The black wooden chair shot forward—
Moving at a terrifying speed.
It carried a violent impact, enough to smash bone.
Lucci had thrown it in anger, using it as a test.
He couldn't accept that the Marines had sent a four-year-old brat to cooperate with him on a rescue mission.
So when he struck, he didn't hold back.
As the black chair hurtled closer, Kai simply lifted his right hand and grabbed for the support frame.
Boom.
An immense, ferocious force surged into his right arm in an instant. The shockwave tried to tear his arm apart, carrying a savage, grinding power.
However—
Just as that force was about to rip his arm to pieces, Kai activated Rokushiki's Tekkai, blocking the power from chewing through his limb.
The impact spread from his arm into his body.
Then—
Crack.
Crack.
Clear, brittle sounds rang out.
The floor tiles beneath Kai's feet split under the force transmitted through his body, cracking again and again. Spidery fractures spread like a web from his boots.
The surface shattered.
The ground sank and collapsed.
Broken tiles flew in all directions, reduced to scattered rubble.
Kai's body sank about ten centimeters. The ground beneath him caved in by nearly the same amount—
And all he had done…
Was receive the impact from that black wooden chair.
From this alone, it was obvious.
Lucci's "little test" was anything but gentle.
Rumble.
Kai held the black chair in one hand, silently dispersing the force it carried. Rokushiki's Kami-e flowed through his body, letting the impact slide past him.
Effortlessly—
He bled the power away until it was gone.
In the end—
He stood there, arm outstretched, holding the wooden chair firmly in the air.
The atmosphere went still.
Eerie.
A cold killing intent seemed to seep through the sealed chamber.
Kai raised his eyes.
Expression calm, he met Lucci's gaze and spoke slowly.
"Do you know what it means to raise a hand against me?"
"Anyone who tries to attack me…"
"I treat as an enemy."
"Are you sure you want a fight?"
"You should be grateful…"
"That the World Government is standing behind you right now. Otherwise, just for what you did a moment ago…"
"I'd blow you apart on the spot."
"Anyone I mark as an enemy…"
"Only has one ending."
"To be beaten to death by my hands."
His words fell into the silence.
Lucci said nothing.
He only stared, eyes full of doubt and surprise, at the boy holding the chair with one hand.
With just that short exchange—
He had already realized something.
This four-year-old brat in front of him was not the weakling he'd imagined.
At the very least—
Kai had casually caught and stopped his probing strike.
That alone proved he wasn't weak.
He definitely wasn't going to drag Lucci down.
"Blow me apart, huh?" Lucci finally said, voice cold. "You've got some nerve."
"I'll admit it. You do have the qualifications to act alongside me."
"But that little speech you gave just now really pissed me off."
"Who do you think you are?"
"Blow me apart?"
He snorted.
He was CP's once-in-eight-hundred-years genius.
How could someone like him be beaten into pieces?
And the one saying it—
Was a four-year-old child.
A four-year-old daring to say he'd "blow him apart"?
Ridiculous.
Utterly ridiculous.
From beginning to end, Lucci didn't believe Kai had that kind of power.
"Want to try and find out?" Kai asked suddenly.
He looked at Lucci with a smile, but deep inside, a violent impulse began to surge. His eyes gradually grew tinged with crimson.
A savage emotion was crawling up the back of his mind.
A cold, brutal aura burst from his small body.
Before Lucci could respond—
Kai tightened his grip on the chair. The power in his body roared like a volcanic eruption, flooding into his right arm.
The force kept condensing—
Growing heavier and more terrifying.
Just that raw physical power alone was enough to make the black wooden frame creak and nearly splinter in his grasp.
But he kept it under control.
"Since we're talking about etiquette…"
"Call this a return gift."
"You tested me first."
"So I'll give you something back."
"Even if you're from the World Government, there's one thing you'd better remember."
"You're not above me."
"You're just a pawn like everyone else."
"In front of me, don't act like you're above it all."
"Or I really might kill you."
Kai's smile widened.
Then—
He let the power in his arm explode.
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the black wooden chair straight at Lucci, sending it flying back the way it'd come.
Only this time—
The force behind it was far greater than Lucci's earlier throw.
And the scariest part was…
Kai wasn't even serious.
He'd only used brute strength.
He hadn't added Soru, Tekkai, or any other techniques on top.
If he did, he wasn't sure Lucci could block it.
Whoosh!
The chair cut through the air with an ear-splitting whistle.
It was so sharp that it sounded like it was tearing the very air apart—
Like glass shattering.
In an instant—
The chair was already in front of Lucci, carrying a terrifying force.
Facing Kai's counterattack, Lucci's brow rose slightly. His eyes grew more serious.
The chair shot forward faster than the eye could see.
In a blink, it was less than half a meter from Lucci's chest.
The air itself surged, battering his body, tossing his hair and whipping his black suit into a frenzy.
"This brat…"
"…isn't simple."
"His strength isn't weak."
Lucci's pupils narrowed.
He came to his conclusion.
He raised his right hand and clenched his fist.
"Tekkai: Steel Fist."
With a low shout—
Lucci activated Rokushiki's Tekkai, channeling his strength into his right hand.
He swung.
His fist crashed straight into the flying chair.
Boom.
Violent power exploded from his knuckles.
The force met the incoming chair head-on.
The chair shattered under the impact.
With a thunderous crack, it was blown apart—
Reduced to splinters that danced through the air like wooden snow.
Fragments and broken pieces rained down in all directions.
The shockwave swept past, driving the splinters into the corners of the chamber where they piled up on the floor.
With pure brute force—
Lucci had blown apart Kai's attack and neutralized it.
As CP's prized genius, he was, of course, more than capable of using Rokushiki skillfully.
Even though it was called the Marine's Rokushiki and created by the Marines, the technique was also a required curriculum for CP operatives.
As someone the CP organization greatly valued, Lucci had learned it long ago and spent years honing his mastery.
Seeing Lucci disperse his attack with a single punch, Kai wasn't surprised.
If anything—
He felt it was only natural.
It was exactly what he had expected.
If CP's so-called once-in-eight-hundred-years genius couldn't even handle a casual throw from him…
Then Lucci didn't deserve that title.
Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, amusement in his gaze.
He and Lucci silently stared each other down.
Then he spoke.
"Your strength is decent…"
"But you think you can intimidate me?"
"Just you?"
"Too bad."
"You're nowhere near qualified."
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