I Play Ninjutsu in Jujutsu Kaisen! Chapter 14

Maki Zenin said viciously.

Natsu Hiraku quickly formed hand seals. With the fine control aided by his Sharingan, even though he had never done this before, he completed seven seals in two seconds, his cursed energy plummeting by 300.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!!"

After taking a deep breath, a scorching flame seemed to ignite in his chest, then surged out of his mouth along with that breath.

The fierce flame burst from his mouth, the previously compressed fire expanding into open space and spreading violently in all directions.

The blazing wave of fire rushed toward Megumi Fushiguro, who had already summoned his Divine Dogs.

As for the incoming owl, it had long sensed the danger and fled back into the sky, its eyes reflecting the raging fire wave—and the source of the flames was a single youth.

Megumi Fushiguro watched the flames, knowing he had no time to dodge. The words "I'm dead" flashed through his mind.

The searing heat seemed to devour everything, turning all in its path to ash. Just as the fire was about to engulf him, the white dog at his side leaped in front of him, as if ready to die for its master.

"Owww~!"

That howl snapped Megumi Fushiguro out of his daze. Yeah, dignity and all that—you have to be alive to have it!

He gritted his teeth and shouted, "I give up!"

"Whoosh--"

The fierce flames vanished instantly. At the source of the fire, Natsu Hiraku exhaled lightly, and the last wisp of flame dissipated with it.

In the end, this fight was won thanks to the system's Fire Style. The Blade Techniques Maki Zenin taught him weren't useless—they just had no chance to shine here.

After all, he knew his own limits well. If he couldn't win in close combat, he couldn't win.

The system reward arrived at that moment.

[Mission complete. Rewards begin distribution: 10 points, 50 permanent Cursed Energy increase.]

[Distribution complete.]

Ten points, huh...

Pick a good day and go all in!

Jackpot. Honestly, I don't know how someone as handsome as me could hit "Thanks for Playing" nine times in a row.

Alright, the fight's over—time to win people over. Megumi Fushiguro lost because he had no intel. If he'd been on guard against me, who knows who'd have won?

After all, you can't cast a jutsu when someone's right in your face. Two seconds of hand seals? That's practically asking for a shorter life.

Megumi Fushiguro dismissed his Shikigami and watched Natsu Hiraku approach. He plopped down on the ground and said, "If you want to mock me, go ahead. A loss is a loss. I accept it."

"Don't think so badly of me."

Natsu Hiraku extended his right hand and said in a gentle tone, "That was a really good match. Looking forward to fighting you again."

"..."

Megumi Fushiguro looked at the outstretched hand and said, "We were just fighting for our lives with our pride on the line. Aren't you afraid I'll stab you right now?"

"And what am I doing now? Coming over to make peace. If stabbing me makes you feel better, I'm happy to take it."

Though Natsu Hiraku said that, his inner thoughts were: If you stab me, your life is over.

"Hmph!"

Megumi Fushiguro snorted lightly, reached out, and shook his hand. "I'm looking forward to our next fight. I've already found your weakness. Don't cry if you lose."

"Of course!"

The two shook hands and made peace, while the spectators were all too stunned to speak.

After all, that technique's range was enormous. A towering wave of heat had swept toward them. Though it had dissipated, the air still carried a lingering warmth.

Yaga Masamichi glanced at Gojo Satoru, the teacher in charge, and was about to say something when he saw the man's innocent expression. Clearly, he'd just found out too.

A common background, no sorcerer lineage in his family—so what the hell were his eyes and his technique?

Did they just pop out of nowhere?

No, he'd have to investigate. This couldn't leak out, especially to the Three Great Families. If they thought his bloodline was strong, they might try some unspeakable experiments.

Really, what a stroke of luck that Gojo Satoru stumbled upon such a promising kid while eating a late-night snack. If nurtured properly, his future would be limitless!

As for the upcoming Sister School Exchange Event...

Heh heh heh!

Get ready to be steamrolled!

After the match.

Natsu Hiraku sighed, stretched his joints, and complained, "My neck's a bit sore. Little bro Megumi, how about giving Brother Natsu a massage?"

"Uh..."

Megumi Fushiguro remembered the promise that if he lost, he'd have to call him "Brother Natsu." It was hard to say, but... a loss was a loss.

"Bro... Brother... Natsu... Brother."

"Good."

Natsu Hiraku looked at the slightly shy Megumi Fushiguro, a fond smile spreading across his face. He didn't force him to keep calling him that, just reached out his right hand and ruffled his hair, saying:

"I've always wanted a younger brother. From now on, you can think of me as your real brother."

The moment he finished speaking, he felt a faint killing intent behind him, and the name Maki Zenin flashed through his mind.

He tried to run, but two arms locked around his throat. Maki Zenin's furious voice rang out: "Well, well, you've been hiding deep, haven't you? Knowing such a powerful technique and still tricking me into teaching you Blade Techniques—spit out everything I taught you!"

"Ugh~, I was just afraid my big move would miss, so I learned some Blade Techniques for self-defense. I'm suffocating—loosen up, loosen up."

Natsu Hiraku patted Maki Zenin's arm and quickly admitted his mistake.

"Extra meal, extra meal! If you don't make it up tonight, Maki won't let you off!"

