"S-Class Rank 2...?"
Lily gasped and quickly covered her mouth, afraid she might accidentally scream.
With Blast, the Rank 1 S-Class hero, missing for years, Rank 2 was essentially the most powerful active hero in the entire Hero Association.
And now, such a figure was sitting right in front of her, casually chatting with Lady Fubuki like it was nothing.
Unbelievable!
"Alright, alright, it's not like I've actually taken the test yet. No need to exaggerate."
Kizaru's eye twitched slightly.
It had been years since he'd last experienced this kind of reaction—where people froze in shock upon realizing his strength.
Now that he was going through it again, he couldn't help but feel… strangely embarrassed.
Had being an admiral for so long made his skin thinner?
Back in the day, he used to enjoy being admired like this.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Before Fubuki could respond, both her and Lily's phones started ringing at the same time.
"Lady Fubuki! There's a monster attack in City A!"
Lily quickly answered her call, and after a brief conversation, her face turned pale with fear.
"The target is rampaging through the city. Current estimated threat level is Demon, but it's rapidly increasing!"
Although the association had only labeled it Demon-level for now, the monster's power was still rising.
At this rate, it was highly likely to be reclassified as Dragon-level—a disaster capable of wiping out multiple cities.
Even though City A housed the Hero Association's headquarters, it wasn't necessarily safe.
"Don't worry," Fubuki reassured Lily, pulling her into a comforting hug.
"City A is the association's headquarters—it won't fall that easily. Your mother will be fine… Lily's mother lives in City A," she explained to Kizaru, who looked a bit curious.
Dragon-level threats were defined as catastrophic crises that could destroy entire cities or more.
If they were lucky, a newly emerged Dragon-level monster might get taken down immediately before causing much damage.
But if they were unlucky, the consequences would be devastating.
Every time a Dragon-level disaster occurred, the Hero Association had to go all out.
While S-Class heroes were tasked with handling Dragon-level threats, that didn't mean every S-Class hero was actually capable of defeating one.
Especially when the monster was classified as Dragon-level almost immediately upon appearing—
—Even for S-Class heroes, that was incredibly dangerous.
By the time enough S-Class heroes rushed to the scene and managed to take it down, the entire city might already be reduced to rubble.
There were already many abandoned cities across the world—all destroyed by rampaging monsters.
With Fubuki's reassurance, Lily finally calmed down.
But before they could breathe a sigh of relief—
—their phones rang again.
This time, Fubuki picked up first.
The moment she read the latest report, her expression turned grim.
"What's wrong?"
Kizaru asked casually.
Even though he hadn't been in this world for long, he could already tell—
—it was an incredibly dangerous place.
"There are no S-Class heroes near headquarters," Fubuki said, her voice tense.
"All 31 heroes that were dispatched—C-Class, B-Class, and A-Class—have already been defeated.
The association has confirmed it… Threat level: Dragon."
Fubuki bit her lip.
Even with her abilities, she knew she wasn't strong enough to deal with a "non-human" level monster like this.
If this thing had appeared in City B instead— where the Fubuki Group was based—
—Even if all thirty of her subordinates attacked together, the result wouldn't change.
There would be no hope of victory.
"…By the way," Kizaru suddenly spoke up, his tone relaxed as ever.
"If I take care of this monster, does that mean I can skip the test… and just be directly ranked as an S-Class hero?"
Looking at Lily trembling in Fubuki's arms, Kizaru raised an eyebrow and spoke.
Even though this was another world, protecting civilians from "pirates" was the very justice upheld by the Marines.
Now, it was simply replacing pirates with monsters.
And as a man who carried the burden of justice, Kizaru naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Absolutely! If you can defeat a Dragon-level threat—no, even just participating in the battle against one—you're already S-Class material!"
Fubuki didn't even care that she hadn't officially recruited Kizaru into the Fubuki Group yet.
Compared to her group's prestige, defeating the monster as soon as possible was far more important.
"Hmm, how far is the monster from here?"
