The test

A thin, milky-white mist shrouded the training ground in the early morning.

Though called a training ground, it was really just a roughly leveled clearing, its soil packed firm underfoot and its boundaries crudely marked with white lime lines.

Dense evergreen woods surrounded it. Farther away, the outlines of Jujutsu High's old-fashioned, dark rooftops appeared and vanished in the mist.

The air was cool and damp, every breath bringing out a small puff of white vapor.

Fine beads of dew clung to the grass, glimmering in the light of the morning sun that had yet to fully rise.

Yuta Okkotsu and Madara Uchiha stood facing each other, about five meters apart.

Okkotsu looked somewhat ill at ease. His hands clenched and unclenched, his gaze occasionally straying toward Satoru Gojo, who stood to one side as referee, as though hoping for further instructions from his teacher.

Madara wore the dark Jujutsu High uniform he had received just yesterday. It fit well, making his figure look somewhat slender, yet oddly straight-backed.

He made no deliberate attempt to take a stance, simply standing naturally with his hands at his sides, his calm gaze resting on Yuta Okkotsu opposite him, as though merely waiting for morning practice to begin.

Satoru Gojo stood off to their side, his striking black clothes at odds with the subdued early morning.

His blindfold concealed his most distinctive feature, the Six Eyes, but the familiar curve at the corners of his mouth remained clear.

With both hands in his pockets and his body leaning slightly backward, he looked as relaxed as a spectator who had come to watch the fun.

Farther away, Panda, Toge Inumaki, and Maki Zenin sat side by side on the stone steps.

Panda had produced a bag of popcorn from somewhere and was crunching away, blinking his round eyes curiously.

Toge Inumaki quietly watched the field, his high collar covering the lower half of his face and leaving only his focused eyes visible.

Maki sat with her arms crossed, her expression serious, her sharp gaze sweeping over the two facing each other from behind her glasses.

"Well, then-" Satoru Gojo drew out the words, breaking the training ground's morning silence and drawing everyone's attention.

"To test just how strong Madara is, and to help him adapt to the way Jujutsu Sorcerers fight as quickly as possible-"

He paused, the corners of his mouth beneath the blindfold seeming to rise a little farther.

"Yuta."

Okkotsu immediately straightened like an elementary school student whose name had been called. "Y-yes!"

Satoru Gojo's smile deepened. In a casual tone, he spoke words that instantly froze the air.

"Kill Madara."

"..."

Dead silence fell over the training ground.

The tension on Okkotsu's face instantly gave way to bewilderment, as though he had failed to understand what those words meant.

Then disbelief replaced his bewilderment. His eyes widened, his lips parting slightly. "Huh?! G-Gojo-sensei?!"

On the stone steps, the handful of popcorn in Panda's paw nearly spilled.

Toge Inumaki sat up straight.

Maki's brows drew tightly together as she stared at Satoru Gojo, seemingly trying to confirm whether he was joking.

But Satoru Gojo's tone remained frighteningly casual.

"Be prepared to do that." He turned to Madara, his smile unchanged. "And you need to be prepared to be killed, Madara. This is your senior's 'instruction,' after all."

Madara's gaze shifted from Satoru Gojo's unreadable face to Yuta Okkotsu, who seemed to want to say something but could not get the words out.

The morning breeze brushed the black hair over his forehead. His jet-black eyes reflected the gradually dispersing mist and Okkotsu's bewildered figure.

Then he gave a very slight nod.

"Mm." His voice was calm, without a trace of fear.

"W-wait! Gojo-sensei!" Okkotsu finally found his voice, his tone urgent and flustered.

"This is too-how can we..."

"The rules are simple." Satoru Gojo interrupted him, raising his right hand with three fingers extended, then folding them down one by one.

"No restrictions on methods, no time limit. It ends when one side can no longer fight-or 'dies.' Of course,"

"I'll step in to stop things when necessary. I am a teacher, after all~ But..." He paused, his smile growing even brighter.

"If someone really dies because I misjudge the situation, there's nothing to be done~ Just consider it valuable experience in actual combat."

Those words were like a block of ice dropped into the stagnant air, making the atmosphere even heavier and colder.

"Gojo-sensei!" Okkotsu could not help raising his voice, his fingers turning white around his sword hilt.

"Begin."

Satoru Gojo brought his raised hand down in a clean, decisive motion.

The order had been given.

Silence descended over the training ground again, broken only by the rustling wind in the woods and faint birdsong in the distance.

Yuta Okkotsu and Madara Uchiha remained where they stood, neither moving immediately.

Okkotsu looked at the calm-faced Madara opposite him, conflict written all over his face.

He was supposed to kill someone who might become his companion?

Even knowing his teacher might stop it, he still...

Madara simply watched him quietly, neither urging him on nor defending, as though waiting for him to decide.

The stalemate lasted a dozen or so seconds.

In the end, Yuta Okkotsu moved first.

