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At this moment, the facility housed numerous humans. These weren't from the Human World—they were native inhabitants of the Gourmet World.

They were being driven toward the center like cattle, where they would die, feeding Acacia—or rather, NEO—with enough despair.

NEO's favorite ingredient was despair, while its most hated flavor was anger.

These humans, brought here to die in despair, would provide NEO with a great deal of nourishment.

But this act undoubtedly enraged President Ichiryu. Though these weren't Human World citizens, his inherently compassionate nature couldn't tolerate such systematic cruelty.

——————

"You three deal with them. I'll get these people out of here first!"

Ichiryu said without a second thought, immediately using his golden calories to shield the people who were walking towards their doom.

He couldn't stand by while so many died here.

"What a sentimental fool. Wasting time on these people at a time like this."

Midora couldn't help but say.

"After all these years together, have you forgotten Ichiryu's nature? If he didn't try saving them, he wouldn't be Ichiryu."

Jiro shook his head. Ichiryu was practically a living saint. Having dedicated everything to humanity's wellbeing. Seeing humans suffer—even those from outside the Human World—compelled him to act.

"Fine, let him handle his humanitarian crisis. I'm going after Acacia. You deal with those blue freaks!"

Midora didn't waste any more words and headed directly towards the source of Acacia's aura. But several figures quickly rushed forward, attempting to attack him.

"Your opponent is me. Trying to run past me without even a word? You're underestimating me a little, aren't you?"

Jiro threw a punch, the immense force of which directly blocked the figures rushing towards Midora.

These figures were the Blue Nitro. After sensing the arrival of the three, they had immediately come out, afraid they would cause trouble.

"Damn you, Jiro! Get out of my way! Star Core Removal!"

One of the Blue Nitro couldn't hold back and directly unleashed its Star Core Removal technique. The name came from the fact that it had once used this move to pull the core out of a small planet.

So, the move was named as such.

In the original story, this move had injured Jiro, but he had dealt with it using his Damage Knocking. But now, this move couldn't possibly hit Jiro. Even if it did, it would be useless. The power gap between them had become an insurmountable chasm.

"A powerful move, but a bit too slow. It's no good if it can't hit its target. You can have a taste of my attack, too—Big Bang!"

Jiro looked at the Blue Nitro, dodged its attack, and then sent a Big Bang its way. In truth, to deal with the Blue Nitro, he didn't even need to use such a move.

A normal punch would be enough to kill it in an instant. But he still wanted to test it. The result was that the Blue Nitro's body wasn't sent into space—it was directly obliterated by the punch.

Its body had been turned to nothingness.

The other Blue Nitro collectively gasped in horror. They'd known Jiro was formidable, but this level of power defied comprehension.

They knew their own strength very well. The result of this one punch was simply unbelievable.

"Seems I used excessive force. Hopefully, he won't be too confused when he resurrects!"

Jiro knew perfectly well these Blue Nitro could resurrect, though it hardly mattered to him. If they returned peacefully, fine. If they sought revenge, he'd gladly send them back to death—or use Knocking to seal them permanently.

——————

"You monster!"

The other Blue Nitro now had very grim expressions. Jiro's strength had exceeded their estimations. They could only watch helplessly as Midora went after Acacia, completely powerless to intervene.

"Monster? Compared to you guys, I don't think I'm much of a monster. Your actions are the true definition of monstrous!"

Mid-sentence, Jiro appeared before another Blue Nitro, gripping his skull with one hand. A sharp squeeze, and another Blue Nitro died instantly.

The other Blue Nitro also knew that Jiro wouldn't let them go, so they immediately launched their attacks. But their attacks were like tickles to Jiro.

He didn't even need to defend—they couldn't even get close to him.

In these brief moments, five Blue Nitro had already fallen.

The three survivors had no idea how to respond...

Run? Jiro's speed exceeded their ability to even perceive, let alone escape.

Fight? That was even more of a joke. So far, Jiro had attacked exactly five times, each strike shattering their understanding of reality.

Just as despair began claiming the Blue Nitro, a figure suddenly materialized before Jiro, landing a precise strike to his throat.

"Jiro, I should have taught you this. While your strength is great, sometimes, being too careless is not a good thing."

The newcomer was Acacia. Though Midora had gone to find him, Acacia had sensed the death and despair of the Blue Nitro. So, he had suddenly burst over.

Midora hadn't intercepted him, because there was no need.

Acacia currently believed he'd successfully triggered Jiro's Damage Knocking weakness, his smugness practically radiating from every pore.

After all, he understood Damage Knocking's mechanics very well. But the next instant, Jiro struck Acacia's identical weak point with matching precision.

This strike directly stunned Acacia.

He couldn't comprehend where Jiro found the strength to counter-attack, especially catching him completely off-guard. Damage Knocking's release should have unleashed all stored damage in a devastating cascade.

Anyone suffering such trauma shouldn't have any strength remaining, yet Jiro had not only resisted but perfectly reversed the technique.

——————

"Midora, you brat, you couldn't even stop one person?"

Jiro voiced his displeasure.

He had already discovered Acacia rushing over, and he could have reacted. But he had still let Acacia attack him. Because he knew very well that Acacia was planning to target the weakness of his Damage Knocking. But the current Jiro was fearless, so he had let him attack.

This attack also severed Jiro's last thread of student-teacher sentiment. After all, Acacia had genuinely tried to kill him—what bonds remained after that?

"You're one to talk. Weren't you deliberately letting him attack you? I don't believe you couldn't have dodged an attack like that!"

Midora responded with exasperation. He hadn't stopped Acacia, true, but Jiro had obviously allowed himself to be struck, right?

"This... this is impossible!! Why are you completely fine after your Damage Knocking was undone?"

Acacia demanded while letting NEO devour his internal damage, his shock evident in every word.

"You taught me Damage Knocking, that's right. But that doesn't mean everyone has to follow the rules. I encountered a super genius who revolutionized the technique entirely."

Jiro thought of Yuuki. Mentioning that young man always filled him with amazement at his overwhelming talent—the strongest he'd ever witnessed, bar none.

"Modified Damage Knocking?? How??"

Acacia's face was very grim.

Damage Knocking had been specifically designed to counter Jiro, knowing his troublesome strength required special measures.

That's why Acacia had struck first, intending to eliminate Jiro immediately. The man had reached levels of callous calculation that would spare not even his own students—pure murderous intent.

"Forget it, I'm done wasting words with you. Your attack just now said everything that needed saying. Midora, he's all yours."

Jiro's disappointment in Acacia's immediate lethal strike had reached absolute zero. The man had genuinely intended to murder him, so further conversation was pointless.

"You don't need to tell me—I have accounts to settle with this bastard. Froese's debt needs proper payment."

Midora now fully understood how he'd been manipulated. Acacia had deliberately arranged everyone else's absence, leaving only him—the entire scenario had been orchestrated from the start.

While death had been Froese's choice—in Midora's view—this matter was far from resolved. He'd been drowning in self-recrimination for centuries, consumed by guilt. Those hundreds of years of hunger all traced back to this bastard before him.

Midora had no intention of letting Acacia walk away.

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