" Just three?"
Standing in front of the father and son duo, three individuals could be seen.
" We used to have more S or higher ranked members, but those times are in the past. We have another two unofficial S rankers, but they are not in Stat City at the moment."
To the far left, an old man with a physique only a martial arts master on his peak could have was found.
His wrinkles were a legacy of time his strength couldn't mask along with his slouching back.
Bang.
A veteran SS ranker and Zenith Guild's vice leader. Kenji's right hand man.
" Boy, is good to see you."
Adam smiled at the old man. He knew him since he was just a little kid.
Obviously, he also remembers him from the One Punch Man show.
As one of his favorite characters from that anime, he unconsciously admired him even more now than he already did.
" It's good to see you too, gramps. How's your back?"
The old hunter's eyebrow crooked in annoyance.
" My back is fine-"
Before the man could finish his sentence a joyous voice interrupted him.
" Hahaha! As if! You're always complaining of back pains old man!"
Adam could swear he saw a vein popped out of Bang's forehead.
" These brats have no respect for the elderly!"
Standing in the middle of the three members who would join Adam and Kenji in the Gate Break Subjugation, was a young man whose most characteristic feature was a straw hat and a big smile.
' Joyboy fits him so well…'
Monkey D. Luffy.
The future pirate king.
Or, at least that's what the original Luffy from One Piece aspired to be.
This one? Adam had no clue.
" Sup. Name is Adam, I'm already acquainted with Bang and your friend over there, mind introducing yourself?"
Adam's inner fanboy was dying to hear him say it, though he wasn't completely ready for what came next.
" My name is Monkey D. Luffy! And I'll become the strongest hunter!"
'…'
Adam deflated after hearing that.
' "Stronger hunter" doesn't hit as hard as "Pirate King"…'
" Nice to meet you Luffy, and good luck with that dream of yours."
" Hehe, you bet!"
The third one didn't need an introduction, after all, the two were already in good terms with each other.
" It's been a while bro."
Zoro's stern expression almost morphed into a smile when Adam said this, which he held back.
" Mmh. It's good to see you."
Now that introductions were in place, Kenji proceeded to explain.
" Sanji and Jimbei were informed about the mission, but they won't make it in time. So the five of us will be the only ones representing our guild in the gate break. Adam over here is not an official member, but his connection to the guild is stronger than anyone else's in this room."
As he was explaining, Zoro couldn't help but interject.
" Wait. Adam is participating too? I thought he was here to teleport us to the site of the gate break only."
Kenji was taken back by Zoro's attitude. He rarely questioned commands, especially when Luffy, his party leader voiced them.
This was new.
' So Rose's disciple is looking out for her son. What a good lad.'
Luffy on the other hand just looked around as if he couldn't care less.
" Indeed, Adam will be participating, in fact, he will be a key factor for us to succeed."
Zoro's demeanor did a 180 degree turn at that.
" I disagree. He's not ready yet."
Adam had the urge to tease the swordman but decided against it.
" Oh? And why would that be?"
Kenji asked as he side-glanced at Adam.
There was no one as overprotective of Adam as Kenji, and maybe Hana and Rumi. Yet, it appeared as though Zoro was joining the ranks.
" He isn't an S-ranker."
Adam couldn't hold back anymore.
" Right, and you are?"
The smile in his face was mocking and it infuriated Zoro tremendously, but he didn't back down.
" Luffy and I may be A-Rankers but that's only on paper, Adam. You haven't seen what we are capable of yet."
At this point, Luffy stoped counting the slabs on the room's floor to voice his opinion.
" He's not an S-Rank? I think he looks pretty strong though…"
Zoro nodded.
" He is, but not strong enough to survive two SS-Ranked Dungeon breaks, let alone an SSS-Ranked one. We ourselves are going to support the top rankers only because we are short on staff. This guy would probably survive if he doesn't engage and simply assists others too, but I doubt he will when he's been given the green light to participate."
Bang couldn't help but agree.
He had read Adam's file. The young man had an astonishing projection. Not only did he raid dungeons by himself left and right, he even subjugated a B-Ranked dungeon with little to no assistance.
But that and this were two completely different things.
S-Rank monsters were a new realm of power altogether.
" I can't help but agree with Zoro-boy. Think this through Kenji."
Kenji looked at Adam instead of answering the old man's request.
With that look, the "F-Ranker" sighed in defeat.
" Look we don't have time for this."
All eyes were on him now.
" Not only do I have to take you there and relocate each of you in groups. I may have to bring more high ranked hunters who are in far away places. I literally have to carry y'all asses.
So stop questioning my strength already."
The room went quiet until a boastful laugh broke the silence.
" Wahaha! I like this guy!"
Zoro was still against it, but Adam's words were true. He would be essential to move people around, he may even do some damage to the horde of monsters with his shadow army.
Damage in the sense that his shadows could be used as cannon fodder/distraction for the real manpower to strike them, the high rankers.
Apart from that, he doubted he could do much more.
