The collision did not end.
It spread.
Cracks raced across the stadium floor like lightning veins, tearing through stone, steel, and reinforced barriers. Towers collapsed inward. Seats shattered. The air screamed under the pressure of two forces that no longer belonged to a single world.
Panic erupted.
Spectators ran.
Officials abandoned their posts.
Within minutes, the entire stadium was evacuated—thousands fleeing as alarms howled across the city. Emergency barriers rose, drones pulled back, and then—
The broadcast returned.
Live.
Every screen across the country flickered back on.
The world was watching again.
At the center of the destroyed arena, Leo stood breathing heavily, Ultra Instinct eyes still shining.
Across from him—
Kaito Jin straightened his neck slowly.
Then he laughed.
Not a normal laugh.
A deep, echoing sound that rolled across the broken stadium like thunder trapped inside a cave.
"Hahahaha…"
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Something was wrong.
Kaito wiped his mouth again.
There was no blood.
Not even a scratch.
"Did you really think that mattered?" Kaito said, still laughing. "That little performance earlier?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"That was acting."
The air dropped in temperature.
"Your attacks didn't hurt me." "Not even a little."
The horns pulsed violently.
Black energy exploded outward.
In the next instant—
Leo was gone.
No warning. No reaction time.
A fist smashed into his ribs, sending him flying across the arena. He crashed through broken pillars, skidded across stone, and barely stopped himself before hitting the outer wall.
Before he could stand—
Kaito was already there.
A knee to the stomach.
A kick to the back.
A palm strike that crushed the air itself.
Leo was driven into the ground.
The impact shattered the remaining floor beneath him.
Kaito didn't stop.
He moved like a storm with intent—
each strike heavy, deliberate, overwhelming.
Leo blocked. Countered. Struck back.
His punches landed cleanly.
Hard.
But Kaito didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't react.
"Is that it?" Kaito mocked. "This is your 'king's power'?"
He grabbed Leo mid-air and slammed him down again, the shockwave tearing the arena even wider.
Leo rolledared, forcing energy into his limbs, twisting free and launching a rapid counter—kicks, elbows, a direct Spirit-charged strike to the chest.
Kaito slid back a single step.
Then smiled.
"Good." "Now it starts."
The pressure doubled.
Then tripled.
Leo felt it—
his muscles screamed, his bones strained, even Ultra Instinct struggling under the weight of something unnatural.
Above the battlefield—
Chen Wei hovered in the air, fists clenched, eyes locked on the fight.
His expression was dead serious.
"If the tide turns any further…" "I'll step in."
Wind howled around him.
Below, Leo forced himself upright, blood dripping from his chin—not weakness, but proof he was still standing.
He wiped it away.
"You're not the only one holding back," Leo said quietly.
Kaito's laughter stopped.
For the first time—
The air shifted.
Not with power.
But with interest.
The stadium was gone.
The crowd was gone.
Only two fighters remained—
And the world watching from afar had no idea
that this battle had already stepped beyond tournament rules…
…and into something far more dangerous.
To be continued.