If You Don't Blow Them Up and I Don't Blow Them Up, When Will the Fish Ever Grow Up?

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Hajime Kashimo got Shiratori Gotsu up early, and the two walked along mountain paths for over two hours before finally reaching the Goodwill Event venue.

Although everything around him looked different, Shiratori Gotsu still recognized the place from his memories of the manga and anime he had seen before transmigrating.

"The Tombs of the Star Corridor?"

He was a little surprised.

At this point in time, Jujutsu High was still a twinkle in its mother's eye.

Four hundred years later, the Tombs of the Star Corridor would be buried beneath Jujutsu High, but now they stood out in the open aboveground.

"Is Tengen taking part in the Goodwill Event too?"

Shiratori Gotsu looked at Hajime Kashimo, who stood beside him with his arms folded.

"Lord Tengen is only providing the venue. He won't participate or show himself."

Hajime Kashimo explained:

"The Tombs of the Star Corridor were also chosen to protect the emperor and those generals, to a certain extent."

"Under Lord Tengen's control, the special barrier around the Tombs of the Star Corridor can keep curses out to a certain extent and prevent harm to people outside the arena."

"But if you ask me..."

A disdainful smile slowly appeared on his face.

"It's completely unnecessary!"

"Only trash who can't precisely control the power of their Cursed Techniques would end up harming people outside the arena."

"Worrying about trash is the way trash thinks!"

With that, he looked up at the emperor and generals seated on the raised platform and clicked his tongue.

"As for those higher-ups who come to watch the show but need protecting, they're nothing but weak, helpless clay figures!"

After listening to that long-winded pronouncement from Kashimo, Shiratori Gotsu almost wanted to applaud him.

He really lived up to his widely acknowledged title of "Doctor of Jujutsu."

"Very insightful!" Shiratori Gotsu agreed.

His own thoughts were much the same as Hajime Kashimo's.

What business did ordinary people have coming to watch a "Goodwill Event" between Jujutsu Sorcerers?

Were they trying to assert their authority as emperor and generals?

"So," Hajime Kashimo said, waving a hand, "there's no need to pay them any attention!"

"At the end of the day, it's those stuffy old fossils in the Three Great Families who place too much importance on so-called imperial authority and insist on putting on this damn 'martial exhibition before the emperor.'"

"Anyway, once the fighting starts, I won't be bothering with all those rules."

Hajime Kashimo showed no respect whatsoever for the Three Great Families or the higher-ups. His eyes were filled with nothing but a thirst for battle.

And Shiratori Gotsu was, of course, the same.

Perhaps it was because he had spent more time as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, or perhaps it was because he had acquired [Corpse Attraction Shock Blast]...

The bloodthirsty spectator persona in Shiratori Gotsu's mind had gradually begun to evolve and grow, and it was no longer confined to the role of a "spectator."

"What's the point of holding back? If they're not strong enough, they can get lost! When the time comes, I'm going to blow things up to my heart's content!"

As he spoke, he casually dug out both his eyeballs, turned them into bombs, and rolled them around in his hand like walnuts.

Hajime Kashimo was increasingly pleased with Shiratori Gotsu's personality.

The two were almost equally bloodthirsty when it came to battle, and they were completely on the same wavelength.

Hajime Kashimo: "Fight! What a thrill!"

Shiratori Gotsu: "Fight! What a thrill!"

As more and more people gathered, the martial exhibition before the emperor officially began.

The rules were very simple.

Essentially, it was a series of one-on-one arena matches, cycling through Gojo versus Zenin, then Gojo versus Kamo, then Zenin versus Kamo.

There were no designated participants. Anyone who wanted to fight could step forward, and the first person to enter the arena would be considered that round's participant.

The loser would be eliminated outright, while the winner could take the stage again in the next round.

The independent Jujutsu Sorcerers who had been invited or had volunteered had also chosen to fight on behalf of one of the families.

Hajime Kashimo had been invited by the Gojo Clan, so he and Shiratori Gotsu naturally fought on its behalf.

