"Now, let me show you what I've got."
Having successfully lit the charcoal fire, Kizaru held a skewer in each hand and smiled at Fubuki as he spoke.
This was a skill he had honed back in the Naval Academy—even old man Zephyr couldn't deny how good his grilled meat was.
Though it was a bit over the line for Zephyr to poke fun at Kizaru during shared meals, saying he was more suited to being a ship cook than a Vice Admiral.
"This doesn't feel quite right… Everyone else is training so hard…"
Fubuki glanced uneasily toward the training ground. While everyone else was sweating it out, they were here leisurely barbecuing—it felt a bit wrong.
The smell of grilled meat had just begun to waft through the air, and several nearby heroes' noses twitched. When they turned to see Swift Flash and Hell Blizzard by the grill, they cursed silently before doubling down on their training efforts.
From the way they attacked the wooden stumps, you'd think they were treating them as Kizaru's punching bags, putting a bit of personal grudge behind each kick.
"So are you eating or not?"
Kizaru raised an eyebrow slightly. He'd seen plenty like Fubuki before—saying no with their mouths but eating more than anyone else when it was served.
"I'm eating!"
Fubuki answered without hesitation. Not eating something that smelled this good was practically a crime—the pigs, cows, and sheep that sacrificed themselves for this meal would weep in vain otherwise.
It was a strange feeling, though. Even though Fubuki didn't fully understand what being a Navy Admiral meant, Kizaru was, even in the One Punch world, newly ranked as the 9th S-Class hero.
To think that such a powerful man would willingly lower himself to grill meat for her… The thought alone made Fubuki's mood inexplicably better.
"Here, give it a try. This is barbecue certified by the top chefs of Naval Headquarters. Sadly, the ingredients are a little lacking, so I can only perform at about 80%… And you guys over there, don't look so down. So what if you were temporarily eliminated? It's not like you won't get another chance to learn the Rokushiki."
Kizaru sprinkled some seasoning onto the meat and even handed a few skewers to Lily and Mountain Ape, who were watching the training ground with longing on their faces.
Neither of them had made it through the previous day's high-intensity training, though this wasn't unexpected. After all, Lily's physical strength was among the lowest of all the heroes in the camp—she was only included as a minimum benchmark.
And unlike Mumen Rider, she didn't possess that same iron will. Faced with training that pushed her beyond her limits, it wasn't surprising she couldn't hang on.
As for Mountain Ape, that was more of a pity. In terms of raw physical strength, he actually ranked fairly high among the heroes.
Unfortunately, Kizaru himself was a speed-type fighter, and his training regimen naturally leaned toward speed-based heroes. Strength-based ones didn't have much of an advantage here.
Even Tanktop Vegetarian, another strength-type, could only persevere due to his far superior physical constitution compared to Mountain Ape.
"Kizaru-sama, when's the next training camp?"
Lily and Mountain Ape exchanged a glance before Lily, clearly the more likable of the two, quietly asked the question.
They had already been eliminated from this round, but with the experience they had gained, they were confident they could go the distance next time.
"No idea… depends on fate. Still, I suggest you learn from the others. There are still a few members from the Blizzard Group who haven't been eliminated yet. That guy—what was his name, Eyelash or something? Have him teach you next time. Same difference."
Kizaru had originally planned to say there wouldn't be a next round. But considering how enjoyable his time in the One Punch world had been—and the different flow of time between this world and the One Piece world—this wasn't a bad place for a little vacation.
Not to mention the Blizzard sisters, Fubuki and Tatsumaki. There was no telling when he might return, and when he did, hosting another training camp would be only natural.
"You think Eyelash will make it through the camp?"
Lily sounded worried. It was only the third day, and already over a dozen Blizzard Group members had been eliminated, leaving only four, including former member Glasses.
Even though Eyelash ranked 2nd among B-Class heroes and was second only to Fubuki in the group, it was hard to say whether he could last till the end.
Judging by the elimination rate, the Blizzard Group seemed kind of useless. But considering they were all B-Class heroes, ranking near the bottom within the camp, it wasn't surprising that they made up a large portion of those eliminated.
"…He probably can. The guy has decent physical strength and strong willpower—it's just that he's a bit soft-hearted, not the type to stand alone…"
Kizaru couldn't quite recall who Eyelash was. He glanced at the heroes kicking training stumps and then finally remembered who Lily was talking about.
At this moment, Eyelash had already taken off his suit jacket and, like former Blizzard Group member Glasses, changed into a more durable athletic outfit suited for intense movement.
In training this intense, even the slightest disadvantage—like unsuitable clothing—could mean failure.
After observing Eyelash's movements for a while, Kizaru could roughly assess his condition.
Although he couldn't compare to old man Zephyr, who had trained countless Marines, Kizaru's powerful Observation Haki made it relatively easy for him to predict whether Eyelash could make it through the training.
"That's good. If no one from the Blizzard Group makes it through, it'd be a real embarrassment for me…"
Fubuki let out a small sigh of relief. She'd gone through a lot to invite Kizaru into the Blizzard Group—if he didn't join, fine, but if the group didn't even gain anything from his visit, it'd be just pathetic.
"By the way, did you get Zhang Sanfeng's gift ready?"
Kizaru handed out the remaining skewers to the few remaining Blizzard Group members and then prepared to shoo them off.
The members got the hint and quickly scattered, giving Kizaru and Fubuki space to "date" in peace.
Lily, who had been hanging close to Fubuki, even let out a secretive auntie-style grin—like a mom finally marrying off her aging daughter.
