A/N: Don't forget to check out my original novel: Can I Magic Please. It's like really good. š
ANYWHOOO. ENJOY THE CHAPTER
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The training grounds of Kyoto Jujutsu High echoed with the sounds of exertion.
Metal clanged.
Wood splintered.
Cursed energy pulsed through the cool afternoon air.
At the center of the outdoor gym, Aoi Todo lay flat on an oversized bench press reinforced with cursed energy and industrial steel.
The bar above him was absurd.
Ridiculous.
Several massive plates had been stacked onto each side until the bar bowed visibly under the weight.
Most sorcerers would have struggled to move it even an inch.
Todo pressed it with one hand.
"Two hundred and ninety-eight."
The muscles in his arm bulged like steel cables.
"Two hundred and ninety-nine."
His grin widened.
"Three hundred!"
With a triumphant roar, Todo locked out the final repetition and racked the bar with a thunderous crash.
BOOM!
The ground trembled.
Nearby, Kokichi Muta sat within his mechanical puppet, monitoring the others from a shaded platform.
His puppet's fingers moved with precision as it adjusted several small instruments.
At the edge of the field, Momo Nishimiya hovered a few feet above the ground on her broom, practicing aerial maneuvers while muttering complaints to herself.
Not far away, Noritoshi Kamo stood with his bow in hand, calmly firing blood-forged arrows into targets with near-perfect accuracy.
Each shot struck dead center.
His expression remained as composed as ever.
The atmosphere was one of disciplined preparation.
Then the sliding doors to the training grounds opened.
Utahime Iori stepped out, carrying a folder tightly against her chest.
She cleared her throat.
"Everyone, may I have a moment of your time?"
Todo sat up from the bench, a towel draped over his shoulder.
"If this is another lecture about 'proper conduct,' I must decline."
Utahime's eyebrow twitched.
"It's about the Goodwill Event."
That got everyone's attention.
Momo descended from the air.
Kokichi's puppet turned toward her.
Noritoshi lowered his bow.
Utahime opened her folder.
"As you all know, the Tokyo-Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event is approaching."
She adjusted her glasses.
"The third years are occupied with other assignments, so our participating team will consist of the second years, along with the first years."
She began listing them.
"Mai Zenin."
"Kasumi Miwa."
"And, of course, Mechamaru."
Kokichi gave a small nod through his puppet.
Todo cracked his knuckles and grinned broadly.
"I do not care who joins us."
His smile sharpened.
"As long as I get to fight Hakari."
Utahime froze.
Then forced an awkward smile.
"About that."
Todo's grin faltered.
Utahime clasped her hands together nervously.
"The second and third years from Tokyo will not be participating."
There was a pause.
Todo stared at her blankly.
"So Hakari will not be there."
The spark vanished from his eyes.
His shoulders slumped.
His soul seemed to leave his body.
"I'm not going."
He stood from the bench and began walking away.
Utahime panicked instantly.
"W-Wait! Todo! Please!"
She rushed after him, waving her arms frantically.
"You can't just skip the Exchange Event!"
Todo kept walking.
"There is no meaning in fighting weaklings."
Utahime looked moments away from tears.
Then Noritoshi spoke calmly from behind her.
"That may not be the case."
Todo stopped.
The training grounds grew quiet.
Noritoshi nocked another blood arrow, speaking as casually as if discussing the weather.
"Two new first years from Tokyo are confirmed to be participating."
Todo slowly turned.
Noritoshi met his gaze.
"Yuta Okkotsu."
"And Oden."
Todo's eyes sharpened.
Noritoshi continued.
"According to information circulating within the Zenin Clan..."
He released his arrow.
THUNK.
A perfect bullseye.
"...they may be stronger than Hakari."
For a brief moment, silence reigned.
Then Todo's face split into a ferocious grin.
His eyes lit up with excitement.
"Excellent."
He clenched his fist.
"Very excellent."
The air around him practically vibrated with anticipation.
"I cannot wait."
Utahime nearly collapsed in relief.
A long breath escaped her lungs.
She discreetly raised a thumb toward Noritoshi.
Noritoshi simply shrugged and returned to his archery as if he had not just prevented a catastrophe.
Momo smirked.
Kokichi's puppet emitted a low mechanical chuckle.
Todo threw his towel aside and resumed his training with renewed vigor.
"Yuta Okkotsu."
"Oden."
His grin widened further.
"Please be interesting."
Utahime adjusted her glasses and straightened her posture.
A determined smile spread across her face.
'Alright.'
'My team is ready.'
Her eyes gleamed with competitive fire.
'This time...'
'I'm definitely beating Satoru Gojo.'
---
The morning air at Tokyo Jujutsu High was crisp and cool.
Mist still clung to the surrounding forest.
Birdsong echoed softly through the trees.
Oden jogged up the stone steps leading back to the dormitories, his breathing steady and controlled.
