Kumatetsu has grown strong enough to do whatever he wants- whatever that is, it'll be big, loud, and probably not all that well thought out, but he'll look amazing doing it. Check out the other series we've got waiting in the wings at Big Stories now!

Art by  silver-stag

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When the Lord of Jutengai had sent Kumatetsu on the journey to the other beast lord cities with his apprentice, they were sent to find the answer to a singular question: "What is strength?" The bear had resented that question from the very beginning. Sure, Kyuta had gotten something out of it, but he was a smart kid. Too smart, for Kumatetsu's liking, really— warriors aren't supposed to think so much, it left you open to hesitating at the worst times. He knew what strength meant; it was lifting more, punching more, doing more. It meant big muscles and bigger punches. But after the spirit he encountered in the forest, the bear felt he really did understand the question now— there was something more to strength. It was freedom.

And that is what led Kumatetsu to this new state of zen he found himself in on his return to Jutengai. He was strong enough now to do whatever he wanted— and for the moment, what he wanted was to sit back, relax, and bask in the sheer monumental nature of his titanic body. The bear sprawled his expansive brawn across the several fallen tree trunks he had snapped like twigs, stacked up in the yard of his house— he was in need of a new bed that could actually support his gigantic bulk, after all. But that could wait; the bear was taking a small break as he glanced over his mammoth build.

Truth was he could barely see anything below the jutting balcony of his chest, but he could certainly feel the mass and power building up in every pumped fiber rippling beneath his shaggy fur. His legs had grown wider than they were long, wheel-shaped quads that bristled with each step, supporting an upper body so titanic in scale it sprawled like the slopes of Mt. Fuji. Everything was exaggerated for the sheer brawn packed upon it, from his densely packed abs shaded by the vast overhang of his bulging chest, the wide landscape of his shoulders and a bull-neck thicker than his head, and a sculpted tapestry of muscle along his back. His enormous arms swelled at the slightest tremor, the slabs of muscle making up his bloated triceps fueling the crowning peaks of his flexed biceps.

He rumbled as he laughed now, as he heard the spirit whisper in his head. Now what will you do, with all this strength?

Kumatetsu picked up his old sword, now little more than a dagger in his thick hand. "Well… gotta train the kid. He could be bigger n' stronger than me one day. But besides that?" Kumatetsu stretched out, feeling his muscles tense and ripple. "I've got a few ideas for changes around here… Heh, I can't wait until Iouzan gets a load-a me now."