JJK: Chapter 70

Title: Exchange Event II

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“I’ve heard stories about you even in Kyoto. They’re saying you can’t participate in this year’s Exchange Event—what’s that about?” Aoi Todo commented wistfully before voicing his confusion. He had been looking forward to sparring with both Shin Shuichi and Yuta Okkotsu again.

Joining Todo were Kamo Noritoshi, Zen’in Mai, Nishimiya Momo, and Minamoto Nao, a newer student at Kyoto Jujutsu High. Upon seeing Shin Shuichi for the first time in a while, Nao beamed with joy.

“Shin-kun, it’s been so long!”

Her bright smile and easy camaraderie with Mai and the others suggested she was doing well at Kyoto. After returning her greeting, Shin handed out the cold drinks he’d just purchased to everyone before returning to the vending machine to restock.

“Come on, if I participated, I’d have to use my Cursed Technique. That would make things boring, don’t you think? Yuta isn’t joining either—he’s still abroad for the time being,” Shin said casually as they walked.

Todo frowned, clearly unimpressed. “Fights are fights—what’s all this talk of fairness? Let’s spar sometime! If neither of you is participating, this event is going to be boring.”

Shin smiled cryptically. “Not necessarily. Our first-years have two students who are anything but weak.”

Hearing that, Todo grew intrigued. Before long, they arrived at the training grounds, where Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro were engaged in an intense sparring session. Neither was using shikigami or weapons—this was pure hand-to-hand combat.

Megumi was at a slight disadvantage in close combat. Once Yuji got serious, he fought like a relentless tiger—fearless, brimming with fighting spirit. Megumi stayed calm, focusing on defense and counterattacks. Watching nearby, Maki occasionally barked orders, reminding them to treat each other as real enemies.

The arrival of Shin’s group naturally drew attention. Todo scanned the group and smirked. “You’ve got quite a few first-years. These two, huh? I’ve heard about Sukuna’s vessel.”

His gaze locked onto Megumi and Yuji. Hands in his pockets, he walked toward them, casting a shadow in the sunlight.

“I’m Aoi Todo, third-year from Kyoto Jujutsu High.”

Seeing how Shin and the others were chatting amicably, and how Maki seemed to be laughing with a short-haired girl, Yuji assumed these visitors were friendly. Smiling, he introduced himself.

“I’m Yuji Itadori, first-year from Sendai. Nice to meet you!”

Megumi, however, wasn’t as carefree. He could feel Todo’s overwhelming presence and knew about the tense rivalry between the two schools. Still, out of politeness, he introduced himself.

“Megumi Fushiguro, first-year.”

Todo grinned, his scarred face making the expression even more menacing. “Shin told me I could expect something interesting from you two. So, let me ask you one question.”

“What kind of women do you like?”

“...Huh?”

Yuji and Megumi both froze, baffled by the absurdity of the question. After a moment of thought, Yuji replied without hesitation.

“For me, someone like Jennifer Lawrence, I guess?”

Megumi recalled the posters in Yuji’s dorm and sighed internally. Glancing at Todo’s serious demeanor, he decided to answer as well, even though the question felt ridiculous.

“I don’t have a specific preference. As long as they have a strong and admirable personality, that’s enough for me.”

Tears streamed down Todo’s face, though his expression seemed oddly joyful.

“You two are complete opposites! Fushiguro, you’re dull like a roadside rock. But Yuji Itadori—you’re exactly what I hoped for! Shin wasn’t wrong about you!”

Yuji, thoroughly confused, leaned toward Megumi and whispered, “What’s his deal?”

Megumi sighed, recalling what the upperclassmen had said about Todo. This guy was definitely going to be a problem—for Yuji, at least.

Yuji watched warily as Todo’s expression shifted into something bizarre, his eyes burning with an intense fighting spirit. Something felt off.

But Todo didn’t immediately challenge Yuji to a fight. He had plans to attend a Takada-chan fan meet later in the afternoon and didn’t want to get all sweaty and disheveled beforehand. He decided to save the fight for the Exchange Event.

“Yuji Itadori... I’ll be waiting for you!”

Watching Aoi Todo's strange expression, Yuji Itadori shuffled a few steps away, glancing at Megumi Fushiguro and whispering, “What’s wrong with this guy?”

Todo, however, seemed entirely satisfied after delivering what he deemed an invitation and agreement. With a meaningful look, he turned and walked away, his day clearly made. Meeting someone so interesting and attending Takada-chan’s meet-and-greet later—it truly was a fantastic day for him.

“Bye-bye.”

