A/N: I wasn't able to upload yesterday because I was really busy and had other things to do.
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Silly author note: BREAKING NEWS: Gojo Reporting Live, "Yes, the local bum with Heavenly Restriction is still refusing to pay child support. He has Impressive reflexes though."
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The Tokyo squad was lined up at the main gate like they were waiting for a parade.
Maki stood at the front, arms crossed, the Dragon-Slayer's Hilt clipped to her belt. The thing thing was radiating some kind of Aura even when inactive, a constant reminder that she was packing something special.
Panda was next to her, stretching his massive arms. Toge sat on a nearby bench, rice ball in hand, looking bored. Megumi leaned against a tree, trying to summon exactly zero Mahoragas today.
Nobara was completely ignoring all of them. She was too busy checking her reflection in the Porsche's side mirror, adjusting her hair, fixing her collar, checking her hair again.
"You look fine," Yuji said.
"I'm not checking for 'fine.' I'm checking for 'flawless.' There's a difference."
Junpei stood next to Yuji, looking nervous. "Is it always like this?"
"First time for me too, honestly."
"They're here," Megumi muttered.
A beat-up green bus came crawling up the road. It looked like it had survived multiple wars and one really aggressive pothole. The doors hissed open with the sound of dying machinery.
The Kyoto students stepped out like they owned the place.
Mai Zenin was first.
Her eyes scanned the Tokyo group with practiced disdain, and then locked onto Maki. Specifically, onto the hilt at Maki's belt.
The Dragon-Slayer's Hilt. Even without a blade, the pressure of a Special Grade tool was unmistakable. It radiated importance.
Mai's face went pale. Then red. Then purple with barely contained rage.
"A Special Grade tool?" Her voice was shrill. "How did a failure like you get your hands on that? Who did you steal it from?"
Maki didn't even look at her. Just adjusted her glasses.
"I didn't steal it. It was a gift for actually working hard." Pause. "You should try it sometime, Mai."
Mai's eye twitched. "You..."
"Enough."
Gakuganji stepped off the bus, cane tapping the ground. Old. Wrinkled. Looking like one strong wind would send bro to Jesus. Behind him came Noritoshi Kamo, Gakuganji who immediately spotted Yuji and froze.
"He's alive," Kamo whispered. His hand twitched toward his blood bags.
Then Gakuganji's eyes swept the Tokyo group. They landed on Shinra, leaning against the GT3 RS in his Akatsuki cloak, looking like he'd just stepped out of a very expensive Forbes magazine.
"A student with a luxury car?" Gakuganji's voice was like gravel being crushed. "Gojo, your lack of discipline is a stain on this school."
Gojo, sitting on a fence eating mochi, waved. "Thanks, Grandpa! Hate you too!"
Gakuganji's eye twitched.
Then the bus groaned again.
Aoi Todo stepped off.
Massive. Built like a tank. Dressed like he was about to go clubbing after the event. He ignored the teachers completely. Walked straight past Megumi. Past Yuji. Past everyone.
He stopped in front of Shinra, the new guy.
"I am Aoi Todo." His voice was deep, serious. "And before I decide if you're worth my time... I have a question. Answer honestly, or I'll crush that car into a cube."
The silence was deafening.
Nobara stopped fixing her hair. Maki actually looked up. Even Gojo stopped chewing.
Shinra pushed off the car. Stood tall.
"Go ahead."
Todo leaned in.
"What kind of woman is your type?"
Nobody breathed. ( with the sole exception of Satoru Gojo OFC ).
Shinra looked at him. At the absolute seriousness in his eyes. At the guy who was ready to throw hands over a preference question.
He smiled.
"My type? Hmm." He scratched his chin. "I'll tell you when the match starts."
Todo's eyes narrowed.
Then he threw a punch.
Fast. Heavy. Aimed at Shinra's chest.
Shinra sidestepped, barely, because Todo was fast, and sent a gut punch right back. Just a normal punch. No Haki, no CE reinforcement, just pure physical.
Todo skidded back five feet, eyes wide.
Then he grinned.
"OKAY, OKAY! Enough you two!" Gojo clapped his hands, appearing between them. "Save it for the event! We have rules!"
Todo laughed.
"I like you," he said to Shinra. "We're fighting later. No excuses."
"Wouldn't miss it."
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=Thirty Minutes Later: Kyoto Prep Room=
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The Kyoto students were gathered in a private room. No Tokyo ears. No Gojo. Just them and Gakuganji.
The old principal stood at the front, cane tapping.
"The mission is simple. Kill Yuji Itadori."
Silence.
Kamo nodded slowly. "He's a cursed object. It's the right call."
Momo crossed her arms. "That pink-haired guy? Fine by me."
Mai grinned. "Finally, something fun."
Miwa looked less sure. "I... I mean, if it's an order..."
Gakuganji's eyes swept the room. "Itadori is not a person. He is a vessel for Sukuna. A weapon that could turn on us at any moment. Exorcising him is the only logical choice."
He looked at Todo.
Todo was leaning against the wall, eyes closed.
"Todo. You understand?"
Todo opened one eye.
"I understand that you're all wasting time." He pushed off the wall. "I don't care about your politics. I'm here to fight the guy in the cloak. Do whatever you want with the pink one."
He walked out.
Gakuganji's jaw tightened. But he said nothing.
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=The Match Begins=
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The forest loomed ahead. Massive. Dark. Full of curses and opportunities.
