Clang!
Clang!
Two more gas grenades were fired in from outside.
In an instant, the street beyond the shop filled with thick, acrid white smoke.
The gas spread rapidly, and before long, it seeped into Rorschach's Devil Fruit shop.
Rorschach sighed helplessly and stepped forward, shutting every door and window. That slowed the spread, but it didn't stop it completely.
After all, doors and windows had cracks. There was no way to seal them perfectly.
A faint stream of gas still slipped through the gaps.
"Ahem..."
Even Rorschach couldn't help coughing.
Luckily, he shifted into his elemental state almost immediately, casting off the limits of flesh and standing safely in the middle of the gas.
"ROAR!"
A beast-like bellow exploded outside like a thunderclap, shaking the windows and doors of the shop hard enough to make them rattle.
The sound alone was terrifying.
Rorschach understood at once.
The Hulk had made his entrance.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The next moment, a string of apocalyptic crashes erupted outside. It sounded as if some giant hammer were pounding the earth over and over again, each strike sending tremors through the street.
Without question, the enraged Hulk had started smashing everything in sight.
Rat-tat-tat!
Rat-tat-tat!
Mixed into the chaos was the rapid, unbroken roar of gunfire.
A storm of bullets hammered into the green giant from every direction.
Unfortunately, all they accomplished was making Hulk angrier.
"ROAR!"
With another furious howl, Hulk leaped dozens of meters into the air, then crashed down like a meteor. The ground caved beneath him, a crater blooming under his feet.
He landed directly in front of an M54 tactical assault vehicle.
Mounted on top of it, a soldier gripped a Gatling gun with both hands, wildly unloading at Hulk.
The next second—
Hulk's fist came crashing down from above.
Bang!
His punch smashed the front of the vehicle flat. The soldier was instantly crushed into pulp, dead beyond saving.
That still wasn't the end of it.
Hulk lunged forward like a charging beast and slammed into the assault vehicle, flipping it clean over.
The massive machine rolled across the ground like a tumbling boulder, smashing into another tactical vehicle and overturning that one as well.
The soldier manning that second vehicle's gun was also crushed into a bloody paste beneath the wreckage.
Watching Hulk tear through everything in front of him, General Ross's face looked as ugly as a wilted chrysanthemum.
"General, we can't keep this up! Our firepower isn't enough to stop him!"
One of the officers beside him spoke in a grave voice.
"Let me go in! General, let me loose!"
From the transport vehicle at Ross's side, a shackled Blonsky shouted, volunteering himself.
"I'm the only one who can handle that thing! Isn't this exactly why you brought me here?"
Ross knew perfectly well that he was right.
Only a monster could fight a monster.
"You caused me enough trouble last time, Blonsky."
Ross stared at him coldly, making his decision.
"I know. But this time will be different. I swear. We already had an agreement, didn't we?"
"Besides, I don't want to get thrown back into that hellhole again."
Blonsky answered immediately, his voice full of urgency.
"Good. You'd better remember that. I didn't drag you out just to create more trouble for myself."
"And think about your family while you're at it."
After delivering his thinly veiled warning, Ross gave one of his men a look.
The man understood and stepped forward, unlocking the cage-like compartment holding Blonsky.
Blonsky jumped down, rolled his shoulders, and strode straight toward Hulk.
"Hey, big guy! Remember me?"
He spread his arms and shouted at the monster.
"Cease fire!"
"All units, cease fire!"
At Ross's command, the soldiers immediately stopped shooting. In that instant, Blonsky became the only thing standing out in the battlefield.
Hulk noticed him at once.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hulk charged and threw a savage punch straight at him.
Smack!
A heavy impact rang out.
But Hulk's fist was stopped in midair by another massive fist.
Abomination had entered the stage.
The two monsters launched into a brutal close-quarters battle right there in the middle of the street.
It was like watching two living tanks crash into each other, tearing from one end of the block to the other and back again.
Wherever they passed, it was like a tornado had ripped through—everything was smashed, overturned, or pulverized.
"What's going on?"
"The gunfire stopped, but Hulk's still fighting?"
"Sounds like there are two monsters out there!"
Inside the shop, Rorschach found the situation strange at first. But then it clicked.
Abomination.
Of course.
That guy was Hulk's old sparring partner.
And if Abomination was here, then things just got even more troublesome.
Once those two monsters started brawling, who knew how long it would last?
And if they had to fight, couldn't they do it a little farther away?
Rorschach had no interest in renovating a shop that had only been open for a few months.
Unfortunately, reality didn't care what he wanted.
The Devil Fruit shop sat squarely inside their battle zone. Several storefronts nearby had already been destroyed by the two monsters.
His own shop was no exception.
Boom!
In the middle of the fight, Abomination picked up a car with both hands and hurled it at Hulk, smashing him straight off his feet.
Crash!
With a deafening explosion, Hulk went flying like a cannonball, smashing through the front door of the Devil Fruit shop and reducing it to splinters.
He crashed right into the store.
Rorschach felt a headache coming on.
And then things got even worse.
Hulk had clearly been dazed by the blow. He shook his head hard, then slowly climbed back to his feet.
When he looked up, the first thing he saw was Rorschach standing in front of him.
"ROAR!"
Hulk had no reason left. The moment he spotted a target, instinct took over.
He charged.
Looks like there's no avoiding this now.
Rorschach let out a silent sigh and raised his foot.
"Lightspeed Kick!"
[Author Note]
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