Pale with Rage

Aoi Todo.

Following behind him was Momo Nishimiya, a short-haired girl carrying a broom.

And Mai Zenin, a girl wearing glasses with an arrogant expression.

"Hey, you're the bastard who killed my cousin Naoya, aren't you?"

Mai Zenin gripped the revolver at her waist, undisguised killing intent and disgust in her eyes.

"A monkey without cursed energy dared to provoke our Zenin Clan."

"Where the hell did you get the nerve?"

Hearing that, Junpei and Asakura Yuki stopped smashing rocks and nervously watched the uninvited guests.

They could sense that all three of them were dangerous.

Especially the hulking Aoi Todo. The pressure he radiated made him seem like a wild bear!

But...

Faced with their provocations, Yagami Jue didn't even lift his eyelids.

He stayed leaning against the tree and picked at his ear.

"Where did these stray dogs come from, barking their heads off?"

"I'm in a good mood today. I don't feel like killing anyone."

"You've got three seconds to get the hell out of my sight."

Arrogant!

As arrogant as ever!

Mai Zenin went pale with rage and cocked her revolver with a click.

"You're dead!"

Bang!

A gunshot rang out!

A bullet wreathed in cursed energy whistled through the air, heading straight for the spot between Yagami Jue's eyebrows!

It was a special bullet Mai Zenin had created with her Construction Technique, and it packed tremendous power!

"Watch out, Yagami!"

Asakura Yuki cried out.

But a moment later...

Everyone was dumbstruck.

Yagami Jue hadn't even moved away from the tree.

He merely raised his hand slightly and casually pinched the air with his index and middle fingers.

Clink!

A crisp metallic sound rang out.

The cursed-energy bullet, powerful enough to pierce a steel plate, was held firmly between his two fingers!

Smoke was still rising from it!

"This... how is this possible?!"

Mai Zenin stared at the sight with wide, disbelieving eyes.

He caught a bullet bare-handed?!

What the fuck kind of monster was he?!

"That's all the power you've got?"

Yagami Jue sneered and flicked his finger.

"Take it back."

Whoosh!

The bullet shot back at a terrifying speed, ten times faster than it had come!

Splat!

It grazed Mai Zenin's cheek, spraying blood, then buried itself deep in the massive tree behind her.

"Aah!"

Clutching her bleeding cheek, Mai Zenin stumbled back several steps in terror and fell on her backside, trembling all over.

If that shot had been a centimeter off...

Her head would have burst like a watermelon!

"Interesting! This is too interesting!"

Just then, Aoi Todo, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly erupted into deafening laughter.

He tore off his shirt, exposing muscles as solid as granite.

His eyes gleamed as he stared at Yagami Jue.

"Such pure physical strength!"

"Such decisive violence!"

Aoi Todo strode up to Yagami Jue and looked down at him.

"Hey, kid."

"Answer me one question."

"What kind of woman is your type?"

The moment he asked that question...

A deathly silence fell.

Junpei and Asakura Yuki were stunned.

Was this big guy out of his mind?

They'd been at each other's throats a second ago. Why was he suddenly asking something like that?

Yagami Jue was taken aback too.

Looking at the musclebound man before him, his face brimming with anticipation, he silently ranted.

Holy shit, is this that infamous freak who picks his bros based on their fetishes?

He's fucking nuts!

But Yagami Jue had no interest in playing such a boring game with him.

"What kind of woman do I like?"

Yagami Jue straightened up, his gaze turning ice-cold.

"I like women I can bury under enough money to kill them."

"Happy now, pervert?"

The fervor on Aoi Todo's face vanished instantly.

An expression of profound sorrow and anger took its place.

"Bury them under money..."

"You dare insult sacred sexual preferences with an answer that reeks of money!"

"Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!"

Aoi Todo roared, and his cursed energy exploded like an erupting volcano!

"Kid! I'm going to beat that boring soul of yours awake!"

Boom!

Aoi Todo stamped down, and the ground instantly shattered!

Like a rampaging war elephant, he charged at Yagami Jue with terrifying force and threw a brutal punch!

There were no tricks to that punch, just a perfect union of physical strength and cursed energy!

It could have smashed an entire building apart!

"Now we're talking!"

Facing Aoi Todo's attack, Yagami Jue didn't dodge. Instead, excitement flashed in his eyes.

