Ever since that incident, Power's title of "The Padded Man" started making its rounds among readers.
Compared to Edgerunners, Chainsaw Man might seem to lack a slightly unique hook in its early chapters.
However, unlike Edgerunners, which maintained a heavy and serious tone throughout, Chainsaw Man was absurd and comedic, often delivering moments that left people in stitches.
The chapters detailing Power's arrival were a perfect example.
Some fans interpreted this shift as a consequence of the manga's scope.
Because Edgerunners was a medium-length series with a tight pace, most of its pages were dedicated to advancing the plot.
This suppressed Aoyama's chaotic, mischief-loving side.
Now serialized into Chainsaw Man, he finally could show off his absurd, fun side.
The "Padded Man" incident truly drove the fans into hysterics.
Of course, for a protagonist like Denji, there was nothing funny about any of this.
In the weeks that followed, Denji looked as if he had lost his very soul, drifting through the world like a hollow shell.
Whether eating, sleeping, or patrolling, he moved with the blank stare of a mannequin.
While Denji was at the Public Safety office, supposedly helping Makima with paperwork...
Makima noticed Denji's complete mental disconnect.
She assumed Denji hated the deskwork. "Filing endless paperwork is exhausting, right? You defeated the Bat Devil, yet you sit here looking as if you did something wrong..."
Denji stayed completely silent.
She immediately asked, "Denji, is something on your mind?"
"I... I..."
Denji spoke with a hollow voice. "An objective I've chased for so long... has finally been met."
"But... when it finally happened, I realized it wasn't that amazing after all."
The "Padding Devil" Power had left a heavy psychological scar on Denji.
It left him with a feeling of "what is even left to live for."
He continued, "Is this how it is going to be from now on? Is the chase for a target actually happier than achieving it...?"
"If that's true, then this is just garbage."
Denji's conflict lay exactly there: achieving a dream felt like peak happiness to him.
Yet having achieved it, he found the satisfaction didn't match the expectation.
This felt incredibly painful.
Makima was confused. "I'm still drawing a blank trying to understand what Denji is saying."
"I touched a girl for the first time, but it wasn't anything special at all..."
Denji spoke blunt and straightforward.
Suddenly, Makima pulled herself close to Denji, and then...
She looked into Denji's eyes, smiling softly. "Denji, I think these things yield true happiness only when you take the time to deeply understand the other person."
"Understanding another person's heart is a heavy challenge..."
"So you have to begin by observing their hand very closely..."
"Count the length of their fingers..."
"Or sense the temperature of their palm,is it cold, or is it hot?"
She slowly gripped Denji's hand, explaining, then locked her ten fingers tightly with his.
But immediately after, she pulled Denji's hand and rested it against her own ear.
"And then the anatomy of the ear?"
"Has anyone ever bitten your finger before?" Makima asked suddenly.
The high-allure posture caused fully accelerated pulses.
"Bi... bite..." Denji was no exception, a heavy red flush climbing into his cheeks.
"Commit it to memory. Even if you lose your sight, you should be able to tell by the biting pressure that the person doing it... is me."
Makima bit down softly on Denji's thumb as she spoke.
"I... I've committed it to memory," Denji stammered with a bright red neck.
But immediately following this, Makima pressed Denji's hand directly against her chest!
It took a long time for Denji to process what was happening, after which he detonated backward onto the floor!
This was completely different from the incident with Power. Denji stared back at his hand in total disbelief.
Faced with Denji resting on the ground, Makima crouched before him, holding a posture close to giving him a kiss.
However, she didn't kiss Denji. Instead, she lowered her voice: "I have a favor to ask. Can you do that for me?"
"I want you to kill the Gun Devil..."
"The Gun Devil is a devil that materialized 13 years ago in the US. It is the target of all devil hunters because of its immense power."
"But I believe only Denji is capable of killing it. You are distinct from standard devil hunters."
"You are one of a kind."
Makima locked eyes with Denji, finally saying, "If Denji manages to kill the Gun Devil..."
"I will grant any demand from you. Absolutely anything you want."
Denji broke into an uncontrollable red flush.
---
Makima's charm was beautifully showcased. Even with zero explicit scenes, it triggered wild imaginations.
Simultaneously, she introduced a heavy menace,the Gun Devil.
Readers understood from previous chapters with Aki and Makima that a devil's power sits directly proportionally to humanity's fear of its concept.
For instance, if a Coffee Devil existed, coffee is not something people fear.
So a Coffee Devil would be extremely weak because its concept holds zero fear index.
But the Gun Devil is a high-risk tier. As a modern invention of portable lethality...
Even Presidents fear it.
Regardless of status or wealth, a bullet entering a vital point turns any man into a cold corpse.
Thus, humanity's fear of guns is massive.
Consequently, one can guess just how strong the Gun Devil must be.
Denji made zero hesitation in agreeing. Left to his current state, if Makima ordered him to be her dog, he would gladly comply.
But what drew the highest hype was Makima's charm.
Akane read the sequence, a heat she couldn't suppress rising into her cheeks. 'Could it be... because of that panel, Aoyama was harboring those kinds of thoughts about me?'
To be honest, she didn't exactly mind the idea of Aoyama thinking about her in such a way.
Because... she possessed them too.
Things usually mapped to visual grading and inner affection.
If the person wasn't visually pleasing and held zero affection...
Then in a girl's eye, it felt like a goblin laying intent on you, triggering extreme disgust.
But in Akane's view, Aoyama sat visually high. And lately, he looked increasingly handsome.
Between distinct smiles, he mapped to fully gorgeous layouts.
Akane assumed it was "beauty in the eye of the beholder," unaware that Aoyama had rolled several passive charm boosts from previous gacha pulls, upgrading his stats slightly.
To support his music scores, he had rolled 38 times previously and gained a bunch of auxiliary perks.
Well, it wasn't exactly minor, because Aoyama currently basically functioned as a walking Incubus.
Forget Akane, other females couldn't resist Aoyama's presence easily.
But tragically... Aoyama possessed zero mundane desires.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]