On the third day after she successfully merged with Hellfire,
the manor's vast underground testing arena was cleared and activated.
Its walls, floor, and even domed ceiling were built from special alloys and layered energy-dampening fields, strong enough to withstand the shockwaves of intense combat.
A simulated sky cast soft natural light, making the arena look no different from the world outside.
But invisible monitoring fields filled the air, and an energy-suppression system stood ready to intervene at any moment.
Loren sat in an observation room high above the edge of the arena, several enormous holographic screens before him.
They displayed the arena's energy distribution, microscopic particle movement, field strength, and both combatants' physiological and energy readings in real time.
Wanda, Tsunade, and the others watched beside him, their expressions ranging from curious to grave.
At the center of the arena, two figures faced each other from a distance.
One was Mai Shiranui.
She had changed into a fitted crimson ninja outfit better suited to combat, its clean lines hugging her striking figure.
Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail, giving her a capable, spirited air.
She stood quietly with her eyes closed, seemingly regulating her breathing.
Compared with three days earlier, her presence had grown far more restrained and profound.
Yet the sharpness hidden beneath it was even more apparent, like a dormant volcano.
Now and then, a faint spark of mingled dark red and molten gold flickered across her fingertips or the ends of her hair, subtly warping the air.
Opposite her stood 2B.
She still wore her signature black Battle Suit, her short white hair framing a black blindfold.
Yet the cold precision of a top-tier combat Android radiated from her.
Unlike usual, her right arm, from shoulder to fingertips,
had taken on a strange