Panda chimed in from the side.

"Salmon!"

Toge Inumaki agreed.

"Maki, Hiraku's face is already red. If you don't let him breathe some air soon, he'll pass out."

Only the kind-hearted Yuta Okkotsu noticed that Natsu Hiraku was about to suffocate.

Natsu Hiraku gave him a mental thumbs-up, feeling gratified—at least someone was working to raise his favorability without him having to try so hard.

Yuta Okkotsu continued: "If he passes out, there won't be any dinner tonight."

"..."

Natsu Hiraku thought: Mmp, I feel offended. Just choke me to death and let me reincarnate!

"Ah, right."

Maki Zenin released her arms. Natsu Hiraku, finally able to breathe, shot up and gasped in fresh air, his face shifting from liver-colored to pale pink.

"Are you guys planning to have a feast tonight?"

After complaining, Natsu Hiraku didn't say anything else. He turned to Megumi Fushiguro, who was standing nearby, and said: "Come out for dinner tonight. Don't make me come knock on your door. Everyone here is really nice—just get to know each other."

"Okay."

Maybe because he wasn't good at socializing, Megumi Fushiguro had never been able to take that first step. But now, being able to make friends, his heart was happy—after all, no one wants to spend their whole life alone.

Even though these people seemed a bit strange, from what he'd observed over the past few days, their hearts were all very kind. It just felt a little hard to communicate with that white-haired senior...

He kept saying words Fushiguro didn't understand, even though Panda explained them.

Oh well...

Since he was here, he'd just go with the flow.

"Kid, not bad. But you seem a bit weak. If you were a little stronger, you could beat Hiraku. Want to learn Cursed Tools with me?"

Maki Zenin asked with a smile.

"Uh... okay, Maki... sis."

Megumi Fushiguro's words hit the mark with Maki Zenin. She hugged his neck and ruffled his messy hair with her right hand, saying: "Hey, you've got good instincts, kid. I've decided—I'll teach you something powerful so you can beat Natsu Hiraku someday and avenge today!"

"..."

Wow, you've really let yourself go, haven't you?

Natsu Hiraku was speechless. Seeing the sun nearing noon, he said to the group: "I'm going to prepare the ingredients. You all just wait for tonight's feast."

"Go on, go on. Don't bother us while we're getting to know Megumi Fushiguro."

Maki Zenin waved her hand dismissively with a look of disgust.

"..."

Damn it, you're so fickle. It's not like I didn't use the Blade Techniques you taught me to win...

Natsu Hiraku shook his head, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked off.

Just as he left the training ground, Gojo Satoru's voice came from behind: "Hiraku-kun, the principal wants to talk to you."

The principal wants to talk to me?

Natsu Hiraku turned around. Principal Yaga's expression was serious, like he had something important to say. But what could be so important now? Were they going to gouge out his eyes for analysis?

No, no, no. With Teacher Gojo around, they probably wouldn't be that insane. So what was it?

Could it be the Fire Release from just now?

If so, he'd have to blame it on bloodline—after all, 80% of sorcerers' techniques were inherited through lineage.

After a moment of inner turmoil, Yaga Masamichi was already standing in front of him. Looking up, his stern face was deeply etched into Natsu's mind.

"Slap-slap—"

Yaga Masamichi's broad hand patted his shoulder with a loud smack, then he burst into laughter: "Hahaha! Good work! Two months from now, you and Yuta Okkotsu will represent us at the Sister School Exchange Event with the other school. Do your best! Win glory for the school—crush them!"

"Uh... huh?!"

Natsu Hiraku looked at Principal Yaga in confusion, frantically searching his memory for this so-called Sister School Exchange Event.

Gojo Satoru explained: "It's a student exchange event held once a year between Tokyo Jujutsu High and Kyoto Jujutsu High to compare the strength of the two schools. It's useless, but we've lost several times already. So we're counting on you and Yuta Okkotsu to turn things around. Do your best~!"

"..."

"Oh."

Learning that they weren't here to ask about the origin of his technique, Natsu Hiraku breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he couldn't explain it himself, and saying too much would only invite unnecessary suspicion.

Wait...

If they had asked, and he'd said something about a bloodline sense, that would've been even more dangerous. He wasn't from a sorcerer family—an ordinary guy like him wouldn't know anything about that...

What an idiot.

"By the way, about that technique you just used..."

"Is there something wrong with it?"

Faced with Principal Yaga's sudden question, Natsu Hiraku's reply came out flustered and hurried.

"It's pretty impressive! But try not to use it at the Kyoto Sister School Exchange in two months. If you have to, keep the flames in check—don't draw too much attention. Though with Yuta Okkotsu around, you might not stand out much anyway."

"G... got it. Thanks for the concern, Principal. We're having a group dinner tonight—would you like to join us?"

Natsu Hiraku swallowed hard and directly changed the subject. If he kept talking, he might really slip up—though maybe he already had.

"No, no. If I'm there, you kids might not be able to relax. Let's save it for another time. See you later, kid. Looking forward to seeing how you grow."

Yaga Masamichi waved his hand and left.

"What good food are we eating tonight?"

Gojo Satoru, a glutton at heart, zeroed in on the important topic.

"..."

You've got some nerve bringing up food...