A hand-to-hand showdown

"Come on."

Suguru Geto loosened up, then put some distance between them.

Watching Suguru Geto limber up for the fight, Sukuna casually took two wooden staffs from the nearby weapon rack, tossed one to him, and kept the other.

Although it was called a sports field, this was Jujutsu High, after all. Overall, it looked more like a martial arts arena.

The rack also held other conventional melee weapons, but wooden staffs were safer for a sparring match.

Besides, Sukuna loved playing with staffs more than anything.

Treating his staff like a spear, he gripped the end and snapped it through a flourish before pointing it straight at Suguru Geto.

Suguru Geto caught the long staff. Although he preferred trading punches, he understood the advantage of greater reach. Since his opponent had handed him a weapon, wouldn't it be a waste not to use it?

"Ha!"

With a shout, Suguru Geto charged forward like lightning, swinging his staff so fast it left afterimages.

It might have been nothing but ordinary physical combat, but a jujutsu sorcerer was still strong as hell even without cursed energy.

Watching Suguru Geto rush toward him with his staff, Sukuna simply took a few steps left and flicked his own staff upward, blocking the attack.

Then, flowing with that momentum, he seized Suguru Geto's hand, pulled him in, and struck his chest with his palm.

Suguru Geto staggered back more than ten steps. He wasn't injured, but shock still flickered in his eyes. If Sukuna had grabbed his staff just now, he could have used the opening to kick at Sukuna's legs.

Instead, his opponent had seized his hand as though he could see the future. He had moved so quickly that Suguru Geto was driven back by that palm strike before he could even react.

"Go, go!"

Off to the side, Shoko had somehow found two bouquets and started waving them around. It was impossible to tell whom she was cheering for.

Glancing at the wooden staff that had fallen to the ground, Sukuna hooked it with his toe and kicked it straight to Suguru Geto. The move couldn't have looked cooler.

Suguru Geto caught the flying staff, gripped its middle, and cautiously advanced in a defensive stance.

Holding the staff in the middle let him attack with the forward end and block with the rear end, covering both offense and defense.

Sukuna stepped forward as well. In an instant, they exchanged more than a dozen moves, the clatter of their staffs ringing throughout the martial arts arena.

Others who had been wandering around began gathering, too. After all, watching a spectacle was human nature.

"Whoa, who are those two fighting?" Several people huddled together, whispering.

"I think they're two new first-years."

"What? First-years are already that strong?" a Grade 2 Sorcerer asked in disbelief.

"They really are first-years. Look, there's a girl cheering beside them. That means love turned to hate between those two."

"What do you mean, love turned to hate? They're obviously fighting over that girl."

"Uh... that's what I meant. I just didn't phrase it right."

Their whispers didn't interrupt the two sparring fighters, but they did catch Shoko's attention.

Seeing the woman those two powerful sorcerers were supposedly fighting over coming their way, the group stopped whispering and took off.

"Idiots! You've got the guts to gossip behind people's backs, but not to let me beat you up, huh?"

Unable to catch them, Shoko picked up her bouquets again and resumed cheering for the two in the arena.

Although they had only been sparring for a short while, Suguru Geto could clearly feel his stamina draining rapidly. Quite a few bruises had appeared on his body, too.

Sukuna, by contrast, handled every attack with ease. Suguru Geto hadn't even managed to land a hit on him yet.

"Phew..." As another attack was blocked, Suguru Geto seized the opening to leap back more than ten steps, rubbing his bruised arm.

He smiled at Sukuna. "I didn't expect you to be so good at hand-to-hand combat. Now I'm going to get serious."

Watching Suguru Geto rub sore spots all over his body, Sukuna could only admire his stubborn refusal to admit defeat. Even with Sukuna holding back, Suguru Geto still couldn't handle him.

Even if Satoru Gojo joined him, the two wouldn't stand a chance.

After all, the way Toji Fushiguro had completely crushed Satoru Gojo in hand-to-hand combat showed that Gojo had never properly trained in it.

Even if Satoru Gojo later improved across the board, in both physical combat and cursed energy, that was in the future. The current Satoru Gojo really wasn't worth Sukuna's concern.

"Again!"

As though those words were meant to fire himself up, Suguru Geto instantly charged again, his staff whirling with even greater force.