In the strange world of One Punch Man, it was common for women to marry young. Fubuki, at twenty-three and still single, was already considered "late." As for the twenty-eight-year-old Tatsumaki? A proper old maid.
"Mm, Ai-chan helped me pick out some medicine. We'll give it to the old man together."
Fubuki was clinging to her bestie Ai Haibara's leg, and she had to admit—Ai's idea was spot on. She tailored the gift to fit both Zhang Sanfeng's world and his personality.
If it weren't for the trouble, Kizaru might've swapped out his gift too.
Compared to medicine that could save countless lives, pure gold—which was considered extremely valuable by the Gorosei—might be practically worthless in Zhang Sanfeng's eyes.
"Tch… Ai Haibara, huh? That girl's really smart…"
Kizaru thought to himself. He was surrounded by plenty of physically powerful girls—Esdeath and Gion alone could rival a Marine Admiral—but there weren't many brains among them.
The only one who barely counted was Nami, and even then, she was more of a clever little thief when it came to making money.
Now that he was on track to becoming Fleet Admiral, he figured it might be time to find some high-IQ, beautiful women to support him.
After all, even Sengoku the "Strategist" needed Vice Admiral Tsuru's help. Kizaru was just trying to follow in the Navy's fine tradition.
As for why they had to be girls—and pretty ones at that? Well, that's up to interpretation.
"You better not be thinking about Ai-chan!"
Fubuki suddenly frowned, eyeing Kizaru suspiciously.
Sure, she might act easy to win over in front of him, but that was only because Kizaru's qualities were just too good—good enough for her to overlook his flirtatious habits.
Anyway, most of his womanizing happened in other worlds, so in theory, it didn't really involve her.
But if he dared go after her bestie Haibara Ai too, that was going too far!
"No way. I'm not into little girls."
Kizaru rolled his eyes. Ai-chan was cute, sure, but with her current bobblehead-style art design, the practical-minded Kizaru really couldn't get into it.
Tatsumaki was already the absolute limit of his "legal loli" tolerance—any younger was a hard no.
While Kizaru and Fubuki were chatting, over on the training grounds, Flashy Flash had finally started practicing Rankyaku.
Unlike the other heroes still relying on wooden stumps for practice, Flashy could dive right into it.
"Creating a vacuum through kicks… This is totally different from Wind Blade…"
After a few attempts based on his own ideas, Flashy realized it wasn't working and quickly switched to the method Kizaru had instructed—using rapid kicks.
With each ultra-fast kick, sharp wind sounds tore through the air. Gradually, Flashy started to get the hang of it.
"Rankyaku!"
When his first vacuum blade sliced a deep gouge into the wooden stump in front of him, everyone's attention turned to Flashy.
Then came the second slash. The third!
Each of Flashy's vacuum blades grew in power and range. When he wasn't holding back for safety, the furthest ones reached over twenty meters.
The technique now had clear combat value—but Sonic still didn't look satisfied.
"Whew… so he's already started practicing Rankyaku…"
Out of the corner of his eye, Blueflame saw what was happening, and his feelings grew complicated.
Even though he knew that Flashy Flash, an S-Class hero, was far stronger than he was, Blueflame had always held himself to Flashy's standard—never settling for less.
Even if he couldn't keep up with him for now, he didn't want the gap between them to widen too much.
But reality was harsh. No matter how hard he tried, the difference between an A-Class and an S-Class hero remained glaringly obvious.
However, things were different now. Blueflame turned to look at Kizaru, who was grilling meat and chatting with Fubuki.
He had already begun to feel the effects of Kizaru's training camp—and this was only after two days of intense training. If he could hold out for the full month…
The thought lit a fire in Blueflame's heart, and his kicks against the wooden post grew even stronger.
At that moment, Kizaru had no idea he'd already become a symbol of hope for several people. He grilled a few more skewers, then joined Fubuki in opening the Dimensional Chat Group.
As they had planned, this was the group's first team-building event. Every member was expected to join—including Xiao Mei, who had only just recently joined.
[Passerby Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Leg]: Roll call! Is everyone here yet?
[Kobayashi]: I've been ready for a while. But hey, is there enough space at Grandpa's place? Tohru's coming with me, and if it's too cramped, that could be a problem…
[Passerby Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Leg]: Don't worry! I already asked the Grandmaster—he'll be waiting in the back mountain. Even if Tohru turns into a giant dragon, it's all good.
[Xiao Mei]: I'm here too! My cousin Xiao Yan wanted me to ask—are you sure he can't come with me?
[Ai Haibara]: Unfortunately, no. So far, only group members and non-humans can travel through the chat group.
[Ai Haibara]: But that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least we don't have to worry about someone from another world invading ours.
[Kobayashi]: Haha, as if that would happen…
[Passerby Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Leg]: Kobayashi, you're too naive…
[Kizaru]: Hm? Is everyone here? When do we head out?
[Fubuki]: Everyone, count off so we don't trouble Grandmaster Zhang. I'll go first—one!
[Ai Haibara]: Two!
[Kizaru]: Two—eh? That was fast. Then I'm three.
[Passerby Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Leg]: Four, four, four!
[Kobayashi]: I'm five~
[Jotaro Kujo]: Six…
[Orochimaru]: Heh. A new world… how exciting. Seven!
[Xiao Mei]: Eh? Eight! I'm eight!
[Tony Stark]: Hey, don't forget me—nine!
[Esdeath]: Ten. Anyone else? If not, let's get going!
[Passerby Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Leg]: That's all of us. @Zhang Sanfeng Grandmaster, are you ready on your end?
[Zhang Sanfeng]: Friends from afar—what a joy indeed.
[Passerby Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Leg]: NICE! Let's gooo!
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