Chapter 73 – Do You Want to Be a Ghost-Fire Girl?!
BOOM—!!!
The fully-charged sprinting punch landed squarely on Aokiji!
The massive fist almost covered Aokiji's entire upper body.
White wind-pressure erupted violently from the point of impact!
Genus and the weaker test subjects behind him were blown away by the blast before they realized what had happened.
Nice—very nice feedback! A clean, direct hit!
Carnage Kabuto was thoroughly satisfied.
He slowly retracted his fist and declared confidently:
After a punch like that, a frail old-human body can't possibly withstand it!
…zzz… zzz…
Steady breathing echoed.
Aokiji stood in place, eyes closed, body completely relaxed.
He offered no defense, arms hanging naturally.
He looked for all the world as though he were sound-asleep on his feet!
Wh-what the—?!!
Carnage Kabuto unconsciously voiced deep bewilderment.
A mere old human.
How could he take a punch from the ultimate evolution—me—using only his body?!!
And now he's dozing off in front of me as if it's nothing?!!
"Boss…?"
Armored Gorilla lowered the arm he'd raised against the wind.
At the sight, the gorilla himself was stunned.
"Ah—oh…" Aokiji woke up, rubbed his face to shake off the drowsiness.
"Don't feel bad—I did block it."
Aokiji consoled the dazed Carnage Kabuto.
Then he yawned again:
"Haa~ I just haven't slept for days; it's been nothing but training or draining work, so I got sleepy and dozed off."
"Keep going; I can take it."
Carnage Kabuto's breathing turned ragged; rage at being belittled surged!
His carapace swelled and distorted, dark purple surfacing.
Green energy-lines pulsed along the seams of his exoskeleton.
"Aaaargh—!!!"
His enlarged foot sank deep into the silvery metal floor.
Power erupted as he swung wildly!
The space between him and Aokiji was completely filled with dark-purple after-images!
Fierce white wind-blasts erupted one after another.
Genus, who had just managed to stand, was sent flying again by the gale.
Armored Gorilla staggered backward under the force.
Through the gap of his arms he glimpsed Aokiji, unmoving at the storm's center, and the electric currents inside his own mechanical body crackled even more excitedly.
At last he was seeing a fraction of the Boss's strength!
The crazy barrage continued.
The metal floor was pulverized beneath Carnage Kabuto's feet; his already twisted face grew even more hideous!
Every punch, every strike, delivered its full force onto the opponent!
But why?!
Why couldn't he budge this man?!!
"You can't even throw a punch with any strength and you call yourself a new human?"
BANG—!!!
Carnage Kabuto's body folded, rocketing away at extreme speed!
His massive frame shot across the spacious training room.
And slammed squarely into the far wall!
Aokiji lowered his fist and dusted off his clothes.
"Control was spot-on—nice work, Genus."
Number-Two Ashura's strength was a fair bit above the Dragon Level threshold.
Of course, that was more than enough to crush Demon Level Armored Gorilla and Beast King.
Genus picked himself up once more.
Clutching hands that ached from being blown away twice.
"As long as you're satisfied, Mr. Aokiji…"
"All right, you lot can leave now."
Aokiji covered a yawn.
And walked toward Carnage Kabuto, who was sliding slowly down the wall.
"This guy still hasn't admitted defeat."
The training-room door shut.
Not long after—
A series of violent tremors followed!
Every quake rattled the hearts of Genus and the test subjects.
Yet they couldn't simply leave.
They could only endure the earthquake-like roar and wait… A long two-and-a-half hours crawled by.
The tremors grew weaker, then stopped altogether.
Genus and the others had almost grown used to the dull crashes.
The sudden quiet felt unsettling.
The door lifted.
Aokiji emerged, dragging the limp, broken form of Ashura by the horn.
"Stubborn beast," he sighed. "Took that long before he'd admit he lost."
Hearing this,
Ashura's grievously injured body flailed in protest.
Like a carp stranded on shore, he thrashed about.
First punch nailed him into the wall so he couldn't run!
Second punch smashed his mouth so he couldn't beg for mercy!
And now Aokiji says he's stubborn??
Did he have any idea what it felt like to focus on regenerating his mouth while the punches kept coming?!!
Aokiji couldn't care less.
As long as Number-Two Carnage Kabuto was conquered, that was enough.
"Gorilla, catch." He flicked the horn.
Ashura's huge body sailed toward Armored Gorilla.
Armored Gorilla raised his arms on instinct.
Forming an oddly coquettish princess-carry.
Because of the size difference, Ashura's head still bonked on the floor.
That final knock was the last straw; Ashura blacked out.
Aokiji stretched and headed for the exit.
"Patch him up. I'm going back to bed."
Ever since he'd gained Kaido's template he hadn't slept—well, except for that nap.
With the two templates combined his stamina was monstrous.
But proper rest was still necessary.
Genus saw him off.
At last he watched the soaring Azure Dragon and sighed in silence.
Without realizing it, Genus had begun to abandon his own ideals.
He wanted to create new humans to replace the weak ones of today.
But Aokiji's feats forced him to wonder: might present-day humans possess even greater potential?
"Doctor, please import the dessert-recipe data for me!"
Having just placed Ashura in the infirmary, Armored Gorilla came running… We'll keep observing; it's not like we can resist.
Genus brushed his hair back.
"Coming."
——
——
Aokiji lay in bed, eye-mask on, perfectly at ease.
The curtains were drawn tight.
The bedroom was pitch-black and utterly silent.
Outside, the night was thick; only faint Moonlight leaked through thin clouds, like a pencil poked through paper to leave a mark on the ground.
Vroooom— vroooom——
A headlight cut through the quiet villa district.
The roar of a revving engine raced closer!
Finally, a sleek high-tech motorcycle rolled to a stop outside the villa.
"Aoki— ji—"
A girl's voice, thick with messy emotion, shouted his name.
No answer from the house.
She sat on the bike and yelled again.
"What now…"
Voice drowsy and irritated, Aokiji opened the window.
"Fubuki, where'd you get that bike? Making a racket in the middle of the night—do you want to be a ghost-fire girl?!!