The one-kilometer trek through the low-magic swamp had become a bizarre harvest. The powerhouse trio—Saitama, Gojo, and Jin-Woo—were now acting as mobile human shields, defending the "Tongue Harvester" (Kazuma) and his high-speed transport (Okarun).
"Okarun! Hard left! Two o'clock! That one looks like a rare drop!" Kazuma shrieked, pointing frantically. He was riding piggyback on the terrified Okarun, whose possessed speed turned him into a green, blurring blur of panic and adrenaline.
"I can't see! The speed is too much! I'm going to crash into that giant mushroom!" Okarun wailed, narrowly avoiding a collision with a bioluminescent fungal patch.
"No time for mushrooms! Just point me at the nearest tongue-owner!"
The sheer, focused audacity of Kazuma's Steal skill, when paired with Okarun's inhuman speed, was yielding results. Every successful, disgusting theft resulted in a Giant Toad collapsing into the mud, its threat neutralized.
Jin-Woo, meanwhile, used his limited forces for crowd control. Igris and Beru were not fighting; they were merely standing in the deep mud, their immense presence and cold aura diverting the Toads into predictable paths, funneling them towards the Kazuma/Okarun duo.
"Jin-Woo-san! Keep that knight from moving! He's attracting the big ones!" Tanjiro called out. He was using his blade to deflect the slimy residue of the Toads, performing a tireless, defensive dance. His Water Breathing was perfect for deflecting the sticky attacks, but the scent of the Giant Toads was making him nauseous.
"Inefficient," Jin-Woo growled, but he nodded. He mentally commanded Igris to sink deeper into the mud, minimizing his presence, focusing his power on authority rather than aggression.
Gojo was having the time of his life. Since he couldn't use his Cursed Techniques, he was relying on raw physical strength and speed, which was still devastating. He was essentially playing catch with the Giant Toads. He would punch one hard enough to send it spinning three hundred feet into the air, where it would harmlessly explode upon landing, making a delightful 'pop' sound.
"See, Saitama-kun? I'm having fun, and I'm being strategic! Pure physical dominance is still charming!" Gojo yelled, punching a toad into orbit.
Saitama, walking slowly behind the main action, looked utterly miserable. "It's too hot, and my boots are getting muddy. Why can't we just fly over?"
"We told you, the Arbiter said no high-concept cheating!" Kazuma shouted back, holding a fistful of wet, stolen tongues. "Keep walking! We're almost halfway!"
As they approached the halfway point, the scenery shifted from muddy fields to a sparse, rocky hillside. And with the environment, the threat escalated.
The rhythmic thump of the Giant Toads was replaced by a high-pitched, mocking shriek.
From the caves and rock formations, dozens of creatures began to swoop down: Killer Mantises. These were massive, green, insectoid beasts with scythe-like claws capable of severing metal. Unlike the Toads, they were fast, agile, and targeted the enemy's vital points.
"Flying enemies! Gojo-san! Your turn! They can't stop your physical strength!" Tanjiro yelled, immediately shifting his attention to defense.
Gojo launched himself upward, his eyes blazing with excitement. He was a terrifying sight, a blur of white and black, dodging the mantises' claws with impossible agility. Without Cursed Energy, he relied on the pure physics of his body. He was striking the Mantises with rapid, devastating blows, using their own speed against them.
"HAHA! You can't even touch me! You're slow! You're ugly! You're irrelevant! Come on, try harder!" Gojo taunted, ripping the scything claws off a Mantis with his bare hands.
The Mantises were immediately distracted by Gojo's dazzling, high-speed aggression. They ignored the Core, the Shadows, and the Weakest Entity—focusing entirely on the immediate, challenging threat.
"Anomaly 2, cease and desist excessive taunting. Maintaining Weakest Entity status is priority," the Arbiter's voice warned.
"It's working, though!" Gojo protested, landing a kick that sent a Mantis spinning into a rock face.
But as the Mantises fell, two new, larger enemies emerged from the cave entrance—Explosion Lizards. They were reptilian creatures that glowed with a faint, volatile red light, and they were lumbering straight for the group.
"Explosion Lizards! Everyone get down!" Kazuma screamed, jumping off Okarun and diving behind a large boulder. "They're not fast, but if you hit them with a high-power attack, they explode like Megumin's magic! They'll take out the entire team!"
"I can't use my powers! They're too volatile!" Gojo yelled from the air, cursing his limited abilities.
"My daggers are too efficient! I'll puncture them!" Jin-Woo warned, pulling Igris back.
"We need a precise, weak strike!" Tanjiro said, desperation in his voice. "Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!" He focused on creating a non-lethal, spinning shield of water around the group, hoping to divert the lizards.
Saitama, still walking behind them, watched the glowing, waddling Lizards. He saw the genuine, absolute terror in Kazuma's eyes.
He sighed. "Why is everything so complicated?"
He walked up to the nearest boulder, a rock the size of a small truck. Without exerting any effort, he gripped the boulder, lifted it above his head, and dropped it—not on the Lizard, but a yard in front of it.
The impact of the boulder created a small, shallow mud pit. The Explosion Lizards, already moving slowly, stepped into the mud and instantly became bogged down, unable to move their fat bodies forward.
"They're stuck!" Tanjiro exclaimed.
"Yeah, but they're still glowing! If they overheat, they blow up!" Kazuma reminded him. "And we can't hit them!"
Saitama frowned. He didn't want to use a Normal Punch and detonate the whole hillside. He stared at the stuck Lizards, thinking. He had to stop the internal pressure build-up without rupturing the skin.
He focused his intent, concentrating his overwhelming power into a single, delicate thought. He extended his open palm towards the nearest glowing lizard.
He didn't hit it. He just... gently tapped the air in front of its nose.
The air pressure wave, calibrated to the exact frequency required, traveled through the mud, hit the Lizard's glowing body, and instantly deflated it. The Lizard went from glowing red to dull grey, its volatile interior neutralized, like a punctured tire.
"He... he deflated it," Gojo whispered, descending from the air. "He used a hyper-localized air pressure wave to neutralize the internal volatility without breaking the epidermis... I don't care about the rules, that's just brilliant."
Jin-Woo nodded, his expression softening slightly. "The power of a god, used like a surgeon's scalpel. Effective."
Kazuma, watching the neutralized, deflated Lizard, slowly crawled out from behind the boulder. He pointed a trembling finger at the still-glowing Lizard.
"Saitama-san... the other one. Before it blows up. Can you... can you deflate the second one, too?"
Saitama sighed again and flicked his wrist. The second Lizard also instantly deflated.
"Ugh. Fine. Let's go," Saitama grumbled. "This is the worst trip to the store ever."
With the Lizards neutralized, the path was clear. Kazuma and Okarun re-engaged their speed-stealing routine, Tanjiro maintained guard, and the three powerhouses were now terrified of causing a world-breaking nuclear explosion if they used too much force.
The dungeon entrance loomed, now only three hundred yards away. They were almost there.
The team has now truly been forced to adapt to the ridiculous rules of the low-concept world, proving that strategy and precise control are more important than overwhelming strength.