Before agreeing to Akemi's request, Jaden waited.
He waited until Old Man Yugi boarded a private jet that looked far more advanced than it had any right to be, along with the children from the orphanage.
Only then did Jaden finally exhale.
-The old man and the kids are gone.
-Now I can act without holding back.
Old Man Yugi always joked about being the King of Games, but Jaden still worried about his safety.
At least for now, that worry was gone.
According to what the old man said, he was only helping a friend this time and would return later.
Until then, the issue with Toyo Electric had to be settled.
With that thought in mind, Jaden agreed to Akemi's request.
Akemi was visibly delighted.
She immediately set off with Jaden toward Koyo Academy.
She knew her older sister was there.
And if everything went smoothly, she would be able to give her sister a proper surprise this time.
...
Shion was indeed at Koyo Academy.
She was in the basement.
In front of her was an arena.
In her hand was a cigarette that had nearly burned down to the filter.
She hadn't taken a single puff.
-Her attention was completely locked on the fight.
The two people in the ring were Kiryu Setsuna.
And Ogami Sakura.
There wasn't much to say about Kiryu Setsuna.
Even someone who knew nothing about martial arts could tell how strong he was just by watching.
His movements were strange.
Explosive.
He used a style known as the Fox Shadow Style.
At fixed intervals, his body would erupt with sudden bursts of power, his footwork twisting at unnatural angles.
And then there was-
-"Rasetsu Palm."
Force generation began from the back.
Transferred through the shoulder.
Passed down the upper arm.
Then spiraled through the forearm.
The rotational force amplified everything.
The power from the back.
The torque from the spiral.
All of it converged in a single strike.
That was the Rasetsu Palm.
It didn't sound particularly special.
But seeing it was another matter entirely.
With just one clean hit, Ogami Sakura's right shoulder twisted unnaturally.
Like a vortex.
Her arm hung limp.
Useless.
This was Kiryu Setsuna.
His bizarre movement.
His terrifying explosiveness.
His speed.
His insight.
His reactions.
Combined with the Rasetsu Palm-
If the fighters Shion had recruited before were people she'd been forced to try out out of desperation, unable to inspire confidence during interviews...
Then Kiryu Setsuna was someone who finally did.
-She believed he would succeed.
Because-
-This man, who hadn't even fought his debut match yet, was already a monster.
A monster comparable to Jaden.
Maybe even stronger.
His power was obvious at a glance.
But Kiryu Setsuna only made Shion feel pleasantly surprised.
The one who truly made her hold her breath-
To the point she forgot to smoke-
Was Ogami Sakura.
A middle school student.
She wasn't overwhelming in a way that crushed people outright.
She was different.
Special.
"I see... I've probably already grasped your style and characteristics."
Even with her right arm disabled, Ogami Sakura maintained a gentle smile.
She guarded with her left arm.
Kiryu Setsuna stared at her.
Then he stopped moving.
One second.
Ten seconds.
A minute.
Two minutes.
The previously violent fight froze.
Kiryu Setsuna had stopped first.
Now, he spoke.
"...So you figured it out."
Ogami Sakura kept her eyes on him.
"After paying such a heavy price, it's impossible not to notice."
"That movement of yours relies on explosive power in the instant I blink."
"You move into my blind spot."
"I was caught off guard at first."
"But if I don't blink..."
"You can't use that technique from a distance, can you?"
Not blinking sounded simple.
In practice, it was brutal.
Without special talent, it couldn't be sustained.
Even if it could, the strain on the eyes would quickly become severe.
It was a losing exchange.
That was why Kiryu Setsuna waited.
He waited to confirm something.
And once he did-
He stopped waiting.
Because-
-He was no amateur who could be countered so easily.
Bang!
The ground beneath his feet exploded.
A distorted spiral mark appeared on the floor.
Using Rasetsu Palm's force generation through his legs, combined with his explosiveness-
Kiryu Setsuna vanished.
And reappeared in front of Ogami Sakura.
-Rasetsu Palm.
This time, generated through his feet.
But-
-"I can see him."
