Chapter 118: External Combat Instructor
Yaga was not the principal yet.
Strictly speaking, he was still only a homeroom teacher.
But at Tokyo Jujutsu High, rules had always bent slightly around people who carried enough responsibility on their backs. So Masamichi Yaga already had his own private office.
At that moment, the atmosphere inside was a little strange.
Yaga sat behind his desk, holding a document that had just come out of the fax machine. The paper was still warm, and the ink carried that faint chemical smell unique to old office equipment.
Across from him, Yami sat on the sofa, calmly drinking tea.
He looked entirely too relaxed for someone whose background was being investigated by one of the most paranoid institutions in the jujutsu world.
Yaga lowered his eyes and read from the document.
"Both parents deceased. Raised deep in the mountains by a reclusive martial artist from childhood. Recently came down from the mountains and entered society…"
His eyebrow twitched.
"This background is so clean it almost looks fake."
Yami took another sip of tea.
"It isn't fake."
Yaga looked at him.
"I did train in the mountains."
In another world, but still.
Yaga stared at him for several seconds, as if trying to pry the truth out through sheer pressure.
Yami's expression did not change.
In the end, Yaga placed the document on the desk and rubbed his brow.
"The people from the higher-ups found no issues."
"Of course they didn't."
Yami's tone remained calm.
The identity created by the system was flawless. Birth records, school gaps, mountain residence registration, hospital traces, even witness statements from people who technically existed but would never be found by normal investigation methods.
Even Tengen would have trouble proving anything was wrong.
Yaga interlaced his fingers and looked at him seriously.
"Yami, I've seen your strength myself."
His voice was heavy.
"That level of pure physical destructive power surpasses most Grade 1 sorcerers. I won't deny that."
Yami set down his teacup.
"But?"
"But Jujutsu High's regulations are strict. You have no Cursed Energy, which means you cannot be registered as a formal jujutsu sorcerer."
Yaga opened a drawer and took out a letter of appointment.
"Therefore, after discussing the matter with the principal, we have decided to hire you under a special position."
He pushed the document across the desk.
"External Combat Instructor for Tokyo Jujutsu High."
Yami glanced at the title.
"Your primary duty will be strengthening the students' Taijutsu training. You will also provide combat support during certain special missions when necessary."
Yaga paused.
"Your salary and benefits will follow the Grade 1 sorcerer standard."
Yami's mouth curved slightly.
External Combat Instructor.
It was almost perfect.
He would not be bound by the higher-ups as tightly as an official sorcerer. He could remain at Jujutsu High legally, intervene in Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto's missions, and move with far more freedom than a normal student or teacher.
And he would be paid.
That part was not important, but it was nice.
Very nice.
"A reasonable arrangement."
Yami picked up the pen and signed his name without hesitation.
"Pleasure working with you, Yaga-sensei."
Yaga accepted the document and let out a breath he had not realized he was holding.
"The pleasure is mine."
A human nuclear warhead had just been placed under Jujutsu High's roof.
If those two brats, Satoru and Suguru, caused trouble again, perhaps there would finally be someone who could keep them in check.
At least, that was what Yaga hoped.
Half an hour later, in the faculty dormitory area.
Yami carried his simple luggage as he followed Yaga down the corridor.
His belongings were almost laughably few. A few changes of clothes, basic daily necessities, and the worn guitar bag that no longer held a guitar or even a proper weapon.
Yaga stopped in front of a small two-story building.
"This will be your dormitory."
He pointed toward a room on the second floor.
"Jujutsu High doesn't have many students, so the faculty and student dormitories are close to each other."
Then he pointed to the neighboring rooms.
"Geto's room is on your left. Gojo's is on your right."
Yami looked at the two doors.
For a moment, amusement flickered in his eyes.
So they had placed him directly in the center of the disaster zone.
Yaga continued, "If anything happens, you can look out for each other."
Yami almost laughed.
Looking out for each other?
That depended on whether the building survived.
Just then, the door on the right flew open with a bang.
Satoru Gojo stepped out in loose pajamas, his white hair sticking up in every direction. He looked like he had just lost a duel against his pillow.
The moment he saw Yami standing there with a key in hand, his eyes widened.
"Huh?"
He pointed at the keys.
"What are you doing here?"
Then, after a beat, his expression grew even more offended.
"And why do you have a key?"
Yaga cleared his throat.
"Satoru, watch your attitude."
Gojo blinked.
"Why?"
"Starting today, Mr. Yami will be serving as Tokyo Jujutsu High's External Combat Instructor. He will mainly be responsible for teaching you Taijutsu."
Yaga's voice turned stern.
"You are to address him as Instructor Yami."
Silence.
Gojo stared at him.
Then his expression twisted as if he had just been forced to swallow a whole lemon.
"What?"
His voice rose.
"Instructor?"
He pointed at himself.
"Yaga-sensei, did you hit your head? I'm the godchild of the Gojo Family. The future strongest. And you want me to learn Taijutsu from a guy who doesn't even have Cursed Energy?"
His face darkened further.
"And call him instructor?"
Gojo jabbed a finger toward Yami.
"On what grounds?"
At that moment, the door on the left opened.
Suguru Geto leaned halfway out, his long black hair slightly loose, his expression calm and thoroughly entertained.
"Satoru, don't be like that."
Gojo turned on him.
"Don't start."
Suguru smiled.
"Instructor Yami's Hekishin earlier was fast enough that even you couldn't fully read the motion, wasn't it?"
