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The Rising of Tanaka – 61 Part 2

Pasifista

The dirt in front of them whirled up and turned into a tornado in the blink of an eye.

「Uoo! What the hell is that?」

「Th…, that is….」

Curryman and the others were surprised by the sudden abnormal phenomenon. At the same time, for them to immediately lower their center of gravity so that they could duck out at any given moment was as expected of A-rankers. However, the situation turned out to be not as dangerous as they feared. The tornado did not move and simply continued to systematically blow up the dirt. It was a phenomenon that was nigh impossible to happen naturally. It couldn’t be any more obvious that Tanaka was the one controlling it.

「That’s amazing… You can do anything you want, can’t you?」

「That’s not necessarily the case at all. Anyone can do something on this level once they graduate from being a baby.」

Curryman felt how great of a man Tanaka was, who uttered such a joke. He would have never imagined that the man in question was inwardly in anxiety over whether he should soon take the D-rank promotion test or not.

「Oops, it’s not the time to be playing around. Suke-san is… there!.」

Tanaka used levitation magic to fish Suke-san out. Before long Suke-san flew over from beyond the sky.

「I’ve gotten lost again-degozaru. The flaw of strolling in the sky is that it runs out your magical energy-degozaru.」

Suke-san, who was still flying while being reeled in by Tanaka, was going at his own pace as usual.

「Being curious is good and all, but you really need to control yourself a bit. Well, if you’re bored, why don’t you try joining them in their training? I think there’s no harm in getting to know each other better as fellow close quarter fighters, you know?」

「It’s been all about actual combat, after all-degozaru. That kind of thing does sound kind of interesting-degozaru.」

The idea of training with Curryman and the others was enough to tickle Suke-san’s curiosity, since team Tanaka’s training up until now had been nothing but about magic. Curryman and the others, on the other hand, froze at the beyond common sense exchange that was unfolding in front of them.

「Ha…, hahaha…. It’s too amazing that I don’t get it at all.」

「No, what you just said was exactly what you call incomprehensible words. Anyway, try training with Suke-san. Let me tell you, though, Suke-san is the man who acts as the vanguard of Team Tanaka, after all. Don’t underestimate him.」

「… Huh? Yeah, I totally understand that. No one here is crazy enough to underestimate any of you.」

The three brothers also nodded silently at Curryman’s answer.

「Well then, I’m going to head to where Kaku-san and others are…. Kaku-san’s ideas are so out of the box, after all. I couldn’t help but feel that if he is left on his own device as is, he will end up creating something terrifying.」

The close quarter fighter group saw off the departing while mumbling incomprehensibly Tanaka. Truthfully speaking, however, the most extreme case of out of the box-ness would undoubtedly be Tanaka-san.

At any rate, thus commenced the training of the close quarter fighter group. The results were simply put disastrous. Curryman and the three brothers were sprawled on the ground.

「To think there would be such a gap in our battle power….」

Kugel finally managed to squeeze out his words. His voice was slightly shaky.

Madpie and Orangetto were struggling to even regulate their breathing.

And Curryman, on the other hand, had a sense of déjà vu. What he recalled was the moment he confronted Tanaka for the first time. It was that same tense feeling of facing an overwhelming being.

「So strong…, but not to the extent of that guy.」

While it might be only a few moves, but the fear he felt from his exchange with Tanaka. That power was something of the impossible to perceive domain. Compared to the fear he felt when facing that Tanaka, this extent of gap was by no means unperceivable.

「It was still perceivable power….」

His movement was on the level of simply being too fast that should they be unable to even follow it, defending or evading it in time would also be impossible. It was speed to the extent that seemed as though he was teleporting. It was true that there was an overwhelming gap between them, but it was still within perceivable range.

「You’re right-degozaru. Tanaka-dono’s power is at a height beyond our understanding-degozaru.」

Curryman was surprised by Suke-san’s confession. That the man he was aiming for was so high up to the point this overwhelmingly powerful being was put in the same spot as him. And about just how high one had to rise to reach the summit of power.

「We are fortunate-degozaru. As we have a teacher by our side who shows us that there is still a path above us, and that we can become even stronger-degozaru.」

Curryman could somewhat relate to that. He hadn’t felt that he had gotten any stronger since turning into an A-ranker. It must have been quite a long time ago when he could still quickly grow stronger to the point he could even sense it. It was not like he had been neglecting his training or anything. In fact, it could be said the higher the heights he climbed, the harder he trained. In addition, the higher his rank rose, the higher difficulty of requests he inevitably received as well. As a result, he had to experience even harsher actual combat. However, his growth was at a stalemate.

That was when he had a fateful encounter with Tanaka. Since then, a change, to the point of surprising, began to occur in him. It was different from before, when he had been obscurely seeking power. Getting aware that there was even higher power towering above his own, he could clearly visualize himself being stronger than ever before. He was absorbed in running straight up just like in his beginner days. Aiming for the heights where the man had said he would be waiting for him–.

「Well then, the break time is almost over-degozaru. Let’s start another match-degozaru.」

Despite his gentle personality, Suke-san was a spartan educator. However, Curryman didn’t cower intimidated in the least.

「That’s exactly what I want. I’ll be sure to run up…, to even greater heights!」

「It’s not my style to simply sit back and watch as I’m being left behind, after all. I’ll also help myself and move forward.」

「Big bro, we’ll follow you wherever you go.」

Before they knew it, a kind of bond had formed among the close quarter fighter group. With their respective thoughts secluded in their hearts, a battle that was too fierce to be called a training unfolded. The battle continued until lunchtime when a hungry Tanaka returned.