Watching his father, Kaito, so excited he could barely contain himself, Shiba felt the corners of his lips lift on their own as a scalding emotion surged up and filled his chest.
This feeling was far stronger and purer than any thrill he had ever felt from obtaining a chance or opportunity for himself.
To be able, with his own strength, to help this man—who had always stood like a mountain, shielding the entire family from wind and rain—take that long-dreamed-of step upward… that in itself was an irreplaceable achievement.
"Tou-san, don't wait any longer."
Shiba's voice, tinged with a gentle smile, broke the brief silence.
"Let Haxorus absorb it. Our Kudo family should finally have a second Champion-tier powerhouse holding the fort!"
"Good!"
Kaito answered heavily, as if pouring all the emotions in his chest into that single word.
"Good!"
He repeated it once more. A thin sheen of moisture rose in his eyes. He no longer hesitated. Holding the Dragon Fang carefully in both hands with a solemnity like he was presiding over some sacred ritual, he strode with long, determined steps toward the wide, exclusive training ground behind the manor.
Shiba exchanged a glance with his mother, Ogata Hanae. In each other's eyes, they saw the same expectation and tension before hurrying after him.
They were going to witness this historic moment with their own eyes.
At the center of the training ground, a towering figure stood as still as a mountain.
Haxorus.
Its body was massive, clad from head to toe in dark-red armor that looked as if it had been cast from steel. Every scale gleamed with a cold metallic luster. Most striking of all were the twin axe-like tusks that jutted from its jaws, the edges razor-sharp, refracting a chilling light beneath the sun.
Sensing the wild turbulence of its Trainer's emotions, Haxorus turned its head in puzzlement, deep eyes filled with a silent question.
This Haxorus was the battle partner that had accompanied Kaito through countless life-and-death struggles. Its strength had long since been honed to the extreme peak of the Elite tier, separated from that chasm called "Champion" by only a single, fragile layer of paper.
Kaito walked up in front of it, his breathing growing noticeably heavier.
He raised the Dragon Fang high in his hand and held it up before Haxorus's eyes. His voice, pushed to the very edge of excitement, carried an uncontrollable tremor.
"Old partner, the chance we've waited five full years for… is finally here!"
Haxorus's gaze locked onto the Dragon Fang in an instant.
A yearning from the deepest depths of its bloodline erupted like a tidal wave.
It could clearly feel the unimaginably pure, vast Dragon-type origin power sealed within that seemingly ordinary fang! It was power of the same root and source as itself, a divine treasure that could help it complete its final metamorphosis!
"Graaah—!"
A low, suppressed roar rolled up from deep in its throat. Without the slightest hesitation, it yanked its jaws wide open and swallowed the Dragon Fang in a single gulp!
Boom—!
Almost in the same instant, an utterly berserk Dragon-type energy detonated inside Haxorus's body!
Golden draconic aura exploded outward, becoming a tangible storm that swept madly in all directions with Haxorus at the eye of the vortex! The raging gale whipped the clothes of Shiba and the other two until they snapped and fluttered, and even the ground beneath their feet trembled faintly!
The entire energy field of the Kudo family manor was completely stirred up at that moment, boiling without rest!
Over the manor, wind and clouds surged, the layers of cloud rolling as if beating war drums and cheering for the birth of a new king!
Haxorus suddenly threw back its head and let out a sky-splitting roar that seemed to pierce the heavens!
The bottleneck that had bound it for five long years shattered under the violent impact of that unstoppable, pure energy!
Crack!
An invisible shackle was completely torn apart!
Its aura began to climb at a terrifying pace, layer after layer, breaking through the restraints of the Elite tier, crossing that chasm which countless Trainers failed to transcend in their entire lives, and finally stepping steadily into that supreme realm that belonged only to the truly strong!
Champion tier!
"We did it!"
Hanae could no longer suppress the excitement in her heart. She grabbed hold of Shiba's arm, her fingertips turning slightly white from how tightly she squeezed.
"Ha… hahaha!"
Kaito threw his head back and laughed, his voice filled with unrestrained exhilaration. The frustration that had been weighing on his chest for five years was swept clean away in that instant.
He closed his eyes, carefully feeling the powerful and brand-new bond of strength feeding back from Haxorus, his heart surging with lofty ambition.
From this day forward, the dragon-tamer Kudo family would stand as a top-tier clan boasting two Champions!
That night, the Kudo family manor blazed with light as a grand celebration banquet was held in full splendor.
At the banquet, the newly advanced Kaito was indisputably the center of attention. High-spirited and glowing with health, he chatted with the many guests who had come to offer their congratulations, and at every turn he sang the praises of his son, Kudo Shiba. The pride and satisfaction in his words could not have been more obvious.
For a time, every clan member's gaze was drawn, curious and intent, to that still-youthful figure.
And right then, under the full focus of all those eyes, Shiba rose to his feet with a smile and calmly tossed out another bombshell that would crash everyone's brains.
He did not say much. He simply opened his hand and released a Poké Ball.
With a flash of light, a small Gible appeared in front of everyone.
Immediately afterward, the clan's highest-grade aptitude appraisal device was pushed out. Under the confused and puzzled stares of the clan, it was used to scan this seemingly ordinary young pseudo-legendary.
Beep—
After a crisp electronic tone, four golden characters slowly surfaced on the appraisal device's display, stabbing into everyone's eyes.
[Potential: Champion Tier]
Buzz—!
The noisy, bustling banquet hall instantly seemed to have its volume switched off, plunging into dead silence.
You could have heard a pin drop.
Every pair of eyes widened as everyone stared fixedly at those four characters, as if trying to bore through the screen with their gaze.
After that brief silence came an uproar and frenzy ten times—no, a hundred times—more explosive than when they had been congratulating Kaito on his breakthrough.
"Champion… Champion potential?! I'm not seeing things, am I?!"
"Good heavens! It's a Gible with Champion-tier potential! Our Kudo family is going to have a third Champion!"
"The young master… the young master really is the Kudo family's qilin child!"
If Kaito's breakthrough had laid an even firmer foundation for the Kudo family's skyscraper—an immense leap in the clan's current overall power—
Then this Champion-potential Gible that Shiba had brought back represented a future for the clan that was limitless, a brilliance bright enough to open an entirely new era!
From this moment on, no one dared to see Shiba as just an outstanding junior anymore.
His position within the family had already surpassed every other member of his generation, rising to a core status that no one could shake—practically that of a designated heir.
All the clan members, young or old, had the last traces of detachment and appraisal fade from their eyes when they looked at him, leaving only the purest, most genuine awe.
And fervor.
(End of Chapter)
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