[Life Advance]
The moment the technique fully activated, I prepared to move.
My body surged forward before Raian could even react. The ground shattered under my step as I closed the distance instantly.
My arm swung in a brutal arc.
The haymaker connected square with Raian's face.
The impact boomed through the courtyard, the force of it sending him sliding several feet across the stone before he managed to regain his footing.
But I was already moving again.
I chased him down immediately, my enhanced heartbeat roaring in my ears as I unleashed a rapid barrage of punches. Each strike tore through the air with terrifying speed, my fists hammering toward him again and again without pause.
Raian's grin had vanished.
Now his eyes were wide with excitement.
I did not bother with defense anymore.
Life Advance pushed everything forward. Speed. Power. Aggression. The only thing that mattered now was overwhelming force.
I kept pressing him, throwing punch after punch without pause. Hooks, straights, wild haymakers that cracked through the courtyard air. My leg snapped up into kicks between strikes, slamming into Raian's ribs and thighs whenever the opening appeared.
Raian answered in kind.
His fists crashed into my guard, my ribs, my jaw. A knee slammed into my stomach. An elbow clipped the side of my head hard enough to blur my vision for a moment.
But neither of us slowed down.
The courtyard echoed with the constant thunder of impact as we tore into each other at full speed, trading blows like two animals fighting for dominance.
Pain flashed across my body with every hit I took. My Wolverine healing factor was already working beneath the surface, closing the worst of the damage as quickly as it formed.
And the deeper the fight went, the wider my grin became.
Because this was exactly what I wanted.
A real fight.
Raian and I continued tearing into each other for another minute, the courtyard echoing with the constant crack of fists and the dull thud of kicks landing against muscle and bone.
Neither of us slowed down.
Then I saw the opening.
I twisted my hips and drove a heavy punch straight into Raian's temple.
The blow landed solid. His balance faltered immediately, his body staggering a step to the side as the hit scrambled his footing.
That was all the chance I needed.
I surged forward, pressing the advantage before he could recover. My fists came down on him in a relentless barrage. Punch after punch hammered into his guard, his ribs, his shoulders. Each strike carried the amplified force of Life Advance, the impacts forcing him backward across the courtyard stones.
I did not give him a second to breathe.
The assault continued without pause, every hit meant to keep him off balance and deny him the chance to reset the fight.
I drove one final strike upward.
My fist crashed into Raian's chin with a brutal uppercut.
The impact lifted him clean off his feet. For a moment his body hung in the air before crashing down onto the stone courtyard with a heavy thud.
I immediately moved forward, stepping in to mount him and continue the fight.
But before I could reach him, Reiichi appeared in front of me.
His hand slammed into my chest and shoved me back several steps, stopping my advance cold.
"Enough," he said firmly.
The word cut through the haze of the fight.
I looked past him and down at Raian.
He was flat on his back, completely out.
And somehow, the bastard was still grinning.
A laugh slipped out of me as the tension finally left my body.
The pounding in my chest slowed as I let the technique go. The red mist around me faded and my skin gradually returned to its normal color as Life Advance deactivated.
The courtyard grew quiet again, broken only by the sound of my breathing and the faint rustle of wind through the compound.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through my chest. My breath caught in my throat as I gasped, the lingering strain from Life Advance finally making itself known. My heart hammered violently for a moment, the aftereffects of forcing it far beyond its natural limits.
Then the pain began to fade.
The familiar warmth of my healing factor spread through my body, working quickly to repair the damage the technique had caused. The tight pressure in my chest loosened as muscle and tissue recovered, my breathing gradually returning to normal.
I rolled my shoulders slightly, testing my body.
Already better.
Across the courtyard, Fusui walked over and knelt beside Raian, calmly checking him over. Reiichi kept his eyes on me for a moment longer, making sure I was not about to collapse before finally relaxing his stance.
Raian, meanwhile, remained flat on his back.
Still grinning like an idiot.
"He'll wake up in a few minutes," I said as I walked over and picked up my shirt. "He never stays down for long anyway."
