Akira Zenin silently recited to himself:
"Piercing Ox."
Power flooded his body, and he charged straight at Suguru Geto.
Under the effects of Piercing Ox, a technique where damage increases with the length of a straight-line charge, the threat carried by Akira Zenin's direct punch grew more intense with every step.
"Rainbow Dragon!"
A white, dragon-shaped cursed spirit appeared, clamping Suguru Geto within its jaws to shield him, only to be smashed flat and sent tumbling across the training field, rolling all the way to the far end.
When Rainbow Dragon finally stopped, a slightly dizzy Suguru Geto crawled out of its mouth. His eyes widened in shock as he saw a deep fist imprint left in its body.
"This is Rainbow Dragon. It's supposed to have the highest durability."
Seeing Rainbow Dragon look up at him with watery, aggrieved eyes, Suguru Geto stood up and immediately recalled it.
"You're a shikigami-type sorcerer? Don't tell me Satoru's messing with me, trying to watch me get beaten up at close range."
Akira Zenin withdrew Piercing Ox from his body and scratched his head.
"Ah, sorry. I forgot we were supposed to use shikigami for sparring. I acted on instinct and tried to end it quickly."
He lowered himself into a half-crouch and began activating his technique.
To use the [Ten Shadows Technique], three steps are normally required.
So what would happen if he only formed the hand seals and projected the shadow, without calling out the shikigami's name?
The result was a partial summoning. The shikigami manifested as an irregular, jagged shadow.
This prevented the shikigami from being completely destroyed, but without consciousness, it couldn't act on its own. Its offensive power was also reduced, something that could only be compensated for with an enormous output of cursed energy.
Fortunately, cursed energy was the one thing Akira Zenin never lacked.
He formed a hand seal, and under the sunlight, its shadow took the shape of a [Great Serpent].
Using the shadow of the hand seal as an anchor, five massive shadow serpents emerged beneath Akira Zenin. He submerged his consciousness into them, using two to guard his physical body while the remaining three lunged toward Suguru Geto.
Suguru Geto's eyes lit up at the sight. He summoned two sandworms, sending them into the fray alongside a dense swarm of green centipedes to clash with the shadow serpents.
During the entanglement, Suguru Geto noticed that the shadow serpents coordinated with uncanny precision, as though they shared a single mind. Only when cursed spirits drew close to Akira Zenin's body did their movements falter slightly.
'Is their attack rhythm breaking because he has to redirect them to protect his main body?'
Suguru Geto suddenly forced his eyes wide open.
'No. The tails of those shadow serpents have never left his shadow. And his body has stayed in that same weak state the whole time.
He's controlling the shikigami directly with his consciousness.'
The moment he realized this, Suguru Geto changed tactics. He shaped his hand like a gun and fired several blue squid cursed spirits as bullets toward Akira Zenin's physical body.
Just as expected, the three shadow serpents at the front visibly stuttered, while the two behind them moved nimbly, blocking every cursed spirit projectile.
'If his consciousness isn't inside his body, then no matter how strong his close combat is, he can't use it properly.'
Suguru Geto had Rainbow Dragon intercept the now-disjointed shadow serpents and threw a punch straight at Akira Zenin's body. To his surprise, Akira Zenin instantly recalled the shadow serpents. Suguru Geto's fist stopped just short of Akira Zenin's face. He flicked his arm, which had cramped slightly from pulling his strength back too abruptly.
Akira Zenin blinked a few times, looking faintly sleepy.
"Impressive. You noticed that so quickly?"
Suguru Geto recalled the cursed spirits scattered across the training ground.
"You trust me that much? Canceling a technique so abruptly is dangerous."
Akira Zenin shrugged, expression calm, and withdrew the Piercing Ox shadow that had been on the verge of a partial summoning.
"It was just a spar, anyway. Besides, you wouldn't keep attacking. Just looking at your face, you seem like a pretty gentle person."
Suguru Geto smiled and shook his head.
"Then let me properly introduce myself. I'm Suguru Geto. Just call me Geto."
