Now then, immediately after the shikigami duel was declared open, the Blue and Red Gakugan-gers were the first to move.
A blue flash of lightning crackled every time the Blue unit performed a slick bass solo, incorporating a rotary technique on its electric bass. Its discharge attack looked exactly like something out of a robot anime, but it wasn't a natural discharge; it was a directional bombardment powered by cursed energy. If the source of that lightning weren't a shiny bald head, it would have been quite a stylish strike.
"Pfft... hahahaha! Gramps, he looks like a plasma ball...!!! Snort"
"Satoru, I'm surprised you even know what a plasma ball is."
The Tokyo school members were having this carefree conversation because the Flying Dragon had completely blocked the purple lightning bombardment with its defensive barrier. At the same time, they placed absolute trust in the barrier techniques that Haibara had been diligently honing since his enrollment.
However, the Kyoto school members had already anticipated that the Tokyo school's shikigami would possess some form of defense. Following the logic that if the enemy guards, they should simply force them to keep guarding until they run out of cursed energy, the Red Gakugan-ger followed up the Blue unit's strike with an attack of its own.
As it strummed a heavy riff on its electric guitar, the Red Gakugan-ger unleashed, of all things, a fire-breathing performance.
"Wait, wasn't Gene Simmons a bassist?"
Yuki Tsukumo chimed in from the judges' seats, but the range of the attack was quite impressive. The sight of an android resembling Principal Gakuganji spitting massive flames that threatened to char the Flying Dragon was startling to those involved. However, considering Principal Gakuganji's slightly hermit-like look, it didn't actually look that out of place.
Still, considering the technique was a flamethrower fueled by cursed energy, the power was clearly abnormal.
The ones to notice this first were the honor student duo of the Tokyo school, Geto and Naoya.
"Isn't that power way too high no matter how you look at it? There's gotta be a trick to it."
"They boasted about the concept, after all. They might have established a Binding Vow."
"A Vow, huh... If the Yellow one moves next, I might have one candidate in mind."
"Oh, as expected of you. Then should we wait a bit to see how the opponent reacts?"
While the two were whispering their consultation, the Flying Dragon piloted by Haibara ignited its boosters with thunderous sound effects and soared out from the blazing flames. It swung its great odachi in a horizontal sweep to mow down the Gakugan-gers.
The one to respond to that strike, just as Naoya predicted, was the Yellow Gakugan-ger. As it blew its electronic trumpet, playing a fierce sound with a jazz-rock vibe, the ground infused with cursed energy rose up to stop the blow of the great sword.
Its power was clearly enhanced compared to the previous flamethrower, to the point that it actually snapped the Flying Dragon's odachi in half.
"Oh, the Yellow one moved just like Naoya predicted."
"It's probably based on the Five Elements theory. The Sentai appearance itself is a deception. If you look at the colors, they follow the cycle of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water."
The one to sharply overhear Naoya's voice was the Kyoto school pilot, Azuki Sakata.
"As expected of Nao-sama! I can't believe it was exposed this quickly! That's right, the Gakugan-ger is a five-man squad incorporating the concepts of the Five Elements! But just knowing that won't be enough to beat them!"
As if it were a setup by Azuki, the Gakugan-gers cast off their traditional Japanese overcoats as if to say, "Well, the secret's out." Now dressed in a style mimicking Principal Gakuganji's rock aesthetic—T-shirts and hakama—their shirts had the characters for Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water written in huge letters, exactly as Naoya had pointed out.
However, more than anything else, there was something the Tokyo school members had to point out.
"Wait, what's with this 'Nao-sama' thing?"
"I don't know! What even is that? It's creepy!"
In response to the baffled Tokyo members, Azuki Sakata proudly pulled something with a plastic-like shine, resembling a license, from her wallet.
When the Tokyo members focused cursed energy into their eyes to look at the card, they saw a string of text that their brains refused to process: "Zen'in Naoya Fan Club No. 00058," along with Sakata's ID photo. Beside it was the date she joined—the date Naoya had saved her—and a comment section where the strange phrase "Nao-sama is the only winner ♡" danced.
Faced with such a thing, Naoya froze, his eyes losing focus as he stared into the distance. It was obvious his brain was refusing to process the information. Seeing this, the second-year trio of Gojo, Geto, and Shoko doubled over in explosive laughter, and even their classmate Nanami couldn't help but let a laugh slip at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
To make matters worse, Watanabe, another member of the Kyoto school's female trio, silently showed her No. 00059 membership card which said "Naoya-tan, give us some fan service," and to top it all off, Fujiwara also pulled out a card. Naoya's catatonia and Tokyo's laughter became severe, and even the pilot, Haibara, accidentally burst out laughing.
