"Of course, even though we've got one more person, to keep the advantage, you'll still need to take someone out, Junpei—no slacking."
Maki turned her head toward Junpei.
Junpei exhaled slowly.
He'd already steeled himself mentally.
After all, Maki's ten-day crash course hadn't been for nothing.
"If the girl with the broom really can fly, leave her to me."
His Yotsuduki had recently learned to turn invisible; the pale-blue film could cloak him in chameleon-like camouflage, and with poison added, a sneak attack should finish one opponent.
If they truly meant to kill Itadori, he'd just lie in wait—no need to chase; they'd come to him.
Maki nodded. "Good. After you drop one, go hunt Grade 2 and lower Curses in the area."
He'd only just become a Jujutsu Sorcerer; one kill would already be stellar. After that, farming Curses for points was safer.
She turned next to Inumaki Toge.
"Toge, you go for the Grade 2 target this time. Exorcise the final designated Curse, and the match ends early—they'll never get the chance to touch Yuji."
Inumaki gave a thumbs-up. "Salmon." (Got it.)
So it's all one-on-one now, huh… Fushiguro spoke up: "Then Kamo-senpai is mine."
Kamo-senpai was from the Big Three Families and a semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer; he couldn't leave an opponent like that to Maki-senpai.
With Toad at his side, he was effectively semi-Grade 1 himself; this was his responsibility.
He glanced back at Junpei. "Don't stress—if you can't take Nishimiya-senpai, my Nue can fly; I'll stall both of them."
Junpei nodded gratefully, yet the vow to finish his own opponent burned even hotter.
"Huh?" Panda scratched his chin. "Then… I'll take the robot called Mechamaru?"
Both non-human—plenty to bond over.
"Hah…" Maki sighed. "Don't like it, but Mai's mine—old rivals, after all."
Even if she didn't seek Mai out, her darling little sister would come hunting her.
"Ehh?" Nobara, last to claim a target, racked her brain.
"So I'm left with the blue-haired girl? Kasumi Miwa, right?"
That blue-haired girl uses a sword, doesn't she?
"Ugh—she's the same type as Maki-nee, a Cursed Tool user?"
—But definitely not as strong as Maki-nee!
..."Told you—you're nowhere near Maki-nee~"
A constant stream of nails drove Miwa ever farther from the battlefield.
Nobara slung her hammer across her shoulder, a taunting grin curling her lips.
"Looks like we're a bad match, huh~"
She casually tossed a long nail into the air and caught it.
She fought mid-range; Miwa was close-quarters—passive counter-attack style once you stepped in.
Thanks to Maki-nee's training, handling Miwa would be child's play.
"Tch—this just became me beating you up for free."
Mockery glinted in her eyes as she stared Miwa down.
Hostility radiated off her—Miwa felt it at once.
Was this her nature or… Miwa's heart lurched—had they already guessed the plan to kill Itadori?
Sure enough, the girl across from her spoke.
"Want to kill our Itadori? …Better be sure you can. Did you think people from Tokyo are easy targets?"
Miwa's resolve wavered slightly.
They were in the wrong, and she personally hated fighting—especially fellow Jujutsu students.
"I'm sorry about Itadori-kun. I never wanted to kill him."
"Oh?" Nobara tilted her head, brow arched in perfect villainess fashion. "So the old principal on your side gave the order?"
"Too bad. Even if you don't want to, you'll still obey, right? You think saying that earns my forgiveness?"
Miwa exhaled.
The other girl's protectiveness toward Itadori was unmistakable.
Hard to reconcile with how everyone said he was the vessel of the legendary Special Grade Curse Sukuna.
A question suddenly intrigued her.
Tokyo's outright shield-it-with-our-lives strategy… How could they trust the vessel of a dangerous Special Grade Curse so completely?
Now wasn't the time; her hand closed around her sword hilt.
Nobara fought at range—she couldn't use her best Simple Domain. Even if she did, one incoming nail would break the auto-counter.
As Nobara said, their styles clashed horribly.
Which meant she had to close the distance—ugh, she hated fighting like that!!
...Once his teammates had lured all opponents away, Yuji charged Todo with a flurry of strikes.
He didn't use Sukuna's Cleave; the whole event was live-streamed, and he didn't need the extra trouble.
Divergent Fist's delayed impact slammed into Todo with a second jolt of Cursed Energy.
He had to pin Todo down—couldn't let him go after Maki-senpai or the others.
"Tch, not bad—your lineup's pretty solid," Todo said, blocking.
Should've nabbed that sudden Cursed Speech user when he had the chance; the guy would only get in his way later.
"Che! And you call me 'dearest friend'? Didn't think you'd actually try to kill me!"
Yuji shot back, equally annoyed.
When Todo first showed up alone, he'd almost believed they weren't after his life.
Then the rest surrounded him, bloodlust bare—his heart sank.
Come on—he and Sukuna were working their butts off collecting fingers! Couldn't they wait until they were done, like Gojo-sensei said, before killing him?
"They're them—I've got zero interest in that crap!"
Todo's grin was as wild as ever.
He only wanted a straight fight with Itadori Yuji; couldn't care less about murdering some Curse vessel.
Yuji's movements faltered—those words rang true.
At least the guy in front of him honestly didn't want him dead.
That was… a small comfort.
Todo dropped into a stance. "Perfect—your pals cleared the field. Now you and I can really go at it!"
No one was happier about this turn of events.
He marveled at Yuji's physique: small frame, yet—Cursed Energy aside—pure strength beat his own.
Only… what a god-awful way to use Cursed Energy!
That lagging output was like dumping a cup of rat droppings onto a gourmet dish—infuriating.
After trading more punches, he finally snapped, unleashing a deafening, arena-wide roar—
"WRONG—GUH—AHHHHH!!!"
Yuji, nearly concussed by the shockwave: "...???"
Inside the Innate Domain, Sukuna, treated to full 3-D surround echo: "..."
[...I-I-I'm a-a-a b-b-bit d-d-dizzy...?]
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