"Shut up, Geto!"
Gojo pointed at him furiously.
"Whose side are you on?"
"The side watching you make a fool of yourself."
"You traitor!"
Yami watched the exchange, and something warm stirred quietly in his chest.
This chaotic, noisy, completely unreasonable daily life.
So this was what he had returned to protect.
He turned toward Gojo.
There was no instructor's arrogance in his posture, no smugness, no deliberate intimidation.
His voice was calm.
"You want to know on what grounds?"
Gojo's eyes sharpened.
Yami looked straight at him.
"Because I'm stronger than you."
The corridor went dead silent.
Even Yaga inhaled sharply.
This guy really dared to say anything.
In the jujutsu world, almost no one had the courage to say those words to Satoru Gojo's face.
Even Suguru, who could fight Gojo on equal terms, would rarely phrase it that bluntly.
Gojo's expression slowly darkened.
Behind his small sunglasses, the blue of his Six Eyes became sharp and aggressive.
"You?"
His lips curled.
"You're stronger than me?"
Then he laughed.
It was not his usual careless laugh.
It was cold, arrogant, and full of dangerous excitement.
"Hahahaha."
Gojo cracked his knuckles.
"Fine."
He stepped forward.
"Since you're so confident, let's go to the training ground right now."
Cursed Energy stirred faintly around him.
"I want to see how many Blues an instructor without Cursed Energy can take before he starts crying."
Gojo reached out to grab Yami by the shoulder.
Yami shifted half a step.
Gojo's hand passed through empty air.
"Not today."
Gojo's brow twitched.
"What?"
Yami pointed toward the darkening sky beyond the window and yawned.
"It's late. I need rest."
"You're running?"
"No."
Yami looked at him calmly.
"A truly strong person doesn't lose his temper over a little provocation."
Suguru covered his mouth, but the laugh still slipped through.
Gojo slowly turned toward him.
"Suguru."
"I didn't say anything."
"You laughed."
"I breathed."
"You breathed disrespectfully."
Yami glanced at Suguru, then back at Gojo.
"If you really want to challenge me, come to the training ground tomorrow morning."
Gojo's grin returned.
"Good."
"But I have one condition."
"What condition?"
Yami's tone remained as flat as if he were deciding what to eat for breakfast.
"You and Suguru come at me together."
The corridor fell silent again.
Gojo stared at him.
Suguru's smile faded slightly.
Even Yaga's expression changed.
Yami continued, "If you win, I'll pack up and leave Jujutsu High immediately."
He paused.
"If you lose, then in future Taijutsu classes, both of you will listen to me properly."
His gaze swept over the two of them.
"Do you dare?"
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Gojo's grin turned feral.
"Fine."
He dragged the word out through his teeth.
"You're the one asking for it."
He turned toward Suguru.
"Geto. Tomorrow morning, we beat him up together. We'll teach this fake instructor what pain looks like."
Suguru's eyes curved slightly, but there was now a clear fighting spirit in them.
"With pleasure."
Yami nodded, satisfied.
That was the spirit.
This was what youth should look like.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow."
He waved casually, opened his door, and stepped inside.
Outside, Gojo's voice was still audible through the wall.
"Suguru, tomorrow I'm using my secret move. I'll crush him completely."
"Are you serious, Satoru? Yaga-sensei will be angry if you destroy the training ground again."
"Then we blame him."
"Blame who?"
"The instructor."
"That is not how responsibility works."
Yaga stood in the corridor and sighed deeply.
For some reason, he felt both relieved and more exhausted than before.
Perhaps this young man named Yami really could change those two problem children.
Or perhaps he had simply added a third problem child to the school.
Late at night.
Everything fell quiet.
Yami lay on the dormitory bed with his eyes open.
He had not fallen asleep.
Total Concentration: Constant flowed steadily through his body. His breathing remained even, his heartbeat powerful, his muscles warm and ready beneath his skin.
The body he had in this era was still not at its peak.
The aftereffects of time travel had not fully faded, and without Shiranui, his combat style had lost its sharpest edge.
But he was recovering.
Slowly.
Steadily.
Suddenly, Yami's eyes snapped open.
"Transparent World."
His vision shifted.
The walls faded.
The trees outside became translucent.
The layered barriers surrounding Jujutsu High unfolded before his sight like a network of veins.
Then he saw it.
At the edge of the barrier, there was a faint gaze.
Thin.
Malicious.
Almost imperceptible.
Someone was watching Jujutsu High.
Yami narrowed his eyes.
"Tengen?"
No.
Tengen's aura was old, hidden, and vast, like stagnant water buried underground.
This feeling was different.
Cold.
Slippery.
Like a venomous snake curled inside a sewer.
"Kenjaku?"
His gaze deepened.
"Or him?"
In Yami's mind, a man appeared.
A wild face.
A scar at the corner of his mouth.
Eyes like a beast that had long since stopped caring about heaven, earth, or fate.
The tyrant with Heavenly Restriction.
Toji Fushiguro.
"So the storm is already gathering."
Yami slowly clenched his fist.
His knuckles cracked softly in the dark.
"No matter who you are…"
His voice was quiet.
Cold.
"As long as you come here to destroy this peace…"
A trace of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
"I'll sever your neck."
That night, undercurrents surged quietly beneath Tokyo Jujutsu High.
And tomorrow morning's practical lesson was destined to overturn the common sense of the entire jujutsu world.
.....
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