A Slip of the Tongue

Gojo Satoru had already slipped away from the training grounds, leaving only his students to discuss Maki and Xia Jie's sparring session.

"Why do neither Maki nor Xia Jie look happy, whether they won or lost?" Okkotsu asked, unable to help himself as he watched the dispirited pair.

"Salmon roe (it's complicated)," Toge Inumaki said helplessly.

Panda explained from the side, "Okkotsu, you've been out on missions a lot lately, so you probably don't know what's been going on with them."

"Maki and Xia Jie seemed to have gotten competitive. They held combat drills every few days. Without using Cursed Spirits, Xia Jie was no match for Maki, but once he used them, the situation reversed."

"Maki was angry because she couldn't defeat Xia Jie's Cursed Spirits. As for Xia Jie... he was frustrated that he had to rely on Cursed Spirits to beat Maki. It seemed he wanted to improve his own strength more!"

The moment Okkotsu heard that, he understood what was going on between Maki and Xia Jie. To put it simply, they each envied the other's strength, and only by completely surpassing the other could they find psychological satisfaction.

For either Xia Jie or Maki, that was extremely difficult.

"By the way, how did this mission go?" Panda asked. "Did everything go smoothly?"

"It was fine, very smooth. After all, I was on a mission with Mr. Nanami, so we didn't run into anything too complicated," Okkotsu answered.

"If I remember correctly, Okkotsu, wasn't this a Grade 1 assessment mission?" Xia Jie asked after coming back to himself.

"Yes!" Okkotsu said.

"Huh?" Panda cried out. "Doesn't that mean you're already a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer?"

Okkotsu nodded. "That's right!"

"Salmon roe (well done)!" Toge Inumaki congratulated Okkotsu.

"Hmph! Have you forgotten that this guy was originally a Special Grade?" Maki joined the conversation, sounding partly disdainful and partly envious. "I really don't know what those Higher-Ups were thinking. After Rika disappeared during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, they actually demoted him straight to Grade 4? That idiot Gojo Satoru didn't even speak up for Okkotsu!"

"Grade 4 is pretty good too!" Xia Jie shook his head. "At least you don't have to face those powerful Cursed Spirits!"

Because of Shadow Maru, Xia Jie had been directly assessed as a Semi-Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer after entering Jujutsu High.

That was only because Jujutsu High had mistaken Shadow Maru for a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.

Not long after entering Jujutsu High, Xia Jie had gone on a mission with Toge Inumaki and exorcised a Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.

Although the operation had gone off without a hitch, the Cursed Spirit's horrifying appearance and bizarre abilities still left Xia Jie with considerable psychological trauma.

"Hey! Xia Jie! What exactly did you join Jujutsu High for?" Maki glared at Xia Jie and said unhappily. "Surely it wasn't to be some coward hiding under other people's protection!"

Though he did have such thoughts in his heart, having Maki expose them so bluntly made Xia Jie feel that he needed to explain himself. "That's not what I meant. I was only talking about Okkotsu being demoted to Grade 4."

"Gojo-sensei might not know why Okkotsu was demoted to Grade 4, but he didn't argue with the Higher-Ups. Why do you think that is?"

"Was it because Okkotsu wasn't strong enough and was only fit to be a Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer? Or was there some other reason?"

Xia Jie paused, then looked at the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces. "There must have been another reason! We don't know what it was because Gojo-sensei hasn't told us, but we can try to guess why he did this."

"Reason one." Xia Jie raised a finger. "The Higher-Ups hold absolute authority and have the final say. Even someone as powerful as Gojo-sensei has to play along with them."

"Reason two." Xia Jie raised another finger. "Whether Okkotsu is a Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer or a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, does it affect Okkotsu himself at all?"

"It doesn't, right?"

"From certain perspectives, being demoted to Grade 4 is even beneficial to Okkotsu."

"After becoming a Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Okkotsu could temporarily avoid those powerful Cursed Spirits and train himself properly at Jujutsu High, solidifying his strength."

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Xia Jie said.

"Now look at me. I might be a Semi-Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer in name, but you all know perfectly well what my actual strength is like!"

"Hey, that's enough, Xia Jie..." Panda suddenly cut in, wanting to stop him, but the hand pressed against his back made him swallow his words.

"Bonito flakes (stop talking)!" That was Inumaki, and another hand landed on Panda's shoulder.

"Xia Jie..." Cold sweat trickled down Okkotsu's forehead as Gojo Satoru gestured for him to stay quiet.

"How is that enough? You have no idea how miserable I've been!" Xia Jie finally got going, failing to notice his classmates' warnings behind him as he continued walking forward and complaining.

"Why did I come to Jujutsu High? Wasn't it to train myself? But what happened? I became nothing but a tool for Jujutsu High, constantly being sent out to deal with those Cursed Spirits!"

"We're still seedlings! Seedlings! Shouldn't Jujutsu High be protecting us?"

"If I'd known it would be like this, I never would have joined Jujutsu High!" Xia Jie said wearily.

"Oh? I never expected our esteemed Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Xia Jie, to have been so dissatisfied with Jujutsu High. Shall I process your withdrawal from Jujutsu High, then?"

A deep middle-aged voice suddenly rang out behind Xia Jie.

Xia Jie's entire body went rigid. Every sound caught in his throat, neither coming out nor going down.

"Uh... Panda, you're pretending to be the principal to scare me again, aren't you? I have to say, this time you sound pretty convincing!" Xia Jie laughed loudly, forcing himself to remain calm. "But think about it. How could a fool like you imitate a rugged middle-aged man overflowing with hormones like the principal?"

"Why did I join Jujutsu High in the first place? Wasn't it because I admired Principal Yaga from the bottom of my heart?"

"Why have I continued to stay at Jujutsu High? Isn't it because I still want to hear Principal Yaga's teachings?"

As he spoke, Xia Jie slowly shifted his feet, adjusted his expression, and turned around.

"Principal, Gojo-sensei! When did you get here?" Xia Jie asked with a look of surprise.

"Idiot!" Maki could not help holding her forehead, the smile at the corner of her mouth impossible to conceal.

Okkotsu and Toge Inumaki both wore expressions that said they had seen it all, while Panda gave Xia Jie a look that told him to pray for himself.

Masamichi Yaga, wearing sunglasses and a full beard, looked expressionlessly at Xia Jie. "Open your eyes wider. Round your mouth more... When I met you before, how did I fail to notice your talent for acting?"

"W-Well... before joining Jujutsu High, I did consider that career..." Xia Jie said, latching onto the opening.

Masamichi Yaga shot him a glare through his sunglasses, finally making Xia Jie shut his mouth.

"I originally came to watch your training because of what Satoru told me, but your little speech has given me quite the surprise!"

"Do you think the Higher-Ups' decisions are something you can casually speculate about? This is utter nonsense!"

"Don't let me hear you spouting nonsense at Jujutsu High again. Otherwise, I'll grant your wish and make you leave Jujutsu High! Do you understand?"