Chapter 88: It's fine, you continue
This time, after Tatsumaki woke up, she didn't flee in shame and indignation like before.
Instead, she rushed forward aggressively.
She used her Psychic Power to wrap around Aokiji and make him float.
"Is it fun, you pervert?! Is it interesting to have your feet off the ground! Float there and reflect on what you've done!!"
Aokiji still maintained his Oni Dragon Form.
He didn't waste energy breaking free, but simply said leisurely:
"I don't know if it's fun or not, but in any case, I wasn't the one sticking my tongue out."
"Die—!!!"
Tatsumaki seemed to change species, a crimson Aura of surging blood seeping from her head to her toes.
She grabbed Aokiji and rushed out of the mountain base.
They didn't take the elevator or the corridors.
She forcibly bored through the rock layers to break out of the mountain!
A fluorescent green stream of light shot straight into the sky!!
The villa area and the entire City Z became exceptionally small!
After breaking through the clouds, the stream of light made an instant acute-angle turn!
Diving vertically toward the ground!
The speed was so fast that even the air ignited from friction!
Watching the blurred city buildings rapidly enlarge, Aokiji was still in the mood to say:
"So cool, the ground is rising."
Boom—!!!
The ground rose like ocean waves!
Soil and rock surged high, rolling in undulating waves!
At the very center of the crash, a massive charred and glowing red meteorite crater formed!
A'sizzling' sound of solidification rang out.
A layer of ice covered the high-temperature liquefied rocks.
Aokiji lay at the deepest part of the crater, hands behind his head, looking so relaxed he didn't seem like someone who had just experienced high-altitude bungee jumping without a parachute.
"Still angry?"
"Of course I am, you idiot pervert!!"
Tatsumaki, floating in mid-air, still had an annoyed expression.
The lingering feeling of fullness still announced her experience to her.
"You said 'whatever,' so of course I did what I love to do."
"You scaly reptile! How... how could you do that!!"
Tatsumaki's fingers squeezed hard, pulling her form-fitting clothes into distorted folds.
He actually dared to... lift it up?!!
What did he use it as?!!
She couldn't even use her Psychic Power to stop it then!
Is this bastard really human?!
Whether it's his thinking or his actions, everything is too strange!
Tatsumaki stared indignantly at the lazy Aokiji.
She wasn't angry because of the pain; after all, the warm-up before the battle was quite thorough, and the intensity of the fight only increased after she gradually adapted.
It was just the thought that every time, this bastard completely dominated the pace, which the strong-willed Tatsumaki couldn't accept.
"Alright, alright, stop being angry." Aokiji sat up and waved at her, "Come here for a head pat."
"Who wants you to pat their head!" Tatsumaki shouted angrily.
"You were enjoying it quite a bit before, even pretending to be asleep and refusing to move."
Before Tatsumaki could argue back,
Aokiji flashed in front of her and, without a word, placed his large hand on her silky, fluffy little curls.
He gently smoothed her hair.
Tatsumaki gritted her teeth and activated her Psychic Power.
However, she didn't push Aokiji away, and after several more fruitless attempts,
She raised her hand to try and pry his hand off, which naturally had no effect either.
The tips of her ears turned red, and she gave a token hum but stopped speaking.
This kind of doting, intimate gesture was something she hadn't experienced many times even in her childhood.
Even though he's a selfish super pervert... I'll reluctantly let you please me for a bit.
"Still angry?"
...Humph!"
"Let me guess the reason you're angry," Aokiji pondered.
Since she had agreed to it herself, it proved it wasn't the act itself that caused her dissatisfaction.
It was likely a problem with the process, or rather, the experience.
Analyzing it based on Tatsumaki's proud personality,
"Do you feel like you were too passive?"
Aokiji hit the nail on the head.
Tatsumaki froze momentarily.
Then she crossed her arms and turned her head away.
Seeing this classic tsundere display of guilt, Aokiji knew he had guessed correctly.
"I'm going to continue to Train."
Saying this, Aokiji moved his hand from her head.
Tatsumaki subconsciously stood on her tiptoes to nuzzle against his palm, but stopped immediately upon realizing it, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Aokiji didn't expose her.
