Fujin's arms ached, his legs felt heavier than before, and his chest rose and fell in quick bursts.
And he was alone.
His team—his friends—were gone. The fighters he had trained with, laughed with, sworn to make it through the tournament with—one by one, their numbers had been called, their slips discarded.
He had seen them go down, powerless to stop it.
Now, he was the only one left.
If he kept playing it safe, dodging, weaving around fights, avoiding direct clashes, it was only a matter of time before he followed them.
Something had to change.
He had to change.
'I have to take a risk.'
---
Mono barely had time to react before the boy lunged in again. Their fight had escalated fast, no hesitation, no wasted movement. It was all sharp reflexes and traded blows.
The boy threw a kick toward Mono's ribs, but instead of stepping back, Mono stepped forward. He caught the leg, twisted slightly to throw the boy off balance. But the kid was fast. He twisted mid-air, landing smoothly before coming in for another strike.
Mono blocked, dodged, countered. Their movements blurred—too fast for anyone not focused to follow.
Fighters were being eliminated all around them. Mono heard numbers being called, saw people getting knocked out, but none of it mattered right now.
Then the air shifted.
Mono felt it before he saw it.
A strange tension spread across the battlefield, something unnatural, something big.
The fighters around him hesitated—not because of fear, but because they felt it too.
Mono turned sharply, searching.
That's when he saw him.
A fighter standing still.
Hands raised. Fingers curled. Body rigid.
Mono knew instantly what was happening.
Blue energy crackled around the fighter's hands, growing stronger with each passing second.
Mono's breath hitched.
This wasn't a normal attack.
This was going to hit everyone.
Renji caught the glow in his peripheral vision. He had been mid-strike when his instincts kicked in, pulling him out of his own battle.
He hadn't seen Kaito since he left him alone with Mono that day.
And right now, with the battlefield turning into something dangerous, he wasn't thinking about Kaito's absence.
He was thinking about getting out of the way.
Mono didn't hesitate.
The fight was forgotten. He jumped back, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the blast zone. The boy followed instantly, both moving in sync, both realizing they had bigger problems.
Then the fighter unleashed it.
A wave of blue energy shot outward, swallowing everything in its path.
Mono barely reacted in time—he twisted sharply, ducked low, threw himself backward to avoid the blast.
Others weren't so lucky.
Some fighters never saw it coming—too busy fighting to react. The energy tore through them, sending bodies flying. Some hit the ground hard, their slips fluttering beside them. Others slammed into walls, done in seconds.
The announcer's voice barely kept up, names pouring out, the scoreboard shifting rapidly.
Mono landed hard, panting, scanning the wreckage.
'What the hell was that?'
Renji steadied himself, eyes darting around, catching movement in the distance.
Far off, near the edge of the arena, Kaito was gripping the outer structure, watching everything unfold.
Then, just like that—he jumped in.
The scoreboard adjusted.
250 fighters left.
---
Fujin wasn't expecting his blast to eliminate people—that wasn't the point.
He wasn't aiming to knock anyone out. He just wanted range, something big enough to force movement, to shake things up, to pull attention.
It worked.
But now, all that attention was on him.
Three fighters stepped forward, their expressions shifting. One rolled his neck, the other stretched his fingers, the third smirked.
"Since he likes energy, let's give him some."
Fujin clenched his teeth.
The first fighter fired a small red blast toward him. The second rushed forward, aiming for a punch to his jaw.
Fujin moved fast.
He sidestepped the blast—not just dodging, but positioning himself to counter the punching fighter immediately.
He caught the incoming fist with his forearm, twisting his body to throw the fighter off balance.
Just as Fujin prepared to strike—
A second blast came flying in.
Teal energy, fast, aimed for his ribs.
It was from the third fighter.
Fujin made a decision.
He didn't dodge.
He countered anyway, willing to take the hit.
His fist slammed into the punching fighter's jaw, knocking him backward hard.
Fujin braced for impact, expecting pain any second.
But it never came.
His muscles stayed loose, no force, no damage.
He blinked.
Then he saw him.
A bald, muscular boy standing a few feet away, one hand outstretched as if he had just wiped something away.
A teal ball of energy was seen flying into the distance, completely deflected.
Hito smirked, tilting his head.
"Yeah, I like this guy. No way he's getting eliminated."