Who Can't Go Easy?

Beep, beep, beep!

The radar detector in the cockpit let out a warning sound.

Following the direction of the red mark on the radar, a blue and white MS emerged from the ruins of the Morgenroete factory.

"Strike Gundam--"

Looking at that iconic silhouette and color scheme, Ino closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and raised his rifle to lock onto the target.

Rat-tat-tat--

As he pulled the trigger, the rifle's bullets fell like raindrops in an instant.

Kira, who had just emerged from the factory, was startled by the sudden, piercing alarm.

Boom, boom, boom--

Immediately following were the successive explosions impacting all around him.

The dense barrage of bullets forced Kira, who had just poked his head out, right back into cover.

"Ino, physical bullets cannot inflict fatal damage on it!"

Michel, who had been closely monitoring the battlefield, couldn't help but remind him: "Go target the Archangel, let me handle this one!"

"Get lost! You don't need to teach me how to fight!"

However, faced with Michel's suggestion, Ino cursed out loud. If it weren't for saving you, who the hell would want to fight such a ticking time bomb?

The SEED Factor is essentially a god-given cheat, and the strongest one at that.

Without the SEED Factor, no matter how strong a pilot you are, if you are fighting alone and your MS performance is at a disadvantage, you will never be able to defeat a pilot who possesses the SEED Factor.

"I... you..."

Michel was stunned by Ino's sudden outburst.

In his memory, Ino had never cursed at anyone before.

Ino ignored Michel's shock.

He holstered the MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun at his waist and pulled out the M69 "Barrus" modified heavy particle cannon carried on his back, charging forward.

He knew full well that physical weapons couldn't penetrate the armor, but it was precisely because he knew this that he chose to use them.

What if he broke Kira's mental state in the very first exchange?

He wasn't entirely sure when exactly the SEED Factor would awaken; after all, he wasn't a geneticist, and he didn't seem to have one himself.

But one thing was certain: it would automatically activate when facing a life-or-death crisis or experiencing extreme emotional fluctuations.

Especially for someone like Kira Yamato, the so-called strongest Coordinator, it was almost a guaranteed instant activation.

He hadn't experienced just how strong the Strike Gundam was when it "went SEED," and he had no curiosity to try it out either.

If the guy started parrying beam sabers with his bare hands, he would be finished on the spot.

"Is he the one Mr. Mu was talking about--"

Inside the cockpit of the Strike Gundam, Kira looked through the smoke at the MS, which had a different color scheme than the other Ginn, and couldn't help but think of Mu's instructions.

"I'm going easy on you, so please don't go blowing up on me--"

As he spoke, Ino raised his gun and locked onto the Strike Gundam.

Amidst the piercing alarm of the Strike Gundam, he pulled the trigger.

Beep, beep!

Bang!

Boom!

However, with the appearance of a shield, the beam was blocked directly.

The Strike Gundam moved rapidly to the front of Ino's unit.

Looking at the physical beam saber that was almost as tall as his own MS, Ino maneuvered his unit to flip and retreat, narrowly dodging the slash.

At the same time, he pulled the trigger again--

Bang!

In Ino's solemn gaze, the opponent turned and raised their shield to block the beam from that angle instantly.

Beep, beep, beep!

Before Ino could even be stunned, the large beam saber appeared before him once again.

"What a total cheater!"

Seeing the opponent's maneuvers, Ino couldn't help but complain, then maneuvered his unit to evade and fire again.

He finally understood what it meant to be a cheater.

Although he wasn't fully serious, this reaction speed was already enough for Kira Yamato to pilot a high-performance machine and go head-to-head against the vast majority of elite green-uniformed pilots flying Ginn.

Michel dying at his hands could hardly be considered an injustice.

For a moment.

Two MS engaged in a fierce exchange at high altitude, neither able to gain the upper hand.

[Diffusion warhead loaded!]

[Anti-air warhead—launch!]

[Gottfried Mk-71 225cm Gottfried—fire!]