Akira Zenin returned the smile.
"Now that I think about it, as long as it doesn't cut into my rest, Jujutsu High might actually be kind of interesting. I'm Akira Zenin. Call me whatever."
Satoru Gojo suddenly popped up beside them and coughed loudly a few times.
Suguru Geto laughed.
"Gojo, are you disappointed we didn't actually go all out?"
Satoru Gojo shot him a look and pointed behind him.
Following his gesture, Suguru Geto and Akira Zenin saw Masamichi Yaga standing there, staring at the damaged field with barely contained fury.
Masamichi Yaga raised both hands.
"No fighting on school grounds!"
Bang!
Suguru Geto dropped into a crouch, clutching his head where a bright red bump had formed. Akira Zenin, pushed by Masamichi Yaga's force, also ended up squatting on the ground.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
Satoru Gojo clutched his stomach and laughed wildly. It was his first time watching someone else get lectured up close.
Bang!!
Satoru Gojo clutched his own head and slowly crouched down.
"You think I don't know you? If these two start fighting, you're definitely the one egging them on."
Masamichi Yaga glanced at the person squatting on the ground who looked moments away from falling asleep.
"Ahem. Akira Zenin, right? Come with me."
Masamichi Yaga led Akira Zenin to a black wooden door. When he pushed it open, a spacious room was revealed inside.
The floor was spotless. Masamichi Yaga walked over to a pile of plush dolls, sat down among them, and began observing Akira Zenin.
Satoru Gojo, who had secretly followed along, suddenly raised his hand and shouted,
"Sensei~ your cursed corpse dolls are still just as ugly~"
Masamichi Yaga took a moment to suppress the vein twitching on his forehead.
"They don't need to be cute. Appearance itself is one way to collect cursed energy."
After that, he ignored Satoru Gojo entirely and continued studying Akira Zenin.
'Looks like he didn't rest well. Did he sacrifice sleep for entertainment? Still, his physical condition is good. Maybe he trains hard at night. He might actually be normal.'
"Why did you come here?"
Akira Zenin pointed at the white-haired man beside him.
"He dragged me here."
Satoru Gojo immediately raised his hand high.
"Teacher~ he's telling the truth."
Masamichi Yaga covered his face.
"Shut up."
He looked back at Akira Zenin.
"Then let me put it another way. What do you want to do here?"
Akira Zenin looked genuinely lost.
"I don't know."
Masamichi Yaga subconsciously rested his hand on a triceratops plush. The doll seemed to understand, standing up and eyeing Akira Zenin with eager intent.
He kept reminding himself inwardly, over and over: 'This is the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows. This is the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows…'
"Then let me ask you this. Why do you want to exorcise curses?"
"Hmm. No matter the grade, they're all noisy. And the taste is especially disgusting."
"Taste?"
Masamichi Yaga sounded puzzled. Satoru Gojo, meanwhile, stared at Akira Zenin with eyes sparkling in curiosity.
"Like rotting organs mixed with intestines packed full of excrement."
With his curiosity satisfied, Satoru Gojo fell into thought.
Masamichi Yaga didn't ask how Akira Zenin knew that.
Akira Zenin wasn't going to mention it either. He wasn't about to explain how, out of curiosity, he had once attached [Divine Dogs] to himself and taken a bite out of a curse. The taste had made him unable to eat for two days. If not for his personal guarantee, the attendant at the time probably would have been "humanely dealt with."
"Then one last question," Masamichi Yaga said. "If you and your companions were facing a life-or-death crisis, would you risk your life to protect them, or abandon them and survive alone?"
Akira Zenin answered without a second of hesitation.
"I'd pull my companions in front of me. No, I mean, I'd definitely go protect them. Of course, that's assuming the crisis is something I can handle easily."
'If you can handle it easily, does it even count as a life-or-death crisis?'
Masamichi Yaga had no desire to keep asking questions. He rubbed his throbbing temples.
"Alright, alright. Gojo, take him to see the dorms."