A light sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
His white blindfold was tied securely in place, and his hood hung loosely against his back.
Eight years of training under Miguel had made morning runs as natural to him as breathing.
In one hand he carried a bottle of water.
In the other, a rice ball he had purchased from the cafeteria and was halfway through devouring.
'Japan is amazing.'
'You can exercise and eat at the same time.'
As he entered the dormitory hallway, he intended to head straight to his room, shower, and then find more food.
But as he passed the room next door, he slowed.
Yuta's door was wide open.
Papers were scattered everywhere.
Notes covered the floor.
Books lay open in chaotic piles.
Several chalk diagrams were drawn across a portable blackboard.
At the center of the disaster sat Yuta Okkotsu.
His hair was a mess.
Dark circles hung beneath his eyes.
He stared at a sheet of paper as though it had personally insulted him.
Oden stopped in the doorway.
Yuta looked up.
Their eyes met.
There was a long pause.
Then Oden took another bite of his rice ball.
"What are you doing?"
Yuta blinked once.
Then slumped backward with a tired sigh.
"Studying barrier techniques."
Oden stepped into the room, carefully avoiding the papers on the floor.
"Barrier techniques..."
He frowned thoughtfully.
"I think Miguel mentioned those once."
He tilted his head.
"What are they again?"
Yuta stared at him.
For a moment he looked genuinely speechless.
Then, with the patience of a saint, he sat up and gestured to the scattered notes.
"Barrier techniques are a branch of jujutsu focused on creating bounded spaces."
He picked up a notebook and flipped to a diagram.
"They're used for things like curtains, veils, detection zones, and more advanced structures."
Oden nodded slowly.
"So they're like walls."
Yuta considered that.
"...That's not completely wrong."
He pointed toward two large headings written on the board.
DOMAIN EXPANSION
SIMPLE DOMAIN
"I'm trying to understand these."
Oden squinted.
The words meant nothing to him.
"What's a Domain Expansion?"
Yuta froze.
A vein visibly pulsed near his temple.
"You've been a sorcerer longer than I have."
He pointed accusingly at Oden.
"How do you not know what a Domain Expansion is?"
Oden shrugged.
"I usually don't keep things I can't apply in my brain."
Yuta stared at him in disbelief.
Oden sat down cross-legged on the floor.
"Miguel may have told me before."
He thought for a moment.
"Actually, he probably did."
Yuta's eye twitched.
"Then why don't you remember?"
Oden answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because Miguel never used one."
He took another bite of his rice ball.
"If he didn't have one, he couldn't teach me how to do it."
He swallowed.
"So I didn't see the point in remembering."
Yuta stared at him.
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Then sighed deeply.
"...I don't know whether that's practical or horrifying."
Oden raised a thumb.
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
Yuta rubbed his temples.
Then he picked up a fresh sheet of paper and began drawing.
"A Domain Expansion is the pinnacle of jujutsu."
Oden immediately leaned forward.
Yuta continued.
"It's when a sorcerer manifests an innate domain into reality and overlays it onto the world using a barrier."
He drew a circle around a central point.
"Inside that space, the user's technique is significantly strengthened."
His voice lowered with reverence.
"And in most cases, attacks become guaranteed to hit."
Oden went completely still.
The rice ball slipped from his fingers and rolled across the floor.
His jaw slowly dropped.
"...Guaranteed to hit?"
Yuta nodded.
"Yes."
Oden stared at the diagrams as though they were holy scripture.
"So..."
He swallowed.
"You create your own world..."
Yuta nodded again.
"...And anyone inside gets automatically hit by your technique?"
"More or less."
Oden's hands trembled.
His mind raced.
A guaranteed hit.
No dodging.
No predicting.
No missing.
His eyes widened behind the blindfold.
"...That is the coolest thing I've ever heard."
Yuta blinked.
Then smiled awkwardly.
"I know, right?"
Oden immediately scooted closer, nearly knocking over a stack of books.
"Show me everything."
Yuta blinked.
"What?"
Oden pointed dramatically at the papers.
"This."
He jabbed his finger at the words DOMAIN EXPANSION.
"I am helping you."
Yuta looked genuinely touched.
"Really?"
Oden nodded firmly.
"If there is a technique that lets attacks hit automatically, then you need to learn it immediately."
He folded his arms.
"That sounds extremely useful."
Yuta laughed softly for the first time that morning.
"Well..."
He scratched the back of his head.
"I've hit a wall."
Oden cracked his knuckles.
"Good."
Yuta blinked.
"Why is that good?"
Oden grinned.
"Because there are now two idiots trying to figure it out instead of one."
For a moment Yuta simply stared.
Then he burst into laughter.
And in the quiet of the dormitory room, surrounded by books, diagrams, and impossible theories, two special-grade sorcerers began trying to understand the highest art of jujutsu.
---
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