Frieren — Chapter 195 - Pre-Battle CG

THUD!

From the day the Culling Game ended to the agreed battle date of August 15th, less than a month, all told.

While Sukuna prepared his [Sokushinbutsu] and [Bath], the Jujutsu High forces began their final sprint.

THUD!

Inside the training hall, Himmel threw a clean, sharp punch.

Itadori blocked it with his forearm, grabbed the collar, and hoisted Himmel's entire body into the air.

THUD!

An over-the-shoulder slam onto the ground.

'Himmel' sucked air through his teeth.

"How was it?" the man wearing Itadori's face asked. "Did you get the feel of it?"

"...Yeah."

Lying flat on the floor was Itadori Yuji, wearing 'Himmel's' face.

[Transference]

The ability of Mei Mei's younger brother, Ui Ui.

No pre-set location required. He could send himself or anyone else to a distant point, and the target of that 'transference' didn't need to be a specific place.

In other words, he could swap people's souls entirely.

Through soul swapping, the Jujutsu High students could learn from each other's areas of expertise and grow stronger in the shortest possible time.

So right now, Himmel and Itadori were running a soul swap.

Both of them were physical combat types, but Himmel also had Simple Domain and Reverse Cursed Technique. While Itadori was drilling those, he also wanted to pick up something from Himmel's end, how to move the body using Instinct.

Though...

"Even in Himmel-sensei's body, I still can't win." Itadori spread his hands open, then squeezed them into fists.

He could feel the excess energy packed into Himmel's frame.

Itadori's own body was already remarkable. But Himmel was a humanoid heavy tank built beyond the Heavenly Restriction Tyrant.

"Ha, your teacher here has been training since he was in grade school~" Himmel said, thoroughly proud of himself.

Since grade school, in fact, Himmel had already been called [disgustingly strong] by his childhood friend Heiter.

"All done?"

Ui Ui had been nearby helping Mei Mei adjust equipment. Seeing they were just about finished, he walked over.

"Then I'll end the soul swap."

"OK."

Both agreed. Eyes closed, then opened. The moment they opened simultaneously, the look behind Itadori's eyes and the look behind Himmel's eyes each shifted.

The previously energetic Himmel immediately downshifted into old-man mode, his whole bearing softening into something gentle and unhurried.

"Oof."

Itadori, back in his own body, dropped straight down.

He sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his tailbone. "Ow!"

"Sorry. I might have been a bit rough with your body." Himmel smiled.

Around them, the other Jujutsu Sorcerers were doing the same, pairing off with whoever they thought was the best match, swapping, training.

When all was counted, the combat strength they had assembled looked like this:

First Tier: [Himmel, Gojo Satoru]

Second Tier: [Okkotsu Yuta, Geto Suguru]

Third Tier: [Ishigoori Ryu, Yuki Tsukumo, Hakari, Kashimo, Fushiguro Toji, Fushiguro Megumi]

Fourth Tier: [Higuruma, Miguel, Todo Aoi, Kusakabe, Itadori, Kokichi Muta, Nanami]

Anyone beyond these wasn't being counted as combat strength.

Oh, wait. There was one exception.

"Yuji!"

A figure came shooting out from the side and rushed to help up the fallen Itadori Yuji.

"Are you okay?!"

The person had twin spiky buns shooting straight up from their head, and a black line drawn across the bridge of their nose.

That was,

"I'm fine, don't just come rushing over." Itadori pushed Choso away, exasperated.

Right.

The first of the Death Painting Wombs. Choso.

Ever since Itadori's near-death battle against Mahoraga, Choso had inexplicably sensed the blood connection between himself and Itadori.

So afterward, he came to Jujutsu High, got on his knees, and begged for an audience.

Choso and the others had been working under Uraume, but to date, none of them had killed anyone.

They had participated in several fights, but honestly, they hadn't done much. Just delayed things on Itadori's side for a bit.

Itadori had been very reluctant to accept it at first. But after he thought it through, he had to admit the reality of it.

I'm Kenjaku's son, so this actually is my big brother?

Damn. Big brother.

Eso and Kechizu had also joined the Jujutsu High side, receiving the same treatment that had been extended to Miguel and the others. Their strength wasn't up to the mark, so neither of them would be taking part in the battle.

Choso, on the other hand, would join the final Shinjuku showdown as Fourth Tier combat.

"By the way," Itadori gave up on dealing with Choso and turned to Himmel instead.

"Gojo-sensei said to stop by in a bit."

---

"Yo. You made it."

Jujutsu High. A classroom.

Himmel pushed the door open and had just stepped inside when he saw Gojo Satoru sitting cross-legged on top of a student desk. A grown man, and yet somehow still this casual.

"I know it's sudden, saying this, but — this classroom really hasn't changed at all."

Gojo Satoru braced both hands on the desk and leaned back slightly.

Ten years. Gone.

Gojo Satoru had taught class after class of students. Some were mediocre. Some were barely usable. A lot of them had died.

He had made a point of remembering their names anyway.

Even the weak ones. They had been his students.

Memories surfaced, one after another. And in the end, they always came back to the same three years, the ones he'd been happiest.

