"Everyone! The men's competition begins now. Please, the contestants whose names are called, come up to the stage to compete!"
"Ura-la-la!!!"
"Yeah hey!"
As soon as the host on the stage finished speaking, the curtain walls of SILVERMAN GYM were lowered simultaneously, and the entire training room was instantly plunged into darkness with only faint, dim lighting.
However, compared to the bright sunshine earlier, this kind of quasi-underground environment has a better atmosphere!
Hearing the continuous cheers around her, Hibiki Sakura was inevitably flustered facing this situation for the first time, while Miyazawa Yuu had long been accustomed to it and shouted to blend in.
"Ganbatte!!!"
"Wait, Yuu-nii-san, why are you so excited? Your voice is too loud!"
"Watching a competition means shouting it out loud, that's basic etiquette, Hibiki!"
Wagging his finger, Miyazawa Yuu closed his eyes and reminded her disappointedly: "If there's absolutely no sound when you go up on stage, what would you think?"
"That I'm not taken seriously, or that it's a bit of a cold atmosphere?"
"Exactly! So the most fun way to watch is to give everyone the most sincere encouragement!"
Seeing his uninitiated disciple finally getting on the right track under his patient guidance, Miyazawa Yuu reluctantly nodded in agreement.
At this moment, the match on the stage quickly determined the winner. After all, it was an unranked competition, and sometimes the gap in strength was indeed too large...
"Ah, your strength is truly formidable!"
"No, no, your muscles are more well-formed. If we were in the same rank, I definitely couldn't beat you..."
"Unexpectedly friendly!"
Watching the sumo wrestler with strange tattoos and the flat-topped American vest man leave the stage, Hibiki Sakura had a forehead full of black lines as she picked up the competition schedule to find their positions.
The corresponding next pair of contestants...
"Yuu, it's your turn now! Your opponent's weight class seems to be bigger than yours!"
"At the level of Yuu-nii-san or Coach Naruzo, weight class is no longer important, right..."
Cold sweat trickled down Ayaka Uehara's forehead. After all, they were all non-humans who could instantly tear their clothes off. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that competing against ordinary people was bullying the weak.
"Hey, hey, please be mindful of the age, okay? I'm completely at a disadvantage~"
Cracking a joke to calm the girls' feelings, Miyazawa Yuu got up and walked onto the stage at the host's call. The Virgin Big Guy had long been posed and waiting.
"Yuu, you little brat! Today I'll let you witness the power of systematic special training and a second growth spurt!"
"Please stop mentioning 'second growth spurt,' it's really embarrassing..."
Placing his elbow on the soft pad of the table, Miyazawa Yuu couldn't bear to watch the Virgin Big Guy degrade himself any longer.
Although he wasn't very articulate and was a bit prone to self-satisfaction, the burly man in front of him truly didn't have any bad intentions and would sincerely thank those who helped him.
Since that's the case, he would ease up a bit with 20% of his strength, so he wouldn't lose too miserably.
"Hmph hmph! Thanks to you, I met a coach who appreciated me and taught me everything. You'll be at a disadvantage if you underestimate me!"
His legs stomped heavily on both sides of the competition table, enhancing grip while lowering his center of gravity.
At the same time, his leg muscles bulged high, leaning his body forward to create the best posture for exerting force. The Virgin Big Guy placed his thick arm on the soft pad, his eyes full of vigilance.
That's right! Although he spoke very casually, his body was extremely honest.
As a two-time contestant who had fought Miyazawa Yuu once, he understood the latter's strength better than anyone else, and naturally, he would put more thought into facing the challenge!
"Yosh! I'm ready, aren't you going to prepare?"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Symbolically placing his hand on the handle to steady his body, Miyazawa Yuu smiled and offered his right hand. The hands, with a noticeable size difference, required some shifting before they grasped each other.
"Both ready! Three! Two! One—! Start!"
"Woah-ah-ah!!!"
Exerting fierce force! The Virgin Big Guy reacted instantly before the echo of "start" had even faded, his arm muscles rapidly swelling as veins popped out everywhere.
This is one of the armwrestling techniques: as long as you pull the battle to your side immediately, you can gain a greater advantage with your body weight!
Proceeding step-by-step like this, it could be said that whoever seizes the initiative has already booked the victory!
"Go down! Yaah-ah-ah..."
His eyeballs were bloodshot. Just when everyone present thought the Virgin Big Guy's loud roar meant he had already secured the victory.
