How should I describe this feeling?
It's like driving a car perfectly fine on the road.
Everything feels normal, visibility is good, the steering wheel isn't drifting, and the road is flat.
Then, in the next second,
The car suddenly goes into a Thomas Flare followed by a tap dance!
Bang's swaying hand brushed past the incoming fist.
The direction of the force shifted instantly!
Aokiji felt it was inexplicable as his own fist struck himself.
It didn't hurt; after all, he hadn't used Haki.
But the sensation was truly magical.
Bang truly lives up to his reputation as a specialist against humanoids.
Without the slightest hesitation, Aokiji immediately launched a new offensive!
Similarly, he still didn't use any abilities, relying solely on pure physical strength.
A heavy kick!
Yet it was still blocked by hands covered in old wrinkles.
Boom—!!
The ground shattered and cracked, clods of earth exploding outward!
The compacted ground collapsed instantly, forming a deep depression.
Aokiji's attack was diverted once again.
This is truly interesting; a deeper sense of intrigue rose within him.
The battle continued.
As if on a battlefield, explosive roars like cannonballs were released one after another!
The originally solid and flat ground gradually became pulverized.
Aokiji seemed completely tireless, never stopping his offensive for a moment.
With the monstrous stamina that allowed him to fight a fellow Admiral like Akainu for ten whole days, Aokiji felt no loss of energy at all in this physical-only combat!
I can wear you down for ten days!
Bang no longer had his initial ease; it wasn't just the gap in stamina, but every one of Aokiji's strikes was terrifyingly heavy.
Bang could even clearly feel Aokiji's mastery of force gradually improving.
This kind of talent... is truly beyond common sense.
For him, reaching the Peak of martial arts is just a matter of time.
In that case, this old man will have to put in more effort too!
The 'Momentum' radiating from Bang suddenly vanished.
The rippling lake turned into a water mirror, deep and steady.
Aokiji also sensed this shift and temporarily stopped his movements.
If described using manga panels,
At this moment, everything around Bang seemed to turn into white space, leaving only the old man standing calmly atop the clearly reflecting surface of the water.
Is he finally bringing out the Flame Mantra?
Expectation surged in his heart as Aokiji crouched to build power.
Bang—!!!
—Outside the Villa—
"Lord Aokiji's training is very intense today as well."
Slight tremors came from beneath her feet as Kiiro stood at the villa's gate and sighed with emotion.
In the past few days, she had visited Aokiji several times.
At first, it was to bring a housewarming gift, then she said she'd made too many snacks and wanted to share some with Aokiji.
Today, Kiiro had thought of a new reason to visit.
But Kiiro felt a bit uneasy in her heart:
"Will he think I'm being too attentive..."
She had been in the entertainment industry for many years, but she was young when she joined and was only twenty-four now.
She had always been dedicated to her career.
And she had finally started considering her own emotional life.
She knew quite well what kind of character most people in the entertainment industry had.
She never had any intention of choosing a partner from among them.
For her, who was still very unfamiliar with feelings,
The image most worth longing for was that of a hero.
Because the opportunity that made her famous was playing a hero in a Tokusatsu drama.
To give the most exquisite performance, Kiiro spent a long time sensing and imagining why a hero could be called a hero.
As she understood more and knew her own abilities were out of reach, her admiration grew even stronger.
It just so happened that at this time, Aokiji moved in.
He fit almost all her imaginations of a hero.
Powerful, handsome, and extremely responsible.
The Hero Association had only been established for a few days, yet news of him defeating Monsters popped up continuously.
The frequency was high, and the efficiency was fast.
It even caused the public to shift from initial praise to telling him to take a good rest.
As a neighbor, Kiiro knew more than the general public.
She knew that the seemingly lazy and casual Aokiji never relaxed even at home; whenever she got slightly close to the villa area, she could always feel the commotion caused by his training.
And compared to her imagination,
The perfect but unrealistic image of a hero.
Some insignificant minor flaws, which seemed slightly cute to Kiiro,
Instead made the Aokiji in her eyes feel more like a real person with a touch of daily life.
Kiiro had already rung the doorbell and waited for a while.
The tremors coming from the ground still hadn't stopped.
"Lord Aokiji seems very immersed in his training today."
A bit of trouble showed on her heroic and beautiful face.
Should I go back first today?
But... hmm?
The main gate for vehicles was tightly closed, but the side gate for pedestrians was left with a slight crack.
Kiiro tentatively pushed it and found it could actually be opened.
"It seems to be malfunctioning; is it because it was left vacant for too long?"
The doubt flashed by.
Kiiro suddenly remembered the previous times she had visited.
Whenever Aokiji had just stopped training, the clothes he wore were always very clean.
No sweat, no dust.
She was thinking at the time that he probably trained shirtless.
Kiiro's throat moved involuntarily.
In fact, many times,
When girls get horny, there's really nothing left for boys to do.
Kiiro fell into a conflict within her heart.
It was as if two mini Kiiros popped up over her head.
One was wearing a Monster suit, the other was wearing hero attire.
Hero Kiiro: It's not very polite to just go in.
Monster Kiiro: I told Lord Aokiji yesterday that I would come again today!
Hero Kiiro: But he's training; going in will disturb him!
Monster Kiiro: I just want to see him training!
However, their argument was meaningless.
Kiiro had already walked in subconsciously.
All she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat, and before she knew it, she had bypassed the villa and headed toward the backyard.
The closer she got to the backyard, the stronger the booming became.
Kiiro carefully leaned against the wall and peeked her head out to watch.
Her eyes were full of expectation.
But soon, expectation turned into shock!
Two figures, fast enough to be a blur, were constantly flashing and colliding!
The aftershocks produced by each brief contact made the broken ground even more shattered!
Kiiro's vision couldn't keep up with their speed at all.
She could only barely judge from the height that one of them was Aokiji.
Who is he fighting? Could it be a Monster!?
I can't reveal myself!
If it really is a Monster, Lord Aokiji will have to be distracted to protect me!
Kiiro quietly shrank back, pulling out her phone with very slow and careful movements.
She prepared to call the Hero Association's hotline to have heroes sent for support.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her:
"Why did you come in?"
Aokiji looked strangely at Kiiro, who was startled and trembling all over.
Even an ordinary person could sense a gaze from behind, let alone someone of their level.
"And this is?"
Bang walked over while wiping his sweat, his expression showing a hint of fatigue.
Kiiro finally reacted.
These two knew each other; it wasn't a Monster attack.
Aokiji briefly introduced the two of them.
"I-I'm sorry for entering without permission and disturbing you!"
"No disturbance," Bang said very kindly. "This old man is getting on in years, and my stamina can't keep up with young people. I was about to finish anyway."
Kiiro's fair cheeks were covered in a deep blush.
Half was the shame of intruding plus the misunderstanding.
The other half... Kiiro tried to keep her gaze natural, very casually sweeping it across Aokiji's muscles.
The other half was also shame.
——————
Fubuki and Tatsumaki are still further ahead.
Kiiro won't have many scenes.
She's mainly there to persecute Garou.
...
[Throw some stones]