News always travels faster than a Cursed Spirit.
"Have you heard? Gojo-sensei brought back a transfer student with absolutely zero Cursed Energy!"
"For real? Did the Window get it wrong?"
"It's not a mistake; he has zero Cursed Energy! He's cleaner than a normal person!"
Only a day had passed.
Rumors of the 'Zero Cursed Energy Transfer Student' had already swept through Tokyo Jujutsu High, and even the higher-ups were rattled.
To the 'rotten oranges' who led the Jujutsu world, 'zero Cursed Energy' wasn't just a sign of a loser—it was a taboo.
Years ago, the 'Sorcerer Killer' Toji Fushiguro—the man who nearly annihilated the Three Noble Families single-handedly—was a man of absolute zero Cursed Energy.
The terror that man inspired was still a nightmare for those old geezers.
And now another one had appeared? Personally scouted by Satoru Gojo?
It was enough to make many of them lose sleep.
On the school training grounds, the sun beat down mercilessly.
A girl with a ponytail and glasses was wielding a polearm.
Maki Zenin.
An outcast of the noble Zenin Clan, she was also a possessor of a Heavenly Restriction (though it was not yet complete at this time).
Sweat rolled down her sharp jawline, her gaze burning with a stubborn, fierce determination.
"Maki-san! Maki-san!"
Panda came running from a distance, looking eager for some gossip.
"The new guy is here! Right over there!"
Maki paused and looked where Panda was pointing.
Satoru Gojo was leading a black-haired youth on a stroll through the campus.
The boy wore a slightly baggy Jujutsu High uniform and had strange hanafuda earrings. He looked frail and a bit dazed.
So this was the rumored zero-energy kid? Maki's brows knit together.
As a failure who had faced constant discrimination from her family, she loathed people who lacked skill but relied on connections.
Especially someone like this—who shared her lack of Cursed Energy but was being coddled by Satoru Gojo.
"I'm going to have a look."
Maki shouldered her polearm and marched over.
"Yo, Maki!"
Gojo waved from a distance, seemingly oblivious to the hostility radiating from her (or perhaps he was just pretending not to notice).
"Perfect, let me introduce you two."
"This is your second-year senior, Maki Zenin."
"And this is our new first-year, Yoru."
Yoru gave a polite nod.
"Nice to meet you, senior."
But he was met with a cold snort.
"Drop the act."
Maki slammed the base of her polearm into the ground with a heavy thud.
"I heard you're just a normal person with zero Cursed Energy?"
She spat the words 'normal person' with a mix of self-derision and provocation.
Yoru blinked, looking quite innocent.
"In terms of Cursed Energy, I suppose that's true."
"Then what gives you the right to be at this school?"
Maki's eyes were sharp as razors.
"This is a battlefield for exorcising curses, not a playground for some pretty boy to pad his resume."
"If you're just here to play house, get lost now."
The air grew thick with tension. Panda covered his eyes, knowing exactly where this was headed.
Toge Inumaki ducked behind Panda, peeking out with only his eyes showing:
"Salmon (Are you okay)?"
Gojo, however, just grinned and even took out his phone to record.
"Oh boy, the senior's strict lesson has begun!"
Yoru didn't get angry as he looked at the aggressive girl.
He knew about Maki's past and understood her obsession with power.
In this twisted world where Cursed Energy was the only measure of worth, she wanted to prove herself more than anyone.
"I'm not here to play house."
Yoru's voice was still calm, but a certain weight of conviction had settled into it.
"I have things I must accomplish."
"Things you must accomplish?"
Maki scoffed. She snatched a wooden sword from a nearby rack and tossed it at him.
Yoru caught it with a crisp thwack.
"Then prove it."
Maki tightened her grip on her polearm and dropped into a combat stance, her muscles coiled like a leopard ready to strike.
"Don't say I'm picking on a rookie."
"If you can survive three moves from me, I'll admit you belong here."
A crowd of students began to gather.
Even Ijichi, driving past, pulled over and watched with a look of pure anxiety.
Yoru looked down at the wooden sword. It was light.
Compared to that rusty piece of iron he'd used before, this felt like holding nothing at all.
He held the hilt loosely, his posture relaxed and riddled with openings—he looked like a complete amateur who had never touched a weapon.
'This guy...'
Anger flared in Maki's eyes. 'Is he mocking me?'
Fine then, I won't hold back!
"Hah!"
With a sharp cry, her polearm lunged forward like a dragon, whistling as it aimed straight for the bridge of Yoru's nose.
The strike was swift, precise, and ruthless. She wasn't pulling any punches.
But in the heartbeat before the spear connected...
A system chime rang in his mind.
[SYSTEM: YORIICHI TSUGIKUNI ACT COMPLIANCE INCREASED TO 2%]
[SYSTEM: ABILITY UNLOCKED: TOTAL CONCENTRATION BREATHING: CONSTANT]
In that instant, Yoru's breathing shifted.
Hiss—
A massive surge of oxygen filled his lungs. His blood boiled, and his body temperature skyrocketed.
As the searing breath circulated, Yoru's gaze transformed.
The gentle, dazed air about him vanished, replaced by a suffocating, immovable calm.
It was as if a great mountain had suddenly manifested before Maki.
The sheer presence of it made her heart skip a beat.
In Maki's eyes, Yoru was no longer a frail boy.
He was a masterwork blade, finally unsheathed!
'No way... This pressure... It's coming from a newcomer with no Cursed Energy?'
But her strike was already in motion; there was no stopping.
Maki gritted her teeth and funneled every ounce of her strength into the thrust.
If he's a mountain, I'll just have to pierce right through him!
The polearm tip tore through the air, now less than a centimeter from the bridge of Yoru's nose.
Victory and defeat would be decided in this fleeting moment.