Chapter 53: The Dimensional Wall of Strength
Inside the observation room, the massive screens reflected the battlefield in real time.
Compared to the other feeds, where the Tokyo students were clearing out cursed spirits with almost cheerful efficiency, the atmosphere around the central screen was so heavy it felt suffocating.
On that screen, one figure stood alone.
Yami.
Opposite him was the entire main force of Kyoto Jujutsu High.
"Heh."
Yoshinobu Gakuganji sat in the seat of honor, prayer beads sliding through his fingers one by one. A cruel light flickered deep in his cloudy eyes.
"An arrogant brat."
"To think he wants to stop all of Kyoto Jujutsu High by himself."
His lips curled into a cold sneer.
"Does he really believe he can run wild through the jujutsu world just because he has some physical talent?"
In Gakuganji's eyes, Yami's actions were no different from courting death.
Kyoto's lineup this time was hardly weak.
The Kamo family's Blood Manipulation. The Zenin family's Construction technique. Mechamaru's overwhelming firepower born from Heavenly Restriction. Add their advantage in numbers, and even a Grade 1 sorcerer would struggle if surrounded.
"Oh, old man, you've got it completely wrong."
Satoru Gojo sat beside him with one leg crossed over the other, milk tea in hand, smiling like someone who had just found a very entertaining toy.
His sunglasses slid down slightly, exposing the gleam of those sky blue Six Eyes.
He looked at the young man on the screen, standing in the forest with one hand resting on his sword, and there was not the slightest hint of concern in his eyes.
Only anticipation.
"What do you mean by physical talent?"
Gojo lazily pointed at the screen.
"That's art."
He leaned back, smile widening.
"Just watch carefully, Principal Gakuganji."
"In today's lesson, Yami is going to teach your Kyoto students what a real difference in dimensions looks like."
Not far away, Mei Mei watched the same screen with keen interest, fingers gliding over her tablet as she recalculated the odds.
"The payout is changing."
She smiled faintly.
"In that case, I'll put my money on Tokyo too."
Back in the forest, the command from Kamo Noritoshi shattered the stalemate.
The Kyoto students had no choice.
They were sorcerers. They could not retreat. If they wanted to reach Yuji Itadori, then the only option left was to force their way through Yami.
"Ultimate Mechamaru: Cannon Mode!"
Mechamaru moved first.
One of his massive mechanical arms transformed at once, folding open to reveal a dark cannon muzzle. A terrifying concentration of cursed energy gathered there, humming with destructive force.
"Triple Great Cannon!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three blasts of cursed energy screamed through the air in a triangular formation, their trajectories perfectly calculated to box Yami in.
At the same time, Mai found her angle.
Hidden behind a broad tree trunk, she raised her revolver and aimed at the center of Yami's forehead. They were ordinary bullets, but under her cursed energy reinforcement, their lethality was far beyond normal firearms.
Bang!
The gunshot cut through the forest.
Above them, Momo Nishimiya swept down on her broom and spun her cursed tool in a tight arc.
"Tool Manipulation: Wind Scythe!"
A storm of razor sharp wind blades tore through the air, sealing off every remaining route of escape.
And then Kamo Noritoshi himself charged straight in from the front.
"Blood Manipulation: Flowing Red Scale!"
His body heat rose instantly. Blood surged through his vessels like molten iron, driving his physical ability to its limit. The blood blade in his hand shrieked as it cut through the air toward Yami's throat.
In the state of Flowing Red Scale, Kamo had already reached the peak of Grade 1 close quarters combat.
He refused to believe that someone with no cursed energy could withstand this with nothing but flesh and bone.
"It's over, Yami!"
Long range bombardment. Aerial suppression. Sniping fire. Direct close quarters assault.
At that moment, Kyoto Jujutsu High's coordination was flawless.
This was a web of certain death.
Even a Special Grade cursed spirit would have been forced into retreat.
And yet Yami still did not draw his blade.
He simply stood there in the eye of the storm, watching the attacks close in from every direction without even blinking.
One hand rested lightly on Shiranui's hilt.
His thumb pressed against the tsuba.
The next instant, a terrifying heatwave erupted with him at its center.
Whoosh!
The temperature of the forest soared in a heartbeat.
The air twisted.
The already scorched earth beneath his feet began to hiss.
It was as if the very atmosphere around him had ignited.
And behind him, faintly, terrifyingly, it felt as though a crimson sun were rising.
This was the prelude to Sun Breathing.
This was the solar majesty that belonged to Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
Kamo, who had been charging from the front, felt the blast of heat hit him head on. His face twisted.
Before his blood blade could even reach Yami, it began to dry and steam away in his hand.
His eyes widened.
Blood Manipulation was powerful, but blood had always feared intense heat.
At the same time, the three cursed energy blasts from Mechamaru entered the three meter radius around Yami and immediately began to distort.
Then they collapsed.
Not exploded. Not deflected.
Collapsed.
As if snow had fallen into boiling water and vanished without leaving so much as a ripple.
"Impossible!"
Even through the mechanical voice filter, the shock in Mechamaru's tone was obvious.
"My maximum output… can't even breach his defensive field?"
He understood it instantly.
Yami's presence was too strong. So strong that anything below a certain threshold simply could not maintain its structure in front of him.
Mai's bullets and Momo's wind blades fared no better.
The moment they entered the rising heat currents around Yami, their trajectories bent violently. The bullets veered away, and the wind blades tore off course before they could so much as brush the hem of his uniform.
Every attack had failed.
None of them had even forced him to move.
"How is that possible…"
High above, Momo's face was bloodless.
The young man below had not drawn his sword. Had not stepped aside. Had not even bothered to defend.
And yet all of Kyoto's attacks had been rendered meaningless by the aura radiating from his body alone.
That was not a human being.
That was a natural disaster wearing human skin.
"Is this… really a person?"
Kasumi Miwa's hands were slick with sweat around her katana.
She stared at the young man standing motionless at the center of the distorted air.
He was handsome. Gentle featured. Red eyed. The hanafuda earrings swaying faintly at his ears made him seem almost elegant.
And yet, in Miwa's eyes, he was more terrifying than any Special Grade cursed spirit.
That fear came not from the mind, but from something deeper. Something primal. Something that screamed that the creature before her stood on a completely different level of existence.
Then Yami raised his eyes.
His gaze moved through the heat haze and landed on her.
It was calm.
There was no contempt in it. No malice. No killing intent.
And that made it worse.
Because to Miwa, that gaze felt like being noticed by a god.
An overwhelming pressure crashed down on her.
Her breathing turned ragged. Her knees shook. The sword in her hands suddenly felt much too heavy.
And then something inside her snapped.
"Aaaaah!"
She screamed, tears springing to her eyes.
It was not a battle cry.
It was fear breaking through her restraint.
"Don't look at me!"
Clutching her sword with both hands, Miwa charged.
It was reckless. Desperate. The kind of attack born when fear reached its limit and the only instinct left was to swing before being swallowed whole.
From a distance, it looked exactly like a moth throwing itself into flame.
"Miwa, don't!"
Mai's horrified voice rang out from behind.
But it was too late.
The blue haired girl had already rushed toward that blazing sun.
.....
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