SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY, 9:30AM
*sigh*
“This sure is annoying.”
On a high-rise building nearby to the Family Grounds, sat Gyuwhan Ryujin and Daisuke Taejin, once again. This had become commonplace for them both, who had developed a kind of uncle-nephew relationship over the years since Ivan Ryujin’s death. At the moment however, they weren’t just taking in scenery - they were observing the Hunters Tournament. Of course, they couldn’t directly observe the proceedings in the Colosseum, but they instead viewed through the eyes of Mujin, who snuck into the Family Grounds unnoticed.
Normally, Tenchi Yamaguchi would be able to immediately pick up on the energy signatures of anyone entering the complex, but Mujin’s body had a special characteristic that enabled him to conceal his presence, almost appearing to not even exist, even inside a Soul-Barrier that thoroughly scans the energies of every person within. As Mujin watched the events unfold, he activated the Dragon Relay Technique to enable his associates Gyuwhan and Daisuke to watch.
Gyuwhan was just annoyed that he couldn’t be there in-person.
“So, that was Jamal Sanjuro, the youngest child of Gado...” Daisuke remarked.
“He still looks like quite a weakling. Based on what I’m sensing through Mujin, that kid has no readable energy. Almost like a civilian...”
Only one thought lingered on Gyuwhan’s mind: could this boy really have been related to the disturbance his father felt that time?
“Well, it seems the next match is about to begin,” Daisuke pointed out, observing Mujin’s Relay.
“I don’t really care but…I guess I’ll watch. Nothing else to do anyway,” Gyuwhan responded.
----------------------------------------
COLOSSEUM
The audience was still cheering on the boys from the previous matchup. As they left the fighting ring, Jamal looked all around him, and saw his parents and brother toward the North; they were watching him and clapping. Smiling back, he felt a big boost of confidence within himself.
“Haha! Nice fighting out there, little brother!” Ilmar fist-bumped his brother’s chest as he entered the waiting area with Kento, whose arm was slung over Jamal’s shoulder until they returned from the arena. Ilmar’s face changed however, when he looked at Kento, who was looking away.
“What happened out there, Kento? You seemed really upset about something,” Zeke asked, picking up on his odd performance.
“I-It was nothing, I got a little uneasy. Sorry.”
It was at this point that the next match was announced: Ilmar Sanjuro and Namiyo Yamaguchi. Stretching his arms in the air, Ilmar started taking a few steps to the arena entrance.
“Guess I’m up now,” he said as he glanced over to Namiyo who was still sitting down, adorned in a dark blue martial arts robe, slim fit dark pants and track shoes, along with a dark blue blindfold around his head.
“Let’s get it started already, Namiyo.”
Keenly discerning the boy’s nonchalant tone, he smiled slightly without moving an inch.
“Confident as always,” he said as he stood to his feet and approached Ilmar, hands in his pocket.
“Namiyo...he’ll definitely put up a challenge for Ilmar. I know I’d lose if it were me, without a doubt...” Jamal thought to himself as he watched the blindfolded boy walk.
“You’ve got this, Mar-kun!” Gina cheered on her brother.
“Of course I do,” he responded with a smirk, brimming with confidence as he entered the arena. Typical Ilmar.
Upon seeing the boys walking to the ring, the audience cheered in eagerness for the next exciting match that they were about to see. As was done last time, Katashi gave small descriptions of the fighters:
“Approaching the ring, both at 12 years old, we have Namiyo Yamaguchi, who’s actually ranked top 4 among the Hunter Trainees! Next to him, we have Ilmar Sanjuro, and once again...a child of Gado-sama enters the ring!”
Hearing that part, the audience absolutely erupted. Having previously witnessed the younger son of Gado, how much more thrilling of a sight would this match prove to be?
“Oooh? Another of Gado-sama’s children?”
“The younger one earlier was quite impressive; I wonder if he’s even more amazing?”
“That Namiyo kid...why's he wearing a blindfold?”
“He seems quite strong himself.”
As the competitors observed the two approaching the ring, their eyes were fixed to the waiting room’s screens. Not even in sparring have these two geniuses ever fought each other. It felt like the match could go either way, even though Ilmar was positioned higher in class.
Tarik was caught up in thought; he was among those who had a very good idea of what Namiyo had grown capable of.
“Namiyo-kun...can he really match up to Ilmar?”
Among the Heads, Gado saw the blindfolded boy and was intrigued.
“His eyes...?”
“Ah, I’ve heard a little about him. You can go ahead and elaborate, Emir,” Tenchi instructed, turning his head to his brother’s direction.
“Yeah, about that kid...” – Emir began to explain, right as the match was about to start.
“Ready?...GO!!"
Ilmar started off explosively; completely ignoring his connector, he launched a Body Reinforced punch to the air, the force thereof rushing straight across the fighting ring, slightly vibrating the very ground they stood on. Namiyo, still blindfolded, swiftly side-stepped this attack that went past him, striking the 8-metre-high safety wall that surrounded the fighting area, and caused a large gust of wind to kick up. Before one could even keep up with the course of actions that were just taken, Ilmar had already closed the distance between himself and Namiyo and started attacking viciously. Surprisingly, the blindfolded fighter anticipated and avoided every attack, engaging in very short exchanges as well, but mostly dodging.
