The training field was quiet in a way that never lasted long at Jujutsu High.
A cleared-out section of ruined concrete and broken pillars—repurposed into a makeshift arena—sat under a dull gray sky.
Megumi stood on one side.
Takeru on the other.
No spectators this time.
Gojo had "agreed to supervise from a distance," which in practice meant he was probably watching from somewhere impossible.
Yuji and Nobara were supposed to be elsewhere.
They were not.
"…Start," Megumi said flatly.
Takeru nodded once.
"…Understood."
Megumi exhaled.
Then—
Megumi Fushiguro moved first.
Shadows spread instantly beneath his feet.
Divine Dogs erupted forward—two points of pressure, splitting angles, forcing reaction timing.
Toad followed, launching from the side to restrict movement.
Nue appeared overhead—
lightning already forming.
A layered attack.
Simultaneous.
Structured.
Yuji, watching from behind a broken wall, muttered:
"…That's a lot happening at once."
Nobara nodded. "He's not even warming up."
Takeru didn't move immediately.
He watched.
Still.
Quiet.
Then his Six Eyes activated.
Everything changed.
Not visually—at first.
But conceptually.
Distances. Timing. Output. Direction vectors.
Megumi's entire setup became readable as a single evolving system.
"…I see," Takeru murmured.
He stepped slightly to the left.
Divine Dog missed.
Not because it failed—
but because the probability of interception had already been accounted for.
Megumi clicked his tongue. "…Already adapting."
He adjusted immediately.
Shadow shifted again.
This time faster.
More chaotic.
Less structured.
A feint.
Then a trap.
Toad reappeared from below.
Nue struck from a different angle.
Divine Dogs circled tighter.
Yuji leaned forward. "…He changed it already?!"
Nobara squinted. "He's not repeating anything…"
Takeru moved again.
Small step.
Then pivot.
Then pause.
Each motion was minimal.
But precise.
Like he was testing boundaries instead of reacting.
Sukuna's voice echoed faintly in his mind:
"…He's changing rhythm."
Takeru didn't respond.
But he noticed.
Megumi narrowed his eyes.
"…You're reading too much."
Shadow suddenly compressed.
Instead of spreading outward—
it collapsed inward into a binding zone.
A close-range execution net.
Yuji shouted. "OH—THAT'S NEW!"
Nobara: "HE'S GOING FOR A TRAP!"
Takeru finally moved faster.
Not evasive.
Not defensive.
He stepped into it.
Megumi's eyes widened slightly.
"…What?"
The shadow net snapped shut—
Nothing inside.
Takeru had already shifted position by using the gap in timing between Megumi's control pulses.
Not breaking the technique.
But slipping through its transition state.
Yuji blinked. "…He just walked through it?"
Nobara: "THAT'S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!"
Megumi clicked his tongue again.
"…So you're learning the timing between activation phases."
Takeru adjusted his sunglasses.
"…Yes."
A pause.
Megumi exhaled slowly.
Then—
he stopped using patterns.
The ground went still for half a second.
Then—
Eight shadows erupted at once.
No sequence.
No rhythm.
No readable order.
Pure instability.
Yuji straightened. "…Okay that's way worse."
Nobara: "HE JUST TURNED IT INTO CHAOS!"
Megumi's voice was low.
"…Now adapt to this."
Takeru paused.
Just briefly.
Then—
he smiled slightly.
"…Good."
And he moved again.
Not reacting anymore.
Not reading a pattern.
But building one.
Every step he took started to subtly influence Megumi's next action.
Every dodge reduced future options.
Every reposition narrowed Megumi's choices.
Megumi noticed it instantly.
"…You're forcing structure onto me."
Takeru nodded once.
"…Yes."
Yuji whispered. "…That sounds illegal."
Nobara: "IT FEELS ILLEGAL."
Megumi's shadows surged again—
but now they were slightly less stable.
Slightly more predictable.
Not because they changed—
but because Takeru was conditioning them.
Megumi's expression tightened.
"…You're learning my habits mid-fight."
Takeru answered calmly.
"…Correct."
A silence.
Then Megumi exhaled.
"…Annoying."
He raised one hand.
Shadow gathered into something denser.
He stopped trying to overwhelm.
Stopped trying to trick.
And instead—
focused.
"…Let's see if you can handle this."
Takeru's Six Eyes sharpened further.
For the first time—
the spar stopped feeling like adaptation.
And started feeling like evolution.