Half a month later, in an office at Jujutsu High.
Masamichi Yaga sat behind the same desk as always.
Spread out before him were several records and documents that an assistant manager had just delivered.
He opened a few of them, looked through their contents, then set them back down.
After sitting silently for a moment, he removed his sunglasses, revealing his small, somewhat melancholy eyes.
When he finally spoke, his voice was filled with surprise and admiration.
“I never expected that kid to grow this quickly.
In such a short time, he’s already crossed the threshold of a low-level sorcerer and reached the standard of a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer…”
More than half a month had passed since Tōru Azuma’s first mission, and he had hardly been idle during that time.
Every morning, he trained on the practice grounds to solidify what he had learned.
In the afternoons, he studied Barrier Techniques with Utahime, and at night, he went out on missions with either Mei Mei or Utahime.
Of course, which of them accompanied him depended on who was available.
Even so, he had already completed a large number of Grade 3 missions and several Grade 2 missions.
His performance throughout had been remarkably polished.
In some cases, even Jujutsu Sorcerers with several years of experience might not have handled things as well as he did.
He had even participated in a Grade 1 incident alongside several other Jujutsu Sorcerers.
During that mission, he had mostly dealt with lower-grade Cursed Spirits.
It was only when the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit attempted to escape that he stepped forward and blocked its path, buying enough time for the accompanying Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer to finish it off.
That mission had allowed the boy to begin making a name for himself within Jujutsu High and among Jujutsu Sorcerers outside the school.
Quite a few people who knew Yaga had even started asking him about Tōru Azuma.
Yaga had simply brushed them off with a few vague, half-true answers.
Until those old men among the higher-ups reached a firm conclusion about the boy, it was better not to let Tōru Azuma attract too much attention.
With that thought, Yaga pulled out the report from Tōru Azuma’s first mission and let his gaze linger uncertainly over several lines.
“According to the action recorder carried by accompanying Jujutsu Sorcerer Utahime Iori, when Tōru Azuma confronted the Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit provisionally designated as the Messenger of Death, he used high-intensity Cursed Energy Reinforcement, temporarily raising his physical abilities to a level approaching that of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
According to the medical staff who examined him afterward, his body sustained minor damage due to the excessive degree of Cursed Energy Reinforcement.
It has therefore been determined that this level of combat power cannot be used routinely.
Furthermore, after using Cursed Energy Reinforcement at its maximum level, his emotional state appeared to change.
Rather than maintaining his usual precise and composed approach against the Cursed Spirit, he resorted to methods resembling an execution.
The cause remains unknown.
With his final strike, he released a slash containing an enormous amount of Cursed Energy through his Cursed Tool and triggered another Black Flash, leaving extremely obvious traces at the scene.
However, as with his first Black Flash, this should be regarded as a miraculous coincidence and cannot be included in his overall evaluation.
Preliminary assessment: Tōru Azuma’s maximum combat capability is approximately Grade 1.”
Looking at the report compiled by the assistant managers, Masamichi Yaga hesitated over whether he should submit it to the higher-ups exactly as written.
There were far too many details in it that would attract attention.
Especially the fact that he had triggered Black Flash through a Cursed Tool.
In principle, such a thing should indeed be possible, but there seemed to be no precedent for it anywhere in the history of the jujutsu world.
Would the higher-ups really believe it was nothing more than a coincidence?
Then again, although this information had reached him first, the higher-ups undoubtedly had their own records and copies.
Even if he wanted to shield the boy a little longer and delay bringing him to their attention, that probably wasn’t possible anymore.
Trying to do so might instead make the higher-ups suspect that he had some other motive, which could lead to…
Masamichi Yaga shook his head, put his sunglasses back on, then picked up the reports and documents from his desk and left the office.
It had been roughly a month since the period set by the higher-ups began, and today was the date they had officially chosen to conclude the evaluation.
In other words, whether Tōru Azuma could remain at this school and formally enroll as a student would depend on today’s result.
