After physical training, they moved on to the final session of the day.
Not long after Haibara and the others were healed by Round Deer, they were taken to a deserted area for shooting practice.
Since Eichi's goal was to have them capable of handling a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, their targets weren't stationary.
Instead, they were given a highly safe and effective moving target.
This target even agreed to participate willingly.
That's right, their moving target was Satoru.
"Can't hit me, can't hit me, footwork, footwork…"
With Haibara gritting his teeth, Satoru teased them with bizarre and ridiculous poses.
The worst part was that even while being mocked so blatantly, they couldn't land a single hit.
Satoru hadn't even activated Limitless.
One moment, he was seen running through the sunset. The next, he spun and leapt like a ballet dancer, eyes closed.
Under the influence of Blue, Satoru's movements resembled graceful gliding over an ice rink.
"Is he holding back? Well, that makes sense. If he used Blue at full power, it'd be like instant teleportation. They wouldn't even catch a glimpse."
But Eichi quickly realized Satoru wasn't holding back. He was just playing around.
"Nanami, you won't hit me like that."
"Ieiri, why are your hands shaking?"
"As expected of Haibara, full of spirit! Ganbatte!"
Before long, the entire group began to feel the frustration of being unable to land even a single hit on Satoru.
"This won't do, I haven't had enough fun yet…"
Satoru started thinking of new ways to get them going when he noticed Eichi, sitting absentmindedly in a tree nearby.
"Hey, Eichi!"
An idea popped into Satoru's head.
"Hm?"
Eichi looked down, confused.
"Did you bring any targets? The more colorful, the better."
"Targets?"
Not sure what Satoru was up to, Eichi moved smoothly.
He pulled out the wooden sign marked 'OUT' from his shadow.
After taking out a box of watercolors and painting a few rings on the back of the sign, he tossed it to Satoru.
"Hmm, not bad."
Satoru nodded in approval.
Then he slapped the wooden sign onto his own butt.
Under Limitless, the wooden sign stuck securely to his backside.
"I've taken a good look at your performance just now."
Satoru turned to Nanami and the others, mimicking Yaga's stern tone.
"Your attacks were a mess. Bullets flying in all directions with zero aim."
"That's because you're too fast."
Nanami sighed.
"It's not just my speed. For example, Ieiri, your bullets went flying into the sky several times. And Nanami, some of yours nearly hit Eichi."
Satoru wagged his index finger from side to side.
"That's because you kept circling toward Eichi."
Kento retorted helplessly.
"Therefore, the future strongest hot-blooded teacher has come up with a plan."
Satoru ignored Nanami's complaint and bent forward.
"Look, I've prepared a target for you to aim at!"
He began wiggling his hips left and right. His provocative pose made Kento's hands twitch.
"Don't just stand there staring! You've got a clear target now, come on!"
Satoru even inched closer while wiggling exaggeratedly.
"You wiggle more than Shinnosuke Nohara."
Eichi took out his phone and snapped another rare photo of Satoru.
Satoru continued acting wildly on the field.
"Come on, come on, don't mind me."
Could three teenage boys in their prime ignore such provocation?
No.
The scene quickly spiraled into chaos.
At that moment, Nanami and Haibara had only one goal: shoot Satoru's butt.
Even the normally timid Kiyotaka let go of his fear and joined in.
The three began reinforcing their bodies with Cursed Energy, coordinating to restrict Satoru's movement space.
Watching the target bounce up, down, left, and right, then seeing the three roaring as they chased him, Eichi found an angle, took a photo, and sent it to Suguru.
Eichi: Satoru is itching for a fight. Coming?
Suguru: On a mission.
"What a pity. If it were Suguru, there would've actually been a chance."
As the sun set, the three boys, defeated and humiliated, dragged themselves back to the Tokyo Jujutsu High dorms.
From that moment on, they became the newest members of the "How to Beat Up Satoru" study group.
"Yay~ Interesting."
Satoru walked up to Eichi with his hands behind his head.
"How do you feel?"
Eichi, still perched in the tree, looked down at him.
"It was a lot of fun!"
Satoru smiled, clearly satisfied.
"…I was talking about their skill level."
Eichi was speechless.
"Oh, that? They improved a lot!"
Satoru rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Even though they were all over the place at first, their accuracy improved later. They're quick learners."
"Especially during the last round. The three of them grew significantly. I was almost hit."
Seeing the serious look on Satoru's face, Eichi was momentarily caught off guard.
'Did I misjudge him? Was he deliberately provoking them to improve their performance?'
"Hey, Eichi."
Just as Eichi was reconsidering his thoughts, Satoru crouched down and poked his shoulder.
"What is it?"
"When are we playing again next time?"
Playing...
Of course, I was overthinking it.
"Rather than that, you should worry more about Suguru."
Eichi decided to change the topic.
"Suguru?"
Satoru was confused.
"What's there to worry about?"
In his mind, Suguru's strength matched his own. He was level-headed, reliable, and someone he could always count on.
For the longest time, Satoru had used Suguru's opinions as a benchmark.
So he didn't see what Suguru would need him to worry about.
"Soon, a bad woman is going to show up and try to steal your Suguru."
Eichi tilted his head and smiled playfully.
"Huh? Who's this 'bad woman'? Tell me who it is."
Looking at Satoru's exaggerated reaction, Eichi couldn't help but laugh.
"Yuki Tsukumo."
"Yuki Tsukumo?"
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Satoru.
"That Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer who does nothing but travel overseas all the time?"
"That's the one."
"Watch me beat that bad woman away."
Satoru rolled up his sleeves dramatically.
"If you've got time, stick around Tokyo Jujutsu High for a while. She's here to see you. Best not to let Suguru meet her alone."
"Leave it to me!"
(To be continued.)