Like Tokyo Jujutsu High, Kyoto Jujutsu High was also built in the mountains far from the city, covering a vast area and hiding behind the guise of a religious school. Overall, it was rated slightly higher than Tokyo, mainly because Kyoto was said to have eight hundred shrines and three thousand temples, with an extremely strong atmosphere of faith, making Kyoto Jujutsu High blend in without any sense of discord.

  Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji fit the setting even more than Masamichi Yaga. He was a bald old man wearing traditional Japan clothing, giving off the air of an old monk, if one ignored the exaggerated four earrings and a nose ring.

  Of course, Akira knew this was all a disguise. This old man was wild at heart and also a backbone of the conservative faction.

  Along with Principal Gakuganji, Akira also met part of the staff from Kyoto Jujutsu High. There was the instructor, a near Grade One Jujutsu Sorcerer, Utahime Iori.

  She wore shrine maiden robes and had an elegant Eastern beauty. Her only flaw was a scar near the bridge of her nose, the same as Aoi Todo, said to be a wound left from subduing a powerful Cursed Spirit that even Reverse Cursed Technique could not heal.

  There was also a second-year student, Momo Nishimiya. A blonde, legally petite girl, small in every way, whose strongest impression was her broom.

  Her hairstyle looked as if the middle had been worn bald, leaving only the edges like a broom, and she also carried a broom in her hand, like a representative from a Hogwarts branch stationed in Japan.

  And another second-year student, Noritoshi Kamo.

  He was Akira’s half-brother, the biological son of Akemi Aki. Like Akira, he had narrow eyes, and his appearance resembled Akemi Aki by about half.

  He was also a student representative of Kyoto Jujutsu High. After Makoto and Kasumi Miwa received the group, he took on the responsibility of coordinating with the students.

  Every movement was calm and steady, showing the upbringing of a great family. “Welcome, everyone from Tokyo, to Kyoto Jujutsu High.”

  Unfortunately, people from Tokyo were the least receptive to this tone. Kinji Hakari, also a second-year, glanced at the people from Kyoto and said with little interest, “Where are the third-years? Just you guys isn’t very impressive.”

  Noritoshi Kamo’s expression did not change, and his narrow eyes did not open. He only said, “Because of the absence of your school’s seniors, our upperclassmen were not very motivated. They will participate when the exchange event officially begins. Unlike your school, ours is stable and will not change plans at the last minute.”

  If Kinji Hakari was openly provoking, then Noritoshi Kamo was hiding barbs in soft words. The hot-tempered Kinji Hakari and Maki Zenin clenched their fists at once.

  On the opposite side, Momo Nishimiya and Makoto also responded. Momo lifted her broom and muttered softly, “Not cute at all.”

  Makoto flicked her wrist and raised a now-rare revolver, aiming it from afar at Maki Zenin. “Want to fight?”

  Clearly, there were plenty of unhinged people on the Kyoto Jujutsu High side as well.

  At times like this, someone with a clear head and a sense of the bigger picture had to step in as a brake. From Kamo Clan, or rather the sibling clans of Ake Clan, the two brothers raised their hands at the same time.

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  “That’s enough.”

  “Starting a fight here has no meaning. Save it for tomorrow’s exchange event.”

  After speaking, the two brothers exchanged a glance. For Akira, it was expected, while Noritoshi Kamo felt a trace of confusion.

  He had never heard the name Akira, yet felt a subtle familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before. Eight years had passed, and the children of the past had all grown up and changed greatly, so it was reasonable not to recognize him.

  Because of their intervention, the smell of gunpowder temporarily dissipated. Gakuganji and Utahime both looked at Akira a bit longer.

  The former said to Masamichi Yaga, “This student is good.”

  The latter said to Satoru Gojo, “I didn’t expect you to have such a sensible student.”

  “I taught him well,” Satoru Gojo said shamelessly.

  Utahime looked at him with contempt and could not even be bothered to respond. She was a year older than Satoru Gojo, had known him since their student days, and understood his personality too well. She had disliked Satoru Gojo since back then, for more than ten years.

  Satoru Gojo ignored her and instead dragged Akira aside, lowering his voice. “Why do I feel like you look at Utahime more than at your brother? Teacher-student romance? Want me to help you?”

  “No,” Akira replied. While shrine maiden outfits were indeed his type, it was not love at first sight. “I was just thinking about something. Women sing, men… play guitar.”

  If he remembered correctly, Utahime’s Cursed Technique was related to singing, and Gakuganji’s Cursed Technique was related to playing guitar. If those two did a song like Lost in Paradise, and he added a few handsome guys and pretty girls to dance something flashy, would that not be perfect.

  And he could also take the chance to verify one of his guesses about Pokémon memes.

  The first day in Tokyo at the Kyoto Goodwill Event was the group battle. It was a tense competition to exorcise Cursed Spirit. The rules were explained clearly before noon.

  “The team that prioritizes exorcising the Grade Two Cursed Spirit placed in the designated area will win,” the announcement said. “There are also many Grade Three or lower Cursed Spirit in the area, and if no winner is decided before nightfall, the team with the higher total count wins.” All Cursed Spirit had special talismans attached that reacted to registered Cursed Energy, with Kyoto Jujutsu High shown in blue and Tokyo Jujutsu High in red, while unregistered energy would also appear red due to Maki Zenin and Akira.

  “There are no other rules,” the voice continued. “Interference or direct confrontation is allowed, but do not kill opponents or cause irreversible harm. With that, you are dismissed until the match begins at noon.” This was the opening of the exchange event.

  The speech was given by the host, Kyoto Jujutsu High principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji. Though he was a core member of the conservative faction and advanced in age, his voice was strong and his manner was direct. Setting aside ideological differences, he did not leave a bad impression.

  Still, impressions mattered little at Tokyo Jujutsu High, where unusual people outnumbered normal ones. On the Tokyo side, the two so called delinquents, Kinji Hakari and Maki Zenin, looked openly impatient. Satoru Gojo whistled through the entire speech, making the principal’s expression steadily darker.

  The Kyoto side was not much better. An unnamed third year muttered, “One second year and five first years, isn’t that giving them too much?” Another replied, “They are not that timid, right, or did someone disappear?”

  Watching from outside the delegation, Mai Zenin was even more direct. “If I knew she would come, I should have applied to fight too. I would have taken her down myself.” Nearby, Kasumi Miwa stood straight and looked energetic, though in truth she was staring at Satoru Gojo with sparkling eyes.

  The most reliable one turned out to be the wooden robot that looked like an armored hero. It acknowledged Makoto and answered calmly, “There will be a chance next year.” There were always oddballs, but this year had more than usual.

  Tokyo Jujutsu High had a Cursed Corpse, and Kyoto Jujutsu High had a mech. It was called Ultimate Mechamaru, an anti Cursed Spirit armor controlled through Jujutsu. Its user, Kokichi Muta, lived a life as harsh as a character from Naruto, and Akira still had not decided how to treat him.

  The problem was that none of the available Pokémon could really help him. Even his name, Kokichi Muta, sounded blessed, yet his life was the opposite, unable to do even something as simple as basking in the sun. He was a strong contender for the most miserable figure in Jujutsu Kaisen.

  Even so, this was not what troubled the principal most. The person giving him the biggest headache had not shown up at all. After the speech, he went straight to Utahime Iori.