Just in this suffocating moment hanging by a thread, as if total conflict would erupt the next second, a voice that was steadier, yet carried unquestionable authority, smashed into the center of this tense force field like a heavy hammer.
"That is enough."
Yaga Masamichi's tall figure took a step forward, acting as a sturdy barrier between his three students and Principal Gakuganji.
His expression remained serious, perhaps even harder than usual, but anyone could see that the position he took was entirely biased toward his own students.
He didn't look back at Gojo Satoru and the others but faced Gakuganji's gloomy gaze directly.
"Mukyoku, retract your Cursed Energy first."
Immediately after, he turned to Gakuganji, nodded slightly, and spoke in a tone that was slowed down but remained unyielding: "Principal Gakuganji, I am deeply sorry. My discipline was lax; the student is young and impetuous, and acted without knowing the weight of his hand. However, there was a cause. The words spoken by your school's student were truly too atrocious, crossing the bottom line of human morality."
He apologized first but immediately pointed out the cause of the conflict, splitting the responsibility in two, his attitude neither humble nor overbearing.
Gakuganji Yoshinobu's murky eyes stared dead at Yaga, then slowly swept over Mukyoku Nagi, whose eyes were cold and devoid of regret, and the two beside him, Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, who also refused to yield an inch and looked ready to fight. The knuckles of the hand gripping his cane turned white from the force.
"Shoko."
Almost at the same moment Gakuganji let out a cold snort suppressing his rage, Yaga called out without hesitation. He knew well that the injuries must be controlled first to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
"Yes, Teacher Yaga."
Ieiri Shoko immediately snapped out of the suffocating standoff and worry. She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the waves in her heart, and her face returned to its usual slightly lazy but now incomparably professional expression.
She didn't look at Gakuganji or anyone else from the Kyoto School. Her gaze first quickly swept over Mukyoku Nagi. Seeing the blood color not yet fully faded from his eyes and the lingering cold aura around him, her lips pursed imperceptibly tight, a flash of worry passing through.
But she said nothing, simply walking quickly toward Zenin Ryuichi, who was embedded in the tree stump.
She moved without hesitation, crossing the field filled with invisible killing intent and tension. She squatted down, her face devoid of any superfluous expression, showing only absolute calm and professionalism.
She quickly checked the grievous injuries of Zenin Ryuichi embedded in the trunk. Her hands immediately hovered precisely over his chest, and a soft, pure green light—the power of the Reverse Cursed Technique—flowed steadily from her palms, covering the terrifying wound like the most efficient spring of life.
All eyes focused on her hands.
The sunken sternum began to make faint cracking sounds as it slowly reset. The ruptured internal organs were quickly repaired by the powerful vitality, and the everted flesh healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even the surging blood stopped rapidly.
The entire process was quiet and efficient, filled with the miraculous power of life.
However, even though the injuries recovered at an astonishing speed, Zenin Ryuichi remained in a deep coma, his face as pale as paper.
A few minutes later, Shoko retracted her hands and gently exhaled, beads of fine sweat seeping from her forehead.
She stood up and reported calmly to Yaga and Gakuganji: "Vital signs are stable. Bones and internal organs have been repaired. However, his Cursed Energy core was damaged, and his mental state suffered a heavy blow. He needs to rest quietly for at least a week, and he cannot use Cursed Energy during this period."
Gakuganji's face looked even worse. This meant Zenin Ryuichi was essentially out of this Exchange Event.
He snorted coldly, saying no more, merely signaling with his eyes to Kamo Kenji and the supervising teacher, Kurosaki, behind him.
Kamo immediately stepped forward and, together with Teacher Kurosaki, carefully lifted the still unconscious Zenin Ryuichi out of the tree stump.
As Kamo passed by Mukyoku Nagi, he cast an extremely complex, fleeting glance at him. Deep in that look lay dread, scrutiny, and perhaps a trace of extremely hard-to-detect... excitement?
The students of the Kyoto School followed silently and left. The arrogance they had arrived with was completely scattered, leaving only lingering fear and deep apprehension.
Nishimura Kenta trailed at the very back. He looked back one last time at the red-eyed boy standing in place, his aura still cold. His eyes were filled with incredible shock and a trace of... longing.
On the Tokyo School side, as the Kyoto group departed, the suffocating pressure slowly dissipated.
Only when the people from Kyoto High had completely disappeared from view did Yaga Masamichi slowly turn around to face his three problem students.
His gaze swept over Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru one by one, finally resting on Mukyoku Nagi, who had his head lowered, the hostility around him not yet fully dispersed, his fists still clenched.
Yaga was silent for a few seconds. Ultimately, he did not scold them but said in a deep voice: "All of you, go back and rest. Satoru, Suguru, watch him."
He understood Nagi's anger, but he was also clear about how dangerous that instant eruption of near-uncontrollable power was. At this moment, Nagi needed calm, not a lecture.
Gojo Satoru curled his lip, put his sunglasses back on to cover the Six Eyes, and returned to his cynical demeanor, though his tone still carried a bit of displeasure: "Tch, that scumbag got off easy."
Geto Suguru also restrained his Cursed Energy and patted Nagi on the shoulder, his tone returning to some gentleness: "You okay, Nagi?"
The vermilion color in Nagi's eyes had completely faded, returning to their usual deep black.
The killing intent and terrifying aura around him vanished without a trace, though his expression remained somewhat cold and hard. He shook his head slightly, indicating he was fine.
Yaga Masamichi turned around, looking at the three students who had caused such a huge disaster, especially Mukyoku Nagi, and said solemnly:
"Mukyoku, confinement for three days. You will participate in the Exchange Event group battle as scheduled, but whether you are allowed to appear in the individual battle will depend on the situation. Gojo, Geto,"
He looked at the other two. "Go back and each write a 5,000-word reflection essay. Reflect deeply on today's behavior of 'assisting in a standoff'."
Gojo Satoru immediately started shouting: "Ehhh—! Why do we have to write a reflection too? We were clearly protecting a classmate!"
Geto Suguru also smiled wryly: "Teacher Yaga, this..."
"Ten thousand words."
Yaga raised the stakes expressionlessly.
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Geto Suguru: "..."
The two shut up instantly.
Yaga then looked at Shoko, his tone softening considerably: "Good work, Shoko."
Shoko shook her head. Her gaze lingered on Mukyoku Nagi's face, seeming to want to confirm something, but eventually, she just sighed, her tone softening:
"...Don't do that next time. For that kind of person, it's not worth it." Her worry was hidden within these seemingly ordinary words.
Nagi met her gaze and saw the trace of anxiety she hadn't managed to fully conceal in time.
He was silent for a moment, then nodded gently: "...Mn."
Gojo Satoru threw his arms around Nagi and Geto's shoulders, forcibly leading them forward: "Alright, alright! Crisis averted! To celebrate Nagi sending that trash Zenin flying with one punch, I'm treating everyone to sweets tonight! Unlimited!"
Geto Suguru laughed helplessly: "Satoru, you just want an excuse to eat sweets, don't you?"
"Does it matter! Suguru, you're such a buzzkill!"
The setting sun stretched their shadows long. The scene of drawn swords and murderous intent just now seemed like an illusion, but everyone understood that something had changed.
Yaga watched the retreating backs of the four noisy students and shook his head, a complex expression appearing on his face—an extremely faint mixture of helplessness and pride.