141: Narcissist

"Lady Fubuki, did you need me for something?"

Lily rushed in, still with a ring of creamy soup on her lips—she had barely started eating when Fubuki called for her.

"Mhm. Notify all members to temporarily suspend patrol duties. We need to search within City B for a spacious area with low foot traffic—preferably one we can buy outright."

Fubuki couldn't help but smile a little as she handed Lily a tissue, then gave her the order.

"Huh? You want to buy land? But our funds…"

As Fubuki's personal secretary and the Fubuki Group's housekeeper, Lily actually had a better grasp of their finances than Fubuki herself.

Buying land? Their current office was just a rental.

Due to the global population being concentrated in just a few dozen cities, property and land prices remained sky-high—even with frequent monster attacks.

Only in districts completely overrun by monsters and deemed uninhabitable did prices crash to rock-bottom.

"Don't worry about the cost. As long as you can find it, I don't care how expensive it is."

Fubuki waved her hand grandly, sounding like she was about to buy all of City B.

Kizaru was famously loaded—recognized in their cross-dimensional chat group as ridiculously wealthy. He even co-issued dimensional currency with Tony Stark. Buying a plot of land? Please. He could probably buy all of City B if he wanted to.

"Yes, ma'am! I'll notify the team right away!"

Lily suddenly had a realization, shooting a surprised and curious glance toward Kizaru.

Super strong, crazy handsome, and rich? Could this kind of man really be interested in Lady Fubuki?

Others might see Fubuki as young, beautiful, and refined—not to mention the leader of the Fubuki Group, the largest faction in the Hero Association. A top-tier "rich lady," really.

But in Lily's eyes…

Their Lady Fubuki was domineering, spoiled, and self-indulgent. She often "borrowed" team funds to splurge on designer heels and handbags.

Sure, she always paid it back—eventually. But it was normal for her to drag it out for months.

Lily just couldn't figure out what someone like Kizaru saw in her.

"The Fubuki Group should be able to find a suitable place soon…"

Fubuki, totally unaware of Lily's silent judgment, was still trying to persuade Kizaru to join her group.

He only joined the Hero Association as a side thing anyway, right? He could at least help promote the Fubuki Group.

Too bad even after all her efforts, Fubuki still couldn't convince Kizaru to join. She simply didn't understand him well enough.

If it were Nami doing the persuading, she wouldn't even have to say much—Kizaru would fold instantly.

As it turned out, finding a suitable site in City B wasn't easy at all. Especially with Kizaru's condition of nearly one square kilometer in size. Not even the central plaza was that big.

They'd have to buy several buildings around the plaza—but that would clash with the low-foot-traffic requirement.

Eventually, after combing through the city outskirts and practically running their legs off, the Fubuki Group finally found a flat plot that worked.

"Area: 1,450,000 square meters. Originally designated for a Hero Association branch facility in City B. The project was abandoned after discovering an underground river connected to the city's drinking water source."

Fubuki read from the freshly delivered site report:

"Usage restrictions: cannot be used for industrial purposes, no buildings taller than three stories, no underground structures, and no industries with pollution risks..."

"Sounds good enough."

Kizaru scanned the area. Since it was in the suburbs, the environment wasn't bad—pretty ideal for training.

The only downside was the lack of water features like lakes. For techniques like Geppo and Soru, having water nearby made early-stage training easier.

Still, it wasn't a dealbreaker. Worst case, they could train in a bathhouse… or just build a pool.

"As long as you're satisfied, Lord Kizaru. About the price…"

A staff member from the Hero Association had accompanied them. The plot originally belonged to the association but had been left abandoned after the original branch plan was scrapped.

Now that someone finally wanted to buy it, the City B branch couldn't be happier.

Kizaru casually snapped his fingers.

From the dimensional group space, a torrent of gold bricks rained down from mid-air, landing with loud thunks.

They struck the ground hard enough to leave pits over ten centimeters deep, forming a small golden hill.

"Will this be enough?"

Kizaru spoke calmly—no matter the world, gold was always a universal hard currency.

This plot of land, with all its restrictions and its remote location in the suburbs, was more than adequately paid for with just half a ton of gold.

"It's enough! Definitely enough!"

The Hero Association staff member's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Even the Fubuki Group members were wide-eyed in shock.

Looking at Kizaru's back, he seemed to shimmer with a faint golden glow. Though the fifty 10-kilogram gold bars weren't huge in volume, they were heavy enough to sink the wheels of the staff's vehicle into the dirt.

After much pleading, Fubuki eventually sent four members to escort the staffer back to headquarters—he wouldn't dare travel alone with that kind of gold.

"What's next?"

Fubuki barely spared the gold a glance before shifting her attention.

The monthly dimensional coins that Kizaru and Tony Stark distributed to the group were worth about a fifth of that gold pile. And even then, Tony Stark complained that the coin's usage was too limited, advocating for releasing even more coins to encourage frequent use among members.

He even introduced financial services for the coin—but unfortunately, no one in the group took it seriously.

Old-school types like Zhang Sanfeng and Jotaro Kujo weren't surprising, but even kids like Kobayashi and Ai Haibara were calling Stark a "vile capitalist." Orochimaru, on the other hand, was eager to collaborate.

Apparently, Orochimaru had plans to introduce Stark's financial services to the ninja world—with Konoha acting as a middleman and taking a cut.

"Just some basic training equipment left. Have someone deliver it later. No need to build anything fancy—actually, a rough training ground is better."

Kizaru said casually. The Navy's Six Powers didn't require high-end facilities—back when they trained, it was on deserted islands.

