Chapter 87: Hot-Blooded Youth Boros
Ever since he'd pummeled Blackbeard Teach to death, Whitebeard had barely lifted a finger in combat. No—not barely. He hadn't lifted a finger at all.
Because in the New World of the pirate world, there wasn't a soul alive who dared challenge him.
Even if the occasional fresh-faced rookie came along, gunning for his title as one of the Four Emperors—
His sons would intercept them long before they ever reached him.
There hadn't been any high-potential newcomers lately, either. These so-called "rookies" couldn't even beat his sons, let alone warrant Whitebeard personally stepping into the ring.
* * *
And so, for quite some time now, Whitebeard hadn't thrown a single punch.
His fists were getting a little itchy. Perfectly natural. Couldn't be more natural, really.
"But based on Admin-dono's description, the strongest enemy—that one called Boros—is probably beyond what this old man can handle right now. After all, a single strike that can destroy an entire planet…"
Whitebeard sighed inwardly. If only his strength were two tiers higher—
No, it wouldn't even need to be two tiers. Even just one tier stronger.
He'd have beaten Saitama to the punch and challenged that Boros himself.
Or rather—before Saitama killed Boros—
He'd have at least liked to test that Boros's strength for himself.
But for now, better to let it go.
Whitebeard was no longer some hot-blooded, reckless youth. While he certainly didn't fear this "Boros" or whatever his name was, he also wasn't going to pick a fight that served no purpose.
* * *
What Whitebeard was thinking, Ryū naturally had no way of knowing.
At that moment, he turned his gaze back to the conference table.
Then he looked up toward the ceiling.
And saw that at some point, a massive hole had appeared in it.
Meanwhile, "Saitama," who'd been sitting silently this whole time, had vanished without a trace.
Hmm… a moment of silence for Boros, then.
Ryū mentally mourned for exactly one second.
* * *
Yukari spoke up at that moment:
"A fighter who can destroy an entire planet? That does sound rather interesting," she mused. "This one wonders how she'd fare against him. It's been quite some time since this one last raised a hand in combat. Then again… fighting and whatnot—it sounds terribly exhausting just thinking about it…"
Ryū: "…"
Looking at the terminally unmotivated Yukari beside him, the corner of Ryū's mouth twitched.
Honestly, among all the members of the Dimensional Chat Group, the only one whose true power level he couldn't even begin to gauge was this Gap Youkai.
Because Yukari Yakumo's abilities were simply too conceptual in nature.
And in the official primary setting materials, there was no concrete statement about how strong her powers actually were.
They only described what her abilities could do.
The ability to manipulate boundaries…
Just hearing the description made it sound like a straight-up cheat code.
An ability that fundamentally didn't play by the rules—if she were dropped into another world, wouldn't it get nerfed somehow?
A rule-breaking ability… forced to play by the rules a little?
Hmm… that possibility wasn't entirely out of the question.
Take Wolffy, for instance—back when he was in Kaguya's world, he'd had two inventions that sounded absolutely broken on paper, yet no matter what he tried, he couldn't get either of them to activate.
If Yukari's conceptual abilities really were suppressed to some degree—
Would she be a match for Boros? Or would she still be stronger than Boros even then?
Yep. This Gap Youkai was definitely the one member of the group he could read the least.
Though in Yukari's eyes, Ryū was also the one she could read the least.
* * *
The group didn't linger at Hero Association HQ for long. Tatsumaki flew off through the air. Whitebeard smashed open a hole and leapt outside. Yukari simply opened a gap corridor and stepped through. One by one, they all departed.
With a resounding bang, Ryū's entire body flickered and vanished from the spot.
Less than ten seconds after they'd left, a figure walked in.
It was none other than the Hero Association's S-Class Rank 3 hero, Silver Fang—Bang.
* * *
Gazing at the shallow crater left in the floor, Bang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his posture stooped, his eyes deep and distant.
He mulled it over for a moment, then murmured to himself:
"Little Tatsumaki's friends… none of them are ordinary people," he said quietly. "But I suppose that makes sense. Tatsumaki herself is no ordinary person—it'd be stranger if the people she associated with were."
"That man with the crescent-moon mustache… his power was genuinely terrifying. And yet he didn't even seem to be the strongest one. He appeared to show great respect toward that young man… Could it be that the strongest of them all is actually that boy?"
What truly left Bang in disbelief—what he found utterly inconceivable—was this:
It wasn't just the man with the crescent-moon mustache who treated that young man with such respect.
Even Tatsumaki—the S-Class Rank 2 hero—showed the young man clear deference.
Bang had seen it all with his own eyes.
That was what made it so baffling.
So incomprehensible. So utterly perplexing.
He couldn't figure out who that person was at all.
But one thing he could say with certainty:
That mysterious young man…
Was quite possibly stronger than Tatsumaki herself.
* * *
Bang knew full well that in a ranged battle, he'd have absolutely zero chance of winning against Tatsumaki.
And someone even more powerful than Tatsumaki… who looked that young?
He might not even be an adult yet.
This was completely outside Bang's frame of reference. He genuinely couldn't imagine it.
Why would someone so young be that impossibly strong?
It seemed to defy all logic. And yet, there it was.
Absolutely inconceivable!
"Still, the one reassuring thing," Bang continued, "is that these people don't appear to pose any threat to civilians. Otherwise, why would we have never heard of them before? If they were Mysterious Beings, with power like that, they'd have been world-famous wanted criminals long ago."
Bang was nothing if not levelheaded. He didn't jump to the conclusion that Ryū's group were Mysterious Beings.
His thinking aligned with most of the S-Class heroes': that Ryū and the others were recluses who had simply chosen to live in obscurity.
As for why Tatsumaki knew these recluses—
As for why these recluses had all appeared at once—
Those were questions Bang simply couldn't answer.
He wasn't omniscient, after all.
"If these people could be recruited into the Hero Association, our overall fighting strength would at least double," he mused. "But judging by their demeanor… it seems highly unlikely we could win them over."
Bang couldn't help but let out a small sigh, then immediately dismissed the thought.
He was an S-Class hero, sure, but thinking about recruitment was management's job, not his.
Poaching talent wasn't his responsibility. He just needed to do his own duty.
But right now, the most pressing matter was getting outside to see what was happening.
After all, that executive Sitch had just said City A was destroyed!
"That's not good at all… Instantly leveling an entire city? That's a tough one!"
Bang muttered to himself, then charged toward the exit.
Say what you will—he was still an S-Class hero of the Hero Association.
When the Earth itself was in crisis—
He had to step up, no matter what.
"This old man may be getting on in years," he said as he ran, "but I'm not about to sit here and watch those things tear this planet apart. No matter the situation—you always give it everything you've got!"
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