Murmurs and whispers filled the air.
News of a duel with Jinichi—a powerhouse easily ranked among the top five combatants within the clan—brought the crowd to the training courtyard in an instant.
From the elite members of the Hei, the clan's primary martial force, to the mid-tier Akashi, and even down to the lowly Kukuru Unit, who were treated as trash for lacking innate techniques. Ordinarily, these groups would be training separately under their own strict hierarchies, but today, everyone had dropped what they were doing to encircle the arena.
"So, who's the one facing Lord Jinichi? Is it that Hachiro brat who just came back from Tokyo Jujutsu High?"
"If it were him, it might actually be a show. But they say it's some guest he brought along."
"Huh? Wait, isn't it a woman then?"
Complaints began to ripple through the crowd.
"I don't know the details. Most of us are just here to see Lord Jinichi's technique anyway."
"But... a female sorcerer? Really?"
"I'm with you. I just hope it's not some pathetic sparring match where she just gets one-sidedly pummeled."
"Tch! I thought Zenin Hachiro was fighting himself. How long is a girl sorcerer even going to last? What a waste of time."
"Shh! Quiet. What if he hears you? Watch your mouth."
In true Zenin fashion, the moment rumors spread that the opponent was Kanao, the atmosphere turned cold and unpleasant. Many openly scoffed or voiced their disappointment, convinced that Jinichi's victory was a foregone conclusion and that there was nothing to learn from a woman. A few old-timers didn't even bother hiding their clicks of the tongue as they complained about making the trip for nothing.
I kept my arms crossed, letting their garbage talk flow in one ear and out the other, as I silently watched Kanao standing in the center of the ring.
"Silence! We will now begin the sparring match between Lord Jinichi and the clan's guest, Kanao! Everyone, take your positions!"
Nobuyaki Zenin, a member of the Kukuru Unit acting as the referee, shouted to clear the arena.
At his command, Kanao and Jinichi stood at a distance, facing each other. Against Jinichi's mountain-like physique, Kanao looked exceptionally small.
"Please keep in mind that this spar is for the mutual development of both parties, not a fight to the death. Should the match become excessively violent or lethal, the referee will intervene and force a stop. Do both sides agree?"
Both Kanao and Jinichi gave a short nod.
In that moment, Nobuyaki's eyes flickered toward me, subtly checking my reaction.
'I will intervene if it gets rough.'
He wasn't suggesting that he, a mere Kukuru member, could stop Jinichi. It was a distress signal, a request for me to jump in if my guest was about to get slaughtered. I gave him a slight nod to put him at ease.
Seeing my signal, Nobuyaki exhaled a sigh of relief and raised his hand high.
"Very well! Then..."
The wind died down. Silence fell over the courtyard as hundreds of eyes fixed on the center.
Nobuyaki's hand cut through the air with force.
"Hajime!!"
The moment the command left his lips, Kanao executed a swift backstep, opening a wide gap between her and Jinichi.
Immediately after, an explosive amount of Cursed Energy erupted from her entire body.
VWOOM!!
The Cursed Energy shimmered and surged like an undulating haze, looking almost like a massive inferno.
Despite it being only a fraction of what she had briefly charged ten minutes prior, the sheer volume was overwhelming enough to vibrate the very air of the courtyard.
"Wh-What is this...!"
"That Cursed Energy capacity is suffocating! Even within the clan, it's rare to see a tank that large. Who the hell is that girl?!"
The crowd was aghast. The jeers and misogynistic sneers from just a few minutes ago vanished as if they had never existed.
Watching from the sidelines with my arms crossed, even I swallowed hard.
'She's this powerful even with the current crude internet infrastructure. What happens later when technology evolves and the entire world is connected in real-time via 5G fiber optics?'
In that future digital age, Kanao would undoubtedly become a true monster—someone worthy of the title of a Special Grade sorcerer capable of toppling a nation single-handedly.
I turned my gaze to Jinichi.
Even in the face of the massive storm of Cursed Energy, he didn't move an inch. He simply tucked his fists at his waist, checking his martial posture with stoic focus.
'Special Grade 1 Sorcerer, Jinichi Zenin.'
Though he didn't inherit a prestigious technique, he possesses a brutally efficient technique supported by a body trained to its absolute limit. He's a complete 'hexagon' of a man—balanced in offense and defense.
People within the clan often say his 'speed is lacking,' but that's only because he's compared to the Projection Sorcery users, the fastest in the Zenin clan.
Having traded blows with him myself, I knew for a fact that this giant's speed was by no means slow.
Then, in an instant—
Flash!
Kanao struck first. She formed a sphere of Cursed Energy in one hand and hurled it directly at Jinichi while simultaneously kicking off the ground to dive into his right blind spot.
The Cursed Energy sphere flew straight at his face, but Jinichi's response was seasoned. Instead of parrying or dodging, he pivoted slightly, tanking the explosion with his toughened back muscles. In the same motion, he shrugged his shoulder to effortlessly deflect Kanao's surprise punch coming from his blind spot.
BOOM!
The distance vanished amid the roar of the exploding energy sphere. A point-blank, high-speed brawl began.
"Haaaaah!"
Following the Muay Thai basics I had drilled into her, Kanao kept her forearms high to protect her face, unleashing a relentless barrage of lethal elbows in the tight space. Jinichi refused to back down, answering with a sequence of short, powerful hooks.
THUD! CRACK! THWACK!
Heavy impact sounds filled the training grounds. In the midst of that frantic exchange, Kanao's sharp left elbow found a gap in Jinichi's jaw guard and sliced through with precision.
Even as his head snapped back from the impact, Jinichi reflexively drove a heavy counter-hook into Kanao's face.
"Kh...!"
POW!
The counter sent Kanao's head reeling. However, she forced her eyes to stay open, enduring the hit as she immediately recovered her posture and backstepped to reset the distance.
Silence returned to the center of the arena.
Drip—
Under the stunned gaze of the crowd, a thin red line appeared on Jinichi's cheek, followed shortly by a steady trail of blood running down his face.
Interview with Ranta Zenin, member of The Hei:
"Ah, yes. I heard Lord Jinichi was sparring and rushed over to watch. To be honest, when I heard the opponent was some female sorcerer, I didn't expect much... but wow, I learned so much!"
Ranta Zenin sat before the camera, his face flushed with excitement.
"She was terrifyingly aggressive. She left a wound on Lord Jinichi's tough cheek that looked like it was made by a razor blade."
"Pardon? You're asking how impressive that is?"
Ranta waved his hand dismissively, his voice rising in intensity.
"You hear these metaphors in the martial arts world all the time. They call a karate chop a 'knife hand' or say a jab is 'as fast as a bullet.' Some martial arts fanatics even go as far as saying 'every part of a master's body is a lethal weapon.'"
He let out a smirk.
"But in the end, those are just metaphors. No matter how much you train a hand, it can never surpass the sharpness of an actual steel blade."
His eyes suddenly gleamed.
"However... I saw it with my own two eyes. Kanao-san's elbow literally sliced through Lord Jinichi's cheek!"
"Oh? Was it just a skin-burst from friction?"
Ranta shook his head firmly. He pressed his thumb against the wooden desk in front of him.
"If skin bursts from friction, blood splatters out instantly around the impact point. But Lord Jinichi's cheek..."
Scritch—
Ranta put his weight into his thumb and dragged his nail across the surface of the desk. A thin, clear scratch, as if made by a nail or a knife, appeared on the wood.
"Did you see that? It wasn't a blunt impact. Her skin was torn open as if a nail had gouged it... and only then did the blood start seeping out from the gap!"