Satoru Gojo stood calmly amidst the hail of bullets as the System's continuous notification tones rang in his mind.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of gunfire ceased.
Anthony, the Second-in-Command, cautiously peeked out from behind his cover. He intended to savor the sight of the two men being turned into Swiss cheese, but the reality was so shocking he began to stutter.
"Th-th-this... how is this possible?!"
The two stood there perfectly intact, without a single scratch.
Sarelo had braced himself for a bloody end, yet finding himself unharmed, he blankly reached up to touch his own head. Realizing what had happened, he snapped his gaze toward Gojo, who was still holding onto him.
There seemed to be an invisible shield around them; every bullet stopped in mid-air no more than ten centimeters from their bodies. With a light flick of Gojo's finger, the bullets dropped obediently to the ground as if receiving an order.
This was his passive technique: Infinity.
Any object approaching him would slow down infinitely, eventually becoming unable to touch him. This skill ensured that in a fight against ordinary people, Gojo was essentially immune to close-quarters attacks while also being able to protect his teammates.
In other words, as long as no other ability users were present, no one could harm him.
As for the unlocking of the "Azure" (Cinnabar) skill, that was a pleasant surprise.
Seeing the deathly silence in the room, Gojo spread his hands as if to liven up the atmosphere: "What's wrong? Not going to continue?"
"I haven't had my fill of fun yet."
"You... what on earth are you?!"
Anthony racked his brain but couldn't understand when they had provoked such a monster. Could it be... He suddenly recalled rumors he had heard about "Ability Users." The kind of people you couldn't find one of in a hundred million, usually kept as the ultimate trump cards of various nations... How did he run into one today?!
There was no mistake; the kid in front of him was an Ability User! What Anthony could figure out, Sarelo naturally understood as well. Only now did he realize why Gojo had the confidence to storm the enemy camp alone.
The guy was here to perform a dimensional strike!
Relieved, Sarelo also felt a bit of wry frustration. Boss, if you had told me earlier, would I have needed to live in such fear?
Aside from Anthony, the others were clearly terrified. Holding their guns, they retreated hesitantly. Some gang members who were merely spectating had already scattered and fled.
Gojo stretched as if he were in his own home. He walked toward Anthony, saying: "Warm-up is over. Time to talk business."
Not a single person dared to step forward to stop him. One guy, refusing to believe in the supernatural, fired again, only for the bullet to be blocked by Gojo once more. Gojo nonchalantly pinched a bullet suspended in mid-air, rubbed it, and then flicked it away with his forefinger.
Thump! No one saw how he did it; they only saw the man who had fired collapse instantly with a bleeding hole in his chest.
Horror surfaced on Anthony's face as he scrambled to bark out orders: "Cease fire! Cease fire!"
Then, he forced a smile at Gojo that looked more painful than crying.
"Let's talk this through... Great One, you're with the 'Crows,' right? You want our territory? We can negotiate! When our Boss gets back, let him talk to you—"
Gojo wasn't interested in his rambling. If he didn't wrap this up quickly, he wouldn't make it back in time for dinner.
His fingers were as strong as steel as they clamped onto Anthony's throat, lifting him off the ground. Anthony's breathing became labored, his face turning from red to purple as he struggled in vain to break free.
"Submit... or die."
Anthony wanted to beg for mercy, but with his throat locked tight, he could only let out muffled groans.
"Choose for yourself." The others present didn't even dare to breathe loudly, fearing they would draw the attention of this death god.
After a few seconds, Gojo released his grip.
"Cough, cough... I don't want to die!" Anthony had never felt that air was so fresh. "Noble Lord, all of Carite is yours. Please, stay your hand and grant us a path to live..."
Beside them, Sarelo felt utterly refreshed. This Anthony had dealt with him before and always acted so high and mighty; now he was no better than a dead dog. It was truly satisfying.
Gojo also felt it was about time to stop. He contacted Tequila and, learning that he was on his way with plenty of reinforcements, hung up the phone. He then told Sarelo to release the hostages the gang had kidnapped and find a way to send them back later.
Anthony and his disarmed subordinates looked at each other, their hearts bleeding, but none dared to resist again. In this country where the law could hardly restrain them, whoever had the biggest fist was God. Tsk... I heard the Crows were about as strong as us; who knew an Ability User would suddenly pop up? We're truly done for.
While Anthony was mourning the business he had worked so hard to build, he was caught off guard by a question from Gojo.
"Among the people you kidnapped, Javier's wife is there, right?"
"What? Javier?" Panic flashed in his eyes for a split second before being suppressed. "That... I'm really not sure."
Gojo narrowed his eyes. He had heard from Javier that Carite kept all kidnapped "ransoms" in specialized cells at the headquarters to prevent escape. Javier had betrayed the Organization knowing he couldn't escape death, but under the lingering effects of hypnosis, he had subconsciously pleaded with Gojo:
"You're strong, right... please, at least save my wife from that place. I beg you, she's innocent, she did nothing wrong..."
Gojo had promised Javier he would bring his wife out. Not sure where she is?
—Time for the "Great Memory Restoration Technique: Physical Version"!
Two minutes later, a bruised and swollen Anthony ordered his men to carry a corpse over. The blonde woman had a bullet hole in her temple, her eyes wide as if she died with a lingering grudge.
"...How did she die?"
Anthony didn't know why this powerhouse was looking for the woman, let alone did he dare admit he had killed her. But with a slight threat from Gojo, a subordinate immediately blurted out the truth.
"Because she accidentally used too much force during a massage and hurt the Second-in-Command, so she was..."
As Gojo listened, his expression behind the bandages was unreadable.
"That... it was an accident," Anthony hurried to defend himself. "I just wanted to scare her, I didn't expect the gun to go off by itself... Puh!"
He was kicked to the ground by Gojo, spitting out blood and foam.
"I see."
"Leader, what's wrong?" Sarelo asked cautiously. He felt that... Kaiser's current state was not quite right.