Gravity field! Training!

The training ground.

"Ora, ora!!!"

Panda's fist drove toward Yuta Okkotsu's left side with a rush of wind, while Maki Zenin cut in from the right, her bamboo sword aimed straight at Okkotsu's waist.

Their coordination had improved considerably over the past few months. From left and right, high and low, they sealed off most of his escape routes.

But Yuta Okkotsu moved faster than either of them.

He turned sideways to evade Panda's fist while pressing his bamboo sword down, precisely parrying Maki's horizontal slash.

Then he used the force of the rebound to slide two steps back, opening up the distance again.

The entire sequence flowed seamlessly, as though he had rehearsed it countless times.

Maki Zenin's bamboo sword cut through empty air, leaving a shallow white mark on the ground.

She gritted her teeth and turned to glare at Panda, who had also missed, her tone distinctly heated.

"Damn it!"

"Panda! Go for his legs!"

Panda pulled back his fist, a wounded expression appearing on his round face. "I'm already doing my best! He's too slippery!"

"That's your problem!"

"How is it my problem? Your swing was clearly too slow just now-"

"Who are you calling slow?!"

"I'm just stating the facts."

Standing a few steps away, Yuta Okkotsu couldn't help smiling as he watched them bicker.

He raised a hand and scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly, his voice cautious, as though afraid of being scolded.

"Um... you two actually work really well together..."

Before he could finish, Maki Zenin's gaze snapped toward him, her eyes blazing with offense.

"Huh?"

"Okkotsu, you little punk, are you mocking me?"

Yuta Okkotsu's face instantly paled a shade, and he waved both hands frantically. "No, no! I really think so."

"Think what?!"

"I think... I think you two really work well together!"

"Enough talk! Again!"

Maki Zenin had already charged forward, raising her bamboo sword with an air of "I'm going to cut you down today, you little punk."

At the sight, Panda's eyes lit up too, and he let out a roar as he attacked from the other side.

"Charge!"

Beside the training ground's stands.

Toge Inumaki sat quietly on the steps, his hands braced at his sides, his gaze following the three rapidly moving figures back and forth.

Watching Okkotsu neutralize Maki and Panda's attacks once again and knock them back, he moved his lips slightly.

"Spicy cod roe."

"That's pretty dangerous."

Just as his words fell, the training ground suddenly went quiet.

No, not quiet.

Something deeper had changed.

Panda and Maki, who were in the middle of charging, both felt the ground beneath their feet grow heavy.

That heaviness traveled up through their soles and spread along their bones. Their limbs felt as though they had been filled with lead, and their movements visibly slowed.

Panda's expression changed, his voice confused and strained. "What's going on... this feels awful..."

Maki Zenin's bamboo sword drooped. Her breathing grew a little more rapid, and a thin sheen of sweat formed on her forehead.

"...What is this... has gravity increased?"

Only Yuta Okkotsu reacted differently from the others.

He didn't panic.

First, he froze briefly, then closed his eyes, as though sensing the changes in the surrounding force field.

Two seconds later, he opened his eyes again, a light of realization in his gaze, and murmured softly.

"The surrounding force field has changed."

"This is... Teacher Wangchuan's."

"Hahaha~~"

A laughing voice came from the stands, interrupting Okkotsu.

Wangchuan was walking over from the edge of the stands, both hands in his trouser pockets, his posture relaxed.

His gaze swept around the field and settled on Okkotsu, Maki, and Panda, the curve of his lips deepening.

"You three look pretty motivated."

"Very nice!"

He walked to the edge of the stands and saw Inumaki sitting quietly on the steps.

"?"

Inumaki looked up at him, his eyes blinking quietly as though in greeting.

Seeing how docile he looked, Wangchuan couldn't resist reaching out.

He raised his hand, placed it on Inumaki's head, and stroked backward over his hair with an utterly natural rhythm, as though petting a cat or dog.

Inumaki's hair felt very nice, soft and fluffy.

The sudden gesture left Inumaki stunned for a moment.

"?"

He tilted his head, trying to dodge out from under Wangchuan's palm, but Wangchuan's hand followed and stroked him again.

Inumaki's expression grew somewhat peculiar.

He turned sideways to look at Wangchuan and expressed his displeasure in his uniquely condensed way.

"Bonito flakes."

Hearing those words, Wangchuan paused, then withdrew his hand.

"Hahaha... you're too cute."

"Inumaki."

Only then, as he spoke, did he turn his gaze toward the three figures pinned beneath the gravity field.

Maki Zenin was half-crouched on the ground, her bamboo sword braced against it, veins bulging at her temples.

She raised her head and glared furiously toward Wangchuan, her voice hoarse with anger.

"Gravity idiot! What the hell are you doing!"

Wangchuan raised an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Huh?!"

"Gravity idiot?"

He turned to look at Maki Zenin, his speechless expression asking what the hell kind of nickname that was.

Beside her, Panda struggled to catch his breath.

He wore a cheeky grin. "What, you don't like it? We've got another option."

"Moon man!"

The corner of Wangchuan's mouth twitched.

He fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft breath, as though digesting the impact of being called Moon man.

"What kind of lousy nicknames are you two coming up with?"

He shook his head, then turned his gaze to Yuta Okkotsu.

Although Okkotsu was also under the gravity field's pressure, his posture was noticeably more relaxed than the other two's, and his breathing remained fairly steady.

Yuta Okkotsu asked with earnest curiosity in his voice.

"Sir... why did you put a gravity field around us?"

At that, Wangchuan sat down beside Inumaki, brushed the dust off his trousers, then tipped his chin slightly toward the three in the field.

"It's for your own good."

His tone carried the matter-of-fact assurance of "I'm looking out for you."

"Training in this kind of high-gravity environment lets you hone your bodies more effectively."

"Physical strength, the circulation speed of cursed energy, the precision of your control over your own cursed energy-all of those will improve under the pressure of gravity."

He held up one finger and wagged it gently.

"There used to be a warrior race who loved training in this kind of high-gravity environment."

"A warrior race?"

"Mm." A subtle smile touched Wangchuan's lips.

The curve looked as though he had recalled something amusing.

"The incredibly powerful kind."

"Even their children could do push-ups under a hundred times normal gravity.

Maki Zenin gritted her teeth and struggled to straighten up. "What warrior race... what nonsense are you talking about?"

Wangchuan shrugged without explaining further.

He simply raised his hand and waved it casually in front of him, and the gravity field enveloping the three grew a little stronger.

"Stop complaining."

"Get training."