Sure enough, that person had already started showing off. “Who told them not to focus on proper Curse Exorcism and instead go looking for trouble with Yuta?” he said loudly. “If they had paid attention to Cursed Spirit like we did, they would not have failed to grab even one.”

  “When Shoko Ieiri and I joined the Goodwill Event, didn’t Mei Mei and Utahime Iori do just fine?” he continued. “If you want to blame someone, blame the people who told you to do this. So, Ari, well done.” As he spoke, he high-fived Akira and shot a provocative look at Yoshinobu Gakuganji.

  You could steal points, and even team matches with a lot of luck involved could be shut out. But in the individual matches that relied purely on hard power, what were they going to use to win? Suppressing Yuta with Rika Orimoto, or suppressing Akira with Pokemon?

  Even if we agreed to that, which we might not, you still might not win. When that happened, the embarrassment would be complete. Being humiliated like this with no way to respond, how could Yoshinobu Gakuganji not be angry?

  Still, his years had not been wasted. He knew very well that lashing out now would only play into Satoru Gojo’s hands, so he stayed silent and let him talk. Without anyone responding, Satoru Gojo would soon lose interest on his own.

  On the other side, Akira was quietly observing Noritoshi Kamo. He watched his expression and eyes, trying to judge whether he had learned anything. The result was deeply disappointing.

  After the match, most of Noritoshi Kamo’s attention was still on Yuta. It was true that he and his team had suffered a heavy loss because of Yuta, but in this team battle, was that the only setback he had faced? Being completely overwhelmed by Maki Zenin, who had no Cursed Energy, was not even counted, and he paid no attention at all to Akira, the real core of Tokyo Jujutsu High.

  Akira had not acted much personally, but Gardevoir had forced Aoi Todo and Kinji Hakari to stop fighting. On top of that, there was his strong prediction ability, and the fact that he had sent Pokémon ahead of time to record their actions against Yuta. Was that still not enough?

  You were the commander of Kyoto Jujutsu High. If you could not grasp the overall situation and only stared at the strongest damage dealer, then unless the decision to surround and target Yuta was not just Yoshinobu Gakuganji’s idea, but also your own will. That was what Akira least wanted to see.

  It would mean that under the education of the Kamo Clan, Noritoshi Kamo was gradually becoming the kind of person Akira and Akemi Aki disliked. A traditional head of one of the Three Great Clans, and a backbone of the Conservative Faction. Of course, this did not mean he had forgotten his biological mother Akemi Aki.

  Maybe he planned to secure his position as heir first, then bring her back after becoming clan head. But the power of time was frightening, and so was human habit. Once Noritoshi Kamo got used to accepting things and thinking in the traditional way of the Three Great Clans, what would he become in the end?

  If the family told you to take a concubine, would you do it? If that concubine gave birth to a child who inherited Blood Manipulation, while the legal wife had none, and there was another child swap, what would you say? Yes, you would be in pain, and you would not want this.

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  But what if the legal wife held more power? More directly, what if you were not even the clan head yet? No matter what your original intention was, once you acted this way, how would Akemi Aki, who was kind, gentle, and still held expectations for you, feel about it?

  At that point, whether she would even want to see you again would be uncertain. We brothers would also stand completely on the opposite side. Akira admitted that he was a selfish person.

  For things that did not matter to him, he was willing to respect other people’s choices and agree to disagree. But when it came to his own principles, he would not back down, even if it meant hurting or killing someone. That was the line he would never cross.

  “Shana?” a voice called softly. “What’s wrong?” Concern reached his ear.

  “It’s nothing,” Akira lowered his voice. “Someone’s performance just isn’t looking good.” “You mean Noritoshi Kamo?” Maki Zenin understood immediately.

  “What about him?” she asked. “If you need it, I can beat him up again tomorrow.” “This isn’t something that can be solved by beating someone,” Akira sighed. “He needs to be woken up, and you’re not suitable for that.”

  “After all, I only know how to fight and beat people,” she said bluntly, which was normal for their daily interactions and for all of Tokyo Jujutsu High. “As for someone who can talk sense, besides you, maybe Panda?” “Panda isn’t close enough. He might not listen,” Akira replied after thinking it over.

  “Did you call me?” Panda suddenly popped his head out. As an Cursed Corpse, his hearing was far sharper than a human’s. “No,” Akira and Maki Zenin said at the same time.

  Panda froze as if struck by lightning, then squatted down, completely deflated. “Am I… being disliked?” The man, the woman, and Gardevoir all fell silent.

  This was also part of Tokyo Jujutsu High’s daily life. Panda was clearly very popular, yet always suspected that everyone hated him, and no one knew whether it was real or an act. The reason soon appeared.

  “Wan, wan,” came a comforting sound, as a smaller one of the same kind waddled over. “Oh, little brother, you’re the best,” he said, and that was the standard ending. After being disrupted by the two Panda, Akira felt much better.

  “Maybe this is the best way for brothers to get along,” he said, turning to Maki Zenin. “What do you think?” He called once, but there was no response.

  When he looked up, he saw that she was also looking at someone. Her twin sister, with closer blood ties, Mai Zenin. Every family had its own hard-to-read scripture.

  Maki Zenin?

  Akira called out again.

  “Huh, what?” Maki Zenin finally answered.

  “If you want to find your sister, then go. Today’s matches are already over, and the rest is free time. Just do not stay out all night like Aoi Todo.”

  “Who would do that?”

  She shrugged, clearly never having thought about idol chasing or dating. Unless she either overturned the Zenin Clan or gave up completely and accepted it, those things had nothing to do with her.

  “You have not even sorted out your own problems, so do not meddle in mine and Mai Zenin’s.”

  “That is not certain. Have you heard an old saying from China? ‘Stones from other hills can polish jade.’ What happens between you and your sister might give me ideas. How did you end up like this anyway? You do not seem like someone who would bully her.”

  “I did not bully her. The exact reason… I am not very sure either. One day we just had a huge fight.”

  Being a sister like that really took talent.

  Akira thought for a moment and tested the waters.

  “It was not because you left home, was it?”

  “Probably not. I said long ago that I was going to leave that damn house, and Mai Zenin always knew.”

  This kind of resentment did not form overnight. Even without the long planning that Akira once had, Maki Zenin had prepared herself for a long time.

  “You said she might not become the Makoto. About you wanting to be the head, how many people actually support that?”

  “Besides Satoru Gojo and you guys? Not many.” Maki Zenin answered honestly.

  “Right. Lots of people complain about the Three Great Clans, but most of them stop at complaining and rarely take action.”

  “So it is my fault?”

  “No one is at fault. It is a problem of communication. That is still better than a situation where you cannot even talk. Sisters sitting down and speaking their minds is better than staying stuck like this.”

  Maki Zenin fell silent.