Chapter 56: Tokyo Jujutsu High School
"It's rare for Hachiman to want to visit our Jujutsu High.
If you agree to enroll, you can immediately become a second-year student at Jujutsu High, and you'll get a custom-made uniform."
"I told you, I just want to borrow some books."
Hikigaya Hachiman received quite a lot of things from Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, many of which he didn't recognize at all.
This included Cursed Tools, ancient books, precious medicines (whether they had expired or not was unknown), and even methods of technique inheritance, all items dating back over a thousand years from the Fujiwara family.
Although Hikigaya Hachiman was an amateur, he felt that the contents of the ring were immensely valuable, enough to quickly arm a large force.
The Fujiwara family a thousand years ago was truly wealthy.
No wonder the current Fujiwara family wanted to dissociate itself from the Fujiwara family of a thousand years ago. When a family is strong, wealth is inconsequential, but in decline, wealth attracts covetous eyes.
However, this gift from their ancestor has now completely fallen into Hikigaya Hachiman's hands.
Here's the thing: Fujiwara no Yoshifusa only delivered the items, but Hikigaya Hachiman, as the recipient, had many things to consider.
The first thing to do was determine the value.
Tokyo Jujutsu High is one of the only two schools in Japan that trains Jujutsu Sorcerers. It superficially resembles a religious school but is actually the cradle of sorcerers. Many sorcerers continue to use Jujutsu High as a base of operations even after graduation.
Hikigaya Hachiman was going there because Jujutsu High possesses many classical documents passed down from a thousand years ago.
Most of the books were donated by ancient temples, old organizations, and the Big Three Families, resulting in a considerably rich collection.
It was an excellent place for Hikigaya Hachiman to look up information.
The Kamo family's main residence is in Kyoto. Even though Hikigaya Hachiman has a good relationship with the Kamo family, distant water cannot quench a nearby thirst.
So, the plan was to visit Tokyo Jujutsu High first and gather a large amount of intelligence.
Hikigaya Hachiman planned to spend one night in the Jujutsu High library; he had to rush back to school the next morning.
Today's schedule was already a bit overrun, but Hikigaya Hachiman has always pursued efficiency, so he was currently riding in the dedicated vehicle back to Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Even while seated in the car, Gojo Satoru didn't forget to promote Hikigaya Hachiman, though in reality, he was simply using Hikigaya Hachiman as an excuse to stop Masamichi Yaga from bothering him.
Gojo Satoru was still mentally unprepared to use [Unlimited Void] against Suguru Geto, which is why Hikigaya Hachiman saw Gojo Satoru being reprimanded so harshly by Masamichi Yaga.
"So noisy, Satoru."
Masamichi Yaga was in the passenger seat, resting his head on his hand and looking out the window.
"Old man, didn't you think the same thing? How can you say that to me?"
"With Hachiman, I can be quite at ease with him even when he's off-campus."
Masamichi Yaga corrected Gojo Satoru's mistake.
"Besides, I was suggesting he come to our school as a teacher."
Hikigaya Hachiman was absolutely qualified for the position.
Ten years ago, when Masamichi Yaga first heard that his foolish student had found a genius who could surpass him, he didn't believe it.
But then Gojo Satoru took Masamichi Yaga to observe an eight-year-old child cleanly exorcising a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit with a seemingly comical kitchen knife.
Masamichi Yaga thought it was unbelievable at the time.
Eight years old, seriously?
Could he be an old-timer who had incarnated and was living a second life?
But Gojo Satoru told him he had checked with the Six Eyes and that the child was completely natural.
After several days of close observation, Masamichi Yaga felt that Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't like a child at all, but rather a soldier with a very clear objective.
Masamichi Yaga didn't know why he thought that—an eight-year-old veteran; a rather niche concept.
Night was his hunting ground, Cursed Spirits were his prey, and his efficiency was extremely high.
No strike was redundant; every cut went straight to the vital point, demonstrating superior skill.
Masamichi Yaga clearly knew that if he engaged in a one-on-one close-quarters brawl with the boy without using Cursed Techniques, he would definitely be the one to die.
When encountering Cursed Spirits that were temporarily difficult to deal with, the boy would naturally guide them toward Masamichi Yaga and the others.
