Point of View: MONITORING ROOM
All the non-participating students and teachers crowded into the event’s monitoring room.
It was a spacious room dominated by several screens displaying different parts of the forest in real time.
They didn’t use conventional cameras.
For many years, they had relied on a technique developed by Master Tengen: a series of seals linked to his barriers that could receive and project exactly what certain beings connected to the system were seeing.
For this, they mainly used Mei Mei’s crows, along with several domesticated shikigami and cursed spirits scattered throughout the area.
Each one acted as a camera, moving through the forest while its field of vision was broadcast onto one of the screens.
Several speakers had also been installed at strategic points around the field.
Unlike the visual system, these were ordinary devices and allowed the teachers to communicate with the participants.
Miwa, Mai, and Mechamaru took the seats in the front row, where they could comfortably follow the different broadcasts from the forest.
The adults spread out behind them.
Gojo had claimed the center of the room, with Utahime beside him, arms crossed, while Gakuganji and Hayama watched the screens from a few steps farther back.
Kusakabe, for his part, was already wishing the event would end so he could go back to sleep.
Mei Mei remained off to the side, watching both the footage and everyone else’s reactions.
Gojo’s gaze moved across the screens.
“If we’re talking purely about strength, Okkotsu is above every other participant,” he commented.
“After him, I’d put Hakari, Todo, and Kamo, probably in that order.
As for Hakari, there are certain aspects of his technique we probably won’t get to see.”
Utahime showed no surprise.
“I agree.”
“Mmm…” Gojo tilted his head slightly, stopping at one of the screens.
“Although there’s one person I’m still not sure where to place.”
On it, Nagi was adjusting his Basalt Knuckles alongside the rest of the Kyoto team in a clearing in the forest.
They stood around a flag planted firmly in the ground, the symbol of Kyoto School fluttering on it.
“The new kid.
What rank did you say you’d promoted him to?”
“He’s officially been initiated as a Grade 2 sorcerer,” Utahime replied.
“Then it will be a good opportunity to see whether that rank is correct for him.”
Gojo tilted his head slightly.
“How did you find him?”
Utahime answered as she calmly sat down with her legs crossed, sipping a cup of tea.
“Ino.
He found him a few days ago while he was retrieving one of Sukuna’s fingers.
Nagi was trying to get rid of it to clear the curses out of his father’s workplace.
He’d never had any contact with us before that.”
Mei Mei, who had remained silent until then, spoke up with a hint of amusement.
“Now that I think about it…
doesn’t he look a little like you, Satoru?”
“Me?
Not at all.
I assume you’re asking because you think we might be related.”
“Tall, white hair, an ocular technique…” Mei Mei listed.
“There’s some resemblance.”
“Nah.
Maybe the hair, although his is a duller shade of white than mine, and we’re both tall.
Our facial features don’t look alike, neither do our eyes,” Gojo replied casually.
“Plenty of people in the Gojo clan don’t have white hair, and plenty of people outside it do.
You, Mei, for example.
You even see shades like that among the Inumaki.”
Mei Mei smiled faintly.
“You’re quick to dismiss the possibility.”
“I’m not dismissing it, but hair color is pretty bad genetic evidence,” Gojo replied.
“I’ll look into whether he comes from somewhere important, though.
For his sake, I hope he doesn’t.”
Because he reminds me of someone else.
That cursed energy…
If he ends up being related to someone bad, I’m not gonna tell anyone.
I won’t ruin this kid’s life.
Mei Mei then turned her attention toward someone else in the room.
“He’s got potential, don’t you think, Kusakabe-san?” Get faster updates on g.com.
“Huh?” Kusakabe suddenly reacted as though someone had just woken him up.
Hayama glanced at him.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
“Hey,” Mechamaru asked, turning toward Mai.
“Weren’t you expecting your sister to come today?
At least to say hello?”
“Honestly, I’d rather not have to see her.”
“You didn’t even want to see her a little?” Miwa asked.
“No,” Mai replied flatly.
After a few seconds of silence, she abruptly changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’ll bet ten thousand yen that Tokyo wins.”
Mechamaru turned his head toward her.
“Betting against your own teammates seems unethical to me.
Besides, the odds are already in your favor.
I’m certainly not going to bet on our team.”
Miwa stared at both of them indignantly.
BATTLEFIELD — FOREST
A brief burst of static crackled through the speakers scattered throughout the forest.
“Attention, participants,” Gojo’s voice echoed through the loudspeakers.
“The match will begin in…
THREE!
TWO!
OOOOONE!”
“BEGIN!”
Nishimiya immediately shot upward on her broom, rising above the treetops until she reached a height from which she could see a large portion of the terrain.
