Yujiro Hanma's cheap trick might have worked on others with its subtlety.
But for the battle-hardened Karna, it was nothing. He had faced foes far less scrupulous than Yujiro.
To him, Yujiro's ploy was child's play.
As the ki arrow shot toward him, Karna's eyes blazed red.
Two beams of light burst from his gaze, like lasers, piercing through Yujiro's ki arrow and streaking toward him.
Yujiro instantly used Instant Movement to evade, but it was too late.
The beams struck his arm, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter, severing his right arm as blood sprayed.
Yujiro stifled a scream, letting out a muffled groan, sweat pouring from his forehead.
He had underestimated Karna, never imagining his eyes could emit lasers.
Such carelessness.
The sight shocked not only Yujiro but everyone else, including Hitomi and Saeko Busujima.
"What… what was that?" Miko stammered, utterly baffled. She had never seen such a move.
Morpheus said, "That's… a true hero, killing with a glance."
"..."
In the arena, Yujiro, using ki to staunch the bleeding, reluctantly said, "I concede."
He was no match for Karna to begin with, and now, having lost an arm, continuing would likely mean death at Karna's hands.
So, he chose to surrender.
Yujiro knew the importance of survival. Death meant losing everything.
Only by living could he grow stronger and reclaim his honor.
Without hesitation, he conceded.
Karna nodded, allowing Yujiro to leave the arena.
Next, Baki Hanma stepped up.
As the protagonist of Baki, Baki's strength was notable. Though he had lost many times, each defeat fueled his growth, enabling him to surpass former foes.
A true growth-oriented protagonist.
But unfortunately, he was still too green to challenge Karna.
Their clash lasted only a few exchanges. Karna swept his God-Slaying Spear, striking Baki and sending him flying.
The moment Baki hit the ground, he fell into a deep, almost infantile sleep.
A perfect display of a modern youth's ability to crash instantly.
Yujiro sighed, turning to Jack Hanma. "Go bring that embarrassing kid back."
Jack snorted, leaping from the stands to retrieve the unconscious Baki.
But he didn't face Karna, choosing instead to concede.
Karna's three matches had made it clear how overwhelmingly powerful he was.
Jack knew he wasn't Karna's match and saw no point in humiliating himself.
So, he surrendered.
With the Team Hanma's concession, Morpheus's Team Extraterrestrial naturally claimed victory.
Next up was the Team Heroics.
Morpheus turned to Miko and Hana, asking, "You two want to take the stage?"
In truth, among the Team Heroics's five members—Raikou, Medea, Martha, Miko, and Hana—only Raikou, Medea, and Martha were truly eager for the tournament.
Miko and Hana were just along for the ride.
But as the saying goes, since they were here, they might as well try.
Competing could be a valuable experience.
With Morpheus watching, they were in no real danger.
They could fight with confidence.
At Morpheus's question, Miko and Hana exchanged glances, seeing both excitement and trepidation in each other's eyes.
The Dark Tournament wasn't child's play. The brutal matches they'd witnessed had made its dangers clear.
But they had gained considerable power. Surely they could handle one fight.
The instinct for violence was etched into everyone's DNA, regardless of gender.
Even girls like Miko and Hana had a faint inclination toward it, though it was subtle, almost negligible.
But today, at the tournament, that faint spark was deliberately kindled.
After a brief discussion, they decided to compete.
"Just one match," Miko said slowly.
Morpheus didn't comment.
So, Miko stepped down to the arena.
Her opponents were members of the Team Aogiri.
The Team Aogiri consisted entirely of human-eating ghouls: Eto Yoshimura, Yakumo Oomori, Tatara, Rize Kamishiro, and Ayato Kirishima.
Their appearance caught Morpheus off guard.
He hadn't expected this world to include Tokyo Ghoul.
Despite wandering Tokyo for so long, he had never heard of ghouls or investigators like the Doves.
Morpheus figured it was because this world was so chaotic, teeming with demons and monsters.
Ghouls were hardly notable. Even someone like Eto, the One-Eyed King, was insignificant compared to stronger yokai.
Thus, ghouls couldn't rise to prominence or draw attention as they did in the original story, forced to skulk like rats in the shadows.
That explained why Morpheus had never heard of them.
He wondered where they got the confidence to join the Dark Tournament.
Miko's opponent was Ayato Kirishima from the Team Aogiri.
In the original Tokyo Ghoul story, he was Touka Kirishima's younger brother, an S-rank ghoul.
The moment he stepped up, he taunted Miko.
"Hey, this isn't a playground. I suggest you leave."
He acted high and mighty.
If not for the seriousness in his eyes, Morpheus might have believed his bravado.
Ayato was clever, using verbal attacks to shake Miko's confidence.
After all, Miko looked like a harmless high school girl, her eyes still holding a naive innocence, out of place in the arena's grim atmosphere.
Ayato had noticed this and aimed to intimidate her into withdrawing, hoping to win without a fight.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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