He was powerful but not reckless, understood boundaries, knew when to advance and retreat, and was very intelligent.
He possessed a maturity far exceeding that of an adult. In contrast, Gojo Satoru seemed useless except for his Six Eyes and Limitless Cursed Technique.
Masamichi Yaga even believed that if his few foolish students had half the maturity that Hikigaya Hachiman possessed at the age of eight, incidents like Suguru Geto betraying the school and becoming a wanted criminal in the Jujutsu world wouldn't have occurred.
Each one of them caused him so much worry.
Thus, the difference between Masamichi Yaga and Gojo Satoru was that Gojo Satoru only wanted Hikigaya Hachiman as a student, while Masamichi Yaga wanted Hikigaya Hachiman to be a teacher.
This was precisely the talent the Jujutsu High needed.
The driver was a man in a black suit and glasses who looked timid. This was Ijichi Kiyotaka, the Assistant Manager of Jujutsu High.
Don't let him fool you; although he looks like he's in his forties, he's only 26 years old.
Generally, Jujutsu Sorcerers have an Assistant Manager to support them.
Hikigaya Hachiman would also have one if he joined the Sorcerers Association. Currently, he only has his dedicated customer service representative, Sakiko.
Hikigaya Hachiman's impression of Masamichi Yaga was that, despite looking like an extremely fierce yakuza boss, he was a much more sincere educator than Gojo Satoru.
He had a subtle heart beneath a rugged exterior.
To Hikigaya Hachiman, compared to the trendy, heavy-metal-loving old man at Kyoto Jujutsu High, Masamichi Yaga was one of the few good people among the higher-ups of the Sorcerers Association and wouldn't make others feel uncomfortable.
Masamichi Yaga consistently dedicated himself to Jujutsu High, cultivating the fresh blood of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Hikigaya Hachiman held him in high regard, after all, Masamichi Yaga's job was training new recruits.
Since Tokyo Jujutsu High has to cover the entire Tokyo area, it is not too far from the most bustling part of Tokyo.
At the same time, to have a spacious area for Sorcerers to practice their techniques, Tokyo Jujutsu High was located in the outer suburbs of Tokyo, in a mountainous region that wasn't too remote.
It was no different from the natural resort deep in the mountains that the Shinomya and Yukinoshita families chose earlier.
Speaking of which, Hikigaya Hachiman felt a bit sorry. He knew the Yukinoshita family originally wanted to develop a mountain retreat similar to a sanatorium, a style favored by the pretentious petite bourgeoisie or middle class, surrounded by mountains and water.
But the mountains in that area were basically all destroyed by Hikigaya Hachiman, so the Yukinoshita family could only build some artificial rock gardens.
The car had already passed the large outer barrier and entered the inner area of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
The night view of Jujutsu High was quite beautiful.
Hikigaya Hachiman could see large temples, shrines, and Buddhist halls standing grandly in the mountains.
However, these were merely visual deceptions piled up using spatial Cursed Techniques. The shrine Hikigaya Hachiman saw today might not be on the same mountain tomorrow morning.
Tokyo Jujutsu High is a massive sandbox set up by an ancient Sorcerer named Tengen. The outside is separated by a large barrier, and most of the buildings Hikigaya Hachiman saw with his naked eye are puzzle-like pieces, similar to building blocks.
These are actual, existing illusions. Tengen randomly updates the map daily before informing the Tokyo Jujutsu High school authorities.
All of this is to prevent outsiders from invading.
Because Tokyo Jujutsu High is not only a place for training the new generation of Sorcerers, the school also houses a high-risk Cursed Object containment room, where many extremely troublesome Cursed Objects are kept.
The large library Hikigaya Hachiman wanted to visit did not have this restriction. Books classified as dangerous Cursed Objects were placed in the containment room long ago.
Tokyo Jujutsu High maintains a very traditional appearance, so vehicles are generally not allowed inside the campus. They had to park at a designated spot and walk up the mountain.
Masamichi Yaga was informed that Hikigaya Hachiman needed to look up some materials and did not refuse to grant him access to the Great Library.
He welcomed him but didn't forget to warn Hikigaya Hachiman about certain taboos.