"You know, Gojo." Himmel saw his expression and couldn't resist. "Wanting to reminisce about the past is proof you're getting old."

"No wonder you're always telling stories about your own past," Gojo Satoru said, looking genuinely surprised.

"........."

Himmel had been aiming that at Gojo Satoru. The joke had circled back around and landed on him instead. He stopped smiling.

"Let's skip the Himmel-roast jokes." Gojo waved a hand. "Seriously, of all the timing. Are you twelve?"

Gojo, you bastard... (half-annoyed)

"You know why I called you here." Gojo Satoru steamrolled over Himmel's rising indignation. "Everyone's ready. All the combat strength we could gather is assembled."

"What about the [Angel]?"

"Never found them. Either they chose not to move, or..." Gojo Satoru scratched his head with a careless air, letting the sentence trail off. "Also, the Cursed Tool vault and the Cursed Object vault were completely destroyed. Lucky for us, we've been keeping the fingers on our persons."

"Alright, that covers the situation. More importantly, we're about to fight. Final arrangement: still just the two of us going in?"

Gojo Satoru was, at his core, a solo fighter.

Textbook case. He was the type who preferred to resolve things alone, which came from his love of looking cool and from the simple fact that he was that strong.

But Gojo Satoru wasn't arrogant enough to say "you're in the way" to Himmel.

He was afraid of eating a Sleep spell and waking up with oil marker on his face reading: 'Fresh Meat, 3.58 per pound.'

But the question stood,

[Were the two of them enough?]

"To be honest, I sensed it back then. Sukuna has already pushed past his own peak. Combined with his [Immortality] technique, I have no confidence we can take him down."

"My read was: wait for you to hit full strength, then we go in together."

"But knowing Sukuna's attitude, he probably didn't just sit on his hands for an entire month either."

Gojo Satoru didn't know about [Bath] or [Sokushinbutsu], but he could guess Sukuna had something in reserve.

"I don't know what level he's sitting at now. If we both go down in one shot, then this side is done~" He said it like he was talking about someone else's problem entirely.

"So —"

"[So I'll go in first alone] — I swear if you say that."

"Tch~"

Gojo Satoru, denied his solo, looked thoroughly put out.

"So? What's the conclusion?"

Himmel was quiet for a moment.

"First wave — bring two more."

Gojo Satoru frowned instinctively.

But Himmel talked him around quickly.

[Charisma: C+++]

[As a mere adventurer, he does not possess the capacity to lead armies or govern kingdoms. As the Hero who defeated the Demon King and ushered in a new era, the only place he can truly be a 'leader' is within his own party.

In other words, when the unit is a small party, he is the finest leader there is.

With 'saving the world' as the goal, and 'four people' as the unit, he carries the power to turn the 'impossible' into 'possible.']

Himmel needed to trigger this ability. With it active, he could raise the base stats of all four.

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that."

Shhk,

The door swung open.

Geto Suguru walked in.

---

"Hm? Kashimo-san?"

"Ugh... Okkotsu Yuta."

In the Jujutsu High corridor, Kashimo ran straight into Okkotsu Yuta. Instantly, an expression of wariness and distaste crossed his face, while Yuta came over cheerfully to say hello.

"Perfect timing, there were actually a few things I wanted to ask you about... Ah, but come to think of it, what brings Kashimo-san here?"

"Hah? You need to ask?"

Kashimo said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm here to demand that your commander-in-chief let me fight Sukuna second."

Very Kashimo.

"Ha, it's great that Kashimo-san is willing to step up." Yuta said it without a trace of mockery, sounding genuinely pleased. "Ah, in that case, want me to restore Kashimo-san's body first? It'd probably feel more natural that way, right?"

"Stay away from me! I don't trust you!"

Kashimo immediately leveled his staff.

He genuinely did not trust Okkotsu Yuta. All smiles on the outside, no one could say what was going on behind those eyes.

Something was wired wrong in that head.

What if he was simply tired of looking at his current small body and wanted to upgrade to something larger? If Kashimo walked right into that, he'd be falling for another trick.

Absolutely not.

Kashimo switched topics immediately.

"What about you? Okkotsu Yuta, you were supposed to be in the second wave, weren't you?"

As much as he hated to admit it, Kashimo didn't think they were on the same level as Jujutsu Sorcerers.

Saying 'I'll go second' had been bluster. He knew it.

But...

Okkotsu Yuta's answer landed somewhere he hadn't expected.

"I'll probably be going in the first wave."

"What?!"

Kashimo stared.

He had been ready to ask, 'Do you actually think you're qualified to face Sukuna head-on?' But then Okkotsu Yuta's past battle record surfaced in his memory, and the rebuttal died before it reached his mouth.

No. It wasn't just the record.

It was also this: as someone who had personally crossed hands with Yuta, he had vaguely started to piece it together.

The [truth] that Okkotsu Yuta had been keeping hidden.

"I..."

The boy's hands closed tight.

His smile was gentle. But underneath it was something that didn't move.

"I won't let the teachers carry everything anymore."

[Growing strong alone is meaningless.]

I'll prove it to you, Sensei.

We're already...

---

Unite every force that can be united.

Time burned through fast.

And soon,

The day of August 15th arrived.