131: Chapter 131: A World Where Only Utility Poles Get Hurt

"Standard procedure: cash first, goods second."

Fujino produced a small black pouch from within his robes, holding it up for Goto to see. Using the voice changer, he lowered his tone, "Inside here is all the evidence of the illegal activities of those attacked Haido Elementary teachers."

"Illegal activity evidence?"

Goto looked puzzled.

Illegal activity evidence... surely not evidence against the Batman himself, but against those two teachers.

He didn't understand what those two could have done to warrant such a beating from the figure before him.

"Including some major scoops you wouldn't expect,"

Fujino added cryptically, not directly answering Goto's implied question.

"Unexpected major scoops?"

Goto's brow furrowed further in confusion.

Simultaneously, his interest in the contents of the small pouch grew.

"Here's one point five million."

He handed the briefcase to Fujino. "I'll withdraw the remaining five hundred thousand in a couple of days. Call me then, and I'll give it to you."

"No need."

Fujino took the briefcase and handed over the small pouch. "Do you have a credit card or bank card on you?"

"I do have a credit card..."

"I support mobile payments here."

"Uh..."

Staring at the mobile POS machine Fujino had just produced from his robes, Goto's lip twitched imperceptibly.

Good grief, even the Beika Batman accepts card payments now.

Moving with the times, indeed.

After a moment of speechlessness, Goto took out his wallet, produced a credit card, and swiped it on the mobile POS machine.

Then, the notification confirming a 500,000 yen deposit sounded in Fujino's ear.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Fujino put away the mobile POS machine, then pointed behind Goto. "Look behind you."

"Behind me?"

Goto turned curiously, looking in the direction Fujino indicated.

All he saw was the street with occasional cars passing by.

A faint streetlight illuminated the mailbox beneath it. Nothing else.

Just as Goto turned back to ask a question,

he saw that Fujino, who had been standing right in front of him, had vanished without a trace.

"Van... Vanished?"

Witnessing the seemingly supernatural event firsthand, Goto gasped.

He had heard the rumors about the Beika Batman disappearing the moment you turned your back.

He initially thought it was just a figure of speech...

But unexpectedly, it was literally true.

And it happened right beside him, without him noticing a thing.

"How on earth did he do that...? Was it some kind of optical illusion?"

Completely baffled, Goto shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it.

If he tried to figure out the Beika Batman's methods for creating such strange occurrences, he'd probably end up in a mental hospital himself.

Returning to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the editorial office, Goto entered his private office.

After closing the blinds on the glass wall, he began examining the 'bombshell material' Fujino had mentioned.

"If the information in here is correct... then this report will absolutely shake the entire nation!"

Watching the contents displayed (likely on a device connected to the pouch), Goto's face, weary from overtime, suddenly lit up with determination.

"Knock knock!"

A knock sounded on his office door.

"What is it?"

Goto replied with a hint of annoyance. He turned off the display, removed the recording medium (likely a tape or disk), opened the door, and saw a woman in a pink professional suit.

"Chief Editor Goto, the draft for 'Beika Batman: A Vigilante Prowling Beika' has been proofread. When should we schedule it for layout?"

The woman handed a manuscript to Goto.

Goto took the manuscript, glanced at it, and immediately frowned. "Who authorized you to write this report?"

"The President did."

"The President?"

This report was filled with accusations against the Beika Batman, expressing dissatisfaction with his vigilante status.

Current media coverage of the Beika Batman in Japan was highly polarized – either portraying him as a righteous hero maintaining peace or condemning him for using vigilantism and abusing criminals.

"There's no need to write this kind of report anymore."

Goto pushed the manuscript back, his voice tinged with displeasure.

Although the Beika Batman targeted criminals, in the eyes of some narrow-minded individuals who believed only the law and courts should judge criminals, the Beika Batman was a symbol of evil, a criminal himself.

This article was clearly intended to appease those people.

Goto held such people in contempt.

