"Everyone!" The loud voice of the announcer commanded the attention of all the spectators gathered in the stands, their focus shifting entirely to the arena. Two individuals stood there, eyeing each other intently.

One was a petite girl with silver hair cropped short, her ears adorned with golden spider-shaped earrings. She wore a leather jacket, leaving her arms exposed, but they were tightly wrapped in bandages. Her legs, similarly bandaged, were covered by a pair of shorts. A utility belt adorned with numerous pouches hung at her waist, from which two short blades, wakizashi, dangled.

"Give it up for Riiiiin Kaaaaaamiiiiiishiiiiiiimaaaaa!" The announcer bellowed.

In response, the girl raised a hand in the air, causing the stands to erupt in cheers. It was evident that members of the Kamishima clan were the most fervent in their support. Their flags waved in the air, and they chanted her name for a brief moment.

As the excitement in the stands settled down a bit, the announcer seized the moment once more. "And Taaaakaaaaashiiii Kōōōōōriiiiiiii!"

For Ren, this guy was already a well-known figure. He was a young warrior with spiky hair, a well-defined, athletic physique, and exposed arms covered in tattoos. One of those Hiroshi and Satoru had warned him about – almost a certain bet to win the tournament.

He raised his fist in the air, causing the stands to erupt once more. This time, the Kōri clan was the loudest, chanting the name of their warrior and waving their flags.

After a moment of excitement, the audience calmed down, and then the loud gong announced the start of the duel.

"Show me your best," Takashi said, smiling with confidence as he fist-bumped himself, showing his readiness to fight. The tattoos on his arms seemed to glow.

Rin jumped back, reaching to her belt and pulling out three gray balls, which she held between her fingers. She hurled them all at him before even landing. Then she retrieved her weapons and began running to the side.

Takashi showed no sign of wanting to dodge this attack.

"What dumb confidence," Satoru remarked as Ren watched the duel.

The balls turned out to be small bombs, exploding with a loud puff on impact with the young warrior's body. A cloud of smoke briefly obscured his vision, and then suddenly several large hornets appeared around him, buzzing viciously.

"What an idiot," the old man commented once more.

Takashi only smiled as the bugs attacked him, attempting to pierce his skin with their stingers. It seemed like he could be in deep trouble, but he didn't even react initially, calmly assuming a fighting stance and taking a deep breath. Then his hands moved in a blur of motion, causing all the hornets to fall dead to the ground torn to shreds.

Rin halted, sliding on the sand, and threw her wakizashi at him, but he dodged it without even looking at the weapon. She then grabbed more bombs and threw them again, pulling on an invisible thread linked to her weapon, to make the wakizashi fly once more.

Takashi leaned forward, preparing to jump, but it looked more like he teleported, appearing right behind the bombs, which hit the ground slightly behind him. More hornets filled the air. The short blade that flew at him got grabbed mid-air before reaching its target, and he ripped the thread from it, throwing the weapon to the side. As the bugs assaulted him from behind, he jumped and spun in the air, delivering a kick from above that cut the air like an axe, decimating the hornets. He landed gracefully, then slowly turned back to face Rin.

"She can't win. The difference in skill is overwhelming," Satoru declared.

"You judge her too soon," Hiroshi argued. "She hasn't shown her best skill yet."

These words made both Ren and the old man look at the doctor.

"She is a close combat expert. The bombs and thrown weapons were just to set the stage. She uses short swords and also has a thread to pull them back. This means she can't afford to lose those weapons. She used that to lure him closer. She tried to set the ground and then move to the next step, which is close combat, but she failed. Although she did, it doesn't mean the fight is over," he explained.

Those words made them both look back at what was transpiring in the arena. Rin still appeared to be trying to keep Takashi at a distance, throwing more bombs. However, it seemed like he didn't want to keep playing her games. With rapid movements and fancy footwork, he dodged the balls, making them explode as they hit the ground behind him, causing the hornets to chase after him once again. But he was so fast that he caught up to the female shortly after.

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He tried to punch her in the guts, but she blocked with her wakizashi. Normally, he would probably lose a finger or two, but instead, a few sparks flew away upon impact, as if his skin was made out of iron.

"The shinryoku body technique," Satoru said. "She won't pierce his skin with this dull blade."

Surprisingly, Rin was not taken aback by the fact that her block had no effect on Takashi. She swiftly transitioned from defense to offense, stepping into his guard. She stomped on his foot, grabbed his collar, and threw him over her shoulder while stabbing him in the side with her weapon.