Yes, he saw him go tooth to tooth against questionably the strongest A-Ranked boss he had ever seen, one that he would've needed to get serious in order to beat. But as mentioned previously, everything above S rank was a different league, one that Zoro didn't see Adam in yet.
Kenji at the side was thoughtful. He did not see the need for Adam to hide his powers at this point. And he was right.
The organization that was after him more than likely already knew of his double identity.
' Is he being over precautious since there might be more enemies that he's unaware of? Hohoho! Like father like son! He definitely inherited not only my looks but my smarts!!'
While Kenji was having his delusions, Adam had a completely different train of thought.
' Hiding sucks, but it is not the time.'
It wasn't the time yet, it didn't feel right.
' Not like this.'
The moment had to be perfect.
' After all…'
After all…
' Saying it here would be too boring!! I need to show them with a *BOOOM!!*.
I also need a cool sentence when everybody realizes I'm actually a big shot myself…
Maybe Anansi can help me with that, Ragnar wouldn't be helpful.'
…
[…]
Author: '…'
Well, moving on.
.....
At the site where the energy anomaly foreshadowing the SSS- Ranked SGB was taking place, a few faces could be seen.
Standing near, Irene Balserion was on the lead. Behind her a few big shots followed.
"Gorororo! It's been a long time since I felt this excitement. How'd you been brat?!"
An overly tall old man with a weirdly sharp mustache said as he held his naginata loosely in his hand. His bare chest showed muscles as firm as steel.
" Who are you calling a brat you muscle head !?"
The green haired petite woman who was levitating a few centimeters above the ground wasn't too happy with his remark.
" My lady, you shouldn't speak like that to Mr.Newgate."
A young woman dressing in a black dress whose face was covered by a veil, whispered to Tatsumaki, who kept staring at the old man angrily.
" Humph!"
" Gorororo!"
Instead of getting annoyed, the old man kept laughing loudly to the rest of the group's dismay.
" I see you're as loud as ever Edward."
A man with tanned skin and black eyes, just like his long hair, said with a smile after recognizing his old friend's laugh.
" Oh? Hashirama, how's everything going? Hasn't Mito kicked you out yet?"
Hashirama's smile turned into a frown.
" Don't get me started. She caught me gambling with my granddaughter the other day and… I get chills just from remembering…"
At that point, another old man arrived. Contrary to the other two, this one was extremely short.
On his head, the dumbest hat one could think of rested.
"Hehe, your wife kicked your ass again?"
The two men turned to the new arrival and their mood improved even more.
It had been a long time since the three old men were together after all.
From then on they kept talking to each other in high spirits, as if unbothered by the impending gate break that might as well be the worst one to ever take place.
At the side, a man with a big smile and a bodybuilder's frame stood by himself.
He was the first one to arrive after Irene and had already greeted the others.
His arms were crossed, and he kept staring at the forming gate before his eyes.
Despite the tension he felt, like all the other hunters present, he kept his big bright smile, bringing confidence to whoever was to look at him.
Seeing that most of the big shots were here, Irene spoke up.
" Everyone, as the Hunter Association president I thank all of you for being here in such a short notice. This is the biggest emergency we've had in the last decade, and that's without counting on the other two dungeon breaks."
The laughs stopped, the tension thickened.
" I'll be frank, we may not be able to survive this. Last time we had to sacrifice our two strongest hunters, and we still barely managed to defeat the boss…"
Everyone's faces, except for Tatsumaki, contorted in irritation and shame.
" Yet, we have a responsibility to uphold. Star City depends on us, Atlas depends on us."
As she said this, the swirl of energy started to expand behind her and a gate surpassing 10 meters of height began to manifest.
" Are you guys ready?"
White Beard straighten his back, his naginata firmly held in one hand. An energy that seemed to break reality itself was slowly manifesting on its blade.
Hashirama's face gained dark markings, signifying he had entered his sage mode from the start.
Makarov's body grew, far surpassing Hashirama and White Beard's. His muscles became intimidating, and pure mana seemed to emanate from them.
Almight remained as he was, his focus not leaving the still forming gate.
On the other hand, Tatsumaki looked uninterested, with the only sign of strangeness coming from her lifeless eyes, which no one seemed to noticed.
The woman behind her, did not do much, her veil hiding a smile that was out of place.
" Yes!" X4
" Good. Don't die on me too soon-"
Irene's sentence was cut short.
*Tap.*X2
Gently, two pair of feet were greeted by the ground as a disturbance in space took place. Two individuals had arrived, and their presence did not go unnoticed.
" Hey master~ Sorry I'm late."
...
So, I wanted to write the following chapter before uploading these two last chapters but, that would have taken too much time. I'll try to do so in the following weeks when I get the free time.
Also, please let me know if you see any typo or inconsistency. That would help a lot since I tend to make mistakes often and miss them when proofreading.
I understand if you believe the quality has dropped, since I have noticed that as well. Feel free to give me ideas on the matter if you have any, I'll try to implement them to improve the story.
As always, thank you for reading and I hope you're having a great day!