He drew a deep breath, seemingly reaching some sort of decision, though the hesitation in his eyes remained obvious.

"W-well, Madara," he took a step forward, trying to keep his voice steady, "here I come!"

Madara nodded and assumed an opening stance as well, replying, "Okay."

Then, like street punks trying to bolster each other's courage before a brawl, the two approached tentatively and threw limp punches.

Okkotsu did not even draw the cursed tool sword on his back. He used only the most basic Taijutsu movements, keeping his speed and strength within the bounds of sparring for fear of hurting his opponent.

For a time, the scene became rather comical. It could even be called "going through the motions."

Panda could not help muttering from the stone steps, "What is this supposed to be... playing house?"

Maki's brows knitted even tighter, while Inumaki watched in silence.

The smile faded from Satoru Gojo's face. He said nothing, merely watching quietly.

This "exchange of blows" lasted less than a minute.

"Yuta." Satoru Gojo suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it carried an uncharacteristic seriousness and reached Okkotsu's ears clearly.

Okkotsu paused.

"Doing this," Satoru Gojo said evenly, every word clear, "will only hurt him."

Okkotsu froze.

"Showing mercy to your enemies is being cruel to yourself and your companions.

"If you don't let him experience what a real fight is like now, the next time he encounters a real Curse User or cursed spirit on a mission, the naivety and hesitation born of your 'holding back' will cost him his life."

Satoru Gojo's tone regained its usual lightness, but his words carried crushing weight.

"Take this seriously, Yuta. This is a test, but it's also training. For both you and him."

Yuta Okkotsu's face grew paler and paler. He clenched his fists, his nails nearly digging into his palms.

He looked at Madara opposite him. The boy still stood there with a calm expression, seemingly waiting for his next move.

Those black eyes were unfathomably deep.

"I understand," Okkotsu said quietly, his voice somewhat dry.

He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, the hesitation in them had been replaced by a resolute light.

He turned to Madara, his tone solemn. "Be careful, Madara. I'm going to... take this seriously."

Madara's gaze shifted slightly. "Mm."

Before his voice had faded-

Okkotsu abruptly vanished from where he stood!

He had instantly poured cursed energy into his legs, unleashing astonishing speed!

The five meters between them might as well not have existed. He closed in on Madara like a phantom, swinging his right fist, wreathed in visible cursed energy!

The rush of his punch tore through the air with a low howl!

Madara's pupils contracted sharply! So fast!

Several times faster than before!

Almost instinctively, he raised both arms, crossing them before his chest in an attempt to block.

He had not reinforced his body with cursed energy.

The thought flashed through Madara's mind in that split second.

He wanted to try relying solely on this insufficiently trained fifteen-year-old body.

Without using cursed energy to reinforce it, just how much could it withstand, and how far could it go?

This was not arrogance, but a precise judgment based on Madara Uchiha's combat experience.

Without understanding where he stood, he would struggle to take a single step forward in the future.

Thud-!!!

A dull impact rang out, like a heavy hammer striking a sandbag.

A surge of pain and numbness shot through Madara's arms as tremendous force crashed over him like a tide.

Before that punch brimming with cursed energy, his crossed-arm guard was blasted open as easily as paper!

His body staggered backward uncontrollably, each step leaving a deep footprint in the dirt.

So heavy!

Madara inwardly tensed.

The physical strength of a Special Grade Sorcerer, bolstered by cursed energy, truly was extraordinary!

Even the residual force of the punch's wake made his blood churn.

Before he could regain his balance, Yuta Okkotsu followed him like a shadow!

His footwork swift and steady, he instantly stepped into the opening Madara's block had left down his centerline. His left fist rose in a fierce uppercut aimed straight at Madara's jaw!

If it landed cleanly, that blow would be enough to knock an ordinary person unconscious instantly, or even shatter their neck!

Madara could see the trajectory of Okkotsu's movements with perfect clarity, but his body reacted half a beat too slowly!

This is bad!

Satoru Gojo's voice rang out at just that moment, carrying a touch of careless regret. "Ah... is it over already?"

Yet in the instant before Okkotsu's fist touched Madara's skin-

Yuta Okkotsu's pupils suddenly contracted!

He saw it.

The boy's ink-black pupils changed in an instant!

The whites of his eyes remained unchanged, but a point of scarlet abruptly lit up in the center of each pupil!

Then that red spread rapidly, like a drop of ink in clear water, becoming an eerie, magnificent blood-red!

More unsettling still, a jet-black tomoe slowly emerged, rotating in the center of each blood-red pupil!

His eyes... turned red? Is it a cursed technique?!

Alarm bells rang in Okkotsu's mind!

Though startled by this ocular technique he had never seen before, he did not stop his punch. He merely raised his vigilance to its utmost.

With his Sharingan activated, the world in Madara's vision abruptly changed.

Okkotsu's movements seemed to slow and break down before his eyes. Even the final point where the punch would land became clearly discernible.

And so, at the last possible moment, Madara abandoned trying to dodge the blow already before his face.

