The implications of Oboro's challenge were clear to everyone in the West.
Ging Freece's assessment of Oboro's strength a year ago, when the Twelve Zodiacs had gathered on the Isle of Heroes, had placed him roughly on par with Weiyang Yinda. But among the entire Zodiac group, only Botobai Gigante could say with absolute certainty that he could defeat Oboro in battle, and that was strictly in terms of raw power. Ging, of course, had excluded himself from this assessment.
Her assessment gained credibility after she had seen the training simulation that Oboro had created. Beyond pure strength, no one could definitively claim superiority over him in overall combat ability. Even Ging couldn't guarantee victory in a direct confrontation. Too many factors came into play: environment, strategy, mental strength. While Oboro might lack in raw power, his cunning was unfathomable.
His intimate knowledge of the Zodiac members only increased his threat. Among them was Saiyuu, the monkey. Botobai had once remarked that among the Zodiacs under the Chairman's command, only the Rat and the Boar deserved his serious attention. This indirect admission spoke volumes about Ging's abilities, and why both he and Pariston considered Oboro a real threat.
Saiyuu's discovery of Oboro's background added weight to Ging's previous warnings. In Ging's estimation, even if Oboro surpassed him in strength, he couldn't surpass Botobai. At the very least, Saiyuu believed that he could stall long enough for Botobai's reinforcements to arrive.
That was Saiyuu's true calculation.
Well thought out, but perhaps too predictable. Ging had deduced that Oboro's abilities were connected to the simulation, but something felt different now.
"What are you waiting for, make your move!" Oboro's hazy eyes shone with excitement as he stared across the battlefield.
The display made Saiyuu deeply uncomfortable. It didn't match Oboro's typical cold, commanding presence. Why was he waiting? Why didn't he attack first?
Is he trying to use the silence to overcome the momentum?" Saiyuu frowned.
Pushing his doubts aside, he maintained maximum alertness and dedicated himself to the battle at hand.
With a sharp burst of speed, he and his three Nen monkeys charged forward. Oboro responded with a single step forward, just one, but it was enough to force Saiyuu to change his approach mid-sprint. Anticipating a counterattack, Saiyuu's form blurred into a dark shadow, bouncing erratically across the ground in an unpredictable pattern.
As Oboro took a second step, Saiyuu's fighting instincts screamed. He dodged into the surrounding forest, his afterimage flickering between the tree trunks.
"There's no reason to be so nervous."
Oboro's mumbled words carried a hint of disappointment. He'd clearly expected Saiyuu to attack with full force instead of showing such caution.
Snap, snap.
The sounds of Saiyuu's rapid movements echoed from all directions, his trajectory impossible to follow with the naked eye. A puff of white breath escaped Oboros lips as he performed a breathing technique.
Saiyuu, still weaving through the trees, had intended to use his superior speed to force Oboro to reveal an opening. But in an instant, his target disappeared.
The hairs on Saiyuu's neck stood on end as he felt hot breath against his skull. Still gliding through the air, he felt a presence materialize behind his shoulder.
"Let's begin properly. Since this is a fight, there is no need for preliminaries. You should know that I won't give you much time to analyze and adjust." The cold voice chilled his ears.
Saiyuu's pupils narrowed as he whirled his staff and prepared to counter. His reaction speed was impressive - Oboro hadn't even made contact yet.
But when he twisted his body, Saiyuu's raised arm shook. Five bloody wounds appeared on his chest, stretching from just below his neck to his abdomen in meter-long slashes, as if carved by an invisible blade.
Blood sprayed across the ape-man's vision, turning everything crimson.
Saiyuu fell from the air, his face etched with disbelief.
Above, Oboro stood on a branch, blood dripping from his outstretched right fingers. His expression was one of pure disappointment.
"You are only this level?"
The question hung in the air.
Saiyuu's mind went blank. His aura defense had been shredded like paper. This physical strength, this explosive power from mere fingertips - he'd only felt such pressure when he was facing the Chairman himself!
Ging had been wrong. Oboro wasn't just comparable to Ginta. Maybe that had been true once, but in less than a year, his opponent's strength had grown beyond common sense.
"Do not hold back. Use everything you have, or you will die."
Instead of pushing his advantage, Oboro spoke in an encouraging tone, deliberately giving Saiyuu time to recover. In a fight to the death, no experienced fighter would normally pass up the opportunity to finish off a downed opponent.
But Oboro didn't.
Saiyuu realized that Oboro wasn't just trying to kill him, he was testing something.
"He's experimenting with himself."
The thought sparked shame and anger in Saiyuu's chest.
"Ahh!"
With a sharp scream, his aura exploded.
"Yes, yes, yes, that's it, stronger, stronger!" Oboro's eyes lit up, his tone changing with excitement.
A cloud of dust erupted where Saiyuu had fallen, obscuring his position. Three streaks of light converged on Oboro from different angles, the three Nen monkeys Saiyuu had deliberately hidden, and launched their surprise attack.
But when the creatures came within five meters of Oboro, he merely crooked his fingers. A sharp, blade-like aura sliced through the air, catching one of the monkeys and causing it to explode instantly.
Dead in a single blow.
The other two monkeys managed to dodge in time. Saiyuu herself found an opening and landed a powerful blow with her staff directly on Oboro's left cheek, snapping his head to the side.
The weapon was remarkable, able to change size and length at will, much like the Ruyi Jingu Bang of legend. Its ability to shift from short to long in an instant created a pseudo method of ignoring distance.
But Saiyuu's moment of triumph died as horror crept across his face. His grip on the weapon tightened involuntarily.
Snapping
The staff trembled and groaned under the strain as Oboros head, which had been tilted by the impact, slowly pushed back against the force of the blow, causing the weapon to bend.
Most terrifying of all, the blow had connected with a vital point, the brain. Yet Oboro seemed completely unharmed.
"Not bad, but still not enough, I don't feel threatened yet."
Oboro met Saiyuu's shocked expression, reached for the weapon and spoke deliberately:
"Can you try harder?"
"!!!"
Saiyuu's scalp tingled as he stared at Oboro's expression. He realized that he wasn't facing a human anymore.
This was something else. An unknown being wearing human skin.