In Jujutsu Society, apart from the Heavenly Tyrant, Aoi Todo was the only hand-to-hand fighter who could spark his interest.

"Let's see if those muscles are as messed up as your brain!"

Yagami Jue didn't even activate the Eight Gates Formation.

Relying solely on his monstrous strength of over twenty-five thousand points...

He drove his fist straight into Aoi Todo's incoming punch!

BANG!!!!!

Their fists collided!

An earth-shaking blast like a thunderclap echoed through the mountain behind the school!

The terrifying shock wave formed a visible white surge of air that swept outward in an instant!

The ancient trees around them snapped in half under its force!

If Junpei and Asakura Yuki hadn't run fast enough, they would probably have been blown away.

So strong!

Feeling the terrifying force surge into his fist like a tsunami, Aoi Todo's eyes flashed with alarm.

He possessed Special Grade combat power and specialized in physical combat!

Yet someone without cursed energy was overpowering him in a contest of raw strength?!

"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?"

Yagami Jue laughed arrogantly, and the muscles in his arm suddenly flexed!

"Get the hell back!"

Boom!

The full force of over twenty-five thousand strength points erupted!

Aoi Todo grunted and slid backward over a dozen meters as though struck by a cannonball, plowing a deep furrow through the ground.

"This... this is impossible..."

Mai Zenin and Momo Nishimiya stared dumbfounded from a distance.

Aoi Todo, hailed as Kyoto Jujutsu High's strongest fighter, who could exorcise a special grade cursed spirit single-handedly...

Had actually lost a contest of strength?!

"Hahaha! That felt good! So damn good!"

Rather than getting angry, Aoi Todo became even more excited!

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Your taste in women is absolute garbage, but your strength is right up my alley!"

"Now I'm getting serious!"

Clap!

Aoi Todo abruptly brought his hands together with a sharp clap.

"Boogie Woogie!"

Whoosh!

The instant the clap rang out...

Aoi Todo vanished from his spot, replaced by a piece of rubble blown away by the shock wave!

He appeared out of thin air behind Yagami Jue!

A blind spot!

"Take my Black Flash!"

Terrifying black lightning instantly coiled around Aoi Todo's fist!

This was the pinnacle of jujutsu strikes!

One hit could severely injure even a special grade cursed spirit in an instant!

"A sneak attack?"

Yagami Jue sneered.

His speed was a staggering twenty-six thousand points!

Against his reaction speed, a position swap at this level was as slow as children playing house.

"I've got eyes in the back of my head!"

Without even turning his head, Yagami Jue twisted his body at an uncanny angle.

Like a venomous dragon, his right leg whipped backward in a spinning kick, tearing through the sound barrier with a piercing shriek as it lashed toward Aoi Todo!

"What?!"

Aoi Todo's expression changed in alarm!

He had never imagined Yagami Jue's reactions could be this fast!

Bang!

Yagami Jue's leg slammed into Aoi Todo's waist!

"Bleurgh!"

Aoi Todo spewed a mouthful of blood and flew sideways, crashing heavily into the distant cliff.

Boom!

A massive crater had been smashed into the cliff, and the rubble buried him completely.

An instant takedown!

Kyoto Jujutsu High's ace had actually been taken down in a single move!

Mai Zenin and Momo Nishimiya were so terrified that they could no longer speak.

They looked at Yagami Jue as though he were an invincible demon god.

"That's it?"

Yagami Jue lowered his leg and brushed off his pant cuff with disdain.

"And here I thought you could actually fight."

"Looks like this Kyoto Jujutsu High is just another bunch of useless trash."

Just as Yagami Jue was about to turn back and resume tormenting his students-

Boom!

The distant pile of rubble suddenly exploded.

Aoi Todo rose to his feet, covered in blood. His lower back was clearly broken, yet he laughed wildly as though nothing had happened.

"Hahahaha! Amazing! You're amazing!"

"I've made up my mind!"

Aoi Todo pointed at Yagami Jue and loudly declared,

"Your taste in women may be terrible, but I'm making you my best friend!"

Yagami Jue: "???"

"Did I fucking kick your brain loose?"

Yagami Jue's face darkened with exasperation. What kind of freak was this guy?

Just then, a system notification suddenly chimed in Yagami Jue's mind.