Kento Nanami!

The air over the training ground was sliced into sharp whistles.

A bamboo sword cut through the air, striking the side of another with fierce wind pressure and a crisp crack.

Yuta Okkotsu moved swiftly across the field, his footwork nimble and steady.

"Are you kidding me!"

Opposite him, Maki Zenin gritted her teeth, holding her bamboo sword across her body in both hands.

The loose strands over her forehead were already plastered to her skin with sweat, and her breathing was much faster than usual.

Her eyes stayed locked on Yuta Okkotsu's shoulders and wrists, trying to predict his next strike from those tiny movements, but his rhythm was too fast.

"He's too fast!"

Just a few months ago, his physical abilities had clearly been no different from an ordinary person's.

Now he could face her head-on without giving any ground.

And the density of that Cursed Energy.

She glanced at the blades of grass along the edge of the field, trembling slightly from the residual waves of Cursed Energy Okkotsu had accidentally leaked. He was already beyond anything the Yuta Okkotsu of a few months ago could compare to.

This guy... was seriously a freak.

Before she could think any further, Yuta Okkotsu's bamboo sword was already upon her.

This strike came at an even trickier angle than before, cutting into a blind spot in her guard with unstoppable momentum.

Maki turned sideways to block, but she didn't put enough force behind it. Her bamboo sword was knocked out of her hands, spun twice in midair, and plunged into the dirt several meters away.

Yuta Okkotsu immediately halted his attack, lowering his bamboo sword to his side as his feet came to a stop.

He panted slightly, concern on his face.

"Maki, are you all right?"

Maki Zenin stood where she was, her hands still in the position of holding a sword, her chest rising and falling.

She looked down at her empty hands, then at the bamboo sword stuck in the dirt, and fell silent for two seconds.

Then she raised her head.

"Don't hold back."

"Keep going."

Yuta Okkotsu looked at her, his lips moving slightly as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only nodded.

He bent down to pick up another spare bamboo sword from the ground and assumed his opening stance again.

"Right!"

The two clashed again.

In the stands, Panda sat cross-legged on the steps, his chin propped on one paw, his gaze following the two figures darting back and forth across the field.

He watched for a while, then turned to look at Toge Inumaki beside him.

"Hey, Inumaki."

"Don't you think Yuta Okkotsu is a total freak now?"

Toge Inumaki sat beside him with both hands braced on the steps. At those words, he tilted his head slightly.

He fell silent for a moment, then answered with those two distinctive words that condensed a thousand things he could have said.

"Salted roe."

Hearing that answer, Panda nodded in wholehearted agreement, making a series of "Mm-hmm" sounds.

"Right? You think so too."

He turned back to watch the match, watched a little longer, then couldn't resist adding another comment.

"A few months ago, he could barely use Cursed Energy."

"Look at him now. He's got Maki completely on the defensive... That rate of improvement is seriously ridiculous."

"Salmon." Inumaki's answer was as brief as ever, but his tone carried clear agreement.

As the two chattered away, a figure emerged from the shade of the trees beside the training ground.

"Sparring again?"

His suit was immaculate, his tie meticulously knotted, his hair neatly combed.

With steady, silent steps, Kento Nanami walked naturally to the edge of the stands as though carrying out a routine inspection.

Panda noticed his arrival first and turned, blinking his round eyes.

"Nanami? What brings you back?"

Kento Nanami stopped at the edge of the stands.

His gaze first went to the two figures locked in fierce combat on the field.

It lingered on Yuta Okkotsu for a moment before shifting back to Panda and Inumaki.

"I happened to have a mission nearby, so I stopped by."

Panda nodded without asking any more questions. He raised a paw and pointed toward the training ground.

"You missed the last few rounds. Yuta sent Maki flying several more times."

Kento Nanami did not take up that topic.

His gaze swept over the field as though checking something, then he turned his head slightly to look at Panda.

"Didn't Wangchuan return a few days ago? Why haven't I seen him?"

At that, Panda's expression turned subtle. He rubbed his round chin as though recalling some gossip.

"Oh... You mean Chuan."

"According to Satoru Gojo, he's making a custom Cursed Tool for Miss Mei Mei. He's been holed up in his dorm room and hasn't come out."

"It's been days. Inumaki and I have been bringing him meals."

After hearing this, Kento Nanami nodded.

He did not look particularly surprised.

The answer seemed to confirm a certain impression he had of Wangchuan.

That man who had defeated him instantly with just one finger back then.

Somehow, it wasn't all that surprising that he would now hole up in his dorm room tinkering with some Cursed Tool.

Besides, Nanami had interacted with him a few times, and that air of cryptic mysticism had never quite left him.

His way of speaking, his way of doing things, his perspective on Jujutsu Society-all were rather different from a normal person's.

It was like-Kento Nanami silently worked out the comparison in his mind.

Like someone who knew far more than everyone else but couldn't be bothered to explain it all.

"That does sound like something he would do."

He spoke quietly, his tone carrying an almost helpless familiarity.

"Still." He paused, tilting his head toward the training ground again.

"Yuta Okkotsu's rate of improvement has surprised me somewhat."

"Right!" Panda immediately perked up. "You think so too? I was just telling Inumaki!"

"Salted roe," Inumaki chimed in briefly from beside him.

Kento Nanami watched the figure attacking at full strength on the field, his gaze carrying a professional scrutiny.

After a while, he let out a slight breath.

"Another monster."

He turned and headed toward the office building, then stopped after two steps and turned his head to add something.

"If Wangchuan comes out, pass along a message for me. Tell him I'd like to talk about that matter from last time when I have a moment."

"He's busy with his own work, so I won't disturb him with a phone call."

"What matter?" Panda tilted his head.

"Hey!"

"What matter, Nanamin!"

Kento Nanami did not answer. He merely waved a hand and continued toward the office building.

The sounds of combat continued on the training ground, the crisp cracks of bamboo swords mingling with the dull thuds of feet pushing off the ground, carried into the distance by the late-summer wind.

On the eastern side of the dormitory building, the door to the innermost room on the second floor was tightly shut.

Occasionally, a few faint sounds came from inside, like some kind of energy colliding, before falling quiet again, only to resume a little later.

There were also some obscure, incomprehensible incantations.

Wangchuan sat at the desk, a purple cloud floating in the air.

He carved with intense focus, his expression much more serious than usual.

He stopped working, looked at the object inside the cloud, then nodded slightly.

"Done!"

The screen of the phone lying on the desk lit up with a message notification.

Wangchuan glanced at it and saw Mei Mei's name as the sender. The message contained only a short line.

"Is it ready?"

Wangchuan picked up the phone and typed a one-word reply with one hand.

"It's ready. If you have time, you can come back to Jujutsu High to pick it up."

After sending it, he placed the phone facedown on the desk again.