"An unsurprising ending. It really ended up being just Yuu and Naruzo-san, didn't it?"
Her brows drooped with worry, feeling the increasingly intense atmosphere of conflict on the stage, Ayaka Uehara's breathing unconsciously paused.
A muscle showdown between Baku-i (clothes-bursting) War Gods. Although it sounded a bit like an unchewable steak, it made one unable to resist taking a bite!
"It's a real question who will win. What do you think, Hibiki?"
"Well, as long as the women's group doesn't have this kind of hellish match, I'll be fine..."
Grinning faintly with her canine teeth and letting out a long sigh of relief, Hibiki Sakura now felt extremely fortunate that the women's group had few people and a low possibility of muscle monsters appearing.
If her final opponent was a guy like Yuu, over six feet tall, with arms as thick as her thighs, she would just forfeit and take second place!
It's truly unnecessary to risk her life for 100,000 yen in prize money!
"Finally... did we still reach this point? Naruzo, I've been wondering for a long time who would win if the two of us fought..."
"Is that so?"
Exuding the muscle pressure unique to a strong person, Naruzo Machio lowered his body to adapt to the height of the competition table.
After tearing off his clothes, his height was over two meters, and the stabilizing bar was like a child's toy for his fan-sized hands.
"I've also been looking forward to a fight where I can use my full strength for a long time!"
"Eh, those aren't the words a good friend should say!"
Taking a deep breath and joking, Miyazawa Yuu's deep gaze locked onto Naruzo Machio's eyes, as if he could already see the imminent victory.
"It's about the same, but I'll be taking this prize money without hesitation!"
"Good! Both contestants prepare now! Three, two, one! Start!"
"Boom—!"
The moment their hands were swung down, and before the host lady could retreat, layers of air waves instantly poured out from the center of the competition table, flipping up her shirt and revealing her eight-pack abs.
"Eek! Seriously, at least wait until I've stepped off the stage before starting!"
Glaring angrily at the two people on the stage, after receiving an eye apology, the absolutely not weak host lady finally huffed and stepped down.
Honestly, knowing that people with muscles would have shaky legs from the muscle pressure, yet releasing it at such a short distance—she almost triggered her muscle worship!
"Wuuu..."
Opening her arms to defend against the incoming fierce wind, Hibiki Sakura closed her eyes and waited for a long time before her wildly flying twin tails gradually fell back, but they still maintained a strange suspension in mid-air.
And the source of all this power was the muscle pressure, which had condensed into a solid form, canceling each other out during the collision, finally forming a stable wind field indoors.
"Can these two really still be counted as human?"
"Mhm, it's truly astonishing. They must be affecting the laws of physics!"
Feeling her abdominal muscles trembling, Ayaka Uehara covered her stomach and bent down slightly, a bitter smile on her face from being innocently affected.
"As expected of Naruzo, your strength is truly formidable!"
On the battlefield, both sides' strength and momentum were in a state of absolute deadlock.
Feeling the repulsive force transmitted from his palm, this was the first time Miyazawa Yuu had experienced the exhilaration of being evenly matched in a test of strength.
The instinct to fight constantly increased his adrenaline, and his blood vessels rapidly swelled, allowing his heart to pump blood to every corner of his body.
"You too, Yuu. This astonishing muscle pressure is the result, isn't it? I can smell the scent of determination from within!"
A firm smile appeared on his face. Naruzo Machio genuinely appreciated Yuu's muscle pressure, but on the battlefield of muscle, there is only winning and losing, no personal feelings!
If miscellaneous emotions were mixed into the competition, wouldn't the muscles be too pitiful!
"However, even so, I won't hold back! The big move is coming!"
"Hahaha! I was just thinking the same thing!"
Both of his canine teeth were exposed due to his loud laughter. The black and white in Miyazawa Yuu's eyes reversed, and terrifying red spiderwebs revealed their ferocity against the pure black background.
At the same time, his demeanor suddenly became murky. If you had to describe it, he transformed from a lazy, alcohol-pickled salted fish into an alcohol-pickled evil spirit.
The laziness from drinking all night completely dissipated, and the demon uniquely belonging to the Kure Clan descended entirely upon the world through Release!
"Hiss—!"
As the strength of both sides increased exponentially, the first thing to give way was the remaining sweat between their two large hands.
As everyone knows, humans have an embarrassing physiological phenomenon called sweaty palms. As the eternal obstacle to men and women holding hands, this time it immediately hit a steel plate upon appearing.
Heaven knows what it felt like to be sandwiched between hands maximized for static friction, but the sweaty palms certainly couldn't withstand the high temperature, instantly forming an angelic halo and ascending to the heavens as white smoke.
