"Me?" Cloud spread his hands helplessly. "Old man, you know the rules. I can't enter the ring yet."
"I know." Chin Gentsai nodded. "That's why I want to ask you to help him... in a different way."
"A different way?"
"Correct." A gleam of wisdom shone in Chin's eyes. "Using... psychic power."
"Psychic power?" Cloud blinked.
"Iori Yagami's body may be on the verge of collapse, but... his spirit remains in an extremely excited, frenzied state. He would absolutely never surrender of his own volition."
"However..." Chin's tone shifted. "Precisely because he's now in a near-death weakened state, his mental defenses have dropped to their lowest point in history!"
"With your unfathomably deep psychic power, plus Athena's assistance..."
He looked at Cloud and slowly laid out an audacious plan dripping with "exploit energy"—
"...we can forcibly, briefly seize control of his mind!"
"Then speak the words 'I surrender' for him!"
Cloud: "..."
Athena: "..."
Both inhaled sharply after hearing Chin's "bug abuse" plan.
Holy shit.
Old man, you're wasted not being a "tactical genius"!
This wasn't "saving someone."
This was "remote piloting, forced disconnect"!
But...
"I love this method!"
An excited, mischievous grin spread across Cloud's face!
He loved this feeling of testing boundaries at the edge of the rules!
...
No more hesitation!
Athena moved behind Cloud, placing her hands gently on his temples.
A stream of pure, vast pink telekinetic energy—filled with "healing" and "amplification"—flowed into his mind.
[Ding! External psychic power buff detected! Host psychic strength temporarily increased by 30%!]
Meanwhile, Chin Gentsai sat cross-legged, setting his wine gourd aside.
He pressed his palms together and closed his cloudy eyes.
An ethereal aura of "Dao follows nature" enveloped the entire booth, blocking all external detection!
"Ready?" Cloud asked.
"Mm!" Athena nodded firmly.
"Good! Then let's... begin!"
Cloud took a deep breath and pushed his terrifying psychic power to its limit!
An invisible torrent of mental force—imperceptible to the eye yet capable of warping space—shot out like an electromagnetic cannon!
Instantly crossing hundreds of meters, it precisely pierced into the consciousness of the red-haired man on stage who was about to lose awareness!
...
In that dark mindscape filled with "blood," "madness," and "slaughter"—
Iori Yagami's soul flickered like a candle in the wind, about to extinguish.
But then!
A massive golden-purple figure—radiating "divinity" and "dominance"—appeared without warning in this supposedly "forbidden" mindscape like a descending god!
"Hey, madman."
Cloud's will manifested as a titan standing between heaven and earth, looking down at the wounded-beast soul of Iori cowering in a corner.
"Do you want to die?"
"Get... out..." Iori's soul issued a weak, resistant snarl.
"Do you want to live?"
Cloud ignored him and continued.
"Do you want... to personally take revenge on the demon who trampled you?"
"Do you want... to stand before your eternal rival Kyo Kusanagi again, and tell him who the strongest man really is?"
These seductive words struck like the sharpest daggers, piercing Iori's proud, defiant, maddened heart!
"I... I..."
"If you want that—then LIVE!"
Cloud roared!
His massive psychic power instantly transformed into an invisible giant hand, forcibly seizing control of Iori's nearly-collapsed body!
...
On stage.
Demon An'un was slowly raising his claw—wreathed in ink-black demonic power—preparing to deliver the final blow to the red-haired man who'd nearly stopped breathing!
But then!
That man who should have been "dead"...
...slowly raised his head!
In an extremely weak voice, filled with "defiance," he forced three words through gritted teeth:
"I... sur... render..."
The instant those words fell!
VWOOOM—!
The Yata Mirror Barrier's rules activated instantly!
A white teleportation pillar enveloped Iori's broken body, transporting him out of the arena!
Demon An'un's certain-kill strike... hit nothing but air.
Dead silence.
Everyone was completely blindsided by this sudden "plot twist."
Sur... surrendered?!
Iori Yagami... that lunatic who'd rather die than bow...
Voluntarily surrendered?!
This... this doesn't make any sense!
...
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