"What a crowd."

Shiratori Gotsu watched the two Jujutsu Sorcerers fighting fiercely below, then turned to ask Hajime Kashimo:

"Koshika, when are you planning to fight?"

Hajime Kashimo gave the fight below a disdainful glance. "Later, of course."

"The Jujutsu Sorcerers both sides send up at the start won't be particularly strong. Fighting small fry like that is painfully dull!"

"You think so too, don't you?"

He put the question to Shiratori Gotsu.

"I have a slightly different idea..."

Shiratori Gotsu's lips curved into a slightly wicked smile.

"If you don't blow them up and I don't blow them up, when will the fish ever grow up?"

"If fights with small fry are boring, then we can quickly blow them away one by one. That way, the big fish will come out sooner!"

"Oh?"

Hajime Kashimo rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, his eyes gradually lighting up.

"You... are very insightful!"

"Clear away the troublesome small fry quickly and draw out the strong ones... The way you think, you really are a true powerhouse!"

"Of course!"

Shiratori Gotsu grinned.

"Then I'll go first!"

"Oh, right, I'll borrow your lightning staff for now. I'll give it back when it's your turn."

Before long, the first Gojo versus Zenin match ended in victory for the Zenin Clan.

Without sparing a moment to mourn the small-fry Jujutsu Sorcerer who had represented the Gojo Clan, the first person to step into the arena for the following Gojo versus Kamo match was-

Shiratori Gotsu!

Facing the Jujutsu Sorcerer representing the Kamo Clan, who looked like a background character from head to toe, Shiratori Gotsu yawned.

"Are you looking down on me?"

His opponent sprang into action at once, charging at Shiratori Gotsu with a long Cursed Tool blade.

"You're too slow."

Shiratori Gotsu only moved when his opponent reached him.

He tilted his head to easily dodge the slash, then used his left hand to press the two eyeball bombs, now somewhat smooth from all the rolling, against the man's waist.

"If I blow him up here... he probably won't die..."

Boom!

The fight was over.

Looking at the nameless small fry lying on the ground before him, his waist a bloody mess and blood gushing from his mouth, Shiratori Gotsu felt a little awkward.

"Yikes... Looks like an eyeball was still a bit too much for you. But don't worry, I'll heal you right now!"

With that, Shiratori Gotsu pulled the lightning staff out of his pants and, without the slightest hesitation, stabbed it straight into the man's thigh.

The white light of Reverse Cursed Technique flowed through the lightning staff into his body, and the wound at his waist quickly healed most of the way.

As for the hole in his thigh...

Medical treatment always came with a few side effects. He could just let that little wound heal on its own!

Back in the stands, Shiratori Gotsu casually handed the lightning staff back to Hajime Kashimo.

"There's something I've never quite understood. You don't have to care whether your opponents live or die, so why are you so set on not killing them?"

Hajime Kashimo took the lightning staff and glanced at the blood staining one end, a complicated expression on his face.

After all, strictly speaking, Shiratori Gotsu had "spared his life" back then too.

"There's no particular reason," Shiratori Gotsu said, waving a hand. "It's just a personal rule of mine."

"As I see it, a fight can be decided without deciding life and death. You can just think of it as... me being softhearted."

"Ah..." Hajime Kashimo sighed softly. "You really aren't much like a Jujutsu Sorcerer."

"Whatever, forget it!"

Shiratori Gotsu's eyes shone.

"You're planning to fight after this Zenin versus Kamo match ends, right?"

"Make sure you electrocute those fish well, Koshika!"

Hajime Kashimo smiled confidently.

"I will!"

Not far away, a man with a high ponytail and a prominent line of stitches across his forehead quietly watched it all.

His eyes showed keen interest as he murmured to himself:

"The man who suddenly appeared beside Hajime Kashimo... Shiratori Gotsu, was it..."

"An interesting way of doing things... It seems he could contribute to my grand undertaking too~"