Playing Ninjutsu in Jujutsu Kaisen!

Actually, they were near the bottom even among Grade 1 Sorcerers. The strong ones weren't at the school right now, so getting instantly defeated was perfectly normal. After all, one was the floor and the other was the ceiling; they weren't even on the same dimensional level.

"Oh my, I just put in a tiny bit of effort."

Gojo Satoru turned toward the maze and said, "Move bravely toward the future. After all, no one can break a fledgling bird's wings—not even me."

Inside the maze.

Todo Aoi was currently trading punches with Yuta Okkotsu. Todo Aoi was more than happy to teach his formidable rival, and he could even see the shadow of his best friend in him.

This was the so-called mutual attraction between the strong.

There was no doubt that his best friend's talent was the strongest he had ever seen, whether in fighting style or combat mindset. After just a little guidance, he had immediately grasped "Black Flash" and unleashed it three times in a row that very day. He might have been able to keep throwing them, but he was already having a hard time taking it.

That afternoon, they had talked about many things. As they spoke, he told a tragic story, as well as the mindset of its protagonist: numbness, darkness, as though he did not know why he was alive, until someone brought him change, hope, and a pursuit of the future.

Wasn't a best friend the person who understood you best?

If that was what a best friend was, then a rival should be the same.

He asked, "What kind of woman do you like?"

"Huh?" Yuta Okkotsu froze and was sent flying by Todo's punch.

Todo Aoi continued asking, "What kind of woman do you like?"

Lying on the ground, Yuta Okkotsu was utterly baffled. Fine, they were fighting, but why had this suddenly turned into a question about women?

"What kind of woman do you like? Big breasts or small breasts, tall or short, what kind of personality? Answer me, rival!"

Faced with Todo's string of questions, Okkotsu thought for a moment before hurriedly answering, "I guess average-sized would be fine. Height doesn't matter, and as for personality, gentle and kind."

"That's pathetic, rival."

Todo Aoi looked up at the sky, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes as though he deeply regretted it. "You have no ambition at all! You should be pursuing girls with big breasts, tall builds, and mischievous personalities!"

"That's what you're into! Don't fucking force it on me!"

Yuta Okkotsu roared. After all, Takada, whom they had watched in concert together before, was pretty much exactly as Todo had described.

This will be going premium tonight at 12:05 a.m.

I only suddenly received a private message from my editor yesterday. I had originally planned to wait until Volume 0 was over before putting it behind a paywall, but I couldn't squeeze into any more recommendations afterward.

It feels a bit rushed, and I don't have any chapters saved up. Thank you all for reading for so long. I'll work hard to update after it goes premium, at the very least it won't just be four thousand words a day anymore.

As my first contracted novel, I feel like I've revised everything I could and worked hard on writing it.

I'll work hard on the upcoming plot as well. I put a lot of thought into filling out this Volume 0 material, though readers have had mixed opinions on it.

Still, thank you all for reading this far. The Exchange Event is expected to end soon, and Night Parade will come afterward.

I don't know whether I can reach the kind of intense spectacle from the movie, but once Okkotsu's arc is over, I'll need to prepare Brother Tora's. You should all be very interested in hunting down Jogo, Mahito, and the rest, right?

That's about it. I won't ramble on anymore. Time to rush out chapters.

As for a group... I don't think it's necessary.

Bye-bye.

"Boom!"

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this now?!"

Noritoshi Kamo crossed his arms to block, but Kento Nanami's punch sent him flying dozens of meters away. The sensation of being struck was incredibly strange, like an inescapable friction clinging to him.

"You guys, don't push your luck..."

Standing in the distance, Mech-Maru prepared to unleash his full power. The mechanical shell covering his face opened up, revealing a massive cannon, while the same happened in his right palm. The cursed energy inside his body surged sharply.

In some dark room of unknown location, enormous cursed energy conduits were transporting cursed energy at full capacity. The sheer amount of cursed energy was no less than Yuta Okkotsu's.

At the bottom of the cursed energy conduits was a man wrapped all over in white bandages. He roared, "You guys, don't push your luck! I'll fucking crush you! Cursed Energy Enhancement Form, Dual Cursed Cannon!"

"Bzzzz!!!"

