Chapter 142: I'm Thanos

The S-Class heroes continued their battle with Melzargard. After discovering the alien's weakness, they fought aggressively, while Melzargard could only grit his teeth in fury. A little further away, Tsuna sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating as he tried to recover his depleted chi.

The impact of the ongoing battle stirred the air, causing the wind to tousle Tsuna's hair. The sounds of clashing and explosions echoed around him, but they barely registered in his mind. His focus remained sharp as he concentrated on circulating energy through his core.

"Hey, Tuna, you're not dead, are you?"

An irritated voice was heard as Tatsumaki floated beside him. She was poking his cheek curiously.

Tatsumaki was clearly bored, and uninterested in the fight. To her, that silly monster was no match for her, and she didn't feel like joining the fight.

'This little...'

Tsuna felt a flicker of annoyance at the poke, tempted to poke back with hard on finger, but he held back.

Swallowing his irritation, he focused inward again, surprised to feel his chakra stirring alongside his chi. It reminded him of the first time he used both energies simultaneously during a spar with Bang.

The two forces seemed to mix together more smoothly than before!

He had always imagined them like yin and yang—separate energies that should be kept apart. But as his chi continued to build, the chakra didn't disperse as it usually did. Instead, it began to merge.

Not all of it, but enough for him to notice a shift. A significant portion of both energies had intertwined, creating something new.

'It seems I've been doing this wrong all along,' Tsuna thought.

He had trained his chi and chakra separately for years, believing they were two distinct powers. But if they could merge like this, he realized it was time to rethink his approach. He needed to train them together from now on.

"Hey, why are you ignoring me?" Tatsumaki poked Tsuna harder. "Hey! Are you deaf or just stupid? I'm talking to you! Don't ignore me, Tuna-baka!"

As she kept poking, a ringing sound echoed through the air like vibrating metal. Tatsumaki looked up, noticing the battleship above shaking even more. She grumbled, "Ugh! Seriously, what's your deal? You're so boring! All you're doing is sitting there, doing... nothing!"

Tatsumaki crossed her arms, realizing she was also doing nothing as she pouted in frustration, "Hmm… maybe I'll take down that battleship. That'll be way more fun than this."

Just as she started floating higher, aiming for the ship, a strange surge of energy stopped her mid-flight.

"Huh? What's this?"

Tatsumaki paused, turning to look down at Tsuna. His presence caught her off guard as she muttered, "What the... Tuna-baka! Now you're trying to copy me, huh?"

But Tsuna didn't react to her outburst. He was completely absorbed in his meditation. The wind from the battle swirled around him, but it didn't disturb the small space he occupied.

His hair fluttered lightly as a bluish aura formed around him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, which glowed with a faint blue hue.

Then, just as quickly, the glow faded, and everything returned to normal—no more aura, no more shine.

Tsuna calmly took stock of his body, feeling lighter than before. The combined energy flowed through him, rejuvenating him completely. It felt as if he had taken a long nap and was almost fully recovered.

'Well, not really,' Tsuna thought, wincing slightly as he moved.

The pain was still there, but it was manageable. He stretched and stood up.

"What's with this annoying noise?" he muttered, looking up at Tatsumaki, who was still babbling in the air. She was pointing at him, talking nonstop.

Tsuna sighed, exasperated, "You've been poking me this whole time. Don't be surprised if I poke you back and you're down for a week."

"Huh? What does that even mean, Tuna-baka?"

Tatsumaki blinked, completely confused.

Tsuna just stared at her, thinking she'd perfected the art of yapping. She had poked him repeatedly while he meditated, talking endlessly. As she continued babbling nonsense, Tsuna smirked to himself, 'If only she were mute...'

She'd actually be cute. He was sure of it.

Ignoring her, Tsuna turned his attention to the battle below. He watched the other heroes fighting Melzargard.

Suddenly, a shadow flew past him, followed by a loud crash. Melzargard's mocking laughter echoed in the distance. "Hahaha! So what if you know my weakness? Just one hit and you're all dead!"

