Merciful Sun

Flying Thunder God Technique!

As a user of this technique, leaving marks had practically become a habit.

And a Flying Thunder God mark could only be passively erased by a transformation as powerful as the Ten-Tails'. In fact, even then, it was only because the flesh bearing the original mark had "disappeared," ceased to exist on a causal level, and been replaced that the mark vanished.

Trying to forcibly erase it deliberately simply would not work.

This utterly unreasonable ninjutsu was the very foundation of his strength!

Wrapped in lava, the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword slashed straight at Dagon!

Dagon had only just narrowly dodged when a red, white, and orange fist rapidly grew larger before his eyes!

Boom!

Dagon was blasted straight into the wall. Yue Liusi was just about to use ninjutsu when Jogo closed in!

After forcing Yue Liusi back with a punch, Jogo hurled a massive boulder formed from lava straight at him!

Since flames could not hurt him, he would use physical force!

Seeing Yue Liusi cut the boulder to pieces, Jogo found him somewhat troublesome and hurriedly shouted to Dagon behind him,

"Dagon, he's after you! Retreat and put everything into defending yourself!"

In an instant, thick currents of water gathered around Dagon, filled with dense cursed energy, like an impenetrable turtle shell.

Yue Liusi realized he had to end this quickly.

Otherwise, with Jogo holding him back, exorcising Dagon would still be somewhat difficult.

He was not yet that strong.

"You can't stop me."

Yue Liusi raised a hand toward the sky, and lava began gathering in a spiral at his fingertip.

Expansion.

Compression.

Expansion.

Compression.

"Playing with fire in front of me? You're simply..."

Jogo gave a disdainful laugh. He had only just channeled his cursed energy to gather magma when he discovered that the magma and flames were flowing uncontrollably into that fireball!

It was devouring all the "fire" around it!

Jogo suddenly realized something.

"Dagon! Run!"

Yue Liusi's gaze fixed on the defenses surrounding Dagon's body.

Water normally countered fire.

But...

Heavenly fire could evaporate seas, and abyssal waters could extinguish the sun. With enough power, there was no such thing as one countering the other.

With his vastly increased chakra reserves, Yue Liusi was entirely capable of doing it.

This strike also nearly exhausted all his power.

The lava sphere was roughly two meters in diameter, yellowish-white and radiating light. Liquid flowed within it, spots covered it, and occasionally an "arch" of flame would rise from its surface.

It was a derivative Lava Release technique Yue Liusi had developed himself after perfectly mastering "Lava Release Chakra Mode."

"Merciful Sun."

And this was precisely what he lacked.

An ultimate means of attack.

"Victory is mine."

As the final compression was completed, Yue Liusi said those words.

"You're asking to die!"

Jogo roared in fury.

Was this a cursed technique?

How could a human possess this kind of power?

It was the curse born of volcanoes!

With this terrifying aura, it could manage because of its affinity, but Dagon absolutely could not withstand it!

Dagon had never been particularly strong, and his technique's affinity clashed with it so directly!

It could not possibly intercept it by force, either!

But it certainly could not watch Dagon die!

Jogo gathered his power again. With enough volume, even this fireball would not be able to absorb it all!

He aimed his hand straight at Maki and the others and shouted, trying to draw Yue Liusi's attention.

"You bastard! Look over here!"

When Yue Liusi remained unmoved, Jogo panicked.

"Domain..."

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Yue Liusi did not launch "Merciful Sun." Though this technique was immensely powerful, it had one fatal flaw: it was very easy to dodge.

So...

The next moment, Yue Liusi appeared before Dagon, who had already retreated some distance.

He delivered the technique directly to Dagon's face.

Others did not know what Flying Thunder God could do.

Even if they knew, they had no way to counter it.

Looking at Dagon, Yue Liusi gently lowered his raised hand.

"See~ ya~"

"Merciful Sun" would finally bloom with its searing grace.

"Domain Expansion!"

Faced with mortal danger, Dagon forced out a second Domain Expansion. Any consequences were something to consider only after surviving!

Forcing a domain into use might kill it.

But without forcing its domain into use, it would die right now!

Yet before the domain could expand, it merged straight into "Merciful Sun" and was instantly swallowed along with Dagon.

Then the sun went out. Lava, returned to its ordinary state, scattered across the ground, leaving nothing behind.

Utter containment. Just like "Lava Release Chakra Mode," it confined tremendous energy within an extremely small area.

Everything swallowed by it would be reduced to ashes, including cursed techniques.

Including a domain that had yet to fully expand.

"Dagon!"

Just as when Satoru Gojo had been underground at the subway earlier, it had been unable to stop any of it.

Everything had happened within a few short seconds.

Jogo! Just look at what you've managed to protect!

Aaaaaah!!!

"I'll kill you!"

Jogo's rage reached its peak, and the terrifying heat began melting the buildings around it.

With a Flying Thunder God, Yue Liusi appeared beside Maki and the others.

He glanced at the spot where Dagon had vanished. His Sharingan appeared, quietly gaining a third tomoe.

"What a boring fight, Dagon. I'll probably forget you soon."

To be honest, it felt somewhat like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

But there was no helping it. He still had too few options.

It was a shame he had not been able to have a proper fight with Toji Fushiguro.

"What are you still staring at? Waiting to die?"

Yue Liusi grabbed Maki by the back of her collar, then seized Nanami and the clan head with the severed arm by their hair. An instant before the enraged Jogo's attack landed, they vanished.

"Damn you! Humans!"

Jogo's attack missed, leaving it to vent by destroying the surrounding buildings.

Elsewhere, beneath S Tower.

"Whew..."

Yue Liusi finally let out a breath of relief. Intense weakness and exhaustion washed over him, making him stumble and nearly lose his footing.

Bracing himself against a nearby pillar, Yue Liusi looked at the three people he had rescued.

The three had also recovered their senses. Mainly, whether it had been Toji Fushiguro and Yue Liusi's fight inside the domain or the battle outside it, they had been unable to intervene.

Aside from their shock at Yue Liusi's bizarre methods and terrifying strength, they were simply thankful to be alive.

After the three thanked him, Naobito Zenin saw that Yue Liusi was preparing to leave and suddenly spoke with a smile.

"The younger generation is formidable indeed. Mr. Yue, might you be considering joining an organization? The Zenin Clan would be an excellent choice."

"Power, wealth, status... everything you could want."

"A man of your strength naturally wouldn't spend his attention on trivial matters, Mr. Yue. The Zenin Clan can handle all of those for you, and we have the means to do so."

His words were very well chosen.

Trying to recruit someone under these circumstances seemed somewhat inappropriate, but as the head of the Zenin Clan, he naturally had to seize the opportunity.

If he could persuade a special grade combatant to join them, the Zenin Clan's standing would surely rise accordingly.

He considered that Semi-Grade 2 designation utter bullshit.

And this special grade combatant who had appeared out of nowhere was so young!

He might well be the next Satoru Gojo!