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Chapter 9 - 9. Hero Test

Upon entering the changing room, Kaito Joestar, like the other candidates, received a wristband similar to those at a bathhouse. Each wristband corresponded to a locker for storing clothes.

According to the Association's requirements, no equipment could be used during the test. Male candidates could only wear a pair of underwear provided by the Association at most. As for female candidates, they could also have an extra sports underwear.

The proportion of female heroes was always small. For example, today, most of those who came to participate in the recruitment were beasts. The changing room was not without those bodybuilder-level, muscle-bound contestants, who were gathered together flexing their massive pectoral muscles and exchanging iron-pumping experiences.

The atmosphere gradually became tense. The male hormones in the entire changing room were severely elevated. Kaito, however, ignored all this and took off his shirt on his own.

"Oh, this child..."

The moment Kaito took off his shirt, a low gasp came from a corner of the changing room. A tall stature, smooth muscle lines, an exaggerated inverted triangle—the combination of countless attribute cards created this Indestructible Body, which had nothing to do with Kaito's own efforts.

A silver-haired old man with exceptionally sharp eyes widened them. A strong gleam burst forth: "Perfect! Simply perfect body proportions, visible martial arts talent. This child is a rare unpolished gem!"

Hiss—

On the other side, a strong Spider Sense struck, and Kaito immediately noticed the gaze behind him. Turning his head slightly, he saw a spry old man who looked to be well over seventy smiling kindly at him. Then, like everyone else, he candidly took off his shirt, revealing exaggeratedly strong, granite-like muscles.

Kaito: !!!

"Holy crap, this old man!"

Someone nearby gasped, "Young people are one thing, but how can an ordinary-looking old man from the park have such an explosive physique!"

The kind smile of his squinting eyes was completely out of place with those sinewy muscles that could crush a person with one hand, creating a strong sense of incongruity. "Is this world insane?"

Silver Fang, Bang.

Recognizing the old man's identity, Kaito's heart settled. "Then it's fine."

The future S-Class Hero, third in rank, a Demon-level martial artist who was unrivaled in his youth, and a top combatant for the Hero Association and humanity. Kaito nodded slightly, responding to Bang's goodwill.

He put his belongings into a locker and locked them, then walked with the other candidates towards the assessment area. Bang walked on the other side of the group, occasionally turning back to observe Kaito's posture. A strong gleam in his eyes.

That fervent gaze made Kaito's head ache. Thinking of this martial arts master's penchant for teaching, his headache worsened. "Practicing martial arts requires hardship. Why suffer when you can cheat?"

The large venue was divided into testing areas. First were routine items like height, weight, vision, and lung capacity. After recording all the data, Kaito saw the delicate Ranni standing at the entrance of the strength testing room, waiting for him.

"Officer Kaito Joestar, please follow me."

Kaito nodded and followed. After only a couple of steps, the old man's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Uh, little girl, can I come with you two?"

"Ah…"

Ranni was startled. Turning around, she saw an unbelievably strong old man standing behind her at some point, leering… no, smiling as he inquired with his gaze.

"This old gentleman…"

Ranni was about to explain but stopped when Kaito, standing beside her, reminded her: "This is the martial artist, Master Bang."

Martial artist?

"Eh, young man, you know me?" For a moment, both Ranni and Bang were a bit confused.

Kaito nodded, complimenting him: "Yes, I've had the fortune of witnessing Master's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist." As he spoke, he casually made a few gestures.

Bang broke out in a sweat. Although the gestures looked somewhat plausible, he could tell at a glance that the young man in front of him indeed had no martial arts foundation: "Forget about 'Master.' I'm just an an ordinary old man who runs a dojo."

Kaito leaned in and whispered: "Nonsense, I know a thing or two about your deeds when you were young, Master."

"Hmm?" Bang straightened his back slightly, a hint of killing intent in his eyes. "You brat, do you know too much?"

Thinking of his glorious days, Bang's old face flushed: "Ahem… Let's not talk about the past. What's your name, young man?"

"My name is Kaito Joestar, and I am a police officer."

"Kaito-kun, if you have time, come sit at my dojo. It's not far from Z City and the environment is quite good."

"Okay, I'll go if I have time."

Ranni, who had fallen behind, watched as the two chatted and had already left her to enter the testing room. She was somewhat dumbfounded for a moment. After weighing the pros and cons slightly, she quickly clacked her high heels and chased after them.

"Please follow me, both of you. There's a private testing room here."

Bang's eyes lit up: "No need to queue? That's great."

Kaito glanced sideways. Old man, aren't you a bit too straightforward? You don't have to be so blunt about being happy, do you?

Ranni led the two to a large machine resembling an A-Class train and explained to the puzzled staff why the test subjects had changed from one person to two.

Kaito and Bang turned to look at each other.

"Young man Kaito, who goes first?"

"Master, you go first. I'll watch your performance."

Bang nodded, no longer being polite, and raised his arms to stretch his muscles and bones: "Then I'll go first."

Before meeting Kaito, Bang was only curious about the Hero Association. He signed up for hero recruitment, first, wanting to do something for ordinary people with his own strength, and second, to observe whether this organization could act as they advertised. As for hero rankings, they were completely out of the old man's consideration. Just casually participating would be enough.

But now it was different. He decided to show the young man in front of him what martial arts truly was.

Standing shirtless in front of the testing machine, Bang bent his knees slightly, sinking his waist and standing firm. His white beard and hair moved without wind. With one hand raised and the other behind his back, he drew two smooth, flawless light blue arcs in the air like Tai Chi, then suddenly threw a punch.

"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!"

Amidst his clear shout, Spider Sense activated.

From the suddenly slowed perspective, Kaito clearly observed every detail of Bang's punching and exerting force. What seemed like a casual, light punch gathered the most exquisite martial arts combat techniques of this world, unleashing immense power with minimal force, like a hanging antelope horn, effortlessly.

Snap!

The fist hitting the leather pad made a popping sound as air was compressed. The staff present had just reacted when they saw three large "9"s continuously pop up on the display screen above the testing machine, accompanied by "ding ding ding" electronic sounds.

"Woah! Nine hundred ninety-nine kilograms of punching power! No, it has exceeded the machine's measurement limit!"

"This… Mr. Bang, strength test, perfect score!!"

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