Crushed

Yaga Masamichi's next words confirmed his premonition.

"You're completely making excuses. A qualified Sorcerer must not only train their cursed technique, but also their hand-to-hand combat skills. Even Toho Tetsu, who has only known about the Jujutsu Society for a little over a month, understands that much."

Upon hearing that, all three of them turned their eyes toward Toho Tetsu.

Geto Suguru asked in shock and confusion.

"You've only known about the Jujutsu Society for a month?"

Meeting his gaze, Toho Tetsu nodded.

"More or less. A little over a month ago, I was still an ordinary person who knew nothing. Thanks to the help of some seniors, I've learned some basic knowledge during this time and undergone relevant training."

Hearing that, Geto Suguru was instead left speechless.

Because during their cursed energy control training just now, he had discovered that Toho Tetsu's control over cursed energy was at least as precise as his own.

He had assumed Toho Tetsu was a well-trained genius from some minor clan, but he had reached this level in just one month?

A trace of realization also appeared in Gojo Satoru's eyes.

When they first met over ten days ago, he had thought Toho Tetsu was someone from the Jujutsu Society who had trained for years, yet still could not maintain a stable Curtain, which was why he had mocked him.

So that was the reason?

No wonder. No wonder.

Still, looking at it this way, this guy's talent really was impressive. It seemed to be second only to his own.

"Toho, don't be modest. Even though you've only trained for a month, you're already stronger than these two in many respects.

Leaving everything else aside, just in terms of hand-to-hand combat, I think you could defeat both of them by yourself."

Hearing Yaga Masamichi's words, the two boys, who had just been marveling at him, once again turned looks of different meanings toward the subject of his words.

Geto Suguru was curious, while Gojo Satoru was simply unconvinced and skeptical.

"Although the two of us didn't perform very well, it can't be that we're that far behind Toho, can it?"

"Don't believe it? Then the two of you can try."

Hearing that, Yaga Masamichi snorted and beckoned toward the side of the field.

Seeing his gesture, Toho Tetsu was somewhat reluctant, but he knew he had no choice. He could only sigh helplessly and walk toward the three of them.

Only then did Shoko Ieiri, who had just turned her head away, turn back to look, with a trace of curiosity now in her eyes.

"Toho, play with these two brats for a bit. Let them see what a real hand-to-hand fight looks like."

Hearing that, Toho Tetsu gave a wry smile. Looking at the two boys before him, who seemed to have formed a common front against him, he was just about to tell them not to take it too seriously when his gaze froze slightly.

Because the two standing opposite him moved at the same time.

Gojo Satoru reached for his shoulder, while Geto Suguru reached for his arm, seemingly intending to restrain his movements directly.

After the real combat on the back mountain and the accumulation of countless missions, his combat experience had reached a very respectable level. Without even thinking, he turned sideways and evaded both of their attempts to restrain him.

Seeing their attack so easily defused, both of them showed slightly startled expressions, but immediately resumed their offensive.

Perhaps because of their earlier sparring match, or perhaps because their personalities naturally meshed, they were surprisingly coordinated now. They attacked Toho Tetsu from the left and right, seemingly intending to completely block off his avenues of escape.

But Toho Tetsu did not take such an attack seriously at all.

Because their completely unhidden attacks, like those of high school students, could not compare to those agile cursed spirits at all.

Frankly speaking, if cursed energy and cursed techniques were set aside, the two of them were no more than ordinary high school students.

Thinking this, Toho Tetsu lowered his body. Rather than retreating, he surged forward and thrust both palms into their abdomens, sending them back.

"Two effective hits! Two points for Toho Tetsu!"

Listening to Yaga Masamichi's shout, Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, who had staggered back several steps, exchanged a glance and saw shock in each other's eyes.

After realizing that Toho Tetsu had evaded their attacks, they had both changed the direction of their attacks at once, preparing to grab his clothes together.

