Gojo and Geto's First Clash

When the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room, Toho Tetsu opened his eyes. The light was still gentle, not enough to hurt his eyes, but enough to make one glance its way.

As he climbed out of bed and tidied his appearance, he began recalling what had happened yesterday.

If he had to sum up his progress in getting along with those familiar yet unfamiliar classmates on the first day, how should he put it?

There had been some progress, but not much.

After fixing the window, they had not spent much more time together before quickly going their separate ways.

After all, the first day of school had only been for them to meet and become familiar with one another's faces. Teaching and learning would officially begin on the second day, so their time had been relatively free.

After fixing the window, Gojo Satoru casually said he would see them tomorrow, then got into a car and left.

Geto Suguru had seemed like he wanted to say something, but perhaps because they had only just met, he merely told him goodbye until tomorrow before leaving the campus. No one knew where he had gone.

Toho personally guessed that he had gone to subdue cursed spirits while he had the time. After all, Geto's cursed spirit collection had been so extensive later on; he must have built it up over time.

As for Shoko Ieiri, she might have been the first of them to disappear. After the window was fixed, she seemed to vanish into thin air without leaving much trace behind.

Still, he vaguely felt that Shoko had glanced at him twice when she left?

As for himself, of course, he had maintained his usual routine. After eating, he had remained at the training grounds.

When Utahime returned from her mission, he had gone to the library with her for a while to continue studying barrier techniques, ending the day in a fulfilling and meaningful way.

So, on the first day, he had only initially confirmed that their personalities truly had not changed much compared to the original work.

The original work had not shown how they went from acquaintances to friends. Now that he could observe that process up close, it seemed like a pretty good experience.

Still thinking, he arrived downstairs at the dormitory. He had only taken a few steps when he noticed a figure standing in the distance. Upon seeing him, the other person raised a hand in greeting.

"Good morning, Toho."

Looking at Geto Suguru waiting downstairs, Toho Tetsu was somewhat curious, but he immediately replied with a smile.

"Good morning, Geto. What are you doing here?"

"Since we're taking classes together, I thought it might be better to wait here and go together."

Perhaps because fixing the window together had made him feel that they were a little closer, Geto Suguru's smile was far more sincere than before.

Looking at him like this, Toho Tetsu found it difficult to connect him with the cult leader who would later launch the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

But he knew that was because of certain hidden issues in the other man's heart. Although he already had a solution, now was not the time. He would have to endure a little longer.

"Sounds good. Let's go, then. Gojo got into a car and left yesterday, so he might not be here that early today."

Based on a certain person's personality in the original work, he made his own analysis and guess.

"Then we won't wait for him."

Thinking of that man's careless demeanor, Geto Suguru nodded as well, though he hesitantly glanced toward the girls' dormitory.

"Still, should we wait for Ieiri?"

Though he knew Geto meant well, Toho Tetsu felt it was best not to. He had analyzed it before: Shoko was the type of person one could not approach proactively or try to close the distance with.

Deliberately waiting for her so they could go to class together would not make her feel warm. It might even make her feel that it was unnecessary and irritating.

But... they had only known each other for two days, so he could not say too much about Shoko. Thus, he simply waited alongside Geto.

Before long, that somewhat familiar figure emerged from the girls' dormitory. When she saw the two of them, she paused briefly, but her steps immediately returned to normal.

As she approached, Geto Suguru greeted her with a smile.

"Good morning, Ieiri. Shall we go to the classroom together?"

Just as Toho Tetsu expected, in response to his goodwill, Shoko Ieiri casually tossed out a lukewarm remark and continued walking forward on her own.

"Do whatever you want."

Looking at her cold demeanor, Geto Suguru blinked, not knowing what he had done wrong. Toho Tetsu merely shrugged and followed after the girl.

Though he could not make sense of the situation, he could only follow along while silently complaining, These classmates seem weirder than the last...

Soon, the three arrived at the classroom, and their instructor arrived right on time.

Though Jujutsu High primarily taught knowledge related to Jujutsu Society, its academic education was not lacking either. After all, it still bore the name of a school, not some organization for training warriors, so its regular classes could not fall too far behind.

That morning, they first had classes such as language arts and mathematics before moving on to cursed technique theory.

There was naturally nothing much to say about that. They simply listened to the lectures and absorbed the knowledge.

That white-haired man in sunglasses indeed did not appear, and his absence continued all the way until practical training in the afternoon...

An hour after lunch, at the training grounds Toho Tetsu had become exceedingly familiar with, the three changed into the somewhat old-fashioned black tracksuits used for practical training.

Yaga Masamichi was the one teaching them. Or rather, barring any surprises, this stern-faced but kind-hearted man would be the one teaching them most of the time in the future.

