The instant the words left his mouth.
An invisible force erupted from Inumaki's position, like a giant hand thrusting upward from beneath the ground.
Yuta Okkotsu shot into the sky as though launched from a slingshot.
"Aaaah!!"
His voice rapidly rose higher and faded into the distance.
His figure grew smaller and smaller in the evening sun's lingering glow, rising a dozen or so meters.
Only then did he trace an arc through the air and fall toward the edge of the training field.
There was no pain on his face. Instead, it shone with excitement.
"That was amazing!" His voice was a little higher than before.
"That force was more than twice as strong as 'Get lost.'"
He walked briskly back to the center of the field, looking Inumaki up and down.
A little more white vapor rose from the edges of the mask than before, making the discharge of heat more apparent.
Inumaki raised a hand to his throat.
Then he spoke, his voice carrying a faint rasp.
"Hmm... it canceled out a lot, but there's still a little discomfort."
"Probably only about twenty percent of what it used to be."
"Before, a command like that would've already left my throat feeling like it had been burned."
He merely rolled his neck, then straightened up.
Yuta Okkotsu looked at Inumaki with shining eyes and said,
"That's great."
"Inumaki."
"With this Cursed Tool helping you, you won't have to get hurt nearly as much when you fight."
"You used to need ages to recover every time you used Cursed Speech. Now you can practically use it back-to-back."
He paused, then added,
"And it's even more powerful."
"I think your overall strength is on a completely different level now."
Panda kept nodding as he listened beside them.
"Exactly! Inumaki, you're so strong!"
Maki Zenin stood at the edge of the training field.
"Judging by how he's doing now, he could be promoted to Semi-Grade 1, right?"
Panda tilted his head in thought, then shook it.
"Semi-Grade 1? I think he might even reach Grade 1."
Unexpectedly, Maki did not argue with him this time.
"With this Cursed Tool helping him, and considering the unique nature of Inumaki's Cursed Technique, he really might qualify as Grade 1."
Inumaki stood there, listening to their assessments.
He raised a hand to rub the back of his head, a slightly embarrassed smile in his voice. "I've still got a long way to go..."
"Hey."
A languid voice came from the entrance to the training field.
They all turned their heads at once.
Wangchuan was walking over from that direction, both hands in his trouser pockets.
Kento Nanami followed beside him.
"You lot."
Wangchuan stopped, sweeping his gaze over the training field, his lips curved in a half-smile.
"Slacking off?"
Maki Zenin's expression instantly changed.
"Oh, crap!"
Before she could finish speaking, the ground beneath her feet suddenly grew heavy.
A familiar gravity field descended from above, covering the entire area like an invisible blanket.
"Hey! Again?!!"
Panda's knees buckled first, and only by straining to support his round body did he avoid falling flat on the ground.
He raised his head.
"Wangchuan!!"
"We were just training for ages!!"
Yuta Okkotsu's knees dipped slightly the instant the gravity descended, but he quickly steadied himself.
"It's a little heavier than before!"
Wangchuan smiled at their reactions, then spoke.
"Work hard."
"The Goodwill Event with Kyoto Jujutsu High is next month. You'll lose if you don't put in the effort."
"The Goodwill Event?" Maki Zenin gritted her teeth as she held herself up, frowning at his words.
"There's still a month, isn't there...?"
"Right." Wangchuan nodded. "So if you don't train now, when will you?"
He paused, then added,
"Oh, and I have some good news for you."
"Half a month ago, I set up gravity-field training for the students in Kyoto too."
"Aoi Todo was thrilled. He spends all day in the training field."
"If you lose when the time comes, don't say I didn't warn you."
At those words, all their expressions changed at once.
Aoi Todo.
That muscle monster.
If he had spent half a month training in a gravity field...
Maki Zenin's expression shifted. Then she gritted her teeth, exerted a little force through her legs, and forced herself upright in the gravity field.
She tightened her grip on her bamboo sword, veins bulging slightly on her forehead. "Mai... I can't lose to her."
Beside her, Panda swallowed with difficulty and struggled to push himself upright as well.
Yuta Okkotsu, on the other hand, did not look particularly nervous. Instead, his lips curved slightly, as though he found this more interesting.
Inumaki straightened up too, his gaze resting on the ground, both hands curling into loose fists.
They stopped fooling around and silently began adjusting their stances in the gravity field.
Kento Nanami stood beside Wangchuan, quietly watching the scene the entire time.
After a while, he turned to glance at Wangchuan and lowered his voice a little.
"About Haibara."
"When do we start?"
Wangchuan's gaze remained on the figures struggling to move under the gravity on the training field.
"Sometime in the next month or two."
"I'll finish dealing with what's on my plate first. I still have a few Special Grade missions to handle."
At that, Kento Nanami fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
When he spoke, his tone carried considerable restraint.
"If there's anything we need to prepare, I can go find it."
Wangchuan turned his head to glance at him.
"I've more or less gathered most of the materials."
He paused, then raised a hand and pointed overhead.
"But there's still one thing missing."
Kento Nanami followed his finger and looked up.
The moon had not risen yet. The sky was dark, with only a few stars glimmering in the distance.
"What is it?"
Kento Nanami lowered his gaze and looked at Wangchuan.
Wangchuan lowered his hand, the curve of his lips rising.
"The xirang on the moon!"
"I'll head up there in a while."
Kento Nanami: "????"
Before you continue