Then, as if talking to himself, he said:
"Training alone isn't very interesting. If someone could increase the difficulty for me, like with gravity amplification or something, the Training results would be better."
"And I need to focus on my Training, so even if someone did something strange to interfere, I wouldn't mind."
"Hmm? Why am I saying all this?" Aokiji feigned confusion.
"Anyway, no one would take advantage of me while I'm focused on Training to do something strange just to gain the upper hand."
"Say no more, back to Training."
Aokiji stepped out of the crater and headed back toward the base entrance.
Falling behind, Tatsumaki's expression kept changing in a complex way.
This guy, does he take me for a fool?!
He's being so obvious... what on earth is he thinking about all day!
Asking me to take the initiative to... to... you scaly animal!!
——————
As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times.
Originally, it meant that a mistake or offense shouldn't exceed three times; that is the limit of tolerance.
But depending on the special circumstances,
It can also be understood this way:
After the same thing happens three times, it's no longer a big deal because one has already started to get used to it.
And there is another saying.
One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things.
It can also be understood in another sense.
The occurrence of an event is either zero times or infinite times.
Aokiji was lying down performing bench presses.
An alloy block, still as massive as a small mountain even after compression, was being lifted up and down by his hands.
"Gravity amplification really is suitable for Training," Aokiji said with satisfaction.
"Plus adding dozens of pounds of weight to stabilize the core, a perfect match."
"Wu..."
Tatsumaki tried her best to put on an expression of ease.
"Humph!"
——————
——————
After a few days had passed.
"It's finally finished."
Child Emperor looked exhausted, mixed with the joy of relief that it was finally over.
The Psychic Power Detection Device.
The difficulty in the upgrade plan he had chosen was finally overcome!
By deploying numerous detectors across various cities and then interconnecting them on the same frequency, they formed a mutually connected and amplified detection signal network.
The final detection range achieved,
Even exceeded the half-continent range requested by Mr. Aokiji!
Popping a new lollipop into his mouth, Child Emperor desperately wanted to catch up on sleep now.
But he still decided to notify his unscrupulous, child-labor-oppressing employer first... Since the other party was a Hero and had specifically placed this order, it clearly wasn't for entertainment like the previous robot upgrade.
It might very well be used to search for some Monster or evil organization.
In order not to delay the execution of justice,
Child Emperor endured his sleepiness and contacted Aokiji.
It took four or five seconds to connect.
"Hey Isamu," Aokiji asked, "Contacting me so late, is the upgrade finished?"
"That's right," Child Emperor's tone was low.
Hearing the faint music and sound effects coming from the other end, as well as blurred lines of dialogue,
Child Emperor couldn't help but grit his teeth and ask:
"Mr. Aokiji... are you watching a movie?"
(T/N: Oh, my sweet summer child)
"Yeah."
Hearing his affirmative answer, Child Emperor almost blacked out.
And to think he thought it was some urgent mission, that the order was for a tool desperately needed to fight evil.
As it turns out, the other party was leisurely watching a movie?!
Inside the villa, on the sofa of the home theater.
"Aokiji, what's wrong?" Fubuki looked up.
"It's fine, you continue."
...[Occasional Trivia Sharing]
Shared Content: Actually, in ONE-sensei's original concept, Tatsumaki cannot pull down a meteorite.
When the animation team was producing the scene of Tatsumaki's debut in the first season, they misunderstood what ONE-sensei was trying to express.
ONE-sensei's concept was:
After the Ancient King said only a meteorite could destroy him, Tatsumaki used her Psychic Powers to bring a huge rock crashing down; in the Ancient King's memory flashback (revolving lantern), the meteorite it had seen in ancient times briefly appeared.
The last paragraph of the original text on the official website regarding this trivia is:
[If Tatsumaki really had the ability to pull down a meteorite from space, she could have easily shot down Boros's spaceship.]
Of course, as everyone knows, the settings for One-Punch Man vary slightly between the original webcomic, the remake, and the anime.
Therefore, fan-fiction settings will select from each of them.
Everyone can use this trivia in the future to prove their status as a ten-year veteran fan of One-Punch Man.