final stretch before embedding itself beside the previous one, crossing it in half.
“Nishimiya, you’ll have the best view of the entire forest.
Stay in the air, locate their positions, and notify us of any changes in their formation.”
“Perfect,” she replied with a faint smile.
“The farther I can stay from the Special Grade boy, the better.
Besides, that way I won’t have to get too dirty.”
Kamo set the bow aside and turned toward us.
Looks like he’s been thinking about how to divide the team for a while.
“Rear guard defending our flag: Todo, Fushimi, and Reina.”
Todo slowly turned his head toward him, visibly irritated by the decision.
“You want me to stay behind and defend?”
“Yes,” Kamo replied without flinching.
“You’re physically the strongest among us, and Boogie Woogie makes it extremely difficult to break through a position you’re defending.
If Yuta or Hakari tries to force their way toward the flag, teleport them away.”
Todo clicked his tongue.
“I’ll do whatever I want.”
…
Damn, I don’t know Kamo that well or even how strong he is, but so far, flawless strategy.
Reina trembled with anticipation as several talismans appeared between her fingers.
“I’ll do everything I can to stop them with my technique.”
Fushimi spoke up in support of his fellow third-year, and Todo burst out laughing.
“I could use both of you as bait for my technique.”
Kamo continued.
“Of course, all of this is subject to change.
It will depend on what Nishimiya observes from the air.
We’ll adapt to Tokyo’s movements as we go, but this will be our initial formation.”
“Offensive team: Nagi and me.
Nishimiya will support us whenever the situation allows, although keeping us informed remains her priority.”
“Your technique is better suited for offense.
The Shinkeigan allows you to anticipate your opponent’s movements, and Cronostasis can temporarily take anyone who gets in our way out of the game.”
“I can fight at medium and long range and cover you while you advance.
We’ll push forward, locate the flag, and bring it back.” Kamo finished.
I looked toward the forest where the tournament would take place.
“With Cronostasis, I can keep someone out of the game for quite a while,” I said.
“Hey, Kamo…
Do you seriously think we can’t win?”
Kamo held my gaze.
“If we’re talking purely about strength, they’re clearly the favorites in the individual fights.
However, the format of the group test gives us an advantage.
We have techniques that are useful for this kind of objective, and we outnumber them.”
“We’ll probably lose the group part anyway.”
Nishimiya rose several meters into the air on her broom.
“As soon as the test begins, I’ll locate Okkotsu and figure out where he’s going.
The moment he moves, we’ll know.”
I looked toward the forest again.
One flag per team and one objective: capture the opponent’s.
That was the format of the tournament.
It seems simple.
It won’t be.
Facing opponents stronger than me…
This is really exciting.
Mai, Miwa, and Mechamaru approached the group once we finished discussing the strategy.
“We’ll be cheering you on from the observation room,” Miwa said with a smile.
“So win, okay?”
“And try not to embarrass yourself, Nagi,” Mai added.
Mechamaru simply raised a thumb in our direction.
“We’ll win,” I said before addressing the entire team.
“When the event is over, I’ll treat everyone to a yakiniku restaurant with some of the money from the mission I did yesterday.”
I’m feeling very generous today.
The proposal was met with great enthusiasm.
Todo became disproportionately emotional, shedding a couple of tears as he proclaimed that he had finally found someone at this school who was actually worth his time.
Miwa, however, seemed even more excited about something else.
“Nagi, Nagi, Nagi…
Tomorrow might be one of the best days of my life,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
“I’m going to meet Satoru Gojo!”
“Satoru Gojo?
The same guy Gakuganji mentioned earlier?
The one who stopped Okkotsu from being executed?”
Miwa stared at me as if I had just said something outrageous.
“That’s all you know about him?!
He’s Satoru Gojo!
The strongest jujutsu sorcerer in the world!”
“Miwa…
I’ve been here for less than two weeks.”
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