"I've saved quite a bit of money; I can give it all to you as payment for your guidance!"
Her older sister controlled her tyrannically and irrationally, yet never short-changed her when it came to material comforts.
When Fubuki was still in elementary school,
Tornado, five years her senior, could lift an entire school—foundations and all—just to teach a lesson to a few classmates who'd bullied Fubuki.
With strength like that, money had never been a problem for them.
Fubuki had once begged Tornado for help in becoming stronger,
only to be told outright that her talent was hopelessly mediocre.
Rather than waste time training, she should be happy living under her sister's protection.
Yet that very attitude left Fubuki feeling suffocated.
So, after seeing Aokiji's powers and suffering a brief setback, she realized this was her chance—
a chance to learn from a mighty Esper!
Even if Aokiji had shown ice powers unlike her own telekinesis, Fubuki believed all Esper abilities were fundamentally the same; only the forms differed.
"Please—I have a reason I absolutely must grow stronger!" Fubuki bowed deeply.
"I don't need your money, and I'm not the right person to teach you."
Aokiji spoke bluntly and refused again.
His ability came from the aokiji template's Ice-Ice Fruit; its system was completely different from this world's Espers—there was nothing to teach.
Judging by Fubuki's attitude, she hadn't yet embraced the idea of "team strength"; she was fixated on self-improvement.
"I knew it..." Fubuki lowered her head, fists clenched.
These powerful types were all the same.
Aokiji's laziness, her sister's arrogance—on the surface they looked nothing alike,
but underneath they were identical:
a dismissive disregard for everything around them,
an unshakable belief that she lacked talent and value.
Then I
will prove it to all of you!!
"Until now I've always been protected; maybe I've never truly used my Esper power..."
"I'll prove myself through hero work—judge then whether I'm worth teaching!"
With those words, Fubuki spun around and strode off.
Tch... what a troublesome woman, Aokiji thought, rubbing his temples as he watched her determined back, no doubt lost in her own fantasies.
First off, the power systems were different.
How was a Devil Fruit user supposed to instruct an Esper?
Second, Aokiji's goal was to grow stronger.
Perhaps because this world's power ceiling was higher, his recent physical training, Haki mastery, and fruit development had all improved markedly—he had to devote time to it.
On top of that, he still needed to learn martial arts from Bang.
Most important of all, he had to fill the progress bar and unlock the next character template.
Flirt with girls? He really didn't have the time.
Aokiji headed toward the plaza from earlier.
He and Bang had agreed to meet at their usual spot.
Along the way he spotted that energetic female reporter in the distance.
To avoid trouble, Aokiji used Soru to flash across the plaza.
Bang sat on the bench where they'd first met, eyeing the seemingly teleporting Aokiji in amazement:
"I wanted to mention it during the test—that Move is both imaginative and highly practical."
"There are five more like it."
"Haha, then I'm even more looking forward to our post-meal martial exchange. My Disciples are already preparing the barbecue—let's go."
At the other end of the plaza,
the female reporter was interviewing candidates who'd finished their exams,
yet from several she heard the same bizarre, almost dream-like answers.
What did they mean, a light punch dented a ten-ton machine?
Several runners had left the track looking like a tornado hit it?
The reporter maintained a stiff smile,
secretly suspecting the Hero Association had pumped hallucinogens through the air vents.
Her phone rang in her pocket.
"Moshi moshi—eh? We can go in and film now? But it's almost over... cooperate with the Hero Association to promote an ice-type Esper?"
She instinctively looked back at the plaza:
a whole row of ice umbrellas still gleamed coldly under the sun, showing no sign of melting.
"Hey, Charanko! How's this pitiful amount of meat supposed to feed anyone? There's over a hundred of us at the dojo—are we supposed to lick these scraps?!"
A broad-chinned hulk bellowed.
Charanko, hair hanging to his shoulders, stammered:
"B-but Master said he was bringing friends for a barbecue—do we have to join in?"
"Idiot!" Kushang smacked his head.
"Master said he's bringing friends for a meal and some martial-arts exchange, and told us to watch and learn—how can we learn if we leave?!"
"Go get enough food, now!!"
"Y-yes sir!"
Charanko scurried out in a panic.
Kushang covered his face, speechless at this junior whose goal was to win women's affection.
No talent, fine;
impure reasons for learning martial arts, fine;
but so dense as well?
Nothing like that guy... "Master's bringing friends for barbecue?" A cocky voice sounded behind him.
Kushang's body jolted.
Speak of the devil!
Garou wiped blood from his training hand onto Kushang's gi and grinned wildly:
"The old man's friend must be another geezer. At that age, still eating barbecue—don't use that as an excuse when I beat him."
Kushang's heart raced, but he still managed:
"Garou, Master said today's just a party and martial exchange—he didn't specially invite anyone to spar with you."
"Exactly—martial exchange." Garou cracked his knuckles, Battle Intent flaring. "Without showing each other what we've got, how's that an exchange?"
The old man had gone to take that Hero Association recruitment test today,
so whoever the old man brought back
must want to become a hero too.
Then I'll see what stuff these self-proclaimed heroes are really made of!
"Haaah~~~"
Aokiji let out a long yawn.
"Bang, I'm gonna nap for a bit—wake me when we get there."
On the flight from A-City to Z-City,
he slipped on an eye mask and slumped comfortably into his seat.
All human society in this world sat on a single super-continent,
with twenty-six giant letter-named cities scattered across it.
Counting suburbs and outlying farmland, each city covered an enormous area.
The cities weren't arranged alphabetically,
but the distance between central A-City and coastal Z-City was vast.
Bang asked the stewardess for a blanket
and tucked it over the now-evenly-breathing Aokiji.
Probably pointless for an ice-type Esper,
yet seeing a youngster sleep with an uncovered stomach felt wrong.
Bang quietly mocked himself.
His mind was aging faster than his body.
He regretted spending his youth on pleasure;
if he'd started a family then, his youngest grandchild would be Garou's age now—or maybe Aokiji's.
While Bang day-dreamed about what sort of personality a hypothetical grandson might have,
Aokiji suddenly lifted his eye mask.
He hadn't been asleep—he'd been concentrating on training Observation Haki.
"Can't even get peace on a plane..."
He stood up, his tall frame imposing.
"Everyone buckle up—
a Monster's coming."}