JJK: Wheel of Time

"Mission complete!"

After finishing up the handover with the police and the cleanup crew, there wasn't much left for Shin to do.

Realizing that he had spent most of his time either training at the school or going on missions, Shin decided to take a stroll before heading back. He thought about picking up some gifts for the others as well.

By the time he returned, Maki, Panda, and the rest had completed their missions. However, Maki had encountered a small accident during her battle, though it wasn't anything serious.

It was also said that Yuta Okkotsu's girlfriend, Rika, had fully manifested and had torn apart the cursed spirit in their mission with overwhelming force.

Maki reported that Yuta Okkotsu had been ranked as a Special Grade Sorcerer! Currently, there were only three known Special Grade sorcerers: Satoru Gojo, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer; Yuki Tsukumo, who spent most of her time abroad; and Suguru Geto, who had been labeled as a cursed user.

So, Yuta Okkotsu was the fourth Special Grade Sorcerer? Given his girlfriend's terrifying—no, overwhelmingly powerful presence, it seemed understandable.

"N-no, not at all," Yuta stammered under the weight of everyone's gazes. Panda stood by, repeatedly voicing his amazement, while Toge Inumaki made his own remarks in rice ball code.

Maki stood to the side, arms crossed, with a slight sneer. This beanpole didn't look the part of a Special Grade Sorcerer at all. Without that curse of his, he would be totally weak.

But… during that time, he was the one who had saved her and those two kids, wasn't he? Although he was still pretty weak, it's good that he had the resolve to get stronger.

"Let's go. Time for training."

Maki was the first to head towards the training ground. Panda patted Yuta on the back and said energetically, "Come on! Let's get stronger together!"

Yuta nodded heavily, smiling, and the group followed Maki down the hallway. Warm sunlight streamed through the window, casting their smiles in a golden glow.

…

"Ha… ha…"

Yuta Okkotsu was gasping for air, leaning on his wooden training sword, his limbs numb, almost like they weren't his own. Across from him stood Maki, still full of fighting spirit.

"Get up! Hold that sword and stand. You've already rested for five minutes." Maki, clearly impatient, urged him on.

Not far away, Panda sympathetically commented, "Yuta is really strong. Maki and Shin have been taking turns sparring with him. This must be the seventh time. I'm impressed he can still hold on."

"Salmon." Toge added.

After Yuta had volunteered, saying he wanted to get stronger fast, Maki had coldly set up this intense training regimen, where she and Shin took turns subjecting Yuta to grueling sessions.

His progress was obvious, but it tested his willpower and stamina to their limits. The aim was to push him beyond his physical boundaries. And as for any injuries sustained, they had Ms. Shoko Ieiri, who could use the Reverse Cursed Technique, so it wasn't a big deal.

Once Yuta stood back up and took a stance again, Maki finally smiled with satisfaction. "Ready to face the storm?"

Just as Shin, who had recently finished his turn, was about to observe, he spotted Principal Yaga approaching with a familiar figure beside him. Shin immediately perked up and ran over.

The figure beside Yaga broke into a sprint as well. As they got closer, Shin realized it was the long-absent White Wolf.

The now slightly larger White Wolf leaped at Shin, knocking him down with a pounce, and then furiously nuzzled and licked him.

After a moment of wrestling the dog's head, White Wolf finally calmed down and sat obediently, giving Shin a moment to inspect the wolf's changed appearance.

Its body had grown larger—now it was nearly at waist height even while sitting. Its strength had also increased; it had knocked Shin down effortlessly just now.

Its fur now had streaks of black, and besides these external changes, the cursed energy within the wolf was much more concentrated. To put it simply, White Wolf was now roughly on par with a second-grade cursed spirit, at least in its combat form.

Of course, this comparison only applied to its combat state. Though White Wolf was also a cursed corpse crafted by Principal Yaga, it was entirely different from Panda, who was Yaga's greatest creation—a rare, mutated cursed corpse.

Even if Yaga tried to create another like Panda, such a miracle wouldn't be replicated. However, White Wolf could still be considered one of Yaga's masterpieces.

Its usual energy consumption wasn't too high, and it could manage a self-sustaining cycle. But in combat, it required Shin, its master, to supply additional cursed energy as needed.

Shortly after Shin had arrived at Jujutsu High, Principal Yaga had taken White Wolf to "upgrade" it, claiming his techniques had greatly improved since before.

Most of these upgrades seemed to be combat-related. As Yaga approached, Shin smiled and greeted him, asking, "Principal Yaga, what upgrades did you give White Wolf?"

