Although the Jujutsu High Schools in Kyoto and Tokyo were considered sister schools, their relationship wasn't exactly harmonious due to differing factions in power.
Adding to that were personal grudges and unresolved conflicts among the students, making their meetings during the exchange events even less cordial.
The exchange event between the two schools wasn't just a stage for students to test each other's skills—it was a direct competition to determine superiority, with the winning side receiving a greater share of resources in the coming year.
Therefore, even though Yuji Itadori wasn't participating in this exchange event, Kyoto's team wasn't planning to hold back.
The only condition for winning the exchange event was to exorcise the most curses. Whichever team exorcised more curses would be the victor.
But the number of curses was limited.
To increase their odds of winning, they needed not only to exorcise curses but also to weaken the enemy's fighting strength.
"I remember this person's name is Tokisaki Kurumi. Her technique is Compression Technique, and it's extremely powerful."
Nishimiya Momo lowered her voice and said to Ultimate Mechamaru beside her, "In the team, she's positioned as a high-powered unit that needs protection. But right now, her protectors are nowhere to be seen. This is the perfect time to strike."
"I understand."
Ultimate Mechamaru's pair of glowing green artificial eyes flickered with cursed energy. In a low voice, he said, "I'll deal with her. You support me depending on the situation, but be sure to watch out in case her teammates return."
This year, they hadn't placed much importance on the students sent by Tokyo Jujutsu High.
After all, theoretically, none of the third-year students—who were supposed to be the most powerful—had come. The replacements were all first-year students who hadn't even completed a month of school.
And among the first-years, the most troublesome one—the vessel of Sukuna—wasn't participating either.
So they boldly split into three teams to search for both curses and Tokyo's teams more efficiently.
Apparently, Lady Luck was on their side.
In the eyes of Ultimate Mechamaru and Nishimiya Momo, the isolated Tokisaki Kurumi looked like a squishy mage poking into a bush, only to encounter a fighter accompanied by a support class.
If they couldn't take her down now, they'd surely be laughed at by their classmates afterward.
Having decided to act, Ultimate Mechamaru wasted no time with small talk. His mechanical body shot toward Tokisaki Kurumi like a cannonball.
Although Ultimate Mechamaru was more of a ranged fighter, as a cursed corpse, his physical strength was far superior to many sorcerers.
But now, facing another long-range combatant in Tokisaki Kurumi, he chose not to engage in a ranged shootout. Instead, he opted to resolve the battle with close combat.
Bang bang!
Two compressed spirit energy bullets flew toward him, but he deftly dodged both.
Within seconds, the distance between them closed rapidly.
"Gojo, did you really teach your students properly?"
In a small hut not far away, several high-level sorcerers were seated.
These were the supervising instructors of the exchange event, monitoring the students' every move on the battlefield through surveillance techniques.
Watching the screen where Ultimate Mechamaru was engaging Tokisaki Kurumi in close quarters, Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji of Kyoto Jujutsu High—an old man as withered as dead wood—asked expressionlessly and with a hint of reproach, "I can't tell at all that you've taught them anything about team coordination. Abandoning the team's most crucial firepower unit like this—utterly unbelievable."
"Don't be so rigid. At the end of the day, Jujutsu sorcerers usually fight alone, right?" Satoru Gojo replied casually. "Cooperation is important, sure, but once they truly step into the Jujutsu world, solo exorcisms are the norm. So, this kind of situation is actually a good learning experience."
"Hmph..." Gakuganji snorted indifferently. "Sorcerers who can only fight alone are the ones who die the quickest during exorcisms."
"You're seriously annoying, old man. You're usually as silent as a mute, but today you just won't stop talking."
"I just can't stand you as a teacher."
With that, Gakuganji shut his mouth.
The assassination plan for Yuji Itadori was already prepared. All that remained was to instruct the students.
However, at the very last moment before the exchange event began, Satoru Gojo replaced Itadori with some insignificant blond girl.
It felt like punching cotton—completely unsatisfying and frustrating for Gakuganji.
