I defeated Tsukasa Hatayama...

At that moment.

The field was utterly silent. Everyone stared blankly at Masamichi Yaga's feet, still struggling to process the sight of the unconscious Satoru Gojo.

The Child of God with the six eyes, destined to change Jujutsu Society... had lost?

And he had lost without even being able to resist...

"Hahahaha..."

In the midst of that solemn atmosphere, a sultry laugh of genuine delight rang out from the side, its cheerful, melodious sound carrying across the entire field.

Recognizing that familiar laugh, everyone turned with mixed feelings to see Mei Mei clutching her cash, laughing out her joy.

How could she not be happy? She had won a full hundred million from the bets. Normally, she would have had to exorcise ten Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirits to earn that much.

"Shoko, sorry for the trouble, but could you use Reverse Cursed Technique to wake Satoru?"

Masamichi Yaga gave the instruction with a beaming smile, unable to keep his usually stern face from breaking into a grin.

Still stunned by what she had seen, Shoko Ieiri answered dazedly, "Sir, Gojo was knocked unconscious by an external blow. Reverse Cursed Technique can't fix that."

"Is that so? Hahaha..."

"Then treat the injury on Satoru's jaw. We can't let him go around with bruises on such a handsome, delicate face."

"Yes, sir."

Shoko Ieiri did as instructed, placing her fair hands against Satoru Gojo's jaw and using gentle, snowy-white cursed energy to make the bruising fade.

The sight sent waves of emotion through everyone present.

If defeating Satoru Gojo had been a visual spectacle, then the girl's use of Reverse Cursed Technique was undoubtedly an earth-shattering surprise.

At present, Tsukumo was the only senior at Jujutsu High who knew Reverse Cursed Technique, but she was off gallivanting abroad with no intention of returning to Japan.

As a result, injuries sustained while exorcising cursed spirits could only receive basic treatment from Jujutsu High's support staff. That treatment could heal them, but it left scars.

Almost everyone present had scars like those. A girl who could heal others with Reverse Cursed Technique was undoubtedly a treasure for Jujutsu High.

Noticing everyone's hungry gazes, Shoko Ieiri remained unruffled and focused on using cursed energy to treat the injury on Satoru Gojo's jaw.

Back when she had been on her own, Shoko Ieiri might have secretly taken pride in that special gift. But after watching those two monsters fight...

That gift no longer seemed so special.

"Geto, do you still want to give it a try?"

Masamichi Yaga looked at Suguru Geto, who was biting his finger, and asked with a smile.

After much internal debate, Suguru Geto said gravely, "Sir, Tsukasa is really, really strong. I can't see a single opening in him."

"With my strength, I'd only get taken out in an instant. I don't want to lose, but my heart still wants me to challenge him."

Masamichi Yaga pondered for a few seconds before saying slowly, "Then challenge him. So what if you know you'll lose? The strong never complain about their circumstances."

"There's no shame in losing once. What's shameful is staying in your comfort zone forever. Do you know why I wanted you and Satoru to challenge Tsukasa?"

Suguru Geto froze. "Wasn't it to assess our strength?"

Masamichi Yaga shook his head and explained, "I know how strong you and Satoru are. Calling you the strongest students at Jujutsu High wouldn't be an exaggeration."

"But you're both far too restless and arrogant. If this continues, you'll suffer badly for it sooner or later. That's why I asked Tsukasa to teach you a lesson."

"I wanted you to understand that there's always someone stronger, so you'd stop spending every day lost in the dream that you're geniuses."

Suguru Geto smiled bitterly. "Sir, isn't that a little too harsh? Aren't you afraid Tsukasa will crush us so badly we never recover?"

Masamichi Yaga smiled without answering, changing the subject rather than spelling it out. "If you want to challenge him, go ahead. The strong weather storms."

"I understand, sir!"

Suguru Geto nodded, finally at peace, and walked toward Tsukasa Hatayama without hesitation. This time, he approached as a challenger setting out to conquer a mountain.

"The second match is about to begin. Anyone want to place a bet?"

Still basking in her joy, Mei Mei did not forget to start another round of her money-swindling routine.

Everyone rolled their eyes at her in exasperation. They had bet everything they owned on Satoru Gojo winning. Where would they find spare money for another bet?

Seeing that there were no takers, Mei Mei could only hold her money and watch the next fight.

At the center of the Green Field, Suguru Geto walked up to Tsukasa Hatayama.

Tsukasa Hatayama closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they had returned to their original ruby-red color.

Seeing this, Suguru Geto said with obvious resentment, "Why put those eyes away, Tsukasa? Are you looking down on me?"

"I'm not looking down on you."

Tsukasa Hatayama patiently explained, "It's just that what those eyes see is a little unusual. I have no choice but to put them away."

"Unusual?"

Suguru Geto's curiosity was piqued, and he pressed eagerly, "Are they like the Sharingan in Naruto? Whoever you glare at bursts into flames?"

"Something like that. Except all I see are densely packed red lines."

Suguru Geto caught on immediately and asked curiously, "If you cut those red lines, does that mean you kill them?"

"Take a guess."

Tsukasa Hatayama remained mysterious and offered no further explanation. Smiling, he held his knife and gestured for Suguru Geto to attack.

