"Today's lesson is on advanced combos into your specials," Sensei Bauchi announced to the class. "Would anyone like to volunteer for a demonstration?" Felix eagerly raised his hand. "Mr. Warner, please join me on stage," Sensei Bauchi invited. With a series of jumps and flips, Felix made his way to the front. After bowing respectfully to each other, both Sensei and Felix assumed their stances. Sensei Bauchi launched into action, landing a punch on Felix's head followed by a swift kick to his side and finally pushing him away with an open palm. "Special Move: Trigon of storms!" he declared as it began to rain over Felix who was then struck by lightning before being blasted off the stage from an explosion. The fighters watched in awe at Sensei Bauchi's combo execution. "Now it's your turn. Find a partner and try it out," instructed Sensei Bauchi. Felix shrugged off his fall and partnered up with Jax while Kiyoshi asked Lionel to be his partner. "Sure," Lionel agreed readily. Felix threw two punches at Jax followed by a double elbow smash, a karate chop, and ended with a moon punch targeted at Jax's stomach. "Special Move: Moon Typhoon!" he shouted as the blast sent Jax flying across the room. Jax got back up undeterred, ready for his turn. He executed two roundhouse kicks followed by a leg sweep which caused Felix to lose balance. As Felix fell backward, Jax landed a lightning kick on him before jumping high into the air for his special move: Lightning Pulse! The attack paralyzed Felix temporarily due to its critical hit but Jax was quick to help him back up again. "We're looking good for the tournament," said Felix optimistically. "I can't wait for it," responded Jax enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Lionel had Kiyoshi on the ropes with a barrage of rapid punches and a swift straight kick. "Special Move: Neon Flash!" he shouted, blinding Kiyoshi momentarily. Lionel then moved around him like a whirlwind, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks before ending with a palm strike that sent Kiyoshi to the ground. "How did you come up with that?" Kiyoshi asked as he shook off his dizziness. "I don't know. It just came to me," Lionel shrugged nonchalantly before creating some distance for Kiyoshi's turn. Kiyoshi launched himself into an aerial twirl, his foot turning purple mid-air before landing a hit on Lionel who staggered back dizzily. He followed it up with two straight punches, struck Lionel's knee and finished with a reverse hurricane kick. "Special Move: Shadow Shredder!" he declared as he landed on top of Lionel while scratching his face. "Nice combo, Kiyoshi!" complimented Lionel. "I can't believe you said something nice for once," remarked Kiyoshi. "Don't get used to it. If you ever make me angry, there will be consequences," warned Lionel. The sound of the gong signaled the end of class and everyone dispersed from the room including Felix, Jax, Lionel and Kiyoshi. As they left the room together, they discussed their rankings in anticipation of the upcoming tournament.Lionel was closest to breaking into the top 100 rankings while Felix was ranked 180th and Kiyoshi was at 200th out of 5000 fighters on the island according to Jax who was scrolling through the rankings on his watch. "The magic number is sixty-four with at least 42000 points," informed Jax about entering the tournament or earning a star ranking. The top fighter on their island was Havel Tane, a five gold stars fighter with 100000 points, a fact that left Felix, Lionel, and Kiyoshi in stunned silence. "We have a lot of work to do if we want to enter this tournament," said Felix finally. "Let's split up and find some fighters to challenge," suggested Lionel as they all went their separate ways. Jax headed towards the more challenging part of the island where he found many fighters engaged in battles. "This seems like a good spot for a fight," he mused aloud before sliding down to the main platform for a challenge. Perched on a rock, a fighter captured Jax's attention. "You seem unfamiliar. We've yet to cross fists," he hollered towards Jax. The fighter introduced himself as Todd Wilcox, a one-star boxer hailing from Germany with deep azure eyes and luxurious straight brown hair styled in an elaborate peacock feather pattern. He was dressed in a black Gi with a yellow belt embellished with one star and the emblem of a Satyr emblazoned on the back of his Gi. As he slipped on his boxing gloves, he quizzed Jax about his exposure to boxers before. "I can't say I have," Jax confessed, curiosity piqued. "Allow me to be your maiden encounter," Todd