Chapter 176
"S-Sensei... what exactly is that?"
High above the training ground, a timid-looking boy with delicate features stared at the battle below in open horror. His entire body was trembling.
It was Yuta Okkotsu.
"Oh, them?"
Gojo fell silent for a moment before breaking into a cheerful smile.
"They’re sparring. Sorcerers need to train their hand-to-hand combat too, so this is perfectly normal."
"You’ll be joining them soon enough. Nothing to worry about."
"You call that sparring?"
Yuta looked ready to cry.
The kind of sparring he had imagined was what people showed on television—one person threw a punch, the other answered, and they traded attacks in neat turns.
At worst, they might grapple on the ground and use a few wrestling holds.
But this?
This looked like the climax of a special-effects blockbuster.
And Gojo expected him to train in close combat with those two superhumans?
His teacher was putting far too much faith in him.
’So this is the jujutsu world?’
Yuta was already beginning to regret coming here.
This place was terrifying.
He wanted to go home.
"Sensei... is it too late for me to transfer somewhere else?"
He forced out a smile that looked even more miserable than crying.
"Haha, don’t be scared."
Gojo waved dismissively.
"They’ll be your classmates. They aren’t going to kill you."
"Ugh..."
Yuta remembered the bullying he had endured before coming here, and another shudder passed through him.
The moment Rika sensed his fear, the special-grade curse lurking within him nearly erupted.
Gojo reacted instantly and threw an arm around Yuta’s shoulders.
"Yuta, shouldn’t you be happy that these people are strong?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"The stronger they are, the less you need to worry about hurting them."
Gojo went straight to the heart of the matter.
"If you attended an ordinary school, someone could be seriously injured the moment you lost control of your emotions."
Yuta’s body stiffened.
Those were memories he least wanted to revisit.
"But here, even if Rika appears, the others can handle her without being badly hurt."
Gojo smiled.
"Doesn’t that make this a much safer place for you?"
Yuta’s eyes brightened.
His teacher had a point!
"And you want to free Rika too, don’t you?"
Seeing that Yuta was listening, Gojo continued.
"If you stay beside strong sorcerers, learn how to fight, and master different methods of exorcism, you’ll reach that goal much sooner."
Yuta was completely convinced.
He looked toward the almost inhuman battle below, drew a deep breath, and bowed to Gojo.
"Sensei, I want to become stronger!"
"Leave it to me!"
Gojo confidently slapped his chest.
...
The fight on the training ground continued.
Maki had already adapted to the power of the Third Gate, and the longer the battle lasted, the more excited she became.
Her fighting spirit soared as she pushed her speed and strength higher with every exchange.
No matter how aggressively she increased the pace, however, Kiriya kept up with ease.
With the first three gates open and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan supporting him, he became the strictest instructor Maki could have asked for.
"Don’t rush forward so recklessly. Always leave yourself room to adjust."
"You’re making too many unnecessary movements. Refine them."
"Stay focused. Control the power inside your body instead of letting it control you."
Maki remembered every correction and deliberately incorporated each one into her attacks, steadily improving her command over the Eight Gates.
’Not bad.’
Kiriya was delighted.
’She really is a natural martial artist. Teaching her was the right decision.’
Their spar continued for nearly five minutes before finally coming to an end.
It was not because either wanted to stop.
Maki’s body had simply reached its limit.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
She collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. Sweat had completely soaked through her clothes.
Those few minutes of combat had exhausted her more than an entire day of normal training.
The enormous chakra surging through her body had constantly torn at her muscles and tendons, flooding her nerves with pain and draining her strength even faster.
Only now did Maki fully understand why Kiriya had forced her through such monstrous conditioning.
If she did not train her stamina to its absolute limit and develop the ability to withstand extreme pain, she would not even be able to maintain the gates.
Sustaining them through a prolonged battle would be completely impossible.
"You did very well."
Kiriya nodded in approval.
"Maintaining three gates for that long on your first attempt is impressive. Give it time, and even I can’t imagine how far you’ll go."
"Save the compliments."
Maki rolled her eyes.
"Just heal me. I hate feeling like every bit of strength has been sucked out of my body."
