3 weeks had passed since Akumu's intense training frenzy.
He hasn't been sighted by anyone in those 3 weeks, so rumours spread that Akumu got kicked out for being a perverted bum.
Hagone was sure that wasn't the case, but even his grandma was uncertain of where he was.
Even if no one was certain if he would turun up or not, a large crowd had gathered in the seats of the fighting arena of C block. It wasn't just the students and teachers that made up the crowd but also none Jujutsu sorcerers.
Competitive sports were a magical thing really. Despite not using sorcery, footballers possessed the power to make an entire stadium.. nay.. the whole world lose their minds with just a single goal. It wasn't just that, but the amount of tourism and revenue that football, and other competitive sports brought in was insane.
So when jujutsu became public.. you can already guess what happened.
Initially, to demonstrate the capabilities of Sorcerer's more clearly to the public, they would fight against captured cursed spirits while normal audience members wore special glasses to help see it better. But what everyone seemed to unexpectedly prefer, was the sorcerers fighting with each other.
To monopolise this better, Block C was established as the signature stage for Japan. The place where young talents of the Jujutsu world would battle each other for victory.
**
The Young Yukiko stood in one corner of the arena while the other side remained empty. If Akumu failed to arrive within the next 10 minutes, he would've been considered to have forfeited the fight. Thankfully, since he never formally agreed, the binding vow wouldn't take effect, but he would likely be punished in some way.
5 minutes passed by and the crowd began to get rowdy. The white-haired woman was busy scrolling on her phone. Not even taking an interest while the other orange-haired student sat closely next to her with an opposite reaction. Arthur continued to stare at her from a distance, despite how charming he was, it wouldn't be wrong to say he was even more of a creep than Akumu.
The young lady finished her stretches declaring confidently that she had already won. But not too long after distant footsteps could be heard entering the arena from its entrance.
He was barefoot. His hair was long and a mess which matched with his face covered in dirt. His clothes were ripped and torn which exposed his now chiseled and hardened chest muscles. It was as if he had just escaped from the jungle and evolved into a completely different person from the boy he was 1 month ago.
The transformation had shocked many of the students who remembered his skinny old appearance, but the biggest reaction by far came from the blushing Yukiko in the corner.
"Have you learnt nothing!? You couldn't even come here decently dressed!??"
Akumu just scratched the back of his head, seemingly apologetic.
"Sorry... I didn't have enough time to put anything proper on.."
It seemed genuine, so Yukiko just sighed. It was a shame really... Akumu actually looked like a decent guy, but he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yukiko herself had an image to maintain, so she couldn't let him go scott free.
"I'll try not to make this too painful.. so just hold still—"
The second she said that though, a wave of pressure washed over her. For a brief moment, it scared her.
'What?'
Before she could question it anymore, the commentator then shouted,
"NOW LET'S THE 41ST RANKED MATCH OF THE SEASON! IN ONE CORNER WE HAVE RANKED 9TH IN THE SCHOOL YUKIKO TAKESHI!!!!."
Several student girls in the crowd cheered for Yukiko, as they also had a vendetta against the Akumu.
"AND IN THE OPPOSING CORNER, WE HAVE THE UNRANKED PERVERT, AKUMU SAIGO!"
The crowd booed at the boy as they also started to throw trash at the him. He just silently took it all though. Their anger was understandable.
At the top of the bleachers sat Ken Dojima who was watching with only a slight amount of interest. The only reason he came was because he had heard about Owari taking him away, so he wanted to see how Akumu had changed.
And he was not disappointed. His cursed energy was flowing much more naturally, and it's capacity had improved quite a bit. Was it enough to beat him though?
'No. Not a chance.'
**
Omo Yasei served as the referee of the fight. He stood in the center prepared to declare the start of the match.
"Following the binding vow of this match. In the situation that students Akumu Saigo or Yukiko Takeshi are to lose. They will become an absolute servant to the winner for a whole month! And in addition, the rules of ranked matching state that if Akumu Saigo wins, his position in the school rankings will be swapped with the loser! Do both parties agree to the terms?"
Both Akumu and Yukiko nodded. Now the binding vow was truly in effect.
"Then let the match... begin!"
'Wind Manipulation: Silent Claws.'
Without wasting any time Yukiko, summoned and threw two slashes of wind that reached Akumu in a matter of seconds. Both attacks hit their target successfully as they exploded on his body, showering Akumu in a cloud of dust.
The commentator announced,
"AND JUST LIKE THAT THE MATCH ENDS. THIS WILL BE THE FASTEST WIN THIS SEASON"
But immediately after, Akumu waltzed out of it casually.
There wasn't even a single scratch on his body, making it seem like the wind didn't even reach him. The confused Yukiko quickly composed herself and started re-evaluate his strength.
1 month ago everyone knew that he only had the strength of a grade 4 sorcerer, but now it was as if he had become a grade 1 in just a month.
'No one can possibly grow that quickly in one month.. did he use Reverse Cursed Technique to heal? No that's even more absurd.. was it an effect of his Innate technique then? Let's experiment.'
