Chapter 153

## Chapter Guide

**Underground Fight Club** (賭 (か) け試 (じ) 合 (あい) , *Kake Jiai*?) is the one hundred and fifty-third chapter of Gege Akutami's *Jujutsu Kaisen*.

## Summary

Since being suspended from Jujutsu High, Kinji Hakari has been running an underground fight club between sorcerers. In need of Hakari's strength, Yuji and Megumi infiltrate the tournament with the goal of asking for help, but must do so without revealing they're students from Jujutsu High.

## Plot Details

Before leaving the Tombs of the Star, Yuji and Megumi got Kinji Hakari's location from Master Tengen. Hakari is making money as a bookie for an underground fight club located inside an abandoned parking garage in Tochigi Prefecture.

The fight club pits sorcerers against one another in hand-to-hand combat. The spectators are mostly non-sorcerers, which means Hakari is clearly violating jujutsu regulations article 8 regarding secrecy. Tengen believes there will be curse users among the fighters and warned the boys to be careful.

Yuji and Megumi reach the parking garage and remove their Jujutsu High uniforms. Yuji asks why they're swapping outfits and Megumi clarifies that Hakari is suspended from Jujutsu High. He may not associate with them if he realizes they're also students from Jujutsu High. It's a gray area where Yuji and Megumi's allegiance aligns but to Hakari they might as well be with the higher-ups. Yuji wonders if Hakari will help even if they go undiscovered and Megumi is unsure given what all their senpai have said about him. Regardless, they need his strength for the Culling Game and are going to do their best o recruit him.

Megumi and Yuji walk into the ground entrance to the abandoned parking garage and are met by a manager and a bodyguard. The security guard tells the kids to get lost before he clobbers them but Megumi refuses to back down. The man throws a strong right hook and stops short right before it hits Megumi's face. His hair slightly shifts from the swing, but Megumi's eyes stay resolute and he doesn't flinch at all. The security guard pulls back his fist and tells Megumi that rule one is nobody is supposed to say a thing about the club. He demands to know who told Megumi and threatens to beat him up after he spills the info.

Megumi claims not to have gotten the person's name before he killed them. It was a cocky sorcerer that disappeared about a month ago. The manager recalls someone named Kondo disappeared about a month ago but is unable to verify. Megumi asks to take his place and threatens to lay the bodyguard flat if they refuse.

Yuji realizes what Megumi is doing and decides to stay silent. The manager gets a message from the boss and gets permission to add an additional fighter to today's tournament. However, only on the condition that Yuji is selected as the fighter. Megumi claims he has to fight but he's just keeping up an act. He knows Yuji is perfectly suited for the job. The manager reveals boss doesn't like Megumi and refuses to let him fight. Megumi looks up at the camera and accepts the condition.

The boys leave together and Yuji tells Megumi all that bluffing was risky. Megumi disagrees because a fight club using curse users must have frequent turnover. Regardless, they were able to confirm that Hakari is around and watching them through the cameras.

The plan is for Yuji to look to make contact with Hakari on the inside while Megumi attempts to sneak into the parking garage from the outside. This is risky because the fight club already has their eyes on Megumi and if he gets caught they will distrust Yuji as well. If they are discovered, the boys can use force to meet face to face with Hakari, but this is an undesirable last resort. They want to come to ask Hakari for help and don't want to do anything that could damage the relationship early.

The wisest course of action would be for Megumi to standby for the night while Yuji works his way to Hakari on the inside. However, Megumi is anxious and doesn't want to waste any time with Tsumiki's deadline to participate in the Culling Game approaching. It's currently 5:00 P.M. on November 10th, leaving their group nine days to rescue Tsumiki before the deadline. It took Yuji and Megumi a while to reach Tochigi because transportation from Tokyo was scarce and they stopped to exorcise cursed spirits along the way.

That evening, Yuji returns to the parking garage and meets with the security guard from early. The man preps Yuji by explaining the details of how the tournament works. There are only two rules; no retreating and no jujutsu. Yuji is fine with people using cursed techniques against him but non-sorcerers wouldn't be able to see them. The rule against running away is to ensure that the fight takes place where spectators can see.

While heading down the stairs towards the arena, Yuji recognizes that the fights are all about entraining the spectators and asks what the boss is like. The bodyguard says Yuji can only find out if he meets him and continues to explain more about the fights. There are two types of matches; scripted and unscripted ones. The boss fixes the former kind by writing scripts, and putting on a show in an unscripted bout is likely get his attention.

Yuji arrives at the fighting area, a section of the garage where the upper floor has been mostly removed. This allows spectators to view the fight from the story above. Yuji is introduced to his opponent, someone that surprises everyone when they're first seen. The Gachinko Fight Club announcer John☆Bobby begins the tournament by introducing the fighters, the newcomer Yuji Itadori against none other than Panda!

In a monitoring room somewhere in the multistory garage, Hakari sits with his associate as the fight is about to begin. He expresses his displeasure as he believes things are starting to cool off. Hakari doesn't believe there is any fun in knowing who's going to win an unscripted fight. He doesn't think anyone will be able to defeat Panda and is barely watching. However, his associate points his attention to the television where Yuji is proving him wrong in spectacular fashion.

Yuji and Panda work together to put on a show that entertains everyone watching. John☆Bobby claims its the best fight he's ever called after only working at the club a few weeks. While they trade fake blows, Yuji and Panda have a conversation to exchange information. Panda has been allowed into the fight club but Hakari and the other third-year student with him are actively avoiding him. Panda confirms that Yuji is hiding his identity as a student and gives him the signal to finish the fight.

Yuji lands a powerful body shot that Panda sells with an overtop reaction to convince everyone he's been defeated. John☆Bobby calls the fight and Yuji is declared the winner, leaving a lasting impression on everyone watching. Hakari admits that he's impressed with Yuji's ability to fight in three dimensions and dazzle spectators. He calls one of his managers and tells him to bring Yuji to his office. He wants to strike while the iron is hot and write scripts for Yuji's future fights. The other third-year, Kirara Hoshi doesn't see the point and tells Hakari that it sounds dumb.

Megumi uses his cursed technique to hide in the shadow of the man on the phone with Hakari. He eavesdropping on the conversation without anyone noticing, secretly moving through the halls of the fight club. The man on the phone asks Hakari what to do about the other brat, referring to Megumi. Hakari plans to have Kirara keep an eye on him and tells his manager to stay vigilant. Yuji has Hakari more thrilled and on edge the old days of his ex-girlfriend and maxing out his credit cards, something Kirara doesn't appreciate hearing about.

## Character in Order of Appearances

* Tengen (Flashback)
* Choso (Flashback)
* Yuji Itadori
* Megumi Fushiguro
* John☆Bobby
* Panda
* Kinji Hakari
* Kirara Hoshi