[Enemy unit approaching!]

"Evasive maneuvers, turn left to twenty!"

"It's too late!"

Boom—

The battle situation for Archangel was also raging in full swing.

Due to Ino's interference, the number of units targeting Archangel had increased from the initial two to three, one of which was the elite Green-clad pilot Michel.

Coupled with the fact that the bridge crew of Archangel was incomplete and lacked real combat experience, Archangel was quickly suppressed.

[Missiles approaching!]

[Activate automated interception system!]

Boom—

"This won't do. Hand the targeting over to me; I'll lock on manually!"

Feeling the dire situation Archangel was in, Mu could no longer afford to hesitate and switched directly to manual targeting.

The automated interception system required data support, and without sufficient combat data, it was not as effective as expected.

ZAFT soldiers could easily find loopholes in the automated interception.

Furthermore, the enemy was equipped with heavy fortress-assault gear; a single hit was more than the deck of Archangel could withstand.

At the same time.

The battle between Ino and Kira Yamato was still proceeding smoothly.

Neither side could do anything to the other.

Due to the disparity in unit performance, Ino could not shake off the forced close-quarters combat initiated by Strike Gundam.

However, due to the difference in combat experience, Kira had been slashing away for a long time without posing a threat to Ino, and was instead being suppressed by Ino the entire time.

This growth rate is truly terrifying.

Ino felt the faint sense of pressure gradually emanating from Strike Gundam and couldn't help but sigh.

This is what you call a cheater; this is a true cheater.

He had only been fighting him for a short while, yet Kira had already begun to stabilize his performance.

In a sense, this learning speed and adaptability were far superior to his own.

After all, his own learning speed relied on the talent left behind by his predecessor, which had been branded into his body over ten years in a spy training camp.

But for Kira Yamato, this was just his factory setting.

Actually, thinking about it, the existence of Coordinators is truly despair-inducing; after all, they are born with various talents far exceeding those of ordinary people.

It is no wonder the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators has intensified so severely; if he were a native Natural of this world, he would be unable to tolerate the existence of Coordinators either.

"But you are still too young—"

Ino cast aside his thoughts, and while speaking, he flipped his unit and pulled the trigger from a tricky angle.

Bang!

As the beam erupted, Kira Yamato, who had just prepared to close in, was driven back once again.

"Hah, hah..."

Inside the cockpit of Strike Gundam, Kira Yamato's forehead was covered in sweat.

To be honest, being able to hold on to this extent meant Kira's psychological resilience was far higher than that of the average Coordinator.

After all, not everyone could remain this calm while constantly hearing the radar lock-on alarm.

However, no matter how strong his psychological resilience was, it could not change the fact that Kira was just a teenager who had never stepped onto a battlefield until a day ago.

Facing the "frenzied pursuit" of a pilot of Ino's caliber, a sense of helplessness unconsciously welled up in his heart.

The gap between the two was too great, so great that it transcended the performance of the units.

He had wanted to use the beam boomerang more than once, but his opponent simply wouldn't give him the chance.

Moreover, he had a vague feeling that if he threw the boomerang, it would definitely be intercepted by his opponent a step ahead of time.

Furthermore, he was not familiar with the boomerang as a weapon and found it difficult to control it with precision.

For a moment, having just stepped onto the battlefield, Kira even began to panic.

"Kid, get closer to the Archangel!"

Just then, Mu's voice rang out from the cockpit: "You're no match for that guy right now!"

Keeping a close eye on the battlefield, Mu could see the Strike Gundam's predicament.

He couldn't land a hit; every time he managed to accelerate and catch up, the enemy would simply turn around and force him back with a cannon blast.

It was his first time seeing someone wield a beam particle cannon with such mastery.

Yet, he found it strange—the opponent gave him an odd feeling, as if he were intentionally holding back.

After all, back in the colony's sector, the enemy's attack frequency had been nothing like this when they fought. If it weren't for the Moebius being faster, he would have been shot down long ago.

Could it be that he was just that bad?