"BOOM—!!!"
A purple radiance seemed to split the world in two.
It was the absolute destruction known as "Hollow Purple."
Satoru Gojo descended from the heavens, his seemingly casual fingertips containing power that made even Special Grade Cursed Spirits despair.
A terrifying energy wave left a distorted vacuum trail in the air.
No sound could keep pace with the speed of this strike.
Hanami didn't even have time to react before the purple orb of light was right in front of its face.
Half of its body was still burning—a double searing from Yoru's Crimson Flash and Sun Breathing.
It couldn't regenerate at all.
In this moment, it even felt the icy touch of death.
'Is this the end?'
The world began to slow down in its eyes.
That white-haired man, like a cold and heartless deity, was watching its demise.
But at the critical moment...
"ROAR—!!!"
A roar of extreme fury suddenly exploded across the battlefield.
It was a scorching presence, as if from subterranean lava; a crimson figure descended like a meteor.
Not aimed at Satoru Gojo.
But...
Directly toward that purple orb!
"Don't die here... Hanami!!!"
The voice was filled with madness and determination.
It was Jogo.
This Special Grade Cursed Spirit, usually irritable and arrogant, now blocked Hanami's path without a second thought.
With its remaining arm, it shoved Hanami aside with all its might.
And then...
It met the Hollow Purple—which was capable of erasing everything—head-on with its own body.
"RUMBLE—!!!"
A massive explosion instantly swallowed the entire forest.
Purple light and crimson flames intertwined wildly, sweeping everything around into a vortex of destruction.
It was a collision of cursed energy.
And also...
Redemption between comrades.
Before, Hanami had risked its life to save Jogo.
And now...
Jogo repaid that debt with the same action.
Do Special Grade Cursed Spirits have emotions?
Perhaps.
At least at this moment, their bond was purer than that of some humans.
Dust filled the air.
The entire forest looked as if it had been plowed over, leaving a shocking, massive trench.
On the edge of that chasm...
Two battered figures were leaning on each other, stumbling away into the distance.
Half of Jogo's body had completely vanished.
Half of its head was sliced off, exposing the still-throbbing core within.
It looked even more pathetic than when Gojo had ripped its head off.
But it still desperately protected Hanami's core.
"You idiot... leave me..."
Hanami's voice was incredibly weak; its body was equally broken, making it difficult to even maintain its form.
"Shut up!"
Jogo gritted its teeth, dragging Hanami with its remaining strength.
"We... are the hope of the New Humans!"
"How could we... die here!"
They didn't look back, nor did they dare to.
Because they knew that the white-haired man and the boy with the blade were still standing there.
One second too slow would mean eternal damnation.
"Heh."
Satoru Gojo landed softly. Looking at the two retreating figures, he didn't give chase.
He just raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly surprised by this scene.
"They actually blocked it?"
Though it was just a casual strike without full power...
...it was still Hollow Purple.
To survive a direct hit and take a comrade along while escaping...
Should I say, "as expected of Special Grade Cursed Spirits"?
Or rather...
...is this what they call a bond?
"Whatever."
Gojo shrugged, having no intention of continuing the attack.
Since those two were already broken, he was more interested in the boy before him than chasing down two stray dogs.
Gojo turned around and walked straight toward Yoru.
His steps were light, but in Yoru's perception, each one felt like it was stepping on his heartbeat.
That pressure, the suffocating feeling of facing the entire world.
'Is this... the strongest of the modern era?'
Yoru took a deep breath and slowly sheathed his blade.
*Click.*
With the crisp sound of the blade clicking into place, the sharp aura retracted.
But a second later, Yoru's body swayed violently, nearly collapsing.
Unlike the state boost a sorcerer receives after landing a Black Flash, his Crimson Flash was a pure overexertion of his physical body.
After that strike, there was no buff; instead, he fell into a brief state of exhaustion.
"Whoops, steady now."
A hand steadily caught his shoulder.
"Sensei."
Yoru looked up weakly with a strained smile.
"I'm... a bit tired."
He looked nothing like the god of death who had just held Shiranui and nearly sliced a Special Grade to pieces.
"Yo."
Gojo stopped in front of Yoru, his eyes hidden behind his blindfold, seemingly sizing something up.
Suddenly, he reached out and pulled off his blindfold.
In that moment.
The world seemed to lose its color.
Only those eyes remained—deep as the firmament, as if they contained the entire universe.
Six Eyes.
The eyes of a god, capable of seeing through all cursed energy flow and analyzing every technique structure.
Right now.
These eyes were staring intently at Yoru's body, especially his eyes.
"Your eyes..."
Gojo's voice dropped a pitch, carrying a probing tone.
"What just happened to them?"
Though Yoru had returned to normal now.
In that split second just now.
Gojo had clearly captured an unusual ripple through the Six Eyes.
It wasn't cursed energy, but something much purer.
Almost as if...
...he had seen directly into the essence of the world.
That sensation even reminded him of his own Six Eyes.
Yet it was completely different.
The Six Eyes saw through cursed energy, while the boy's eyes seemed to see through life itself.
"It's nothing."
Faced with Gojo's gaze that seemed to pierce his soul, Yoru simply blinked calmly.
His pupils were crystal clear, devoid of impurities, like a peaceful pond.
"I just... saw some things clearly."
Yoru's voice was soft, yet held a natural tranquility.
Transparent World.
It was a realm he had realized on the threshold of life and death.
Seeing through muscle fibers, blood flow, and the trajectory of cursed energy.
Even...
...seeing through the enemy's intent.
But this wasn't something that needed explaining; to him, it was as natural as breathing.
"Saw some things clearly, huh?"
Gojo paused.
Then, as if hearing an amusing joke, the corners of his mouth curled up.
The smile grew wider until it became an unabashed, wild grin.
"Ha!"
Gojo pulled his blindfold back on and roughly ruffled Yoru's hair, turning the smooth black locks into a bird's nest.
"This is getting more and more interesting..."
"My student."
His voice was full of delight and even a hint of anticipation.
In this boring world...
Finally...
...a variable had appeared that could actually surprise him.
"Looks like the days ahead won't be boring anymore."
Gojo turned with a laugh, looking toward the smoking battlefield ruins.
"Let's go. We still need to check on the other cute kids."
Yoru touched his messy hair and sighed helplessly.
But he followed nonetheless.
Under the setting sun.
Two shadows, one large and one small, stretched out long across the ground.
One was the strongest.
The other was the strongest of the future.
This scene seemed to herald the beginning of a new era.
Only, Yoru didn't notice.
Within his shadow...
...something seemed to be quietly changing.
It was...
...the power of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, generating a mysterious resonance with the laws of this world.
And all of this was merely the beginning.
Gojo's lips curled up:
"Ha, this is getting more and more interesting."
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
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