Kirara stood beside him with crossed arms.
"This is dumb," She muttered.
Hakari laughed.
"She's worth betting on."
"I haven't felt this alive since my ex maxed out my credit cards."
Kirara's eye twitched.
"Stop talking about your ex."
"I'm literally standing right here."
"And you're already excited about another girl?"
"How greedy do you need to be?"
Kirara scoffed loudly and walked out.
Back upstairs, Hakari picked up his phone.
"She's strong," he said calmly.
"And she's clearly inexperienced with sorcery."
"Definitely not trained at Jujutsu High."
"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.
Kirara stood beside him with crossed arms.
"This is dumb," they muttered.
Hakari laughed.
"She's worth betting on."
"I haven't felt this alive since my ex maxed out my credit cards."
Kirara's eye twitched.
"Stop talking about your ex."
"I'm literally standing right here."
"And you're already excited about another girl?"
Kirara scoffed loudly and walked out.
Back in the arena…
I scratched my head awkwardly.
"…I hope he's not that badly hurt."
Panda was still unconscious as he was lying outside the building.
Eventually, Kirara arrived and gestured for me to follow.
"You're fourteen, Kita-chan?" they asked excitedly.
"You're basically a freshman."
They giggled.
"Kin-chan had to repeat a year in middle school."
I blinked.
"You sound happy, Kirara-san."
She laughed softly.
"I am. It's been a while since I saw Kin-chan this fired up."
"When he gets heated like this, he becomes really passionate."
What does that even mean…?
Kirara opened a door.
"He's inside."
Then she walked away.
I stepped inside.
The room was dim.
Then I saw him.
Kinji Hakari looked up and spoke immediately.
"Kita." He waited dramatically for a second.
"You can earn one million yen a month doing something that takes just one hour a day."
"Huh?"
I tilted my head.
"Depends on what that something is."
"You have to pay me 200,000 yen to learn what it is."
"…I don't have 200,000 yen."
He snorted. "So you're one of the stupid ones."
"Huh?"
"Your passion is strong."
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"You're clearly stupid," he said casually.
"But you still want to change your life."
"People high on passion lose sight of judgment."
"They overlook important things."
"I love that kind of passion."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Do you know the most direct way to deal with passion?"
Gambling.
I answered carefully.
"…Is it gambling?"
Hakari clapped lightly.
"Correct."
"Life is a gamble."
"Everything is a gamble."
"Women dump me because they hate gambling."
"But they all misunderstand."
"Society throws away people who can't gamble."
"Those who don't know when to fold."
"There isn't a single person alive who doesn't gamble."
"People don't hate gambling."
"They hate losing."
I shrugged.
"Don't most people just want peaceful lives?"
Hakari shook his head.
"Never met anyone like that."
"I love passion."
"Passion is gambling."
"And gambling is life."
"And love…"
He grinned.
"…is control."
"In the future, I'll control this nation's passion through my fight club."
"With curses becoming public and Jujutsu Headquarters falling apart…"
"This is my chance. I'll crush every obstacle and make the world recognize my fight club."
He leaned forward.
"At any rate, I need a strong piece on the board."
"Kita."
"Want to get high on my passion?"
Is he hitting on me? I thought.
Right then, my phone rang.
I froze.
"Boss, I actually came here because something really important—"
He raised a hand.
"Kita."
"Want something to drink?"
"…I'm underage."
"But if you have cola…"
He handed me a can.
I looked down.
Cola Light. Who even drinks this?
I took a sip anyway.
Hakari leaned back and said casually,
"Did you know Satoru Gojo loves sweets?"
"…Huh?"
Right.
This was the part where Hakari exposed Yuji.
Hakari suddenly slammed his glass down.
"Were you sent by Jujutsu High?"
My body froze.
What?
I did everything perfectly.
How did he know?
Before I could answer—
Train doors slammed around me.
His technique.
The doors vanished—
And Hakari's palm smashed into my face.
I flew across the room.
He rushed forward and began swinging.
I dodged some punches.
Not all.
"When Kirara called you," Hakari said calmly, "I knew something was off."
Oh Fuuuck... I forgot about this...
"Please listen to me!" I shouted.
"Hell no."
SMACK.
Another slap sent me crashing to the ground.
"It's always girls like you."
"Girls like you ruin my mood."
"Your passion is awful."
"You ruined my passion."
His eyes burned.
"Now the only passion left…"
"…is my fever."
"The fever to beat you."
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End of chapter here, 2 chapter drop!