— — — — — —

Twenty-some hours later...

In Selina's world, DC, the lucky pick turned out to be Poison Ivy—Pamela Isley—whom she happened to run into while strolling through Gotham's Robinson Park.

In Gwen's world, Marvel, the one who came out on top in the intense 18-hour Spider Society tournament was none other than Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.

Both women received the full upgrade package: one dose of the custom T-virus, plus three serums. This combo successfully awakened their Tier 4 Gene Locks.

But during those twenty-odd hours, something unexpected happened...

Back in Fubuki's world, One Punch Man, Tatsumaki—having already made peace with her sister—didn't stick around long after dropping her off at home.

Instead of flying off like she usually did, she did something totally out of character: she borrowed Fubuki's sleek black luxury car... and drove.

Almost immediately after, both sisters were attacked.

Tatsumaki was targeted by a Dragon-level monster named "Evil Eye"—or rather, a puppet controlled from 1,500 meters underground at the Monster Association HQ by the real culprit: Psykos.

Meanwhile, Fubuki was ambushed near her villa by a Demon-level monster called Monster Princess Do-S (Super S), who'd been stationed there by Psykos to keep tabs on her.

Here's the kicker: Psykos was no stranger. She used to be Fubuki's classmate, even served as the vice president of the Psychic Research Society that Fubuki founded and led.

But their ideologies clashed. After parting ways, Psykos went underground—literally—and founded the Monster Association.

---

Apparently, it was Do-S who reported that Tatsumaki hadn't flown off but had driven away instead. Psykos took this to mean the sisters had fought and were both seriously weakened.

Acting on this assumption—and not wanting to miss her shot—Psykos didn't even bother gathering reinforcements. She immediately ordered Do-S to attack Fubuki, while she herself piloted the Evil Eye puppet to ambush Tatsumaki.

As for how that went...

Well, let's just say: the Monster Association is now officially extinct.

Tatsumaki, already in a terrible mood, crushed Evil Eye with ease. Then, using her psychic powers, she traced the control signals all the way to the Monster Association's headquarters.

She proceeded to rip the entire base out of the ground, dragging it up from 1,500 meters deep like it was a weed... and obliterated every monster inside. Whether they were stationed there or just returning—none of them survived.

By the time Fubuki arrived, slightly behind schedule...

The once-formidable Monster Association, which had over a dozen Dragon- and Demon-level monsters, had been reduced to a couple of pitiful survivors.

In the end, Tatsumaki let Psykos live—for Fubuki's sake.

"I'm letting her go this time," she said coldly. "Next time I see her, she's done."

Fubuki quickly agreed, sealed off Psykos's powers, and locked her—along with Do-S—into the basement of her villa.

As for the only other survivor, the Dragon-level monster Overgrown Rover—aka Pochi—who was later revealed to be just a mutated household pet with no evil intent—he was offered a new job.

He now works as the villa's loyal guard dog.

— — —

Meanwhile...

After swinging by the worlds of One Piece, DC, and Marvel, Veyron finally arrived in World-∞, a world that had already undergone two rounds of fusion.

Inside his office at Excellent Girls' Academy, Veyron looked at the girl standing before him—Toyomi Fujiwara, who had arrived alongside Chika—and asked:

"So, you've made your choice?"

"Yeah... it's gonna be my big sister," Chika confirmed, glancing toward the lounge area where their youngest sister, Moeha Fujiwara, was sipping tea and pretending not to care.

The day before, after explaining everything about the Gene Lock, including its risks and side effects, Chika had left the room to give her sisters space to talk it out privately. She kept her senses sealed the whole time, not listening in.

The next morning, both sisters—clearly having pulled an all-nighter—gave her their decision.

Moeha had voluntarily stepped down and passed the slot to Toyomi.

"Chika already filled you in on the details, right?" Veyron asked Toyomi. "Side effects, safety stuff, what to expect after the unlock?"

Toyomi nodded. "Yeah. I've memorized it all."

"Good." Veyron motioned for her to hold out her hand.

He gave her the custom T-virus injection first, followed by three vials, which she swallowed one after another.

"…This power…" Toyomi whispered in awe.

She slowly raised her hands, opening and clenching her fists over and over again, as if she couldn't quite believe the surge of strength coursing through her body.

When she looked up, she found Veyron watching her closely.

"...Is something wrong?" she asked nervously, quickly lowering her hands and loosening her grip.

"Nah," he replied casually. "It's just... ever since I figured out how Gene Locks really work, you're actually the first Tier 4 I've met who's a complete blank slate. I was just a little curious."

Thanks to the months-long supply of Sea King meat Chika had provided, Toyomi's physique had already gone well beyond normal human limits.

But compared to others who had reached Tier 4, calling Toyomi a "blank slate" wasn't unfair at all.

Even someone who started from Tier 1 could, through multiple awakenings, permanently stack up enhancements until their base stats far exceeded hers.

In short: she had potential—but not much built-in firepower.

Toyomi 'Blank Slate' Fujiwara: "…"

Veyron smiled and changed the subject.

"Wanna try your luck?"

He waved his hand, and a dozen or so small boxes—each about twenty centimeters wide—floated out and hovered in front of her.

"Consider this a bonus gift for hitting Tier 4."

Toyomi hesitated for a moment, then pointed to one of the boxes.

Click.

The lid popped open, revealing a bizarre-looking fruit that vaguely resembled the head of a canine.

"Well, you lucked out," Veyron said, scooping up the fruit. "Zoan-type. Mythical Beast model—Nine-Tailed Fox Form."

He put the rest of the boxes away and handed the fruit to Toyomi.

"If you eat this, it'll massively boost your physical stats thanks to its Zoan nature. But the real kicker is the power of the mythical Nine-Tailed Fox."

He continued, "According to the records, this fruit gives you full shapeshifting abilities. You can mimic someone down to the tiniest detail—height, weight, eyes, fingerprints—everything."

"Of course, Devil Fruits work by altering the very nature of your body. So whether or not you want to eat it… that's your call."

The only reason Veyron had even bothered collecting this Mythical Zoan in the first place was to complete his "set." He liked collecting rare things, after all.

And after Eirin Yagokoro removed the fruit's natural weakness to sea-prism stone, he'd even asked his pet fox Hagorome Gitsune if she wanted it.

She declined.

"I'm fine being a pureblooded yokai fox," she had said. So the fruit had just been sitting in storage ever since.

"I… can I give this to someone else instead?" Toyomi asked hesitantly, biting her lip as she stared at the mysterious fruit in her hands.

"I just said," Veyron replied with a shrug, glancing over at the pink-haired girl still pretending to drink her now-cold tea on the lounge sofa, "It's a little extra gift for you."

"You can eat it, keep it, or pass it on. Totally up to you."

.

.

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