proposed, bowing respectfully towards Jax who returned the gesture. Their watches chimed in unison, "Match initiated." Swiftly, Todd lunged at Jax delivering a punch that landed squarely on Jax's face sending him sprawling onto the ground. However, Jax swiftly rolled back onto his feet as Todd began swaying his hips rhythmically. Jax attempted to land a kick on Todd but was thwarted by Todd's punch which swiftly transitioned into a five-punch combo followed by an uppercut and concluding with a forceful straight punch. Reeling from the onslaught, Jax tumbled onto the ground only to rise again albeit slightly disoriented. "Special Move: Hard horn punch," announced Todd as his fist morphed into a holographic goat horn. Just as the punch was about to connect, Jax recovered from his dizziness blocking the blow and retaliating with a swift kick that sent Todd stumbling backwards. Jax then launched an electrifying hurricane kick aimed at Todd's face followed by a dark blue electrically charged punch to his stomach. One of Jax’s eyes morphs into that of Mitsukodorian’s eye. "Super Move: Lightning Gale Pulse," Jax roared, forming a gigantic wind sphere in his palm which transformed into a dark blue electric ball and hurled it at Todd. Todd deflected the attack back towards Jax who managed to catch his super move even as Todd charged towards him. In response, Jax leapt into the air releasing the energy ball mid-air onto Todd who activated his spirit guardian form. "I am Licorice, the Violent Satyr," Todd bellowed transforming into a half-human half-goat creature and rapidly punching the energy ball back to Jax. Surrounded by an aura, Jax invoked his spirit guardian form. "I am Tethyus, the dark blue electric hippogriff," he declared before delivering a straight kick that absorbed his super move and crashed down onto Todd's boxing gloves causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Todd lay unconscious on the ground. "Match concluded," announced their watches. Jax’s points escalated to 48000 and his rank increased to 63. Glancing down at his belt, Jax noticed a new star adorning it. “It appears I've made my mark,” said Jax. Meanwhile, Lionel headed towards the academy's enormous pound in search of his second match for the day; he had already defeated a fighter approaching one-star rank earlier. He observed numerous fighters engaged in fierce battles around him. “This must be where high-star fighters spar,” Lionel mused aloud when suddenly he was addressed by an unknown voice asking if he was lost. “No, I’m confident I'm not lost,” Lionel replied assertively as a fighter descended from a tree landing before him prompting Lionel to assume an offensive stance. “Who might you be?” Lionel enquired of the stranger who responded vaguely hinting at being either friend or foe. Observing two stars on his belt Lionel complimented him on being well-trained. “Can you prove yourself worthy of my time?” the stranger challenged Lionel who confidently responded, “I can show you.” “Before we begin, I am Nagao Han,” the stranger introduced himself. He had large yellow eyes and his wavy scarlet hair was styled to resemble water waves. His skin was as white as china and his ears were of average size. He wore an ice-blue karate Gi with a scorpion tail design and two stars on his belt along with a scorpion logo on the back. “Heh, this seems like an easy match Nagao,” taunted Serkoth, Nagao’s spirit guardian. Lionel initiated the match by bowing first which was reciprocated by Nagao. Their watches announced in unison, "Match engaged." As soon as Nagao assumed his stance, his fist solidified into ice before striking Lionel who spun in mid-air before crashing onto the ground. After landing another strike, Nagao retreated back into stance while Lionel dusted himself off from Nagao's attack. “Lucky shot,” Lionel muttered under his breath before charging at him with a neon punch but it was deflected by Nagao who counterattacked with an icy punch followed by a swift kick which sent both of them spinning. “You are one of the clever ones I see,” noted Nagao as they both got up. “You’re not too shabby yourself,” complimented Lionel causing Nagao to chuckle before declaring he needed to wrap up quickly due to other commitments. Powering up, an icy blue aura enveloped him transforming half his body into that of an ice scorpion. “I am Serkoth, the Ice Scorpion” he declared ominously prompting Lionel to respond in kind. “This is not good Zebeon,” said Lionel urgently prompting Zebeon to instruct him to transform into him immediately. A hot pink aura enveloped Lionel’s body