"Tap, tap... tap, tap..."
Once he was clear of Max Elephant's range, Inumaki Yaki stopped. The exhaustion from overusing his cursed energy was plain on his face.
Boom!
The instant Max Elephant landed, Naomitsu released his cursed technique, turning Max Elephant back into a shadow that returned to his body as cursed energy.
"Your cursed speech is strong enough to handle a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit!"
Inumaki Yaki merely gave a slight nod at Naomitsu's assessment. He put his mask back on and returned to his usual silence.
Once the lingering cursed energy from the cursed speech dissipated, Nobara Kugisaki could move again. She glanced at Inumaki Yaki, then quietly moved a few steps farther away from him.
Inumaki Yaki seemed long accustomed to this. His expression didn't even change.
"Teacher? Is it my turn?"
Fujiwara Sora looked eager, as though the wait had made him impatient. Or perhaps he wanted to test his strength against the shikigami.
"All right. Nobara Kugisaki, Inumaki Yaki, move to the sidelines. Fujiwara Sora is up next."
Naomitsu was intensely curious about Fujiwara Sora, too. These three newly appeared characters might completely rewrite the story in the future.
Would Sukuna really be killed by Itadori? Would the plot still unfold as it originally had? Would Satoru Gojo still be cut in half?
All of that had now become uncertain.
At the center of the basketball court, Fujiwara Sora took off his jacket, revealing a muscular body covered in scars.
He looked like a young Toji, with black hair and an intimidating gaze.
"Looks like he trains his body, too..."
After that brief assessment, Naomitsu once again sent the Divine Dogs in first, with Toad providing support, Rabbit Escape providing cover, and Max Elephant ready to strike.
With a whoosh, Fujiwara Sora moved. Leaving an afterimage behind him, he caught one of the Divine Dogs with a single hand.
"Teacher Naomitsu, can I kill him?"
Naomitsu folded his arms. "Just try killing him. I wouldn't mind playing with you myself!"
Fujiwara Sora waved a hand. "Don't get mad, Teacher Naomitsu. I was just kidding. I'm your student, you know. You were pretty scary just now."
Naomitsu had figured it out: this guy was the troublemaker of the three. And so far, he seemed to be the hardest one to handle.
Naomitsu knew nothing about the Fujiwara Clan's innate cursed technique.
This battle with the shikigami was the perfect chance to see the cursed technique of what had once been the strongest jujutsu sorcerer clan of the Heian era.
With the Divine Dog taken out of action, Rabbit Escape began to move. Fujiwara Sora dealt with the densely packed rabbits as casually as if he were taking a stroll.
From the shadows, Toad shot his long tongue out in a surprise attack. Fujiwara Sora seemed to have anticipated it, however, and sidestepped the tongue before it could bind him.
Then he reached back and caught the long tongue. With a slight tug, he pulled Toad right up to him.
"Max Elephant!"
The enormous Max Elephant appeared again, sweeping his trunk toward Fujiwara Sora after gathering his strength. Fujiwara Sora raised his arm and stopped the blow head-on.
"Well, well. You've got some strength."
Just as he had with Toad, Fujiwara Sora grabbed Max Elephant's trunk and began swinging him wildly overhead, as though casting a fishing rod.
Nobara Kugisaki said, "I've wandered into the wrong place..."
Naomitsu said, "What is this guy doing?"
Inumaki Yaki said, "..."
While Fujiwara Sora was having fun swinging Max Elephant around, Naomitsu brought out his final shikigami.
"Nue!"
Nue circled in the sky. With Naomitsu increasing his cursed energy output, a faint glow of lightning now crackled around Nue's body.
"Can't land a hit?"
Just as Naomitsu had expected, with Fujiwara Sora's physical abilities enhanced, Nue couldn't land an attack on him at all.
With that in mind, Naomitsu gave up on testing him further.
"The Fujiwara Clan's innate cursed technique, Enhancement Cursed Technique, uses cursed energy to boost speed, strength, stamina, perception, physical toughness, and soul strength across the board.
That's why the Fujiwara Clan was able to rule during the Heian era."
Utahime Iori slowly emerged from behind Naomitsu, revealing secrets that had once been unknown.
"Utahime, could you not start talking out of nowhere? You scared me like a ghost."
Naomitsu rolled his eyes, unable to resist complaining. That single remark instantly infuriated Utahime Iori.
"You little brat! You spent a year with Satoru Gojo, and now you're just as infuriating as he is. I was only trying to explain it to you!"
Naomitsu waved a dismissive hand. "Utahime, I'm teaching a class here. What did you come over for?"
Utahime Iori patted Naomitsu on the shoulder, acting like a senior encouraging her junior. Naomitsu suddenly had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"The principal just told me that, as the future of Kyoto Jujutsu High, you're someone the school intends to invest heavily in. Once Principal Rakaji steps down, you might take over.
So you may be teaching next year's incoming students, too. The principal said you're the future of our Kyoto Jujutsu High."
Utahime Iori dangled a grand promise in front of Naomitsu, but there was no way he would fall for that.
"How much are you paying me?"
When Utahime Iori said nothing, Naomitsu named his price on the spot.
"If you're going to invest in me, you'll have to put up the money. I won't ask for much. Let's say a million per student."
Naomitsu had asked for a modest sum. After all, the school might refuse if he set the price too high.
"I'll discuss it with the principal. Carry on teaching your students."
After Utahime Iori left, Naomitsu turned his attention back to the basketball court. The initial assessment was over. Next came targeted training.
"The assessment is over. Now let's go through you one by one. First, let's talk about the one with the biggest problems: Nobara Kugisaki."
Naomitsu looked straight at Nobara Kugisaki.
"Huh? Why is it me again?" Ever since arriving at this Jujutsu High, Nobara felt she hadn't had any luck at all.
"There's no question that your Straw Doll Technique is effective, but your physical conditioning is poor, and the way you use cursed tools is too limited. We can train you in those areas.
"Put all of that together, and in a couple of days I'll arrange a targeted training plan to help you improve quickly. By your third year, you should have a chance of becoming a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer."
After finishing his assessment and arrangements for Nobara Kugisaki, Naomitsu turned to Inumaki Yaki.
"Inumaki, your cursed speech is extremely powerful, but if you don't use it properly, you can easily hurt your allies. The best approach to your training is to develop precise control over your cursed energy.
"Once you can control your cursed energy output down to the finest detail, you'll have tremendous combat power instead of being limited to support and crowd control."
Inumaki nodded without speaking. As with Nobara Kugisaki, Naomitsu would put together a training plan for him in the coming days.
Finally, only Fujiwara Sora remained.
"Fujiwara, your strength is beyond question. You're already a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
"If you want to keep growing, there are two paths. First, control your cursed energy precisely enough to land a Black Flash. Second, keep fighting and develop a domain."
Of those two paths, Black Flash was the only one Naomitsu could help with. After all, he still had no idea how to develop a domain himself.
Before you continue