Yaga couldn't hide his pride. "First, its overall capabilities were enhanced. If it has enough cursed energy, it could probably exorcise some second-grade cursed spirits on its own."

"Secondly, I enhanced its tracking abilities. It can now more accurately and over a wider range trace cursed energy."

Shin thanked Yaga again. Soon after, Panda and the others noticed the scene and came over to greet the principal. White Wolf quickly drew all their attention.

After all, who wouldn't love a friendly, silly dog? Even just petting it a little was fun. Surprisingly, even Maki, who usually acted indifferent, couldn't resist giving White Wolf a pat after the dog playfully nudged her.

A resting Yuta, touched by the sight, remarked, "What a good dog."

Shin then had White Wolf demonstrate its combat form. After releasing its cursed energy, White Wolf visibly grew in size, almost one-third larger than usual. Its paws were nearly as big as Shin's face.

Its claws and fangs became sharper, and its fur bristled with strength. Though it looked more imposing, the goofy dog barely lasted two seconds before it came back, begging for more pats.

But despite its silly behavior, when it joined a real fight under Shin's command, White Wolf could handle quite a bit. Its excellent tracking skills alone were incredibly useful. If they'd had White Wolf last time, hunting down that murderer would've been much easier.

After a short break, Yuta was dragged back to training by Maki, and Principal Yaga left to tend to his many responsibilities.

The following days were just the usual Jujutsu High routine. Apart from daily training, Yuta also had to learn various aspects of the jujutsu world, as he had known almost nothing before.

Shin and the others were occasionally assigned missions, especially Shin and Toge. Being second-grade sorcerers, they could take on tasks independently.

Toge's cursed speech made handling second-grade and below cursed spirits quite easy, while Shin used these opportunities to improve his coordination with White Wolf.

As time passed, Yuta progressed rapidly under the relentless training. In terms of pure physical combat, he was starting to hold his own in one-on-one bouts with both Maki and Shin.

One morning, after finishing physical training, Shin was practicing his cursed techniques when he heard Panda shouting from afar.

"Shin, the exchange event with Kyoto High is about to start!"

Shin paused for a moment. He vaguely remembered something about it. Oh, right! It was a competition between schools.

Seeing Shin deep in thought, Panda assumed he didn't know much about the event and continued explaining, "It's a competition between us and Kyoto Metropolitan Technical College, decided by the principals of both schools."

"Normally, second- and third-years participate, but since most of them aren't around, and because we have Yuta, a Special Grade, they're letting us first-years join in."

As they walked toward a vending machine, Shin asked, "With Yuta, doesn't that mean we're guaranteed to win?"

Panda inserted coins, grabbed two cold drinks, handed one to Shin, and replied, "We can't say for sure. After all, it's just an exchange event, so Rika can't make an appearance. But Yuta is already really strong, and we'll be allowed to use cursed energy and techniques. Our chances are still pretty high."

"What's the content of the event?"

Although Shin had a rough idea, he asked Panda. Scratching his head, Panda replied, "It's probably group battles and individual fights. We'll find out soon."

Arriving at the field, Toge was running laps with White Wolf trailing behind. Maki was sparring with Yuta on the grass.

The two had been at it for a while, and shortly after Shin and Panda arrived, their bout concluded, with Maki narrowly coming out on top in terms of pure weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

Maki sheathed her weapon and turned to Shin and Panda. "You've heard, right? It's likely to happen next week. We need to intensify our training."

Having just finished his run, Toge agreed, while White Wolf barked enthusiastically beside him. Panda raised his hand confidently and said, "That's right! Let's give it our all!"

"Hey, hey! My lovely students, seeing you all so energetic makes me really happy as your teacher!"

Everyone turned to see Satoru Gojo, dressed casually and sporting his usual sunglasses, approaching from not far away. After greeting him, Maki, with some irritation, remarked, "What's this unreliable guy blindfolded guy doing here?"

Gojo strolled over, resting both hands behind his head lazily. "I came to check on my adorable students, of course! Seeing you all so pumped up, I've got a burning passion inside too! I've decided I'll give you some special training before the exchange event."

While Maki and Panda didn't seem too fazed, Shin's face darkened upon hearing Gojo's words. When Gojo said "special training," what he really meant was hellish training.

This wasn't just about pushing to what you thought was your limit — Gojo pushed you to your actual limit. Shin had experienced this before and could only describe it as being on the verge of life and death.

Draining his drink in one gulp, Shin calmly said, "Hell is about to descend…"

Confused, Panda smiled and asked, "Shin, what did you just say?"

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