Painful wails echoed from the medical room at Jujutsu High. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were slaughtering pigs in there.
"Ow, ow, ow! Easy, Shoko!"
Satoru Gojo winced in pain, baring his teeth as he couldn't help but complain.
"I'm a wounded patient, you know!"
"Hah. You asked for this."
Ignoring Gojo's ghostly howling, Shoko Ieiri, dressed in a white lab coat, slapped a medicinal patch hard onto his back.
SMACK.
This elicited another heart-wrenching scream from Gojo, bringing literal tears to the corners of his eyes.
But as a doctor, Shoko's eyes were filled with nothing but cold professionalism—and a hint of annoyance.
"Dragging a guest to watch you two idiots fight? You've got some nerve!"
"If you ask me, Yaga-sensei went too easy on you."
When Gojo and Geto fought to their heart's content, the destructive power was unimaginable.
Yaga-sensei had received dual complaints from the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs offices. His two star pupils had nearly demolished the training grounds the school spent a fortune building. Even worse, the protective barrier Master Tengen had set up specifically for that area was teetering on the brink of collapse.
Repairing it was out of the question because Tengen was currently overwhelmed. Until the ritual was completed again, Tengen couldn't spare the energy to intervene.
So, when Yaga saw the two "unfilial sons" walking in, supporting each other and grinning like idiots, his anger skyrocketed.
He immediately beat Gojo and Geto senseless and sent them to Shoko. But Shoko wasn't exactly known for her gentle bedside manner. With a lollipop in her mouth, her treatment was brutally efficient.
Geto, who had received treatment first, was already lying face down on a bed nearby, motionless as if dead.
"Thank god nothing happened to Kenmei-kun. Otherwise, you two would have to apologize by committing seppuku!"
"Shoko, Kenmei isn't as harmless as he looks."
Hearing this, Geto turned on his side, revealing a helpless smile.
"Have you ever seen anyone dare to stand on the sidelines and cheer while Satoru and I are going all out with full firepower?"
"Even Yaga-sensei wouldn't dare do that."
"Right! Exactly!"
Gojo, still grimacing in pain, suddenly recalled a few details after Geto's reminder.
"Speaking of which... the area where Kenmei was standing seemed to be the only part of the field that remained completely intact after Suguru and I destroyed everything."
Both Gojo and Geto were top-tier sorcerers, excelling in offensive power even among the best. They sat at the peak, Tier 0.
The power of Gojo's Cursed Technique Reversal "Red" was equivalent to dozens of Grade 1 Cursed Spirits firing Cursed Energy cannons simultaneously. A full-power blast was comparable to a small tactical nuke. Since "Blue" creates a miniature black hole effect via infinite attraction, it fundamentally collapses matter.
With both Geto and Gojo seeing red in their fight, who would pay attention to an inconspicuous spectator? Wandering into such a battlefield to cheer was usually a death wish. Yet, Kenmei returned with the battered problem children without a scratch.
The area where Gojo and Geto clashed was an absolute forbidden zone for the living. The weak would pay with their lives the moment they stepped in.
That zone meant facing technique attacks from both sides; the pressure was immense. Although Kenmei hadn't explicitly shown his strength, his silence spoke volumes. He was unharmed, his clothes as clean and tidy as ever. That explained everything.
Shoko hadn't expected the boy she felt she could beat last time they met to have grown to this level in such a short time.
Mainly, Gojo and Geto's overwhelming strength had become a stereotype in her mind, leading Shoko to subconsciously categorize the unfamiliar Kenmei into the same "support/non-combatant" camp as herself.
Who could have guessed that Kenmei, quietly playing the spectator, might secretly be on par with Geto—or even Gojo?
"Also, Shoko, don't forget that Kenmei was the one who saved Nanami during the earlier accident."
"Right, Nanami?"
Geto turned his head toward another bed. Hearing his senpai call him out, the person pretending to sleep finally "woke up."
