Chapter 142: I'm a Farmer
"Are you really sure about this?" Belle asked, her voice trembling just enough to sound convincing.
Even though her paws were practically itching to strike, she maintained a flawless, cowardly facade while looking at the supremely confident BlackGatomon standing before her.
"Um... I understand that you're looking out for us, but we aren't as weak as you think."
"So, don't be such a nag," BlackGatomon interrupted, waving a dark paw dismissively. "Since I said so, it definitely means I'm confident."
Completely failing to detect the dangerous predator lurking beneath Belle's weak, fluffy exterior, BlackGatomon puffed out her chest with absolute certainty.
"Come on then~" BlackGatomon goaded, a smug smirk playing on her lips. "Over here~"
She tapped the center of her chest rhythmically. "Hit right here~"
Belle lowered her head, her voice dropping to a soft, hesitant murmur. "Alright then..."
Since BlackGatomon had practically begged for it, continuing to stall would only make her look pathetic. A sudden, razor-sharp glint flashed through Belle's eyes. In that fleeting moment, she completely shed her pure, innocent disguise. A cunning, almost wicked smirk curled at the corners of her mouth.
The very next second, the air cracked. Her figure vanished entirely from where she stood.
Before BlackGatomon's pupils could even dilate in surprise, Belle materialized directly in front of her. The white feline raised her fist, drawing back an immense, terrifying weight of raw data, ready to slam it down—
'Uh... wait. If I actually go all out, will I kill her?''I should probably hold back. Just a little.'
Processing this entire chain of thought in less than a tenth of a second, Belle hastily withdrew more than half the kinetic energy gathered in her strike.
Even so, the resulting impact was absolutely not something an ordinary BlackGatomon could easily endure.
The instant Belle's small fist connected with her chest, the smug confidence frozen on BlackGatomon's face completely shattered. A muffled shockwave erupted between them. BlackGatomon's eyes bulged in sheer astonishment as her body was violently launched backward by the overwhelming force. Her paws scrambled against the dirt, carving deep trenches into the ground as she stumbled back several paces in a totally miserable state before finally managing to steady her trembling legs.
Gasping for breath, BlackGatomon stared at the white feline standing not too far away. Belle was currently tilting her head, wearing an expression of pure, unadulterated innocence. Once BlackGatomon fully processed what had just happened, the patronizing concern she had initially shown evaporated entirely. It was replaced by raw shock and utter bewilderment.
"Senior BlackGatomon, are you okay?" Belle's voice drifted over, soft and laced with anxiety.
She clasped her paws together, looking so timid, fragile, and pitiful that BlackGatomon found it physically impossible to reconcile this crying image with the monstrous, bone-crushing strength she had just experienced.
One could only conclude that Belle had spent far too much time around Mizuki. Her originally gentle, straightforward nature had unknowingly been infected with his signature brand of cunning mischief.
'This kid doesn't look that old, does she?'BlackGatomon thought, her chest still throbbing from the blow.'Where the heck did this super-strong little monster come from?'
Carefully examining the deceptively cute Belle in front of her, BlackGatomon couldn't suppress her lingering disbelief. "You... are unexpectedly strong," she muttered, rubbing her bruised sternum. "What exactly did you do before this?"
"As for me..." Belle pointed a claw at her own nose, tilted her head, and genuinely pondered the question for a moment. Her subconscious immediately supplied the most accurate description of her daily routine. "I'm just a farmer?"
By 'farmer,' she naturally meant that she specialized in burying any enemy who dared to threaten Mizuki deep into the dirt.
"Why are you phrasing that like a question?" BlackGatomon choked out, coughing slightly to clear her throat. "Ahem. If you're a farmer, then just stick to farming! Why are you running around fighting—you know what, forget it."
Belle's answer contained far too many logical holes to nitpick. BlackGatomon didn't even know where to begin unraveling that statement.
Shaking her head to clear the chaotic thoughts rattling around her skull, BlackGatomon suddenly noticed Belle shifting her weight, slipping right back into a low, predatory fighting stance. Panic flared. BlackGatomon hurriedly raised both paws in a placating gesture.
"Alright, alright! I already have a very clear understanding of your strength!" she blurted out. "There's absolutely no need to continue fighting. After all, I... I really don't want to see you get hurt."
While these words sounded suspiciously like a desperate attempt to save face, from BlackGatomon's perspective, they were entirely justified. After all, excluding a few terrifyingly anomalous individuals, no matter how strong a Champion Digimon was, it was generally impossible for them to defeat an Ultimate.
Naturally, the hidden subtext behind BlackGatomon's excuse was a quiet admission of defeat. She fully recognized that she was absolutely no match for Belle while restricted to her Champion state. The only reason she phrased her surrender so vaguely was simply to protect her own fragile feline pride.
