At this moment, more than a dozen soldiers—along with Chihiro's uncle and the butler watching from the rear—were all slightly stunned as they stared at the battlefield.
At some point, no one could say when, the burly man's neck had been seized by Yaoyorozu Chihiro with a single hand. The soldier hadn't even managed to activate his Amplified Voice Quirk. His face was flushed deep red.
A soldier's decisiveness showed itself instantly.
The moment his throat was locked, a vicious glint flashed in the burly man's eyes. Though he had no idea how Chihiro's hand had appeared so suddenly at his neck, it didn't stop him from counterattacking without hesitation.
His knee shot upward violently, driving straight toward Chihiro's lower body.
"Stop, Big Horn! He's still a kid!"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Several furious shouts erupted from behind the burly man as multiple figures rushed forward.
But in the very next second—
Boom!
A heavy, muffled impact echoed across the field, shaking even the grass beneath their feet.
The burly man lay sprawled on the ground.
Not just the spectators—even the burly man himself looked completely dazed. The crushing pain radiating from his chest, as if his ribs had shattered, told him unmistakably that this was no illusion.
"That reaction speed is terrifying," a retired soldier muttered, staring at the composed young man who was calmly brushing dust from his clothes nearby. "To counter with a shove like that… I can't believe it came from a teenager."
"More than that," another veteran added gravely. "The instant Big Horn lifted his knee, this kid tightened his grip on the throat, locked his body stiff, and then slammed forward with his entire weight. That decisiveness… that's what's truly frightening."
Hearing their explanation, someone exclaimed, "So he wasn't afraid at all? Big Horn's knee strike is vicious—most people would panic instantly."
"Maybe he really doesn't feel fear," another retired soldier said, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as he studied Chihiro.
"You're very strong."
Chihiro stepped forward sincerely and extended his hand toward the burly man lying on the ground.
The burly man, clutching his chest, stared at the delicate hand—almost slender like a woman's—and let out a long sigh. Being defeated by a kid was humiliating beyond words. Still, he wasn't petty. He grasped Chihiro's hand and let himself be pulled up.
"You brat," he muttered grudgingly. "That counterattack… it was vicious."
"I usually train my reaction speed," Chihiro replied calmly. "I didn't expect it to be useful today."
Outwardly, that was his explanation. Inwardly, Chihiro scoffed.
If we're talking about real combat experience, I'm not inferior to you at all. If I weren't worried about exposing too much, you wouldn't even have had the chance to use your Quirk.
Smack!
One of the uniformed men who had rushed over suddenly slapped Big Horn hard on the head. The force was so great that Big Horn's eyes spun wildly.
He opened his mouth to protest—then froze when he saw who had struck him.
"C–Captain…"
"You still call me Captain?" the man barked angrily. "You've got the nerve to attack a kid so viciously? Even aiming for crippling blows? You really think you're invincible now?"
Big Horn didn't dare talk back. He lowered his head deeply, though a faint, unwilling mutter still slipped out.
"…But he's really strong."
The man raised an eyebrow. Just lifting his arm slightly was enough to make Big Horn retreat back into the formation.
"If you've got the guts, keep running your mouth," he growled. "I won't kill you tonight."
After the scolding, the man turned to Chihiro and said, "Name's Yajiu. Everyone calls me Iron Man. I'll be your chief instructor from now on."
"Understood, Instructor Iron Man," Chihiro replied neatly. He straightened, hands pressed along his trouser seams, standing at attention with textbook precision.
"No need to be so stiff," Iron Man waved him off casually. "We're only a dozen years older than you. Just call us big brothers."
A dozen years? Chihiro complained inwardly. My uncle's only twenty years older than me.
Still, he lowered his head obediently."…Big Brother."
But at that exact moment—
A violent whooshing sound tore through the air.
Chihiro instinctively wanted to dodge, but his reason forcibly suppressed the impulse. Based on his judgment, evading now would only trigger a chain of follow-up attacks. It was better to take this one head-on.
Pain exploded in his chest.
His body flew backward like a kite with a severed string.
"Remember this," Iron Man's slightly smug voice rang out from afar. "This is the first lesson I'm teaching you—never relax your guard."
What made it even more infuriating was that Iron Man shot Big Horn a triumphant look, eyebrows raised, as if to say:
See? One move was enough.