Chapter 92: The Castrated Version of Observation Haki
King's gaze, hidden under the brim of his baseball cap, fell upon Tanktop Puncher for a moment, his lips curving slightly. Ever since he had made a name for himself, it had been a long time since anyone had dared to speak to him with such an attitude. For an up-and-coming junior with such admirable courage like Tanktop Puncher, his usual response was to tip his hat in respect.
However, just as his hand gripped the front of his cap, preparing to lift it, Child Emperor's young, tender voice cut in. "Hey, uncles, I'm all ready. You guys can come over now."
"Let's go. Hmph, the sooner we get this over, the sooner we can go back. I haven't even finished my training regimen for today!"
Tanktop Puncher shook out his fists and walked toward Child Emperor with an impatient look on his face.
King's hand paused on his cap. He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. Shoving both hands into his pockets, he followed behind the group at a leisurely pace.
"Alright, uncles, for the purpose of collecting experimental data, you'll need to undergo the test one by one in a specific order. Those whose turn hasn't come yet, please wait a moment. During the test, I hope all you uncles will attack with your full strength. That's the only way to collect more accurate and useful data. Thank you, uncles."
Child Emperor gave a simple overview of the experiment's procedure.
"An experimental order?" Snek asked doubtfully. "Child Emperor, what exactly is the order for everyone's test?"
Child Emperor licked his lollipop and pointed at a Hero Association staff member with a grin. "This uncle is second for the test." He then pointed to Quick-Fist Hero. "This uncle is third." Next, he pointed to Tanktop Puncher. "This uncle is the fourth test subject." He paused, then pointed to Snek. "And this uncle is scheduled to be the fifth test subject."
"I get it. So the order is determined by hero rank and strength. In that case..." Tanktop Puncher pointed at King and sneered, "the first test subject you haven't announced is him, right? Heh, his combat power is even lower than a Hero Association staff member? Looks like he's a total weakling!"
King: "..." That was the second time. This was the second time Tanktop Puncher had provoked him. Should he "tip his hat" to honor his courage or not?
King pondered this dilemma.
"That's not it, uncle. You're mistaken." Child Emperor bit lightly on his lollipop stick and said solemnly, "This last uncle is scheduled for the sixth position... which means he's the very last uncle to take the test." *Of course, King has to be last. Otherwise, if he takes out my Sparring Robot with one punch, the rest of the experiment can't continue.*
"What? He's last?" Tanktop Puncher's eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "Child Emperor, what criteria are you even using to set this order?"
Snek and the others were equally bewildered. If the order was based on strength, as they had previously guessed, didn't that mean that in Child Emperor's eyes, the mysterious man before them was stronger than all of them?
Child Emperor said seriously, "Of course, it's ordered by strength."
"I knew it..."
Snek and the others shuddered, silently observing King, who was watching coolly from the side. Who was this person? For Child Emperor to consider him the strongest among them, he must also be an A-Class hero, right? After all, even though Snek was the gatekeeper of A-Class, his strength was the real deal, and his reputation was well-deserved. For this mysterious man's strength to surpass Snek's, he had to be at least A-Class, or perhaps even at the pinnacle of heroes... an S-Class hero?
"An A-Class hero? An S-Class hero?"
Tanktop Puncher's face stiffened slightly, and he began to regret provoking King time and time again.
"Gulp!"
He subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, looking at King searchingly, hoping to figure out his true identity so he could prepare an appropriate response.
It wasn't that he was afraid of the man—after all, he didn't even show much respect for Child Emperor, so he clearly had guts. But King's mysterious nature made him a little uneasy.
The unknown is the most terrifying thing!
After Snek's gaze swept over King, he asked Child Emperor, "Child Emperor, in that case, who is the first one to take the test?"
"The first one?"
Child Emperor grinned. "The first one isn't a person." As his voice fell, he yanked the cloth off a rectangular object beside him, revealing what was underneath.
"An iron cage? A dog?"
Snek and the others were all bewildered, staring in shock at the iron cage, which was the size of a small house. Inside the cage was a ferocious wolf-dog. As light flooded in, it began barking wildly at everyone, baring its fangs in a clear display of aggression.
Child Emperor pointed at the fierce wolf-dog and said, "The first test subject—a starved wolf-dog."
"Starved!?"
King found this amusing. To dare mistreat a dog so openly, he'd better be careful not to get exposed and condemned by society.
"Alright, the purpose of choosing a dog as the first test subject is to give everyone a clear understanding of the experiment's content. Everyone, please carefully watch the fight between the wolf-dog and the Sparring Robot."
Child Emperor took a remote control out of his backpack. After he pressed a red button on it, the sound of clanking suddenly echoed from the robot storage area.
Clank! Clank!
A robot resembling a Gundam strode toward them. It was about two meters tall, its entire body gleaming with a blue metallic luster. Its mouth was like a mesh screen, making its voice sound like it was coming from a loudspeaker. A pair of odd-looking sunglasses was embedded where its eyes should be. Most eye-catchingly, the two large, golden characters for "Sparring" were engraved on either side of its chest.
"'Sparring' awakened. Master, it is my honor to serve you."
The Sparring Robot walked steadily to stand before Child Emperor, awaiting his instructions.
"Go in and take down that wolf-dog inside."
Child Emperor grinned as he directed the Sparring Robot to enter the iron cage. He had already programmed its central processor so that when faced with an enemy's attack, the Sparring Robot would basically not retaliate. It would only dismantle the opponent's moves based on their attack method, neutralizing their offense.
Rather than a Sparring Robot, it would be more accurate to call it a Training Partner Robot.
Under Child Emperor's command, the Sparring Robot stepped into the iron cage and stood perfectly still, facing the wolf-dog.
"Woof woof!"
Seeing the Sparring Robot invade its territory, and fueled by the anger of starvation, the wolf-dog let out a furious bark and lunged viciously at the robot.
"Claws extending forward, mouth open to bite."
The Sparring Robot reported before instantly reacting. Its two mechanical arms shot out with lightning speed, grabbing the wolf-dog's two front paws. Then, with a sudden twist, it flung the dog away. The wolf-dog crashed into the iron bars of the cage, letting out a pained whimper.
"Grrr!"
The wolf-dog was enraged and charged at the Sparring Robot once again. However, the result was much the same; it was again caught by its front paws and thrown aside by the robot.
This time, the wolf-dog learned its lesson. Instead of charging straight in, it began circling the Sparring Robot, sneaking behind it to launch a sneak attack. However, as if it had already seen that the wolf-dog would circle around, the Sparring Robot spun around swiftly and once again sent the dog flying.
"This is... the castrated version of Observation Haki!"
Watching the Sparring Robot anticipate the wolf-dog's attacks time and again, effortlessly neutralizing them in advance, King couldn't help but think of the Observation Haki from *One Piece*. It also "sees" the opponent's future actions and makes the appropriate response, putting itself in an invincible position.
However, the "Glasses" required the opponent to be in its line of sight to work. It couldn't encompass all directions like Observation Haki could. The limitation was quite significant, so it could only be considered a castrated version of Observation Haki.
(end of chapter)