"The game is simple," Gojo announced, standing in front of both teams. "Exorcise the Grade 2 Curse in the forest. First team to do it wins." He grinned. "Or just beat the hell out of each other. I'm not picky!"
The barrier went up.
The match started.
Tokyo scattered immediately. Yuji ran straight ahead, loud, obvious, the perfect decoy. Shinra flowed behind him, EMS inactive but ready.
They made it maybe two minutes before Todo appeared.
He dropped from a tree like a meteor, landing right in their path.
"Cloak guy. You promised me an answer."
Yuji stepped up. "If you want him, you gotta go through..."
"Move, pink head. I'm not here for you."
Shinra put a hand on Yuji's shoulder. "It's fine. Go. I'll catch up."
Yuji hesitated. Then nodded. Ran past Todo into the forest.
Todo watched him go, then turned back to Shinra.
"Now. Your type."
Before Shinra could answer, the trees exploded.
Kamo dropped from above, blood arrows already forming. Mai landed to the left, gun trained on Yuji's retreating form. Momo hovered on her broom, ready to intercept. Miwa stood nervously at the edge, katana drawn. And in the distance, Mechamaru's frame loomed.
The whole Kyoto team.
Yuji stopped running. Turned around.
"Really? All of you?"
"Nothing personal," Kamo said calmly. "Orders."
Shinra's eyes shifted. Three tomoe. Spin. Lock.
EMS active.
"Tokyo!" he called out. "We've got company!"
The response was instant.
Maki blurred out of the trees, Dragon-Slayer's Hilt already radiating Aura. She landed in front of Mai, blocking her shot.
"Going somewhere, sister?"
Mai's face twisted. "You..."
Nobara dropped from a branch, hammer ready. "Who's the flying chick? I call dibs."
Momo sneered. "You think you can handle me, country girl?"
"Guess we'll find out."
Panda crashed through the undergrowth, landing next to Kamo. "HELLO! I AM PANDA! YOU MUST BE THE GUY WITH THE BLOOD THING!"
Kamo's eye twitched. "I'm not a 'guy with the blood thing.'"
"THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT A GUY WITH A BLOOD THING WOULD SAY!"
Megumi emerged silently, shadows gathering. His eyes locked on Mechamaru's distant frame.
"Leave the robot to me."
Inumaki appeared next to Miwa, tilting his head.
"Tuna."
Miwa squeaked. "I... I don't know what that means!"
"BONITO FLAKES."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP!"
Junpei stood at the edge, watching the chaos unfold. He looked at Yuji.
"What do we do?"
Yuji...
"Actually I.. Um I don't know myself."
"I guess let's stay here and watch the match between shinra and that tank."
Todo was already walking toward Shinra, cracking his knuckles.
"Finally. A real opponent."
Shinra smiled.
"Let's dance."
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The forest erupted into chaos.
Six battles. Six matchups. One forest about to get absolutely destroyed.
And in the middle of it all, two fighters circled each other, waiting for the first move.
Todo vs. Shinra.
The Goodwill Event just got interesting.
[END CHAPTER 16]
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Author's Note: A Brief Power Scaling Interlude (Or, "Why Kyoto Student's are About to Have a Bad Time + hanami")
So, by now, you're probably wondering: Just how strong is this absolute gremlin of a protagonist we're following?
Let's put it in terms the a Jujutsu no lifer would understand: Sukuna Fingers.
Imagine for a moment that power in JJK is measured like the Scoville scale for hot sauce. Most sorcerers are like a mild jalapeño, they'll spice up your day, sure. Guys like Nanami are habaneros. Gojo is a Carolina Reaper that gained sentience and started judging your life choices. And Shinra is a Ghost Pepper.
Here's the breakdown of what kenjaku really doesn't want to hear:
The Baseline: 11.5 Fingers (Give or Take a Toe)
Here's why.
The Yuji Package: He has the physical capabilities of Itadori Yuji. You know he was punching concrete into dust after like, a week on the job? Ye, basically heavenly restriction lite...
The bumta Special: He's packing Yuta levels of Cursed Energy. For those keeping score at home, Yuta has "literally second only to sukuna" amounts of juice. That means our protagonist can afford to be wasteful. He's the guy leaving all the lights on in the house because he won the lottery... Well technically he did. He can reinforce his already ridiculous body into a walking tank.
The Sharingan Tax Evasion: The EMS Sharingan. This is cheating and he knows it. He sees your attack before you think it. He sees the exact pixel frame where you're off-balance. He watches your technique and goes "Cool Slow mo." It's like fighting someone who read the script, directed the movie, and is now heckling your performance.
The Haki Glaze: Armament Haki. Invisible armor. Imagine trying to cut a diamond with a butter knife. That's your cursed technique against his skin now.
The Black Flash: He can hit Black Flash. Not on will yet, but still he has EMS which allows him to use black flash of a 50% chance.
Put all that together, and what do you get?
If Fraudkuna at 20 fingers is the final boss of reality, our protagonist is sitting pretty at 11.5 fingers.
Vs. Most Grade 1 Sorcerers? Imagine a toddler trying to fight an MMA fighter. That's this matchup.
With all that said I hope you got an understanding of how OP shinra is at this point in the story, See y'all in the next one, peace.
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A/N: Btw if you want to support me for my work and read some advanced chapters then check out my Patreon, then link's in synopsis.