Chapter 153

Pulled from Jujutsu High during his suspension, Kinji Hakari now operates a clandestine fight circuit pitting sorcerers against one another. Needing his power for the coming conflict, Yuji and Megumi slip into the tournament hoping to ask for his aid, all while hiding their ties to the school he no longer trusts.

Master Tengen pointed the pair to Hakari, who runs his betting operation out of a derelict parking structure in Tochigi Prefecture. The matches set sorcerers against each other in unarmed combat before a crowd of mostly ordinary onlookers, a clear breach of the secrecy regulations, and Tengen warned that curse users likely lurk among the fighters. Shedding their uniforms outside, Megumi reasons that Hakari, suspended and wary of the higher-ups, would never cooperate with anyone tied to the school.

At the entrance a manager and a guard try to turn the boys away. When the guard throws a punch that stops just shy of his face, Megumi does not flinch, then bluffs that he killed the cocky sorcerer who leaked the club's location, a man named Kondo. He demands the dead man's slot. Word comes from the boss to add one fighter, but only Yuji, since the boss dislikes Megumi. Megumi accepts at the camera, having maneuvered Yuji into exactly the role he wanted.

The plan splits them: Yuji works toward Hakari from inside while Megumi tries to slip in from outside. The guard briefs Yuji on the rules, no fleeing and no jujutsu, and on the two match types, scripted shows and free bouts, noting that a memorable free fight draws the boss's eye. Yuji's surprise opponent turns out to be Panda. The two stage a thrilling exhibition while secretly trading information, Panda confirming Hakari watches through the cameras and signaling Yuji to end it. A planted body shot drops Panda, and Yuji wins to roaring approval. Impressed, Hakari, seated with his colleague Kirara Hoshi, orders Yuji brought to his office, while Megumi hides in a man's shadow to eavesdrop, unnoticed.

This nineteen-page chapter introduces both Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi and opens the Gachinko Fight Club storyline within Volume 18, adapted in anime Episode 52. The deadline pressure is established: with transportation from Tokyo scarce, the boys lost time exorcising spirits en route, leaving roughly nine days to reach Tsumiki. The announcer John☆Bobby calls Yuji and Panda's match the best he has seen.