The Explorer had created a logic: his palm could block Hayato's blade.
And Hayato had severed that logic.
It was Hayato's first time directly confronting something so conceptual. For someone who wielded blades and swords, the hardest things to cut were the intangible and formless.
That strike had drained Hayato tremendously, consuming every last bit of energy he had absorbed from Ego.
But—this exchange was worth it. Not in the sense that it would always be worth it.
His understanding of the rules of the universe had deepened further.
Which was why, if he could comprehend it himself, why rely on the Gate of Truth? That gate was poisonous...
Hayato relaxed his limbs, floating as though he were lying in a swimming pool.
Then he bumped into the Minora, which was floating nearby as well.
Separated by glass, he stared at Star-Lord and Rocket.
The next second—
Hayato appeared inside the ship.
"I am Groot."
The adorable baby tree creature was the first to pounce on Hayato.
Star-Lord's heart tightened.
Hayato took out a Senzu Bean and tossed it to Groot.
Hugging the Senzu Bean, Groot happily rolled this way and that.
Hayato smiled at Star-Lord. "Don't be nervous. I'm no different from before."
Star-Lord rubbed his nose. How could he possibly be no different?
It was like a friend you had been shirtless with at a roadside barbecue joint suddenly revealing that he was the direct heir of some thousand-year-old hidden family. It felt incredibly strange.
Other than Groot, who had no particular thoughts about it, everyone else realized that Hayato was far beyond anything they had imagined. And they had actually bragged and cracked all sorts of dirty jokes in front of him before.
Star-Lord: "..."
"You can think of it this way," Hayato said. "I'm still a