After dinner, Renji returned to the student dormitory where he was temporarily staying.
Just as he pushed open the door and stepped into the corridor, the door to Suguru's room opened. Dressed in loose pajamas, Suguru looked at Renji and waved.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
That was the first thing Suguru said upon seeing him.
Renji shook his head. "No. Ever since my Cursed Energy adapted to my body, I feel much stronger than before. A guy like that couldn't even react."
"That's good. Luckily, you weren't controlled by your emotions and remained rational enough to hold back. That old man Gakuganji is always keeping an eye on Tokyo." Suguru chuckled, then snapped his fingers.
Snap!
An eagle-shaped Cursed Spirit flew out of his Cursed Energy vortex. It flapped its wings a few times in the narrow corridor before landing steadily on his shoulder.
"This is a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, Hayabusa. I'll give it to you for now. Next time something like this happens, just come find me. Still, to grow this much in just a month and skillfully protect the dignity of us Tokyo Jujutsu Sorcerers... Okkotsu, you really are a genius."
Suguru smiled, gesturing for the Cursed Spirit on his shoulder to fly toward Renji. Then, he went back into his room and closed the door.
[Ding! Character detected for Favorability gain: Geto Suguru (Tier 2 Level 1)]
[Current Favorability: 1]
Renji glanced at the now-invisible Hayabusa on his shoulder and then entered his own room.
He now had a basic understanding of the Main God Space's level ratings. In this novice world of Jujutsu Kaisen, the highest level seemed to be Tier 4, or perhaps Tier 3 Level 9.
Tier 1 was equivalent to a Second-Grade Sorcerer, Tier 2 was equivalent to a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, so Tier 3 should mean a Special Grade Sorcerer.
As for how he, a Tier 1 Level 5, could crush Second-Grade Sorcerer Naoya with absolute power, perhaps it was because talent and special abilities also influenced the level to varying degrees.
Back when he hadn't even reached Tier 1, Renji had exorcised the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit Yogami by relying on his Cursed Energy talent.
Thinking of this, Renji looked out the window.
The moon was full.
It was a good time for sleep.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Jujutsu High Archives.
"Aha... So that's how it is. A Special Grade Cursed Spirit, huh." Satoru lightly stroked his chin, speaking in a tone of sudden realization.
In his hand was a student file with the name Okkotsu Renji on it. The page he was looking at happened to be Renji's background.
"No wonder sensei took in a ten-year-old kid as a student. But with this kind of strength, he's qualified to be our classmate. Hahahaha." Satoru's sky-blue eyes were full of excitement.
If I can spar with Renji after he grows up, that would be amazing.
"Speaking of which, isn't there a limited edition dessert release at Kikufuku in Sendai early this morning?"
Satoru put down the file and swaggered out of the archives. With a flick of his finger, he used Cursed Energy to repair the broken door lock.
Not long after Satoru left, a small, fuzzy head poked out from a corner.
"Papa?" A palm-sized Panda 'doll' looked up at Masamichi beside him.
"If I'm not mistaken, Satoru probably plans to head to the ruins of the Okkotsu clan. Once that brat wants to know something, he has to get to the bottom of it. Having strength is good, but his arrogance still needs to be tempered a bit."
Masamichi sighed and crouched down to pat the Panda 'doll's' head.
...
Kyoto Jujutsu High.
Early the next morning,
Suguru had already gotten up and finished his warm-up. The current sparring match wasn't the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event from the original story yet. There was no such thing as a three-day competition, it was just a simple and crude arena battle.
The winner would receive resource support from the Jujutsu World Higher-Ups to cultivate even better Jujutsu Sorcerers.
The losing side would have to bear the reputation of being weaker than the other school.
In the Jujutsu World, Tokyo Jujutsu High and Kyoto Jujutsu High were the two most famous schools, so every match was a competition between them.
"Phew..."
Suguru took out a towel and wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead.
Renji yawned as he walked out of the dormitory building and saw Suguru warming up in the plaza.
He called out a greeting, "Morning, Geto."
Suguru nodded with a smile, responding politely, "Morning, Okkotsu."
"The sparring will start soon. Let's go together."
Suguru formed a hand sign with one hand, recalling a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit from his surroundings into his body.
His innate Cursed Technique was Cursed Spirit Manipulation, which allowed him to tame Cursed Spirits for his own use with no upper limit. He could create and structure Cursed Spirits and use powerful Cursed Spirit techniques.
"Alright."
...
Time quickly passed until 10:00 AM.
Suguru and Renji walked side-by-side toward the edge of the arena in the training field. This was the participant area.
According to the annual rules, the school that won the previous sparring match had to send two people to face the challenge of the ten best students from the same year of the other school. This act itself carried a great deal of contempt.
Suguru sat on a bench, resting with his eyes closed.
"They're here."
Renji instantly sensed the Cursed Energy approaching from a distance. Those ten were almost all Second-Grade Sorcerers, plus one First-Grade Sorcerer. Among them was a familiar face—Zenin Naoya, whom he had just met yesterday.
Boom!
A Second-Grade Sorcerer landed in the middle of the arena like a meteor, blasting a large crater into the stone slabs made with special Cursed Energy.
"You guys from Tokyo Jujutsu High, I am Yamamoto Seiryu. I'll be your first opponent." A burly man sneered and looked toward Renji.
Gasps rang out from the surrounding first-year spectators.
"It's actually Yamamoto Seiryu. He's a tough character who relied on his technique to eliminate a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit with just his fists."
"He smashed the Cursed Energy testing wooden dummy when he enrolled."
"Hmph! If he hadn't been away this spring, Gojo probably wouldn't have won."
Renji looked at Suguru beside him with an amused expression. "How come he has so little Cursed Energy?"
"Probably a Jujutsu Sorcerer who focuses on physical strength. Still, it's not enough." Suguru stood up and walked onto the arena with a light smile.