"Yes. It was indeed Senpai Kenmei who saved me."
Earlier, thanks to Kenmei's timely intervention, Kento Nanami only suffered from excessive shock and was resting in the infirmary.
But with Gojo-senpai screaming like a slaughtered pig, Nanami couldn't sleep even if he wanted to.
Knowing his senpais might be embarrassed if they realized a junior was listening to them expose each other's dirty laundry, Nanami tried hard to lower his presence. But Geto-senpai outed him anyway, so his tone was filled with resentment.
"If it weren't for Senpai Kenmei, I probably wouldn't be here right now."
Nanami had heard every word of Geto and the others' conversation. It turned out his savior knew his upperclassmen.
"Is Kenmei-kun really that strong?"
Shoko covered her mouth in genuine surprise.
Nanami's opponent was a genuine Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. That meant Kenmei was at least a Grade 2 Sorcerer, no doubt about it.
Shoko had assumed Gojo or Geto had stepped in to save Nanami. She didn't expect it to be Kenmei.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!"
"Kenmei totally destroyed Suguru in basketball too! I told you he's super strong."
"Can we not talk about that? Satoru."
Being utterly crushed in basketball was a sore spot for Geto's pride. His tone was strained.
"No! I'm gonna say it!"
Gojo never missed an opportunity to strike a blow against Geto. This guy was just cheeky—the type who wouldn't settle down unless hung on a wall.
"Shoko, let me tell you, Suguru..."
In his eagerness to court death, Gojo clearly forgot how he got these injuries in the first place.
"You bastard!"
Veins popped on Geto's forehead again. He formed a hand seal.
A pink, fleshy blob Cursed Spirit instantly wrapped around Gojo at high speed, just as he was about to spill the beans.
Gojo had overused his Limitless today, so he was helpless against being tightly enveloped by Geto's spirit. He couldn't even speak.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
When the ugly Cursed Spirit puckered its lips as if asking for a kiss, Gojo's face went pale. He tapped the spirit's arm frantically, signaling surrender.
"Shuguru! I'm shorry!" (Muffled: Suguru! I'm sorry!)
"Too late, Satoru."
"YOU TWO SCUMBAGS! DON'T FORGET THIS IS AN INFIRMARY!"
Shoko, unable to tolerate it any longer, let out a roar so loud it could be heard clearly even in the hallway outside.
---
"Hahaha..."
Sensing the chaotic atmosphere inside, Kenmei, who was passing by, let the corners of his mouth lift slightly.
"Truly a group of hopeless idiots. Maybe being classmates with them wouldn't be such a bad choice."
"I know, I know."
A "Cursed Spirit" that looked like an ugly-cute doll flapped its wings in Kenmei's face, urging him on. Rarely, Kenmei didn't destroy it but followed behind.
"I'm coming. Don't rush me."
The creature flying in front of him—which definitely wouldn't sell as a toy—was a Cursed Corpse, a product of Masamichi Yaga's [Puppet Manipulation] technique.
Earlier, Kenmei had shown Yaga the tattoo on his arm. As expected, Yaga-sensei knew something. He fell into deep thought for a long time, his expression growing more serious by the second.
Soon, Yaga reached a conclusion and asked Kenmei:
"Kenmei-kun, have you encountered a [Killing Stone]?"
Yaga was indeed an expert; he pinpointed the key immediately.
Kenmei naturally knew the tattoo was connected to the Killing Stone. That was also the source of his unease.
The tattoo on his arm had activated after he killed the white-haired brat-turned-Cursed Spirit and absorbed the power of the second Killing Stone inside it. After the extra petal appeared, he felt the connection with some unknown entity deepening.
Learning that Kenmei had indeed come into contact with the Special Grade Cursed Object Killing Stone, Yaga asked Kenmei to wait and then rushed out. He said that once he was ready, he would send a Cursed Corpse to fetch Kenmei.
---