Chapter 24 — Twenty Four Punch
The day after the juvenile detention center incident.
Class hadn't started yet, but Satoru Gojo had already been standing outside the first-years' classroom for quite some time. He stood ramrod straight by the window like a stalk of bamboo, silently observing the situation inside through the Six Eyes.
Yuji Itadori had adapted quickly to the current situation and was already used to life at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Megumi Fushiguro remained as steady as ever. Nobara Kugisaki, after finishing her coursework each day, continued carrying out her personal Tokyo sightseeing plan. Her makeup had grown more fashionable, and aside from her uniform, she now sported a whole collection of glittering trendy accessories.
Saitama was sitting at his desk chewing bubble gum. He blew a bubble as big as his head, and with a loud pop, it burst and stuck all over his face. He immediately began fumbling around in a panic, trying to peel it off.
But the one Gojo was truly paying attention to wasn't any of them. His gaze slowly shifted to Genos.
Genos sat beside Saitama, a notebook spread open on his desk as he wrote something down. Even from a distance, it was no challenge for Gojo's Six Eyes to clearly see what was written in the notebook.
Genos was carefully observing Saitama as he picked gum off his face, while simultaneously recording Saitama's sitting posture and the precise movements of his gum-picking with astonishing accuracy.
"…"
Gojo shook his head and slid open the classroom door.
"Oh, Gojo-sensei!" Yuji Itadori immediately greeted him energetically. "What's today's lesson?"
"Itadori-kun, that's an excellent question!" Gojo nodded with great enthusiasm. "But before today's lesson begins, there's something the teacher needs to settle first."
Under everyone's gaze, Gojo walked briskly over to Genos and looked down at him.
"How long does Genos-kun plan to stay here?" Gojo asked.
"As long as Saitama-sensei is here, I will continue to follow him. My goal is to learn from Sensei and eventually become strong enough not to lose to him," Genos raised his head and looked straight at Gojo's blindfold. "Is there a problem?"
"Well, only students of the school are allowed to stay in class long-term," Gojo tilted his head slightly, his white hair bouncing above his blindfold.
Genos frowned. "What do you mean? Am I not allowed to remain by Saitama-sensei's side and learn?"
"No, that's not quite what I mean."
Gojo let out a light chuckle, adopting the air of someone offering helpful advice. "Wouldn't it be fine if Genos-kun simply became a student of the school as well?"
"…I have no such plans." Genos rejected the idea without hesitation.
"Really?" Gojo drew out his tone. "Even though Saitama-kun has already enrolled? Don't you think enrolling as well would be a good opportunity to catch up to him?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Genos froze. His golden pupils sharpened, and streams of analysis data seemed to flash across them.
"I see," he muttered to himself. "My purpose is to follow Saitama-sensei and learn from him. My ultimate goal is to catch up to Sensei. Now that Saitama-sensei has become a student of Tokyo Jujutsu High and is constantly enriching himself through study here, I cannot remain ignorant about jujutsu forever."
Genos stood up and asked Gojo, "Becoming a student like Saitama-sensei and learning everything that Saitama-sensei learns is also a method of catching up to him—is that what you mean?"
"Bingo!" Gojo proudly gave Genos a thumbs-up. "Full marks for that answer, Genos-kun!"
Genos immediately turned back to Saitama, who was still picking gum off his face. "Sensei, I am considering joining Tokyo Jujutsu High. What do you think?"
"Oh, about that…" Saitama pinched the gum stuck to his cheek and thought for a moment before replying, "Genos should decide for himself. No need to ask me. Well, good luck."
"I understand." Genos turned back to Gojo and declared loudly, "Allow me to enroll in Tokyo Jujutsu High!"
Gojo Satoru actually pulled it off.
"Alright!" Gojo Satoru promised solemnly. "Genos-kun has already demonstrated his strength during the juvenile detention center incident. All you need to do is come with me to inform Principal Yaga. Also, you'll need to make up the three entrance tests the first-years took a few days ago."
"No problem!" Genos replied firmly, following Gojo Satoru out of the classroom.
"..."
A silence fell over the classroom. Yuji Itadori was already staring in shock. Nobara Kugisaki said lightly, "Gojo Satoru really looks like the kind of pyramid scheme boss who tricks people into joining his organization."
Megumi Fushiguro nodded in agreement.
---
Thirty minutes later.
Genos walked back into the classroom. "Yaga Masamichi has already approved my enrollment. I've also completed the physical assessment and cursed energy test."
"Huh? That fast?" Saitama was astonished. "By the way, Genos, when you were hitting the taiko doll, you didn't break anything, right?"
"Taiko doll?" Genos looked confused. "What taiko doll?"
"That sunglasses-wearing principal didn't make you hit a taiko doll?" Saitama scratched his head, trying to recall. "Something like—you have to hit the doll to be allowed to enroll…"
"No. Gojo Satoru took me to speak with him about enrollment, and he agreed immediately. He even gave me a warm welcome," Genos replied.
Saitama paused, then silently looked away. His expression grew faintly desolate. "Oh. I see."
"The only thing left now is the written exam," Genos said as he returned to his seat. "Gojo Satoru said that once the test papers are printed, he'll take me to an empty classroom to take the exam."