"The school's curfew begins at midnight and ends at 6 a.m."
Jujutsu High doesn't have much security personnel at night, so it relies more on the defensive barriers set up by Master Tengen.
"You cannot leave the Great Library during that time.
Otherwise, Master Tengen might teleport you to any corner of the Earth, and you might also be injured by the defensive Cursed Techniques."
"Being teleported to Malaysia wouldn't be so bad, actually."
Gojo Satoru joked.
"Shut up, Satoru."
Masamichi Yaga continued to remind Hikigaya Hachiman, "If you borrow any books, just remember to return them."
"Thank you, Principal Yaga."
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded, indicating he understood.
"Sensei, we're back,"
Hikigaya Hachiman heard a voice from above. It sounded familiar—it seemed to be Principal Yaga's Panda.
As Hikigaya Hachiman and his group ascended the steps, they could see three students waiting at the entrance of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Leaning against the stone lion at the entrance was a girl with dark green hair tied in a high ponytail, looking quite spirited and heroic. However, in stark contrast to her quiet appearance, the girl was carrying a slender red-tasseled spear on her shoulder, its blade extremely sharp.
The girl's appearance was delicate, but paired with the sharp blade in her hand, she looked like someone not to be trifled with.
This was true; the girl had a straightforward temper.
Zen'in Maki, a member of the Zen'in family, one of the Big Three Families, and a first-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
The other was a boy with the same white hair as Gojo Satoru, his face deeply hidden behind the high collar of his large Jujutsu High uniform.
This was Inumaki Toge, the heir of the famous Cursed Speech family, the Inumaki clan. Due to the effects of "Cursed Speech," he only speaks in rice ball ingredients on a daily basis.
The most surprising was the bipedal, furry Panda. With its charmingly simple appearance and beautiful black and white fur, it truly looked like a living panda.
Its sturdy arms wore an armband similar to a disciplinary committee member, emblazoned with the words, "I love pandas."
But it was not a real panda; it was a Cursed Corpse puppet created by Masamichi Yaga using special methods.
However, the Panda Cursed Corpse possessed self-awareness and was no different from a human.
Hikigaya Hachiman was quite interested in consulting Masamichi Yaga about the method of Cursed Corpse manipulation. He didn't need one with self-awareness; just one that was obedient would suffice.
His newly acquired [Izanagi] Cursed Technique was, in a sense, a Cursed Corpse. Hikigaya Hachiman could summon the Sons of Horus Legion to serve him.
But when manipulating them individually, Hikigaya Hachiman clearly felt that the Sons of Horus's movements were not very agile, like those of a puppet.
This means the 2.2-meter-tall iron-clad giants were only intimidating to look at but utterly impractical.
It was the same when Fujiwara no Yoshifusa used it. Hikigaya Hachiman could feel a certain stiffness, like that of a puppet, in [Izanagi].
The opponent probably hadn't developed this ability to its maximum potential, merely using it to absorb damage and seal the enemy's Cursed Technique.
Yet, this Cursed Technique was incredibly convenient. Hikigaya Hachiman could already imagine using the Sons of Horus for many tasks.
Reconnaissance, tactical decapitation, ship boarding, fire support, and even employing them as servants would be excellent.
However, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, as an all-powerful regent, had countless servants and no shortage of people willing to die for him.
He had no need to personally step into the fray.
Asking Masamichi Yaga about Cursed Corpses would have to wait. Hikigaya Hachiman didn't feel comfortable asking him late at night.
Hikigaya Hachiman figured there should be books on Cursed Corpse manipulation in the library, so he could look for them when he searched for materials later.
The two students and one Cursed Corpse standing at the school gate were the entire first-year class of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
It sounds exaggerated, but the Jujutsu Sorcerer profession has always been like this; a shortage of personnel is a reality.
There are even Sorcerers who quit and go work 996 corporate jobs.
That's why people like Hikigaya Hachiman, who actively exorcise Cursed Spirits, are so popular.
Hikigaya Hachiman's work efficiency is much higher than the Sorcerers Association's. The Sorcerers Association typically dispatches "Windows," who can see Cursed Spirits, to observe them, gather intelligence, and report it back to the association.