With no outlet for his pent-up irritation, all he could do was vent through verbal sparring.
"Well... if it were anyone else getting two-on-oned, I might be a little worried."
Looking at Tokisaki Kurumi on the screen, Gojo lips curled into a playful smile. "But her—she's the only one I'm not worried about at all."
"Gojo, does that student have some kind of hidden trump card?"
Curious, Principal Masamichi Yaga of Tokyo Jujutsu High asked, "I remember her technique is pretty strong, but right now she seems to be completely suppressed."
Among the first-years, the only one Yaga had a strong impression of was Yuji Itadori.
As for the others, his knowledge of them was limited.
In his memory, Tokisaki Kurumi Compression Technique was indeed destructive—but only when supported by teammates.
Now, facing Nishimiya Momo who could fly with a broom and had maxed out mobility, and Ultimate Mechamaru who was proficient in both melee and ranged combat, he couldn't see even a sliver of a chance for her.
"Trump card? Who knows if she has one or not."
Gojo shrugged and said with great interest, "I'd like to know what she's hiding too. Let's just keep watching."
The verbal sparring among the adults temporarily ceased.
But the battle on Tokisaki Kurumi side continued.
"As expected... relying only on compressed spirit energy is still too much of a stretch."
Struck by a powered punch from Ultimate Mechamaru, Tokisaki Kurumi was sent flying several meters, gasping for breath in disarray.
She was well aware that she was currently being monitored by the instructors from both Tokyo and Kyoto.
However, only Satoru Gojo knew of her connection to the Nightmare. No one else was aware of that.
If she used an ability she shouldn't, someone might notice something.
After all, Tokisaki Kurumi original powers were far too distinctive in this world.
Those archaic flintlock pistols of hers were definitely off-limits—just drawing them would reveal her identity.
The same went for her Angelic Spirit Dress—if she couldn't summon it, she couldn't activate her Territory of Time either. Right now, she was relying solely on her physical body to endure damage.
The City of Devouring Time was even more out of the question.
"Can I use shadow manipulation instead?"
Kurumi shadow manipulation did have parallels with techniques in this world.
For example, Megumi Fushiguro technique, or the Zenin clan's Ten Shadows Technique—both allowed the user to control shadows to a certain extent.
But Kurumi had claimed her technique was Compression Technique. Displaying shadow control now would certainly draw attention.
The Zenin clan might even send someone to investigate whether she carried Zenin blood.
If that really happened, it would be a major problem.
Her mission was simply to stay close to the main characters and gain their trust. Any extra trouble was better avoided.
However, she had told Gojo earlier that the reason she joined Tokyo Jujutsu High was to become stronger and make friends to help her fight against the Nightmare.
Standing out in the exchange event was clearly the best way to do that.
If she performed too blandly now, others wouldn't suspect anything—but Gojo definitely would.
"In that case, the only choice is..."
Tokisaki Kurumi narrowed her eyes.
"You're spacing out during battle?"
After blasting Tokisaki Kurumi away, Ultimate Mechamaru didn't give her any time to catch her breath.
With a powerful push from both feet, he accelerated again, instantly closing the distance between him and Tokisaki Kurumi.
Bright light was gathering in the palm of his hand—
This time, it was even brighter than ever before.
Although Tokisaki Kurumi defense was unexpectedly strong, taking over ten direct hits with her body and still remaining combat-capable, which shocked him greatly,
From the previous probing attacks, it was clear that she lacked confidence in close-quarters combat, and he had been dominating her almost completely.
Having figured this out, Ultimate Mechamaru decided not to waste any more time. He increased his cursed energy output to eighty percent.
From the start of the battle until now, not much time had passed—not even two minutes.
But without knowing when her teammates might return, finishing the fight quickly was the best option.
He decided to settle it with one blow!
"Sorry."
Perhaps feeling slightly guilty for bullying a weak girl, Ultimate Mechamaru gave a brief apology.
