Chapter 37 — Opponent
"Then—let the Sister-School Exchange Event begin!"
Satoru Gojo's booming, overly enthusiastic voice echoed through the loudspeakers.
"Show some respect to your seniors!" came Utahime Iori's furious shout after being cut off mid-speech.
The moment the announcement ended—
Ren shot forward like an arrow, sprinting toward the forest. Behind him, the Kyoto students moved just as swiftly.
Today marked the official start of the Tokyo–Kyoto Sister-School Exchange Event.
The format was a team battle.
A Grade 2 curse had been released somewhere within the designated area. Whichever team exorcised it first would be declared the winner.
Ren had no intention of participating in any assassination plot against Yuji Itadori.
But the exchange event itself?
He planned to take that seriously.
Not long after entering the forest, a winged leech-like curse swooped down from above, spewing sticky mucus toward him.
Ren sidestepped cleanly, raised his leg—
And kicked it apart in a single strike.
He didn't slow down.
He continued weaving through the forest, scanning his surroundings as he ran, searching for the true target.
The curse he'd just destroyed was barely Grade 4.
Not the Grade 2 they were hunting.
Besides the main target, the organizers had deliberately scattered numerous Grade 3 and lower curses throughout the area.
There was an additional rule: if the Grade 2 curse remained alive by nightfall, victory would go to whichever team had exorcised the greater number of curses.
But Ren had no intention of relying on that clause.
In his view, with this many sorcerers gathered here—
The Grade 2 curse's odds of surviving were practically nonexistent.
Low-grade curses were nothing more than distractions.
If they ran into one along the way, fine—eliminate it casually.
But victory hinged on exorcising the Grade 2 curse.
If they got bogged down fighting fodder and allowed the other team to secure the real target first, that would be utterly foolish.
---
They had been running through the forest for a while when—
From behind a massive tree ahead, a monstrous wolf with eight legs and a human face burst forth, baring its fangs and howling savagely—
—Flash!
A streak of blade-light cut through the air, cleaving the beast cleanly in half.
"Grade 3," reported Momo Nishimiya from midair as she withdrew Kawasume.
"Don't waste time on small fry," ordered Noritoshi Kamo coldly from below.
"Nishimiya, your task is to quickly locate Ryo—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
A large wave of rustling, snapping sounds surged toward them.
Through crushed brush and broken branches, the Tokyo team emerged.
The atmosphere between the two sides sharpened instantly.
"Yo," said Nobara Kugisaki arrogantly, hammer in one hand and nails in the other. She glanced at the fading corpse of the curse on the ground.
"Looks like you beat us to that one."
She smirked.
"Good. You guys can stick to cleanup duty. We'll take the real prize—the Grade 2 curse."
Ren ignored her bravado. His gaze moved past her to the figures behind.
Although the official objective was to exorcise the Grade 2 curse, everyone present understood something fundamental:
Most of them had the capability to handle a Grade 2.
So the true objective wasn't how to defeat the curse—
It was how to prevent the other side from defeating it.
Rather than racing to locate the target, the smarter priority was obvious:
Eliminate the opponent's ability to compete.
From the expressions across from him, Ren could see they were thinking the same thing.
So this "team battle" wasn't really about curses at all.
It was about "exchange."
The only question was—
Who would face whom?
---
Ren's eyes first locked onto Yuji Itadori—the pink-haired boy who had supposedly died and returned, vessel of Ryomen Sukuna.
He was curious about Sukuna's vessel.
But striking now would only make him a pawn for Kamo and the higher-ups.
Not an option.
His gaze shifted to the two targets he had already marked in advance.
Should he observe Megumi Fushiguro and his Ten Shadows Technique?
Or challenge Maki Zen'in—the one with "special potential"—and earn that promised "reward"—
No.
Not for a reward.
Absolutely not.
To test himself against a worthy opponent.
Ren forcibly shoved Mai's teasing whisper out of his head and steadied his focus.
Whoosh—
A spinning blade flying straight at him made the decision for him.
Ren stepped back instantly.
Thud.
A full-length naginata plunged into the earth exactly where he had been standing.
A tall, lithe woman landed lightly beside it, dark green ponytail whipping through the air. She pulled the weapon free and spun it through several clean, elegant arcs.
A smile curved across her usually stern face—sharp, confident.
"Ren," said Maki, holding the blade horizontally,
"Allow me to welcome you to Tokyo."
The posture—the gleam in her eyes—was utterly different from moments ago.
Striking.
"Good," Ren narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Then let me experience Tokyo's hospitality firsthand."
Around them, the others had already paired off and scattered into the forest.
"You lot! Don't act independently! Follow the plan!" Kamo's urgent voice rang out.
"Regroup! Concentrate forces—prioritize—"
Judging from the escalating sounds of clashing weapons and impacts, however, he seemed to be getting dragged farther and farther away himself.
"Miwa, hold off Itadori until I—"
"Wait, what?! You want me to fight Sukuna?!"
…
Ren tuned it out.
That "plan" was never going to work.
He turned his full attention back to the green-haired woman before him—
Maki Zen'in.
Mai's twin sister.
---
Maki reached up and removed the blade guard from the tip of her naginata.
Opening with lethal intent wasn't her usual style. During practice with teammates, she typically kept the guard on.
But a month ago, Mai's voice echoed again in her mind:
"One piece of advice—if you fight him, go all out from the very beginning."
"I want to see a real match between you two. Not you getting knocked out in the opening exchange."
According to Mai—
He was strong.
And that judgment came from a Mai who was no longer the same as before.
Maki had no reason to doubt it.
---
Across from her, Ren's lips twitched faintly as he watched her fully unsheathe the blade.
Only now did he register something—
The weapon had been sheathed earlier.
And if he remembered correctly—
That half-meter blade had just sunk entirely into the ground.
With the guard still on.
Even restrained, it had that level of penetration.
This woman…
Was far from ordinary.