(extra chapter)
It's true we didn't reach 50 energy stones, so consider this a reward. Also, I've changed the bugs in all the chapters...and thanks anyway.
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The day of the exchange event, noon.
Tokyo Jujutsu High, surveillance room.
The walls were covered with screens, displaying every corner of the forest battlefield. Gojo Satoru, Iori Utahime, Principal Gakuganji, and Mei Mei were all seated inside, observing the battle.
"Oh, this year's first-years seem to be full of spirit."
Gojo Satoru sat with his legs crossed, holding a bag of kikufuku, completely relaxed.
"Especially our Maki, she seems to have... changed a lot recently."
Lynn, sitting in the corner, pushed up his glasses. He held a calculator, checking accounts. His current identity was a "logistics consultant," giving him the right to be there.
"Indeed."
Lynn replied without lifting his head.
"As my 'VIP client,' if she can't even make it past the first round, my reputation will be ruined."
Principal Gakuganji snorted, his cloudy old eyes filled with disdain.
"Just a failure from the Zenin Family."
"Without Cursed Energy, no matter how much she struggles, she's still just trash."
Lynn and Gojo Satoru exchanged glances, both revealing a meaningful smile.
"Then you'll have to... keep your eyes wide open."
...Inside the arena, forest area.
"Start!"
As Gojo Satoru's voice echoed through the arena via broadcast, the fierce battle instantly erupted.
Tokyo Jujutsu High's strategy was simple: split into two groups.
The monster Aoi Todo went straight for Yuji Itadori.
Meanwhile, Maki alone blocked Kyoto Jujutsu High's main force.
"Maki?"
Kasumi Miwa of Kyoto Jujutsu High, holding her sword, looked at the tall figure blocking the path, a little hesitant.
"Are you alone?"
"One person is enough."
Maki held the long-handled naginata she had used for a long time.
She didn't assume any defensive stance, just stood there casually. But for some reason, Kasumi Miwa felt she wasn't facing a person, but a beast awakening.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Kasumi Miwa drew her sword, "New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"
She was about to activate her Iaijutsu.
However.
"Too slow."
Maki's voice sounded in her ear.
Kasumi Miwa's pupils constricted.
When?!
She didn't even clearly see Maki's movements, only felt a blur before her eyes, and the figure had already crossed dozens of meters, crashing directly into her defensive perimeter!
No fancy Cursed Energy enhancement.
Pure, extreme speed.
"Bang!"
Maki kicked Kasumi Miwa's wrist.
The long sword flew out of her hand.
Immediately after, the shaft of the naginata struck Kasumi Miwa's abdomen heavily.
"Ugh!"
Kasumi Miwa didn't even let out a scream, her whole body flying out like a cannonball, breaking a large tree, and falling unconscious on the spot.
Instant kill.
"This..."
Momo Nishimiya and Kamo Noritoshi, who were following behind, were stunned.
Is this the "Cursed Energy-less trash"?
This kind of explosive power, even a First-Grade Sorcerer amplified with Cursed Energy wouldn't be much better, right?!
"Next."
Maki turned around, pushed up her glasses, her eyes terrifyingly calm.
After Lynn's "Cursed Energy Stripping Surgery," the previously stagnant "0.5" units of Cursed Energy in her body had largely disappeared.
Now, although she hadn't reached Toji's realm of "completely 0 Cursed Energy," the shackles on her body had been broken.
Her five senses became exceptionally clear.
The flow of air, the trembling of leaves, the contraction of her enemies' muscles... everything was under her control.
"This feeling..."
Maki gripped her naginata, a wild arc forming at the corner of her mouth.
"It's truly amazing."
...In the surveillance room.
Dead silence.
Principal Gakuganji stared intently at the screen, his cane almost snapping in his hand.
"This is impossible..."
"No Cursed Energy fluctuations... entirely relying on physical strength?"
"What did that girl... do?"
Iori Utahime also looked shocked.
Only Gojo Satoru laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha! See?! This is youth!"
He turned to Lynn, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
"Lynn, what did you feed her?"
"Nothing."
Lynn closed his account book, calmly taking a sip of tea.
"I just helped her clean up some'superfluous garbage' from her body."
"Now, she has truly touched the threshold of a 'tyrant of heaven.'"
...On the other side of the arena.
Mai hid in the bushes, her revolver already loaded.
She watched Maki effortlessly crush Kyoto Jujutsu High's defense, the jealousy and unwillingness in her eyes almost overflowing.
"Why..."
"Why are you always ahead of me..."
"Die!!"
Mai pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three Cursed Energy-infused bullets shot in a triangular formation towards Maki's blind spot.
At this distance, this angle, it was impossible to dodge.
However.
Maki didn't even turn her head.
She merely flicked her wrist, and the long-handled naginata danced behind her, leaving an afterimage.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Three crisp sounds.
Three bullets were precisely deflected, sparks flying.
"What?!" Mai was incredulous.
Blocking bullets with a cold weapon? Is this still human?
Before she could react, a strong gust of wind swept towards her.
Maki had rushed in front of her at some unknown point.
The tip of the naginata stopped steadily before Mai's glabella.
"If it were the old me, I might have been forced back by you."
Maki looked at her terrified sister, her eyes completely calm.
"But now..."
"Your movements, in my eyes, are like slow-motion playback."
Mai's body stiffened, cold sweat instantly drenching her back.
She could feel it.
That overwhelming gap.
It was no longer the sister who, despite her efforts, remained weak.
But an awakening... monster.
"Mai."
Maki retracted her naginata, didn't look at her again, and turned to walk deeper into the forest.
"You're too weak."
"Don't block my way."
Mai knelt on the ground, watching Maki's retreating figure, her fingernails digging deep into the soil.
Complete defeat... Surveillance room.
"The outcome is decided."
Mei Mei looked at the screen and gave her assessment.
"Maki Zen'in... this stock is about to hit its limit."
Gojo Satoru whistled.
Lynn, meanwhile, glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It's about time."
He stood up and straightened his suit.
"Everyone, I'm going to the restroom."
"What? Leaving when it's getting exciting?" Gojo Satoru asked.
"No."
Lynn walked to the door, his hand on the doorknob, and turned back with a gentle smile.
"It's because... I've been holding it in for too long, I'm about to wet my pants."
Utahime and the others' mouths twitched.
No sooner had he spoken.
"Boom!!!"
A loud bang shook the surveillance room's glass, making it hum.
On the screens, the previously clear sky suddenly darkened.
A black 'Curtain,' like ink, descended from the sky, enveloping the entire arena.
Alarms shrieked.
"Enemy attack!!!"
Gakuganji and Utahime abruptly stood up.
Gojo Satoru's expression darkened.
"This level of Curtain..."
Only Lynn, in the chaos, quietly exited the room.
He didn't go to take shelter.
Nor did he go to support Maki and the others.
He moved against the crowd, heading towards the deepest, most secluded part of Jujutsu High — the Treasure Vault.