Black Flash-!!!

Yuta Okkotsu stood straight before Aoi Todo, watched him extend his fist, and slowly exhaled a stale breath, like a bow being drawn to its full tension.

The next second, Yuta launched himself forward, his fist wrapped in cursed energy as it hurtled toward Aoi Todo with thunderous force.

"So fast-" Aoi Todo's pupils contracted slightly. Instinctively, he crossed his arms over his chest, hoping to block Yuta's incoming punch.

The next instant, that powerful punch slammed squarely into Aoi Todo, driving him several meters backward. His feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground before he barely managed to stop himself.

"That's it, that's it, that's it! Both your strength and your speed are far beyond what they were just now. Yuta Okkotsu, is this your true strength? Don't hold back. Come at me with everything you've got."

Aoi Todo's arms had gone somewhat numb from the impact, but the smile on his face only grew brighter.

No sooner had Aoi Todo finished speaking than Yuta's next strike came straight at him.

This time, however, Aoi Todo did not stand dumbly in place and take the punch head-on.

He merely tilted his head slightly, easily dodging the strike as the fist brushed past his face with a gust of wind. Then he reached out with both hands, seized Yuta's fist firmly, and flung him backward with a sudden burst of strength, slamming him straight into the ground.

"Hiss-ah-" Yuta clutched his back, aching from the fall.

"Your speed and strength are already good enough, but your attacks are too stiff, too formulaic. It's like solving problems with memorized formulas. After just a few exchanges, anyone could easily predict your next move."

"For instance, your next move is a leg sweep."

As he finished speaking, Yuta, still on the ground, indeed launched a vicious leg sweep at Aoi Todo's lower body, only for Todo, who had already anticipated it, to intercept it outright.

"Just like that," Aoi Todo continued.

"When you first start practicing hand-to-hand combat, following set patterns is the right thing to do, but you can't be bound by them. The battlefield isn't training. A real battlefield changes constantly. No enemy will stand in front of you and let you attack. Once your enemy figures out your patterns, you'll be suppressed and put at a disadvantage."

"Then... what should I do?" Sitting on the ground, Yuta scratched his head.

"Use this." Aoi Todo pointed at his own head.

"My head?" Yuta looked somewhat puzzled.

"Your brain. We possess an innate fighting instinct that can choose the most suitable fighting style based on the terrain, environment, and type of enemy we're facing. Don't fixate on what your 'next move' should be. Let your body, your fighting instinct, adapt and choose. A true master of combat often moves a step ahead of his own thoughts. Too much hesitation will only make your attacks stiff and slow. What you need to do is immerse your whole body and mind in the fight and let your body adapt to its rhythm."

"Fighting instinct, huh?" Yuta kept thinking over and digesting the information in Aoi Todo's words. At the same time, memories of Akutagawa Shang teaching him the Limitless Cursed Technique slowly surfaced in his mind.

The corners of Yuta's mouth slowly curled into the same wicked grin as Akutagawa Shang's. Planting both hands on the ground, he sprang straight up and, with an excited shout, kicked both feet directly at Aoi Todo's crotch.

"Then... how about this move, Todo-!!!"

Poor Yuta had already been led astray. The innocent, bashful Yuta Okkotsu of old was gone for good.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-" Clutching his crotch, Aoi Todo curled up like a cooked shrimp and collapsed to the ground with a pained expression.

"Todo, are you all right?" Startled, Yuta walked over to him somewhat awkwardly and patted him, afraid he might have seriously hurt him with that kick.

"I-I'm fine." Aoi Todo raised a palm to signal that he was all right, then braced one hand against the ground and slowly lifted his head. His expression was slightly distorted by pain, but he still spoke with complete seriousness.

"That's right... just like that. That was a move you never would have used earlier. You've successfully grasped the core of combat."

"Are you... really all right?" Yuta was still somewhat worried.

"A real man doesn't deny someone else's progress just because he got hurt. This is a mere scratch. Come on, Yuta Okkotsu. Let me see just how much you've understood." Enduring the pain, Aoi Todo took his hand away from his crotch and assumed his opening stance once more.

"All right, then. Here I come, Senior Todo." Yuta nodded at his words, bent his legs slightly, and drove forward again. He wrapped both arms around Aoi Todo's waist and abdomen, trying to use his momentum to throw him.

But the difference in their builds was too great. Todo was like a mountain, impossible to budge.

"A very nice throw, but I won't go down that easily."

Prepared this time, Aoi Todo grabbed Yuta by the waist and hurled him away instead.

As Yuta flew backward, he twisted in midair and planted both feet against the tree trunk behind him, pushing off to charge at Aoi Todo again. The two tangled once more.

Xiao Li, exceptionally pure Xiao Li!!!

Compared with before, their movements were clearly more spectacular and entertaining to watch. Todo remained steady and methodical, countering each move as it came. Yuta, meanwhile, took advantage of his build to unleash one unexpected move after another, constantly attacking Aoi Todo. He even used headbutts.

And now, not only Aoi Todo but even Yuta began laughing as they fought.

"That's it, Yuta! Enjoy it, this fight that belongs to the two of us!!!"

Even in the gaps between exchanges, Aoi Todo never stopped guiding and teaching Yuta. Compared with Satoru Gojo, the current Aoi Todo clearly seemed more like a real teacher.

But gradually, Aoi Todo discovered another problem.

"Yuta, there's a serious problem with how you circulate your cursed energy. It's too crude." He did not stop moving, instead continually weaving his instruction into his movements.

"Your cursed energy is always half a beat behind. It's like your fist has already swung out before your cursed energy rushes toward it. That's not right."

"Is there a problem with that?" Yuta blocked Aoi Todo's incoming punch, then asked his question.

"When cursed energy and the body are out of sync, the damage decreases. Although you have an enormous amount of cursed energy and can still produce considerable output this way, that's all it amounts to."

"Then what should I do?"

"Your body has already fully entered the zone, but your cursed energy control hasn't caught up at all. You need to change how you think. Don't treat your body and cursed energy as separate things. You need to make your cursed energy follow your instincts just like your body does. Human thought has a delay. You need to let cursed energy fill your entire body as instinctively as breathing."

"I understand."

"Then come on, Yuta. I'll do everything I can to guide you."

Yuta emptied his mind completely, cursed energy continually pouring into every part of his body.

His fists kept swinging forward, and the flow of cursed energy grew increasingly natural.

Another punch. Before his fist even swung out, cursed energy was already surging outward on its own. His fist kept accelerating, trying to catch up with the output of cursed energy. As the two drew closer and closer, even the surrounding space seemed to distort, and the color of his cursed energy slowly deepened.

Aoi Todo immediately twisted at the waist to dodge. He could feel how different this punch was.

It was neither cursed energy alone nor physical strength alone, but a tremor between the two that was approaching some critical threshold.

Boom- With a tremendous crash, the punch slammed squarely into the massive tree, accompanied by black lightning that warped space.

A shock wave exploded outward, and that section of the trunk was blasted into fragments scattered across the ground.

"Black Flash-!!!!"