The purple card flipped over, showing the character.
"It's really him!"
The man on the card had dark blue hair, a face like a shark, and sharp teeth. He had yellow eyes and a Kirigakure rogue headband. He wore the black-and-red Akatsuki cloak and carried a giant sword on his back.
Kisame Hoshigaki.
He had pulled Kisame Hoshigaki from the Naruto gacha pool.
Kisame was a major villain. He was strong, and he was a man who stuck to his beliefs all the way to the end.
When he knew he couldn't escape, he summoned a shark to kill himself, just to protect the Akatsuki's secrets. Kael had always remembered that. He was a real man.
But this wasn't the time to think about the story.
He had a purple card. He didn't have to recycle a gold one.
Kael Vane immediately tapped Kisame's card and hit "Recycle."
[Ding! Recycle rare character card: Kisame Hoshigaki?]
"Yes!"
[Ding! Recycle successful! Gained Magic Power: ★★!]
A huge wave of magic power surged into Kael Vane. It refilled everything he had spent, and his total magic power swelled far beyond what it had been.
...
"Humans... still so weak after 400 years. But watching you all squirm is so much fun. Hahaha!"
"Your Majesty!"
Soldiers were still trying to save the king.
"Run! Tell everyone to run! Get out of the kingdom! Don't stay here!" the king yelled.
His sword was broken. The nine-star fighters were beaten. The legends were true. A dragon could destroy a country.
Humans couldn't win.
"Run? You think you can run? Go on. Try."
The purple-haired man licked his lips. He was ready to eat.
Suddenly, a voice spoke up. "Excuse me. Can you please put the king down? He's my client."
Everyone looked. A handsome, black-haired young man was walking toward them.
"Mr. Kael Vane!"
Many people recognized him. He was the one who had killed five nine-star beasts.
Before, they would have had hope. But now... they knew how big the gap was. They only felt despair.
"Oh, it's you. I saw your performance. You're pretty good. If you bow to me, I'll let you live," the purple-haired man said.
Kael had impressed him. His power was almost at the level of a low-class dragon. If he were a dragon, he might be a threat. But he was just a human. He couldn't hurt him.
Alazam was new to this world. He needed strong followers. This kid would do.
"Kael, run!" Erza yelled.
She felt terrible. If she hadn't insisted on this S-Rank mission, the Master wouldn't have sent Kael. He wouldn't be in this mess.
The dragon was just too strong.
Kael Vane walked over to Erza, bent down, and picked her up. Then he turned and walked away.
"..."
The battlefield was strangely silent.
Kael carried Erza back toward the city wall.
"Kael... you..."
Kael gave her a bright, reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll take care of this."
He set her down and turned back to the purple-haired man, who was watching, amused.
Kael Vane started walking toward him. As he walked, he spoke.
"Full-Body Take Over: Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"
On his first step, his eyes turned red.
On his second step, his face changed slightly. Hanafuda earrings appeared.
On his fourth step, his hair grew long and dark red, tied in a ponytail.
On his fifth step, his clothes changed to a samurai's, with a red haori.
On his sixth step, a sword appeared at his waist.
On his seventh step, the red mark appeared on his forehead.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"
Everyone, except the dragon, was stunned.
That look... anyone who had seen the tournament would never forget it.
This was the man who had crushed the nine-star swordsmen. The man who had become the strongest.
Everyone had wondered where he came from. A man this strong should have been famous. But no one had ever heard of him.
And after the tournament, he had vanished.
They thought he had run away. Now they knew they were wrong. He had been here all along, just with a different face.
"Y-Y-Yoriichi..."
Arthur couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't know what to call him. He was more shocked now than when he found out the man was a dragon.
"Call me Kael Vane. Yoriichi is just an alias."
It felt weird using someone else's name.
"Y-Yes!"
"Mr. Kael... how...?" the old king, still in the dragon's grip, was stunned.
"Sorry, Your Majesty. I'm kind of poor, and the prize money was really good, so I joined. I didn't mean to win... So, can I still get the prize money?"
"W-Well... yes, but the kingdom..."
The king wanted to pay him, but the kingdom was about to be destroyed. What good was money?
Kael Vane smiled. "That's simple. I just have to kill it, right?"