With the cursed energy cannon in his mouth as the main attack and his right hand as support, he blasted it toward Kento Nanami in the corridor. The Great Sacred Cannon, compressed to the extreme and fired out, destroyed everything in its path.

Even the walls were blasted straight through, showing just how powerful it was.

As for their previous fight with Natsu Hiraku, they had only gone to test his strength. Once they had tested enough, they naturally intended to leave. His arm being crippled had been a complete accident.

If his arm had not been crippled, this would have been a "Triple Great Sacred Cannon." However, he did not dare use it—and could not use it right now anyway. As a killing move, he believed Kento Nanami would die if he took that hit. Reverse Cursed Technique was not some commonplace technique. If everyone could use it, that would be ridiculous.

"Seriously, what is wrong with these Tokyo School guys? They suddenly rushed out and attacked without saying a word."

Noritoshi Kamo rubbed his aching arm and asked, "How is it, Mech-Maru?"

"Please call me Ultimate Mechamaru now."

"..."

"So how is it now, Ultimate Mechamaru?"

"I'm fine. He probably won't die."

Ultimate Mechamaru glanced at the place hit by the Dual Cursed Cannon. The high wall, reinforced by cursed energy, now had a crater in it. Red liquid dripped down like water droplets, demonstrating just how high the temperature had been.

"You blasted a path open..."

Noritoshi Kamo did not know what to say. This junior was like he had cheats activated, with a terrifying amount of cursed energy inside him. Before the Exchange Event began, he had been assigned the position of captain, but he had not known much about this junior.

However, when yesterday's match was suspended, he had become curious and asked the principal about him. The answer had deeply shocked him.

Because of Heavenly Restriction, he had been born without a body below his right knee, and he could not control anything below his waist. In other words, he was paralyzed.

Even faint moonlight could burn his skin. In exchange for losing his body, he had obtained this astonishing amount of cursed energy.

It was difficult to imagine how he had survived in the past, spending every day in a dark, damp underground place like a prison...

"Let's go see how Todo is doing..."

Before Noritoshi Kamo could finish, Kento Nanami's voice came from the distance. "That cursed energy cannon was seriously powerful. It nearly blasted me to death!"

Kento Nanami was covered in blood, but he did not seem to care. He tore off his damaged clothes and walked toward them, his eyes burning with excitement.

"How is that possible?"

Ultimate Mechamaru was stunned. That attack had hit him squarely! Why could he still walk?

"Of course it's willpower! Let's have some fun. After all, I'm a gambler. Domain Expansion: Gambler's Demise!"

Kento Nanami brought his hands together, and the surrounding space changed. Since Domain Expansion had a sure-hit effect, Kento's domain and technique were directly revealed in Ultimate Mechamaru and Noritoshi Kamo's minds.

The two were shocked that this man could use Domain Expansion, and they began reading the so-called rules of the game.

"Gambler's Demise"

"CR Private Railway Pure Love Train 1/239 ver. Character Introduction"

"1. Saito Ameha, Yuki's childhood friend. She works at a local bank and embezzled a large amount of public funds." (Appearance: a cute woman with short hair, huge breasts, and a beer in hand.)

"2. Amanokawa Sayuri, Yuki's superior. A project manager by day, and at night..." (Appearance: a beautiful mature woman with long black hair and earrings.)

"3. Asagiri Yume, the heroine of this work. No particularly notable traits." (Appearance: a cute girl with long hair resting on her shoulders.)

"4. Kato Sora, Yuki's college classmate. A freelance musician and member of a band, he cannot tell the difference between lead guitar and bass." (Appearance: an enthusiastic, optimistic young man with a short center-parted haircut.)

"5. Shimizu Ryoka, a colleague who joined the company at the same time as Yuki. Highly educated and arrogant. She is currently developing Sora's..." (Appearance: a poker-faced office woman with short hair.)

"6. Yamaguchi Sayaka, Yuki's younger sister. She often plays a DS disguised as an electronic dictionary during class." (Appearance: a girl with black twin tails wearing a sailor uniform.)

"7. Yamaguchi Yuki, the protagonist of this work. No particularly notable traits." (Appearance: an office worker with long black hair.)

