Inside the observation room.
A massive display screen was broadcasting live footage from the forest.
While the other screens showed the Tokyo students cheerfully exorcising cursed spirits, the atmosphere on the largest central screen was so heavy it felt like it could condense into water.
"Heh."
Yoshinobu Gakuganji, sitting in the head seat, let out a cold sneer.
He fingered his prayer beads, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his cloudy, old eyes.
"Arrogant brat."
"To think he'd try to take on the entire Kyoto School by himself."
"Does he really think a bit of brute force is enough to run wild in the jujutsu world?"
In Gakuganji's eyes, Yoru's actions were nothing short of suicidal.
The lineup Kyoto sent this time was quite prestigious.
The Kamo family's Blood Manipulation, the Zenin family's Construction Technique, Mechamaru with his Heavenly Restriction...
Not to mention their numerical advantage.
Even a Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer would be forced to bite the dust when faced with such an onslaught.
"Now, now, old man, you've got it all wrong."
Satoru Gojo sat in the chair beside him, still clutching his cup of milk tea and grinning like a villain.
He sat with his legs crossed, his sunglasses sliding down slightly to reveal those sky-blue Six Eyes.
Watching the youth in black blocking the path alone on the screen, there wasn't a hint of worry in Gojo's eyes; instead, they were filled with anticipation.
"What do you mean 'brute force'?"
"That's art."
Gojo pointed at the screen.
"Just watch, Principal Gakuganji."
"In today's lesson, Yoru is going to teach your Kyoto students..."
"...exactly what it means to be outclassed."
On the other side, Mei Mei watched the screen with great interest.
"It looks like the odds are about to change."
Her fingers swiped rapidly across her tablet, calculating how much she could make this time.
"I'm betting on the Tokyo School to win, too."
...
...
The forest battlefield.
With Noritoshi Kamo's command, the stalemate was instantly shattered.
The fighting spirit of the Kyoto group was forcefully ignited.
They were sorcerers, after all; if they couldn't escape, their only choice was to fight!
"Ultimate Mechamaru: Cannon Mode!"
Mechamaru was the first to strike.
His massive mechanical arm transformed instantly, revealing a dark, gaping muzzle.
An immense amount of cursed energy gathered at the muzzle, radiating a destructive aura.
"Triple Ultra-Cannon!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three blasts of cursed energy, powerful enough to shatter boulders, shot toward Yoru in a triangular formation.
Simultaneously.
Mai had also found the perfect sniping position.
Hiding behind a large tree, she aimed her revolver directly between Yoru's eyebrows.
Though they were just ordinary bullets, they possessed formidable lethality once infused with cursed energy.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
Momo Nishimiya wasn't idling in the air either; she swung her broom, summoning a howling gale.
"Tool Manipulation: Scythe Weaver!"
Countless wind blades, sharp as scythes, blocked off all of Yoru's avenues for evasion.
As the primary attacker, Noritoshi Kamo lunged directly in front of Yoru.
"Blood Manipulation: Flowing Red Scale!"
His body temperature rose and his physical functions surged as he swung a blade of blood toward Yoru's throat with a piercing whistle.
With Flowing Red Scale active, Kamo's speed and strength reached the pinnacle of a Grade 1 sorcerer.
He didn't believe that someone without cursed energy could block this strike with raw physical power alone!
"It's over, Yoru!"
At that moment.
Long-range, melee, aerial support, and suppressing fire.
The Kyoto School displayed perfect coordination.
It was a certain-kill web!
Even a Special Grade cursed spirit would have been reduced to dust in an instant!
However.
Yoru, at the center of the storm, still hadn't drawn his blade.
He simply stood there quietly, watching the barrage of attacks descending upon him without even blinking.
His hand rested lightly on the hilt of Shiranui.
His thumb pressed against the tsuba.
In the next second.
An indescribable heatwave suddenly erupted with him as the epicenter!
Whoosh!
The temperature in the previously cool forest instantly spiked to a terrifying level.
The air began to distort.
The scorched earth beneath his feet hissed and sizzled.
The air around Yoru seemed to ignite; through the haze, everyone felt as if they saw a crimson sun rising behind him.
It was the prelude to Sun Breathing.
It was the supreme solar majesty that belonged to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
"Wh—"
Noritoshi Kamo, charging at the front, felt a wave of heat wash over him, as if he were about to be charred alive.
Before the blood blade in his hand could even touch Yoru, it began to rapidly evaporate and dry up!
While Blood Manipulation was powerful, blood's greatest weakness was extreme heat!
Then, an even more bizarre scene unfolded.
The three cursed energy blasts fired by Mechamaru weirdly distorted and dissipated as they entered a three-meter radius around Yoru.
Like snowflakes falling into boiling water, they didn't stir even a single ripple.
"Impossible!"
Mechamaru's emotionless mechanical voice actually carried a hint of a tremor now.
'My maximum output... couldn't even break through his defensive perimeter?'
It was because Yoru's aura was too strong—strong enough to directly scatter a cursed energy structure of that level!
As for Mai's bullets and Momo's wind blades, they were knocked off course by the rising thermal currents before they could even brush against Yoru's clothes.
Every single attack.
...was completely nullified before Yoru!
"How can this be..."
Momo stared blankly from the air; she had never witnessed such an absurd scene.
The boy hadn't even moved; he had blocked all their attacks simply by standing there and releasing his aura?
Was this something a human was capable of? He was nothing short of a walking natural disaster in human skin!
"Is this... the power of a Special Grade?"
Kasumi Miwa's hands, gripping her sword, were drenched in sweat.
She looked at the youth who remained calm amidst the sweltering heat.
He was so handsome, with gentle red eyes and those cute hanafuda earrings.
But at this moment.
In Miwa's eyes, he was more terrifying than any Special Grade cursed spirit.
The tremor originating from the depths of her soul made her want to turn and flee.
Yoru slowly raised his head.
His gaze pierced through the distorted air and landed on Miwa, not far away.
That look was very calm.
There was no killing intent, yet it made Miwa feel like an ant being scrutinized by a god.
The pressure was like a landslide or a tsunami—the overwhelming weight of the world's strongest swordsman.
Under this pressure, Miwa, whose mental defenses were the weakest, finally snapped.
"Aaaaaah!"
She let out a tearful scream.
It wasn't a battle cry; it was a release of the terror in her heart.
"Don't look at me!!!"
With her eyes clamped shut, Miwa gripped her sword with both hands and charged recklessly at Yoru.
This was her final struggle in the face of despair, and the beginning of the collapse of the Kyoto School's defensive line.
"Miwa! Don't!"
Mai shouted in terror.
But it was already too late.
The blue-haired girl lunged forward like a moth to a flame, charging toward the sun that was capable of incinerating everything in its path.