"I'll notify headquarters to issue the announcement, then…"

Fubuki was starting to feel excited. Even though Kizaru's training camp wasn't officially affiliated with the Fubuki Group, their involvement would help boost the group's influence within the Hero Association.

The association's HQ also supported the idea of Kizaru's camp—stronger heroes were a win for them too.

So, they agreed to make a one-time announcement to all heroes when the camp launched, basically giving it free promotion.

But that kind of benefit was only available once. The Hero Association wasn't in the advertising business.

If it weren't for Kizaru being the newly promoted S-Class Rank 9 hero who had saved HQ, any other hero wanting to set up a training camp would've been lucky just to get a visit from a rep.

The announcement quickly hit every hero's communicator. It wasn't a disaster alert, just a notice—letting them know a training camp was available if they were interested.

Even so, the message sent shockwaves through the Hero Association. A newly ranked S-Class hero publicly offering to train others? That kind of opportunity was unheard of.

Sure, S-Class Rank 3 Silver Fang had his Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist dojo, and Rank 14 Tanktop Master trained daily with his crew.

But none of those could compare to Kizaru's training camp—just one month of instruction, no faction obligations, and open to anyone who met the physical criteria.

Especially those who had fought side by side with Kizaru during the A-City incident—they were the first to sign up.

Even with Lily's physical fitness set as the minimum requirement, the 50 available slots filled up in no time.

S-Class heroes weren't interested, but there were A, B, and even C-Class heroes signing up.

"What's with this guy?"

Fubuki stared at the list of enrollees, her pretty face full of confusion.

At the top of the list was A-Class Rank 1—Sweet Mask. With his level of strength, he shouldn't even need to attend Kizaru's camp.

"What's wrong?"

Kizaru had just come out of the bath, wearing only a towel around his waist. The oceans of other worlds didn't reject Devil Fruit users, so he'd finally enjoyed a proper swim in the pool.

Too bad little Nami wasn't around—Kizaru was actually hoping to enjoy a couple's bath with her.

"A troublesome guy signed up…"

Fubuki's cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at Kizaru's bare chest.

Most men liked attractive women—and naturally, women weren't immune to charm either.

Aside from his somewhat excessive three-meter height, Kizaru's lean, powerful build and smooth, sculpted muscles made male models look like amateurs by comparison.

And that face—handsome and striking—even Fubuki, who wasn't as face-obsessed as CP0's Stussy, found herself struggling to resist.

"Sweet Mask? Looks kinda familiar."

Kizaru casually sat down beside her and glanced at the list. Sweet Mask's photo was right on the first page.

Even in a simple ID photo, the guy was clearly trying to pose and look cool—narcissistic much? Then again, Kizaru's own ID photo had a similar vibe, so… fair enough.

"That's normal… Besides being the No.1 A-Class Hero, he's also a hugely popular idol. Inside the Hero Association, he holds a lot of influence. Definitely not someone to underestimate…"

Fubuki fanned her warm cheeks with her hand, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV.

She flipped through a couple of channels—Sweet Mask was either singing on stage or starring in some romantic drama. Nearly a quarter of the channels were airing something with him in it.

"Kinda reminds me of Tesoro…"

Kizaru raised an eyebrow. It was easy to see—Sweet Mask clearly enjoyed being in the spotlight.

That was very similar to Tesoro, the casino tycoon who couldn't resist performing on stage despite his empire.

"Tesoro?"

Fubuki asked curiously. Sweet Mask had a notorious rep even within the Hero Association—most S-Class heroes didn't want to mess with him.

"A narcissist," Kizaru said flatly. "So this Sweet Mask guy's got a problem with me? Did I piss him off or something?"

He rubbed his chin, trying to recall if they'd ever crossed paths—but nothing came to mind.

It had been years since his dimensional travel began, and his memory of One Punch Man's plot was fuzzy at best. All he knew was that Sweet Mask was powerful.

"Maybe it's because you got fast-tracked into the S-Class. That probably rubbed him the wrong way…"

Fubuki had once aimed for A-Class, but only because she wanted to be No.1. After digging up Sweet Mask's background, she gave up on that idea and stayed comfortably as the top B-Class hero.

Sweet Mask had the strength and achievements to qualify for S-Class but purposely stayed at A-Class No.1 to block "unworthy" heroes from advancing.

With a guy like that, hostility toward Kizaru wasn't surprising.

In fact, the Association placing Kizaru straight into S-Class Rank 9 might've been their way of annoying Sweet Mask.

"Hah? What a ridiculous guy. Whatever—if he's got moves, let him use 'em. I'll deal with it."

Kizaru was clearly unimpressed, but he wasn't worried.

In the end, strength was what mattered. If Sweet Mask wanted trouble, he'd just flatten him.

After all, he signed up for the training camp. Didn't he know it was easy to get in, but hell to get out?

If needed, Kizaru was more than happy to spar with the guy three times a day for a month. Even the sharpest thorns get ground down eventually.

Fubuki was still mulling over what kind of tactics Sweet Mask might use—and didn't notice how close she and Kizaru were now sitting.

"It's late, I should go… get some rest!"

She jumped to her feet. She did have some feelings for Kizaru after these last few days—but this was all happening way too fast.

"Sweet dreams," Kizaru said with a smile, not as pushy as she feared.

Back in her room, Fubuki felt her face burning. Sure, she'd fantasized about fairy-tale romances like any girl, prince-and-princess stuff…

But now that something real was happening, all she felt was nervousness!

Just having Kizaru sit a bit closer made her heart race and her nerves rattle.

°°°

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