“The next day, at eleven in the morning, we gathered in front of the main entrance to the campus.
The day the Goodwill Exchange Event began had finally arrived.
All six Kyoto participants were there, waiting for the Tokyo group alongside Gakuganji and Utahime.
My classmates had come too; Miwa had insisted that she wanted to see her idol in person.
A small group of adults had gathered off to one side.
Among them, a woman stood out with white hair tied into a long braid that covered part of her face.
She was dressed rather elegantly and, in my opinion, pretty attractive, although there was something slightly unsettling about her expression.
Beside her stood a tall man with somewhat messy dark brown hair, wearing a white shirt, dark tie, and a light-colored trench coat that reached almost to his knees.
He had bags under his eyes and looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.
A katana rested sheathed at his waist.
Hayama was also there, along with several other teachers and instructors.
I passed the time stretching my hamstrings and the rest of my muscles so I’d be loose and ready.
Finally, a loud, cheerful voice echoed from the other side of the entrance as someone hurried up the stone steps.
“KYOOTOOOOOO!”
Finally.
Let’s see what this Gojo guy and the people from the capital have brought with them.
A very tall man with white hair, a little lighter than mine, appeared at the entrance wearing the school’s standard black uniform.
His hair naturally stuck up in every direction, and a white blindfold completely covered his eyes while also helping keep his hair raised.
“Tch, Gojo,” Utahime and Gakuganji said at the same time.
So that’s him, huh?
The strongest sorcerer in the world.
The Tokyo students began appearing behind Gojo.
He was clearly making an effort to act and speak in a way that drew more attention than everyone else.
“And I didn’t come empty-handed!” he announced, raising both arms.
He took off the large backpack he was carrying and started pulling out several boxes of Eitaro-Ame candies.
“I brought sweets for everyone!
Except Utahime!
I didn’t know she was coming!”
“Why the hell would I want your sweets?!” she snapped immediately.
“Of course you want them,” Gojo replied with a huge grin.
“But I didn’t buy you any.”
“I hate you.”
I glanced over at Miwa.
Her eyes were sparkling, and she followed Gojo’s every movement as if she were standing in front of a world-famous celebrity.
Completely pleased with himself, Gojo began handing out the sweets, striking some kind of pose with each one.
“For you!
A candy packed with calories!”
“For you!
Even more sugar!
Perfect for boosting your will to win!”
Gojo eventually reached Todo.
He studied him for a couple of seconds, rummaged through the backpack, and handed him an ordinary piece of candy.
“You get a normal one.
You’re already way too intense.
Giving you anything more would be irresponsible.”
“Are you really as strong as everyone says?”
Gojo tilted his head slightly, wearing a carefree smile with just a hint of pride.
“Of course.
Even a little stronger than whatever you’ve heard.”
Utahime, on the other hand, was reaching the limit of her patience.
“Gojo, we’re here for something serious.
Act like a normal person and a proper teacher for once.”
“Huh?” Gojo pointed at himself, genuinely surprised.
Gojo stopped paying attention to Utahime and started walking toward me until he was standing directly in front of me.
I had to tilt my eyes up slightly; he was probably three or four centimeters taller than me.
He leaned in until our faces were only a few centimeters apart and, with one hand, lifted the edge of his blindfold slightly.
Underneath were eyes of an incredibly intense blue, so clear they seemed to glow on their own.
I’d never seen eyes like them before.
It was like staring directly into the sky.
That supernatural color, I figured, had to be the result of an innate technique, just like my Shinkeigan.
Fuck.
And here I was thinking my eyes were spectacular.
“Hmmmmmm…
You must be Kyoto’s new student I’ve heard soooo much abooooout,” he said, dragging out some words.
“Interesting.
I get a strange feeling by looking at you.
I don’t know who you remind me of, but you definitely remind me of someone.”
Suddenly, he pulled his blindfold back into place and stepped away with a laugh.
“You’ve got a lot of talent, Nagi,” he declared, pointing at me.
“It’s a shame you ended up here.
Utahime doesn’t deserve you as a student.”
“Would you stop disrespecting me in front of my students?!”
“I’m just thinking about the kid’s future,” Gojo replied with a shrug.
“There’s still time for him to receive a quality education.”
