Chapter 75: Sports Meet on the Eve of War.
"Old man, what kind of group battle rules have you cooked up this time?" Gojo Satoru, wearing vintage sunglasses, pushed open the door to the principal's office and asked Yoshinobu Gakuganji inside.
"It's right here. Take a look, Gojo Satoru." Yoshinobu Gakuganji didn't get angry, merely pointing with the hand holding his cane to the white paper on the desk. He knew that getting angry in front of this guy was useless; it would only get him labeled as ineffectual.
"Alrighty!" Gojo Satoru hopped over and sat on the sofa, picking up the white paper from the desk to read. The more he read, the more interested he became. He asked, "Is your school serious? Such a large-scale maze can't be constructed in a short amount of time."
"Isn't that what you're here for, Gojo Satoru? Don't tell me even you can't construct this thing?" Yoshinobu Gakuganji raised his white eyebrows lightly, his eyes fixed intently on the unrestrained Gojo Satoru before him.
"Interesting." Gojo Satoru stood up, rolled his shoulders, and said, "Alright, let's get to work quickly. Strive to get this thing constructed before lunch at eleven."
"Good, I'll take you there." Yoshinobu Gakuganji stood up and led Gojo Satoru out of the principal's office. As they passed the training grounds, they saw the students from both Tokyo and Kyoto schools on their morning run.
Gojo Satoru said with satisfaction, "Not bad, promoting friendship between the two schools."
"Indeed. After all, the future of the jujutsu world depends on these kids. Of course, it would be better if there weren't people with thinking as dangerous as yours," Yoshinobu Gakuganji said, glancing sideways at Gojo Satoru.
"Hmph, think whatever you want, you old geezers with one foot in the grave. What I know is, I want to cultivate more geniuses to change the currently rotten jujutsu world." Gojo Satoru smiled, looking at the several figures in the field, his eyes filled with expectation.
"That's why I say your thinking is dangerous." Yoshinobu Gakuganji said and continued walking towards their destination. Gojo Satoru glanced at him and followed.
Currently, at the training grounds.
The students from both schools had started a relay race, as if neither was willing to submit to the other, sprinting wildly on the track. Momo Nishimiya, due to her lack of running prowess, was grouped with Tatsuro's leg of the race and was allowed to use her 'Tsukumogami Manipulation' to fly on her broom.
(Tsukumogami Manipulation: The data the author got is controlling objects.)
Momo Nishimiya glanced at Tatsuro and said, "Don't think that just because you could temporarily fight Todo to a standstill, you can match my speed. Relying on your physical strength alone, you absolutely can't be faster than me."
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm usually a very amateur runner. After all, stalling for time during a battle is my specialty."
As Tatsuro spoke, Okkotsu Yuta dashed past him. Mechamaru also made "clack, clack, clack" sounds as it sped along.
The rules of the race were as follows: one lap around the training track was five hundred meters, each person ran two laps, then passed the baton to the next person. The person receiving the baton could only run after receiving it, which also tested their starting explosive power. The losing team had to fulfill one request from the winning team, as long as it wasn't excessive.
Tatsuro was assigned the third and fourth laps (second runner). Senior Kinji Hakari was dueling with Noritoshi Kamo, also a second-year, for the final leg.
Although the group battle was scheduled to start at noon, everyone thought there was nothing wrong with competing against each other a bit right now.
Okkotsu Yuta currently had a slight lead. Although it was difficult to run purely on physical strength without using cursed energy against a cursed corpse, it didn't mean he would give up.
Seeing Tatsuro still a hundred meters away, Okkotsu Yuta took a deep breath, clenched his jaw, his leg muscles bulging again as he accelerated once more.
"What! He can still accelerate!" Mechamaru, already at its top speed, was astonished to see Okkotsu Yuta, who could still run faster. It hadn't expected this guy, who only looked skinny, to be not weak at all when he actually ran.
But it was already at its maximum speed. After all, its body was a cursed corpse, and every movement required cursed energy. Accelerating further would be a foul.
However...
Momo Nishimiya had no speed limit. As long as the baton could be passed to her, victory was... absolutely certain!
Then she could look down arrogantly at these Tokyo school members who had lost the race.
At this moment, Okkotsu Yuta had already passed the baton to Tatsuro, shouting, "I did my best! It's up to you now, Tatsuro!"
Tatsuro didn't say anything, just took the baton and sprinted wildly, the leg muscles under his long pants bulging high, like a wild boar rushing forward, breaking through all lines of defense.
This stunned Momo Nishimiya. She hadn't even taken off yet, and he had already run nearly a hundred meters. What kind of monstrous speed was that?
"Coming, senior Nishimiya." Mechamaru passed the baton. Momo Nishimiya grunted in acknowledgment, took the baton, bent low, and flew off along the designated track.
She was the only one here not restricted in using cursed energy. Although she didn't know why, it would be too embarrassing to lose like this.
Tatsuro currently lowered his body, minimizing wind resistance. As long as he ran fast enough, he wouldn't lose his center of gravity and fall.