"Are you sure you'll be okay with the written test?" Yuji Itadori chimed in. "The exams at Jujutsu High are very different from ordinary school tests. About half of the questions are related to the jujutsu world. For example, the ranking system for sorcerers and curses, the history of jujutsu, principles of action in emergency situations, how to write mission reports, and so on."
"Is that so?" Genos seemed somewhat surprised. "I didn't realize the written exam would be that difficult."
"Yeah!" At the mention of written exams, Saitama suddenly perked up. He pointed at Genos with ill-concealed schadenfreude. "The written test is really hard. Genos, you'd better be careful—don't end up scoring a zero!"
"There's still a bit of time before the papers are ready. How about having Fushiguro give you some last-minute cramming?" Nobara Kugisaki suggested. "After all, Fushiguro scored 96 last time."
Hearing this, Megumi Fushiguro picked up his schoolbag and took out a notebook.
"Take a look at this," he said, handing the notebook to Genos. "Since we're all first-years who just enrolled, the written test will only cover relatively basic material. If you can memorize the contents of this notebook, you should be able to handle the exam. There isn't much time left, but at least glance through it and try to leave some impression in your mind."
"Thank you."
Genos accepted the notebook from Megumi Fushiguro and opened the cover. In the next second, his golden pupils suddenly dilated. A straight beam of light shot clearly from his eyes, sweeping across the page.
"W-What?" Nobara Kugisaki jumped in shock. "What is he doing?"
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Genos calmly used the beam emitted from his eyes to scan the contents of Megumi Fushiguro's notebook from left to right.
After scanning one page, a crisp "beep" sounded from Genos's head.
At that instant, a single thought flashed through everyone's minds like lightning.
He's scanning it?!
Holding Megumi Fushiguro's notebook, Genos methodically scanned and stored every page into the system within his brain. After finishing the final page, he politely closed the notebook, returned it to Megumi Fushiguro, and said with sincere gratitude, "Thank you. That was a tremendous help."
Megumi Fushiguro took back his notebook, his face darkening. "..."
Amid the silence, Gojo Satoru poked his head in from the classroom door, holding a test paper, and cheerfully said, "The test papers are printed. Genos-kun, let's go to the empty classroom next door for the written exam… Huh? Why do all of you look so weird?"
---
Thirty minutes later.
"Full marks."
Genos took the three report cards he had received out of their envelopes and spread them on the desk.
Physical Assessment: 100 points
Cursed Energy Test: 10 points
Written Exam: 100 points
Saitama, sitting nearby, was dumbfounded, eyes staring blankly.
"Except for the Cursed Energy Test, everything else is a perfect score," Genos said calmly. "The Cursed Energy Test is only 10 points. According to the instructions, scoring 5–10 points in the Cursed Energy Test is standard for ordinary humans. But my total score across all three tests is 210 points, averaging 70 per test."
Saitama: "..."
"By Gojo Satoru's standards, since my Cursed Energy Test isn't zero, and my enhanced body can detect curses via energy scanning, I've been officially admitted as a full student."
Saitama, still a trainee: "..."
Genos spoke seriously to Saitama: "From today onward, I will also shine in the field of jujutsu. I hope to continue learning from you, Sensei."
Saitama: "…Cheating! You're cheating! You cheated!" (utterly flustered and unable to say anything else besides "cheating")
As Saitama's simple cartoon-like features twisted under stress, a head with white hair and an eye-cover suddenly appeared at the classroom door.
"Oh, everyone's still here!" Gojo Satoru raised his palm and clapped. "By now, everyone should know Genos's exam results, right? To celebrate the arrival of the fifth member of the first-year class—let's go have barbecue today."
"Is Gojo-Sensei treating us?" Megumi Fushiguro asked calmly, amid Saitama's background chorus of "You cheated!"
"Of course!" Gojo Satoru proudly patted his chest. "After all, I have money."
The background muttering abruptly stopped. Saitama's twisted facial lines immediately returned to normal. Without hesitation, he stood up and stared blankly at Gojo Satoru.
"When are we going?" Saitama asked.
---
Meanwhile, in a small apartment in Tokyo.
"We risked one of Sukuna's fingers just to test the strength of the Sukuna vessel, and yet we gained nothing… The vessel entered the juvenile detention center like any ordinary person and came out the same. There was no indication that Sukuna had taken over the body even once… This has nearly driven Mahito insane."
"And after that, the people at Jujutsu High completely searched the area. The finger is either already swallowed by the Sukuna vessel or is in the hands of Jujutsu High."
Mahito sat in a lounge chair, holding a book, but his gaze was angled toward Suguru Geto, who stood nearby. "Looks like we gave away a finger for nothing… So what's the next step, Geto?"
Geto lowered his head slightly, pondering for a moment.
"This time it was indeed a miscalculation on my part," he said, turning to Mahito and smiling faintly. "But the information we have on Sukuna is still insufficient. We need to continue probing him."
"Mahito," Geto's tone was gentle and humble, yet his eyes were proud. "Could I trouble you to do the next probe?"
With a snap, Mahito closed the book in his hands. The blue-haired young man smiled, but as the smile spread, his delicate features began to twist unnaturally.
"You should have let me go sooner, shouldn't you?" he licked his lips. "Being able to get close to Sukuna… this could make things very interesting."
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100 power stones= 1 Bonus Chapter
23 advance chapters available on {P@treon/Zynos}