On the opposite side, although Belle had picked up a mischievous streak from living with Mizuki, she remained a deeply kind and gentle Digimon at her core. Being highly empathetic, she easily saw through BlackGatomon's embarrassment and gracefully chose not to press the issue any further. She simply relaxed her stance and offered a polite nod.
However...
Just because Belle was willing to let the matter slide didn't mean everyone else would. Especially when that 'someone else' happened to be a complete and utter blockhead.
"Wow, I really didn't expect that. This white Gatomon actually made you look totally pathetic, BlackGatomon." A gruff, painfully honest voice echoed from the sidelines.
"I told you before," the voice continued, completely oblivious to the darkening aura radiating from the black feline. "Besides spending all day cooped up plotting your little schemes, you really need to exercise more, BlackGatomon. Otherwise, if you keep slacking off like this, you'll lose to a Champion today, a Rookie tomorrow, and by the day after that, you probably won't even be able to beat a Fresh Digimon, right?"
The voice was dripping with absolute sincerity. The words, which sounded like a scathing, sarcastic mockery to anyone else, held genuinely zero malicious intent. It was painfully obvious that the speaker was legitimately worried about BlackGatomon's physical health.
BlackGatomon, of course, clearly understood this idiot's genuine concern for her well-being.
'I can appreciate your concern for my health,'she thought, a vein visibly throbbing on her forehead,'but I absolutely refuse to accept your complete lack of a brain!'
A vicious, murderous glint flashed in BlackGatomon's eyes. Taking full advantage of the speaker's slow reaction time, she whipped around, leaped into the air, and delivered a brutal, downward punch squarely onto the top of the newcomer's scaly head.
Smack!
"And whose fault do you think that is?!" BlackGatomon shrieked, her fur standing on end. "If this entire place wasn't completely infested with muscle-brained blockheads, do you think I'd have to spend all my time planning everything?!"
Clutching his freshly bruised skull with both claws, the honest-looking dinosaur Digimon shrank his neck down into his shoulders, weathering the storm of her furious lecture.
Undoubtedly, this painfully blunt creature was one of the Digimon who had previously sworn absolute loyalty to Mizuki. It was the honest, straightforward Agumon—the very same one whose Ultimate form was the fearsome MetalGreymon.
Watching this chaotic, entirely one-sided beating unfold, Belle blinked in astonishment. She couldn't help but turn her head to make eye contact with Mizuki, who had quietly strolled up to stand beside her.
A shared, knowing look passed between them, and both of them couldn't help but smile faintly.
Despite the yelling and the bruised heads, it was clear that BlackGatomon, Agumon, and the rest of their followers had been doing quite well during their absence. Seeing this lively dynamic meant Mizuki and Belle could finally let out a breath and rest a little easier.
Under the amused observation of Belle and Mizuki, BlackGatomon continued her relentless nagging for several long minutes before finally deciding to let the poor Agumon off the hook.
By this point, the orange reptile was thoroughly battered and emotionally exhausted. He slumped against the dirt, his large eyes having long since turned into dizzy, swirling mosquito coils.
"Stop lecturing, please stop lecturing..." Agumon groaned, waving a weak claw in surrender. "BlackGatomon, just let me go..."
Regarding the utterly miserable state of the honest Agumon, BlackGatomon merely crossed her arms, turned her head away, and delivered a sharp, haughty snort, completely ignoring his pleas.
It was only then that she noticed the two pairs of eyes watching her from the sidelines. Freezing mid-snort, BlackGatomon quickly cleared her throat with a delicate cough, hastily smoothing down her ruffled fur and forcing her posture back into a mask of serious, dignified elegance.
"My apologies," BlackGatomon said stiffly, her cheeks burning slightly. "I'm sorry you had to witness something so embarrassing."
"It's perfectly fine," Mizuki replied, his voice echoing from his current disguise as a small, golden Zubamon. A teasing lilt colored his tone. "Speaking of which, you two really seem to have a wonderful relationship."
The very second those words left his mouth, an expression of absolute, unfiltered disgust uncontrollably warped BlackGatomon's features. She looked as though she had just been forced to swallow a rotten lemon.
Seeing her visceral reaction, Mizuki had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting into laughter. He truly hadn't expected this. BlackGatomon had always gone out of her way to maintain an aura of flawless elegance and strict etiquette whenever she was in his presence. To see her act so petty, violently expressive, and easily annoyed was a refreshing change of pace.
Sure enough, occasionally hiding his true identity and observing his followers from the shadows really did lead to quite a lot of unexpected fun.
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