Luckily, the forest wasn’t dense enough to completely hide the Tokyo team’s movements.
With one hand still gripping the broom, she pulled her phone from her uniform pocket.
Before the event, we’d created a Line group—basically Japanese WhatsApp—so Nishimiya could relay information from the air without constantly having to move between us.
The screen lit up.
Line — Kyoto Team (6)
Momo Nishimiya:
“Team, I’m in position.I can see almost the entire forest.”
Kamo:
“Perfect.
Good work, Momo.
Keep us informed of any movement.”
Kamo put his phone away without slowing down.
From the exact moment Gojo’s voice had given the signal over the loudspeakers, the two of us had shot north, taking the most direct route toward Tokyo’s base.
We sprinted through the forest at full speed, jumping over roots and fallen trunks and weaving between the trees.
Kamo was slightly ahead while I stayed to his left, occasionally pushing off a tree trunk to maintain my momentum instead of going around it.
At this speed, it would only take us a few minutes to reach enemy territory.
“Stay on my left,” Kamo instructed without breaking pace as he ducked beneath a branch.
“Don’t split up until we know how they’ve positioned themselves.”
“I’m with you.”
Back at Kyoto’s base, Todo remained leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and an expression of absolute boredom.
Reina finished placing several talismans around the field while Fushimi did some final warm-ups.
Reina’s phone vibrated.
Momo:
“Visual on the enemy base.Only Kirara is guarding the flag.”
Reina:
“Then the other four must be advancing.Are they going all-in on offense?”
The message appeared on Kamo’s phone as well.
He stopped abruptly on a branch and looked at the screen with obvious concern.
That meant Yuta and Hakari were advancing toward our flag together.
“I don’t like this,” Kamo said.
“Todo is strong, but I’m not willing to bet that he can hold off Okkotsu and Hakari by himself.”
I stopped beside him.
“Are we going back?”
Kamo looked north.
There was one obvious advantage to the situation: if Tokyo had committed almost its entire team to offense, their own flag was practically undefended.
“I’m going back.
“There’s only one person guarding their base.
This is the best chance we’re going to get,” Kamo replied.
“Keep heading north, avoid anyone coming the other way, and get to their flag.”
Kamo:
“Change of plans.Momo, return to our base and provide support from the air.
I’m heading back too.Nagi will continue alone.”
“Then I’ll see you when I’ve got their flag.”
I shot forward.
Straight north.
If I want to reach their flag without running into anyone, I’d better circle around the forest a little.
So I moved away from the main route.
It would take a little longer than going straight there—around ten minutes.
KYOTO BASE
Nishimiya descended from above the treetops and landed gently beside the others.
“Kamo’s coming back.
We need to hold this position and protect the flag while Nagi goes after theirs.”
Reina pulled out her phone.
“Should we split up the matchups?”
The answer didn’t take long.
Everyone’s phones vibrated.
Kamo:
“Momo and Todo, try to hold off Yuta.I’ll take Hakari.Reina and Fushimi, handle the two third-years.”
Kamo burst out from between the trees at full speed and reached the team.
He’d barely had time to catch his breath when Todo stepped forward.
“Witch girl.”
Momo looked at him from her broom, slightly intimidated.
“Don’t interfere too much with my fight.
I want to enjoy facing that guy, understood?”
“I’ll do my best not to,” she replied, a little tense.
Reina looked toward the edge of the forest.
“Everyone, get into position.
They’re almost here.”
Four figures began emerging from between the trees: Sayaka, Suzuki, Yuta, and Hakari.
They made no attempt to hide themselves, clearly intending to take the flag by force.
“One’s missing,” Sayaka pointed out.
Hakari smiled confidently.
“Kirara’s handling it.”
Yuta placed one hand on the hilt of his katana and stepped forward.
“Then…
let’s begin.”
Todo’s grin immediately widened.
He stepped toward them and released his cursed energy all at once, making the ground crack beneath his feet.
“YUTA OKKOTSUUUU!”
NAGI POV
They only left that punk girl guarding the flag.
From what I’d seen before, she didn’t seem particularly dangerous, just a little strange.
She’d spent a good while pinching people’s cheeks because she thought they were cute.
The moment she touched mine, I had to slap her hand away.
It felt kind of weird.
I don’t understand this kamikaze strategy they’re going for.
If nobody intercepts me, this could be over pretty quickly.
Shinkeigan
I launched myself from a tree branch and landed a few meters away from Tokyo’s base.
Kirara was there, casually leaning beside the flag while spinning a coin between her fingers.
When she saw me appear, she caught it in midair and smiled.
“Hi, Nagi-chan.
Finally, someone showed up.
I’ve been waiting for a while.”
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