(Author's note: Out of a group of exceptional people, the two plain-looking, unremarkable ones got together. Know your place.)

"Rules Explanation"

"Gambler's Demise is a domain modeled after a real pachinko machine. The rules are very simple!"

"Collect three matching symbols—characters—and you hit the jackpot! If I, Kento Nanami, hit the jackpot, I'll receive some kind of extra reward! What kind of reward will it be? Please look forward to it after winning!"

"Game Flow"

"The jackpot probability is approximately 1/239, while the Probability Change activation rate is 75%."

"Probability Change is short for probability alteration. It means adjusting the jackpot odds and increasing the chance of winning big."

"Every time I draw, an animated sequence will play, allowing a Reach."

"Reach is the state where you are one matching symbol away from getting three identical symbols and hitting the jackpot. An animated sequence is the state of waiting for a win, and Time Shortening can be used to reduce the time."

"Time Shortening is short for shortening time. It is an assist mechanism that reduces animation playback time, giving the player more and faster chances to draw."

"Preview Sequence"

"Before the animation begins, pachinko balls must enter the winning zone to start the jackpot selection animation. If more pachinko balls enter the winning zone during this process, they become Retained Balls and are stored until the current sequence ends, after which the drawing continues."

"Retained Balls come in green, red, and gold. Their corresponding colors grant ×1, ×2, and ×3. They multiply a single selection animation sequence, with an extremely small chance of ×4 as well, while only consuming one draw chance. In the vast majority of cases, it is simply an animation sequence meant to stir up the player's emotions. If ×4 appears, it means you have won."

"When the train begins entering the station during an animation sequence, it has the same effect. The train doors open and burst out green, red, or gold. When rainbow colors appear, it also means a jackpot."

"Reach Action—Three-Star Full Star"

"Transportation IC Card Reach—one-star expectation."

"Seat Competition Commute Reach—two-star expectation."

"Absent-minded Limited Express Urgency Endurance Reach—two-star expectation."

"Brilliant Friday Last Train Reach—three-star expectation."

"If Brilliant Friday Last Train Reach develops, an intensely heated sequence with an expectation rate exceeding 80% will appear."

"The higher the expectation rate, the greater the chance of hitting the jackpot. Even a Reach with a lower expectation rate may hit the jackpot if its chance is raised."

"Chance Increase"

"Dream Background: During Reach, a special photo of the heroine, Asagiri Yume, will appear."

"Amanokawa Cut-in: During a Reach sequence, senior Amanokawa will appear to help."

"Group Preview: Could a jackpot appear outside the train?"

"The technique's rules are as follows."

Author's note:

Didn't expect that, did you? I posted the premium-launch message and still had another chapter!

I'm exhausted.

This is roughly what the chapter before premium release is like. Kento's technique is truly extremely bizarre, and I'll explain it differently later.

Kento could currently be considered the strongest among the second-years of both schools, provided his luck was good. If his luck was bad, Todo could solo-kill him, and being able to use a domain would be useless.

The upcoming plot will become more compact. Going by the planned progression, graduation should happen at around one million words.

As for bonus chapters... I'll work hard on them. It depends on you readers.

My writing level isn't great either. Thank you so much to every reader who has made it this far. I'll work hard to improve later.

Continuing the update...

For sorcerers, "Domain Expansion" was an ultimate move. Only an extremely small number of sorcerers could deploy one, and the conditions for activation were exceptionally harsh.

One needed to gain enlightenment of their Innate Domain—that was, for the mind to enter its inner world. This mind could also be understood as the soul, and it was a necessary prerequisite for opening a domain.

"Domain Expansion" was the act of using cursed energy to bring the world within one's Innate Domain into reality, and techniques used within the domain were guaranteed to hit!

Noritoshi Kamo watched Kento Nanami before him with a grave expression. There were too many rules, and he was still processing them.

Ultimate Mechamaru looked around. They were currently at the entrance to a train station. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Although the rules are hard to understand, it can be understood like this: as long as we kill you before you hit the jackpot, this Domain Expansion is completely useless, right?"

"Of course. But I can feel it. My luck is definitely going to be incredibly good today!"

As Kento Nanami spoke, he took out a pachinko ball from his pocket and tossed it toward the two of them. Then he brought his hands together.