"Yes, ma’am."
Kiriya placed a hand over her chest and used Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality.
The green light quickly eased her exhaustion.
At that moment, Maki noticed someone approaching from the corner of her eye.
Her gaze sharpened.
She immediately grabbed the cursed spear lying beside her and raised it defensively.
"Hey! Who are you?"
"Huh? I-I’m Yuta Okkotsu. I don’t mean any harm!"
The nervous boy hurriedly raised both hands. Sweat covered his forehead almost instantly.
’What did I do?’
’Why is everyone looking at me like that?’
Panda and Inumaki were just as tense.
They stared gravely at this completely ordinary-looking boy because they could sense an unprecedented amount of cursed energy surrounding him.
Its scale appeared to surpass even Gojo’s.
But how could that be possible?
Gojo was the strongest sorcerer in the world.
"You know you’re cursed, right?" Maki shouted.
"Don’t... bully... Yuta!"
A voice filled with innocent affection and deranged possessiveness echoed across the field.
An enormous figure emerged from Yuta’s body, its claws sharp enough to tear through almost anything.
"What the hell?!"
Faced with cursed energy as vast as the ocean and as chaotic as an abyss, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki immediately prepared for battle.
Cold sweat covered all three of them.
"R-Rika, stop!"
Yuta desperately tried to calm her.
"They’re my friends. They aren’t trying to hurt me!"
"..."
Rika’s enormous body paused.
Only after Yuta repeatedly reassured her did she finally withdraw.
"I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten everyone."
Yuta bowed again and again, looking like someone who had spent his entire life apologizing for existing.
No one dared underestimate him now.
They stared at him as though he were a nervous child carrying a nuclear warhead.
The atmosphere became heavy.
"All right, everyone. Allow me to make the introductions."
Gojo finally appeared, speaking in his usual playful tone.
"This is Yuta Okkotsu, our new transfer student."
"As you’ve all seen, he’s currently troubled by a curse, so he came here to learn how to live as a jujutsu sorcerer. Make sure you all get along."
His head turned toward Kiriya.
"Especially you, Kiriya. Could you tone it down a little? Even I’m getting uncomfortable looking at your face."
Everyone blinked and followed Gojo’s gaze.
Kiriya was staring at Yuta without moving.
More accurately, he was staring at Rika like a starving gourmet who had just been presented with the finest meal in the world.
He was practically drooling.
"Hey, Maki," Panda whispered, "what’s wrong with your man? Don’t tell me he prefers delicate boys like Yuta. You might be in trou—ow!"
Maki struck him on the head before he could finish.
"Stop talking nonsense. He’s interested in the curse."
"Um..."
Yuta grew increasingly frightened under Kiriya’s naked stare and quietly hid behind Gojo.
Once Gojo blocked his view, Kiriya finally snapped out of it and wiped the corner of his mouth.
"Sorry. Your curse is just incredibly tempting. I got a little carried away."
He was telling the truth.
Rika Orimoto was known as the Queen of Curses, and her cursed energy was considered nearly limitless.
If Kiriya could exorcise her, the benefit might be more than ten times what an ordinary special-grade curse could provide.
In other words, she might allow him to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in a single step.
He had simply become a little too focused.
"..."
Yuta had absolutely no idea how to respond.
"Hey, Okkotsu."
Kiriya smiled eagerly.
"Want to fight me? There’s a chance I could solve your problem for you."
"No... thank you."
Yuta refused.
Rika held an extremely special place in his heart.
He wanted to resolve their situation himself.
"Give it up, Kiriya."
Gojo walked over and casually draped an arm around his shoulders.
"Rika isn’t simply a curse. She’s bound to Yuta by something deeper—a restriction that operates almost like a fundamental rule."
"Even I can’t exorcise her through force."
Gojo paused.
"Not unless you’re planning to kill Yuta along with her."
Everyone turned toward Kiriya.
"All right, forget it."
Kiriya spread his hands with a regretful sigh.
He desperately wanted to exorcise powerful cursed spirits and evolve his Sharingan, but he was not without limits.
Killing an innocent person who had never wronged him was something he could never do.