The transfer student

"Lots of sorcerers only think about increasing their total cursed energy, but overlook the most crucial thing-precision control."

Satoru Gojo chuckled, bent down, and picked up a few tiny pebbles, tossing them into the air.

"The difference between Grade 1 and Special Grade has never just been about who has more cursed energy. It's about whether you can send every last trace of it exactly where you want, at will, without it spilling over or running dry."

He extended a fingertip, and a wisp of cursed energy, so thin it was almost transparent, slowly appeared. It flowed around his fingertip and steadily encircled the pebbles, its force rising and falling at his command.

"For example, injecting a tiny amount of cursed energy into a pebble like this. You'd probably put in too much at once and shatter it outright."

"Pretty much. I've never tried controlling tiny amounts of cursed energy. I've always gone for big, heavy attacks."

Dai Li's attack strategy was to coat his blows in massive amounts of cursed energy, figuring that even if he ran out, he could take out a loan and fill his reserves right back up.

"If you were still relying solely on your fists and feet, with no intention of using cursed tools, precise cursed energy control might not be your top priority."

"But your Projection Cursed Technique demands extremely fine control. Projecting dozens of weapons at once looks impressive, but if you crudely divide your cursed energy evenly between them, every attack that misses wastes a huge amount."

"Real combat isn't about how many weapons you can throw out at once. It's about controlling your cursed energy precisely."

Dai Li listened with only a vague understanding, keeping pace with Satoru Gojo as the two arrived at a basement.

Satoru Gojo entered the storage room inside and rummaged around for something.

He found a number of small cat plushies in different colors. They looked as though they were sleeping soundly.

"What are these? Don't tell me they're all the principal's cursed corpses?"

"Correct. Next, you're going to inject cursed energy into all ten of these cursed corpses at once, but the amount you put into each must be different."

"Otherwise, these cursed corpses will wake up and give you a kitty punch."

The sleeping cat-shaped cursed corpses didn't even have boxing gloves on their paws. Dai Li thought ordinary kitty punches would be harmless. If anything, their soft little paw pads were cute.

"Though I should probably call them kitty claws. They do extend their claws, after all."

All right, now they weren't cute at all.

After giving Dai Li a few more pointers about his training, Satoru Gojo slipped away, saying he had business to attend to out of town.

"Bye-bye! I'm looking forward to seeing how you do."

Let's see. The white cat-shaped cursed corpse needs the least cursed energy, and the black cat needs the most. The others just need different amounts.

"Doesn't seem that hard. Let's give it a try."

Dai Li planned to inject an equal amount into each first, then redistribute the cursed energy.

But shortly after he injected his cursed energy, the largest black cat cursed corpse raised a paw and swiped straight at his face.

Dai Li tilted his body slightly and dodged it. The black cat's attack missed, and he immediately redistributed his cursed energy, changing tactics to inject it into the black cat cursed corpse first.

But then a calico cat cursed corpse woke up and kept attacking Dai Li's face with its kitty claws.

Left with no other option, Dai Li had to use cursed energy to defend himself.

"Looks like every time I mess up my cursed energy control, I wake up a cursed corpse. And now that I've actually tried it, this is way too hard. Does Satoru Gojo really think of me as a beginner?"

The answer was no. With Dai Li's impressive combat record and total cursed energy already comparable to a Grade 1 Sorcerer's, Satoru Gojo had chosen to raise the difficulty. Beginner Jujutsu Sorcerers training with these cursed corpses would normally only have to inject energy into two at once, or three at most.

Given the unique nature of Dai Li's Projection Cursed Technique, he had to inject cursed energy into all ten cursed corpses simultaneously while distributing it between them.

Dai Li could only sigh helplessly and continue alternating between injecting cursed energy and dodging kitty claws.

Two months had passed since classes began on April 1.

"Hey, hey, hey! Did you all miss me? It's your Great Teacher Gojo!"

"Who'd miss you? Where have you been these past few weeks, you blindfolded idiot?"

Satoru Gojo rested his chin on his right hand and addressed the four of them with an affected air of mystery.

"A lot has happened over the past two weeks. But our class has a surprise coming, so look forward to it."

"You mean the transfer student? I already knew about that."

Dai Li had long known that a transfer student would arrive in a few months-Yuta Okkotsu, the god of pure love.

"Huh?! I was planning to surprise you! How did you find out?"

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

"Well, anyway, it's just as Dai Li said. We'll have a transfer student in about three days. As for whether it'll be a pretty girl or a handsome guy, stay tuned."

"That's all for today. Dismissed!"

After Satoru Gojo's exuberant announcement at the lectern, Dai Li, Maki, Inumaki, and Panda discussed the transfer student as they walked.

"So who exactly is this transfer student? You seem to know quite a bit."

"I only know we're getting a transfer student. I don't know any details. Panda's around the principal every day, so he should know the most, right?"

Maki was intensely curious and kept talking the whole way, asking things like why a transfer student would come at this time of year.

"I'm the same as you. I only know this person exists. Yaga doesn't tell me everything."

"Salted salmon roe."

"We'll know in three days. Are you wondering whether he's handsome?"

"As long as we don't get another jerk like you."

And so, three days passed, and the transfer student arrived.

"I heard that transfer student stuffed four classmates into a locker."

"Did he kill them?"

"Tuna mayo."

"No, I heard they were badly injured."

Dai Li was still half asleep after getting up that morning and didn't join the conversation about the transfer student, but he knew Yuta Okkotsu was coming today.

"Not much difference. If he gets cocky, I'll beat him up."

"Bonito flakes."

The four entered the classroom and waited for Satoru Gojo and the transfer student to arrive.

In front of the blackboard, Satoru Gojo suddenly leaned forward and spread his arms wide. He was so excited that spit flew from his mouth:

"Now, let me introduce our transfer student! Give him a warm welcome!"

Standing before the wooden blackboard, Satoru Gojo straightened up and raised his hands beside his cheeks, making V signs with his index and middle fingers on either side of his white bandage blindfold.

"Come on, a little more enthusiasm."

The other three remained motionless. Only Dai Li humored him with a light round of applause.

"I heard he's a troublemaker. I'm not getting excited for someone like that."

"That idiot clapping over there just hasn't woken up yet. Don't you go being nice to that guy when he comes in."

"All right, all right. Whatever you say."

Dai Li knew the other three didn't yet understand what kind of person Yuta Okkotsu was. They only thought he was some arrogant guy who would stuff his classmates into a locker and kick it around like a ball, so he chose to agree with Maki.

"Fine, then. You can come in."

The paper door slid gently open, and the transfer student stepped hesitantly into the classroom with his head lowered.

Almost the instant he entered, a heavy surge of cursed energy quietly spread through the room, so overwhelming it was suffocating.

"!?"

It wasn't just Maki, Panda, and Inumaki. Dai Li was also shocked by the immense cursed presence and went on guard. Rika Orimoto wasn't yet a shikigami who obediently followed Okkotsu's instructions, but a Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit with a mind of her own. She would attack anyone she considered hostile toward Okkotsu.