Kaito looked down at his glowing palm and muttered to himself,
"So it's just as I thought... ki can be absorbed too."
To him, ki was simply another form of life energy generated by the human body—and the God's Tree naturally possessed the ability to draw in life energy.
Ordinary God's Trees, however, could only scatter chakra seeds into human hosts first, then wait for them to refine their chakra to a stronger state before reclaiming it later.
But Kaito had eaten the Ultimate God's Tree Fruit—and for him, any form of life energy was the most precious nourishment imaginable.
With a mere thought, a bright blue orb appeared in his palm. Yamcha's eyes went wide in shock.
"Impossible! That's my Ki Blast!?"
Kaito raised a finger toward Yamcha. The orb shot out in an instant—then stopped just short of Yamcha's face.
Cold sweat trickled down Yamcha's forehead. He knew his Ki Blasts weren't that fast!
And he also knew that if that blast had hit him, he'd already be lying flat on the ground.
Before he could recover from his shock, the glowing orb dispersed into countless specks of light, revealing Kaito standing there with a faint smile.
"Yamcha-san, the fight is over."
With that, Kaito flicked his finger lightly against Yamcha's forehead.
Pa!
Yamcha's eyes rolled back, and he dropped unconscious at Kaito's feet.
The whole scene happened so fast that even Bulma and the others didn't react. None of them moved to check on Yamcha—they were all staring at Kaito, wide-eyed.
No. 18 let out a cheer, rushing straight to Kaito's side. She stood on tiptoe and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Her face was flushed, whether from excitement or shyness, it was hard to tell.
"Kaito, you were amazing!"
Kaito smiled and patted her head gently. Then he turned toward Bulma and said,
"Bulma-san, Yamcha-san's fainted. Should we take him to the hospital?"
Bulma blinked, finally coming back to her senses. Her gaze grew complicated as she looked at Kaito, before shaking her head.
"No need. I'll send someone to take him later. I just didn't expect you to be that strong, Kaito."
Mrs. Briefs added in amazement,
"Kaito-kun, are you really just a student? With power like that, I've never even seen you enter a Martial Arts Tournament!"
Kaito smiled faintly and put his black-rimmed glasses back on.
"Hehe, I still prefer studying over fighting. Knowledge changes destiny, after all."
Then he added quietly in his mind,
"Don't you agree?"
As a genius scientist, Bulma's impression of him immediately improved when she heard that. She was about to say something else when No. 18 suddenly clung to Kaito's arm.
"Kaito, it's getting late. We should head back!"
She cast a wary glance at Bulma but still gave a polite farewell to Mrs. Briefs before dragging Kaito off without giving him a chance to argue.
Kaito looked helpless but waved goodbye to Bulma before being pulled away by No. 18.
...
After they left, Mrs. Briefs turned to her daughter.
"Bulma, aren't you going to check on Yamcha-san?"
Bulma gave the unconscious Yamcha a disdainful look.
"No need. Serves him right for slacking off on training. Kaito just flicked him, that's all. Have a few of the staff carry him inside to rest."
...
On the way back, No. 18 kept sneaking glances at Kaito's face from the side. Eventually, Kaito couldn't hold it in and asked,
"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
"Mmm... just thinking that you were really handsome today. Especially when you took off your glasses."
"You've seen me without glasses before. Is it really that different?"
"The setting's different! But it's a good thing you wear them—otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
"...Nothing!"
No. 18 brushed a few golden strands of hair away from her forehead and thought to herself,
"Otherwise, who knows how many fangirls would be chasing after you right now!"
Kaito, of course, had no idea what was going through her head. Adjusting his black-rimmed glasses, he said,
"Honestly, I don't really need these. If you don't like them, I'll just stop wearing them."
As he reached to take them off, No. 18 panicked and grabbed his hand.
"No, don't! I like both looks!"
"Oh?"
Kaito froze, a teasing smile spreading across his face.
"What was that? You like what?"
"Uh..."
No. 18's cheeks turned scarlet. To outsiders, they already looked like a couple—and truthfully, that's what she herself believed too.
They'd just never said it out loud.
But those words she'd just blurted out were basically a confession in disguise.
Seeing how flustered she looked, Kaito decided not to tease her anymore. He smiled and changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, your brother Lapis—"
But before he could finish, No. 18 suddenly looked up at him, eyes serious.
"Kaito, I like you."
That was just how she was—straightforward and unreserved. It only took her a moment to sort out her feelings. She liked him, and there was no point in hiding it.
Kaito froze for a second at her sudden confession. Then, without hesitation, he pulled her gently into his arms and said softly,
"Then I'll be counting on you from now on... my No. 18."
"Mmm..."
No. 18's body went weak as soon as she said it. Her soft "Mmm" was so faint that if Kaito didn't have superhuman hearing, he might not have caught it at all.
He lightly patted her back to help calm her racing heart. Their eyes met—and in the golden light of the setting sun, they kissed.
After confirming their relationship, No. 18 became even bolder. She clung to Kaito's arm the entire way back, ignoring the stares from passersby, until they arrived at her doorstep.
She glanced at her front door with mild frustration, thinking the walk home felt far too short.
Then, spotting a motorcycle parked nearby, she silently vowed to take her anger out on her brother Lapis later that night—for no other reason than him being her brother.
Turning around, she looked at Kaito with reluctant eyes.
"This is it. I should go home now. I'll come find you at school tomorrow!"
Kaito nodded, smiling warmly.
"I'll be looking forward to it then. See you tomorrow, No. 18."
"Yeah! See you tomorrow!"
This time, Kaito didn't hold back—his figure flickered once, and he vanished from sight.