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CHAPTER START---
"Limited destruction to your courtyard?" Taiyo looks up at Naoya, who is standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at the battlefield. "Fine, this should make things more interesting."
Naoya sees Taiyo's smile and raises a brow at him. "And what might that be?"
"I won't use my Innate Technique. Immolation would make a mess of your clan compound. Plus, I don't want this to end too quickly."
Taiyo narrows his eyes at the four men standing across from him.
"I have some things I want to learn from them." He narrows his eyes at Jinichi, then glances at Chojuro. "Don't hold back."
The four men look up at Naoya, who merely nods.
Accepting the signal, they all take a combat stance across from Taiyo, with Jinichi and Chojuro at the back while Nobuaki draws his Katana and steps forward as vanguard.
Beside him, Ranta draws a Katana and spreads out to approach from the side.
The courtyard grows tense as Taiyo remains relaxed, and seeing that the boy will not take a combat stance, Naoya casually kicks a pebble from the top of the stairs down into the courtyard.
As it clears the two dozen feet down onto the battlefield, all minds are racing at the possibilities of this battle.
The four members of the Hei recount their nights of planning this fight, now forced to adjust to their opponent seemingly not using his Innate Technique.
Immolation was dangerous, but they weren't foolish enough to believe him. They were mentally in sync, and all forced to operate under the assumption that if his life is threatened, they'd be instantly cremated as a reflex.
Standing across from them, Taiyo's eyes were locked onto Jinichi. His only concern was getting in close while one of the Missile Fists formed to study it.
But he must also conceal the fact that his Innate Technique is sealed.
And above them, Naoya's mind flickers through all these possibilities, and more.
'No Innate Technique? Even for a Special Grade, that's dangerous against the Hei. Suguru Geto would be dead. Yuki Tsukumo, maybe. Satoru Gojo would be fine, but is this boy strong enough?
No. There has to be another reason. He didn't make a Binding Vow, so he could use it if he wanted to. At least that is what we must assume, so they will have to pierce his head in one quick strike to end this battle.
Yes, that would solve many problems. Or force him into a situation where using it would be necessary.
If they manage that and he doesn't use Immolation, I will step in with my Domain Expansion and kill him.
All those nights with the Hei and elders, considering how he could contest Satoru Gojo. One of the many possibilities was him making a Binding Vow to seal his Innate Technique for some time.
But would that still be in effect? And not only that, but is it even worth fighting him in such a weakened state?
He could fight Satoru Gojo for minutes without it, so he could potentially kill the entire clan, even without it. Perhaps if the Hei push him to reveal something, I'll find an opportunity to strike.
That would clear up this mess and put those useless broken dolls back in their place…'
Naoya snaps out of his musing as the pebble shatters against the floor, and the Hei rush forward.
Nobuaki reinforces his Katana with Cursed Energy and rushes Taiyo at speeds beyond a regular person's perception, appearing in front of him and slashing at his neck.
Taiyo is more confused than concerned at this, ready to step back and casually dodge this attack.
Only for his body to freeze as the blade approaches.
'Huh?' he looks past Nobuaki and sees Ranta glaring at him. 'I've read about the Zen'In technique. His Innate Technique paralyzes those he stares at, annoying.'
As the blade is a finger's width from Taiyo's neck, he disappears.
Nobuki is amazed at this, spinning around to see Taiyo in the middle of the battlefield holding Ranta off the ground by his neck.
"That's one annoying technique," Taiyo says while strangling the other boy.
Ranta swings his blade at Taiyo, only for it to shatter against the side of his head, and even then, he continues to activate his Paralyzing Gaze over and over.
But each time, his control is broken.
The instant Taiyo feels his body become paralyzed, he flashes Domain Amplification faster than the people here could notice to break the control, causing the appearance of the technique simply failing.
In Taiyo's grasp, Ranta drops his blade and grips the hand around his neck, bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears as he pushes his technique far beyond its limit with a Binding Vow.
A powerful surge of Cursed Energy hits Taiyo and paralyzes his body.
Within half a half-second, the ground beneath and around him forms a massive stone hand that lifts them into the air.
It raises them three stories up before closing to make a fist, crushing them. High above it, a massive fist, half the size of the battlefield, appears.
Jinichi creates a Missile Fist larger than a three-bedroom house and crashes it against the stone fist, exploding them both while pushing his target into the ground.
The explosion and crash rock the entire Zen'In compound, slightly annoying Naoya as the elders would surely have questions now.
But he keeps his composure and waits for the dust cloud to settle.
