Inside one of the classroom buildings at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Boom!
The sounds of fighting echoed through the hallway.
"Kamo-senpai, if I remember right, the team match is supposed to be about which side exorcises the target cursed spirit first, right?"
Holding a pair of wooden twin batons, Megumi's whole body was wrapped in cursed energy as he stared warily at the opponent blocking his path.
He had been using Divine Dog and Nue to find the cursed spirit faster, but this guy suddenly appeared from somewhere and stopped him.
"That is correct. But didn't you also knock Nishimiya out of the sky? I'm just doing the same thing you did."
Noritoshi pulled several arrows from his back, then drew his bow at Megumi.
Now that the best scout on both sides had been pinned down, the rest would come down to luck.
Whichever side found the target grade 2 cursed spirit first would win.
"I see. Then you should be careful, Kamo-senpai. Don't push yourself too hard and end up anemic."
While the two spoke casually, Noritoshi fired his arrow.
Wrapped in pale blue cursed energy, it tracked Megumi no matter how he dodged, until he smashed it apart with a baton coated in his own cursed energy.
The thin trace of blood on the arrowhead was now clearly visible.
It was the Kamo clan's inherited technique, Blood Manipulation.
It let Noritoshi freely control his own blood, including anything stained with it.
"You don't need to worry about that. This is blood I prepared in advance."
Noritoshi smiled as his hand reached back. Only one arrow was left in his quiver now.
Even so, he did not hesitate. He nocked it again.
Bang!
The last arrow suddenly changed direction just before it reached Megumi. It shot into the ceiling above, raining down debris and blocking his view.
In the next moment, Noritoshi was already right in front of him.
Boom!
That fast punch slammed into the wall instead, blasting the whole section apart.
"As expected of Fushiguro-sensei's nephew. You've got the blood of the Twin Tyrants in you. You still made the right call even in that situation."
Noritoshi's right eye opened wider, and the blood seeping from it crawled up his forehead like a scar.
That strike just now used Flowing Red Scale, pushing his speed far beyond before, yet Megumi still reacted in time.
"It's not about some Twin Tyrants title. I've just been beaten by someone way faster than that."
Megumi did not think his body could compare to the two monsters at home.
Still, growing up around them meant survival itself was already training, especially when his mom was not around.
And once he got older, his dad's 'loving special training' sometimes showed up too.
"You're really good. I'm honestly happy."
Noritoshi suddenly smiled, almost relieved, then attacked again.
"Don't just start saying things like we're comrades. We're opponents right now."
Megumi blocked with his batons, confused by what his opponent was saying.
"Fushiguro-sensei always says the future belongs to the young. You're definitely going to be one of them!"
Noritoshi was clearly getting fired up.
He never thought a shikigami user could have close combat this good, but once he connected it to their teacher, it made perfect sense.
Against that teacher, he could only get beaten. This was his chance to get some revenge.
"Is that so?"
"Nue... plus Toad... Well's Unknown Abyss!"
After creating some distance, Megumi tossed his batons into the air and formed a hand sign.
"Croak!"
Several toads with white wings crawled out of his shadow. Two of them even climbed onto his body.
By expanding his technique and merging Nue with the toads, he created winged toads that carried lightning power. This combination was called Well's Unknown Abyss.
With his command, they rushed in together.
At the same time, as a shikigami user, Megumi neatly caught the batons dropping from the air and charged in alongside the toads.
'That shikigami is not in the intel...'
Facing something he did not recognize, Noritoshi did not force a direct clash. Instead, he pulled out a blood bag he had prepared and threw it forward.
"Blood Manipulation: Crimson Binding!"
The blood bag burst. The blood turned into a cage and shot straight toward Megumi and the toads.
"I knew you had that!"
The instant the blood cage was about to form, Well's Unknown Abyss melted into the shadows like mud. Megumi formed another hand sign.
He had already figured it out.
Blood Manipulation's biggest weakness was that it required the user's own blood to attack.
But for a human, unless they could use Reverse Cursed Technique, they could not keep losing blood in large amounts unless it was an emergency.
That meant only one thing.
Noritoshi had backup blood packs on him.
As long as he got rid of them, he would gain the advantage.
"Max Elephant!"
A pink elephant burst out. Its trunk fired a blast of water like a high-pressure hose, blowing the blood cage apart. The water blast followed through and slammed into Noritoshi, knocking him right off the floor and sending him flying out through the building.
"Nue!"
Megumi pushed forward, switching shikigami the moment he dismissed Max Elephant, trying to finish the fight while Noritoshi was still airborne.
"Blood Manipulation: Crimson Step!"
As Nue rushed at him, blood spilled from under Noritoshi's feet and hardened into two footholds. He stepped onto them and launched himself upward, narrowly avoiding the attack.
He could not fly, but the blood he controlled could solidify and float in the air.
"Damn it..."
With his chance gone, Megumi had no choice but to reset his stance.
But then, Satoru's voice suddenly boomed from the school speakers.
"The team match ends here. The winner is Kyoto Jujutsu High~"
Everyone still fighting froze and stopped at once.
And if we rewind to one minute earlier…
* * *
"Whoa, it's a grade 2 cursed spirit!"
After Mechamaru held Panda and Inumaki back, Miwa and Junpei became the last ones still free to move on each side. They each headed off in a different direction.
But Miwa clearly had the better luck.
Using New Shadow Style's quick-draw sword technique, she exorcised it cleanly.
Right after that, Satoru announced the result of the team match.
"The useless Miwa finally did something useful today!"
Her cheeks bright red, the girl ran excitedly toward where Mechamaru had been.
"He didn't come..."
Up in the sky, an owl with a crimson number "6" in its right eye was still circling overhead.
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