Yet unexpectedly, he had been like a fish slipping into water. After attacking, he swiftly retreated and evaded them, causing their attacks to strike empty air.

Crouching, palm thrust, retreating—had those three movements all been completed within a single second?

And the battle that followed... was even simpler. Although the two began trying to coordinate, with one blocking his path while the other attacked,

Toho Tetsu was always able to evade their attacks time and again, then counterattack when the opportunity arose to score points.

This fight looked completely different from their earlier struggle against each other.

When Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru fought, they had to evade with difficulty, then adjust their directions and positioning to find another opportunity to score. Sometimes, they even traded points for points.

But Toho Tetsu's style was more like predicting the course of an attack before it arrived, then finding the trickiest possible opportunity to counterattack.

His evasive movements were minimal. Sometimes, he merely shifted his body slightly or dipped his head, but such small evasions allowed him to avoid every attack and attempt to restrain him.

"His movements... seem to have no unnecessary parts at all."

After missing once more, Geto Suguru looked at Toho Tetsu several meters away, who remained calm and composed, and could not help feeling somewhat powerless.

Gojo Satoru did not answer. He merely clenched his teeth.

His Six Eyes had not stopped operating for a single moment since the beginning, but seeing something and being able to evade it were two different things.

Although he could predict Toho Tetsu's movements before he attacked, his body simply could not keep up. As a result, he had become the first of the two to be hit several times.

This put him in a very bad mood.

"Damn it... once this is over, I'm definitely going to train my hand-to-hand combat properly."

Hearing his complaint, Geto Suguru rarely found himself thinking the same thing. But there was no use saying more at this point. After exchanging another glance, the two charged forward at the same time.

Three minutes later.

"Ten points for Toho Tetsu, two points for Gojo Satoru, one point for Geto Suguru. This round is over."

As Toho Tetsu's palm struck Gojo Satoru's chest one final time, this sparring match—or rather, this game—came to an end.

Upon hearing the result, he stepped aside and made a gesture to stop the fight.

Though unwilling to accept it, the two boys could only look at him with strangely complicated expressions.

Yaga Masamichi walked up to them and asked mercilessly.

"Well? Are you convinced now?"

Hearing that, Toho Tetsu was somewhat speechless, because he felt Yaga Masamichi was setting him up as a common enemy so the two of them could ease their relationship.

Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru exchanged a glance, but neither said that they had just fought each other, that they had not been in good condition when fighting Toho Tetsu, and that it was normal for them to score so poorly.

After all, it had been two against one, and they had only managed to get three points. Saying something like that would be far too embarrassing...

"Now that you know your hand-to-hand combat is lacking, train it more. All right, today's lesson is more or less over. You can do as you please."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two boys were about to step forward and ask Toho Tetsu some questions when they saw Yaga Masamichi turn his gaze toward him again.

"As for you, Toho, come with me. I have something to discuss with you."

Though curious, Toho Tetsu waved goodbye to the others before following him out of the training grounds.

Watching the two leave, Geto Suguru paused. He looked at Gojo Satoru beside him, who seemed lost in thought, then asked after some consideration.

"Gojo, do you know what Yaga-sensei wants to see him about?"

Shoko Ieiri, who had been watching the entire time, also looked over curiously after hearing that.

But Gojo Satoru did not answer. Instead, an intrigued smile appeared on his face.

"I don't know whether it's what I'm thinking of, but there's a good chance it is."

Halfway through his words, he looked at Geto Suguru with an extremely punchable expression.

"But I'm not going to tell you unless... you beg me?"

Hearing that, Geto Suguru's mouth twitched slightly, and his expression returned to one of exasperation.

"You bastard, even after losing to me, you're still this annoying..."

"You only beat me in one round. If we're being serious, the two of us are tied."

Watching the two of them seemingly begin to confront each other again, Shoko Ieiri sighed once more. Yet for some reason, the corners of her lips lifted slightly.