As for Qingshui himself, the material of his Black Samurai Armor had been modified to absorb and weaken the specific frequencies of the White Rage Technique's concussion blast, as well as filter out strong light of that specific wavelength. This made him essentially immune to the effects of the White Rage Technique.
However, for the giant younger brother, a massive target, the White Rage Technique's concussion blast wasn't easy to endure either.
At the very least, he had tightly covered his ears with both hands, lowering his guard over his scientist older brother.
The latter, meanwhile, could barely stand, clutching his head and kneeling on the ground, his eyes practically bulging out as he let out hysterical screams.
Underneath his white coat, a yellow liquid quietly seeped onto his jeans.
He had muscle spasms so severe he'd lost control of his bladder.
Just then, a bright blue Kraken Chains flew from Qingshui's palm, snaking towards the genius older brother on the giant younger brother's shoulder.
If he could catch him, it might make the giant younger brother hesitate.
Unfortunately, the giant younger brother was, after all, a high-tier Dragon-level Monster. While his massive body absorbed most of the Concussion Grenade's damage, his muscles and eyes adapted quickly. He swiftly turned, extended one hand towards his shoulder, shielding the genius older brother in his palm, while the other hand descended on Qingshui like a collapsing mountain.
At this moment, the distance between them was much closer than before. Although the giant younger brother was enormous, his agility was surprisingly high. Even with the Arc Reactor operating at full capacity and Wind Release Chakra Mode activated, Qingshui might not be able to dodge it.
But luckily, Qingshui had prepared for this while flying over.
Another glowing blue chain appeared.
This time, however, the chain was solid and tied a knot around the giant younger brother's shoulder, arm, and hand.
This was another Magic Tool Qingshui had prepared, the Deep Blue Chain Lock, created by imitating the Web of Zoroyades from the Marvel Universe. It had the ability to absorb energy, become optically invisible, paralyze enemies with electricity, and extend its length by consuming its stored energy through magic.
"Annoying bug!"
The muscles on the giant younger brother's body swelled and strained again, making the surprisingly strong Deep Blue Chain Lock creak. At the same time, his massive mouth opened wide, and his chest expanded as he inhaled furiously.
A vortex of strong wind surged, pulling Qingshui, who was suspended in mid-air.
However, Qingshui was also an expert at manipulating wind. Although his Shadow Clone's Chakra reserves were limited, releasing two or three large-scale Wind Release techniques was no problem.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Streams of highly penetrating, high-density linear wind blades appeared in quick succession in less than a second, cutting through the airflow paths leading to the giant's air, creating a vacuum and greatly intensifying the vortex current.
The giant younger brother felt the air he could inhale rapidly diminish, so he stopped inhaling, puffed out his cheeks, and blew towards Qingshui.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Two powerful gusts of wind collided, causing the air currents to churn as if creating a typhoon.
Seizing this opportunity, the giant younger brother tore off the Deep Blue Chain Lock on his body, leaped high, and charged at Qingshui.
Qingshui also quickly used the colliding air currents to put distance between them, firing Ice Bombs indiscriminately from his Black Samurai Armor towards the rear.
These were very effective against large targets, as proven by the Tailed Beasts encountered on the battlefield, as well as large Summoning Beasts like Shinya, Manda, and Gamabunta.
However, Tailed Beasts simply couldn't compare to a terrifying high-tier Dragon-level Monster like this. Perhaps Uzumaki Naruto in Sage Fox Mode, or the Armored Nine-Tails controlled by Uchiha Madara in his prime, might have stood a chance.
At this moment, the Ice Bombs' effect was far less than when they were used against Tailed Beasts.
Still, they had some effect, albeit slight, managing to slow the giant younger brother down a little.
But by now, Qingshui had few cards left to play.
That he had managed to stall the giant younger brother for this long was already due to the intelligence gap he exploited with the few cards he had. If it came down to a direct confrontation, he wouldn't last many moves against a high-tier Dragon-level Monster like the giant younger brother.
Why isn't Saitama here yet? Is it because King isn't in danger, so he hasn't shown up?
Qingshui saw that he was almost at his limit and frowned.
