Chaos

With Satoru Gojo's announcement, the Sister-School Goodwill Event officially began.

Both teams entered the grounds.

The competition got into full swing.

On a hillside not far from the competition grounds.

Kenjaku watched the field below and addressed those around him. "Mahito has already made his move, hasn't he? Let's get started too."

"I'm heading off first. No idea what I'll run into, but hopefully someone weak. I love picking on those..." Haruta was already walking away as he spoke.

"Heh heh, hurry up and start! I can't wait to turn Satoru Gojo into a coat rack!" Juzo waved his axe and shouted wildly.

Kenjaku ignored the two of them, handing the Soul Offering to Hanami instead. "Follow the plan, and remember not to reveal any cursed presence.

Use a presence closer to that of a nature spirit.

You should be able to place the Soul Offering beside Chiyo Shin without anyone noticing.

Once it's in place, retreat. Don't get drawn into a fight."

"ΣβαΧΩΨγδ." Hanami accepted the Soul Offering and wrapped it in strips of wood, preventing even a trace of its presence from escaping. "δαΨ."

With that, Hanami slowly sank underground.

Only after Hanami disappeared did Kenjaku turn to Juzo, who was scraping his teeth with his axe. "Just secure this medium near the competition grounds. Once you're done, lower the Curtain. Be quick about it."

Kenjaku flicked his sleeve, sending a broad-headed nail covered in cursed inscriptions flying toward Juzo.

Juzo caught it, then left the hillside singing, spinning, and skipping. "A clothes rack, a clothes rack made from Satoru Gojo, mm-hmm-hmm..."

Kenjaku turned his gaze back to the field below. "Chiyo Shin, I wonder how you'll react after losing control and killing your companions with your own hands.

Will you break down and kill yourself?"

The forest on the eastern side of the competition grounds.

Chiyo Shin walked through it, finally managing to find a Grade 3 cursed spirit.

Before it noticed him, Chiyo Shin leisurely walked over and stabbed it to death with the tip of the Umbrella.

"This is so boring. Ever since that meathead Todo scattered the teams, I haven't run into a single person."

Watching the dead cursed spirit dissipate on the ground, Chiyo Shin felt a wave of helplessness.

Being strong comes with its own problems. Nobody wants to play with me.

Whatever. I'll just treat this as a day out.

After following another path, Chiyo Shin's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face. Haha, a person!

Hello, everyone. I'm Miwa the useless. My prayers before the match didn't work at all. I've run into the enemy I least wanted to face.

The words rang out in her mind.

Now Kasumi Miwa had no choice but to tighten her grip on her sword and brace herself against Chiyo Shin's sudden appearance.

"Well, well, who have we here?" Using the Bone-Binding Umbrella as a walking stick, Chiyo Shin slowly approached Kasumi Miwa.

"I'm Kasumi Miwa. Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're strong." Kasumi Miwa drew her sword in an instant, pointing its tip straight at Chiyo Shin.

Ignoring the cold gleam of the blade, Chiyo Shin smiled. "How scary."

The next second, Kasumi Miwa heard a bang, and the ground where Chiyo Shin had stood caved in.

Before she could react, Chiyo Shin vanished from her sight.

"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"

Activating her Simple Domain, Kasumi Miwa constantly scanned the surrounding forest, staying alert for Chiyo Shin's attack.

Kasumi Miwa's response was swift.

She reacted the instant Chiyo Shin disappeared.

She activated her Simple Domain as an offensive defense, but to Chiyo Shin, she was still too slow.

A piercing screech of air friction came from above. Kasumi Miwa looked up, and cold sweat immediately ran down her face. "Isn't this overkill? I'm just Miwa the useless."

Chiyo Shin plummeted from the sky, the First Generation Moon in his hand gleaming with an incomparably sharp edge as he slashed down at Kasumi Miwa.

The instant the First Generation Moon cut into her Simple Domain, Kasumi Miwa instinctively raised her sword to block.

The moment the blades met, the immense force drove Kasumi Miwa down onto one knee.