"Urghh, my back hurts..."

Tsuna blinked as he heard the groan. The smoke and debris from the crater started to clear, revealing Bang slowly walking up, holding his back.

He asked, "You alright, Bang-san?" 

"I'm all fired up, but my old bones can't keep up," Bang chuckled, wincing slightly. "Maybe it's time I finally retire, eh?"

Tsuna smiled, but before he could respond, Bang added, "So, Ito-kun, how about learning—"

"I'm not interested," Tsuna cut him off, shaking his head. He knew Bang was in pain, but seeing the old man still joking like that, he figured he was fine.

"Oh, come on, I didn't even finish my sentence..."

"Hey! Why are you two ignoring me?"

Tatsumaki yelled from above, still floating and furiously waving her arms around. She kept babbling, but both Tsuna and Bang continued to pretend they hadn't noticed. 

Tsuna watched as Superalloy grabbed Melzargard's arms, holding the alien in place. Metal Bat followed swiftly, swinging his bat with force. Nearby, Atomic Samurai was locked in combat with another clone of Melzargard. The old samurai's sword was sharp and precise, slicing through the alien's limbs like paper.

"Well, it's about time we finish this, don't you think?" Tsuna said.

Bang glanced at him, "You're joining in? I thought you were injured."

"Feeling a bit better," Tsuna mumbled as he began walking toward the battlefield. He eyed Melzargard and smirked, "Besides, it's a bad matchup for him."

Bang raised an eyebrow, "You like speaking in puzzles, young man."

"No need to join, Bang-san. Rest your old bones a little."

 "Don't underestimate this old man, boy."

Bang frowned, clearly offended. But, before Tsuna could respond, Melzargard's eyes locked onto him. The sight of him made Melzargard completely enraged.

"You're the one who killed Geryuuganshoop!" he roared, lunging forward as Tsuna stepped into range.

Metal Bat and Superalloy were about to strike again, but suddenly the scattered limbs of Melzargard's clones reassembled. Without warning, the combined mass attacked them from their blind spot.

Metal Bat cursed as the impact sent him flying. "Guh—Bastard!"

"Muscles!" Superalloy shouted as he too was thrown through the wreckage of a nearby building.

Atomic Samurai reacted quickly, slashing through one of the clones. But as he did, another sneaked behind him, swinging a fist toward his face.

"Shit!" he cursed, realizing too late.

With no one in his way, Melzargard charged furiously toward the one who killed his comrade. His twisted body reformed as he moved, disgustingly pulling himself back together.

"I'll kill you!" he roared.

Tsuna glanced at Bang before turning his attention to the charging alien. "You might want to take cover."

"What do you—"

Bang tilted his head, confused.

Tsuna stepped forward, not bothering to explain. He smiled slightly as Melzargard barreled toward him. Channeling his newfound energy, he could clearly feel the connection he had with his element was getting far stronger than before.

Looking at the fury in the alien's expression, Tsuna focused on the connection he could feel with the alien's core and quietly mumbled, "I'm inevitable."

Snap!

Melzargard's core was made of metal, and with the snap of Tsuna's fingers, it was crushed. The alien's furious expression melted away as his entire body turned into liquid.

Bang mumbled his unfinished question, "—mean?"

He stared in disbelief as the alien's remains splattered across the battlefield. Tsuna calmly raised a shield, but it was too late for Bang, who got a faceful of the liquid.

The old martial artist wiped it off, tasting the last thoughts of the alien as Bang looked at Tsuna, still trying to process it. The alien they had fought so hard against—killed with a snap of a finger.

"You cheeky little bastard," Bang muttered, shaking his head. "You could've explained it properly, goddammit!"

It was the first time Bang had cursed in a long time.

---

It's a bit late but...

From the screen 📺 to the ring 💍 to the pen 🖊️ to the king! 🤴 Where's my crown 👑 that's my bling 🤑 always trouble when I ring 📞