Kazuha took a deep breath and launched the first attack at Heiji.
She had originally learned Aikido, and after gaining superpowers, she had continued developing in close combat.
Her current strength was roughly equivalent to an extremely nerfed version of Ran.
Facing Kazuha's high kick coming down from the air, Heiji raised his hand to block.
He didn't draw his sword. He just passively blocked, his steps retreating repeatedly.
Thud, thud, thud!
Attack after attack, Heiji just blocked, just retreated.
His gaze remained fixed on Kazuha's face, exactly like a simp.
Saguru watched from the side, grinding his teeth. He couldn't help shouting, "Fight back! Her memories have been erased! She doesn't remember you anymore!"
Heiji's jaw tightened.
He looked at this girl who had once been most familiar to him, seeing the complete strangeness and coldness in her eyes. His heart was full of reluctance.
Perhaps compared to being fused with Saguru, this was what tormented him the most.
"Hey, you still have the mood to worry about others?"
Just then, Sonoko's voice rang out.
Countless golden arrows poured down toward Saguru like a rainstorm.
Compared to the hesitant Heiji, Saguru was much more decisive.
He drew his blade to counterattack. Facing the sky-blotting golden arrows, his blade flashed, sending them flying. Then he quickly retreated to create distance.
To be honest, he didn't think he would lose to the former second daughter of the Suzuki Family.
But the problem was, even if he beat her, what then?
Behind her were monsters like Saeko, Yu, and Beam, whose strength was undoubtedly above his.
Not to mention that bastard Makoto.
So Saguru's strategy was clear—
Attack while creating distance from Sonoko, step by step approaching the exit.
'Forget it.'
'If that idiot Hattori Heiji wanted to die at a woman's hands, so be it.'
'I had to run.'
Seeing Hakuba Saguru getting closer and closer to the exit, Sonoko grew anxious.
She directly transformed into a golden giant. Golden light blazed from her body. Laser light gathered deep in her pupils, ready to fire a golden laser.
But during her charge-up, Saguru seized the opportunity, suddenly accelerated, and sprinted toward the exit.
At the critical moment—
"First Gate… Gate of Opening!"
Ran shouted.
The power of the Eight Gates surged through her body. Her speed skyrocketed to a terrifying degree. In an instant, she caught up with Saguru, who had run hundreds of meters, and blocked his path.
Before Saguru could even see her figure, Ran's roundhouse kick had already swung over.
Bang!
Saguru was kicked back into the center of the plaza like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the ground and sliding far away.
Sonoko, who had been charging up, was stunned for a moment, then controlled the golden giant to give a thumbs up. "Thanks, Ran."
Ran smiled and shook her head.
Over the years, her best friend's proficiency with the Gold-Gold Fruit had indeed become more and more skilled, but her combat awareness and on-the-spot reactions were still lacking.
Fortunately, Makoto didn't have combat requirements for every one of his women. Being able to protect herself was enough.
And just then, Kazuha seized the opportunity. A mid-air side kick slammed into the anomalized Heiji's cheek.
Smack!
She hit.
But unfortunately, Kazuha's stats were just too low. Although the attack landed, Heiji didn't budge even half a step.
"Kazuha... it's me, it's me! I'm Hattori Heiji!"
Heiji turned his head, his face full of longing, trying to awaken her memories. His voice carried a pleading tremor.
"Who?"
Kazuha tilted her head, full of question marks.
Then, without mercy, she continued her storm of attacks.
Compared to Heiji, Takashi, who was fighting Rei, was much more straightforward.
"Rei! This time, I'm definitely going to turn you into an Anomaly!!"
The anomalized Takashi roared, clutching monster cells in one hand and swinging sharp claws with the other, frantically attacking Rei, who wielded the Holy Gun.
He just needed to find an opening in her defense, and he would stuff the monster cells into her mouth.
"Stop dreaming!"
Rei let out a sharp shout. She spotted the gap in Takashi's attack, used a gun flourish to deflect his claws, and with a backhand thrust, the spear tip precisely pierced through the anomalized Takashi's chest. (T/N: Now it became spear again… Well, so be it…)
The spear tip emerged from his back, trailing a cloud of blood mist.
Takashi's eyes widened. He looked down at the hole in his chest in disbelief.
They had briefly clashed back at Impel Down. At that time, she hadn't been his match at all. It had only been a short while. How could she have seen through his attacks?
Only then did he notice that Rei's eyes had turned into a pair of blood-red pupils.
Three tomoes slowly rotated inside them, radiating an ominous red glow.
Sharingan.
As the ability Makoto had used most often in his early days, these eyes were also famous among Anomalies.
"Wh... how do you have..."
Takashi endured the intense pain, his voice squeezing from his throat.
Rei pulled the spear tip from his chest and, instead of being ashamed, proudly mocked, "Traded for a hymen. Pretty good deal, don't you think?"
These Sharingan were obtained by Makoto from Uchiha Shin's base when he went to unclog Temari's sewer.
Come to think of it, they had Danzo to thank… besides the row of Sharingan on his arm, that old bastard had also hidden some stock underground at the Root's base, which Makoto had taken in one go.
But most of the girls already had power-ups. The Sharingan wasn't that rare.
Makoto thought about it and gave them to girls like Rei and Marin, who were relatively close but had not yet had a physical relationship.
Fortunately, the girls were also grateful, proactively offering that membrane as reciprocation.
If it were those women from Tiktok in his previous life, they would have just blamed him back: You're giving me a f*cking power-up? Give me a good one! What kind of gift is this? You dare to give this even though it's not a Mangekyo?
Upon hearing Rei's words, Takashi completely lost his mind.
"No… No!!"
In his agitation, he crushed the monster cell in his hand. Purplish-red liquid splashed from between his fingers. He desperately launched a final, death-defying attack on Rei. His claws slashed through the air with a piercing screech.
"Since that's the case… let's die together!!"
Hearing this, Rei couldn't help laughing.
"If you want to die, go die yourself. My wonderful life has just begun."
That euphoric, bone-melting feeling… she wanted to experience it many more times.
Nayuta, the second strongest fighter on Makoto's side, was sitting with her legs crossed in a high place, watching the chaotic battle below like watching a show. She couldn't help feeling a bit amused.
"Why are there so many simps here?"