Chapter 5: Though He Has No Cursed Energy, Is He Bound by Heavenly Restriction?
News spread faster than cursed spirits ever could.
"Did you hear? Gojo-sensei brought back a first year with absolutely no cursed energy!"
"No way. Did they mess up the screening?"
"They didn't mess up. Zero means zero. Cleaner than an ordinary person!"
In less than a day, rumors about the transfer student with no cursed energy had spread through all of Tokyo Jujutsu High. Even the higher ups had been alarmed.
To the old guard of the jujutsu world, having no cursed energy did not simply mean weakness.
It meant taboo.
Years ago, the man known as the Sorcerer Killer, Toji Fushiguro, had possessed no cursed energy at all. Yet that same monster had nearly overturned the balance of the entire jujutsu world by himself. To many of the old generation, that name was still a nightmare that refused to fade.
And now another one had appeared?
Worse, Satoru Gojo had personally brought him back.
That alone was enough to make a lot of people uneasy.
Under the blazing afternoon sun, the training ground of Tokyo Jujutsu High shimmered with heat.
A girl with glasses and a high ponytail was practicing with a spear.
Maki Zenin.
An outcast of the prestigious Zenin clan, and someone who herself possessed a heavily incomplete Heavenly Restriction.
Sweat slid down her sharp jawline, but the fierceness in her eyes never dimmed. Every thrust of the spear was precise, ruthless, and full of stubborn will.
"Maki-senpai! Maki-senpai!"
Panda came running from the distance, his face full of excitement and pure gossip.
"That new student is here! Over there!"
Maki stopped mid motion and turned in the direction Panda was pointing.
Sure enough, Satoru Gojo was leisurely walking across campus with a black haired boy beside him.
The boy wore a slightly loose school uniform. A pair of unusual hanafuda earrings swayed beside his face. At first glance, he looked too quiet, too gentle, almost a little dull.
This was the rumored student with no cursed energy?
Maki's brows instantly drew together.
As someone who had suffered endless discrimination within the Zenin family, she despised people who lacked the ability to stand on their own yet still relied on connections to enter places they had not earned.
Especially someone who claimed to have no cursed energy, yet was clearly receiving special treatment from Gojo.
"I'll go take a look."
Maki picked up her spear and strode over.
"Yo, Maki!"
Gojo greeted her from afar, acting completely oblivious to the gunpowder in her eyes. Or maybe he noticed and simply found it entertaining.
"Perfect timing. Let me introduce you."
"This is second year Maki Zenin."
"This is our newly enrolled first year, Yami."
Yami gave a polite nod.
"Hello, senpai."
What he got in return was a cold snort.
"Drop the act."
Maki slammed the butt of her spear onto the ground with a heavy thud.
"I heard you're an ordinary person too. No cursed energy at all."
She put extra weight on the words ordinary person, and the sharpness in her tone carried both provocation and something more bitter, something closer to self mockery.
Yami blinked, his expression as calm as ever.
"If we're talking about cursed energy, then yes."
"Then tell me," Maki said coldly, her gaze cutting across him like a blade, "what makes you think you belong at Jujutsu High?"
"This isn't some playground for pretty boys trying to pad their resume. This is a battlefield where people exorcise curses."
"If you're just planning to hide behind someone stronger and coast through, then get lost."
The tension in the air rose immediately.
Panda slapped a paw over his face.
He had known this was exactly how things would go.
Toge Inumaki stood behind him, only his eyes visible above his collar.
"Salmon."
Gojo, meanwhile, looked even more delighted than before. He had already taken out his phone and started recording.
"Oh wow, the strict senior lecture has begun."
Yami looked at the girl standing before him, fierce and bristling like a blade held permanently on edge.
But he did not get angry.
He knew Maki's past.
He understood why she was obsessed with strength.
In a world where cursed energy was treated as everything, Maki wanted to prove herself more than anyone.
"I'm not here to coast."
Yami's voice remained gentle, but this time there was a firmness beneath it.
"There are things I have to do."
"Things you have to do?"
Maki sneered. Without warning, she reached toward the weapon rack, pulled out a wooden sword, and threw it straight at him.
Thud.
Yami caught it cleanly.
"Then prove it."
Maki tightened her grip on her spear and lowered her center of gravity, slipping into a fighting stance. Her whole body tensed like a cheetah ready to spring.
"Don't say I'm bullying a first year."
"If you can survive three moves from me, I'll admit you're qualified to stay."
More and more students began to gather around them.
Even Kiyotaka Ijichi, who happened to be passing by in his car, stopped and stared at the training field with obvious nervousness.
Yami lowered his eyes to the wooden sword in his hand.
It was light.
Far lighter than the rusted iron bar from before, so light it almost felt weightless.
He casually wrapped his fingers around the hilt. His stance was loose, almost careless. Openings covered his entire body. At a glance, he looked like a complete amateur who had never held a sword before in his life.
"This guy..."
A flicker of anger flashed through Maki's eyes.
Was he looking down on her?
If that was the case, then she had no reason to hold back.
"Hah!"
Maki exploded forward with a sharp shout.
Her spear shot out like a dragon breaking through the sea, accompanied by a piercing whistle as it tore through the air and drove straight toward Yami's face.
The strike was fast.
Accurate.
Ruthless.
There was not a shred of hesitation in it.
Just as the spear tip was about to reach him, a system notification sounded quietly in Yami's mind.
[Yoriichi Tsugikuni role playing progress has increased to 2%.]
[Unlocked Ability: Total Concentration Breathing, Constant.]
In that instant, Yami's breathing changed.
"Hiss..."
A huge volume of oxygen surged into his lungs.
His blood seemed to ignite.
His body temperature rose sharply, and the heat flowing through his limbs transformed him from the inside out.
As that scorching rhythm circulated through his body, Yami's presence changed completely.
The gentle, harmless air around him vanished without a trace.
In its place was an almost suffocating composure.
It was as if a towering mountain had risen from the earth itself and planted itself directly in front of Maki.
Her heart skipped a beat.
In her eyes, Yami was no longer that quiet, slender boy.
He had become a peerless blade unsheathed.
How was that possible?
How could a newcomer with no cursed energy give off this kind of pressure?
But the arrow was already on the string.
There was no stopping now.
Maki gritted her teeth and poured all her strength into the thrust.
If he was a mountain, then she would split him apart.
The spear ripped through the air and closed the final distance.
Less than a centimeter remained between the spear tip and Yami's brow.
In the next instant, the outcome would be decided.