Unfortunately, Toge Inumaki and Yuta Okkotsu were far faster than he expected. They also had radio contact, sharing positions, and it was clear he was about to be caught. To break the situation, he charged straight at Toge Inumaki, judging that he could not beat Yuta Okkotsu and hoping the other side would find an opening.
This played right into Toge Inumaki's hands. The moment the opponent closed to a certain distance, the Boy tugged open his collar and spoke in the flattest tone possible. "Twist your ankle. Choke on water."
The opponent immediately twisted his ankle and choked. In the middle of a sprint, such a mishap was disastrous. Taking advantage of the lost balance, Toge Inumaki followed up with a knee kick, an elbow to the chest, and a punch to the chin, leaving the enemy reeling.
By the time his vision cleared, a hand crossbow was pointed squarely at his nose. Having long absorbed the idea of "victory for the weak," the naturally gentle Toge Inumaki had learned to play dirty. He went for whatever worked best.
In the past, he would never have used commands like "twist your ankle" or "choke on water." After trying them, he found he could not stop. These clear, localized commands consumed little energy and were no less effective than something like "do not move."
Along with the crossbow, Toge Inumaki held up his phone. On the screen, in the largest font, was a single sentence: surrender and leave the field. Looking at the crossbow at his nose, then at Yuta Okkotsu approaching calmly and greeting Toge Inumaki, there was nothing to do but accept it.
Not far away, Panda had also successfully taken down his target. It was the same efficient method. Relying on biological sensing, he calculated the opponent's route in advance and hid in a bush.
With no life signs and his Cursed Energy suppressed to the lowest level, the opponent never noticed him. A sneak attack followed by a rapid combo ended it cleanly. Without even waiting for a surrender, Panda sat on the opponent until he passed out, while the hidden Pancham even stomped him twice for good measure.
The damage was not high, but the humiliation was extreme. Akira was slower than Panda's group, but he finished his fight the fastest. Holding up the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit and shaking it to make the opponent face reality, Darkrai emerged from the darkness and clamped both claws around the enemy's throat.
"Will you surrender on your own, or should I convince you with reason?" The sword-type Cursed Tools in Akira's hand bore a large carved character meaning "reason." The outcome was obvious.
Akira did not spare another glance for the defeated opponent. He opened his phone's contact list, and the name displayed on the screen was Gardevoir.
As Akira, Panda, and Toge Inumaki finished dealing with their opponents one after another, the last member of the four-person group that had been surrounding Yuta Okkotsu was also intercepted. He was the only one among them with a name, Noritoshi Kamo. His path forward was cut off before he could regroup.
The pride of Tokyo Jujutsu High, the woman who moved with a sharp and clean presence, Maki Zenin, appeared. She stood on a tree branch with Battle Blade resting on her shoulder, looking down from above at a senior who was a year ahead of her. Her posture was relaxed, but her control of the field was clear.
"Yo, Noritoshi Kamo, long time no see."
"Zenin Clan… Maki Zenin."
Noritoshi Kamo stopped moving, his half-closed eyes narrowing into thin lines. As two of the Three Great Clans based in Kyoto, Kamo Clan and Zenin Clan had always crossed paths. This was not their first meeting.
In the past, those meetings had been between the young heir of Kamo Clan and a servant girl of Zenin Clan. Noritoshi Kamo was not someone who looked down on others, and Maki Zenin herself held no real dislike toward the successor of Kamo Clan. Still, the gap in status and Benefits had placed him above her without him even noticing.
That difference, however, had reversed today. The young master who once wore ceremonial robes and was treated as an honored guest had long since lost his composure under Yuta Okkotsu's attacks. The pride that once showed through had been worn down into stubborn refusal to yield.
"Are you here to ambush me?" he asked.
"What, so the young master of Kamo Clan can gang up on my companions, but I am not allowed to strike back at you?" Maki Zenin replied.
Compared to him, Maki Zenin looked calm and confident, a faint smile at the corner of her mouth. It was not about grace so much as a strong and lively presence. Leaving Zenin Clan behind, she had found a goal, found companions who shared her path, and found a new place to belong.
"That is not what I meant," Noritoshi Kamo said, shaking his head. "That Cursed Spirit is too dangerous. You should know that too. As an heir of the Three Great Clans, I have to—"
"I do not know. I ran away from home," Maki Zenin cut him off. "I only want to know this. After seeing that kind of Yuta, do you still think the same way?"
"Th-that…" Noritoshi Kamo hesitated, his lips moving several times without forming words.
Seeing this, Maki Zenin clicked her tongue in irritation. "I really hate people like you who think too much and still refuse to say it out loud. Whether you accept it or not, Yuta will not change and does not need your approval. I did not plan to come after you either, but since you are the heir of Kamo Clan, taking you down will bring me closer to my goal."
Gripping Battle Blade with both hands, Maki Zenin leapt down. With its length and gravity combined, the weapon cut through the air with a sharp howl. The attack came straight on, leaving little room to breathe.
Noritoshi Kamo did not dare to block it head-on and immediately retreated to open up distance. Maki Zenin pressed forward, as this was the standard approach for long weapons like a spear. As long as the advantage kept building, a single decisive strike would follow.
To deal with this kind of pressure, the rhythm had to be broken and the distance closed in one move. Only then could the long weapon be denied its strength. Noritoshi Kamo understood this well.
Although he was an archer, his close combat was not weak. Kamo Clan's training had always demanded both long-range and close-range skill, leaving no obvious gaps. Using his family footwork, he retreated toward dense trees, trying to use the terrain to limit Maki Zenin's attacks.
But Maki Zenin had trained since childhood and possessed outstanding talent. Her control over the weapon was precise to the smallest detail. If Noritoshi Kamo could advance, then the spear could follow, and the pressure never eased.
Left with no choice, Noritoshi Kamo retreated behind a thick tree and took a short breath. Maki Zenin did not give him any room, her blade flashing as she pursued without pause. The distance between them vanished again.
At that moment, a red light flashed. A figure burst out from the other side at startling speed, and with Battle Blade positioned on the left side of the tree, it could not sweep across to block. It was the perfect chance to close in.