"..."
The Defenders all fell silent. They didn't know whether they were pondering what Yamamoto had said or simply feeling speechless at his tendency to reveal his abilities to the enemy.
This was too naive!
No, he wasn't naive—he simply felt confident in his own strength.
He thought it was useless even if his abilities were known.
Thinking of Takeshi Yamamoto's previous attitude, they were instantly relieved.
"Yamamoto, you're too long-winded."
At that moment, Hibari said impatiently.
"Quickly finish them off and let's go back."
"Yes, I'm still waiting to go shopping at the mall. If you keep dawdling, I'll do it for you." Chrome, who was standing on the roof, also expressed her support.
Having lived as a core member of the mafia for ten years, she was no longer the little girl who couldn't even talk to others.
Now she was confident and cheerful, not even polite to her companions fighting alongside her.
"Got it!"
Takeshi Yamamoto responded with a smile, then looked back at the Defenders. The smile on his face was replaced by seriousness. "As you know, my companions are impatient. If you want to fight, hurry up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a thunderous gunshot rang out in the distance.
Before anyone could react, they saw a bullet flying slowly toward Yamamoto, getting slower and slower.
Rain Flame Tranquility!
Takeshi Yamamoto calmly deflected the bullet, then walked straight toward Jessica and Luke, the smile returning to his face. "That's right!"
Luke and Jessica looked at each other and rushed at Takeshi Yamamoto from left and right. Danny also flanked from behind.
Only Daredevil, who kept staring at Chrome upstairs, didn't move.
From the moment he'd perceived this girl, he'd had one question: Why didn't this woman have a heartbeat?
Unlike those ninjas who were trained to suppress and hide their heartbeats—those ninjas could barely be heard if he concentrated his energy.
But this girl truly had no heartbeat at all.
Not only the heartbeat, but also the working sounds of organs like the liver and stomach were completely inaudible, as if they didn't exist.
But how could people survive without organs?
While Daredevil was distracted by the abnormality of Chrome's body, the four people on the other side had already started fighting.
Takeshi Yamamoto went straight toward Jessica and Luke. When they were five or six meters apart, he quickened his pace.
"Shigure Souen Style, Form One: Rain of April!"
The distance of five or six meters vanished in the blink of an eye, and the blade at his side thrust forward sharply.
Yes, although the move's name was elaborate, it was just a simple acceleration thrust.
But because it was simple, it was pure and powerful.
The tremendous force brought by speed, precision, ruthlessness, and inertia was enough to penetrate a concrete stone wall in an instant.
Facing this blow beyond ordinary human reaction, Luke stepped forward subconsciously and blocked in front of Jessica.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out. The tip of the blade pressed against his skin and sank inward, but ultimately failed to break through.
However, the inertia from its high speed combined with its own strength bonus sent Luke's massive body flying back after they rubbed sporadic sparks.
(What powerful force!)
(What strong defense!)
Luke Cage and Takeshi Yamamoto both exclaimed in their hearts.
But they were immediately drawn to the enemies before them.
The moment Luke was knocked away, Jessica and Danny had come one after the other.
"Shigure Souen Style, Form Two: Sakamaku Ame!"
Takeshi Yamamoto held the sword in his right hand and swung it forward in a wide arc. At the same time, his body rotated on his left leg as an axis, driving the blade to draw a circle around his body. The water-like flame attached to the blade scattered like rain, forming walls of water.
Splash!!
The fists smashed into the rain curtain as if a slow-motion button had been pressed, their speed dropping suddenly.
Takeshi Yamamoto slowly straightened up and gently pushed outward on their fists.
Then the rain curtain fell.
The two's speed returned to normal, but their fists had long since lost their original trajectory. They grazed past either side of Yamamoto's head and struck each other's faces.
Boom!!
The powerful force burst into shockwaves, and both Jessica and Danny were blasted away by their companion's strength.
Yamamoto didn't take the opportunity to pursue but took a small step back.
The next second, with the sound of gunfire, a bullet hole appeared in the ground where he'd been advancing.
"There's a sniper watching in the dark. This is troublesome!"
Takeshi Yamamoto frowned slightly as he looked in the direction the bullet came from.
That shot not only predicted his mentality of pursuing the enemy but also caught him shooting when his old strength was exhausted and new strength hadn't yet emerged. If he'd continued advancing, he would have been shot.
This sniper not only had accurate marksmanship but also a strong battle sense. The threat he posed was far greater than the sum of the three in front of him.
However, though the threat was far greater than those three...
In reality, these three people hadn't brought any pressure to Takeshi Yamamoto at all.
Yes, Yamamoto hadn't taken Jessica and the other two seriously. Perhaps saying so didn't fit Yamamoto's modest character, but after meeting them, he'd discerned from subtle movements like their positioning, stance, and expressions that they were rookies. He truly didn't feel these three could bring him any threat.
And the first exchange confirmed this.
Although Jessica's group had strong physical abilities, they were complete amateurs in combat. They were like ordinary people with power who didn't know how to use it at all.
Against ordinary people, they could rely on powerful physical hardware to prevail. But when facing extraordinary individuals with superb martial arts and rich combat experience, they could only be overwhelmed.
And Takeshi Yamamoto was exactly that kind of person.
Although his physical qualities weren't as good as these three, he was also beyond ordinary humans. With the blessing of Rain Flames and his Box Weapon, he also surpassed them in raw power.
Most desperate for these three was that Takeshi Yamamoto was a master swordsman who'd understood the true meaning of kendo.
The fight between both sides was like an ordinary person facing a professional boxer wearing an exoskeleton.
If he hadn't been trying to avoid hurting people, he could have resolved the battle instantly.
The fight was intense here, but Daredevil's mind was entirely on Chrome.
Of course, he wasn't the kind of person who abandoned his teammates.
But his martial arts were outstanding, and he'd long noticed Takeshi Yamamoto's behavior of deliberately holding back (not wanting to hurt people).
Therefore, he focused his attention on Chrome.
Perhaps because he was too focused, Chrome noticed the person who'd been secretly watching her. She immediately frowned and looked over unhappily. "Why do you keep staring at me?"
Daredevil was wearing a hood.
To prevent others from deducing that his real identity was lawyer Matt Murdock through his blindness, he would pretend to look around like a normal person.
In reality, he couldn't see at all and just relied on other senses to perceive things.
But others didn't know that.
From Chrome's point of view, this was a suspicious guy wearing a hood who didn't care about his companions' battle at all but kept staring at her.
Hearing this, Daredevil lowered his head and fell into silence.
He seemed to be making a decision. After hesitating for a while, he asked, "Why don't you have a heartbeat?"
Character Notes:
Shigure Souen Style - From: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
The sword style used by Takeshi Yamamoto Combines traditional Japanese swordsmanship with Rain Flames Has multiple numbered forms, each with specific techniques
Box Weapons - From: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Special equipment used by Dying Will Flame users Stored in boxes and activated with flames Each weapon is compatible with specific flame attributes