After bidding Todo farewell, Shin Shuichi approached with a mischievous grin on his face. “So? Got a good sense of who he is now?”

Yuji, utterly bewildered, asked, “Wait, you know him too, Senpai? He’s so weird. What did he even mean by all that just now?”

Patting Yuji on the shoulder, Shin replied, “Oh, nothing much. He probably sees you as his friend now—though that’s likely a one-sided thing. My guess is he’ll want to fight you soon.”

Yuji had never met someone so inexplicable before. But then Shin continued, “Don’t underestimate him. That guy has exorcised first-grade curses without using a Cursed Technique—more than once. During the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, he even took down a special-grade curse all by himself. If you want to improve in close-quarters combat, there’s a lot you can learn from him.”

Hearing that, Yuji’s expression shifted. Taking down first-grade curses without a technique? Exorcising a special-grade curse solo? This was someone extraordinary.

“Did he say he wanted to fight me? I think I’m actually looking forward to it now!”

Yuji’s excitement bubbled up. After all, wasn’t this his goal? To become someone who could exorcise curses and save others even without relying on a Cursed Technique? Seeing such a real-life example filled him with renewed determination.

Meanwhile, the tension between Maki Zen’in and Mai Zen’in was escalating by the second. Nobara Kugisaki, observing Maki's sharp words and Mai’s scowling retorts, decided she couldn’t let Mai’s attitude slide and jumped into the fray. Nishimiya Momo immediately leapt to Mai’s defense, but verbal sparring wasn’t her strength. Nobara quickly dismantled her arguments, leaving her flustered and puffing her cheeks in frustration.

Noritoshi Kamo, watching all this, sighed deeply. He could handle exorcising curses, but defusing interpersonal drama like this was beyond him.

Since they had only stopped by Tokyo early to visit, and Todo had already left to see his idol Takada-chan, the other Kyoto students didn’t stay long. With the atmosphere turning sour, they decided it was best to excuse themselves.

“Practice hard and crush them at the Exchange Event!”

Maki, feeling victorious after the verbal clash, was in a great mood. She immediately dove back into training, reminding the others that they still had team battle strategies to finalize.

---

Two Days Later

The official meeting between Tokyo Jujutsu High and Kyoto Jujutsu High finally began.

From Kyoto, Principal Gakuganji and Utahime Iori led their group. After the formal introductions, Utahime noticed something—or rather, someone—was missing.

“Where is that idiot?” she asked, scanning the room. Both sides were accounted for—except for one person.

The Tokyo students exchanged knowing looks. If Gojo Satoru wasn’t late, could it even be considered normal?

Of course, Gojo didn’t make them wait long. Arriving fashionably late with a bag in hand, he greeted everyone cheerfully.

“Wow, you’re all so early! Looks like everyone’s here already. I was abroad on business, so I brought back some souvenirs for you all!”

He started pulling items out of the bag and handing them to the group—small palm-sized dolls woven from straw rope.

“Here, here, I’ve got plenty this time—even one for you, Utahime!”

Utahime showed a look of disdain. “Who wants that?”

Faced with the rather shabby trinket, Kasumi Miwa, on the other hand, was overjoyed. She didn’t care about the item itself—it was the fact that it came from her idol.

“Principal! You’re looking pretty healthy for your age. But old people, you know—don’t go kicking the bucket suddenly! If that happens, you better let me know in advance!”

Getting close to the Principal with that cheeky grin, Satoru Gojo successfully provoked the veins on the principal’s forehead to bulge in irritation. Completely unbothered, Gojo turned toward Utahime, likely saying something else that almost sent her into a fit on the spot.

It was Principal Yaga who stepped forward to announce the details of the exchange event. “The team battles will officially begin in two days. Kyoto High participants are: Aoi Todo, Noritoshi Kamo…”

“Tokyo High participants are: Maki Zen’in, Toge Inumaki…”

Besides Shin Shuichi sitting out, Junpei Yoshino joined on Tokyo’s side, while Kyoto only had Nao from the first-years. The numbers on both sides matched perfectly—seven against seven. After noting some precautions, the day concluded, leaving everyone to await the event's formal start.

“Alright, so Panda and Nobara will team up. Toge, Junpei, and Yuji will form another group. Lastly, I’ll pair with Megumi. Megumi will search for the curses, and I’ll handle any obstacles. Toge, you guys deal with that nuisance Todo. Just stall or eliminate him however you can. That’ll leave Noritoshi as their last real problem. Oh, Shin, you know that new student pretty well, don’t you? What’s her technique?”