Kizaru tried expanding his Observation Haki to the limit, attempting to cover the entire city and its surroundings.
However, he still couldn't reach City A.
With only a few dozen cities in the world, each one had to be massive to accommodate the global population.
"City A is 127 kilometers away! If we take the train, it'll take about two and a half hours!"
Lily quickly spoke up, suddenly remembering something.
Not every S-Class hero could single-handedly defeat a Dragon-level monster,
But rescuing civilians?
That was a different story.
And Kizaru wasn't just any hero—Fubuki had praised him as an absolute powerhouse!
"Forget the train! I'll drive us there!"
Fubuki made a decisive call.
If Kizaru was willing to help, that was the best possible outcome.
Though she was reluctant to use her brand-new luxury car for this high-speed chase,
—After 127 kilometers of flooring it, it would go from brand new to looking heavily used.
But defeating the monster and rescuing Lily's mother took priority.
"Drive? That's too slow. Do you know the way to City A?"
Kizaru's tone was calm.
The next moment—
"Wait—Kizaru—AHHH!"
Before Fubuki could even react, Kizaru grabbed her and leaped straight out the window.
Midair, he used Moonwalk to propel himself forward—racing towards City A at over 100 km/h.
A raging windstorm should have slammed against them at such speeds—
—but Kizaru's Armament Haki completely shielded them.
Once she recovered from the initial shock, Fubuki quickly started giving him directions.
"Wait—are we seriously running the whole 127 kilometers in a straight line?!"
Fubuki gulped nervously.
Even among S-Class heroes, running while carrying someone at this kind of speed—
—IN MIDAIR—
—was beyond absurd.
"Don't say dumb things. That was just a warm-up. Now it's time to speed up~"
With that, Kizaru stomped down hard on the air, launching himself even higher.
He raised his leg.
BOOM!
An explosive shockwave erupted, sending Kizaru blasting forward like a bolt of lightning.
His speed multiplied several times in an instant.
A thunderous sonic boom rang out across the sky.
Anyone who looked up only saw a white streak hurtling toward City A.
Kizaru didn't accelerate any further,
Not because he couldn't,
But because he was worried about Fubuki.
No matter how strong a psychic was, their physical body was still within normal human limits.
According to Child Emperor's combat stats, Fubuki's physical durability was only 19—
—weaker than most C-Class heroes, barely stronger than an average person.
A classic glass-cannon mage.
Kizaru was genuinely concerned she might not withstand the extreme forces.
So, he limited himself to just around the speed of sound.
"This is insane!"
Fubuki's eyes widened as she saw the shockwave clouds forming.
Sound travels at roughly 340 meters per second.
Once an object surpasses that speed, it produces a sonic boom.
In other words—
—Kizaru was now running through the air at over 1,000 km/h, carrying her with ease.
And from her angle—
—he still looked completely relaxed.
The sheer inhumanity of his physical capabilities was utterly terrifying.
"Hey, don't make things up! If you spread false rumors, I'll sue you for defamation~ Where am I fast, huh~?"
Kizaru casually made a joke, but Fubuki clearly didn't get the deeper meaning. Her delicate face still looked confused.
Before she could think any further, her phone rang again.
"The headquarters' attempt to intercept and lure away the monster has failed. The target is still advancing toward the Hero Association HQ! At its current speed, it will make contact in less than three minutes!"
Just one glance at the update, and Fubuki couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
Whenever a Dragon-level threat was confirmed, the Hero Association would broadcast real-time updates to all heroes—
—A subtle way of pressuring them to act quickly.
The Association's HQ was a massive fortress standing tall on the earth.
But against a Dragon-level threat?
—Even the strongest fortress would just take a bit longer to be torn down.
And this time, the monster was clearly targeting HQ itself.
No matter what tactics the Association used—whether blocking or diverting—
—the monster never wavered from its path toward headquarters.
"Only three minutes left… If I go faster, will you be able to handle it?"
Kizaru looked down at Fubuki in his arms.
He could move at the speed of light, but he couldn't take Fubuki with him—
—Unless he wanted to carry a pile of unrecognizable meat paste to City A.
