The appearance of someone who wasn't part of the intelligence team immediately put the woman on high alert.
If she got pinned down, Tucker could support Karoo, and with Tucker protecting him, her two partners would have a hard time taking Karoo out.
"Damn it...!"
She gritted her teeth.
"I can't stay here too long!"
"But I've seen this guy fight before—his strength is real."
Her gaze flickered as she looked at Kaizen.
...
Boom!
With a loud crash, the woman launched herself at Natsu without hesitation.
"Fire Dragon's Fist!"
Natsu's flaming fist shot forward like a cannon.
But as she neared him, the woman contorted her body in an inhuman way—her posture resembled a large cat more than a person. Twisting midair, she narrowly avoided the punch, then aimed two precise palms at Natsu's throat.
A cold glint flashed.
Slash!
Her claws grazed his neck—but just barely.
More importantly, Natsu wasn't human. He was a Nen beast.
Even if her claws had dug deeper, they wouldn't have delivered a fatal blow.
Natsu responded with a sharp knee strike.
Bang!
The woman was sent flying.
But rather than resist the momentum, she twisted in midair, redirecting herself toward Kaizen and Ponzu.
Ponzu's eyes widened.
"Kaizen, look out!"
Kaizen didn't move. His expression didn't even shift.
He'd predicted this move the moment she changed targets.
Natsu was stronger than her—and as a Nen beast, he couldn't be taken out so easily. If she wanted to win, she had to go after someone else.
Kaizen and Ponzu were the logical next targets.
Compared to Natsu, their aura presence was smaller.
Still, Kaizen wasn't exactly weak anymore. His physical body had reached Grade A. He also had assassination techniques, and wasn't someone you could treat as a vulnerability.
So attacking him head-on would only lead her into a trap.
But this time, Kaizen didn't even need to spring one.
The woman was decent. But against Kaizen, it wasn't enough.
Just as she was about to reach him, their eyes locked.
Kaizen stared calmly.
The flames on Natsu's body flared.
His speed surged.
He was behind her just a moment ago—but in the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of her, blocking her path.
Kaizen didn't even need to activate his position-switch ability.
Pure speed had already overwhelmed her.
Natsu inhaled deeply.
"Dragon's Roar!"
A massive torrent of fire surged forward.
Caught midair, she had no way to dodge.
The flames engulfed her.
Boom!
She was sent flying, smashed into a wall—
Crash!
—then buried beneath the collapsed bricks and rubble.
...
At that moment, a group of guards from the manor finally rushed over. They hadn't dared act before, but seeing the woman buried and seemingly wounded, they thought they had a chance to finish her off and earn some merit.
But just as they got close—
Boom!
She burst out of the rubble like a beast unleashed.
A palm strike landed squarely on one guard.
Crack!
His neck snapped instantly.
Slash!
Her claws tore through another's throat.
Within moments, the dozen guards that had charged in were all dead, scattered across the ground in bloody heaps.
The remaining ones fled in terror.
One of them stumbled toward Kaizen and Ponzu.
"Hey! You two! Why aren't you doing anything?!"
"Aren't you hired by Tucker?"
"Hurry up and take her down!"
"Why are you just standing there?! Are you with her?!"
Ponzu frowned.
Unbelievable. These guys were the ones who rushed in like fools, and now they were pointing fingers at them?
If Kaizen had been hired by Karoo, they wouldn't have dared say a word.
But he was hired by Tucker.
And to them, Tucker was just some low-class bureaucrat who got lucky.
So the people working for him? Easy targets.
Ponzu muttered, "Kaizen...?"
"Don't bother," Kaizen said flatly. "Let them bark. They're not the ones who give us orders—Tucker does."
But seeing them ignore him only seemed to enrage the guard more.
He stomped forward.
"Do you know who I am?! I'm the son of Viscount Sikar!"
"Tucker's only my boss on paper. I'm the one with real authority on this inspection team. You seriously want to cross me?!"
Ponzu hesitated.
She'd grown up in the Republic of Padokea. She knew how dangerous nobles could be.
In a place like this, nobility was law.
Even killing commoners didn't come with real punishment—just a fine if anything.
A viscount outranked Karoo, who was only a baron.
This wasn't someone they could just ignore.
But Kaizen didn't flinch.
"You talk too much."
He flicked his wrist.
Thunk!
A pebble shot from his hand, striking the guard in the throat with pinpoint accuracy.
The guard's eyes widened in disbelief.
He clutched his neck, gasping for air, trying to speak—but no words came out.
Thud!
He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
...
The woman blinked.
Something wasn't right.
The Nen beast—Natsu—wasn't attacking her.
Instead, he stayed still, silently watching her.
She slowly edged away, trying to leave unnoticed.
But the moment she stepped past a certain range—
Flash.
Natsu vanished and reappeared in front of her, cutting off her escape.
She backed off quickly, preparing to counter, but Natsu didn't move.
He wasn't attacking.
"What's going on...?"
Her eyes narrowed.
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