"You're so weak. I can't even play a little longer." With his other hand, Chiyo Shin drew the short blade from the Bone-Binding Umbrella behind his back and sent Kasumi Miwa flying with a single slash.

Kasumi Miwa rolled across the ground several times before crashing into a tree and coming to a stop.

"You're really weak. Where are your teammates? I'll go play with them." Chiyo Shin walked over and lifted Kasumi Miwa's face with his blade, asking in all seriousness.

"Cough, cough... You bastard. I'm not telling you." Kasumi Miwa propped herself up and glared fiercely at Chiyo Shin.

"Then don't. No need to look at me like that. Stay here. I'll find them myself." Chiyo Shin sheathed his blade, turned, and left.

Everyone in the monitoring room watched the entire encounter.

Utahime Iori glanced at Satoru Gojo as she sipped her tea. "Looks like someone's inherited your ways, Gojo."

"Indeed. That child is just like Gojo when he was young." Mei Mei agreed with Utahime Iori.

"No way! When I was young, everyone adored me-even the flowers bloomed for me!" Satoru Gojo loudly protested.

After Satoru Gojo finished speaking.

Gakuganji turned to look at Masamichi Yaga.

Masamichi Yaga covered his forehead in embarrassment. "This is my fault."

Utahime Iori stared at Satoru Gojo, speechless.

"What? Am I wrong?" Satoru Gojo asked, puzzled by everyone's reactions.

"Wrong? You're full of it!" Utahime Iori flung a cupful of tea at Satoru Gojo, but Limitless automatically blocked it.

"Nobody's going to like you with a temper like that. Look at Miss Mei Mei-she never gets angry." Satoru Gojo lay on the sofa, long since accustomed to Utahime Iori's sneak attacks.

"Gojo!" Utahime Iori raged helplessly.

"Just like old times." Mei Mei smiled at the bickering pair.

Deep beneath the competition grounds.

Through the forest on the surface, Hanami had already pinpointed Chiyo Shin's location, but did not dare approach.

It was not out of fear of being discovered by Chiyo Shin, but because the crucial Curtain still had not come down.

Placing the Soul Offering beside Chiyo Shin now would be too risky.

While Hanami waited in hiding.

Juzo finally reached his destination. "This spot will do. Not too far, not too close."

Juzo tossed the broad-headed nail onto the ground, held it steady with his foot, and raised his axe to hammer it in. "Wonder if that cursed spirit has found him yet."

After stepping on it to check that it was secure, Juzo rested his axe on his shoulder and looked into the distance. "Whatever. I'll just cast it. Born from darkness... purify them all."

As the incantation ended, a black veil descended from the sky.

"Heh heh, it's started. Time to find the raw material for my coat rack. Satoru Gojo, mm-hmm-hmm, my dear raw material, mm-hmm-hmm." Wearing a twisted grin, Juzo walked away excitedly.

"It's here." Underground, Hanami instantly sensed the Curtain's presence.

A mass of branches burst from Hanami's body, wrapping around the Soul Offering and surging toward Chiyo Shin.

The Curtain's presence also caught Chiyo Shin's attention, and he looked up at the sky in confusion.

Why is there a Curtain? Is this a new part of the competition? Nobody said anything.

While Chiyo Shin was still trying to make sense of it.

A tremor beneath his feet made him leap swiftly onto an empty patch of ground nearby.

A fissure suddenly opened where he had been standing, and a square block of wood was pushed out.

After waiting a while and seeing nothing happen, Chiyo Shin finally said, "A wooden block? A Curtain? What's with all this stuff happening one after another?"

Chiyo Shin walked up to the block and prodded it with the Bone-Binding Umbrella. The block abruptly split open, revealing a compass.

"This is..." Before he could finish, the compass sprang up and stuck to Chiyo Shin's chest.

Before he could stop it, excruciating pain flooded his entire body.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, curling in on himself as his clothes rippled up and down.

He could not even make a sound.

Hanami emerged from the ground and, watching the scene, finally spoke. "Jogo, I've avenged you."