The last attack had no effect, but Takashi ended up almost smashing face-first into the sand. However, at the last moment, he stopped the impact with his hand, only to eject himself in the air and land nicely on both legs.

He turned around with a smile on his face.

"Very good, but you will have to try much harder to win," he said with a confident smirk.

"Are you sure about that? I think I've already won," she replied with an equally annoying smile.

The hornets appeared after, swiftly swarming the young warrior. He once again assumed his stance to perform those quick attacks, but then his eyes widened, and for the first time, the bugs stung him. What was supposed to be a crushing defeat now started to look like a victory, and Takashi had to salvage himself by slapping and crushing the hornets with regular attacks. Still, it cost him dearly, and his body began to swell.

"What happened?" Ren asked, shifting his attention to Hiroshi.

"I told you, she had an ace up her sleeve," the doctor responded.

"Look closely!" Suddenly, Satoru jumped to his feet, pointing at the young warrior.

Prompted by this, Ren observed the battle more closely and finally noticed what was happening. There weren't many of them, but black spots were moving here and there on Takashi’s body.

"Ants!" said the old man. "She used ants to do something."

"I've heard that insect users in the Kamishima clan can make certain bugs extract the shinryoku from their opponents' bodies," Hiroshi explained.

"That would explain everything," Satoru said, sitting back down with a smile on his face. "She took away his shield and sword, the shinryoku. Without it, he can't do anything, and she'll win with those bugs and their poison."

Ren's eyes went wide. 'Wow... That's so scary. I never expected such a move,' he thought to himself. 'I really can't afford to fight for long. I need to win quickly because I have no idea what moves I can anticipate from my opponents.'

"You think you've won?!" Takashi's loud scream brought Ren's attention back to the fight.

"I do. You have the poison of my hornets in your veins, and my ants are consuming all of your shinryoku. What can you possibly do now?" she asked, full of confidence.

"I'll show you what!" he stated.

Then he put his hands together in front of his face as if he was praying. For a brief second, he closed his eyes, only to open them and see Rin throwing more of the paper bombs at him. Those eyes were burning with white energy, making him look strange. The veins on his body popped out, and the tattoos flashed with power. The ants started to pop like popping corn thrown to the fire.

He dropped to the ground, only to leap forward with such speed that the bombs missed him completely. Within a single second, he appeared in front of the girl. Her teeth were gritted, and she swung her wakizashi trying to cut him, but compared to Takashi, she was sluggish at best.

He struck her with an open palm straight in the stomach, sending her flying into the air. A pulse burst out of her mouth. Before she got out of his reach, he grabbed her leg, rushing to the side, spinning around, and slamming her straight into the sand.

She tried to pick herself up, but he got to her quicker and punched her in the back, pinning her to the ground.

"ARGH!" A groan escaped her mouth, and then her body went limp.

Takashi stepped away, just watching. Meanwhile, the bombs exploded, and the hornets were released, but this time they just buzzed around as if they couldn't find the target for their rage, only to focus on the closest person—Takashi. He killed them with a mighty swing of his hand.

"She's done," Satoru declared aloud. "The bugs are not under her control."

Just as he spoke the words, the medical team appeared in the arena, rushing to take care of Rin, while Takashi headed to the exit. The stands erupted with loud cheers. They started whistling and chanting his name. Even the flags were waved.

"What a powerhouse," said Hiroshi. "So much shinryoku… Even the bugs and the poison were not enough to stop him."

"Mhm," Satoru agreed.

But their conversation was abruptly cut short as another two participants stepped into the arena. Ren immediately recognized Kazuki with the massive hump on his back and hunched-over posture. He didn't look like a warrior at all.

The red-haired, lively female who was his opponent, on the other hand, looked like one. She wore a white tong suit without sleeves, which left her tattooed arms exposed. Her hands were bandaged, and on each, she wore brass knuckles.

"Everybody!" The crackling voice of the announcer shook the arena once more. "Give it up for Miiiiiikaaaaaaa Kōōōōōriiiiiiii!"

The members of the Kōri clan erupted on the stands, chanting her name. It took a moment, but eventually, they calmed down, making room for the announcer to speak again.

"And Kaaaaaazuuuuukiiiiii Isoooooogaiiiii!"

The Isogai clan members reacted by chanting his name. Ren joined in, even standing up and clapping for his friend. He felt that he should cheer him on, and to his surprise, Kazuki noticed. He looked toward the designated area on the stand and smiled. He even waved back. He appeared to be quite thrilled to have a friend cheering for him.

Moments later, when the cheers subsided, the sound of the gong announced the next duel.