Who Holds the Bow?

Akesato drew his sword at top speed.

The moment he realized someone was sniping at him, he had gone on guard. Talk was talk, but his nerves had remained taut the entire time.

Sword Light flashed, deflecting every bullet.

"Not bad. Looks like you really do have some skill. But what about this?"

Bayer's expression barely changed. Blocking bullets with a sword was all well and good; quite a few Jujutsu Sorcerers skilled in hand-to-hand combat could do that.

Being able to block bullets did not mean his body could withstand them.

He could block a volley from four rifles, but what about five, six, seven, or eight?

And what if I used more than just rifles? What if I had other weapons too?

He raised his hand again. The number of rifles doubled, and a shotgun was added to the mix.

The pressure on Akesato surged. Rather than relying solely on his sword to block, he combined prediction with footwork and barely endured the new wave of attacks.

At that point, the number of firearms under Bayer's control doubled again, reaching sixteen.

At the same time, he made a Cursed Spirit Revelation. "My Cursed Technique allows me to manipulate weapons from a distance. Swords will do, and firearms will too. Confident boy, how many rounds of gunfire can you endure? My offer still stands."

"What a coincidence. So does mine—not that you're the only one who can attack from range!"

As he spoke, Akesato weathered the third volley, the cursed energy pouring from his hand abruptly intensifying.

Using the cursed tool's effect, he swung a crescent-shaped sword aura, destroying the shotgun—the greatest threat in the weapon array—in one blow.

Then Akesato burst forward, slipping through gaps in the formation faster than the firearms could recalibrate, and launched a Surprise Attack on Bayer.

Yet just as he was about to reach Bayer, his footing suddenly veered. The abrupt shift in his center of gravity threw Akesato off balance, and he rolled several times across the ground before climbing back up, looking both ridiculous and pathetic.

Still, compared with having his legs blown off, this outcome was far better.

While advancing, Akesato had sensed an abnormal concentration of cursed energy beneath his feet and hastily dodged aside.

Had he been a step slower, the best-case scenario would have been losing the use of one leg. The worst case—well, all three legs would have been gone.

The cursed energy released by the explosion differed from the energy controlling the weapons. This was the Cursed Technique of Kekun, another core member of the Q Organization!

Meeting Akesato's gaze, Kekun confidently made his own Cursed Spirit Revelation. "My Cursed Technique isn't as impressive as Mr. Bayer's. All it does is create bombs by infusing cursed energy into things. Guess how many bombs are around you. Five? Ten? Twenty? You have nowhere left to run."

To prove his point, Kekun snapped his fingers. The ground less than three meters from Akesato exploded with a deafening blast, and quite a few flying chunks of concrete struck Akesato in the face.

But Akesato was not intimidated. "I'm guessing there's only one—the one you just detonated."

Kekun froze, confirming Akesato's judgment. "Did I guess right?"

"How did you know?" Kekun's voice darkened.

"Because your bombs are essentially cursed energy. Can your cursed energy reserves really support laying mines all over the place?"

Cursed Techniques came in different types: direct attack types and manipulation types.

The former had great power but high consumption. Kekun's Cursed Technique belonged to that category.

The latter consumed far less, but their power depended heavily on the object being manipulated. Bayer's weapon manipulation was a prime example.

Because he had enough firearms, and powerful enough ones at that, he posed an enormous threat. If he were using cold weapons like swords instead, he would be far less dangerous.

Incidentally, when Satoru Gojo had effortlessly taken him down back then, it was not only because he had failed to recognize the difference in their strength. He had also brought only a small knife rather than firearms for the sake of moving conveniently.

Give him sufficient firepower, and aside from monsters beyond the norm like special grades, any other Jujutsu Sorcerer could potentially be killed.

