Suddenly, the sound cut off.
"Beep beep!"
Kaizen tried calling again, but there was no response.
"...What's going on?"
He frowned, uneasy.
Just then, an email came through.
He opened it without hesitation—it was from a member of the Gogus team.
The same person who had placed the call moments before—the woman who had been the first to respond when Kaizen contacted them.
He scanned the contents quickly.
His expression darkened.
"This wasn't an accident… It was planned."
"Gogus… turned into a monster."
"Right before losing consciousness, he revealed something—there's a mastermind pulling the strings."
"This guy's orchestrating everything behind the scenes."
"Kaizen, you're next."
"Because you've been to that village."
"And because of Ponzu."
Kaizen's eyes narrowed.
"They took down her entire village… Controlled those bugs… Transformed Gogus into a monster… and wiped out his whole team."
"Whoever this is… they're not weak."
Gogus had been an A-rank Nen user.
And the rest of his team? Mostly B-rank. Maybe not all combat-types, but still—there were numbers. It shouldn't have been so easy to crush them.
Whoever did this… they were operating on another level.
"Ponzu, grab your gear. We're leaving."
"Huh? Where are we going, Captain?"
"Doesn't matter. Just away from here."
...
But just then, Kaizen froze.
A chill ran through the air.
"...Too late."
He didn't hesitate—he sent Ponzu into Sumas's space immediately. He still kept a channel open via the mini-gate in his pocket, allowing communication with the inner dimension.
Inside the Sumas space, a figure stepped forward in front of Ponzu—it was Altan.
Altan handed her a Bluetooth headset.
Outside, Kaizen adjusted his own.
"Ponzu, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Captain."
"Send your bees out through the gate. Use your radar. I need your ability now."
"Got it."
Dozens of bees buzzed out in all directions.
"If anything gets close, report immediately."
"Understood."
Kaizen dashed out in a blur.
...
"Captain! About a hundred meters to your left!"
Ponzu's voice came through.
"Circle!"
Kaizen released his En.
A split-second later—
A massive figure lunged toward him, wielding two enormous axes. His aura surged violently, ready to cleave through anything in his path.
"Natsu!"
Natsu suddenly appeared.
He inhaled deeply.
A wave of searing flame blasted forward, forcing the axe-wielder to halt.
The man raised both axes and blocked, weathering the inferno head-on.
"He stopped the flames..." Ponzu's voice crackled again. "Captain, another one's approaching from behind! About two, maybe three hundred meters out!"
Kaizen nodded.
"I sense it."
Suddenly, a massive stream of water surged into the air, forming a colossal dragon shape that crashed downward toward him. Even the air itself grew heavy from the pressure.
A new figure stepped in—Uchiha Sasuke.
"Rashomon Susanoo."
Dark red energy surged around Sasuke, forming a towering giant.
He threw a punch straight at the descending water dragon.
Boom!
The impact shook the ground.
Even Sasuke's feet sank into the dirt from the force.
Kaizen stared at the newcomer.
"Two A-rank Nen users."
"...So this is the power behind the scenes."
"No wonder Gogus and his team didn't stand a chance."
The middle-aged man frowned.
"A brat like you has this kind of power?"
"Two beasts... both already A-rank."
"If I had come alone, I might've failed."
"Young ones these days... terrifying."
"But you're not getting away today."
"Orders are orders. We've been told to bring you in, no matter what."
...
"Two on one—you've got no chance."
He looked toward the axe-wielding man.
"Das. Change opponents."
With a flick of his hand, another stream of water shot toward Natsu.
Das gave a sharp nod.
"Fine by me."
While Natsu was momentarily restrained, Das turned and charged toward Sasuke.
The middle-aged man specialized in water—perfect for suppressing Natsu's flames.
And Das?
He was a brute force type—his two axes specialized in cutting through any form of defense.
...
As they closed in, Kaizen quickly assessed the situation.
"That guy—Das. Physically trained, and those axes definitely have some kind of enhancement."
"Can't afford to take a hit."
"The other one... . His ability's similar to one of the Kute Gang of Thieves members—pure water manipulation."
"But don't think you can just swap opponents like that!"
As the two enemies prepared to switch targets—
Natsu clapped his hands.
"Position Swap!"
In an instant, Natsu and Sasuke traded places.
And at the same moment—
"Libra's Gravity Game!"
Natsu darted toward Das and activated the technique.
Thanks to Kaizen's boosted aura, Libra's power had evolved dramatically.
He could now amplify gravity up to 30x... or reduce it to just 1/30th of normal.
He threw a punch.
Das moved to block with his axe—
But something felt wrong.
"...What the hell?"
Suddenly, his whole body grew heavy.
"Gravity...?"
"You've got this on top of flame powers?"
"This gap is too much..."
His face darkened.
Natsu didn't waste the chance.
Flames surged as the gravity around Das increased again, pressing him down harder and harder.
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