“You really love fighting, don’t you?” Namiyo asked him as he dodged some low and high kicks.
“Well, that technique of yours is too damn annoying, so I’m getting rid of you first, Namiyo!” Ilmar responded while throwing jabs and hooks, that were all swiftly evaded.
The audience watched with their jaws in their laps, completely on the edges of their seats; this battle was nothing like what they just saw!
As the Heads took in the battle, Emir took the liberty of continuing his elaboration:
“Namiyo Yamaguchi...he was born with a rare eye condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. It’s a condition where the photoreceptors of the retina begin to break down, and in the worst case, results in complete blindness. It’s an extremely rare illness, but there have definitely been recorded cases in the Yamaguchi Family.”
Stolen novel; please report.
He continued, “The most obvious symptom is impaired vision, but bright light is also extremely uncomfortable. For this reason, he wears a blindfold.”
“I see, so right now he must be using his Spirit Energy to read his surroundi-” Gado began to summarize right before Emir cut him off:
“No, Gado-sama. That kid...is a whole other genius. Watch him closely.”
As they continued watching the battle unfold, Gado carefully examined the boy’s moves, trying to determine his secret.
“...I can’t tell what he’s doing, but are you saying he’s not using energy to interact with his surroundings?” Gado asked confusedly.
“Yep...he’s actually using sound."
Hearing this, Gado’s eyes widened. This was in fact, exactly what Namiyo was doing; he listened keenly for the vibrations in the air and responded accordingly. This was an absolutely rare sight.
“Based on the information Chojo shared with us, Namiyo-kun’s training and even regular day-to-day engagements all involved listening. In order to circumvent his deteriorating vision, that kid sharpened his hearing to unfathomable levels, in addition to mastering spiritual awareness. As long as he can hear, he knows where he is, who or what’s nearby, who’s doing what - it wouldn’t be wrong to assume he can see perfectly fine,” Emir explained as he watched the boy, utterly impressed.
“Nothing short of amazing...I like that kid,” Gado remarked in admiration.
However, something still seemed unclear to him,
“But I don’t understand why his specialty is Wave Controller. Why’s that?”
At this moment, after studying Ilmar’s fighting pattern for a bit, Namiyo began the counterattack. He wasn’t aiming to land perfect hits, but as he started attacking, Ilmar’s course of action was now to absolutely avoid them, not even blocking anything. Unfortunately, he got careless for a split second, and blocked an attack with his forearm.
“Crap...here goes,” Ilmar thought, smiling nervously as a drop of sweat ran down his face.
After this exchange, Namiyo quickly retreated away. Ilmar ran after him, but he was late: Namiyo clapped his hands together.
Ilmar…stumbled to his knee, stunned.
“He attacks using Sound Waves.”
All eyes watching at that point became like saucers, especially those of the trainees; someone slowed down Ilmar! A feat like this performed by anyone other than Satoru was simply inconceivable. Satoru himself upon seeing this, actually facepalmed and sighed. Everyone else however, suffered a skipped heartbeat.
“NAMIYO CAUGHT ILMAR!!” the Trainees all thought in unison.
Following this development, Emir continued to explain:
“Hunters from the Yamaguchi Clan are trained extensively in Majutsu Manipulation...their fighting style revolves around hitting the body’s Majutsu Circulatory System directly, to shut it down overtime as a means of restraint. The thing is, as they do that, they’ll be putting their own energy into your body. In Namiyo’s case...that’s all he needs. Just one touch."
“Namiyo can transmit his energy through sound waves. But, at his current level, he’s only effective by placing some of his energy inside his opponent’s body. After that, he’s clear to start attacking. His attacks are aimed for the body's senses, particularly hearing. His opponent's gonna be stunned whenever it connects,” Emir summarized.
“What an annoying technique…I wonder how that kid's gonna go about this,” Gado wondered as he watched his second son, kneeling down in the ring. Slowly regaining his bearings, Ilmar looked up at Namiyo who stared back at him (lol), and began speaking,
“I knew your technique was annoying, but this is pretty damn annoying,” Ilmar remarked as he glanced all around him, looking at the audience, as well as searching for his connector; it was quite a distance away from him, while Namiyo had picked up his connector by now.
“Just how much better will he become as he hones this technique?” Ilmar wondered to himself.
“You’re strong, Ilmar. But you can’t beat this technique. I can stun you as much as I want, just like this -” Namiyo responded as he snapped his fingers, the sound echoing and vibrating throughout Ilmar’s body, making him almost lose his balance and fall over.
“You also can’t use Body Reinforcement anymore, since it’ll only strengthen my technique’s effect on you. That technique enhances your 5 senses, correct?”
“Heh…you’re even more confident than I am, y’know,” Ilmar warned him with a grin.
“At least I’m the one who’ll actually win,” he teased as he walked toward the center of the ring, connector in hand.