Ogami Sakura's pupils contracted.
She dropped flat to the ground.
Kiryu Setsuna's arm skimmed past her nose.
The spiraling force missed.
But blood still flowed from her nostrils.
Yet-
-This was exactly what she wanted.
Ogami Sakura had watched the Rasetsu Palm several times.
Gradually, she realized something.
It was terrifyingly powerful.
But because it relied on multiple points of leverage-
If it missed-
It left an opening.
It paired perfectly with Kiryu Setsuna's movement style.
Even she-
Someone who had defeated her own father-
Had suffered greatly against it.
But-
-"I only need to suffer once."
Lying on the ground, lowering her center of gravity, Ogami Sakura curled her body.
Her right arm was unusable.
Using only her left would be unstable.
So-
She planted her head against the floor.
Used it as support.
And kicked.
Rabbit Kicks the Eagle.
A powerful kick from a prone position.
Kiryu Setsuna was sent flying.
And-
-"This isn't over."
As he was knocked back, Ogami Sakura's legs locked onto his left leg.
She followed him into the air.
Mid-flight, she twisted his calf and knee behind him.
Her left arm wrapped around his waist.
Pinned his right arm.
Her forearm pressed against his cheek.
Using her weight.
And his.
She rotated mid-air.
Driving the left side of Kiryu Setsuna's neck straight toward the floor.
She wouldn't kill him.
But this would put him in a hospital bed for months.
Shion gasped.
Beautiful.
That was the only word she could think of.
But Ogami Sakura couldn't see what Shion saw.
Kiryu Setsuna's expression-
It wasn't panic.
It was twisted joy.
Ecstatic.
The smile of a monster.
Tears even welled at the corners of his eyes.
Ogami Sakura couldn't see it.
But she heard him mutter.
"Koyoma... Koyoma... my God..."
Then-
Just before his neck hit the ground-
His pinned right hand moved.
It grabbed her shoulder.
Ogami Sakura didn't understand what happened.
Suddenly, she was flying.
Everything restraining Kiryu Setsuna came loose.
She was flung away.
Kiryu Setsuna flipped.
And landed safely.
Shion paused mid-motion, cigarette hovering near her lips.
"...Was that also Fox Shadow Style?" she asked, impressed.
If Kiryu Setsuna heard her, he would have denied it.
Fox Shadow Style only had two techniques.
Shun.
Instant movement.
And Rasetsu Palm.
Everything else was lost.
Even these two were reconstructed from old documents.
The move he used just now-
-That was Nikaido Style.
Kiryu Setsuna adjusted his footwork.
Accelerated.
Hagashiri.
Fire Run.
Another Nikaido technique.
But before he could continue-
He stopped.
The arena was elevated.
And Ogami Sakura-
Had been thrown off the platform.
She landed right in front of Shion.
Shion was startled.
"Ogami... did you freeze up?"
"If you'd adjusted your center of gravity, you wouldn't have been thrown this far."
She smiled gently.
Ogami Sakura had lost.
And lacked experience.
But she was still in middle school.
These were minor issues.
In a few years-
She would be someone who wouldn't lose to the likes of Kanai Cosmos.
But Ogami Sakura didn't see it that way.
"No... I..."
She tried to speak.
Stopped.
She hadn't frozen.
In the instant she was thrown, her instinct suppressed her counterattack.
Flying out was the safest option.
If she resisted-
She would have died.
Her instinct told her so.
That was why she let herself be thrown.
But a loss was a loss.
She stood.
Lowered her head.
"I... lost."
Kiryu Setsuna exhaled.
"...So I won."
"That means I'll be Koyo's fighter now?"
He looked at Shion.
Before she could answer-
The door opened.
A voice entered.
"It's fine if you plan to become Koyo's fighter later."
"But I'm a little interested in the upcoming fight against Toyo Electric."
"Would you mind letting me take it?"
Kiryu Setsuna and Shion both turned.
"Akemi?"
Shion froze.
Then she saw who stood beside her sister.
And froze again.
"...Jaden Yuki?"
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