Mamoru suppressed the surge of unease in his heart and forced himself to calm down, completing a cold analysis of both sides' combat power in an instant.
This fake, created by Yakumo herself, was essentially a perfect projection of his own abilities.
When he had initially been honest with Yakumo about the details of his abilities, he had never expected a situation like this—facing a meticulously copied version of himself.
However, regret was now useless. If the opponent could perform 'Red', then they would certainly be able to use 'Purple' as well.
Whether facing 'Red' or 'Purple', he had never felt the slightest bit of fear. No matter how astonishing their power, they were ultimately just methods of attack. As long as they failed to hit, they posed no real threat.
What truly made him wary was the near-perfect healing power granted by the Reverse Cursed Technique. Coupled with the Six Eyes, this self-healing ability was almost equivalent to immortality.
As for the Domain 'Unlimited Void', he couldn't help but feel secretly lucky that he had never mentioned the concept to Yakumo. Otherwise, there would be no chance of winning this battle.
Now, his disadvantage would instead become his trump card. This phantom surely didn't know that the original couldn't use the Reverse Cursed Technique at all. By utilizing this information gap, he might be able to catch it off guard, making it the killing blow to defeat it.
"Heh heh heh..."
A suppressed low chuckle escaped his throat, initially carrying a hint of hesitation and pressure, but as the laughter grew louder, it eventually turned into complete liberation.
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha..."
Mamoru suddenly laughed maniacally, feeling every cell in his body roaring with excitement and his blood boiling in his veins.
This thrill of facing an extreme threat made his every nerve tremble. He spread his arms wide, as if to embrace this life-and-death duel.
At the same time, the phantom slowly descended from the sky, its feet landing silently on the ground.
He stood at the far end of the street, gazing at Mamoru across the way with a faint, enigmatic smile.
As he slowly raised his right hand, a constantly twisting and vibrating red orb of light condensed at his fingertips, the surrounding air warping due to its presence.
"Red."
As he softly uttered that word, the entire block was instantly and completely swallowed by a crimson light.
Boom... Boom...
Accompanied by the surging shockwaves, deafening roars echoed incessantly.
Surrounding buildings were torn apart under the impact of the immense force, debris and wreckage flying in all directions like a torrential rain. Even the ground was not spared, splitting inch by inch and flipping away.
As the dust slowly settled, a fan-shaped crater had swallowed the entire area, everything had been completely shredded. Mamoru's trace had vanished.
"This is exactly what makes it... interesting." Mamoru's voice sounded from the air.
A fanatical smile appeared on his face, a burning fighting spirit blazed in his eyes, and his lips curled into a nearly insane arc.
Before his voice had even faded, Blue shot out from his fingertips, arriving in an instant. Everywhere the orb of light passed, even light was distorted and sound was swallowed.
However, the moment Blue was about to hit the phantom, it was completely neutralized by the opponent's Infinity, turning into nothing but a faint blue halo that quietly dissipated.
"Preeeeee——!!!"
Almost at the same instant, a scream like a hawk tearing through the air pierced the eardrums.
Mamoru appeared beside the phantom like a ghost, a dazzling blue electric light bursting from his palm as the attack pressed close.
Without hesitation, his right hand, condensed with Chidori, pierced straight toward the phantom.
"Too slow!"
At the critical moment, the phantom moved like lightning, his fingers clamping precisely onto Mamoru's wrist like iron pincers and violently hoisting him up. His other hand glowed with a brilliant red light as a fist condensed with Red slammed heavily into Mamoru's abdomen.
Boom!
A heavy impact exploded, and Mamoru was blasted into the air by a massive force. He gritted his teeth, barely managing to flip his body in mid-air before he could even steady himself.
"Preeeeee——!!!"
A sharp, ear-piercing hawk's cry suddenly came from above, making one's whole body go numb.
"Too weak."
A cold voice fell from above, filled with disdain.
The phantom's figure had actually appeared directly above Mamoru, the lightning-flickering 'Chidori' in his hand piercing straight toward his back.
In the next instant, the violent lightning exploded on Mamoru's back.
However—
Poof!
Mamoru's Shadow Clone dissipated into smoke, leaving only a few wisps of light smoke slowly drifting in the air.
"Are you talking about yourself when you say 'too weak'?"
Mamoru's true body appeared behind the phantom, the Rasengan in his hand emitting a humming sound as it rotated rapidly.
Using the same posture, he paid the phantom back in its own coin.
The Rasengan slammed toward the phantom's back, but it came to a dead stop a foot away from him, firmly blocked by an invisible barrier.
"Did you think I hadn't seen through your little tricks?"
Accompanied by a piercing hawk's cry, the phantom's Chidori had already formed as he turned to pierce toward Mamoru's face. His eyes were cold and his movements were fluid, as if he had long anticipated this strike.
Electricity flashed violently, and the Chidori was likewise blocked by the invisible Infinity. Blue electric snakes crawled frantically over the barrier, emitting a tooth-grinding hiss. Sparks flew everywhere, illuminating their faces in alternating light and shadow.
The two in the air continued to output Chakra. Whether it was the Rasengan or the Chidori, both were isolated by each other's Infinity.
The hissing of the current and the humming of the Chakra abilities intertwined in the air.
The two fell into a stalemate, their gazes colliding in the air, neither yielding. The air seemed to freeze due to their confrontation.
Right at that moment, the phantom narrowed his eyes slightly and silently activated Red.
Although Mamoru noticed the opponent's intention immediately, the change happened in the blink of an eye, leaving him no time to react.
His pupils constricted violently, and he deactivated Infinity—this was the only choice. His Infinity relied on the power of Blue to maintain. Once it touched Red, the two forces would collide violently, giving birth to an uncontrollable Purple. That would be no different from suicide.
He would rather take a hit from Red than be forced to endure a Purple that would instantly kill him.
The moment the red energy ball emerged between the two, the spatial field underwent a violent fluctuation, and the gravitational field warped instantly.
Boom!
The moment the explosive impact rose, Mamoru was violently blasted away, as if slapped aside by an invisible giant palm. He fell uncontrollably in the opposite direction, tracing a pathetic arc through the air, his tattered clothes hissing in the wind.
Mamoru gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain throughout his body as he barely stabilized himself in mid-air. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently.
He quickly checked his physical condition. His clothes were already in tatters, and lacerated wounds covered his entire body, with blood constantly dripping from his torn collar. Every wound was stinging with heat.
Suddenly feeling half of his vision turn red, he subconsciously touched his forehead and felt warm blood. The blood flowed down his forehead, blurring his vision.
This was the first time he had been so severely injured.
Without a second thought, he immediately activated the Mystical Palm Technique. A faint green light rose from his body, slowly covering his wounds and enveloping his entire body.
At that moment, a voice filled with malicious playfulness sounded.
"That's quite an injury."
The phantom quietly emerged, the wind in the air brushing through his jet-black hair. He was in a leisurely posture, even taking his time to raise a hand and straighten his collar.
Mamoru couldn't help but click his tongue. As expected—this state of Infinity, maintained by the same source as Red, would not cause backlash to the user.
He tried to analyze the principle of the phantom's activation of Red, hoping to reproduce the Reverse Cursed Technique during the battle. But the transcendent realm contained within it was, after all, not something that could be fully understood in a short time. The mystery of this power was far deeper than he had imagined.
This showed just how terrifying Yakumo's Kekkei Genkai truly was.