Behind me, Fusui continued checking Raian over, completely calm despite the fact that he had just been knocked unconscious. For the Kure, that barely counted as noteworthy.
Reiichi, however, was watching me closely.
"What was that technique you used?" he asked. "It looked somewhat similar to Removal."
I paused for a moment while pulling my shirt back on.
'I should probably say I made that technique… and the others I used earlier too.'
"It's something I came up with," I said casually. "I force my heartbeat to accelerate, which speeds up my blood flow and temporarily enhances my speed and power."
Reiichi's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the explanation.
"That sounds dangerous."
"It is," I admitted with a small grin. "But that's part of the fun. But it's fine, I heal any damage done anyway."
Reiichi gave a small nod, his gaze still lingering on me.
"You always did heal far faster than most," he said.
I shrugged lightly. "Yeah. Guess I got lucky with that."
I started walking away from the courtyard, getting my shirt all the way on as I headed toward the exit.
"Oh, and Fusui," I called without turning around, "make sure to tell Raian he lost when he wakes up."
Behind me, I heard Reiichi give a quiet huff of amusement.
Before stepping out, I glanced back at him with a grin.
"I'm getting a spar with you next time, Reiichi," I said. "So make sure you make it fun."
I made my way back through the house, the sounds of the courtyard fading behind me.
Aria was still near the entrance when I stepped out.
"Leaving already?" she asked.
"Yeah," I replied, giving a casual wave. "Tell Reiichi I'll collect that spar later."
She gave a small nod. "I'm sure he'll be looking forward to it."
With that, I stepped outside and started walking through the compound again.
The Kure estate was quiet as usual, but the tension in the air never really disappeared. Assassins, fighters, and killers moved through the grounds like it was any other day. Which, for us, it was.
As I walked, another thought surfaced.
I had taken a detour earlier to spar with Raian.
Which meant I still had something to finish.
Reporting to the Patriarch.
I adjusted my path and began heading toward the largest residence within the compound. The Patriarch's mansion stood near the center, larger and more traditional than the others. It carried a quiet authority that matched the man who lived inside.
After all, even if the mission had been easy, protocol was still protocol.
The job had been completed, even if I wasn't the exact one to do it. It was completed before I took control, but I remember the details.
And the Patriarch would expect to hear it directly.
After a few minutes of walking through the compound, I arrived at the Patriarch's house.
The building stood larger than the others, quiet and imposing in a way that reflected the authority of the man inside. I stepped up to the entrance and knocked on the door.
A moment later it slid open.
Karura stood there.
The moment she saw me, her entire face lit up.
"Raiden!" she said brightly. "When did you get back? Did you finish the mission? Did you get hurt?"
The questions came out in rapid fire, barely giving me time to process one before the next arrived.
I chuckled softly and raised a hand.
"Relax," I said. "Yeah, I just got back. The mission's done. And I'm fine."
Karura leaned slightly closer, her eyes quickly scanning me anyway as if double checking for injuries.
Satisfied a moment later, she crossed her arms with a small huff.
"Good," she said. "If you got yourself killed on something simple, Grandpa would be furious."
I smirked.
"Good to know you're worried."
I walked past her and ruffled her hair as I stepped inside.
Karura was only fourteen, but she already carried the same sharp presence that ran through the entire Kure bloodline. Even so, the annoyed look she shot me after I messed up her hair made her look more like an irritated kid than a future monster of the clan.
"Hey, don't do that," she muttered, trying to fix it.
I just laughed and kept walking.
Moving through the house, I headed toward the inner courtyard where the Patriarch usually spent his time. The sound of wind moving through the garden greeted me as I stepped outside.
Erioh Kure was exactly where I expected him to be.
The old man sat calmly at a low table with a drink in front of him, looking completely relaxed despite the aura of quiet authority that surrounded him. Age had not dulled him. If anything, it made him more intimidating.
When he noticed me stepping into the courtyard, his eyes shifted in my direction.
"Yo, gramps," I said casually as I approached. "I'm back."