That eased the mood on the Tokyo Jujutsu High side a little, though only a little. Maki Zenin and Kinji Hakari, the more hot tempered ones, were already thinking about how to make the other side lose more badly.
On the other hand, Kyoto Jujutsu High was surprisingly calm. Aoi Todo only wanted a satisfying fight and did not care about winning or losing.
The remaining five reached a consensus under Noritoshi Kamo's coordination.
"I think everyone already knows that our chances in this Goodwill Event are very slim," he said. "Because of my misjudgment yesterday, we already lost one opportunity, and we cannot make the same mistake today. As Yoshinobu Gakuganji said, our goal is to show ourselves. Winning or losing is not important."
"All relevant information has been distributed. Prepare according to your order and fight in a way that you will not regret, and that will not shame Kyoto Jujutsu High."
The words sounded reasonable, and his thinking was clear. Still, battles changed in an instant, and things could not always go according to plan.
If they still failed to show themselves properly, could this young leader of the Kamo Clan really bear it? Was his will as strong as Makoto's, or just a mask. That was something worth watching.
As if feeling the pressure, Noritoshi Kamo's eyes narrowed unconsciously. Across from him, Akira wore the same expression.
With those narrowed eyes watching from the Ake Clan brothers, the drawing of lots began. On the Kyoto Jujutsu High side, Aoi Todo drew first and Noritoshi Kamo drew last.
On the Tokyo side, it was similar, with the big brother Kinji Hakari drawing first.
"May god Akira bless me," he said seriously, using it to test his luck for the day.
Bad luck meant small bets for fun. Good luck meant big bets for health.
The result was grim.
"I must have run into a walking disaster star."
His position was fifth, just before Yuta Okkotsu in sixth. Yuta Okkotsu had already shown off yesterday and nearly stole the whole show, so the individual matches did not mean much for him anyway.
If group fights did not work, a one on one would just be giving points away. What hurt Kinji Hakari even more was that the other monster, Akira, drew last and still got first position.
Akira himself was a little stunned. He had not even needed to avoid anything, and the luck was still this good.
That meant it might affect how well Tokyo Jujutsu High could show itself. Showing strength was not just about being strong yourself, since the other side also needed to be able to keep up. If the gap was too large, it was bad either way.
As for Kyoto Jujutsu High, one third year was first, Momo Nishimiya was second, Aoi Todo was third, Noritoshi Kamo was fourth, and the other two third years were at the end. From a lineup perspective, it was not bad at all.
But Akira still had a hidden task of testing Noritoshi Kamo. After thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice and spoke to his teammates.
"Sorry, I am going to mess around a bit. I will not be able to leave you many chances to show yourselves."
"What are you saying? This is a lottery in the first place," Maki Zenin said with a shrug.
"Yeah, luck is also part of strength," Panda added.
"Without your training, we would not have won so easily," Yuta said.
"Salmon." Toge Inumaki repeated.
Even Kinji Hakari said, "You are overthinking it. Among all of us, you have the fewest chances to show yourself. Listen, if you cannot seize the chance god Akira gives you, you will get punished."
"You guys…"
Akira knew that everyone around him was a good person, but hearing it out loud still moved him. Choosing to enroll at Tokyo Jujutsu High was definitely one of the best decisions of his life.
"I will not say thanks. Just watch my performance."
With that, Akira strode into the training field used as the arena and spoke loudly to the entire Kyoto Jujutsu High side.
"All of you, come at me together. I will take you all on by myself."
The grounds of Kyoto Jujutsu High erupted in an instant. Shouts of anger flew from every direction, calling him arrogant and blind to his own limits. The noise piled up fast, leaving no room for calm discussion.
One Yuta Okkotsu was already bad enough, since he carried Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit and was rated as a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer. But you, a mere third rank Jujutsu Sorcerer, what right did you have? Did Makoto really think his Pokemon and Rika Orimoto were on the same level?
They admitted that his command skills were solid, but this was an individual match that depended on personal strength. If Makoto was truly that strong, why had he performed so poorly in yesterday's team battle? From their point of view, the conclusion seemed obvious.
It was not entirely their fault for thinking this way, because Akira had hidden himself too deeply in the team match. Only three things had been clearly observed. None of them looked impressive enough to justify today's provocation.
First, he had slapped down two low level Cursed Spirit. Any student from Tokyo Jujutsu High could do that, since anything below third grade was easy prey for Makoto. That achievement alone meant nothing.
Second, he had forced a third year student to withdraw. From the perspective of Kyoto, especially in the eyes of the third year he defeated, this was not a highlight but a stain. Others had all fought head on before leaving the field.
Even the so called sneaky ones like Toge Inumaki and Panda had relied on their abilities in clever ways, losing by a narrow margin. But Akira used the key Grade 2 Cursed Spirit as bait, drawing all attention to it before deceiving and ambushing his opponent. Losing that way felt worse than any clean defeat.
Of course, a loss was still a loss, and no one denied that. But to acknowledge Akira's strength based on that alone was impossible. People like him should stay in the back and think, not step onto the stage to play with brute force, or so many believed.
Third, he had sent Gardevoir to stop Kinji Hakari and Aoi Todo. The problem was that Gardevoir's psychic power had no visible effect, only showing rainbow colors under extreme compression due to light distortion. Against those two, it barely went beyond testing the waters.
Through the eyes of crows and a monitor screen, all anyone saw was Gardevoir holding a phone and standing between two burly men, who soon stopped fighting. Who would guess they had been forcibly restrained? Those two were not the type to go around advertising their embarrassment.
Although homeroom teacher Utahime Iori had warned students to be careful of Akira, saying his Cursed Technique resembled Cursed Spirit Manipulation, that comparison raised more doubts. If Makoto truly had Cursed Spirit Manipulation, why fight like this at all? He could have crushed them together with Yuta Okkotsu.
It would have been just like the Goodwill Event ten years ago, when two Special Grade suppressed the entire field and left Kyoto Jujutsu High unable to respond. Utahime Iori and Mei Mei had both lived through that event. That was how a true powerhouse fought.
Akira might not be weak, but no one believed he was a second Yuta Okkotsu. The comparison felt forced and unrealistic.
After waiting for a while with no one entering the arena, Akira spoke again. "Is Kyoto Jujutsu High only good at talking? That will not beat me. You do not need to hold back. I alone count as a small team, so all of you coming together would be fair."
Fair, my ass. By that logic, anyone using Shikigami should count as team combat. The brat was really asking to be punched.