transforming him into a half-human half-pink penguin creature. “I am Zebeon, the Neon Penguin,” Lionel announced boldly. Lionel's hand glowed pink as he landed a powerful karate chop on Nagao, causing him to fall to the ground. But Nagao quickly recovered and countered with a tail stab to Lionel's stomach, freezing it solid. As Nagao taunted Lionel, he attempted another move but was stopped by Lionel's ice-cold grip. Nagao then used his tail to swing his body around and deliver a kick to Lionel's face. But Lionel fought back with a series of punches and kicks, finishing off Nagao with a bright neon punch that knocked him out. Lionel celebrated his victory, earning 50000 points and increasing his rank. Meanwhile, Felix and Mudar were searching for their next opponent to boost their chances in the upcoming tournament. When they attempted to enter the champion pagoda, they were turned away by guards who deemed them not strong enough or skilled enough. Frustrated, Felix claimed that he was one of the fighters who saved the island, only to be challenged by a mysterious voice in front of him. The match began, and Felix easily dodged the voice's first attack before landing an uppercut that sent him flying. But before he could use his special move, Moon Typhoon, the mysterious fighter disappeared and fainted, leaving Felix confused but victorious. “You just demolished a fighter with only two moves,” said Mudar. “Points increase to 52000, rank increase to 62,” said Felix’s watch. “I wonder how many of my opponents lost in points and ranked,” Then, Felix looked down and saw one star on his belt. Kiyoshi's deep voice boomed through the dojo as he announced his special move, "Shadow Shredder." The room was enveloped in darkness outside, and Kiyoshi's opponent frantically searched for his elusive foe. He swung punches wildly, but they connected with nothing but air. Suddenly, Kiyoshi materialized on top of his opponent, delivering a flurry of strikes to their face. His hands seemed to disappear and reappear like shadows as he executed his signature "Shadow Paw" move, knocking his opponent out cold. As their opponent crumpled to the ground, Kiyoshi reveled in his victory. "Easy fight ever; I wish Kitaro was here to witness this achievement," he exclaimed. The match ended as their watches displayed an increase in points to 42000 and a rank increase to 64. "Wow! I just made it into the tournament, and it looks like all my friends made it as well," Kiyoshi exclaimed. He was the last one to arrive at the dojo and saw his friends waiting to congratulate him. "Nice job, Kiyoshi. You made it into the tournament; how does it feel?" asked Jax. "I feel like I could win it all," Kiyoshi declared confidently. "That's my trophy; this is the year of the penguin," boasted Lionel. "Fat chance, it's the year of the wolf," countered Howl Felix. Everyone looked at Felix with confusion until he dismissed their comments with a wave of his hand. "You guys don't even know about my secret weapon - Mitsukdorian," Jax chimed in. "Just wait until Kitaro shows back up; then you'll all be done for," Kiyoshi added with a smirk.Suddenly, their watches went off, signaling an important announcement. All fighters on the island gathered to watch as Grandmaster Sensei appeared on the screen. "Thank you for another eventful year at Zogahr Island academy. Today, we will be introducing the sixty-four fighters who will be participating in the upcoming tournament," he announced solemnly. A list of names flashed on the screen, and Kiyoshi's heart skipped a beat when he saw his own. "There's my name!" he exclaimed with pride. "I see mine too," chimed in Lionel. "And mine," added Jax excitedly. "I see mine, and I also see Scarlet's," Felix said with a grin. "It looks like this is going to be an intense tournament," Mudar remarked. "I just saw Tokido's name; I can't wait to get my revenge on him," Jax growled. "Looks like all our friends made it into this tournament," Lionel observed with satisfaction. Grandmaster Sensei Tom ended the transmission with a final reminder to train hard and be prepared for the upcoming competition, which was two months away. As the group dispersed, Kiyoshi couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline and determination coursing through him. This was his chance to prove himself and show everyone what he was capable of - especially Kitaro, who had yet to return from his journey. With this thought in mind, Kiyoshi resolved to train harder than ever before and make his mark in the upcoming tournament.

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