The gloom vanished in an instant, and sunlight flooded the area as though spring had arrived early.
"Hooray!"
Gojo Satoru perked up as if resurrected with full health!
"I knew Kama-chan is the best!"
He let out a cheer before switching off the phone he was using to play the tragic melody, and immediately moved on to the next phase, starting his introduction with overflowing enthusiasm.
"Now then, Kama-chan, come, come, come—pick a sparring partner you like!"
He warmheartedly began to pitch the three second-year "products" one by one.
"This is Maki," Gojo pointed at Zen'in Maki. "A close-combat expert, her taijutsu is su—per powerful!"
Zen'in Maki pushed up her glasses and remained silent, merely giving Kama a slight nod as a greeting. Her eyes behind the lenses sized up Kama with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.
"This is Panda. Don't let his cute looks fool you, his strength is quite something!"
Panda immediately puffed out his furry chest and gave a little wave with his paw.
Gojo's gaze landed on Inumaki Toge, who had been standing quietly to the side, his eyes shining as he watched Kama. A brighter, more mischievous smile appeared on Gojo's face.
Then, before Inumaki Toge could react, Gojo suddenly moved.
With lightning speed, he thrust his hands under Inumaki Toge's armpits, hoisting him up like a small child with a "heave-ho," then spun around and "delivered" the utterly bewildered Inumaki Toge directly in front of Kama.
Inumaki Toge: "?!"
His feet left the ground, and he froze in Gojo's grip. His purple eyes were wide and round, and his mouth hung slightly open, clearly not having grasped the situation yet.
"And this one—" Gojo's voice came from behind Inumaki Toge, full of pride and ostentation, "is student Inumaki Toge! He possesses a very rare and powerful Cursed Speech technique! However, due to the restrictions of the technique, he can normally only speak using names of onigiri fillings. Su—per cute, right!"
Held up to face Kama, Inumaki Toge finally came to his senses. He looked at that excessively delicate face just inches away. His own reddened face was reflected in her rose-red eyes.
He blinked and somewhat awkwardly raised a hand, giving a tiny wave.
"Kom... Kombu."
Kama's gaze fell on the lower half of his face, where strange markings were faintly visible, and her eyes narrowed.
"Because of the backlash of the Kotodama, you can't speak freely?"
Inumaki Toge was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
"Salmon."
Kama gave an "oh" and said nothing more.
Only then did Gojo set Inumaki Toge down, poking his head out from behind him and looking at Kama with a grin.
"So—Kama-chan, do you have a target for the duel? Pick whoever you want! Don't be shy!"
Kama's gaze swept over everyone present.
She then let out a soft sigh.
"Whichever," she said, "it's the same no matter who it is."
Her voice was airy, yet it was heard clearly by everyone:
"After all, everyone is so weak."
The moment the words fell, the air solidified.
Fushiguro's lip twitched.
Itadori Yuji blinked and whispered: "Weak... is she talking about us?"
Zen'in Maki stepped out silently.
At some point, a tachi had already appeared in her hand.
"Hey, newcomer."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself."
With a flick of her wrist, the tip of the blade pointed diagonally at the ground. She looked up, meeting Kama's eyes through her lenses.
"I'll be your opponent."
It wasn't a request, more like a declaration.
Kama looked at her, and finally, a different emotion appeared in her rose-red eyes, rippling like very shallow waves. The curve of her smile deepened ever so slightly.
"Okay."
It was a light, cheerful response.
Everyone retreated to the edge of the playground, leaving enough space for the two of them.
Kugisaki Nobara crossed her arms, furrowing her brows. "Do you think Maki-senpai would lose?"
Panda was optimistic: "Nah, Maki is very strong! She'd win!"
Fushiguro's gaze followed the slightly petite figure:
"But I always get the feeling that Kama... isn't simple."
Inumaki Toge nodded: "Salmon Roe."
Gojo had slipped behind the crowd at some point. He rubbed his chin with an expression of someone watching a good show:
"Oh boy, it's starting~"
In the center.
Zen'in Maki gripped the tachi in her hand, carving an arc in front of her. The blade reflected a cold light under the sun.
"I won't go easy on you," Maki said. "You should do the same."
"Let me see your strength."
With that, she exerted force through her feet, rushing toward Kama like an arrow leaving a string! Her speed was incredibly fast, closing the distance between them in an instant.
The tachi cut through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound!
Almost at the same moment she moved, Kama raised one hand: "Though I don't have much motivation."
She spread the five fingers of her right hand, palm up, and casually extended it forward.
A pinkish-purple light emerged out of thin air from her palm, rapidly stretching and condensing. When the light faded, a strange longbow, seemingly forged of glaze and light, was already in her hand.
The bow's limbs were smooth and elegant, curving slightly upward at the ends with delicate lotus-bud carvings. The bowstring was a nearly invisible fine line shimmering with light.
She looked at the approaching Zen'in Maki, raised the bow, and drew the string.
Wong—
A clear, resonant hum rang through the air.
A flower arrow materialized.
She spoke. Her voice carried a hint of lazy, nonchalant amusement.
"Do you want it that badly?"
"Heh," she gave a light laugh, "then I'll show you something impressive, okay?"
Zen'in Maki's pupils shrank, but her slashing motion didn't falter for a second; instead, it became even more fierce! The blade broke through the air, already above Kama's head!
In that very split second—
The finger Kama used to hook the bowstring released.
The arrow turned into a thin pink line of light and shot out.
The target was not Zen'in Maki herself. It merely grazed her left ear, flying past by a hair's breadth.
Maki's offensive halted right then and there.
It wasn't that she wanted to do so of course. Rather, a sudden, terrifying sense of overwhelming pressure made her unable to move.
It wasn't a kind of physical restraint. It was the fear of ultimate danger originating from biological instinct, seizing her entire body in an instant.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't think.
Everything in her vision lost its color, leaving only the burning trail left by that pink light on her retina.
Time felt as though it were stretched out infinitely. Yet, it also seemed to pass in a flash.
Then—
"BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
An indescribable explosion erupted violently!
The ground shook violently!
A blinding light burst forth! Within the light, one could vaguely see countless intricate, gorgeous, and layered phantoms of giant flower petals rotating, stretching, and blooming!
It was a lotus.
The moment the petals stretched out, a terrifying shockwave swept out in a circular pattern toward all directions!
Zen'in Maki, being the closest, bore the brunt of it. Though that destructive energy wasn't aimed at her, just the slight taste of the aftershock sent her flying backward uncontrollably!
"Ugh!"
She managed to adjust her posture in mid-air, but still stumbled seven or eight steps upon landing before using the tachi to firmly brace against the ground to steady herself. A metallic tang rose in her throat, which she forcibly swallowed back down.
Only then did that pink lotus, which occupied everyone's vision, begin to slowly dissipate. Light particles began to peel off from the edges of the petals, drifting upward, merging into the air, and vanishing.
As it faded, the scene at the center slowly came into focus.
Maki looked up, her pupils shrinking.
In the distance, a giant crater at least ten meters in diameter was now blotting the horizon. The edges of the crater were as smooth as a mirror, and deep inside, one could even see traces of melted rock.
A drop of cold sweat slid down her cheek. Only now did she realize that her back was completely soaked.
She glanced sideways at Kama, who was slowly lowering the hand that had been on the string, wearing a smile.
Maki's heart sank heavily at the sight.
She was truly strong. This feeling of being unable to resist was something Maki had never experienced before.
Even when facing the Special Grade jujutsu sorcerer Geto Suguru back then, she at least had the thought of "I can put up a fight."
But facing Kama...
Maki gripped the hilt of her sword until her knuckles turned white.