The classroom at Tokyo Jujutsu High was old, simple, and brutally honest—no decorations, no motivational posters. Just wooden desks, a blackboard, and windows that looked out over the forested mountains.
Four students sat scattered across the room
.
At the front stood Masamichi Yaga, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
"This isn't a normal school," he said flatly. "So don't expect normal explanations."
Gojo leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs. "Too late. The chair already feels normal."
Yaga ignored him.
"Jujutsu sorcerers exist to exorcise curses," he continued. "Curses are born from negative human emotions. The stronger and more concentrated the emotion, the stronger the curse."
He turned and wrote on the board:
Grade 4 → Grade 1 → Special Grade
"These are curse grades," Yaga said. "Sorcerers are graded the same way."
Geto leaned forward slightly. "Based on combat ability?"
"Threat handling," Yaga corrected. "A Grade 4 sorcerer can reliably defeat a Grade 4 curse. Anything above that requires experience, teamwork, or death."
Shoko yawned quietly. "Yeah Yeah."
Yaga continued, unfazed. "Special Grades are anomalies. They do not represent the standard."
Gojo raised a hand. Smirk in the corner of his mouth.
"Hypothetically speaking, if someone were born a Special Grade—"
"Sit down," Yaga said immediately.
Gojo sat.
Yaga's gaze moved across the room, pausing briefly on Emiya.
"Your techniques will define how you survive," he said. "Some are suited for offense. Some for support. Some for control."
Emiya listened quietly, hands folded on the desk, eyes focused. He wasn't tense—but he wasn't relaxed either.
"Grades are not titles," Yaga added. "They determine where you stand at threat handling."
He turned away from the board.
"Which is why," he said, "we evaluate."
_________________________________________
The training grounds lay beyond the classroom, separated by a reinforced barrier field. Old stone markers dotted the area, faint cursed energy humming beneath the soil.
The four first-years stood in a line.
"Evaluation is individual," Yaga said. "No interference."
Gojo cracked his neck. "Yosh."
A barrier activated with a low hum. Inside it, cursed energy twisted violently.
A curse emerged—humanoid, malformed, its presence heavy.
"Grade Three," Yaga said. "Hyodo. You're first."
Gojo blinked. "Really? Not me?"
"Yes."
"…Wow."
Emiya stepped forward without hesitation.
A grotesque humanoid curse, Ugly mouth screamed at once, cursed energy exploding outward in violent waves.
Before anyone could react, a massive claw shot forward—straight at Emiya.
Too fast.
Too close.
But nothing he can't handle.His instincts kicked in instantly.
"Deploy - Wall."
A solid rock wall erupted from thin air at the last possible second.
The curse's claw slammed into it, small cracks spreading across the surface, but the wall held. The impact blasted dust and debris into the air.
Without giving the curse even a moment to react, Emiya's voice cut through the settling dust.
"Deploy unit - Barbarian."
The air warped.
Four figures materialized instantly, surrounding the curse from all directions as if they had always been there.
They were humanoid, tall and broad, bodies wrapped in rough leather and metal scraps, muscles dense and corded. Each carried a massive sword—crude in design, but heavy with cursed energy. Their eyes burned with a dull, battle-hardened glow, not mindless, not wild—focused.
Semi–Grade Two.
The curse shrieked.
Too late.
The barbarian to the left moved first.
With a single, brutal swing, his blade cleaved through the curse's arm, severing it completely. Black cursed blood sprayed across the ground as the limb hit the dirt with a wet thud.
The second barbarian stepped in immediately, sword plunging straight through the curse's abdomen. The blade pinned it in place, the force lifting the malformed body slightly off the ground.
From the front, the third barbarian advanced without hesitation.
One clean motion.
The sword flashed upward.
The curse's head separated from its body before the scream could finish.
For a split second, the corpse remained standing—then the final barbarian acted.
He dropped his sword.
Grabbing the upper and lower halves with both hands, he ripped.
The curse tore apart down the middle, its form unraveling violently as its cursed energy collapsed in on itself.
The remains dissolved into smoke, scattering into nothingness.
Silence fell over the training field.
The four barbarians stood motionless for a brief moment—then faded away, their bodies dissolving back into cursed energy as if they had never existed.
The rock wall vanished last, sinking back into nothing.
Emiya exhaled slowly.
Behind the barrier—
Geto stared, eyes narrowed.
"…Efficient," he muttered.
Shoko's yawn stopped halfway. "That was overkill."
Gojo was grinning like he'd just found a new favorite toy.
"Ohhh," he said softly. "Yeah. This is gonna be fun."
Yaga said nothing.
But his gaze lingered on the spot where the curse had been annihilated—then on Emiya Hyodo.
The evaluation had only just begun.