The Sorcerers Association then confirms the grade of the Cursed Spirit incident based on the gathered intelligence, and then considers assigning it to a Sorcerer of the appropriate grade and danger level.
Hikigaya Hachiman's process only has two steps: finding a Cursed Spirit and killing it.
Masamichi Yaga's frown, caused by Gojo Satoru's interruption, softened when he saw Panda. After all, Panda was like a child to him.
The first-year students at Jujutsu High are all instructed by Gojo Satoru; he is their instructor and homeroom teacher.
Gojo Satoru was also delighted to see his dear students. He quickly walked past Hikigaya Hachiman and Masamichi Yaga to the front of the gate.
"What's wrong? Why are you not back in the dorms this late?"
Gojo Satoru said with a smile.
"I see, you're here at the school gate to welcome me, aren't you?
Sensei is very touched."
"Who came to welcome you, idiot Sensei?"
Zen'in Maki scoffed unhappily and retorted without hesitation.
"You have too much self-awareness."
"Now, now, Maki."
Panda always acted as the peacemaker. He was big but very gentle.
"Maki means that since the Sensei went out, the school's safety is naturally maintained by us students.
Besides, it's impossible to sleep after sensing such terrifying Cursed Energy."
Panda complained.
Panda had never encountered such terrifying Cursed Spirit fluctuations before, like the one from the previous Cursed Spirit.
It scared the bear half to death; they thought it was the end of the world.
Inumaki Toge agreed.
"Salmon."
It was evident from the students' reactions that they had virtually no respect for Gojo Satoru as a teacher.
But this was normal. Hikigaya Hachiman also found it hard to believe that Gojo Satoru would stand at a podium teaching and nurturing people.
Hikigaya Hachiman felt that Gojo Satoru was very similar to Secretary Fujiwara—volatile, and his actions were so unpredictable.
"Oh, right, right."
Gojo Satoru slapped his forehead, almost forgetting.
"Guess who's here today?"
Hikigaya Hachiman's usual aura of pressure was also toned down due to entering the Spiritual Energy shutdown state, so his presence wasn't so strong.
"That terrifyingly massive Cursed Spirit just now was resolved by him alone."
"Huh?"
So it wasn't the idiot teacher who did it.
Zen'in Maki found it hard to believe that such a terrifying Cursed Spirit had been resolved single-handedly by one person.
The Cursed Energy released by that thing was so intense that the glasses Maki wore, which could observe Cursed Spirits, had shattered.
"Good evening, everyone."
Hikigaya Hachiman waved, greeting the first-year students of Jujutsu High.
"Eh! Why did Principal Yaga bring Hachiman-senpai?"
The first to speak was the talkative Panda. He calls his father by his first name.
Hikigaya Hachiman is a second-year at Shuchiin Academy, so it's fine for the first-years at Jujutsu High to call him "senpai" since he is indeed one year older than them.
"Hachiman-sensei!"
It was Zen'in Maki who used the title "Hachiman-sensei."
"Mentaiko!"
Inumaki Toge responded in his usual rice ball flavor.
Zen'in Maki's eyes widened when she saw "Hachiman-sensei" beside Principal Yaga, clearly quite surprised to see him this late.
Gojo Satoru was extremely jealous that his students used honorifics for Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Why is it 'Sensei' for Hachiman, and 'Idiot Sensei' for me?"
Zen'in Maki didn't even want to bother with the idiot Gojo Satoru. Didn't he ever think about whether he acted like a teacher on a daily basis?
"Mmm, Maki."
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded to Zen'in Maki.
He and Zen'in Maki were old acquaintances.
When Gojo Satoru had Hikigaya Hachiman mentor Fushiguro Megumi, it was a "buy one, get one free" deal, and he threw Maki in as well.
Gojo Satoru saw the look on his students' faces and, having an idea, said with a smile,
"Hachiman-kun is heading to the Great Library. I wonder if any student can help show him the way?"
"I'll do it!"
Zen'in Maki raised her hand first, but suddenly realized that the teachers and her classmates were all staring at her.
Stubbornly, she shot back a defiant look.
"What? It's perfectly normal for me to show Hachiman-sensei the way when he rarely visits Jujutsu High, isn't it?"
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