Oh well. I've already stalled for a considerable amount of time. I've more than earned the Hero Association's salary and the resources they provided.
In all that time, everyone who needed to hide in the shelters had done so. While the shelters couldn't withstand the destruction of a Dragon-level Monster, they could at least endure the aftermath, saving many lives.
After barely stalling for two more moves, seeing the distance between himself and the giant younger brother rapidly closing, Qingshui no longer hesitated. He formed a hand seal, dispelled his Shadow Clone, and summoned back his Black Samurai Armor.
In a certain district of City D, on the edge of the ruins.
The Emperor Engine roared.
All the citizens had fled. A man with a scar on his face was currently squatting on a toilet, looking at the call from the association on his phone, hesitant to answer it and not getting up to flee.
It wasn't because he was out of toilet paper, but because...
He had been sitting for too long, his legs had gone numb, and he couldn't get up immediately.
Meanwhile, in a supermarket that was holding a massive sale that day, a bald man stood at the checkout, searching his wallet for change.
"Oh, everyone's gone."
Saitama looked at the empty shopping mall in front of him, then at the large area of the city behind him that had suddenly turned into ruins, and raised his head in confusion.
And so, shortly after Qingshui dispelled his Shadow Clone and summoned back his Black Samurai.
The giant, as tall as a mountain, crashed down.
King, who had just recovered and wiped his backside, walked out of the restroom, only to be knocked over by the shockwave from the giant's fall. He was not only covered in dust but also splattered with blood.
As King stood up from the ground, clutching his backside, an eyeball, larger than a house, rolled out of the giant younger brother's eye socket in the distance and coincidentally stopped beside King.
"This is..."
King touched the giant eyeball, still not fully comprehending, when he heard camera clicks from behind him.
"This is incredible luck! Who would've thought that because the shelter's toilets were all occupied, forcing us to risk coming out just to pee, we'd actually get to witness King defeat a Monster firsthand!"
A portly man in a suit excitedly filmed with his phone, shouting.
Behind him, several others held toilet paper, watching the scene with excitement.
"Didn't the announcement say Black Whirlwind Samurai was delaying the Monster? How is King here?"
"He probably saw King arrive and felt confident leaving, entrusting the Monster to King!"
"Definitely. Look, King is covered in blood and dust, but his clothes aren't even torn. He must have taken care of the Monster effortlessly."
King glanced at the group, then at the large eyeball next to him, and the fallen Giant Brother not far away. He immediately understood what had happened.
It's not the first time.
"Actually, I…"
King was about to explain but was interrupted again.
"Mr. King! Please sign this for me!"
A scrawny man excitedly shouted at King, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket.
"Why are you asking Mr. King to sign toilet paper?" someone asked, puzzled.
"Because all I have is toilet paper."
"Then what are you going to wipe with later?"
"To be honest, I was so overwhelmed seeing Mr. King that I couldn't hold it in. So, I don't need toilet paper anymore."
"Gross! No wonder you smell so bad!"
King silently took a few steps back, putting distance between himself and the man.
"Uh… you guys should go to the bathroom first. I have something else to do, so I'll be going."
"Hey! King-san, don't go! You haven't signed yet!" the scrawny man waved his toilet paper.
King walked even faster.
"King must have important business to attend to again. We shouldn't waste a hero like King's time!" The portly man said, looking at King's receding figure with admiration.
"Ah, is that so? Mr. King truly is great!"
"But I haven't come away empty-handed either. After all, I easily captured the scene of Mr. King after he defeated the Monster! Those news agencies would definitely pay a high price for this photo!"
The portly man's face broke into a wide smile as he looked at the photo on his phone, then his expression suddenly changed.
"Oh no! I can't hold it anymore either! The toilet! Don't you dare take my spot!"
…
…
A few minutes later.
City D, apartment.
"Yes, okay, no problem. Is the association already recovering the Monster's body?"
Qingshui held his phone to his left ear, talking to a staff member from the association, while his right hand used the mouse to drag the timeline below the video recording, reviewing the Shadow Clone's combat process while controlling the Black Samurai Armor.
