Too slow

[The annual Goodwill Event between the sister schools in Tokyo and Kyoto was about to begin.]

[But what should have been a solemn occasion was now filled with an awkward air of hostility-or rather, one-sided disregard.]

["Huh? Are the people from Kyoto here yet?"]

[Satoru Gojo wore his conspicuous little round sunglasses, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, as he blew bubblegum bubbles and loudly asked Suguru Geto beside him.]

[The Kyoto Jujutsu High team was standing just over ten meters away, yet in Satoru Gojo's eyes, they seemed no different from weeds by the roadside.]

["Satoru, keep your voice down. However weak our opponents may be, we should still show some basic courtesy as the hosts."]

[Suguru Geto spoke with a smile. Although he sounded as though he was smoothing things over, his clear emphasis on "weak" made it even more insulting than Satoru Gojo's bluntness.]

["Tch, what a pain."]

[Satoru Gojo stretched, not even bothering to glance at the Kyoto students opposite him, whose faces and necks had flushed red with anger.]

["Geto, want to see who can clear them out faster? Loser buys sushi in Ginza."]

["Sure, but we have to factor in damage to the grounds this time. You flattened half a forest on your last mission."]

[Standing in the back row, you sighed helplessly as you watched these two Special Grade problem children start making bets as though no one else was there.]

[This was the composure of the "strongest." In their world, this Goodwill Event was nothing more than a boring recess game.]

["Um... Li, are you sure it's all right for you to participate too?"]

[The Assistant Supervisor beside you asked with some concern.]

["People with support Cursed Techniques usually stay on standby in the rear..."]

[After all, Shoko Ieiri had explicitly declined to participate in this competition.]

["It's fine. There's something I want to test too."]

[You adjusted your glasses and glanced at Wukong, who stood only fifty centimeters tall on your shoulder.]

["Besides, following those two monsters around probably won't leave me any scraps to pick up."]

[As the whistle sounded to officially begin the match, two figures vanished from their positions like wild horses breaking free of their reins. Immediately afterward, tremendous explosions and the screams of Cursed Spirits rang out from the center of the grounds.]

[Just as they had said, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto weren't treating this as a competition at all, but as a race to hunt down prey.]

[You didn't join the commotion. Instead, you slipped alone into the woods along the flank.]

[Your goal was clear: avoid the main battlefield and find a few isolated opponents to practice on.]

[The rustle of leaves was extremely faint, but you still stopped in your tracks.]

[Two Kyoto Jujutsu High students emerged from behind an ancient tree ahead.]

[One was burly and wore Cursed Tool gauntlets wrapped in talismans, while the other was thin and held several talismans in his hand.]

["What luck."]

[The burly Kyoto student rolled his wrists with a vicious grin, his gaze fixed on you.]

["Who would've thought Tokyo Jujutsu High's precious 'healer' would dare wander off alone? If we eliminate you, Tokyo Jujutsu High will still lose face even if those two monsters win, won't they?"]

[They had completely underestimated you. That was hardly surprising, since the Cursed Energy fluctuations you gave off were indeed "mediocre" compared with those two monsters. Besides, you looked refined and scholarly, hardly like someone who could fight.]

[On top of that, you had devoted yourself to researching Cursed Corpses in this simulation and had few notable combat achievements on missions.]

[Naturally, outsiders knew nothing of your transformation, and their perception of you remained stuck on the stereotypical "healer."]

["Um... could you please go easy on me?"]

[You took half a step back, appearing somewhat timid.]

["Too late!"]

[Your opponent had no intention of wasting words. The burly student stamped down and shot toward you like a cannonball, his fist driving straight at your face with an explosive crack of Cursed Energy.]

[So fast!]

[Your pupils contracted.]

[Although he was still slower than Toji Fushiguro, whose speed you had witnessed in the previous simulation, your current physical abilities, coupled with using "Phantom Parade" to run Puppet Manipulation, left you struggling against this kind of reinforcement-type Jujutsu Sorcerer.]

[You rolled clumsily to the side, the gust from his punch grazing his cheek with a burning sting.]

["All you can do is run? Then how about this!"]

[The talisman user behind him immediately threw two wind-blade talismans, cutting off your landing spot.]

[There was no way to dodge. Just as the two Kyoto students thought victory was assured-]

["Wukong."]

[A golden afterimage suddenly shot out from where you had just been standing.]

[The "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," only fifty centimeters tall, leaped into the air. The black iron staff in his hand, originally no larger than an embroidery needle, rapidly grew and lengthened the instant Cursed Energy poured into it!]

[The burly student, who had still been sneering, "Where'd that mascot come from?" saw nothing but a blur.]

[The black iron staff instantly extended three meters and, like a precise viper, struck hard against his knee joint.]

["Aah!"]

[A sharp crack accompanied his scream, and the burly student's charge instantly became an off-balance fall.]

[Using the recoil from that strike, "Wukong" nimbly twisted in midair. The iron staff in his hand instantly shortened to evade the slicing wind blades, then extended again, launching him high into the air like a pole-vaulter to land in the treetops.]

["What the hell is that thing?!"]

[The two Kyoto Jujutsu High students stared in shock and uncertainty at the doll carrying a staff in the treetops.]

[A Cursed Corpse? But that agility, and that strange weapon...]

[For the two Kyoto students, the battle that followed was nothing short of a nightmare.]

[The doll didn't possess the terrifying power to finish them in a single strike, but he was far too annoying.]

[Whenever they tried to attack your actual body, the Cursed Tool iron staff in "Wukong's" hand would extend toward them from all sorts of awkward angles.]

[Sometimes he tripped them, sometimes he jabbed them in the ribs, and sometimes he used the spring of the extending staff to launch himself over and smack the backs of their heads.]

[It felt like fighting a ghost armed with an endlessly telescoping pointer.]

[Ten minutes later, you leaned against a tree, panting slightly. A wind blade had cut through the left sleeve of your uniform, and blood seeped out.]

[Not far from you, the two Kyoto Jujutsu High students lay on the ground foaming at the mouth, their bodies densely covered in marks from the staff.]

["Wukong" hopped back onto your shoulder, flicked his staff in an extremely human gesture, then settled down.]

[Then you switched the Cursed Technique running through "Phantom Parade" from "Puppet Manipulation" to "Reverse Cursed Technique." A wisp of white smoke rose from the wound on your arm as it rapidly healed.]

[Although you had won a two-on-one fight, your brows drew tightly together as you looked at your still faintly trembling hands.]

["Too slow..."]

[In that fight, if the burly student's fist had been a second faster, or the talisman user's aim a little better, your actual body would have suffered serious injuries.]

[Even against Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerers like these, you needed the surprise advantage of an unfamiliar Cursed Corpse and tactical maneuvering to win.]

[Then what if my opponent were Toji Fushiguro?]

[How many times faster was that man than these students?]

[Against that kind of absolute violence, Wukong's little tricks and attacks that barely amounted to scratching an itch wouldn't buy any time at all.]

[No matter how quickly the Ruyi Jingu Bang extended, your opponent could rush straight along it the instant it lengthened and twist your head off.]

["This path really won't work..."]