In the days that followed, Kishibe temporarily took over Special Division 4 and became its Captain.
He was originally from Division 1.
Now, he had become the mentor for Denji and Power.
At first, seeing that he was just an old man, the two of them completely looked down on him.
Because Kishibe's first impression didn't exude strength at all. He just looked like an ordinary, alcohol-loving middle-aged man.
Power even flipped him the middle finger during their very first meeting.
But in the next second, that middle finger was brutally snapped by Kishibe.
And Denji's proudest nut-kicking technique was completely useless against Kishibe.
Instead, his defenses were instantly shattered by a devastating "Thousand Years of Death" (Kancho).
Only after this initial skirmish did the two truly realize how terrifying Kishibe was.
He was entirely worthy of the title of the strongest Devil Hunter.
Without relying on contracted devils for power, he could crush two formidable fiends with sheer physical prowess and combat experience alone.
He was like Rock Lee—unable to use ninjutsu, but with taijutsu stats off the charts.
Similarly, Kishibe didn't think highly of them at first either.
Because this was his first time training fiends.
Previously, everyone he trained was a normal human, like Himeno and Aki Hayakawa.
He originally thought Makima had tossed him a mess to clean up.
But when he asked what they would think if their comrades died, both nonchalantly felt it was just a matter of course.
When asked if they would seek revenge against their enemies, their answers diverged.
Power declared that revenge was impossible—she'd never seek revenge in her entire life.
Denji stated that as long as the victim wasn't Arata or Miss Makima, he wouldn't bother getting revenge.
Since Kishibe was already well aware of Arata and Makima's monstrous strength, he summed it up in one sentence: it was impossible for Denji to ever need to seek revenge.
Subsequently, he asked the final question: between humans and devils, which side do they stand on?
Power stands on the winning side.
Denji stands on the side that takes care of him.
Basically, wherever the benefits were, that's where they stood.
Their answers left Kishibe extremely satisfied.
He had never heard such brilliant answers before.
Compared to the answers of his previous apprentices, Denji and Power's answers were exactly what Kishibe wanted to hear.
Because in his eyes, the more a Devil Hunter lets go of their emotions, the stronger they are.
So, he gave them both a perfect score of 100 points.
After his satisfaction came the hands-on training.
During every single fight, Kishibe would beat them while simultaneously analyzing the reasons for their failures.
Since they were a fiend and a hybrid, even if they died, they could be revived simply by feeding them blood.
Therefore, Kishibe never held back in battle.
Every knife strike was aimed lethally at their heads and necks.
It was precisely because of this utter ruthlessness that Denji and Power grew rapidly in every battle.
They fought from the break of dawn until the dead of night.
Whether it was windy or raining, the two underwent this devilish training as usual.
Two weeks later.
Their combat abilities had vastly improved.
Denji could clearly feel that his muscles had grown much denser and harder than before.
Power's horns had grown an inch longer.
By their latest battle, the two were already capable of lasting a full 10 rounds against Kishibe.
Kishibe was very satisfied with their progress.
The next phase was no longer pure combat training, but tactical training.
Having stamina and brute strength wasn't enough; they needed tactics.
After another week of training, Denji and Power were actually capable of inflicting a wound on Kishibe.
Kishibe was satisfied with this month-long training.
Thus, he stopped the daily training regime and changed it to once a week.
Hearing this, Denji and Power let out a massive sigh of relief.
Afterward, they packed up their luggage at the temporary wooden cabin they were staying in and hurried back to Aki Hayakawa's apartment.
Even though they hadn't been home for a month, upon returning, they inexplicably found the house filled with strangers.
"Master!!" Denji shouted when he saw Arata standing in the living room.
"You guys are back. Go take a shower quickly. I'll arrange a role for you in a bit."
During Denji and Power's training, Arata had visited them quite a few times.
In his spare time, he even chatted with Kishibe, discussing matters regarding Makima.
