"ROOOAAAR—!!!"
Hanami let out a roar like a wounded beast.
Although the hole in its chest hadn't hit a vital spot, the scorching power of the Crimson Flash continued to tear through its physical tissue.
If this continued...
It would die.
It would actually die!
In its eyes, the human youth named Yoru was now a more dangerous existence than even Satoru Gojo!
Despite having no cursed energy, the blade in his hand and that breathing technique were the natural enemies of all cursed spirits.
It had to risk everything!
"Domain Expansion..."
Hanami raised its intact right hand, and the white cloth-wrapped shoulder began to writhe once more.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Although limited by the incomplete Curtain, it couldn't deploy a full Innate Domain, but that didn't stop it from unleashing a lethal blow capable of covering the entire field.
"Ceremonial Sea of Light!"
BOOM!
With Hanami at the center, countless brilliant flowers bloomed instantly.
Red, yellow, purple... a kaleidoscope of flowers swallowed the entire forest in the blink of an eye.
It was the physical manifestation of all its cursed energy.
Every single flower emitted an intoxicating fragrance.
This scent wasn't poisonous.
On the contrary, it made people feel incredibly relaxed, even making them want to drift into a deep sleep.
"Not good! This is mental interference!"
Aoi Todo felt his mind grow foggy as his previously taut nerves began to slacken uncontrollably.
Even his Boogie Woogie technique experienced a momentary stall.
"Don't breathe, Yuji!"
Aoi Todo roared, biting his tongue hard to use the sharp pain to force himself awake.
Yuji Itadori also shook his head violently, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
But the floral scent was pervasive.
Even if they held their breath, it could seep through their pores and paralyze their nerves.
This was one of the trump cards of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Hanami.
Utilizing the properties of plants, it performed large-scale mental control and life absorption.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Hanami began to frantically devour the vitality of every living thing around it to repair its broken body.
In just a few seconds, the hole in its chest began to heal, and even its severed arm grew back.
"Die, humans."
Having returned to its peak state, Hanami gave the three no room to breathe.
Countless barbed vines, like the tentacles of a death god, lunged toward the immobilized trio from every direction.
But that wasn't the most lethal part.
Along with the dancing vines, countless fist-sized black seeds were fired like shotgun pellets, mixed into the onslaught.
"Cursed Seeds?!"
Aoi Todo's pupils shrank violently.
As a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, he recognized the sinister nature of this move at a glance.
Once these seeds touched a sorcerer's body, they would instantly take root and sprout, frantically draining cursed energy until the host was sucked dry.
'This is bad...'
Aoi Todo grit his teeth, his mind racing.
He wanted to use Boogie Woogie to swap positions, but under this overwhelming blanket of attacks, death awaited no matter where he moved.
He couldn't even find a safe spot for a swap target.
'Is this the full power of a Special Grade?'
Despair inevitably began to rise in his heart.
Yet, just as Aoi Todo prepared to risk his life by shielding Yuji with his own body...
He suddenly felt something.
No.
It wasn't that he felt something.
It was that... something felt missing.
He instinctively turned his head to look at Yoru beside him.
The youth who normally had such an overwhelming presence now felt...
Transparent?
The boy was clearly standing right there; his breathing and heartbeat remained.
But in Aoi Todo's martial instincts, Yoru seemed to have merged with the surrounding air, blending into the very world itself.
No killing intent, no fighting spirit.
Even his presence as a living being had vanished.
'This is...'
Aoi Todo was stunned.
In this moment of despair.
Yoru remained in his sword-wielding stance, unmoving, as if he had been completely hypnotized by the floral scent.
"Yoru! Wake up!"
Aoi Todo shouted anxiously.
But Yoru didn't respond.
His world was currently undergoing a cataclysmic transformation.
In that very instant.
The moment Hanami released that sea of flowers, Yoru felt as though he had broken through some kind of barrier.
[DING!]
[DETECTED HOST'S MENTAL CONCENTRATION IS EXTREMELY HIGH. SYNCHRONIZATION RATE WITH TEMPLATE HAS INCREASED.]
[CURRENT SYNCHRONIZATION RATE: 20%]
[UNLOCKED ABILITY: TRANSPARENT WORLD.]
The cold system prompt rang in his mind, but it didn't disrupt Yoru's train of thought.
He closed his eyes.
Then, he slowly opened them once more.
Every object had become transparent in his eyes.
Trees were no longer trees, but countless conduits transporting water and nutrients.
The ground beneath his feet was no longer soil, but a complex web of roots and rock textures.
And the once-terrifying Hanami before him...
Had become a biological machine operating at high speed in Yoru's vision.
The origin, pivot point, and trajectory of every vine were instantly analyzed within his mind.
Not only that.
He also saw, deep within Hanami's massive frame and wrapped in layers of cursed energy, a heart beating violently.
That was its core.
'I see. So this is the Transparent World?'
The corners of Yoru's mouth curled slightly into a faint smile.
In this moment, the previously invincible Special Grade Cursed Spirit had become a collection of moving weaknesses in his eyes.
A single light strike would be enough to make it crumble completely.
Swish—!
A vine pierced through the air, aimed straight for the center of Yoru's forehead.
But at the very moment before impact...
Yoru simply tilted his head slightly; the vine grazed past his ear without touching a single strand of hair.
Immediately following.
A second, a third... countless vines arrived in rapid succession.
But Yoru was like a dancer strolling through a storm, perfectly evading every attack by a hair's breadth every single time.
He hadn't even swung the blade in his hand.
"How is this possible?!"
Hanami's eyes widened, staring at the figure weaving through the sky full of vines.
Its attacks had clearly blocked off every blind spot.
Why was he able to predict it every time? It was as if he knew exactly where it was going to strike beforehand.
"Your movements are far too redundant."
Yoru's voice suddenly echoed in Hanami's ear.
It was calm.
Yet it carried a chilling coldness that made one's skin crawl.
Hanami whipped its head around, only to find that Yoru had somehow bypassed the lethal net of vines and was standing right in front of it.
Those previously pitch-black pupils had now turned an eerie dark red.
Within them, the textures of the entire world seemed to be reflected.
"I can see clearly now."
Yoru spoke softly as he took a deep breath.
His chest rose and fell sharply as a massive amount of oxygen was drawn into his lungs, merging with his blood to turn into a surging torrent of heat flowing to his limbs.
Crackle...
Golden lightning danced across his body once more.
But this time, the golden lightning was interlaced with faint traces of a brilliant crimson glow, as radiant as the sun.
This was the sign of the perfect fusion between Thunder Breathing and Sun Breathing.
And also...
The first strike after the awakening of the Transparent World.
"Now, it ends."
Yoru slowly raised Shiranui, the tip of the blade pointing directly at the location of Hanami's heart.
That was the singular death point he saw through the Transparent World.