Yukiko continued her attack, this time by summoning more slashes of wind while charging toward Akumu. Her Innate technique was called Wind Manipulation. It allowed her to control the wind in a certain radius, and shape it into powerful attacks.
Her new plan of attack was to get Akumu inside her conjuring range, so that she could spawn more powerful wind right behind him, to take him out in one attack.
Her plan had already been analyzed and seen through by the top-ranking Jujutsu students of the school as this was a strategy she had used whenever she encountered an opponent that could tank her first few hits. Surprisingly Akumu also began to sprint towards her.
But what was terrifying about it was how he did it without any hesitation.
Akumu ended up entering her range sooner than she had expected, so she paused as she started to manifest more blades of wind behind him.
That was when Akumu began to manifest his cursed energy under his feet.
Akumu's innate attribute turned his Cursed energy into a dark malleable physical form. He could change its shape and properties at will, making it incredibly versatile. By default he used them as whips as that was simple, but in his battle with Senjuro they could also assume the properties of rubber.
The more he compressed it, the more force it could release, allowing him to invent a move that would allow him to traverse vast distances in mere seconds.
Quickly coiling and compressing his dark whips under his weight, allowed him to release a force sending him high into the air.
'Black Bounce.'
He was launched into the sky, causing the entire arena to erupt in shouts and screams.
All the wind attacks ended up colliding into each other, but the composed Yukiko quickly adapted to the new scenario, as she prepared her own finishing move.
Now that lots of wind was gathered in one place, she combined the scattered attack into a single big one.
'Wind Manipulation: Hurricane.'
The Air below Akumu began to slowly sir, and right when he started to fall, what seemed to be a cone shaped hurricane rose from the ground, threatening to pierce a hole through his chest.
Just before the attack made contact with Akumu 3 dark whips emerged from his right arm. 1 month ago the whips were only the size of thin vines but now they were like thick trees. Each of them wrapped around his arm, tacking the shape of a 3 fingered claw.
'Dark sheath.'
He then slammed his right arm into the attack, causing a powerful force to reverberate through the Arena. The crowed roared in shock from the quick change of events. Grandma Zenin already aware of the outcome of the fight smirked as Hagone continued to cheer him on.
Akumu used the force from the attack, to throw himself over Yukiko as he swiftly landed behind her. He then reached out for a bear hug, quickly wrapping her in his tight embrace.
"What!"
The whole arena screamed in shock, especially the girls. Even Hagone struggled to keep cheering for Akumu as he was starting to look like a real weirdo. Grandma Zenin's smirk on the other hand, only continued to grow.
Yukiko's face turned pink as she panicked from the quick turn of events.
As if to break the confusion in the arena, Akumu promptly German suplexed her into the ground. This was his goal from the beginning, Grandma zenin had not only helped Akumu train his body but also taught him several grappling and combat techniques.
Yukiko's head plummeted into the concrete arena, shattering it along with her consciousness.
The arena abruptly went silent as Omo walked back onto the stage.
He observed her for a bit, before delivering the final verdict.
Omo raised Akumu's hand into the sky declaring him the winner
The commentator then announced,
"AND JUST LIKE THAT, WE HAVE A NEW 9TH RANKED SORCERERRRR! AKUMU SAIGO!"
The crowd was flooded with both the tears of the old men who bet on the girl, followed by the shouts of women who now instantly changed sides to Akumu. After this fight his reputation transformed from the school's loser into its underdog, the one who should not be underestimated.
As Yukiko was being carried away on a stretcher Akumu refused to leave the arena stating there was still one more fight left.
"Ken Dojima! We have a score that we should settle!"
The crowd went silent.
A single man Jumped all the way from the top of the bleachers into the arena with a single leap. He landed promptly in front of the unfazed Akumu and spoke.
"So your not a complete coward are you?"
Many of the people who had gotten out of their seats thinking the fight, rushed back hurriedly after sensing the tension in the air.
Omo was about to go call the fight off, but then Owari teleported in front of him.
"How about we let the kid's have their fun?"
"What!?"
He then grabbed Omo by the shoulder as he teleported with him to an unknown location, before quickly teleporting back. He then shouted out,
"The battle between Ranked 6 Ken Dojima, and ranked 9 Akumu Saigo, shall be held today, right now."
The white-haired woman who had been bored out of her mind finally took some interest in the now-coming battle. It was only then that Arthur realised that Akumu was the person he was meant to be sharing a room with.
"So you really were conspiring with Gojo?"
Akumu smirked,
"Misoto wouldn't want to see us fighting like this. Let's settle it right now, If I beat you, then you should forgive me, but if I lose, I'll exclude myself from the school."
The whole crowd began to murmur and whisper. Losing your place at Jujutsu Tech would make one the failure of the country, so losing it twice would almost be the same as a death sentence. Just how much did Akumu value his ties to an enemy, everyone wondered.
Ken began to laugh hysterically.
"You're more interesting than I thought, I can see why Misoto always talked about you in his letters."
The two shifted into a fighting stance as they prepared to settle this month-long conflict once and for all.