Everyone watched as Namiyo walked, and some of the audience started clapping and cheering on, pleased with his skillful display of his capabilities. The Trainees however, mostly watched in anticipation for something totally unexpected; even Satoru watched in complete silence with his head rested in his hand…waiting for Ilmar to make a move.
Jamal was the only one who didn’t share this anticipation however:
“No way…hey, nii-chan's really gonna-!”
??
Looking around at his classmates, they were completely fixed to the display, watching in silence. Jamal was utterly confused. Did he miss something?
“Hey, Gina…!” he turned to his older sister.
“Hm?”
Hm???
“Is…Isn’t this bad for him??”
Gina stared at her younger brother.
“Don’t you know who your brother is, Jamal?”
The boy was speechless at these words.
“You’re silly, y’know?”
“But, remember this, Jamal. Your brother…”
Back in the ring, as Namiyo neared the insertion point, Ilmar who was still kneeling down, uttered a small phrase, and the sight that followed was absolutely horrifying…
Body Reinforcement! · 身体強化 (Shin-tai Kyou-ka)
With his energy flaring up within him, Ilmar bolted over to Namiyo’s position like a rocket, the latter receiving the shock of his lifetime upon noticing:
“Is…this guy insane?? Is he aware that if I attack him while he’s reinforced, I could probably-”
*THWACK*
Before Namiyo could even finish thinking, he was already delivered a heavy kick to the chest that sent him with his connector flying outside the ring! If the viewers were bewildered at the beginning of the match, the current bewilderment was far beyond comprehension.
Gina then continued her statement to Jamal:
“…he’s a lunatic.”
As Namiyo flew outside the ring, Ilmar had already begun dashing toward his connector. Before Namiyo fully exited however, he grit his teeth and brought his hands together:
“Fine…if this is what you want, you damn psychopath!” – Namiyo clapped his hands together, before passing the ring boundary!
In that moment, his senses enhanced by the Body Reinforcement Technique…the pain that was dealt to Ilmar’s body was at least 5 times greater than what he felt initially. He felt like if he were to stop, he would never move again. Nevertheless, his body couldn’t manage, and Ilmar fell to the ground a few feet away from his connector. Following these occurrences, Katashi announced:
“Namiyo Yamaguchi has been disqualified via Ring-Out! As one connector remains, Ilmar Sanjuro has 10 seconds to insert his connector!”
Ilmar felt like moving even an inch would take an eternity. His body was completely battered, the backlash of Body Reinforcement along with the amplified attack he fell victim to. He was dizzy, and his ears were ringing out of control. It didn’t seem like Ilmar would be moving anytime soon.
The trainees first, all began cheering on Ilmar from the waiting areas, except a small few including Maki, Saki, Akiro and Satoru, who simply watched intently to see what would happen. Following this, the audience began cheering him on, trying to give him some form of energy boost. The Heads as well as Fudo and Emir were also quite engaged.
As Ilmar laid on his back, he looked up at the Colosseum’s glass roofing, and was lost in thought for a moment.
“Man...do I really have to move right now?...”
“Everything feels so...peaceful...”
In the background of his thoughts, he could hear a countdown:
“7!”
“6!”
“5!”
He could hear slight cheering as well:
“Ilmar! Ilmar! Ilmar!”
Then, as he was about to close his eyes…he suddenly remembered the faces of his younger brother, and his sister, smiling.
“...fine...just please, let me rest after this.”
Suddenly, his body’s energy flared up within him once more! By the time Katashi arrived at 3 seconds, Ilmar had immediately bolted up and grabbed his connector, hurling it toward the center of the ring, just as he saw Kento do it earlier. About half a second after Katashi said “1”, the connector snapped into place: Ilmar won!
“Winner: Ilmar Sanjuro!!!”
The crowd erupted louder than any volcano possibly could. Ilmar’s magnificent victory stole the hearts of everyone present. His fellow classmates all cheered on as well, except Jamal who looked on with widened eyes.
Ilmar was still standing at the moment, and with a grin and a sigh of relief, he was about to fall flat on his face before Katashi caught him.
“You’re the craziest kid I know,” he whispered to the boy as he carried him over to some medics who had come to escort him and Namiyo. As the medics passed through the waiting area, Jamal, Gina, Kento and Zeke came over to see them; Namiyo walked with the assistance of a medic, while Ilmar was carried on a stretcher.
“He’s out cold at the moment. He’ll be fine once we treat him,” one of the medics assured them. They couldn’t help but admire the smile on Ilmar’s face as he was asleep.
On the outside, Gyuwhan and Daisuke had seen the match. Daisuke was quite impressed, but Gyuwhan didn’t show much enthusiasm.
“He’s much more talented than his younger brother. Quite reckless, as well,” Daisuke remarked.
“Yeah. He seems like a stupid one, but he doesn’t do anything unnecessarily. I didn’t care at first, but I’ll give him a little attention,” Gyuwhan half-heartedly praised him.
However, even after such a thrilling matchup, there was no room for any delays; the third match was now underway:
“Now, for the next match:”
“Kinshi Yamaguchi, Zeke Sanjuro!”