He now had a cooperative relationship with the Beika Batman. If this report caused unnecessary misunderstandings, his 500,000 yen personal investment would be wasted.

Pausing, feeling his previous action might have seemed too deliberate, he explained to the female reporter, "The bias in the report is too obvious, there's nothing eye-catching about it. It's just rehashing the same old arguments, following the trend of other media outlets!"

"What we need to do is report news that others can't report, understand?"

"Report news others can't report?"

The female reporter looked stunned.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Goto sighed.

Are media professionals really this incompetent nowadays?

How could she not understand such a basic principle?

"I just obtained illegal evidence concerning the Haido Elementary teachers. This kind of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠material makes for real news."

"Chief Goto, are you talking about the news regarding the Haido Elementary teachers?"

The female reporter asked, surprised. "Where did you get that, Chief? The police aren't accepting any interviews from news media right now..."

"Where I got the information is none of your concern. Just know that it's reliable and verified. Once published, we'll be the first ones to break the story."

After the female reporter left, Goto leaned back in his office chair and sighed.

If the law alone were truly enough to restrain criminals, then his wife wouldn't have been brutally murdered during a robbery.

Meanwhile, Fujino, having secured the two million yen fortune, was heading home.

"This Goto guy is quite generous,"

Fujino chuckled, sitting in the driver's seat and glancing at his balance on the system interface.

There was nothing more delightful than acquiring 'small money'.

Unless it was acquiring more 'small money'...

"Why do I feel like Mr. Krabs?"

Shaking his head, Fujino dismissed the thought and opened the system interface.

The interface appeared before him like a heads-up display.

After a brief pause, he chose to break through the Professional Swordsman profession.

[Professional Swordsman Profession Breakthrough Initiated for Host.]

[Congratulations Host for acquiring Sub-Profession Skills: One with the Sword, Sword Master.]

[Current Balance: 1,590,000 Yen]

"'Body as the Sword'? 'Sword Master'?"

Looking at the notification for the new skills, Fujino questioned this, then immediately opened the system interface:

[Swordsman Grandmaster: Level 1 (0/500; 1,000,000 Yen)]

Wandering Swordsman's Heart (Host will be exceptionally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠adept when using any sword-type weapon.)

One with the Sword: Level 1 (The body is the sword, the sword is the body. Host gains 100% bonus to All Stats.)

Sword Master: Level 1 (When holding a sword-type weapon, Strength +25%, Reaction Speed +25%.)

[Currently Allocatable Profession Points: 2]

"'The body is the sword, the sword is the body'?"

Fujino stared at the One with the Sword skill, which had evolved from Swordsman Persona, his expression turning strange. "'Sword Person'?"

"Ahem."

Fujino cleared his throat, his odd expression gradually returning to normal.

Although the description 'the body is the sword, the sword is the body' sounded a bit weird, the One with the Sword skill was indeed extremely practical.

The All Stats boost, previously only available when holding a sword via Swordsman Persona, was now a permanent enhancement, no sword required.

This meant his combat effectiveness in his base state had significantly increased.

Moreover, One with the Sword was an upgradeable skill...

"Looks like breakthroughs are just the beginning?"

After three upgrades, Fujino had a general understanding of the effects of skill breakthroughs.

Profession breakthroughs were likely just the starting point.

Take the Professional Swordsman profession, for example. Before the breakthrough, it only had two skills, neither of which was upgradeable.

But after the breakthrough, Swordsman Persona evolved into One with the Sword.

Not only did he gain a skill that boosted his base combat power, but the original effects of Swordsman Persona were also well integrated into other skills.

The Sword Master skill likely inherited the effects of the original Swordsman Persona.

Unlike the direct 100% boost from Swordsman Persona, Sword Master only provided 25%, but crucially, it was upgradeable.

Presumably, after leveling it up significantly, the enhanced combat power would surely surpass the original 100% measure.

Pondering, Fujino mentally allocated the two Swordsman Grandmaster profession points to One with the Sword:

[One with the Sword: Level 3 (The body is the sword, the sword is the body. Host gains 120% bonus to All Stats.)]