The first practical application of the White Rage Concussion Grenade was very effective. In the early stages of the battle, it successfully attracted a lot of the Giant Brother's attention, effectively reducing the opponent's strength and mobility.
Even though the opponent quickly adapted, the effect was still considerable.
After all, it was only an experimental version. The fully qualified finished product, once created, should be able to increase its power by several tens of percent.
This current version can already briefly contend with high-tier Dragon-level Monsters. If it were a qualified product, the effect would be much better.
If his main body could perfect Sage Art and directly master White Rage Technique, its power would certainly have a qualitative leap.
In the future, further development of the White Rage Concussion Grenade would only involve adding a function to adjust its power and range based on the environment, and the enemy's size and number.
As for the Deep Blue Chain Lock, its performance was a bit lacking, but it wasn't useless. It was just a little too small and was torn apart by the Giant Brother within seconds.
"The Monster's body recovery fee is 2 billion yen, and I get 15%? Okay, no problem. Also, when can you put the matter of changing my hero name, which I brought up last time, on the agenda?"
Qingshui took a lazy sip of coffee, speaking into the phone.
He had resisted such a powerful Dragon-level Monster for so long; the Hero Association surely had to take him more seriously now, right?
That should be enough to change his hero name, which happened to be the same as someone named Li Kui, right?
Surely, he wasn't denied even that small privilege?
"What do you mean there's no precedent for changing hero names? If there's no precedent, just make one for me!"
Qingshui found the association's fussiness extremely annoying.
It was just a hero name change, wasn't it?
"My apologies, Mr. Qingshui, this is Sitch. Given that your current hero name is already quite popular among the public, it's been deemed unsuitable for a change. If you are insistent on changing it, I can bring it up at the high-level meeting on your behalf. You can suggest some names first, so we know your preference."
At the Hero Association headquarters in City A, Sitch took the phone from the operator next to him and spoke to Qingshui.
Changing an A-Class Hero's name was not something an operator had the authority to discuss. At most, they could submit a written report to their superiors after the call, detailing the A-Class Hero's request to change his name.
Whether the Hero Association's higher-ups would see it, or if they would deem it unimportant and not act on it, was hard to say.
However, fortunately, due to the appearance of a Dragon-level Monster today, Sitch had specifically come to the communication command center to oversee things, which provided a direct opportunity to communicate with the Association's higher-ups.
Of course, this was also because of the impressive strength Qingshui had displayed.
Aside from Sweet Mask, none of the other A-Class Heroes were capable of directly confronting a Dragon-level Monster. At best, they could barely hold off a Demon-level Monster for a moment.
But Qingshui possessed that ability. Even if it wasn't for a long duration, and King was ultimately the one who defeated the Monster, that particular Monster was still very powerful among Dragon-level Monsters. Sitch believed that, apart from King and Tatsumaki, other S-Class Heroes might not be able to defeat it quickly, and some might not even be able to win.
So…
Should he be promoted to S-Class?
It would be best to decide at a meeting, and bring up the name change at the same time.
Meanwhile, after finishing the call, Qingshui roughly replayed the battle in his mind, then began packing his belongings.
He was moving.
This small apartment wasn't bad. For an ordinary person, the environment, decor, and surrounding infrastructure would be considered quite excellent. However, its major drawback was its size.
He could use the Association's gyms for training, but often, when building Puppets, it felt too cramped.
Just the Arc Reactors for the Black Samurai, the various chemical reagents needed to prepare Ice Bombs, and the manufacturing of other weapons all required a lot of equipment.
This equipment had already filled his home, leaving almost no room to move around.
Not to mention the Particle Accelerator needed to build the second-generation Arc Reactor.
That was a big one.
Even if he were to handcraft a small Particle Accelerator, it would still take up a large portion of the room.
Considering these factors, along with other instruments and equipment he would need in the future, moving was imperative.
He needed a bigger house.
Fortunately, Qingshui wasn't short on money now.
The recovery price for the Giant brother's corpse was two billion. King took the bulk of it, and Qingshui took the rest.
As far as Qingshui knew, King donated most of the income he earned from being a hero, keeping only a fixed salary for himself.
This was publicly disclosed by the Hero Association.
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