Yet Gojo Satoru still had not appeared, causing Yaga to pace back and forth with an unpleasant expression.

Only after several dozen more minutes had passed did footsteps sound outside the training grounds, followed by an annoyingly smug voice.

"Good afternoon. Why haven't you started training? Were you waiting for me?"

Seeing Gojo Satoru's carefree demeanor, Geto Suguru frowned and was just about to say something when Yaga Masamichi, veins bulging on his forehead, cut him off.

"Go change immediately. You have two minutes."

Seeing that he seemed genuinely angry, Gojo Satoru did not say anything more. As he passed Toho Tetsu, however, he gave him a rather strange look, his words filled with teasing.

"Toho, you might run into something interesting soon. I'm looking forward to seeing how you handle it."

After saying that, he did not leave immediately. He simply stood there with a broad grin, as though expecting someone to question him. Yet Toho Tetsu merely looked at him and nodded.

"Thanks for the warning, Gojo, but you should hurry and change. Otherwise, Yaga-sensei might get even angrier."

Seeing that he was not taking the bait, Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue in boredom. He then went to change and returned to the training grounds.

When Yaga Masamichi began teaching them the most basic cursed energy control, the other three, though already highly proficient, still followed his guidance and carried out the foundational exercises.

Only one person stood lazily to the side, completely unmotivated as though nothing interested him.

Seeing him like that, Geto Suguru's frown deepened.

But since the teacher had not said anything, he could not say much either. Thus, time quietly passed as they trained.

"Alright, take a break. You're free to do as you please for a while. We'll continue later."

After saying that, Yaga Masamichi stepped back to the side of the training grounds and silently observed their condition.

Even after the training ended, Toho Tetsu did not relax. After steadying his breathing, he simply began pondering something.

The instant she heard that training was over, Shoko Ieiri immediately let out a sigh of relief. She hurried to a shaded spot, leaned against a tree, took out her phone, and started looking at something.

Gojo Satoru, who had never liked exercising to begin with, seemed to melt completely. Reclining sideways on a bench in the shade, he continued grumbling.

"I'm saying... do we really need to train this stuff? And we have to stand here baking in the sun..."

Hearing this, Geto Suguru finally could not hold back any longer. He strode toward him, his shadow stretched long by the sunlight and covering Gojo's body.

Gojo slightly lowered his sunglasses and looked at this equally interesting classmate with puzzled curiosity in those ice-blue eyes.

"Got a problem?"

"Gojo."

Looking at him, Geto Suguru spoke in a tone that forcibly suppressed his emotions.

"The training grounds aren't a place for you to lie around sunbathing. Everyone else is training, yet you're the only one doing nothing... Even if you're the Gojo Clan's genius, isn't that attitude a little too ugly?"

Hearing that, Gojo Satoru merely smiled disdainfully.

"This kind of basic training is as simple as one plus one equals two to me. Do I really need to take it seriously?"

"Whether it's necessary isn't up to you."

At this point, Geto Suguru no longer concealed his dissatisfaction, and his words sharpened.

"As far as I'm concerned, your careless attitude could even affect future missions. I don't want to entrust my back to someone this unreliable."

The moment those words fell, the air seemed to freeze for a beat.

The others nearby all turned to look in their direction. By now, the smell of gunpowder in their exchange had become unmistakable.

Sure enough, Gojo Satoru's smile vanished. He rose from the bench and stared directly at Geto Suguru before him.

"You're saying... I'd hold you back?"

"Of course. You keep saying you're the strongest, but I haven't seen what makes you so strong."

At those words, the corners of his lips rose again. But the smile now held none of its usual frivolity or amusement; in its place were fighting spirit and seriousness.

"Then how about we compare?"

Their gazes clashed, and Geto Suguru gave no ground.

"Fine. Let's compare."

The smile on Gojo Satoru's face widened, but he did not attack immediately. Instead, he looked toward Yaga Masamichi, who was watching from a distance.

"Yaga-sensei, I want to spar with Geto. That should be fine, right?"

A glint flashed through Yaga Masamichi's eyes as he watched the scene. He nodded, then added conditions at an unhurried pace.

"Of course. Sparring and exchanging ideas are part of improving. However, you must fight in two rounds.

"The first round will be a cursed technique battle. In this fight, you may only use cursed techniques and simple footwork.

"The second round will be a hand-to-hand battle. In this fight, you may not use cursed techniques or cursed energy reinforcement. You may only fight with pure physical skill."

Toho Tetsu's eyes flickered as he vaguely sensed a certain hidden intention behind those rules.

A thoughtful look also appeared in Shoko Ieiri's eyes, though it carried more annoyance than anything else.

The two people facing off in the field paid no attention to any of that. After agreeing at the same time, they took up their stances.

The first clash between Gojo and Geto seemed ready to erupt at any moment.