Chapter 99 (Patreon)

Tokyo Jujutsu High — Meeting.

Yuji Itadori was kneeling on the floor.

From the way he sat there, shoulders lowered and head dipped, anyone would have thought he had committed some terrible crime.

Panda stared at him for a moment, then scratched his cheek.

“Uh… isn’t this basically bullying?”

Megumi Fushiguro looked at Itadori with a helpless expression, while Yuta Okkotsu only smiled softly.

To him, this was just friends messing around after finally seeing each other again.

“Panda, Inumaki-kun… Maki-san. You all look well.”

Toge Inumaki nodded.

“Salmon.”

Panda raised a paw.

“Long time no see, Yuta.”

Maki Zen’in clicked her tongue and crossed her arms.

“You two really are busybodies. You went overseas right after that mess and didn’t even bother telling us.”

Rika Orimoto smiled sweetly beside Yuta.

“Well, we wanted to say something, but things were a little urgent back then, so we had to leave first. But…”

She held up the bags in her hands.

“We brought souvenirs.”

With that, Rika handed the gifts to the second-years one by one.

At that moment, Junpei Yoshino scratched his cheek and spoke up for Yuji.

“Everyone, it wasn’t really Itadori’s fault. Gojo-sensei really did take him overseas for training for a while.”

Nobara Kugisaki’s eyes sharpened.

“Seriously?”

Yuji nodded quickly.

“Yeah!”

“Hmph.” Nobara folded her arms. “That does sound like Gojo-sensei. Careless as ever. He really doesn’t tell anyone anything.”

Yuji quickly added, “I brought gifts too!”

After Yuji handed out the souvenirs he had prepared, his punishment was finally lifted.

The guilty verdict was overturned.

“Man, that scared me…” Yuji stood up and stretched his stiff legs. “For a second there, I thought I was actually getting executed.”

At that moment, Toge Inumaki looked at him and said,

“Salmon, salmon.”

Yuji and the others stared blankly.

“???”

Megumi glanced at them and explained, “Inumaki-senpai is a Cursed Speech user. His words can become reality, so he can’t speak normally.”

Nobara slowly turned her eyes toward him.

“…You just exposed someone else’s Cursed Technique like it was nothing.”

Maki shrugged.

“It’s fine. Toge’s technique is already pretty well known among us.”

Then she suddenly turned her gaze toward Yuji.

“Give me back my Playful Cloud.”

Yuji froze.

A cold sweat ran down his back.

Right.

Playful Cloud.

He had broken it during his first fight.

No.

If he said that out loud, Maki would absolutely beat him up.

Yuji’s mind spun at full speed.

Then his eyes lit up.

“Cough… uh, it’s with Gojo-sensei.”

Maki’s expression immediately darkened.

“Tch. That blindfolded idiot.”

Megumi fell silent.

“…”

——————

Meanwhile.

Satoru Gojo, who had just taken a sip of water, suddenly choked.

Ragnar Kagenou looked at him from the side.

“Should I notify your next of kin?”

“It… it hasn’t gotten that bad yet…”

After saying that, Gojo collapsed onto the sofa like a dead fish.

Beep, beep, beep.

Ragnar picked up his phone.

“Hello? Shoko?”

A pause.

“Yeah, yeah. What? You want to perform an autopsy on Gojo? No problem. Of course, no problem. I’ll sign the papers right now…”

Gojo shot up from the sofa, snatched the phone from Ragnar’s hand, and shouted into it.

“No! Absolutely not! I’m still alive!”

On the other end, Shoko Ieiri clicked her tongue.

“What a shame.”

——————

With Yuta and Rika suddenly joining them, Nobara turned toward the second-years.

“So what now? We knew there would be a team battle, but the number of people changed.”

Toge Inumaki crossed his arms.

“Bonito flakes, bonito flakes.”

With Yuta and Rika here, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Yuta smiled awkwardly and said, “Kagenou-sensei told us we aren’t allowed to use cursed energy in this match unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Maki thought for a moment, then nodded.

“That makes sense. If you two used cursed energy properly, this wouldn’t even be a fight. It would just be one-sided.”

Panda looked toward the first-years.

“Then what can Itadori and Yoshino do?”

Junpei raised his hand slightly.

“I can summon my shikigami, Moon Dregs. It can release a poisonous mist that causes paralysis.”

Panda nodded.

“So it’s a control-type support shikigami.”

Yuji, on the other hand, clenched his fist confidently.

“I can punch. I can kick. And I can use a slashing Cursed Technique.”

Megumi’s eyes shifted toward him.

“Slashing?”

Nobara had the same reaction.

“Wait. You have a Cursed Technique now?”

Yuji grinned.

“Yeah. Kagenou-sensei taught me.”

Megumi studied him for a moment.

“You really did get stronger while you were away.”

Panda tilted his head.

“A slashing technique? What kind? I’ve never heard of something like that from you.”

Yuji raised his hand.

In the next instant, everyone present except Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto felt a sharp chill crawl across their skin.

Rip.

The ground in front of the building was torn open by an invisible slash.

The cut stretched more than ten meters, nearly twenty centimeters wide, as if a blade had passed through the earth without ever being seen.

Panda’s mouth fell open.

“That’s… seriously powerful. And it activates instantly? No hand signs, no chant?”

It wasn’t only the second-years who were shocked.

Megumi and Nobara were stunned as well.

Nobara pointed at Yuji.

“Itadori… did you secretly cheat or something?”

——————

Kyoto Jujutsu High — Meeting.

Yoshinobu Gakuganji still wanted Yuji Itadori dead.

That had not changed.

However, with four Special Grade sorcerers now present, all of them belonging to the Tokyo side, he could no longer make a move openly.

If they were going to assassinate Yuji Itadori, it had to be done from the shadows.

Otherwise, the consequences would be beyond imagination.

The students of Kyoto Jujutsu High did not show much interest in the assassination plan.

Aoi Todo, in particular, had no intention of listening at all. He turned around and started to leave.

As the vice-captain, Noritoshi Kamo could only play along with Gakuganji’s words. If no one responded at all, the atmosphere would become far too awkward.

“Todo,” Kamo called out. “Come back. The principal is speaking.”

Todo did not even turn around.

“Takada-chan’s show starts at eleven. Do I really need to say anything else?”

“Record it.”

The moment those words left Kamo’s mouth, Todo stopped.

A dangerous pressure filled the room.

“I want to watch it live and then watch the recording afterward! Are you looking down on me?”

His eyes swept across the room.

“I’ve been disappointed in all of you for a long time. Make your plans. Strategize all you want. But if you try giving me orders…”

Todo’s voice dropped.

“I’ll kill you.”

Seeing that Todo had no intention of cooperating, Kamo could only turn back to the others.

“All members of Kyoto Jujutsu High will move together and attack Yuji Itadori.”

Kasumi Miwa raised a hand hesitantly.

“But… what about Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto?”

Ultimate Mechamaru’s mechanical voice followed.

“With two Special Grades participating, our chances of victory are close to nonexistent. If we split up, we’ll be picked off one by one. If we stay together… the result is obvious.”

He paused for a moment.

“We may need to focus not only on stealing the target but also on avoiding Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto.”

Mai Zen’in sighed, completely uninterested.

“I don’t care about Yuji Itadori. Just leave Maki to me. And that brown-haired first-year brat too.”

Momo Nishimiya had already given up on the assassination plan in her heart.

Trying to kill someone under the eyes of Special Grade sorcerers was far less realistic than simply hunting cursed spirits.

Noritoshi Kamo glanced at Mai.

“What you just said is no different from Todo.”

A vein immediately rose on Mai’s forehead.