With Tatsumaki providing cover from behind, Tsuna propelled himself through the air, eyes locked on the metallic surface beneath his feet.
A satisfied grin tugged at his lips. "This metal... It's stronger than anything I've ever bent before."
"I should definitely grab some later." Amidst the destruction, who would notice if a small piece went missing? Just a small amount, maybe enough to cover the floor of an entire room. "Tiny compared to the whole building."
His gaze shifted, spotting a gaping hole in the belly of the massive battleship. Without hesitation, Tsuna dove into the opening, landing in a long metallic corridor. Pipes and cables snaked along the walls like veins, and the cool gleam of steel stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Hmm? Wait a minute..."
Tsuna crouched down, pressing his hand against the cold, solid metal beneath him. His eyes widened in disbelief. "What the—?"
The quality of the battleship's metal far surpassed the scrap he'd taken from the Hero Association HQ. Tsuna's heart pounded in his chest, excitement bubbling up as a greedy spark flickered in his eyes.
"Another good find? Fuck! I want this ship!"
Without a second thought, he tossed aside the compressed chunk of metal he had previously 'taken'. With a clap, he put his palm together sending his chi surging through the metallic walls of the corridor.
The steel began to groan, bending and folding inward as the once-vast passage narrowed, the metal shrinking and twisting until it formed a delicate pair of chopsticks that fell neatly into his palm.
"Perfect." He admired his work for a moment before pocketing the chopsticks. "Now, to find Saitama. Can't let him punch Boros into oblivion just yet."
Closing his eyes, Tsuna concentrated, sending his chi out through the ship like a web, feeling every inch of the metal across the battleship.
In his mind, the entire layout of the massive ship unfolded, every detail clear as day. The corridors stretched out before him like veins, and littered among them were the bodies of defeated aliens.
Then, amid the chaos, he saw the bald hero—Saitama, wandering aimlessly, clearly lost while casually sending all the aliens he met to death with a punch.
"There you are..."
Tsuna smirked.
He knew he wasn't ready to take on Boros just yet—the space conqueror was no ordinary foe. But that didn't matter right now.
"I have the strongest on my side!"
Activating his chakra, Tsuna's figure blurred into a streak of motion as he sped through the corridor, making his way toward Saitama.
Meanwhile, at the ground...
"Such a weak creature!"
Melzargard's laughter reverberated through the ruins of the city, his voice bouncing off the twisted metal and crumbling buildings that lay shattered from the devastating attack of their battleship. His many eyes, scattered across his grotesque, multi-headed form, fixated gleefully on the young blonde hero standing before him.
The hero wore a sleeveless suit of medieval iron armor, his body tense and battered, "Every one of its strikes was supposed to be lethal!"
The hero facing Melzargard was the ranked 2 A-Class hero, Iaian. He's Atomic Samurai's disciple.
"Urgh..."
His face contorted with pain as he pressed his bloodied arm, trying to stem the bleeding from where it had been viciously severed by one of Melzargard's previous attacks. His nerves frayed looking at the towering alien in front of him as desperation flooded his mind, "Fuck, am I really going to die here?"
Each step Melzargard took crunched over the debris, the broken pieces of what once were buildings crumbling beneath his feet. His monstrous, gray hand twitched violently before morphing into a giant hammer.
He raised it high, his laughter ringing out again, taunting the wounded hero, "It seems you have yet to give up, weakling hahaha..."
"..."
Iaian couldn't utter a word as he struggled to force his remaining strength he had left into his legs. His eyes narrowed, determined to survive despite the situation.
"It's futile! Now, die!"
Melzargard shouted as he swung his massive arm with terrifying speed.
The hammer cut through the air, a blur aimed directly at the wounded hero. It moved so fast that Iaian couldn't even react—his heart pounded as he braced for the inevitable. But just as Melzargard relished in what he believed to be the death blow, something changed.
A strange slit suddenly appeared across one of his heads, his expression twisting in confusion.
"Huh?"
Melzargard's voice faltered, his movements freezing mid-swing.
The alien felt an odd sensation spread through his body, but before he could make sense of it, there was a sharp metallic clank—the distinct sound of a blade being sheathed.
Suddenly, more slits appeared all over Melzargard's grotesque form. White light flickered along the lines, and in the next instant, the alien's body was diced into countless pieces as it crumbling down shaking the ground.
It all happened so quickly that Iaian could only watch in stunned silence. His eyes widened, struggling to comprehend what had just unfolded. Then, his gaze landed on the familiar figure standing across the battlefield with sword in hand.
"M-Master..."
Iaian breathed, relief flooding his chest.
"Get the fuck away from my disciple..."
Atomic Samurai took a step closer. His sharp eyes flicked over Iaian's bloodied arm as he widened his eyes, "Iaian, your hand..."
Before Iaian could respond, panic surged through him. His eyes darted toward the remains of the alien, and he shouted desperately, "No, wait! Cutting won't kill that thing!"
"What do you mean by that?"
Atomic Samurai asked. But, before Iaian could respond, a sickening sound filled the air—a grotesque squelch of flesh and bone knitting back together.
The S class samurai furrowed his eyebrows as he turned, his eyes narrowing as he witnessed the alien, Melzargard, reforming. The creature's twisted body reassembled itself from the pile of carnage, its bloody red eyes glaring at the samurai with a wary intensity.
Iaian explained, "It can regenerate... any wound. That thing's practically immortal."
"Then I'll just keep cutting it... as many times as it takes."
Atomic Samurai spat out a splinter of wood that had found its way into his mouth, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"How frustrating..." Melzargard growled through gritted teeth. A small chunk of his head reformed into a complete face as he surveyed the scene. The new arrival, this 'Atomic Samurai,' was different—far stronger than the weaker human he could easily kill.
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice in his ear. "Melzargard, return to the ship! We're facing another problem here. Get back now!"
It was Geryuganshoop, his comrade, and the urgency in his voice pulled Melzargard's attention upward to their hovering battleship.
But before Melzargard could respond, a booming voice suddenly echoed through the sky.
"Lat spread!"
"Huh?"
Melzargard barely had time to register the words before a tanned figure slammed into him from above with bone-crushing force.
"What?"
His body arched violently from the impact, sent crashing through the ruins.
Debris scattered in all directions as his body was buried beneath the crumbling remains of the battlefield.
The dust cleared to reveal Superalloy Darkshine, standing tall, his rippling muscles gleaming under the spotlight. He struck a pose, his back muscles flexing dramatically, even though his body still ached slightly from being flung across the sky by Tsuna earlier.
His expression was intense as his gaze locked onto both Atomic Samurai and Iaian. Though the situation was dire, his thoughts were consumed with one thing, "LOOK AT MY MUSCLES!"