"——An opening!"
"Ah!?"
Azuki wasn't about to miss such a gap. The Gold Gakugan-ger, playing a keyboard, manipulated wires infused with cursed energy to entangle the Flying Dragon's legs. Then, accompanied by a magnificent drumroll from the Water Gakugan-ger, a high-output water cutter was unleashed. The Flying Dragon's odachi, used to block the strike in a panic, was completely destroyed this time.
"Oh, the Kyoto school is using some serious psychological warfare. But well, it's the Tokyo school's fault for falling for it. By the way, the 'Zen'in Naoya Fan Club' is a real organization, and I have a membership card too. See, No. 00008. The founder is Mei Mei-chan. The president at No. 00001 is Naoya-kun's fiancée, Mai-chan, and the vice-president at No. 00002 is Maki-chan. It seems Mei Mei-chan herself acts as an advisor at No. 00003. The membership fee is 1,000 yen a month, and you can get polaroids of Naoya-kun that Mei Mei-chan obtains with her technique, and there's a members-only BBS..."
"Bwahahahaha! Naoya, you dog! Hahahaha! Pfft!"
While Yuki at the judges' table dumped this trash-tier information on the audience and Naobito Zen'in found it hilarious, the situation was no laughing matter for the Tokyo side, who had been hit by a blatant sneak attack.
Satoru Gojo, the "boy who can do anything if he tries," pieced together the hints Naoya had left before his "death" and transmitted a brief instruction to the pilot, Haibara.
"Haibara! Aim for the Fire Gakugan-ger! These guys haven't just bound themselves to the 'acting in the order of the Five Elements' cycle; they've also added a Vow that 'the element losing to the currently active attribute becomes ultra-vulnerable'! Just crush the one that comes 'two after the current one'!"
"Understood! Flying Dragon!"
[MEI-OH]
"They recovered fast! Gakugan-ger! Cycle through the Five Elements! Don't let them pin down our weakness!"
The shikigami leaped into action according to the instructions of their shouting pilots. The tide turned back to the Tokyo school in a brute-force fashion when the Flying Dragon unleashed a maximum output, maximum range "Meioh Attack," crushing its surroundings with a wide-area pillar of light.
"I can't exactly aim precisely on the fly! Gojo-senpai even shouted at me to 'not think too hard'!"
"Nice, Haibara! It doesn't matter if we just crush them all at once!"
"Ugh, L-L-Lead-Gakuganji-sensei!"
"Tokyo school, you're heartless!"
"How dare you do that to our teacher...!"
"...Usui-senpai, Urabe-kun. The real sensei is glaring at you both, you know?"
"Guh."
The expressions of the students as they got fired up were full of enjoyment on both sides. Gakuganji and Yaga watched them with sighs, but their expressions held no ill will. Their gazes, watching over students acting like students, bore the gentle color suited for Jujutsu High teachers who were also educators.
However, in the eyes of Noritsugu Kamo, the man with punk-like stitches at the judges' table, there was a contrary, almost mad look of joy.
"Turning the tables with a big move. I think it's the right call, and it would be quite effective against cursed spirits. For a shikigami unrelated to an innate technique, the Flying Dragon's strength is extraordinary. An output and range that crushes most of the field could be called equivalent to a Grade 1 sorcerer. ...However, the Gakugan-gers are all still functional, albeit battered, because the other units jumped in to shield the Fire one. The implementation of the Five Elements theory is genuinely interesting and powerful. ...And, I don't think the Kyoto school, who went as far as using psychological warfare to buy time, has 'nothing else prepared'."
As if answering his expectations, the Kyoto school pilot, Azuki Sakata, raised her fist.
"1: The Gakugan-ger's Five Elements cycle has completed one rotation! 2: All Gakugan-ger units are operational! 3: Only one cursed charm for energy remains! 4: The opponent's shikigami has used its 'Finishing Move'! 5: The current situation is unfavorable for the Gakugan-ger!"
——Conditions cleared! Gakugan-ger, docking sequence... [APPROVED!!!]
Immediately after, colorful explosive smoke erupted from the Gakugan-gers just as it had during their entrance. The smoke, nearly covering the entire Kyoto school side, robbed everyone present of their sight.
The Kyoto school's once-in-a-lifetime gamble was about to reach its final stage.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]