But that was only lip service—his actions showed no mercy. His palm, containing eighty percent of his cursed energy output, struck toward Tokisaki Kurumi chest.
This strike could even shatter steel.
However, based on his calculations, Tokisaki Kurumi defense was astounding, and this attack would, at most, break her bones.
"Apologize?"
To his surprise, the usually clumsy Tokisaki Kurumi moved at a terrifying speed at that moment.
Not expecting her to counterattack, Ultimate Mechamaru's wrist was directly grabbed by her.
His palm stopped just ten centimeters from her chest, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move it even a fraction further.
"What... what kind of monstrous strength is this?!"
Ultimate Mechamaru was shocked.
He originally thought Tokisaki Kurumi strength lay solely in her defense, but now he realized—
She wasn't just tough; her entire physical body was monstrously strong!
But the shock lasted only a moment.
Realizing that Tokisaki Kurumi hadn't been fighting at full strength before, he stopped showing any mercy.
The light in his palm suddenly flared—cursed energy condensed and shot toward her chest in the form of a powerful cursed energy blast.
"Creeeaaak—!"
However, just as the blast formed, Ultimate Mechamaru heard the sound of twisting metal.
"Impossible?!"
There was no expression on his mechanical face, but his voice overflowed with disbelief.
His cursed corpse's wrist had been forcibly bent by her grip!
Seeing this, Ultimate Mechamaru's left arm transformed into a bladed appendage.
Without hesitation, he swung the blade down and cut off his own restrained right arm.
Immediately, the glinting blade lunged straight toward Tokisaki Kurumi abdomen.
He could no longer afford to hold back at all!
However, Tokisaki Kurumi reacted just as swiftly, swinging the severed right arm of Ultimate Mechamaru to block what would have been a crippling blow, though not a fatal one.
"Silly you… If you hadn't apologized, I might've felt guilty hitting you."
With his right arm gone and his left attack blocked, Ultimate Mechamaru had no way to defend against her next move.
Her fist filled the reflection in Ultimate Mechamaru's glowing green eyes.
Bang!
With a thunderous boom, a deep dent appeared in the head of Ultimate Mechamaru.
If he had been human, he would have certainly been dead by now.
But this was only a cursed corpse. Though the damage affected some of his systems and made him lose visual functions, his combat capabilities were still mostly intact.
"Nishimiya, get back!"
He barked at Nishimiya Momo, who was preparing to assist, while his body emitted an overwhelmingly oppressive wave of cursed energy.
He was about to self-destruct!
However, Tokisaki Kurumi immediately noticed the cursed energy core hidden within the cursed corpse.
Forming her hand into a claw, she thrust it into Ultimate Mechamaru's chest.
When she pulled it back, a core—gradually dimming—appeared in her grasp.
"Just to be safe..."
She casually tossed the cursed core aside, grabbed hold of Ultimate Mechamaru's body—
Then, with a sudden burst of strength—
Riiip—!
This tough, durable cursed corpse, one strong enough to rival a quasi-grade 1 sorcerer,
Was torn in half by her bare hands.
Electric sparks flew. Broken parts and mechanical components scattered across the ground.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Nishimiya Momo looked completely horrified, her gaze at Tokisaki Kurumi filled with disbelief, as if she were looking at some kind of monster.
Wasn't this supposed to be a delicate and elegant rich young lady?
A first-year newbie who only fought well when protected by others?
What the hell was this about tearing a robot apart with her bare hands?!
"I didn't really want to do this, you know. It's not very ladylike."
Tokisaki Kurumi let go of the now-haloned Mechamaru and gave an embarrassed smile.
"But… sorry. I can't afford to lose."
Still stunned by the scene of her teammate being ripped in two, Nishimiya Momo floated mid-air, motionless.
But when she saw Tokisaki Kurumi slowly approaching her, she gulped hard and finally snapped back to reality.
"Y-You gorilla woman..."
Her voice trembled.
No thoughts of avenging her teammate—without saying another word, she turned and flew away.
"Who wants to fight a damn gorilla like you?! Stay away from me!"