This was theory, and also practice.
People can lose control if they run too fast and lean too far forward. Reduce wind resistance, stride forward, lean forward, using this body as the center of gravity – forward, forward, forward!
Until this very moment, the so-called fastest!
His breathing came in rapid gasps, his heart pounded. A mere thousand meters, crush it.
Momo Nishimiya watched Tatsuro running faster and faster, screaming "not human" in her heart. A sense of humiliation welled up.
At this point, Kinji Hakari and Noritoshi Kamo also entered the field, looking at Tatsuro who had almost finished his first lap. Hakari laughed, "No way, no way, your Kyoto school's second-year isn't up to much, huh? Flying in the sky on a broom and still not as fast as my junior."
Noritoshi Kamo: "Don't be too arrogant. The real contest is between us two. Don't think you can outrun me."
"Pfft!" Hakari merely chuckled at this, saying nothing. Tatsuro whizzed past him, while Momo Nishimiya, flying in the sky, was still a hundred meters behind.
This was probably what "professional specialty" meant. When a person applies their life's learning to running, perhaps it can produce extraordinary results.
Tatsuro, this amateur runner, could only say that he had only a little bit of research on how to run faster.
Just a little bit, only researched it for about four or five days.
What to do if you can't win on the battlefield? First, don't panic.
You must observe all six directions with your eyes and listen to all eight with your ears. After finding a suitable escape route, you must use your sturdy thighs, push off the ground rapidly with both legs, and then shout:
"Nigerundayo!"
"It's up to you now, senior Hakari!" Tatsuro, having finished his two laps, passed the baton to Kinji Hakari.
"Oh!" Kinji Hakari snatched the baton and charged out like a human tank.
This baton pass conveyed not only the honor of Tokyo Academy's certain victory but also the conviction of Okkotsu Yuta and Tatsuro. The fire of passion ignited in their hearts would never be extinguished.
Momo Nishimiya, arriving five seconds later, handed the baton to Noritoshi Kamo, her face red as she said, "Sorry, Captain. Tatsuro was just too fast. I did my best."
Noritoshi Kamo showed no intention of blaming her, just replied with an "Mm" and ran off, racing against time. Although it was a small competition, he couldn't lose. This was his duty as captain!
After all, losing meant being a notch inferior in skill, and word would spread, becoming a laughingstock for the Kamo family.
"Water."
"Thanks." Tatsuro took the iced water handed to him by senior Kirara Hoshi, took a large gulp, and looked at the two sprinting on the field. Honestly, it reminded him of sports meets in high school. As for why not middle school, it was because he had never participated...
Others avoided him like the plague, so how could he participate in such things?
"Are you part dog or something? Running so fast?" Momo Nishimiya walked over, holding a bottle of iced water.
"No, I have a dog at home. I'll let you meet him sometime; he runs much faster than me." As Tatsuro spoke, he sat down on the stone steps, waiting for senior Hakari to win first place. After all, the time difference was already significant; no matter how skilled Noritoshi Kamo was, he couldn't possibly overcome this five-second gap.
Unless Todo was here...
No, even if Todo were here, it wouldn't work. Senior Hakari was also terrifyingly strong. He seemed like he was on steroids right now, running faster and faster, his speed already far surpassing Tatsuro's own.
Second-years were truly second-years, real monsters.
Kinji Hakari left Noritoshi Kamo behind by more than two hundred meters, securing first place with an utterly dominant performance.
Victorious, Kinji Hakari took off his shirt and shouted, "Crushed!!"
Tatsuro also glanced at Momo Nishimiya beside him and said with a mischievous grin, "According to the bet..."
"Eek!" Momo Nishimiya hugged her broom and ran off directly, shouting, "Go talk to the captain, don't look for me!"
Mechamaru, seeing the situation wasn't right, also quietly slipped away.
Ten seconds later, four loving youths cornered Noritoshi Kamo at the finish line, saying, "According to the bet."
"..."
Noritoshi Kamo, indeed, had the demeanor of a captain. Panting slightly, he said, "Go ahead, but don't be too excessive. Only one request."
The four exchanged glances for a moment, finally deciding that Tatsuro would speak.
"Ahem!" Tatsuro stepped out from the group and said, "It's not excessive. In the future, whenever you see any one of us four, you have to say, 'Hello, Big Brother.'"
Noritoshi Kamo directly refused, "No, that would damage the dignity of the Kamo family."
"Hiss... In that case, I won't insist. How about 'granting any request'? If we're in trouble, you have to unconditionally save us."
Facing Tatsuro's request, Noritoshi Kamo didn't think it was excessive and agreed, "Okay, but if we ourselves are in danger, we will still abandon you first."
"Deal!" Tatsuro didn't care about that. This guy was a direct descendant of the Kamo family, rich, powerful, and cared about face. Breaking a promise would make him famous in the jujutsu world for the wrong reasons and would also incur a verbal curse.
This curse was the contract.
"Okay, let's exchange phone numbers."