Deep in thought, Yaga walked along the corridor.
When he passed the training grounds, his gaze instinctively lingered there for a moment.
Even now, Tōru Azuma, Utahime Iori, and Mei Mei were still training together.
Watching how hard the three of them were working, something flickered in Yaga’s eyes.
He said nothing.
He merely turned away and quietly headed toward the Five-Story Pagoda in the northwestern part of the campus.
Before long, after being guided in and announced by an assistant manager, he entered the room where the higher-ups had gathered.
The moment he stepped inside, several pairs of eyes turned toward him at once.
If Tōru Azuma had been present, he might have been surprised to find that although most of those gathered were familiar faces from the day of his trial, there were also several people he had never seen before.
Even Masamichi Yaga himself didn’t recognize some of them.
Seated at the head was still the elderly man who had presided over Tōru Azuma’s trial that day.
Seeing Yaga standing before him, he spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Yaga, you’re here.”
“Yes, Principal.
I’ve finished compiling the records of Tōru Azuma’s progress in his studies and training, along with his mission reports from this period.
I’ve brought them here for your review.”
As he spoke, Yaga raised the documents in his hand slightly.
The elderly man seated at the head of the room, the current principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, didn’t move.
He merely gestured to a middle-aged man beside him, who stepped forward, took the report, and placed it in front of the principal.
The principal began flipping through it.
Although the others present were clearly curious, no one spoke.
They simply watched in silence as events unfolded.
Masamichi Yaga was already accustomed to being scrutinized by others, so he remained silent as well.
After quite some time, the current principal finally spoke.
This time, there was a hint of admiration in his voice.
“This boy, Tōru Azuma, is certainly worth cultivating.
Not only does he possess an enormous amount of Cursed Energy and excellent physical abilities, his aptitude for learning far exceeds that of an ordinary person.
Give him a little more time, and even Special Grade 1 should be well within his reach.”
At that assessment, many of those present began murmuring among themselves.
After all, Grade 1 and Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerers formed the backbone of the jujutsu world.
There were only a handful of Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers in the entire world, and even Special Grade 1 was already considered exceptionally powerful.
Moreover, they had hardly invested anything substantial in Tōru Azuma so far.
They had merely provided him with a Cursed Tool and assigned two people to teach him.
For him to achieve this much growth with so little investment made him extremely worthwhile to cultivate.
The current principal listened to the discussion without interrupting.
Instead, he turned his attention toward Masamichi Yaga.
“So, Yaga, what do you think?
Do you believe he has passed the assessment?”
At the question, Masamichi Yaga’s heartbeat quickened for an instant.
He quickly composed himself and answered in a serious, measured tone.
“Throughout this period, he has consistently devoted himself to studying and training.
He has had no contact with outsiders whatsoever, and his attitude toward both his studies and his missions has been extremely positive.
Furthermore, he previously underwent an investigation concerning the True Word Scroll.
Taking everything into consideration, my final judgment is that he should be formally admitted as a student.
In the future, I believe he will undoubtedly make valuable contributions to the jujutsu world.”
Once he finished, Yaga lowered his head and fell silent, saying nothing further.
He knew the current principal had almost certainly already made up his mind.
Asking for Yaga’s opinion now was probably little more than a formality.
Sure enough, the current principal nodded.
“Very well.
As of today, his evaluation and assessment period is officially over.
Yaga, you may begin making arrangements for his formal enrollment.”
He paused.
“However, there is still one matter we haven’t clarified.”
Before Masamichi Yaga could respond, the elderly man with the snake-patterned family crest, still seated on the left, spoke up curiously.
“And what would that be?”
The slightly plump old man seated opposite him shot him an annoyed look at having been beaten to the question, but he didn’t interrupt.
He simply continued listening.
The principal went on.
“We haven’t seen any sign of a Cursed Technique from Tōru Azuma.
Everything he has demonstrated so far appears to consist of relatively basic abilities.”
