"In the name of Kento Nanami..."
"And Atsuya Kusakabe."
"We recommend Dai Li for promotion to Grade 1 Sorcerer."
Two booming male voices rang out together. At Satoru Gojo's request, Kento Nanami and Atsuya Kusakabe had recommended Dai Li for promotion to Grade 1 Sorcerer before Yoshinobu Gakuganji, the leading figure of Jujutsu Society's conservative faction.
"I can't stand them. A bunch of heartless old men. I don't want to end up like that. I'd better watch myself."
"At the end of the day, robbing young people of their youth is absolutely unforgivable, no matter who does it."
Satoru Gojo walked down the steps from the red torii gate. From his vantage point, he could see everyone training on Jujutsu High's athletic field.
"Maki, Toge, Dai Li! Last lap!"
Sitting on the grass, Panda looked at the timer and shouted. Yuta Okkotsu, whose stamina clearly couldn't keep up with the other three, saw how far he had fallen behind and picked up his pace, pushing himself to catch them.
Watching the young people sweat it out on the field, Satoru Gojo smiled faintly. Protecting his students until they had grown strong was his duty as a teacher.
"I don't care who you are."
On Jujutsu High's athletic field, the four of them watched Yuta Okkotsu struggle down the track.
"Done. Good work, Yuta."
"Yes..."
Having finished his training, Yuta Okkotsu gulped down air and collapsed onto the grass in exhaustion.
Yuta Okkotsu truly thought the training at Jujutsu High was brutal, but he couldn't stop. He had to break Rika's curse here at this school.
"You did pretty well for your first time. That guy over there was so exhausted he called it quits the first time he trained this hard."
"Salmon."
"Come on, Maki. Don't dredge up my embarrassing past."
Dai Li loathed Maki's habit of airing his embarrassing history. A few careless words from her could destroy the dependable image he wanted to build in front of Yuta Okkotsu.
Besides, he hadn't called it quits back then. He had simply been too exhausted to keep running and stopped.
"But Dai Li and everyone else are all so amazing.
Dai Li exorcised a special grade cursed spirit all by himself, but I can't even control my cursed energy."
"It's fine. We've even got someone here who doesn't have any cursed energy..."
Before Dai Li, seated on the grass, could finish teasing Maki, her fist came crashing down on his head.
"That hurts, you violent woman!"
"You talk too much."
Satoru Gojo came down the steps just then, grinning and waving enthusiastically at everyone.
"You're all here! Okkotsu, come with me for a moment. I'll take you to Jujutsu High's cursed tool storehouse."
"Gojo-sensei."
While in the hospital, Yuta Okkotsu had asked Satoru Gojo to help him control his cursed energy. Gojo's plan was to have Okkotsu imbue a cursed tool with his curse, then use only the curse within the tool to keep Rika from going berserk.
"By the way, Dai Li, I found you a super-reliable Grade 1 Sorcerer."
"Miss Mei Mei, a Grade 1 Sorcerer. She's incredibly strong, but she's overseas right now. She'll be back a month before the Goodwill Event, so just focus on recovering for these next two months."
"That's all. Okkotsu and I will be going now."
Dai Li was still a Grade 2 Sorcerer. To officially become a Grade 1 Sorcerer, he had to complete multiple missions alongside another Grade 1 Sorcerer who wasn't one of the two who had recommended him.
If he was judged qualified, he would be promoted to Semi-Grade 1, then assigned a Grade 1 mission to complete alone. Whether he officially became a Grade 1 Sorcerer would depend on the result.
But Satoru Gojo had left without even telling him where they would meet. Dai Li hadn't seen Mei Mei once since enrolling. She wasn't a jujutsu sorcerer affiliated with Jujutsu High; Gojo had paid to bring her in.
"Satoru Gojo said I can't take any more missions this month. Boring."
"Well, you were badly injured. Satoru Gojo's looking out for you."
Panda had seen the photos Satoru Gojo had sent to the group. Even after treatment, that kind of curse still had to be resisted with cursed energy for a while. An ordinary person might have been beyond saving.
"Wait, did Satoru Gojo say something about a Goodwill Event?"
"The Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event. It usually lasts two days. The first day is a team battle, and the second is individual matches."
"So you're pretty interested too, Maki?"
Maki, who had been swinging a bamboo sword nearby, joined in when she heard a topic that interested her.
"Of course. I want those bastards in the Zenin Clan to get a good look at how I become a Grade 1 Sorcerer. I can't let you hog all the spotlight."
"This Sister-School Goodwill Event is the perfect stage for me."
"Basically, anyone who stands out at the Goodwill Event will catch the attention of the Jujutsu Higher-Ups. For someone like Maki, who wants to raise her sorcerer grade quickly, it's a must."
There was a deeper meaning to Panda's words. Dai Li knew he meant that he didn't particularly want to participate in this Goodwill Event himself.
"You don't want to take part?"
"I'm a mutated cursed corpse made by Principal Yaga. If I draw too much attention at the Goodwill Event, I might cause him unnecessary trouble."
"Until now, I've always lived here at Jujutsu High. I haven't made a big show of myself in front of the rest of Jujutsu Society."
Dai Li, however, saw no reason to worry about that. He knew Yuta Okkotsu would be the one at the center of attention during this year's Goodwill Event. After learning to command Rika, he had swept both the team battle and the individual matches in one fell swoop.
"With you and Toge at the Goodwill Event, plus our upperclassman Kinji Hakari, we should have enough."
Naturally, Panda hadn't counted Yuta Okkotsu among their fighting strength. Rika was still uncontrollable, after all. He figured that he and Okkotsu would end up sitting in the spectator stands.
Dai Li said no more. Once Yuta Okkotsu could draw on Rika's power, Panda might change his mind. Watching the sun slowly set, Dai Li returned to his dorm room to play games and rest.
Time flew, and August soon arrived.
It was afternoon on Jujutsu High's athletic field, when the sun shone at its brightest.
Holding a bamboo sword, Yuta Okkotsu sparred with Maki Zenin, who wielded a long training staff.
The wooden weapons collided with repeated sharp cracks. Okkotsu panted heavily. His movements were no longer awkward, and although Maki's attacks still forced him back several steps, he managed quite a few fine counterattacks.
Watching from the stone steps nearby, Toge Inumaki and Panda were amazed by Yuta Okkotsu's progress over the past few months.
A short distance away, Satoru Gojo strolled over with both hands in his uniform pockets.
"How's practice going, everyone?"
Satoru Gojo called out. Hearing his teacher's question, Yuta Okkotsu immediately dropped his fighting stance and turned to answer, his attention shifting away from Maki in an instant.
"Um..."
The instant Yuta Okkotsu turned his head and lost focus-
Maki didn't stop fighting. She lunged forward and swung her training staff in one clean motion. With a sharp crack, the bamboo staff struck Okkotsu squarely on the side of his face.
Okkotsu grunted in pain and staggered, clutching his face and nearly falling onto his backside. His bamboo sword slipped from his hand and dropped onto the grass.
"Don't let your eyes wander."
Before you continue