The situation on the competition table was very clear: the hands clasped together hadn't shifted at all, remaining firmly in the center with very little trembling.
"That is!"
Her pupils instantly dilated. Satomi Tachibana recalled what happened during training a few days ago.
"That's right! A deadlock due to an absolute difference in strength!"
Her eyes instantly became serious, and Ayaka Uehara's demeanor changed as she seriously explained.
"Because one side is too strong, they don't need to be serious at all. They just need to hold their arm in place with a certain amount of force, and the opponent won't be able to move them no matter what!"
"It's not surprising. After all, it's Yuu-nii-san. This situation is to be expected..."
...
"Cough! Cough-ga! Why, why can't I move it no matter what!"
His hand gripping the stabilizing bar exerted force simultaneously, yet even with double the strength, the Virgin Big Guy couldn't move Yuu's arm in the slightest!
Not only that, judging by the fingers loosely gripping the stabilizing bar, this little brat Yuu definitely wasn't even using one-tenth of his true strength!
This kind of incomprehensible, unfathomable feeling of despair is exactly like...
"Gurgle! Gurgle!"
The world in front of the Virgin Big Guy suddenly began to dim. Miyazawa Yuu's calm, somewhat sleepy eyes gradually cracked from his pupils, until a huge chasm formed in front of the former.
The immense force transmitted from the palm and the psychological pressure worked together, like ubiquitous water pressure violently compressing a person's body.
"This... this is! The Mariana Trench, the death trench that can never be reached to the bottom!"
"Hey! Wake up!"
What trench? It's just armwrestling, why is he hallucinating?
Miyazawa Yuu, confused, extended his left hand and waved it in front of the other person. Seeing no reaction, he could only use a little force to press the Virgin Big Guy's hand onto the table at a steady speed.
"It's over! The winner has been determined! Mr. Miyazawa Yuu wins this match!"
"Roar! Truly powerful!"
"To possess such terrifying strength, it's unbelievable!"
Two muscular men came up to lend a hand and carried the dazed Virgin Big Guy off the battlefield. Miyazawa Yuu stretched and yawned constantly.
Honestly, the Virgin Big Guy's strength might not even be as good as Hibiki's. Even in the women's group, he would probably be destined to be the runner-up. He really couldn't be blamed for taking the children's prize money~
"Sugoi! Just like with Naruzo-san, for a moment it felt like I saw the abyss!"
"Eh? Hibiki can see it too?"
"Mhmm!"
Excitedly spreading her arms, Hibiki Sakura circled Miyazawa Yuu, observing him twice, and finally came to a conclusion—
This kind of muscle-pressure-induced hallucination might be related to the person's temperament. Naruzo-san likes to teach by tearing off his clothes and always strikes the 'Muscle Everest' pose, so his temperament is more aligned with Mount Everest!
Yuu himself is abstract and a bit two-faced, plus he dives every day, so the illusion naturally evolved into the Mariana Trench!
"Is that really so? That's really unscientific..."
After hearing Hibiki's explanation, Miyazawa Yuu felt that he might not have seen the illusion because there was a discrepancy in his setting.
After all, if you really consider it, the Pab Club's drinking ability is also an unscientific product, an act that children absolutely should not imitate outside.
If that's the case, could they open the Pab Club up to the general public?
Every office worker who becomes a Pab Club member, as long as they pay enough membership fees, can gain the superpower of never getting drunk! It would be a guaranteed profit for business socializing!
"Hoo-hoo..."
"Um, Yuu-nii-san, you seem to be drooling..."
"Don't worry about the minor details!"
Wiping off the drool of greed that flowed out from finding a way to make money, Miyazawa Yuu lightly coughed twice and turned to look at Naruzo Machio, provoking him: "It must be Naruzo's turn next. I definitely won't give the prize money to you!"
"Mhm! Then we'll see each other in the final!"
Opening one eye, Naruzo Machio confidently tore off all his clothing and stepped onto the stage, winning the match without a doubt!
Next, as the girls watched in stunned amazement, the competition entered acceleration mode.
As the number of participants decreased, Yuu and Naruzo's frequency of appearing on stage increased, and compared to other matches that went into a deadlock, both of them completed their rounds with crushing force.
In the end, completely as expected, only the panty-clad Naruzo and the outer-pants-wearing Yuu remained on the final stage.
The sweat seeping from their muscles after their warm-up exercises shimmered brightly under the lights as their breathing became more and more rapid!