Suguru Geto gave him a reproachful look, then gradually grew serious. Narrowing his eyes, he put his mind to work and considered his plan of attack.

Judging by his movements, Tsukasa doesn't seem to be planning to use his cursed technique. Is he going to compete with me in hand-to-hand combat?

It's a little irritating, but his cursed technique is absurdly powerful. My cursed spirits might get shot dead by a sky full of weapons before I can even bring them out.

I'll feint with hand-to-hand attacks and secretly use a cursed spirit for support!

Suguru Geto opened his narrowed eyes and charged at Tsukasa Hatayama, launching a full 360-degree airborne spinning kick at the side of his neck.

Yet Tsukasa Hatayama took the blow head-on, his feet remaining absurdly motionless.

That alone proved that his seemingly slender body actually possessed tremendous physical strength.

Tsukasa Hatayama gave a slight shrug of his shoulder, jolting the right foot against his neck away.

Suguru Geto stumbled onto the grass and stared in horror at the completely unscathed Tsukasa Hatayama.

What a monster.

Having a powerful cursed technique was one thing, but he had even trained his body to a terrifying level. Compared to him, what kind of damn genius was I?

Little did he know that Tsukasa Hatayama had never trained his body at all. He relied entirely on the Hōgyoku strengthening him day and night, helping his body break through its limits.

Suguru Geto raised both fists and, unwilling to concede, charged again. As he drew close, he leaped into the air and kicked three times at Tsukasa's chest.

Tsukasa Hatayama blocked them effortlessly, then caught and locked his leg, flipping him into the air before raising his elbow to drive Suguru Geto down onto the grass.

As a close-combat spellcaster, Suguru Geto struggled to straighten his torso in midair. Using his impressive ability to stay airborne, he caught the elbow strike before it descended.

If he failed to stop it, Tsukasa Hatayama's strength and rock-hard elbow would undoubtedly knock him unconscious with a blow to the chest.

The instant he caught the arm, Suguru Geto nimbly hooked both feet around Tsukasa Hatayama's waist, counter-grappling like a monkey and using the leverage to reposition himself.

Then he twisted into a powerful side kick, knocking Tsukasa Hatayama away.

The moment he landed on the grass, Suguru Geto clenched his right hand with a mischievous smile.

"Big-Mouth Monster!"

With a thunderous crash, the cursed spirit that had been lurking underground erupted from the earth-a massive white-and-green caterpillar.

Big-Mouth Monster opened his writhing maw and swallowed the off-balance Tsukasa Hatayama whole.

Seeing this, Suguru Geto burst into an excited laugh. "I beat Tsukasa! I beat him with brains and strength!"

"I'm the strongest in this year's class!"

"Is that so?"

A gleaming knife settled against his neck as that familiar voice rang out.

Suguru Geto's laughter cut off abruptly. He asked bitterly, "I want to know how you did that. You clearly went into Big-Mouth Monster's mouth."

Tsukasa Hatayama withdrew the knife from his neck and patiently explained, "I did enter the cursed spirit's mouth, but that wasn't truly me."

"What do you mean?"

Suguru Geto frowned and said in disbelief, "Don't tell me the one fighting me just now was your clone?"

Tsukasa Hatayama shook his head and said calmly, "I don't have clones, and I can't make them. The one fighting you just now was me."

"As for how I escaped, that was entirely thanks to Dark Manipulation. Just before I was swallowed, I quickly turned myself into white mist."

"I used the cursed spirit's breathing to let it blow me back out."

As he spoke, he held his right hand in front of Suguru Geto. Before Geto's eyes, it turned into wisps of white mist too faint for the naked eye to track.

Mentally exhausted, Suguru Geto opened his mouth, then sat down on the grass without wanting to say another word.

Victory had been right in front of me, only for him to float out using his cursed technique.

Did he think this was One Piece, turning into an element to avoid danger?

I got excited for nothing!

Tsukasa Hatayama slid the knife back into his waistband and made a show of wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

Seriously.

Defeating them really had not been easy. He had used at least half his strength, all while worrying that he might kill them with Rozan Rising Dragon...

"Tsukasa, could you come comfort me a little? I'm really sad and upset right now. You've completely crushed me!"

Seeing him standing motionless in a daze, Suguru Geto called out helplessly.

Tsukasa Hatayama came back to his senses and patted his shoulder with a warm smile. "I'll buy you a drink later. How does that sound?"

"Sure."

Suguru Geto did not refuse. Smiling, he added, "You also have to teach me Cursed Pressure. We can't have Satoru learning it and using it to bully me, can we?"

"Okay, okay, okay. Whatever you say~"

Suguru Geto broke into a bright smile, all the gloom vanishing from his face. Chuckling, he patted off his backside and stood, rising onto his toes to drape an arm over Tsukasa Hatayama's shoulder.

He would not have noticed otherwise, but putting his arm around Tsukasa revealed a problem: of their trio of bromantic buddies, he was the shortest.

He stood 1.85 meters barefoot, while Tsukasa looked about 1.88 meters tall. Satoru was a little taller than Tsukasa, probably around 1.9 meters.

Suguru Geto pursed his lips, thinking that he was only fifteen and still had room to grow. With his arm around Tsukasa's shoulder, he headed back toward the others.