Hearing Maki’s question, Shin stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, her technique relates to the soul, but back then, she wasn’t very skilled in combat. The exact applications of her technique haven’t been developed much yet, so…”

Maki’s glasses reflected the overhead lights. “Also, wasn’t that special-grade mission, which dragged in the first-years, arranged by the higher-ups aligned against Gojo-sensei? Isn’t Kyoto’s principal part of that faction? We need to be extra cautious tomorrow—what if they use this opportunity to strike again?”

Shin, knowing some of the truth behind the scenes, doubted the higher-ups would make another obvious move against Yuji. Still, vigilance wouldn’t hurt, so he kept quiet and let Maki finalize their preparations.


---

Two Days Later

Shin sat in the viewing area reserved for faculty, once again relying on Mei Mei to broadcast the on-site footage. Not that she minded—after all, she was being paid to do it.

After politely greeting everyone present, Shin took his seat. Utahime, after responding to his greeting, complimented him with satisfaction. To her, Shin was a handsome, powerful, and—most importantly—polite young man. It was hard to imagine he had been raised and taught by someone like Gojo. Good talent clearly wouldn’t turn bad so easily.

Gojo, meanwhile, couldn’t figure out why Utahime was looking at him so strangely. But rather than provoke her further, he shifted his focus to the monitor showing the battlefield.

Both teams had set off from their starting points, searching for either curses or opponents. Noritoshi Kamo and the others likely prioritized exorcising the second-grade curse, but Aoi Todo had a different goal entirely—he wanted to find Yuji Itadori and have a good fight.

The first encounter happened between Todo and Yuji’s group. Seeing Todo emerge from the forest with a broad grin, Toge Inumaki pulled down his collar, ready for battle. Despite his relaxed demeanor, Todo’s taut muscles signaled his readiness to evade a curse-speaker’s attack. After all, his target was only Yuji Itadori.

“Toge-senpai, I’ll handle him. You and Junpei keep moving forward.”

Yuji stretched his body with confidence. Toge chose to trust him—after all, they couldn’t all be held back here. If the enemy were focusing entirely on eliminating curses or targeting other members, it would be disastrous.

“Salmon.”

With that, Toge signaled Junpei to follow as they advanced deeper into the arena. Todo made no attempt to stop them; it suited him just fine.

“Yuji Itadori, to show my respect, I won’t hold back this time.”

Yuji wiped his nose, his face glowing with battle spirit. “Oh? That’s perfect because I was thinking the same thing.”

As Yuji charged toward him, Todo’s grin widened. “Show me if you’re worthy of being my besto friendo, Yuji Itadori!”

---

Elsewhere

Maki and Megumi, guided by Nue, darted swiftly through the forest. A faint sound of something cutting through the air caught Maki’s attention. “Careful!”

Nue leaped up and caught the incoming object in its jaws—a jujutsu-infused arrow tipped with blood.

“That’s… the Kamo family’s Blood Manipulation!”

Realizing it instantly, Megumi quickly ordered Nue to spit out the arrow. But it was too late—the blood on it had already formed spikes and exploded in Nue’s mouth, leaving minor injuries.

Thankfully, there wasn’t much blood, so the damage was limited. But this was only a warning shot. Moments later, Noritoshi Kamo stepped out of the woods. “Only two from the Zen’in family?”

Maki retrieved her cursed tools from her cloth bag, eyeing the woods behind him. “What, you’re here alone too? Feeling confident, are we?”

Noritoshi didn’t respond, simply nocking two arrows and firing them. Maki dashed forward, slashing them mid-air, only to be blocked by a massive blood blade the size of a millstone.

Blood Manipulation: Cutting Edge.

From another direction, intense heat suddenly surged. Megumi, having just recalled Nue, immediately noticed it. “Maki-senpai!”

The two split apart just as a massive beam of light obliterated their previous position, leveling everything in its path.

Observing the battlefield, Megumi heard Noritoshi’s voice behind him. “You shouldn’t get distracted.”

Noritoshi, his eyes surrounded by blood-red markings, had silently appeared beside him. Before Megumi could react, he was struck and sent flying, crashing through a tree before tumbling to the ground.

In his Flowing Red Scale state, Noritoshi dashed toward the downed Megumi, only to sense a shift in cursed energy. Megumi, now focused, completed a hand sign.

A colossal shikigami emerged from the shadows, snapping at Noritoshi, who barely evaded the attack. But before he could recover, the serpent’s tail struck him, hurling him across the battlefield with bone-shaking force. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he muttered under his breath, “This shikigami…"