After the Exchange Event incident wrapped up, and all the cleanup work and various headaches were dealt with, Hayashi finally got some freedom.
The past few days had been exhausting—running around reporting things left and right. It wasn't until today that everything was truly finished.
On top of that, Hayashi transferred half of the agreed-upon funds to Gojo Satoru, as promised. Gojo took the money with a grin and left, reminding Hayashi that if anything like this came up again, the same deal would apply.
Whenever Hayashi went to China or other countries to exorcise cursed spirits, he'd split the earnings fifty-fifty with Gojo, who'd then take the heat for him.
For now, that was the only way. Hayashi's strength was impressive, but he wasn't at the level to handle the fallout himself yet—his jujutsu sorcerer grade was still too low.
But a sorcerer's grade doesn't define everything. A low grade doesn't mean weak skills, so Hayashi didn't care much about titles like that.
His classmates hadn't suffered any fatal injuries in this incident, but they'd all taken some hits. Those special-grades weren't messing around, after all.
Hayashi had handled most of the danger himself. The seniors from Kyoto and Tokyo schools only dealt with Shikami and Kumiya Juzo.
Shikami never once used its Domain throughout the whole ordeal—maybe it knew opening one wouldn't do much in that situation. It couldn't have wiped out everyone inside a Domain.
If Banko had taken out a few more people, Shikami might've been able to clean up the rest. But too bad for them—Hayashi took Banko down right at the start.
Noon.
Hayashi carried two big bags into the school's recovery building, a sort of infirmary-like rest area where the injured could stay for easy care.
The school's facilities were definitely better than outside hospitals. Out there, healing-type jujutsu sorcerers were rare and in short supply.
Treating regular people? No problem. Treating jujutsu sorcerers? That got tricky.
"How's everyone holding up?" Hayashi asked as he pushed the door open with a burst of cursed energy.
Inside, he saw Maki and Kugisaki Nobara lying in bed. The others sat on chairs nearby. As for the Kyoto school seniors, they'd already gone back to their own school for treatment.
"Hayashi's here!"
Itadori Yuji rushed over, grabbing Hayashi's arms with both hands and exclaiming, "Our big hero! Please accept my knee!"
With that, Itadori started to kneel—way too slowly.
"You're taking forever. Need a hand, Itadori?" Fushiguro Megumi appeared behind him out of nowhere and kicked Itadori square in the back of the knee. Down he went, instantly.
Thud.
"Fushiguro, what the heck?!"
Itadori turned around, flustered, glaring at Fushiguro, who just stared back with a deadpan expression. "You're welcome."
"Get up, Itadori, quit messing around," Hayashi said, setting down his two big bags. "I made this noodles myself. It's been a while—bet you've been craving my cooking, huh?"
"For real?!" Itadori sprang up, darting to the white bags and opening them. Inside were boxes of food, the aroma wafting out.
That familiar smell, with a unique twist—yep, definitely Hayashi's work.
"Pass it around. The mess is over, so take it easy for now. Shouldn't be any more trouble for a while," Hayashi said with a smile. It was just comforting words, though—the current situation wasn't exactly rosy.
Too many unknowns loomed ahead, so the future would only get thornier, not easier.
After Itadori handed out the noodles, he sat down to dig in himself.
Everyone's view of Hayashi was pretty weird now—especially the upperclassmen.
They never would've guessed Hayashi was the best at playing it low-key. The strength he'd shown at the Exchange Event completely flipped their assumptions upside down.
The teachers might not have witnessed that epic fight, but that didn't mean it didn't happen or wasn't resolved.
On the contrary, Hayashi had taken care of everything. Gojo only stepped in at the end to mop up the leftovers.
Most of the teachers didn't even get a chance to act before it was all over.
So now, whether at Tokyo or Kyoto school, Hayashi was universally recognized as a powerhouse—possibly even stronger than Okkotsu Yuta or Hakari Kinji.
The incident had been locked down as tightly as possible. Neither Kyoto nor Tokyo school would spill the details.
As for Mahito's side? No way they'd talk. Losing like that—admitting it would just be humiliating.
With a track record of failure like Mahito's, who'd even want to join them?
So every channel was sealed up tight. Aside from the unseen higher-ups, no one else knew a thing about this event.
With Hayashi's strength so obvious, he'd quietly become the unofficial leader here—the one everyone aimed to match.
"Hayashi, when you asked me to teach you how to use cursed tools and some tricks, were you just messing with me, senpai?" Maki asked, propped up in bed, taking a bite of noodles.
She wasn't wearing her glasses, making her look sharper than usual. Her face was paler, too—probably temporary blood loss from her injuries.
But they were minor wounds. A few days of rest, and she'd be fine. With her incomplete Heavenly Restriction, this was nothing.
Her physique was special—way tougher than the average grown man. You couldn't judge her body by typical female standards.
"Geez, Maki-senpai, always joking," Hayashi said with a laugh. "I'm genuinely terrible with cursed tools—no lie there. Compared to you, my methods and skills are like a baby's, while you're at least an adult."
"That sounds… kinda weird," Maki replied. Hayashi was right, but something about it felt off to her.
"Alright, I think you guys can get discharged tomorrow. How about I book a private room for lunch? I'll invite the Kyoto seniors too—I've got some things to say," Hayashi said, clapping his hands and standing up.
"What big move are you planning now?" Itadori asked, gulping down his broth in one go.
"Something like that. Since the school won't approve it, we'll just have to move under the radar," Hayashi said. His goal was to train everyone together and boost their strength—except Mechamaru, for now.
Yeah, just temporarily.
"Hosting should really be on us. If it weren't for you, things could've gone south for us," Panda said then.
"You're too modest, senpai. Even without me, Gojo-sensei was there. He wouldn't let anything happen," Hayashi replied, heading for the door. "Alright, everyone, I'm off. See you tomorrow."
After Hayashi left, the room fell into an odd silence. No one quite knew how to keep the conversation going.