Chapter 141: The Last New Colleague
Every attack struck nothing but empty space.
Sonic squeezed every last drop of his stamina in disbelief, pushing his speed even higher.
Yet, he still couldn't even manage a single touch!
"Four Shadows Burial — Sonic Lightning Fist!"
Four afterimages simultaneously thrust their hands toward Aokiji!
If even a single attack hit, it would generate a shock like an electric current, paralyzing the opponent and leaving them unable to Move!
Aokiji stood rooted to the spot, unmoving.
Until Sonic's attack landed on his head!
No feedback from a hit?!!
Sonic watched in shock as his arm passed through an afterimage.
A lazy voice sounded from behind him.
"Leaving afterimages is actually quite simple. In the end, it just comes down to the stats."
Turning his blade, Sonic spun around and slashed fiercely behind him!
However, it was once again just an afterimage slicing through the air.
"Let's see how many afterimages I can create."
Aokiji bent his knees slightly.
A Fusion of the physical techniques of two Marines.
Activating the Azure Dragon Fruit, his body did not explode in size but remained lean—a speed-specialized form developed through Life Return.
Combining the Paw-Paw Fruit with the techniques of Soru for a propelling strike.
In an instant.
A sea of people appeared!
"What?!!" Sonic subconsciously took two steps back.
Before him were countless afterimages of Aokiji!
And not just on the ground—even the air was filled with Aokiji's afterimages!
Countless afterimages of the same person stared at Sonic.
"Ha, this is pretty fun."
Sonic's hand gripped his sword so hard it trembled.
The techniques he had practiced so hard until now were easily replicated and far surpassed by someone else, and the only evaluation he got was "pretty fun"?
"There's a limit to how much you can look down on people!!"
Sonic roared, raising his sword and charging into the crowd of afterimages.
Watching this scene, Flash shook his head.
Although the defeat was decided before the battle even began, Sonic was now being completely toyed with.
Then again, Aokiji's group of afterimages was more than just proof of speed.
Instant explosive power, mid-air body coordination, continuous changes in direction and acceleration, and stable movement while stepping on air.
All of these had to reach a terrifying level to perform such an amazing Move.
My top speed might not lose to his.
But to do it to this extent... I can't do it yet.
Flash stroked the blade of shunsatsumaru.
His pursuit of even higher speeds was also ignited.
"Time's just about up."
Seeing Sonic hacking wildly among the afterimages, unable to find his true self, Aokiji stopped dragging it out.
Instantly, one of the afterimages behind Sonic became Aokiji's true body.
"Excuse me."
Aokiji's figure suddenly bypassed Sonic.
A series of strikes surged forth!
He then reached out and grabbed Sonic's head.
With undeniable brute force, he lifted Sonic and leaped into the air.
"I'll be gentle, so try to hang in there."
Aokiji hoisted Sonic up, completely ignoring Sonic's struggling counterattacks.
Hey! What does this guy want to do?! Having just endured many strikes in an instant, Sonic forced himself to swing his sword in resistance.
But he couldn't break through Aokiji's defense at all.
"Blue Hole—!!"
Haki condensed into lightning!
As Aokiji threw Sonic toward the ground, the Haki lightning crashed down with him!
BOOM—!!!
The ground exploded into a cloud of dust once again!
The tremors in the central area were obvious!
"Did he get carried away?" Garou felt the vibrations beneath his feet.
With this intensity, are they sure this is just an interview?
Is the guy in the skin-tight suit dead?
Aokiji, of course, wouldn't lack that much control over his power.
As for being able to take a beating, Sonic had a lot of experience.
Not everyone could take a punch followed by an elbow strike from Saitama and still stand there shivering while speaking.
The price was merely sacrificing some trivial things.
Aokiji decided on the force based on his physical toughness.
"You're still awake, right? Get up and walk a bit."
Aokiji landed and spoke toward the human-shaped crater.
Flash walked over, his face showing not a hint of worry.
Compared to the training in the Ninja Village, the force of Aokiji's attacks was indeed exaggerated countless times, but in terms of hardship, the Ninja Village era was even more severe.
As a "dropout," the training Sonic underwent was of the most intense caliber; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived after being poisoned.
A trembling hand reached out from the human-shaped pit.
Sonic barely managed to drag his body out, crawling.
"Bastard..."
I couldn't even touch him with my speed!
Sonic stared at Aokiji with resentment.
"Still want to get beaten? There will be plenty of opportunities for sparring within the organization later."
Aokiji picked him up and tossed him to the spectating Garou.
"Let's go. We'll pick up the last new colleague, then I'll take you all to finish the onboarding process."
——————
——————
"The long-awaited grand finale is finally about to begin!!"
The announcer of The Martial Arts Tournament spoke with passion.
"Suiryu, the three-time consecutive champion, continues to show unparalleled dominance, winning easily all the way to the finals!"
"And his opponent..."
"Excuse me." Suiryu on the stage flashed a sunny smile, but raised his hand to say something quite the opposite.
"Can we make this quick? I've booked dinner and plan to use the prize money to pay the bill."
The venue fell silent.
They were shocked by his attitude of ignoring his opponent and treating the prize money as if it were already in his pocket.
It was his fans who broke the silence first.
"Ahhh, Lord Suiryu is so handsome!"
"That arrogant posture is just great!!"
"What do you mean arrogant! That's confidence in his strength! If Lord Suiryu joined the Hero Association, he would definitely be an S-Class hero, and surely one of the best!"
The announcer wiped away cold sweat.
He forced a smile to salvage the situation.
"Haha, it seems Suiryu-senshu is already impatient to start the final battle with his opponent..."
Inside the Void Fist Dojo deep in the mountains.
Grandmaster Suicho was full of irritation: "That brat has no martial arts spirit at all! Showing zero respect to his final opponent, is that what I taught him?!"
Suiko sat with perfect posture, unaffected by the emotions of her grandfather and Master beside her.
She had long since grown used to her grandfather's stubborn personality over the years.
But her older brother was indeed being a bit excessive.
Who could blame him when he had never met an opponent among his peers? Suiko felt a bit troubled; even she was no match for her brother's strength.
This Martial Arts Tournament, which gathered successors of various styles from the martial arts world, had also allowed her brother to easily take three consecutive championships.
Looking at his previous performance, there was no suspense for this year's champion either.
Her grandfather still looked energetic, but his physical condition... Suiko's eyes dimmed.
Every time she rarely managed to contact her brother, as soon as she mentioned their grandfather, he would impatiently brush her off.
This can't go on!
The only thing her grandfather was still worried about was her troublesome brother.
In his final days, she absolutely couldn't let her grandfather leave with regrets!
But how could she get her brother to settle down... Thinking of their last call, Suiryu had boastfully said that after getting the prize money, he was going to enjoy himself for a few years.
Suiko couldn't help but feel even more depressed.
If only she were a bit stronger and could give her brother a challenge, he wouldn't be as arrogant as he was now.
Suiko glanced at her grandfather's dark expression beside her.
Even if her brother lost to someone of her grandfather's generation, he wouldn't care; he would just think it was a matter of time and experience.
If only someone from the same generation as her brother appeared who could completely crush him...