He turned his head slightly with the force of Okkotsu's punch, raising his palm at the same time and resting it lightly against the inside of Okkotsu's wrist, as though guiding a stream of water.

He redirected the incoming force, his entire body seeming to lose its weight as he used the punch's momentum to spring lightly backward and upward!

Whoosh-!

The sharp rush of the punch swept past Madara's jaw, stirring a few strands of hair.

Madara's body traced a brief arc through the air. He was still unsteady when he landed, retreating several steps before barely regaining his footing.

But Okkotsu's punch, which he had been certain would connect, had missed after all!

Satoru Gojo straightened slightly from his somewhat languid stance.

His brows rose beneath the blindfold, and the amused smile at his lips deepened.

"Oh?" he murmured, his voice carrying undisguised interest. "Now that really is... an interesting change."

On the stone steps, the sudden change had also captured Maki, Panda, and Inumaki's full attention.

"Gojo-sensei," Maki could not help speaking up, her eyes fixed on Madara's strange red eyes.

"Why have Okkotsu do it? Wouldn't you be better suited to testing him? With your strength, you could keep the situation completely under control."

Panda stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chimed in indistinctly, "Don't tell me this is your twisted idea of fun? You wanted to watch Yuta agonize over it?"

Inumaki nodded, offering a brief assessment. "Bonito flakes."

Satoru Gojo turned his head and put on an exaggeratedly wounded expression. "Is that really the kind of person you think I am? Your teacher is so hurt-"

All three nodded at once, their faces expressionless, answering in unison, "Mm-hmm."

Satoru Gojo immediately dropped the fake tears and returned to normal, shrugging. "Still, this test really isn't just for Madara."

His gaze returned to the field, settling on Yuta Okkotsu, and a rare note of seriousness entered his voice. "It's even more for Yuta."

"For Yuta?" Maki asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Satoru Gojo replied. "Ever since 'that incident,' I haven't been quite sure just how much control he has over his power now, or how well he's adjusted his mindset.

"Is he still weighed down by the shadows of his past, holding himself back? Or can he truly command this power now and fight for himself and his companions?" He paused.

"This test is just as important for him."

Maki fell silent, looking thoughtful, and all four turned their attention back to the two in the field.

At the center of the training ground.

Yuta Okkotsu slowly drew back his fist and straightened.

The surprise had faded from his face, replaced by a look of intense concentration.

Those red eyes, along with the exquisitely precise technique that had just redirected his force, made him abandon the very last trace of carelessness.

How did his movements suddenly become so agile? Is it the effect of those eyes' cursed technique? Enhanced dynamic vision? Whatever the case... Okkotsu took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening.

(Since that was what my teacher told me to do, and since Madara has shown that kind of ability...)

He reached back and gripped the hilt of the Cursed Tool sword on his back. The faint scrape of leather sounded especially clear in the quiet morning.

"I'm getting serious now, Madara." Okkotsu's voice grew steady, free of his earlier hesitation.

The aura of a Special Grade Sorcerer began to emerge.

The blade slowly slid from its sheath, gleaming coldly.

Madara watched the blade leave its sheath and felt the sudden increase in pressure from his opponent. The tomoe in his Sharingan slowly rotated.

He took a defensive stance and said quite naturally, "Come on."

Then he paused and glanced at his empty hands. "...Come to think of it, I don't have a weapon."

Yuta Okkotsu: "..."

His hand froze briefly as he drew his sword, and a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face.

He had been so focused on building his presence and taking this seriously that he had forgotten his opponent had come empty-handed.

"Ah, right." Okkotsu gave a slightly embarrassed smile, but his grip on his sword did not loosen.

Just then, something whistled through the air!

A sheathed short sword came spinning from the direction of the stone steps, its trajectory carrying it precisely toward Madara.

Maki had thrown it. She still had her arms folded, her expression impassive.

Madara did not even turn his head. His Sharingan had already caught the short sword's trajectory.

He raised a hand with seeming casualness, spread his fingers, and firmly caught the incoming short sword by its sheath. The movement was fluid and natural, as though he had practiced it thousands of times.

At the sight, Maki narrowed her eyes slightly behind her glasses and murmured, "Pretty nimble, aren't you?"

Then she raised her voice. "Don't break it. It's worth quite a bit. Remember to give it back when you're done."

"Yes," Madara answered, gripping the hilt and slowly drawing the short sword.

Its blade was a little shorter than Okkotsu's katana, but a cold gleam rippled along its edge. It was clearly a high-quality Cursed Tool as well.

He tested its weight and adjusted his grip.

Although Madara Uchiha's memories contained extensive experience with weapons, he had used weapons like short swords relatively rarely.

Still, the basic stances and techniques for applying force were the same.

He casually tucked the sheath behind his waist and held the sword in one hand, its tip angled toward the ground. His gaze locked once more onto Yuta Okkotsu opposite him.

His scarlet Sharingan slowly rotated.