Chapter 145: The Core!

Shockwaves boomed through the battleship as the fight raged on.

Their movements were so fast, they seemed to be teleporting from one place to another, too quick for the naked eye to follow. Tsuna couldn't track every motion, but he could at least sense where they were going.

The wind whipped past, making his hair flutter wildly. Even from a distance, the heat radiating from Boros' energy was making his throat dry.

"Holy crap, I've only seen this kind of nonsense on TV," Tsuna mumbled.

The whole fight made no sense to him.

Boros was terrifyingly strong—so strong that Tsuna wasn't sure if he could survive even if he tried to escape. He doubted anyone he knew, even Guy from Konoha, the strongest person he'd ever sparred with, could stand a chance against Boros—unless he opened the last gate.

But the more ridiculous one was Saitama.

That guy was just chilling. The bald hero had an impassive look, and those vaporizing punches seemed like nothing more than tickles to him.

Tsuna shook his head, feeling speechless, "One Punch Man, indeed."

Meanwhile, as the battle went on, Boros seemed to grow more and more excited. He didn't notice Saitama's increasing annoyance as he laughed, "This mode puts enormous stress on my body, like anaerobic exercise. It shortens my life."

Each punch Boros threw sent massive bursts of energy, vaporizing everything in their path—except for Saitama.

"Be honored, Saitama! This is my trump card, and you're the only one who has survived this long against me!" His figure blurred, dodging or deflecting every blow. Boros continued his relentless attack.

"Did I not tell you..." Saitama muttered as Boros relentlessly threw him around. Though the attacks didn't hurt much, Saitama's forehead veins bulged as he shouted, "...to stop yapping, you damn alien!"

Boros was moving way past the speed of sound, breaking barriers with every strike. But to Saitama, it was so slow, it felt boring.

He clenched his fist, the alien's nonstop talking getting on his nerves as his figure suddenly appeared right before the damn alien. Saitama glanced at Boros, who was still grinning as if he had the upper hand. But the truth was clear—Boros couldn't even keep up with his speed.

Saitama sighed, mumbling, "Series of normal punches..."

"Huh?"

Boros barely had time to register what was happening.

Without warning, a barrage of punches slammed into Boros. He couldn't do anything but take them head-on. The punches landed all over his body, ripping through his flesh, but Saitama avoided hitting his core. His body was being torn apart, limbs scattered like dust in the air.

Boros's single cyclops eye noticed the strange shift in perspective. His vision grew distant, farther and farther from Saitama. Then it hit him—he couldn't feel his limbs anymore.

He mumbled, "What...?"

"This human..." Boros thought, watching his core float in midair.

His life force was draining fast, his body shattered into pieces. But then, in a flash of light, his body reformed, whole again. He clenched his fists, shouting, "That's not enough!"

He wanted more!

"Ah, shit... So that's the problem?" Tsuna muttered as he watched Boros' body piece itself back together, just like Melzargard, the alien he had killed earlier.

It clicked. The core. That's the easiest way to kill them—by breaking the core, which acts like their heart. No wonder the fight wasn't over yet. Saitama had been avoiding crushing it directly.

He watched on as their battle continued. Energy blasts roared, and chunks of the battleship kept vaporizing with each movement.

Tsuna shouted, "Saitama!"

"What? I'm busy right now," Saitama yelled back, his body being thrown around by Boros' relentless attacks.

"Do that punch thing again! I know how to kill this alien safely!"

Tsuna didn't know for sure. he was guessing, hoping his idea would work. Unlike with Melzargard, he barely felt any special connection to Boros' core.

Trying to focus on it felt impossible, like trying to stop a speeding car with bare hands. Boros moved too fast. If Tsuna attempted to stop him, it could either kill him from the sheer force or do nothing at all.

"Huh? Are you sure?"

Saitama's voice called out, a bit confused.

Tsuna revolved his energy and moved closer to the battleship. He jumped onto the rooftop, ready to use his body flicker technique. The metal chunk he had been hovering on melted into a liquid ball in his hand.

He waved it toward Saitama and shouted, "Just fucking do it!"

"Ha! You think I'd let you two do as you wish?" Boros roared while sending a powerful kick toward Saitama.

His cyclops eye caught sight of Tsuna, standing a bit further away. Without hesitation, he gathered massive energy in his hand and hurled it at Tsuna. The blast was wide and fast, enough to engulf Tsuna completely.

Boros laughed heartily, "You're far too weak for this battle, human. Know your place!"

However, it was not the time to be laughing as Saitama suddenly appeared in front of the alien pirate king. The bald hero whispered, "Now, why don't you do the same?"

"...!"

Boros' single eye widened in shock. He instinctively swung his arm at Saitama with more force than he had used on Tsuna. But Saitama barely reacted, muttering, "Now, know your place, you damn alien!"

Saitama glanced at the spot where Tsuna had been, seeing only a vaporized log. It confirmed Tsuna had dodged the attack.

He turned his attention back to Boros, sending a barrage of normal punches. The alien pirate king once again couldn't keep up, his body breaking apart under the relentless blows.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Saitama noticed a flicker—Tsuna's presence, moving like a shadow behind him. He looked at the scattered remains of Boros' flesh, eyes narrowing on the glowing core.

Without looking back, Saitama called, "Now, do your magic!"

"Alright, baldy."

Tsuna smirked, feeling the intense heat even while taking cover behind Saitama. His eyes were fixed on the core. That connection, the same one he felt with Melzargard's core, was back.

He clapped his hands together, "Now, come to papa!"

The liquid metal ball in his hand floated toward the core, pulling it sharply toward Tsuna.

"You... you bastard! How dare you take my core!"

Boros' voice came out muffled as his flesh tried to reform, desperately closing in on the core. But just as it neared, the liquid metal wrapped around it, sealing it inside.

Tsuna felt a sharp pain in his chest, tasting blood in his throat as he snapped his fingers. The metal hardened instantly, multiplying its mass, making it as tough as the stubbornness of flat-earthers.

"No!!"

Boros' anguished scream echoed as the flesh—barely formed into a body—darted toward Tsuna's face with insane speed.

But Tsuna only smiled, blood on his lips, as Saitama, with his usual unimpressed expression, casually swatted the flesh away like it was nothing more than a fly.

"The hell was that?" Saitama mumbled, glancing at Boros' remains, which crashed onto the rooftop of his own ship. The bald hero looked at the flaoting metal ball as he added, "Finally, eh? I almost lost it, guy had a PHD in yappology for sure."

Tsuna ignored Saitama's Gen Z like remark as he turned to see Boros, still clinging to life, even without his core. It was impressive. Not Boros, but Tsuna's own gamble of taking the core like that.

"To think that it'd work." The core fell with a heavy thud onto the metal surface of the ship, rolling until Tsuna grabbed it with his hand.

Looking down at the cold, circular object, he muttered, "Mission complete, I guess?"

---

So, regarding my food poisoning, here's how I feel.

It's a bit disturbing, so you might not want to read this, but anyway...

The awful cramps across my stomach made me feel like I needed to go.

However, the worst part was that when I tried to sit down, nothing would come out, which was incredibly frustrating. This cycle kept repeating itself countless times throughout the day (I had to take a shitty sick leave, quite literally).

I felt terrible because I just couldn't get any relief. Fuck.