Therefore, Arata wasn't surprised by their return today.
"Arrange a role?" Denji was utterly confused.
"Yeah. You get to participate in your master's first movie. You should feel honored."
"Master, you're shooting a movie?!!"
"The Great Me wants to be the female lead!" Power yelled.
"Uh... your acting skills are only fit to play a pile of crap in a toilet," Arata replied mercilessly.
"Tch, not letting the Great Me be the female lead is your movie's loss."
Power didn't care much and turned around to go play with Meowy.
After a month of pure training, it had been a long time since she petted the cat.
Denji, however, hurriedly dashed into the bathroom and frantically scrubbed himself clean.
He needed to dress up and look sharp to act in the movie later.
"Director Arata."
At this moment, the female lead of the movie, Asuka Saito, arrived at the door and called out.
"Asuka is here. Come in quickly, we were just waiting for you."
"I'm sorry, Arata-senpai. There was a traffic jam on the way, so I'm late."
"It's fine. Let the makeup artist touch up your makeup first."
Asuka Saito nodded obediently and entered Aki Hayakawa's room.
Because Aki and Himeno had recently gone to Nara to participate in advanced training and wouldn't be back anytime soon, his apartment had been directly transformed by Arata into a filming set.
"The female lead is here! Everyone get ready. Today's scene is the female lead sleeping on the couch and then being scratched by Freddy."
By the time Asuka Saito finished her makeup, Denji had already dressed and was standing in the living room.
Seeing the female lead lying on the couch looking so cute and well-behaved, Denji blushed and asked, "Master, what role am I playing?"
"Your role in this scene is extremely important, and you even save the female lead's life."
"Save the female lead's life!"
At this point, Denji's imagination was already running wild.
Flashes of him playing the hero saving the beauty, and her offering herself to him in gratitude, raced through his mind.
"Here, hold this and stand at the door. When you hear the girl scream, ring the doorbell."
Arata placed a cardboard shoebox in Denji's hands.
Denji stood outside the door holding the cardboard box, waiting patiently.
"Close the door. Action!"
After the door was closed, Denji had absolutely no idea what was happening inside.
He just stood there foolishly holding the cardboard box.
He firmly believed that a role capable of saving the female lead's life was absolutely not just some minor extra.
After a period of time, Asuka Saito's piercing scream rang out from inside the room.
Denji was ready to kick the door down and charge in.
But following Arata's instructions, upon hearing the scream, he pressed the doorbell.
Ding dong!!
The doorbell chimed.
After waiting for a dozen seconds, the door opened and Asuka Saito appeared at the entrance.
But Denji panicked.
Because Arata hadn't told him his next line.
"Denji, come in. Asuka Saito still needs to head to another film crew to shoot."
"Okay, Master." Denji walked up to Arata and excitedly asked, "What should I do next?"
"Master knows you must be tired after being trained by Kishibe for a month, so just cleaning up the place will do."
"Okay!"
Denji took the mop, followed by a handsome spin, and began pushing the mop with both hands.
He occasionally struck what he thought were incredibly cool poses toward the camera in the room.
This left the cameraman looking completely baffled.
If he hadn't seen Denji talking to Arata earlier, he would have thought they hired a fool.
"Film me looking good! When the movie is produced, I'm going to show it to Miss Makima."
"You've got it wrong. The shoot is already over."
"Over? Impossible! My master told me this role was critically important. It's over before I even showed my face?"
Denji didn't believe it, thinking it was just part of the plot arrangement.
"Denji, it really is over," Arata confirmed at this moment.
"Over? But didn't you say I was going to save the female lead?!"
"Exactly. The female lead was having a nightmare and being attacked by Freddy. You rang the doorbell and woke her up, which is equivalent to saving her life."
Hearing this, Denji stood dumbfounded. He muttered to himself,
"So you're telling me... I was just a minor extra who didn't even get to show his face?"
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