Too bad. If he had a heavenly restriction, I might actually go down here today. After all, I only have one-twentieth of my strength right now. But...!

Facing the dizzying flurry of the wooden staff, Sukuna casually raised his own and blocked the strike concealed among the feints.

Using the force transmitted through the staff, he leaped high into the air and kicked Suguru Geto squarely in the body.

Although he hadn't used his full strength, the kick still sent Suguru Geto flipping through the air several times before he finally landed.

"Geto, are you okay?"

Seeing Suguru Geto knocked flying by a kick, Shoko hurriedly put down her flowers and went to check his injuries.

"Cough, cough... I'm fine. You don't need to come over."

The dust kicked up from the ground slowly drifted away, and Suguru Geto waved to show that he wasn't hurt. He didn't want to let such a good combat coach slip away!

"Again!"

Even from well over ten meters away, Sukuna could tell that Suguru Geto was thoroughly enjoying himself. His whole body was bruised, but he hadn't suffered any internal injuries.

They were only superficial wounds. Three or four days of sleep would fix them. And if that wasn't enough, wasn't Shoko, their top-tier healer, standing right here?

Shoko stopped and gave him a worried look. "Are you really okay?"

"Of course. I'm the strongest!"

A long staff shot out of the dust, whistling through the air toward Sukuna, whose expression remained unchanged.

Gripping his staff with both hands, Sukuna raised it high and brought it down on the incoming weapon. With a loud clack, the flying staff was knocked straight to the ground.

"Haha, I'm over here!"

The instant the staff fell, Sukuna also realized that the person in front of him had vanished. After all, he only had two eyes now, severely limiting his field of vision.

At the sudden voice behind him, he instinctively turned his head-and took a hard punch to his left cheek.

"Ptoo." Sukuna spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and a hint of seriousness entered his eyes.

"I didn't expect that. Using a person's reflexes to counterattack-you really caught me off guard."

Sukuna readily praised Suguru Geto. He had indeed turned his head on instinct. Although he had sensed something wrong the moment he turned, the limitations of his body's reflexes had kept him from reacting in time.

"Haha, you're strong, too."

Having already thrown away his wooden staff, Suguru Geto could only fight empty-handed now.

Of course, he preferred fighting with his bare fists to using a long staff anyway.

Looking at Suguru Geto, Sukuna laughed and casually tossed his own wooden staff aside. This time, he was going to get serious!

With a light leap, he appeared in front of Suguru Geto, his red eyes bearing down on him with crushing pressure.

What! So fast! Suguru Geto's pupils contracted. Before he could react, Sukuna's vicious punch had already struck his abdomen.

In the next instant, his body doubled over like a cooked shrimp.

Even the spiral-patterned button on his uniform shattered beneath that punch, showing just how much force it carried.

"Geto!"

Shoko's pupils contracted as well, and she immediately ran toward Suguru Geto. There was no way he could be fine after a single punch had sent him flying more than ten meters.

But someone was faster than her. In an instant, Sukuna appeared before Suguru Geto, who had collapsed helplessly on the ground.

Looking down at Suguru Geto, curled up and clutching his abdomen, he merely smiled and reached out to pull him up.

"You managed to hurt me. You've earned my recognition."

Just then, Shoko rushed over, took Suguru Geto's hand, and began using [Reverse Cursed Technique] to heal the injuries all over his body.

Although the earlier staff strikes had only caused superficial injuries, that final punch had clearly damaged him internally.

It might even have ruptured his colon.

But under Shoko's [Reverse Cursed Technique], Suguru Geto's complexion visibly improved, and even the bruises on his exposed skin faded.

Seeing Suguru Geto fully restored, Shoko turned her gaze to Sukuna, who had also taken a punch earlier.

In the next instant, her pupils widened sharply. She saw the injury on Sukuna's face healing, which meant he had already learned [Reverse Cursed Technique].

[Reverse Cursed Technique]: Since curses were produced by negative emotions, reversing jujutsu made two negatives into a positive. The resulting positive energy could repair the body and heal injuries.

Then she stole a glance at Suguru Geto. Neither Satoru Gojo nor Suguru Geto had mastered [Reverse Cursed Technique].

Suguru Geto noticed it, too. Meeting Shoko's gaze, he could only smile bitterly. He had truly lost this time.

Although he had landed a punch, it had only been through a clever trick. He knew that perfectly well.