I looked back and forth between them as they started arguing.
This conversation is getting pretty uncomfortable…
“If you want, we can leave you two alone for a while.
Should we find you a hotel or something?”
Silence…
Utahime very slowly turned her head toward me, her expression so dark that, for a moment, it felt like I was staring at a demon.
Several drops of cold sweat ran down my temple.
“Nagi.”
“Yes…?”
“Shut up.”
“Sorry, sensei.”
Gojo burst out laughing, his voice echoing throughout the entrance.
“I like this kid!”
“And now!
OFFICIAL INTRODUCTIONS!”
He spread his arms toward the students who had arrived with him and pointed at the first one.
“This is the incredible, the powerful, the slightly unstable but adorable…
Yuta Okkotsu!
Treat him nicely!”
That’s the special grade?
A scrawny black-haired boy with a katana sheathed across his back took a small step forward.
He had noticeable bags under his eyes and kept his gaze lowered, although there was something about him that contrasted with his timid appearance.
The cursed energy surrounding him was…
like a fucking ocean.
Gakuganji stared at him, clearly displeased by his presence there.
Yuta noticed the look and simply bowed his head slightly toward him in a polite gesture.
“But that’s not alllllll!” Gojo continued, breaking the moment.
He turned toward the next student.
“A man with a gigantic passion for gambling!
Kinji Hakariiii!”
A muscular guy with wavy black hair had a mustache…
well, more like a week’s worth of fuzz, and wore his uniform somewhat carelessly.
“Kinji Hakari,” he introduced himself, running a challenging gaze over us.
“I hope you guys are interesting.
I’ve been waiting for some action for a while.”
His rough, blunt tone immediately softened when he looked at the girl beside him.
“Come on, Kirara-chan.
Say hi.”
The girl had blue hair with dyed tips and several piercings, fitting the perfect stereotype of a punk girl.
“Kirara Hoshi.
Nice to meet you.”
She returned to Hakari’s side and pressed herself against his arm.
With an affectionate smile, she wrapped her arms around his waist, clinging tightly to him.
Those two…
must be a couple.
Gojo clapped a couple of times before moving straight on to the final two.
“And completing Tokyo’s wonderful team, our two third-years!
Ryohei Suzuki and Sayaka Minamoto!”
The first was a tall boy with dark green hair slicked back, who merely dipped his head slightly in greeting.
Sayaka, on the other hand, had short dark hair, a sharp gaze, and a firm posture.
Okay, let’s do a full assessment of these people.
Yuta was the least physically intimidating at first glance, but the absurd amount of cursed energy he possesses, that is why everyone sees him as a brutal threat.
Hakari was the complete opposite: even without knowing anything about his technique, his build and attitude made his fighting style and brutality pretty obvious.
The other three don’t look like anything special.
Gakuganji’s cane struck the ground, finally bringing the introductions to an end.
“Before we begin, remember the rules.
This is a competition, not a fight to the death.
You may fight one another, but any deliberate action that puts another student’s life in danger will result in immediate disqualification.”
Satoru Gojo POV
So this is Nagi Shirokawa.
A fairly considerable amount of cursed energy, a technique concentrated in his eyes, and a temporal technique channeled through a hand gesture.
That’s pretty unusual.
Two cursed techniques in the same person is practically unheard of, aside from my own case, although six eyes are not exactly a technique, but in practice, its the same.
I’ll have to do the same thing I did with Yuta.
I should look into whether he’s related to any important sorcerer or one of the great clans, although maybe he’s like Geto and is simply a talented sorcerer born into an apparently ordinary bloodline.
Maybe I should ask Utahime to lend him to me every now and then.
I’d like to train him personally.
END POV
“I thought today was going to be a complete stomp…
and I still do.
But maybe coming here was worth it after all.”
We’ll see who surprises who, Gojo.
It was Gakuganji’s turn to get everything underway.
“All right.
Everyone to your positions.
Tokyo, head to the northern entrance of the forest.
I’ll accompany you.
Kyoto, you’ll go to the southern entrance with Utahime.”
I turned toward Mai, Miwa, and Mechamaru.
“Guys, wish me luck.”
I’m going all out.
Chronostasis and help more people find it!