I stared at the panda with a smile.
Then I remembered something.
My grin slowly began to shrink… and shrink… until it disappeared entirely.
Right.
This was technically the first time Panda and I had ever met.
Which meant that from Panda's perspective, I was just some random curse user who showed up in an illegal fight club with a suspicious amount of cursed energy.
Eh… well.
I guess we're fighting for real.
Itadori is somewhere near the spectators, but there's no way I can let Panda know I'm on their side without risking Hakari finding out.
I sighed and rolled my shoulders.
"Whatever," I muttered. "Guess we're throwing hands."
I stepped forward until Panda, and I stood roughly five meters apart.
Right then, the announcer's voice exploded through the speakers.
"NOW, WE ARE GETTING STARTED AGAIN TONIGHT!"
"It's time for the Gachinko Fight Club Tournament!"
"Commentary will be provided by me—your very own John Bobby!"
I rubbed my forehead.
Yup. This yapping is annoying.
"Allow me to introduce tonight's exciting match-up!"
"We are joined by a sudden upstart!"
"Will she rise… or burn out?!"
"It's the dangerous fiery girl—IKUYO KITA!!"
"Oh yeah, glaze me," I muttered happily.
If I were going to fight anyway, I might as well enjoy the spotlight.
So I struck a few dramatic poses for the crowd.
Flexing was important.
"He stands like a panda!"
"Moves like a panda!"
"Sits like a panda!"
"It's not just a panda… it's THE PANDA!!!"
The commentator screamed like he had just discovered fire.
"Place your bets! Place your bets!"
"EVERYONE READY?!"
I tried to crack my neck. No noise came out
"Well anyways… let's go."
The crowd watched as a 158-centimeter girl walked toward a two-meter panda standing on two legs.
From the outside, the matchup looked ridiculous.
I watched Panda carefully.
The moment the match started, I moved first.
Before leaving Jujutsu High, I had asked Yuta and Yuki if I was doing something wrong with my cursed energy control.
Honestly, they only saw me fight for a few minutes. " Fight" wouldn't be the right word, as I was just throwing some random punches in front of them before they gave me advice, but even those few minutes helped a lot.
Apparently, I had been forcing cursed energy through my body too quickly.
Only sorcerers with extremely refined control could move cursed energy that fast.
Since my cursed energy amount was absurdly high—somewhere near Yuta's level—it was actually making things harder for me.
Yuta told me how he trained to distribute cursed energy across his body more evenly instead of forcing it all into one point.
Simple advice, but it helped.
So now I spread cursed energy through my entire body, reinforcing my muscles and bones before charging forward.
Panda's eyes widened slightly.
He probably felt it, the sheer amount of cursed energy.
Panda struck first His arm was longer than mine, and his massive fist swung down with terrifying force.
I ducked easily his punch ended up slamming into the floor.
CRACK.
Concrete shattered, leaving a crater.
Right after dodging, I lunged forward. Panda immediately tried to create distance, but the arena was small, and the crowd pressed around us from every side.
He rushed a counterattack in a hurry.
But the moment his punch missed, he had no guard.
I stepped in and drove a reinforced punch into his side.
BOOM.
Panda flew backward nearly five meters.
He slid across the floor.
He stood up slowly, staring at me with clear caution now.
Unbeknownst to me…
High above the arena, inside a small viewing room—
Kinji Hakari was watching.
And he was shocked.
This wasn't a staged fight.
This girl had just blown Panda away.
Hakari leaned forward. His grin slowly widened.
His fever was rising. This fight had suddenly become interesting.
Down in the arena, I rushed forward again.
Panda charged too. His massive fist came straight at my head.
I jumped sideways using a burst of cursed energy, then kicked off the wall and launched myself behind him.
From Panda's perspective, I vanished.
Time to end this. I leapt higher, aiming my fist directly at his head.
But Panda reacted instantly.
He spun around and swung a backhand.
SMACK.
The hit sent me flying across the arena.
I rolled across the floor before sliding to a stop.
I stood up slowly.
The hit didn't hurt much.
Cursed energy reinforcement across my entire body made sure of that.
I was holding back the entire fight; it was weird. I was not using my whole muscle strength but my cursed energy reinforcement was at max.
Still… Panda was clearly stronger than I expected.
I rushed forward again. This time, Panda launched himself directly at me.
He was literally flying toward me.
Perfect. I raised my leg and prepared to kick him mid-air.
With his momentum, he wouldn't be able to change direction.
Or at least… that's what I thought.
Apparently, I had way too little battle experience.
Panda twisted his body in mid-air.
Somehow.
He grabbed my leg.
And then—
His fist rushed toward my face.
I raised my arms to block.
But right before the impact—
Space itself folded.
Dark lightning erupted.
BLACK FLASH.
I flew backward and smashed into a pillar.
My arms trembled violently.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I shouted—in English, not Japanese.
I was too shocked to care.
"How?!" I stared at Panda.
He looked… euphoric.
Like someone who had just touched something incredible.
I had just been hit by Black Flash.
What the hell. My arms were still shaking.
I wiped blood from my lip.
Yes, from my lip, when his punch connected due to me not protecting myself with my whole strength, his punch went past my arms and connected to my face.
Alright. Enough playing around.
Why the hell was I even holding back?
Because I didn't want to hurt Panda?
That was stupid. I rushed him again.
Panda was still riding the high of Black Flash and didn't react quickly enough.
I drove a full-force kick into his leg. His leg buckled as he fell to his knees.
Then another step forward.
And—
I landed a brutal kick straight into his crotch.
Panda flew upward like a launched missile.
He shot through the hole in the building and flew sixteen meters before gravity remembered its job.
He crashed to the ground outside.
Silence fell over the arena.
Complete silence.
People watching from upper floors saw a panda flying through the air like a football.
Yuji, who was anxiously watching my fight, now rushed outside
Even Hakari winced slightly.
"…Ouch."
Back upstairs, Hakari picked up his phone.
"She's strong," he said calmly.
"And she's clearly inexperienced with sorcery."
"She doesn't know how to fight properly. Her stances are awful."
"But…"
Hakari's grin widened.
"I want her."
He looked ecstatic.
"Bring her to me."
One of his subordinates hesitated.
"What about the two boys she came with?"
Hakari snorted.
"Keep an eye on them."
"I'll send Kirara."
Then he ended the call.