Having his weakness exposed, Kekun was speechless for a moment. After several seconds, he said, "I admit it. You're smart, and you're talented. But that only makes us less willing to let you go. I don't mind telling you that the rule we placed on the Curtain is that Jujutsu Sorcerers are forbidden from entering or leaving. So whether you try to escape or call other Jujutsu Sorcerers for support, neither is possible. We will not let our prey get away a second time."

He was clearly referring to the third-year student's escape, and it also showed just how well-stocked with talent the Gojo faction was.

"Is that so?" Akesato asked, rather crudely.

Kekun was about to mock Akesato for being scared stupid when Bayer suddenly shouted, "Watch out!"

In an instant, a fierce wind struck from behind. Kekun instinctively lunged forward, narrowly evading the attack from the rear.

Bayer immediately swung his guns around and fired in succession, but the attacker easily neutralized every shot.

Only then did the attacker answer Akesato's question. "That's right."

The newcomer had blond hair, a white suit, and black sunglasses. He carried a blunt blade wrapped in white cursed cloth, his voice magnetic and his manner confident and composed.

"K-Kento Nanami!" Kekun, who had just gotten back to his feet, stared in shock. "Y-You—how did you get in? The Curtain—"

"The Curtain has been functioning perfectly. Jujutsu Sorcerers outside cannot enter, and those inside cannot leave. It's just that I was already inside, so there was no need for me to enter."

The Curtain's rules made no distinction between friend and foe, yet Kento Nanami was in no hurry to attack the enemy.

"I see. Drinking with Jujutsu High's supervisor, and everything before that, was a diversion."

Bayer was entirely correct.

The two had indeed gone to the tavern, but they had only stayed briefly before leaving through the back door. Then they drove a car borrowed from the tavern owner all the way to the place where they had arranged to meet Akesato.

Nanami had chosen that tavern precisely to avoid surveillance and deceive their watchers.

The moment gunfire erupted here, Nanami, who had been hiding nearby, rushed over. Everything had gone according to Akesato's plan, except—

"My apologies, Classmate Akesato. My Cursed Technique isn't suited for surprise attacks."

"It's fine. They won't be getting away anyway."

Akesato had never expected to deal with the enemy easily. If they could be wiped out that effortlessly, then the Jujutsu Alliance's higher-ups would be far too incompetent. There was no way they could have tangled with Satoru Gojo for ten whole years.

As long as he could lure them out and trap them, Akesato's little "fishing expedition" would be a success.

Clap, clap, clap, clap. Bayer applauded. "Remarkable acting. Remarkable brains. Even we were fooled. Mr. Kento Nanami, Akesato, it was our mistake to underestimate you. But if you think this means you've won, then you're gravely mistaken. Though we saw through neither of your performances, we still made preparations to deal with reinforcements. Our targets were two Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers."

"Come forth, my personal combat unit."

Amid Bayer's applause and Kekun's call, one Q Organization combatant after another emerged from within the base. They were unmistakably the people Akesato had knocked out earlier.

Unlike when they had first stormed in, their eyes were dull and lifeless, their movements mechanical and stiff, like walking corpses.

At the same time, something somewhere in Akesato's arms trembled again, like the movement of a fetus.

The mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole waited behind it, the slingshot lay beneath them—so who held the bow?

PS: Book recommendation, book recommendation: "With No Money for College, I Could Only Go Slay Dragons." Calling it a recommendation is just an excuse—the big shot was kind enough to give me a chance to cross-promote with him. He's a true giant in this genre, with over ten thousand average subscriptions, and someone I've always looked up to and admired. If any readers haven't read it and are interested in the premise, do give it a look. It'd be a shame to miss it.

PS2: This week I'm on the strong recommendation slot. It should theoretically be the easiest slot to get good results from, but the numbers aren't as good as last week's, so I still have to keep asking for support. Monthly tickets, tips, favorites—let's get them going. And most importantly, follow-up reads. Readers who can, please check the newly updated chapters every day. If the follow-up read numbers are bad, it'll hurt my chances and I won't get any more recommendation slots afterward. Please, this is really important to me.