"Just to resolve a spat between two sisters?"
Metal Bat listened to Aokiji's explanation for being there as they walked.
As someone with a sister complex, he couldn't understand it at all.
"A little spat like that should be over in an afternoon at most, right?"
"Maybe for you." Aokiji shared some cream puffs with him.
"Some stubborn people refuse to speak up, and in the end, things only get worse."
Metal Bat took the cream puff and muttered a quick thanks.
Then he said with some relief:
"Luckily, Zenko and I tell each other everything. It would never get to that point no matter what."
Zenko was the name of Metal Bat's younger sister.
Even though his real name was Bad, his sister's name was the exact opposite, Zenko.
Or rather, his sister's name was the normal one.
"As time passes, the relationship between siblings usually turns into that of familiar strangers."
Aokiji shared this bit of wisdom with the fifteen-year-old boy who was experiencing being an older brother for the first time.
Metal Bat frowned in confusion:
"How is that possible? We're family living together!"
"I don't have any siblings, so I haven't thought about the reason, but most sibling relationships are indeed like that."
Seeing how certain Aokiji sounded.
Metal Bat couldn't help but start imagining.
A scene in the future where his sister, Zenko, treated him like a stranger.
*Whoosh—*
*Boom, boom, boom—*
He was fired up!
His Aura burned like a flame!
Metal Bat's slicked-back hair stood on end, and his expression became as terrifying as a demon's!
His Aura had already become tangible.
The surrounding air distorted as if scorched by fire!
Hmm, not Bad.
He could clearly sense the Aura.
Aokiji nodded slightly, using his Observation Haki to carefully feel the Aura emanating from Metal Bat.
As expected, it was very different from Haki.
But it had some reference value.
In future Cultivation, he could try following this feeling to further develop his Haki.
That's right, Aokiji had done it on purpose.
It was all to get a good look at Metal Bat's Aura.
Since they happened to meet, it was the perfect opportunity.
"No need to get so worked up," Aokiji said gently, patting him on the shoulder.
"That's just how it goes in most cases; it doesn't necessarily mean it will happen to you."
It took a while for Metal Bat to slowly calm down.
His eyes were dazed as he slapped his head hard.
"What just happened? I feel like I've forgotten something."
"?"
Aokiji saw that his bewildered look wasn't faked.
He speculated inwardly with a sigh.
The shock must have been so intense that his brain automatically blocked out the memory.
Just how high was this guy's sister complex Rank?
"Nothing happened."
"Is that so? But I still feel... Oh no! I have to go pick up my sister!"
Metal Bat suddenly shouted in frustration.
He checked the time and realized that school had already let out.
He shouldered his bat and took off running.
His voice trailed off as he ran: "I'm leaving first, let's talk next time—"
Having already carefully felt Metal Bat's Aura, Aokiji naturally saw no need to follow him.
He looked down at his phone.
The Association had sent a message saying no Monsters had appeared.
He stuffed another cream puff into his mouth:
"If I'd known, I would've kept the Donut Monster. At least the sugar would allow for quick recovery."
Aokiji was still considering the idea of 'using Monsters to raise Monsters' to grind his progress bar.
"Where can I find a Monster with enough strength and a rapid recovery ability?"
————
"Zenko, hasn't your brother come to pick you up yet?"
"He's probably busy with something," Zenko said as she threw feed into the chicken coop.
"He became a hero recently, so he's much busier than before."
"Eh! A hero from the Hero Association? That's so cool!" her classmate said with starry eyes of admiration.
"It's alright... Let's not talk about that. Let's finish cleaning the chicken coop first."
The two of them were the caretakers responsible for the chicks today.
This was a school course.
From the hatching of the chicks to their growth process,
the students were in charge of feeding and observing them.
The purpose of this course was to teach children the value of life.
"Zenko, do you know?" her classmate whispered, acting mysterious.
"My dad told me that once the chicks grow up, we're going to eat them!"
"That can't be right?" Zenko didn't quite believe it.
"It's true!" the classmate said excitedly.
"My dad said it's so we know where food comes from and how hard it is to get, and so we'll cherish life more in the future!"
"But... isn't that strange?" Zenko found it hard to understand.
"If we're supposed to cherish life, why kill the chicks and even make us eat them?"
Her classmate scratched her head and said, "I don't get it either."
Zenko looked back into the chicken coop at a tiny chick covered in soft yellow down, chirping happily as it pecked at the feed on the ground.
She tightened her grip on the bag of feed.
In those fierce eyes she had inherited—the same kind as her brother's—a flash of determination suddenly appeared.
"I don't want this. I'm taking the chick with me!"
"Eh—" the classmate exclaimed.
"But the teacher won't allow it, and the security guard will stop you. How will you get it out?"
"I'll put the chick in my backpack."
She had already opened the cage and was cupping the chick in her hands.
"Cheep, cheep~"
The chick understood nothing and just kept chirping happily.
Zenko gently stroked its downy feathers, her resolve strengthening.
"If it were my brother, he would definitely do the same!"
Metal Bat, who had eaten the most back then, sneezed.
He rubbed his nose and continued running toward the school.
In the classroom, the other students had long since finished school and left.
Zenko placed the chick on a desk.
She picked up her backpack and started organizing it to make a comfortable space for the chick.
The chick walked around the desk curiously.
It reached the edge, was startled by the height, and quickly retreated.
It settled down, quietly huddling in the center of the desk.
Suddenly, a cry rang out from somewhere.
Zenko didn't notice a thing.
The chick tilted its head.
"Cheep~"
It responded to a member of its kind from an unknown location.
A multitude of hoarse cries suddenly erupted from all directions!
The sounds were filled with pain and resentment, venting unwillingly toward their young kin.
The resentment of countless chickens who had been raised bit by bit by humans, only to be slaughtered, cooked, and eaten, began to converge.
The chick struggled and chirped,
writhing frantically on the desk!
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
Zenko stopped what she was doing and looked at it anxiously.
Only to find that the chick's body was beginning to swell strangely... "Phew—finally here!"
Metal Bat wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He searched for his sister's figure at the school gate.
Hmm? Zenko hasn't come out yet?
I'll ask the teacher at the gate... "Big Brother—!!"
It was Zenko's voice!
Metal Bat looked up almost instantly.
A strange-looking chicken with blood-red eyes was expanding continuously, bursting through the walls of the school building as it crowed madly!
His sister was clutching tightly to a single feather of this Monster!
Her body was suspended in the air, and she had her eyes closed in fear.
"Big Brother—!!!"
Vengeful Chicken, Disaster Rank: Demon!
"Dammit—" Veins bulged all over Metal Bat's body, and the hand gripping his bat creaked.
"Don't you dare touch my sister!!!"
...
(Throw some stones)