The discussion in the room immediately grew louder than before.
Some were surprised that Tōru Azuma had reached his current level of combat ability without ever displaying a Cursed Technique, but more of them began proposing less favorable possibilities.
“Could it be…
“That would actually make sense.
Given his extraordinary talent, perhaps it’s the manifestation of some kind of Heavenly Restriction.”
“You mean he exchanged his Cursed Technique for rapid growth?
That’s certainly an unusual theory.”
Once the possibility that Tōru Azuma lacked a Cursed Technique was raised, most of those present who had previously regarded him with suspicion and wariness began to relax.
After all, in the jujutsu world, the difference between possessing a Cursed Technique and lacking one was enormous.
Tōru Azuma’s current rate of growth was undeniably frightening, but without a Cursed Technique, Grade 1 would most likely be his limit.
Even if he did possess a Cursed Technique, if it offered little value in direct combat, then Special Grade 1 would probably be the highest he could reach.
Someone at that level would still merit caution, but not enough to demand too much of their attention.
“But…
we still can’t say for certain whether he has one or not.
He’s only been involved with the jujutsu world for a very short time.
It’s entirely possible that he doesn’t even know whether he possesses a Cursed Technique.”
The portly old man, who was clearly at odds with the elder bearing the snake-patterned family crest, offered a completely different opinion.
That immediately sparked another round of discussion and quiet exchanges.
His argument did make sense.
Throughout history, there had been plenty of Jujutsu Sorcerers who awakened unfamiliar Cursed Techniques without understanding how to use them.
They had no choice but to slowly study and develop those abilities themselves.
It wasn’t an unusual occurrence.
Watching the higher-ups debate, Masamichi Yaga sighed inwardly.
From his perspective, neither possibility seemed particularly good for Tōru Azuma.
If he did possess a Cursed Technique, and it happened to be highly offensive or particularly dangerous, Jujutsu High would inevitably become wary of him.
After all, he had already demonstrated a rate of growth far beyond the ordinary.
But if he didn’t possess a Cursed Technique, the school might eventually come to regard him as nothing more than a useful blade for handling difficult and unpleasant work.
If that happened, he could eventually lose himself completely.
That was the dilemma Tōru Azuma faced.
The current principal watched everyone discussing the issue for a moment, his eyes flickering faintly before he finally interrupted them.
“Enough.
There’s no point discussing this now.
That boy from the Gojo Clan should be enrolling in a few days, correct?”
As he spoke, he looked toward an unfamiliar elderly man seated among the others.
His tone softened slightly.
“When the time comes, I’ll have to trouble Elder Gojo to ask that boy to investigate for us.
With his Six Eyes, he should be able to determine whether Tōru Azuma possesses a Cursed Technique.”
At the principal’s words, the Gojo Clan elder’s expression stiffened, and his face darkened slightly.
After all, that so-called boy from the Gojo Clan had never been obedient at home.
Whatever he did, he always followed his own whims.
But faced with the curious gazes of everyone else and the current principal’s calm yet faintly oppressive stare, the elder could only nod.
“I understand.”
Seeing him agree, the current principal nodded in satisfaction.
“If Tōru Azuma does possess a Cursed Technique, give him the records left behind by previous sorcerers so that he can begin developing it as soon as possible.
If he doesn’t…
then there’s no need to devote too many resources to him going forward.”
“The Principal is right.”
“A very wise decision.”
“As expected, you’ve considered everything thoroughly.”
A trace of satisfaction flashed through the current principal’s eyes as he listened to the other higher-ups flatter him, though outwardly he merely waved a hand.
“All right, Yaga.
You may leave.
Go make preparations for this year’s new students, and while you’re at it, tell that boy the news.”
Having received his instructions, Masamichi Yaga silently sighed to himself.
He bowed to everyone present, then left the room.
Outside the Five-Story Pagoda, he stood gazing at the distant setting sun, lost in thought.