And what was about to follow in its footsteps was...
"Crack... Krrrk..."
"Hmm? What was that sound?"
Feeling like her ears were malfunctioning, Hibiki Sakura snapped out of her shock and turned her head left and right in confusion. It took her a while to locate the source of the sound.
Underneath the competition table, the I-beams that formed the foundation of the venue, which were layered and supposedly capable of withstanding the abuse of an African elephant, were sparking!
It was a good thing Naruzo Machio had reinforced them beforehand, or the competition table beneath the two of them would have already been a pile of rubble!
"Afri... African elephant?"
Realizing this, Hibiki Sakura looked up at the stage with dilated pupils, her eyes not looking at humans, but at two road rollers that had been given names and snuck into human society to commit bad deeds.
With this ability, it would be much better to go to construction sites and tamp the ground for builders to lay foundations. Isn't that more promising than teaching fitness or pimping?
"Not good..."
"Huh? What?"
"I said not good. Even though their strength has surpassed that of humans, Yuu and Naruzo-san are still normal humans, right?"
Holding up a finger, Satomi Tachibana's face was written with anxiety as she explained: "Hibiki, do you know that armwrestling is actually a very dangerous sport? If both sides' strength is too great..."
"Will the bones... give out before the muscles can hold up?"
Suddenly realizing why Tachibana-sensei had to confirm that the two were still human, Hibiki Sakura's eyes were also filled with worry after understanding the cause.
Yuu-nii-san and Naruzo-san must be completely lost in the heat of the moment now, and besides themselves, there is probably no one else present who can separate them!
"The bones will give out first, Naruzo..."
After adding force to a certain degree, Miyazawa Yuu, who Hibiki thought was already carried away, immediately stopped adding weight and gave a kind reminder.
Although the match comes first and friendship second, he wasn't a heartless villain. How could he bear to injure his old friend of two or three years?
"Your strength is truly terrifying. Are those eyes from the Kure Clan?"
"Mhm, I don't usually use it, but I apologize, this time I have a reason I must win!"
"Is that so..."
Knowing through the handshake alone that this guy Yuu's bone density was far superior to his own, Naruzo Machio didn't continue to push hard but nodded easily and gradually began to reduce his force.
"If I may, could I ask what the reason you must win is?"
"Mhm, this..."
A completely unconcealable look of shyness appeared on his face, and Miyazawa Yuu lowered his head and disgracefully admitted: "It's shameful to say, but it is indeed sexual desire!"
"A truly vulgar reason."
Naruzo Machio's palm was finally completely pressed down onto the table. The forces from both sides were perfectly withdrawn, effectively avoiding the friendly damage of the hands suddenly slamming down on the table.
"Oh! The match is over! The winner is Mr. Miyazawa Yuu! Omedetō!"
"Ooh-ooh-ooh! What a thrilling battle!"
"That was spectacular!"
Without a second of delay, the venue instantly erupted in cheers like a mountain flood and sea tsunami. Miyazawa Yuu let out a long breath as the host lady raised his right hand.
Now, everything was fine. His home theater was calling to him!
From now on, he could routinely watch a movie with Nanaka-san at night, and then, since it would be so late after the movie, they could just go straight to sleep!
Thinking about it like this, it's absolutely ecstatic! Ahahaha!
"Yuu! I thought you two would krrk on the stage and bleed to death! You scared me to death!"
Running over in a panic, Hibiki Sakura lifted Miyazawa Yuu's and Naruzo Machio's hands. After checking them left and right and finding no issues, she finally relaxed and criticized: "I told you! Don't be so serious about competitions like this! It's very dangerous!"
"Yes, yes, yes~"
Comfortably tossing aside the one-million-yen sign that the organizer had customized for the photo-op, Miyazawa Yuu spread out like a dried fish on the sofa, as if he had lost all his dreams.
"Hibiki, your women's group match is about to start. Your opponent is a slender girl! It should be easy to win!"
"Hoo-hoo! Is that so..."
Instantly swallowing the words "friendship first, competition second" back down her throat, Hibiki Sakura suddenly felt that a moderate risk was necessary for her future snacks, late-night meals, and drinks money!
"Iku yo!" (Let's go!)
"Mhm, mhmm, ganbatte!"
Raising his hand to send off the fiercely determined Hibiki, Naruzo Machio drank his protein supplement and looked into the void, suddenly opening his mouth: "That world, do you want to go?"
"Absolutely not! I have a girlfriend, and life is peaceful and good. I don't want to go fight to the death with single dogs!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Miyazawa Yuu didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, as if expending any more energy on this matter was superfluous.
"You're right. What I've always loved is fitness, after all."