Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who worry about their fathers!

Clark sighed heavily and said, "It's not just people—the animals in the forest will die too."

"That's completely natural," Azu replied. "Dad says that every life has an end. I remember some poem about it…something about not being at the center."

Azu sounded frustrated. "But honestly, I'm not much of a poetry fan."

Clark didn't notice Azu's expression as he grew pensive. "Human and animal life is so fragile. Mr. Bill passed away recently too."

Azu looked surprised. "You mean that old Mr. Bill with the zombie dog that almost bit me?"

"Yes, that's him. Godfather said he had DVT."

"DVT? What's that? Sounds like a bad movie title."

Clark explained, "D-V-T—deep vein thrombosis."

Azu nodded as if he understood. "Oh! Sounds like the name of a rock band."

Clark adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, a gesture he often made when Azu left him speechless.

At noon, in the gymnasium.

A red-haired girl practiced an attack, thrusting her knee close to another girl's torso, striking her throat, and flipping her onto a blue exercise mat. There was a slight tremor as the girl with pale, porcelain skin and thick black hair stood up calmly. They bowed to each other in respect.

Clark and Azu sat with the other students, watching the two girls practice karate.

Their gym teacher, tall and muscular, clapped his hands and said, "Alright, everyone, repeat the six basic target zones."

The students chanted together, "Eyes, nose, throat, groin, knees, and feet."

"Again, faster!"

"Eyes, nose, throat, groin, knees, and feet."

"One more time, louder!"

"Eyes, nose, throat, groin, knees, and feet."

Azu found this tedious. To him, this self-defense karate was just like girls' defense training. Having watched countless boxing matches with Peter, he thought this practice seemed childish.

He sighed, glancing at the whiteboard where the six target zones were listed.

"I bet Mr. Ren would be knocked out if he ever sparred with Dad," Azu muttered to Clark. "Even if Dad didn't go all out."

"Quiet!" Mr. Ren shot them a stern look, and Clark immediately straightened up, sitting properly.

"Next up is sparring practice. Pick a partner."

Clark stood up, ready to pick Azu as his partner. But to his surprise, Azu walked over to another student.

"Hey, you don't mind practicing with me, right?" Azu asked, standing in front of the tall Whitney.

"Get lost, I'm not interested," Whitney said dismissively, turning to his sidekick.

"Oh, scared, are we?" Azu sneered. "Or are you just a coward who only acts tough? Can't handle the real thing?"

Angered, Whitney shot back, "I'll make you cry, you freak."

Seeing Azu's plan to provoke Whitney, Clark quickly tried to intervene. "Hey, John, you can't—"

"Relax, Clark. I know what I'm doing," Azu assured him with a confident glance.

Clark, though worried, knew he couldn't stop Azu and reluctantly stepped aside, concerned.

The two stood face to face, Azu staring at Whitney with a cold, unyielding look. "I'm gonna knock your teeth out."

"Oh yeah? Bring it!" Whitney taunted, leaning in. "People say you and Clark have superpowers. Yeah, right. Come on, prove it!"

With a thud, Azu grabbed Whitney's shirt and slammed him onto the floor.

Dazed, Whitney felt his head buzzing. Fortunately, Azu hadn't gone all out; otherwise, Whitney might've blacked out.

Still, Whitney was humiliated and quickly scrambled to his feet, lunging at Azu with a kick aimed at his groin.

Azu countered by grabbing his arm, flipping him down again, and landing a punch to his abdomen. Whitney doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain.

Azu looked down coldly at his opponent, who lay groaning on the ground. "You're nothing but a weak, pathetic idiot."

"Hey!"

Mr. Ren finally noticed the commotion. He rushed over and knelt beside Whitney to check on him.

"What happened here?! John!" he demanded, furious.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Ren," Azu replied innocently. "I just wanted to practice with Whitney, and then he fell."

With his expression shifting from threatening to harmless, Azu put on a worried look. "Maybe Whitney's just not fit for P.E."

Mr. Ren, taken in by Azu's act, assumed he hadn't meant any harm. He quickly took Whitney to the nurse's office without further question.

Clark, who had watched Azu go from "bully" to innocent "sunshine boy" in a matter of seconds, was stunned.

How did Azu do that?

It was even more impressive than Godfather's trick of changing his look with just a pair of glasses!

Azu, unaware of Clark's thoughts, turned to him. "Don't worry, Clark. He's fine—I controlled my strength."

Smiling slyly, he whispered, "Clark, keep this a secret. Don't tell Dad."

Clark nodded automatically. "O-okay."

Later that afternoon, at the Podrick Farm.

Peter was watching news coverage of the wildfire alone when the phone suddenly rang.

"Podrick Farm," he answered, his brow furrowing as he listened.

...

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