Yumé knelt beside Ikku, gently shaking him, hoping to bring him back to consciousness. But his friend remained still, unconscious, his breathing slow, his face pale and tense from exhaustion.
"Don't worry," Tenma said calmly as he approached, his voice soothing. "Nothing's broken. He'll probably sleep it off by tomorrow."
But even as those words left his mouth, Ikku's eyelids began to twitch. To everyone's surprise, he was already coming to.
Tenma raised his eyebrows, genuinely impressed.
"Wow… You're seriously something else."
Ikku let out a weak cough. His mind was still foggy, and his body refused to move. He tried to sit up, but his limbs trembled, too drained to obey. The sheer force of Tenma's final blow, combined with the backlash from activating Turbo, had left him completely debilitated.
"Don't push yourself, Ikku!" Yumé said quickly, rushing to support him.
"Yu… Yumé… is that you?" Ikku murmured, just now realizing his friend was by his side.
"Yeah, it's me. Don't worry, I'll carry you to the nearest clinic."
Yumé carefully slipped Ikku's arm around his neck, supporting him around the waist to keep him steady. As they prepared to leave, Tenma stepped forward once more. His gaze remained warm as he extended a hand toward Ikku.
"Thanks for the fight, Ikku. I didn't know people like you even existed. Let's do it again sometime."
"With… pleasure," Ikku replied, voice faint but determined. "But… next time… I'll be the one who wins."
Tenma grinned widely before turning to Fenrir.
"Fenrir. The crowd's gone. Mind helping him out?"
"Of course," Fenrir said softly as he approached.
He extended his hand to Ikku, who blinked in confusion before shaking it.
"Ikku," Fenrir said gently, "would you allow me to treat your injuries?"
"Uh… y-yeah… sure," Ikku stammered, still dazed.
As soon as he answered, a swirling orb of light appeared above his head. A beam of radiance descended, wrapping around him. Within seconds, every wound on Ikku's body began to vanish, even the scars from his previous mission faded away. He stood up, wide-eyed. He didn't just feel healed, he felt better than ever.
"Amazing!" Ikku exclaimed, checking himself in disbelief. "So that's your Brand?"
"Exactly," Fenrir replied politely.
"Just a little gift from us," Tenma added with a wink. "See you soon."
With that, Tenma walked away, joined by Fenrir and Nina, who gave a quick wave before disappearing from sight.
Once they were gone, Ikku turned to Kenny. He knew Kenny had been analyzing everything.
"There's a huge gap between us, huh… Kenny?"
"No doubt," Kenny replied bluntly. "That guy's on another level."
"But… didn't Ikku look like he was keeping up for most of the fight?" Carla chimed in. "He even seemed to have the upper hand at one point."
"You're wrong," Ikku said quietly, head lowered. "Tenma wasn't even trying."
"What do you mean?" Carla asked, clearly confused.
Ikku stayed silent for a moment. Kenny remained still as well he understood. Yumé, on the other hand, was just as puzzled as Carla. As far as he could tell, Tenma had been going all out.
Then Ikku turned his gaze to Zeno.
"Master Zeno, normally… Tenma fights with swords, doesn't he?"
The question left Carla and Yumé speechless.
So that's what he meant.
Tenma had been holding back from the very beginning, choosing to fight Ikku on his terms. And even like that, he had won with ease.
"That's correct," Zeno confirmed calmly.
"Kenny, did you notice anything?" Ikku asked.
"Hmm," Kenny replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Judging from the way he moved, I'd say his energy type is probably Positive. Even though he didn't seem physically enhanced… I think he boosted his sight."
"I thought the same," Ikku nodded. "His eyes looked completely different."
"Excellent observation," said Zeno with approval. "You're both very perceptive. Tenma managed to use his Brand flawlessly, following the principles of the 3Cs."
"Used it flawlessly?" Yumé echoed.
"Yes," Zeno said. "In life, nothing comes for free. The 3C, Condition, Constraint, and Consequence follow that same logic. Think of them as a sort of equivalent exchange. To activate his Brand, Tenma has to press his palms together and hold them for thirty seconds. After that, the Three Wise Monkeys appear behind him. He then chooses one. This time, he picked Mizaru the monkey of sight. Then, he must cover the part of his body he wants to enhance his eyes for fifteen seconds. The whole ritual must be done within two minutes."
"So that's the Condition…" Ikku murmured.
"Exactly. But there's more: the Constraint is that his power only lasts thirty minutes. And then… comes the Consequence."
"A consequence?" Ikku repeated.
"To enhance one sense, he must sacrifice two others. When he improved his sight, he lost both hearing and taste. He couldn't hear… or speak."
"So that's why he just nodded when I talked?" Ikku realized aloud. "But wait ! if he responded, doesn't that mean he heard me?"
"Not really," Zeno replied. "His sight was so sharpened that he could read your lips with absolute clarity. He saw every twitch in your muscles, every shift in your stance. It allowed him to predict exactly where you'd move and when your guard would drop. He only had to wait for the right moment… and act. As simple as it might sound, pulling that off takes a mind like a machine… and a body trained to perfection."
He paused a moment, then spoke more firmly.
"Use this time to rest. Train your Brands. Strengthen your spiritual energy."
"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison, voices charged with new determination.
Together, they left the arena and headed back toward their quarters. They had learned a valuable lesson that day a humbling reminder that no matter how far they came, the world was full of people with power beyond imagination.