Already struggling to breathe from the sheer force, Fubuki's face turned pale at the thought of even more acceleration.
But then, she imagined Kizaru saving the Hero Association—
—And then joining the Fubuki Group afterward.
The glory that would bring…
—Suddenly, she feared nothing.
"I can do it! Just go full speed—AHHHH!"
Fubuki clung onto Kizaru for dear life.
Before she could finish speaking, Kizaru's speed skyrocketed.
All that was left in the sky—
—was the sound of Fubuki's screams fading into the distance.
Hero Association HQ, City A
Right now, the headquarters was in total chaos.
At first, most staff members felt safe.
They assumed HQ was far enough from the disaster zone to avoid being affected.
But then—
—They realized the monster was coming straight for them.
And now, they had less than three minutes to react.
That wasn't even enough time for the higher-ups to make a decision.
Some of them wanted to evacuate immediately.
Others, with blind faith in HQ's defenses, insisted on holding their ground.
But most of them?
—They were just running around in panic, completely lost.
In the end, the Hero Association had only existed for a few years.
And among its so-called leadership, there were more than a few useless, incompetent fools.
If not for the heroes willing to fight, the Association would have collapsed long ago.
"Damn it! That thing's too strong—we're not on the same level at all!"
"We can't let it get any closer! Everyone, attack together!"
"Screw it! We fight to the death!"
One after another, the arriving heroes rallied themselves and formed the final defensive line between the monster and HQ.
They were determined to hold the line.
'Boom… RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…!'
But before they could even see the monster—
—A light blast shot toward them from afar.
It landed.
And exploded.
An entire district was wiped off the map.
Skyscrapers?
Underground bunkers?
Everything was leveled—reduced to a wasteland.
And then—
—A purple-skinned figure emerged from the ruins.
He had sharp features, antenna-like structures, and a muscular build.
He looked eerily like a Namekian.
This Dragon-level monster stood tall amidst the destruction—
—and just ahead, the Hero Association HQ was now within sight.
The purple-skinned monster didn't even acknowledge the heroes buried in the wreckage.
Instead—
—A terrifying surge of energy gathered in his hands, forming into a massive energy sphere.
"Energy levels rising rapidly! 3,600! 7,200! 14,400! WARNING! WARNING!"
Inside the Hero Association HQ, piercing alarms rang nonstop.
Even the most optimistic staff members—the ones who trusted HQ's defenses the most—
—now realized the truth.
There was no way a concrete-and-steel building could withstand an explosion equivalent to millions of tons of TNT.
And now—
Even the power-hungry executives—who would fight for authority even at the end of the world—
—could only stare at the virtual screens in utter despair.
There, they saw the purple-skinned monster holding up a blazing sun.
"Disappear completely, you filthy humans who keep polluting the Earth!"
The monster raised the energy bomb high.
His first target? The Hero Association.
Then, he would wipe out every last human being.
A few surviving heroes barely managed to lift their heads from the rubble.
With pain-filled expressions, they closed their eyes.
They didn't want to see the moment HQ was annihilated.
'WHOOSH… BOOM!'
Just as the purple-skinned monster was about to unleash its attack—
A figure descended from the sky and sent it flying with a single kick.
The high-energy blast it held was also knocked away.
The monster was sent hurtling hundreds of meters through the air, smashing through over a dozen buildings before finally crashing to the ground—
—carving a deep trench in its wake.
'BOOM!'
At the same time, the energy bomb crashed down—
—and detonated in a massive explosion!
A towering mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and a wave of fire and destruction swept across the ruins—completely leveling the area.
When the explosion finally settled, the blast site had been transformed into a colossal crater—over a hundred meters wide and bottomless.
"Looks like we made it in time. Guess our luck isn't so bad after all…"
A laid-back voice suddenly echoed through the smoke.
From within the swirling dust, a man in a suit emerged—
—his white coat fluttering behind him, emblazoned with two bold kanji:
"Justice."
°°°
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