'Seriously?' Naoya frowns, glaring into the cloud as it clears.
They all see Taiyo standing, untouched, holding an unconscious Ranta by the throat.
He tosses the boy to some attendants with a scoff. "Dumbass made such a dangerous Binding Vow for an exhibition match. He's lucky I healed him."
Naoya schools his expression into a soft smile. "Thank you for that. Ranta can sometimes let his emotions run wild in battle."
Taiyo looks up at Naoya and shrugs. "That's half the fun, but he really—" He feels a gentle poke in the middle of his neck, and gives Naoya an annoyed look.
Naoya shrugs. "We never paused the match."
Taiyo turns around to see Nobuaki standing there, hands bleeding after trying and failing to pierce Taiyo's nape with his blade.
Taiyo glares down at him. "Do you have an Innate Technique?"
"The Kukuru Unit has no Innate Techniques."
Chojuro and Jinichi recover at this moment and rejoin the battle.
Chojuro drops to his knees and rests both palms on the ground, using Earth Manipulation to send a wave of stone at Taiyo.
Jinichi forms a dozen Missile Fists around them and launches them at him, intent on attacking from above.
But to their horror, Taiyo slams his foot on the ground while staring down Nobuaki, then skates his foot to the left, toward them.
The ground erupts as if detonated, launching every piece of debris at the two men.
'Earth Manipulation?' Chojuro wonders while defending them with a wall. He noticed the similarities in how Taiyo's Cursed Energy and his own Innate Technique moved through the ground.
While their vision is blocked, they feel Nobuaki's energy fading and shooting out of the courtyard.
And when the wall drops, Taiyo is looking at one of the nearby buildings that has a hole in the roof.
"Sorry about that. His defense was weaker than I expected," Taiyo says jokingly before turning to the last two men. "Now for the fun part…"
For the first time since the battle began, Taiyo takes a true combat stance, activating his unique Simple Domain, All Combat.
Jinichi steps forward and creates a dozen car-sized Missile Fists while Chojuro remains crouched and activates his technique.
Taiyo mirrors Chojuro's stance and overloads the battlefield with his Cursed Energy.
He copies Earth Manipulation as best he can. He uses his Cursed Energy to move the earth, employing hundreds of hardened and detonated pockets of energy that appear as a single, steady movement, causing the entire battlefield to detonate and launch skyward.
Chojuro flails about for a moment as they're all launched upward, but as Jinichi charges forward, riding two Missile Fists under his feet, he spreads his Cursed Energy through the dust connecting the nearby debris and launches it all at Taiyo like homing missiles.
Taiyo sees dozens of strikes coming at him, and much to their amazement, even after seeing it through a screen.
He forms two daggers of Flowing Cursed Energy and slashes them all away, then he kicks off the air to maneuver around Jinichi, dropkicking Chojuro before either man could even react.
Chojuro forms a crater on impact outside the courtyard, knocked out, and Taiyo turns around to charge at Jinichi.
Both men climb higher, Jinichi fighting for his life while Taiyo is gleefully laughing, chasing him like a dog and rabbit.
"Just fight already!" Taiyo says as he casually keeps pace with the man, kicking off the air while Jinichi is rising with Missile Fists under his feet.
Hearing this, Jinichi turns around, above Taiyo, and unleashes a dozen human-sized Missile Fists down at the boy.
"That's it!" Taiyo smiles as he kicks off the air and slashes through all the fists, appearing in front of Jinichi and slowing down for just a moment.
Jinichi notices this, and wrongly assumes Taiyo mis-stepped in the air or overestimated himself, making a Missile Fist at close range, just beyond arm's reach, and launching it at the boy.
But before it can fully form, Taiyo disappears, appearing behind him and grabbing it with his bare hand while palming the back of Jinichi's head.
For a moment, Domain Amplification flickers across his hand, enabling him to better study how this Innate Technique is formed.
He then kicks off the air, launching them both toward the ground while holding the back of Jinichi's head, keeping the man under him as they crash into the destroyed stone courtyard.
Naoya averts his eyes from the dust cloud, more annoyed than he'd expected to be.
Between the performance of his men, the destruction of his training ground, and the annoying political problems this stunt would cause, he'd at least expected some noteworthy information to be gleaned.
But instead, as Taiyo heals Jinichi before pushing off the unconscious man and rising to his feet, signalling for the female servant to bring him his jacket.
The only thought Naoya had was eerily similar, but not quite the way he thinks of Satoru Gojo.
'Special Grades will be Special Grades…'
END CHAPTER---
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pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
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