"A 120% boost?"

Fujino examined the upgraded One with the Sword, stroking his chin. "My current combat power should have reached B+, right?"

Advanced Enhancement Cards plus Detective Enhancement provided a total of 400% strength boost.

Combat Expert, One with the Sword, and Bodyguard Enhancement offered a combined 250% boost to his base stats (60% + 120% + 40% + 30% from Professional Escort?). (Note: The math seems slightly off here based on previous descriptions, but following the text).

Adding the 100% enhancement from the Assassin's Robes, his current combat power reached 750%.

Based on his previous encounter with Sato Miwako, B-rank combat power was around the 500% level.

His current 750% enhanced combat power likely put him at B+, not far from the A-rank levels of Akai Shuichi and that dark-skinned guy (Amuro).

"Pity I can't encounter any A-rank fighters..."

Thinking this, Fujino sighed softly.

Currently, the strongest opponents he had fought were those he considered B-rank.

Namely, Numabuchi Kiichiro, Curator Ochiai, and the Sato Miwako tier.

Numabuchi Kiichiro was an agility-focused fighter. His victory over Numabuchi back then involved considerable underhanded planning.

When he found Numabuchi, the man had been homeless for a year, malnourished and weakened.

If Numabuchi hadn't been physically depleted, Fujino wouldn't have stood a chance back then.

Curator Ochiai was likely similar.

During his close-quarters fight with Sato Miwako last time, his combat power was just barely touching the B-rank threshold around 500%. It took a struggle to subdue her.

With his current 750% B+ strength, if he encountered Sato Miwako again, he could probably subdue her easily within ten moves.

This kind of dominance stemmed from overwhelming strength and perception.

"Wonder how I compare to Ran... Maybe we can spar someday."

Thinking this, Fujino suddenly stopped the car, his gaze drifting towards a utility pole by the roadside.

"Wonder if I can destroy a utility pole bare-handed now..."

It was common knowledge that in the Conan world, utility poles and marble pillars served as power level benchmarks.

Fujino drove a short distance away, got out of the car, and walked slowly over to the utility pole, examining it.

It was made of concrete, undeniably hard, reinforced with steel bars inside...

It looked identical to the one Ran destroyed back then.

Fujino stared at the utility pole for a moment, then pulled the necklace from his neck. Glancing around to ensure no one was watching, he materialized the bokken.

Of course, he wasn't a human Tyrannosaurus Rex or steel-boned warrior like Ran.

Using a utility pole as a measuring stick naturally required the bokken...

"Slash!"

With a loud shout, Fujino swung the bokken.

The wooden sword, moving almost fast enough to leave afterimages, collided directly with the utility pole.

"BZZZT!"

A loud buzzing sound erupted as immense force feedback surged through Fujino's fingertips.

BANG!

A massive crack split the air, accompanied by vibrations and the sound of tearing metal.

The once solid concrete utility pole now bore a deep gash where the bokken struck, penetrating halfway through to the steel rebar inside.

Several internal steel bars were severed, but the overall structure remained intact, showing no signs of breaking completely.

Cut, but not completely cut through.

"Phew..."

Fujino took a deep breath, retracted the bokken, and looked at his numb, trembling hand. "Seriously, how did Ran manage that without breaking her bones...?"

The bokken itself possessed some energy absorption properties and was incredibly hard.

Yet, despite this, his hands still felt numb.

Shaking his hands, Fujino looked back at the utility pole, sighing internally. "Looks like I can only use the bokken when going all out from now on."

If he had used an iron pipe instead of the bokken today, and the utility pole had been a person, the victim would likely have been distorted beyond recognition, dead on the spot.

Because he had always used the bokken for non-lethal takedowns, he hadn't fully grasped his own strength.

But today's test revealed... his combat power had also become quite ridiculous.

First, Ran destroyed a utility pole. Now, Fujino tests his slash on one. A world where only utility poles get hurt has been achieved.