The moment he saw that face, Satoru Gojo's confident smile froze for the very first time.
"How... is it so similar?"
Gojo had assumed the transformation the students mentioned was just a clumsy imitation. He never expected it to be an exact replica, right down to the aura and physical strength.
No! Ian's transformation was even stronger than the Toji Fushiguro in his memories!
In the bushes, Megumi Fushiguro completely froze the moment he saw that figure.
An inexplicable sense of familiarity and palpitation surged from deep within his bloodline.
He did not know who that man was, yet he felt that this person must be incredibly important to him.
Ian, in the guise of Toji Fushiguro, reached out and perfectly caught the falling Playful Cloud from the sky.
He cracked his neck and let out the exact same chilling, low chuckle from all those years ago.
"Yo, it's been a while, you strongest little brat."
Gojo's breath hitched sharply.
Atop the roof, the atmosphere seemed to solidify.
The students watching from the sidelines felt the air grow so heavy it was suffocating.
Gojo had an inexplicable feeling. What came next would be his most difficult battle since awakening his Reverse Cursed Technique.
The battle erupted without any warning.
Just as Gojo had sensed, Ian's version of Toji displayed combat skills that surpassed the original's peak, bordering on the divine.
He took a single step forward, and the concrete roof beneath his feet instantly caved in, fracturing like a spiderweb.
Ian's entire body blurred into a black afterimage completely imperceptible to the naked eye, instantly closing the distance to Gojo.
Relying on the overwhelming perception of his Six Eyes, Gojo barely managed to track Ian's position, pushing his Limitless Cursed Technique to its absolute maximum.
However, the Playful Cloud in Ian's hands struck first despite moving later.
Swung from a treacherous angle impossible for a normal human body to achieve, it struck the weakest spatial node of the infinity barrier with flawless precision.
Bang!
A muffled, heavy crash echoed.
The invisible barrier vibrated violently. Although it wasn't shattered outright, the sheer, tyrannical force of pure physical strength bypassed the spatial distortion and slammed ruthlessly into Gojo's body.
The impact forced him to slide half a step backward.
'It was breached again?'
Ian remained completely unfazed.
In truth, if he just slightly adjusted his eyes, he could directly see the dense network of Lines of Death and Points of Death covering Gojo's body.
A casual scratch or poke with his fingernail would be enough to completely erase Gojo or his Limitless Cursed Technique on a conceptual level.
But that would be too boring. The audience wouldn't understand what happened, and it wouldn't properly showcase his sheer badassery.
Beating Satoru Gojo up with fists and a staff was much more satisfying to watch.
The ensuing battle became a completely one-sided suppression.
Ian's figure moved at high speeds across the rooftop, leaving behind a trail of blurry afterimages.
The Playful Cloud in his hands transformed into a flurry of staff shadows, each strike landing precisely on different nodes of the Limitless.
The violent concussive force made Gojo's blood boil, making him feel as if his internal organs were shifting.
Gojo's attacks, whether it was the spatial convergence of [Blue] or the repulsive force of [Red], were all skillfully redirected and dispersed by the air currents Ian whipped up with Playful Cloud.
They were even treated like baseballs, casually swatted away into the sky.
Gojo's body was constantly battered by the shockwaves, forcing him to frantically circulate his Reverse Cursed Technique to heal himself.
His stamina and cursed energy were draining at an astonishing rate.
The students watching were completely dumbfounded.
Their mouths hung wide open, forgetting to even breathe.
They had never imagined that Gojo-sensei, the invincible figure in their hearts, could be suppressed and beaten to such a pathetic state.
As the battle dragged on, Gojo's brain began showing signs of frying from the continuous, high-intensity use of his Reverse Cursed Technique.
His vision started to blur.
Yet he gritted his teeth and held on, refusing to use his Domain Expansion.
Just a moment before Gojo's consciousness was about to snap from his brain overloading, the storm-like barrage of attacks abruptly stopped.
The tip of Playful Cloud, carrying the howling sound of tearing air, halted less than a centimeter from the tip of his nose.
"That's enough."
Ian deactivated his transformation, reverting to his original appearance.
Unable to hold on any longer, Gojo fell straight backward.
With a hint of relief, he muttered to himself.
"How... pathetic..."
"I apologize, Lord Ian. I couldn't even make you go all out!"
Just as he hit the ground and began to question his life choices, Ian retrieved a green bean from his Transmutation Tablet.
With a flick of his finger, he shot the bean straight into Gojo's mouth.
It was a Senzu Bean, capable of instantly healing all injuries and fatigue.
The Senzu Bean melted the moment it entered his mouth.
Then, its miraculous healing properties took effect inside Gojo's body instantly.
His senses, which had been on the verge of frying from brain overload just a second ago, were restored to unprecedented clarity the next.
Every injury and every ounce of fatigue in his body was completely wiped away by that warm flow of energy.
He could feel that not only had he returned to his peak, but his condition was even slightly better than his absolute best.
Gojo jolted upright, sitting up from the cold rooftop floor.
He looked at the young man standing nearby, whose breathing wasn't the least bit ragged and who hadn't shed a single drop of sweat. In those azure eyes that always brimmed with boundless confidence, hesitation appeared once again.
The composure and confidence of the "strongest" that he had always taken pride in vanished completely in that moment.
"Your fighting style relies too heavily on your cursed technique," Ian said calmly, his voice like a tranquil lake without a single ripple.
"Your physical development is pitifully lacking, and your soul development is entirely superficial."
"Before this, you were like a frog in a well, satisfied with a sky the size of a pond."
"Trapped in your own little world."
The students hiding behind the bushes collectively gasped upon hearing those words.
'Gojo-sensei... is a frog in a well?'
'Then what are we?'
'The stones at the bottom of the well? Or the moss growing in the cracks between the stones?'
However, to everyone's surprise, upon hearing this borderline humiliating assessment, Gojo didn't get angry. Instead, he fell into a brief silence.
A moment later, he stood up with utmost seriousness and bowed slightly toward Ian.
"Please instruct me," he requested, using honorifics for the very first time.
Seeing his humble attitude, Ian nodded in satisfaction.
"Then I'll broaden your horizons."
The moment his words fell.
A minuscule, insignificant trace of Ian's true aura quietly leaked from his body.
In that instant, within Gojo's Six Eyes, the entire world shattered without any warning.
He felt his soul being forcibly ripped from his body by an irresistible, incomprehensible cosmic power.
His vision was pulled infinitely far away at a speed that transcended light, transcended causality, and transcended the absolute limits of his comprehension.