The figure burst forth like lightning, carrying with it a heavy, cutting gust of wind.
"Unlucky bastard! Since you hit my brother, you can die with him!" The charging figure's voice was coarse and wild.
His appearance matched his tone—pure "tough guy" style. Thick, beast-like hair covered his face and neck, giving him a savage look. Agile as a predator, his hands were broad and claw-like. With a feral grin, he swung both arms and lunged straight at Herman, eyes filled with brutal intent as if he meant to tear him apart.
Facing the oncoming assault, Herman remained calm.
"Your heartbeat... it's too loud."
Without hesitation, he countered with a backhanded slap, sending the attacker flying through the air.
"I spotted you long ago!"
Herman's speed was on an entirely different level. The assailant didn't even have time to react before he was sent hurtling backward.
The jungles of the Soviet Union really were something else—first little girls and old women, and now two hulking guys popping out of nowhere. If this ever hit the tabloids, the headline would probably read, "Two Men Brawl Naked in the Jungle."
"Pfft—pfft—"
The attacker spewed blood as he flew. The sight was downright miserable.
The man Herman had slapped away looked rugged and fierce, but now he was nothing short of pathetic—like a beaten dog. Compared to the one who'd crashed into the SUV earlier, it was hard to say who had it worse.
Anyone who knew Herman's strength understood what that meant. Even holding back, he hadn't turned the ambusher into a cloud of blood—but the guy was still in bad shape.
The sneak attacker spun through the air in a ridiculous arc, more exaggerated than a gymnast's spin. His tough-looking face was now swollen like a pig's head, his teeth blasted out one by one.
One, two... dozens.
Shattered teeth scattered through the air, streaked with bright blood, raining down like a storm of red petals.
By Herman's estimation, the attacker couldn't have had many left.
"Damn it. You smashed my car."
Before the man even hit the ground, Herman appeared beneath him in a blur and delivered a powerful kick.
He still held back—killing the guy outright would've been too easy. This was a custom-made, limited-edition off-road vehicle, after all.
"You know what? I really hate it when people smash my car."
In the future, Herman had his cars destroyed more times than he could count. He hadn't expected to be cursed with the same fate after returning to the past. Maybe this was what people meant by destiny within the cone of light.
Either way, he was done tolerating it.
As the terrified man plummeted, Herman lifted his foot again.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Even while restraining his strength, Herman still unleashed thousands of kicks in a single second. The burly man was sent spinning again, faster than before—like a human windmill caught in a storm. Blood sprayed in great gouts from his mouth.
"Ahhh!"
The man screamed in agony as his last few teeth flew out. Every one of Herman's countless kicks had landed squarely on his face, turning it into a grotesque, swollen mess.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The man tumbled through the forest, slamming into trees that fell one after another. The sound of breaking bones echoed as his body twisted with each impact.
"Crash—"
After toppling more than a dozen trees, he finally hit the ground in a broken heap. His face was unrecognizable, his body mangled and contorted.
The fierce, beastly aura he'd had moments ago was completely gone. He looked as if he'd been struck by artillery fire—covered in blood, joints bent the wrong way, bones shattered. Even his skull had split open from colliding with a sharp rock.
Compared to the man who had been flung into the jungle earlier and wrecked Herman's SUV, this one had suffered an even worse fate.
"Roar—"
The burly man who had crashed to the ground trembled violently, yet to Herman's surprise, he neither lost consciousness nor died from his injuries.
Struggling to push himself up, he looked like a wounded beast driven mad by pain, roaring at Herman with wild fury.
Those eyes—bloodshot, predatory, and filled with hatred—were far from human.
He clearly wasn't an ordinary man. Anyone else with injuries that severe wouldn't have even the strength to move, let alone stand.
Every bone and joint in his body had been twisted out of shape.
For someone like that to still rise and roar... Herman narrowed his eyes slightly at the bloodthirsty man before him.
"Mutant."
Herman could see the wounds on the man's body knitting together, the broken bones and joints snapping back into place at incredible speed.
Such rapid regeneration.
Combined with his wild appearance and clawed hands, it wasn't hard for Herman to guess who he was dealing with.
"You're a mutant too, aren't you? That speed and strength..."
The gaping wound in the man's skull was already closing up at an unnatural rate.
His beast-like eyes locked onto Herman, flickering with a trace of caution—but far more excitement.
Just moments ago, Herman had made him feel something he hadn't experienced in a long time: pain... and the suffocating pressure of death closing in. The feeling stirred both fear and exhilaration within him.
"I crave danger. An opponent like you... perfect. You'll let me enjoy the thrill of battle—and the satisfaction of tearing you apart."
The man's mouth twisted into a feral grin, his gaze full of venomous delight. As he cracked his neck, the toothless gums in his mouth began to regenerate rows of sharp fangs—razor-edged like those of a carnivore.
"Looks like I guessed right."
Watching the man's astonishing rate of regeneration, Herman grew more certain of his suspicion. In this era, few mutants possessed such a powerful Healing Factor.
And judging from both his appearance and his recovery, there was no doubt left about who this man was.
Sabretooth.
Victor Creed.
A mutant with abilities remarkably similar to Wolverine's. Sabretooth possessed claws and fangs like a tiger, as well as the same Healing Factor and immortality. However, in terms of raw strength, speed, awareness, and sensory acuity, he outclassed Wolverine by a wide margin.
His Healing Factor was perhaps slightly weaker than Wolverine's, though the difference was minimal. After all, the two shared the same origin—they were blood brothers.
Well, at least in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Both had the same father. The difference lay in their birth: Wolverine was the illegitimate child of a wealthy woman and her gardener, while Sabretooth was born to that same gardener and his own wife.
Because Wolverine was mistaken for the rich man's son, his life had always been far more privileged than Sabretooth's. The stark contrast in upbringing and lifestyle ultimately forged their completely different personalities and worldviews.
In many universes, Wolverine and Sabretooth were destined as rivals—bound by blood, divided by fate.
"This vibe... feels pretty Naruto-like. The whole 'brothers locked in a love-hate rivalry' thing seems to be popular in every world."
Herman couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he looked at Sabretooth, whose wounds had almost completely healed. The man's entire body radiated a restless, battle-hungry energy.
Herman didn't bother taking his hostility seriously. Instead, he turned thoughtfully toward the other man lying motionless near the off-road vehicle.
As expected.
Though still unconscious, the man's body had fully healed. There was no sign he had been on the verge of death just moments ago.
Given that level of recovery, it was obvious who this guy—the one who had smashed Herman's SUV—really was.
...
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