I'm Your Captain

But the captain had yet to appear, so their speculation could not be confirmed. All they could do was continue waiting.

Shakuda also found a patch of shade and sat down, keeping some distance from Belit and the others. Everyone knew his temperament and left him alone, discussing the mission among themselves. As they chatted, the topic drifted to their training progress, and before long, they were competing and trading insults again.

Shakuda watched the lively group from afar, his brow slightly furrowed. Don't these guys understand the importance of this mission at all? Hmph, I wonder who'll be captain. Hopefully, they won't be too weak!

It was common for Saiyans to form small teams to carry out missions, as this improved mission efficiency.

As they grew older, Mid-Class Warriors formed fixed squads before reaching adulthood. Once such a team was established, it would not be easily disbanded unless something unexpected happened, and would continue for a long time. In other words, Shakuda and the others would be teammates from now on. Naturally, Shakuda hoped his team would not be too weak.

Shaking his head, Shakuda temporarily put those thoughts aside. He let out a soft breath, then lay down with his head resting on a cracked stone, gazing leisurely at the sky.

The sky was a vivid crimson, its smooth atmosphere utterly unwrinkled. Several clouds tinged with red stretched together, drifting slowly in the breeze and constantly changing shape. Whenever the wind blew, the clouds began to churn, and sunlight cast irregular shadows from them onto the ground.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Shakuda spotted two black dots on the distant horizon. He pushed off with both arms and sprang high into the air, landing gracefully on his feet. Atasia, Belit, and the others soon noticed as well.

"Oh? Someone's coming," Atasia said in her pleasant voice.

"Could it be the captain?"

Jelin murmured, anticipation appearing on her face.

Ignoring the voices around him, Shakuda narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance, trying to make out the newcomers. Only when they drew closer did he realize they were two small-framed Saiyans, one male and one female, both clearly younger than them.

"Why are there two kids? Don't tell me they're part of our team too?" Reida exclaimed as he looked at the two people before them, his face full of disbelief.

"Probably not. The mission administration couldn't be that ridiculous, could they?"

Belit was uncertain.

"But look, they're clearly heading this way..."

"Gasp, they really are!"

At last, under everyone's incredulous gazes, Chaya and Selyne landed steadily not far in front of them. Every sign indicated that... these two really were members of their team.

Was the administration joking? They had actually sent two children over.

At that moment, a faint smile appeared on Chaya's lips. Without missing a single expression, he took in everyone's reactions. He walked up to them and called out in a low voice:

"Shakuda, twelve years old, battle power 925!"

"Atasia, twelve years old, battle power 840!"

"Reida, twelve years old, battle power 750!"

"Jelin, twelve years old, battle power 788!"

"Belit, twelve years old, battle power 738!"

Chaya recited each person's name and battle power. Knowing the team members' names and battle powers was a privilege reserved for the captain. Did that mean he was the captain?

Every Saiyan wore an expression of utter disbelief!

Shakuda in particular looked terrible. His cold eyes flashed with an icy gleam. Damn it, these two people, who were obviously younger than him, were actually their captains? Shakuda clenched his fists so tightly that his fingers turned pale, and his body trembled faintly with rage.

His voice was cold and stiff. "You're our captain? Let me make this clear first: I will never acknowledge a weakling as our captain."

Atasia glanced at Shakuda. Though she did not say it outright, her eyes flickered slightly, making it clear that she felt the same way. She might not have been the best among her peers, but she was still outstanding. There was no way she would lower herself to follow someone so obviously younger than them.

Seeing Shakuda and Atasia take that stance, the others nodded in agreement.

To become their captain, one had to be strong!

The smile on Chaya's face faded slightly. Familiar with Saiyan nature, he did not find their reaction strange. On the contrary, if they had accepted him as captain without him showing any strength, that would have been surprising! Still, being looked down on was truly unpleasant!

Just as expected. If he wanted these Saiyans to obediently acknowledge him as captain, he would have to take some real action. A broad smile bloomed across Chaya's face again.

Selyne watched quietly from the side. When she saw Chaya's expression, she smiled as well, though her smile was enough to make one's skin crawl.

"That's right. I'm your captain..."

His calm voice rang out as Chaya walked toward Shakuda with his hands behind his back. When he stopped before Shakuda, he lifted his chin, putting on an old-fashioned, smug air.

Shakuda opened his mouth, instinctively sensing that something was wrong. Just as he was about to say more, an enormous force suddenly struck his abdomen. Shakuda stared in disbelief at the fist buried in his stomach. A piercing pain erupted from deep within his body, and he shot straight away like a cannonball for several hundred meters.

Thud, thud, thud! Shakuda continued flying backward. After smashing through several shrubs in succession, he crashed into a rocky shelf, punching a huge hole through it and embedding himself deeply in the rock.

It had all happened so suddenly that everyone froze. Shakuda... had been ambushed...

"Ah!" With an enraged roar, Shakuda tore himself free from the rock. Surging energy burst out in an instant, immediately blowing the entire rocky shelf to pieces.

Only then did he snap out of his daze. He was furious—furious beyond imagination! His hair drifted in disarray, his eyes bloodshot. Fixing his gaze on Chaya, he dove straight at him.

Seeing Shakuda act so irrationally, Selyne shook her head slightly and sneered, "The ignorant truly know no fear. With that little strength, he still dares attack Chaya? He's courting death!"

A suitable lesson will be enough. As Shakuda's image rapidly grew larger in his eyes, Chaya silently reminded himself.

After all, the other party was also a member of his team. He could not go too far.

Clang! With a casual stir of the Ki within his body, a bright energy sphere appeared in his palm. The crystalline energy shimmered, and its light blue color made it look almost cute.

Yet the piercing hiss it produced as it disturbed the air, along with the faintly warped light around it, showed that this light blue energy sphere was anything but ordinary! Chaya sneered and hurled the energy ball toward Shakuda.

Perhaps it was the instinctive alertness of a living creature. Just as that beautiful energy sphere was about to strike, Shakuda regained his senses and hurriedly controlled his body to dodge to the side.

Rumble!!

The energy sphere landed beside Shakuda, and the sight that erupted in an instant was something he would never forget.

The light blue sphere exploded from the center, and orange flames erupted like a sun. The instant this "sun" was born, it began scorching the earth. The blast wave flung Shakuda away, allowing him to escape the most dangerous area.

Boom!!

The ground split apart, and sand and rocks flew everywhere.

As the bright light and deafening roar faded, the entire land looked as though it had been ravaged by hundreds of low-yield nuclear bombs, left completely unrecognizable. The ground cracked open with a thunderous roar, and rings of terrifying force spread beneath the earth, forming layer upon layer of open, fractured fault lines across the surface.

Just when everyone thought it was over—

Boom!! Without warning, the entire ground suddenly collapsed downward.

Wisps of green smoke rose from the scorching lava, accompanied by bubbling bursts.

"Strong... so strong!"

"Gasp, that's terrifying..."

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the scene before them. When they looked at Chaya, their eyes were filled with awe. No one had expected this small-looking fellow to unleash such a fierce and razor-sharp attack in an instant. It was simply horrifying!

"Is this guy a monster?"

That thought surfaced uncontrollably in everyone's minds.

Shakuda, who had narrowly escaped death, was especially stunned. He stood there blankly, still unable to recover. Facing the scorching heat waves in the distance, his mind kept replaying that heart-stopping scene. Huge beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks.

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