""
Come.
It was unknown how much time had passed before Tatsumaki slowly regained consciousness.
The moment she woke up, she immediately recalled what had just happened and hurriedly tried to stand up.
However, when she exerted force with her legs, she suddenly realized that her body was tightly bound by some strange substance, wrapped up firmly. At first, Tatsumaki thought it was something like rope and prepared to use her psychic powers to break free.
But upon closer inspection, she discovered that the thing binding her was actually a soft, dough-like material, somewhat resembling modeling clay. The key issue was that this soft "clay" seemed to possess terrifying elasticity. Tatsumaki was shocked to find that even her psychic powers couldn't break it.
"Dammit, that weird guy........."
Tatsumaki naturally knew that this "clay" was Zuke's method of restraining her, which made her gnash her teeth in frustration. Ever since her psychic powers awakened, she hadn't suffered such a humiliating defeat in a long time, and Zuke's face was now deeply etched into her memory.
She glanced around and realized she was actually in her own living room. On the coffee table lay her ID and keys.
Apparently, Zuke had searched her, found her identification, learned her home address, and brought her back to her own house.
This only made Tatsumaki even angrier, her face flushing red—didn't this mean Zuke had touched her entire body? Her long shirt was form-fitting, and she didn't believe for a second that Zuke hadn't groped her while searching her.
Due to her prideful personality, Tatsumaki had almost never allowed any man to touch her body since childhood. This humiliation filled her with indignation. She redoubled her efforts, using her psychic powers to try and break free from the "clay," but all her attempts were in vain.
"Oh? You're awake?"
Just as Tatsumaki was still struggling against the "clay" binding her, Zuke walked out from the kitchen.
In his hand was a piece of bread—the one Tatsumaki had bought from the supermarket for tomorrow's breakfast. Judging by its shape, Zuke had already taken a bite out of it.
Tatsumaki's face instantly darkened. This guy really had no sense of boundaries.
"Trying to break free? Don't bother. That thing binding you is actually part of my body."
Zuke took another bite of the bread, then, with his mouth full, spoke to Tatsumaki in a muffled voice.
"You've already tried just now. Do you really think your psychic powers can break through my body?"
That's right—the "clay" restraining Tatsumaki was actually a piece of Zuke's own body that he had separated.
After absorbing Majin Buu through "Black Bird Requiem," Zuke's body had also gained the properties of Majin Buu. Normally, Zuke didn't need to use Majin Buu's bodily traits, as his own innate immortality was more than enough.
This time, however, Zuke couldn't think of any other way to restrain Tatsumaki, so he followed Majin Buu's example and tore off a piece of his own body to bind her.
That substance was still fundamentally Zuke's body, and he could even remotely control it, like a giant hand disconnected from his main form.
Given Tatsumaki's strength, breaking free from Zuke's restraints was utterly impossible. Even if she leveled the entire city, the "clay" wrapped around her wouldn't budge.
"What? This thing is part of your body?!"
Tatsumaki was horrified. She looked down at the "clay" binding her and shuddered in disgust.
To prove his point, Zuke raised an eyebrow, and Tatsumaki immediately felt the "clay" shift slightly—as if a giant hand were gripping her body and giving it a few squeezes.
Realizing that she truly couldn't break through Zuke's defenses, Tatsumaki sighed in resignation. Still bound, she plopped down onto the sofa and glared at Zuke.
"Just who are you? You can't be the 'Hero Hunter,' right?"
Although Tatsumaki had initially suspected Zuke was the "Hero Hunter," the moment she realized even her psychic powers were useless against him, she abandoned that theory.
The "Hero Hunter" had injured many heroes, but some had managed to affect or even harm him.
Assuming some heroes weren't just lying, the fact that so many claimed to have landed blows meant the "Hero Hunter" wasn't at S-Class level.
But Zuke's strength... even she, the No. 2 S-Class hero, was helpless against him. How could A-Class or even B-Class heroes have possibly affected him?
"I already told you—I just wanted you to help me contact the Hero Association's higher-ups."
After finishing the bread, Zuke picked up a carton of milk from the side, opened it casually, took a sip, and continued.
"You're the one who rushed in looking for a fight."
"So it's my fault now?"
Tatsumaki glared at Zuke, grinding her teeth.
"And you—stop casually eating other people's food! That milk wasn't for you!"
Despite being 28 years old, Tatsumaki's petite stature made her look like a middle-schooler—or even an elementary-schooler. She was extremely self-conscious about it.
She drank milk every day in hopes of growing taller—and now Zuke had drunk her milk!
"Consider it punishment."
After downing the milk in one go, Zuke placed the empty carton on the coffee table and looked at Tatsumaki.
"Alright, now that you know I'm not the 'Hero Hunter,' how about agreeing to let me meet the Hero Association's higher-ups?"
By taking control of the Hero Association, Zuke could more easily monitor the "Hero Hunter"—that is, Garou.
Though Garou hadn't yet become Cosmic Garou, Zuke could always speed things up.
If Garou were exposed to "God" early, it might trigger his "Cosmic Fear Mode" ahead of schedule.
Of course, forcing Garou to awaken his "Cosmic Fear Mode" before he fully mastered his martial arts would undoubtedly weaken him compared to his manga counterpart.
But as far as Zuke was concerned, as long as Garou entered "Cosmic Fear Mode" and fulfilled the mission requirements, that was enough.
Whether Garou was weaker or not—what did that have to do with him?
To be continued…
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