"I regret it a little..."
Jaden let out a quiet sigh.
The first round of matches had completely ended.
At the same time, Erina and Kaguya Shinomiya had finally finalized the terms of their future cooperation, as well as the distribution of benefits.
In other words-
Erina had decided to help Kaguya Shinomiya become the next head of the Shinomiya family.
And after that decision was made, Jaden slowly began to regret it.
Of course, it wasn't because he felt the upcoming events were troublesome.
It was because-
"It can't be helped..."
Erina spoke gently.
"The Shinomiya family head competition is about a month away. Even though Miss Kaguya is still on Ganryu Island right now, based on the timing, it's possible that her two brothers could send people to forcibly bring her back at any moment."
She continued calmly.
"So, in order to avoid that situation, Miss Kaguya and Hayasaka will need to stay with us during this time."
Erina looked at Jaden, who was sighing slightly.
She knew exactly why.
He had originally wanted to spend time alone with her on the resort island.
And because of that, she couldn't help but smile gently.
Jaden scratched his head.
"...That's true."
"And honestly, I kind of expected this situation when I first saw her."
Hearing the two of them talk so casually, Kaguya Shinomiya, sitting beside them, stiffened slightly.
Her expression was still cold.
But she was embarrassed.
A little.
She didn't know how to respond.
And before she could organize her thoughts-
Jaden stood up.
"Let's go."
"There are still other people's matches to watch."
He spoke naturally.
"Even though I only have one match today, it's still worth watching the other fighters."
Hearing this, Erina nodded.
Kaguya Shinomiya nodded as well.
Once the three of them moved, Ai Hayasaka, Kure Fuki, and Karura followed naturally.
...
The first day of the tournament was the 32-to-16 round.
Sixteen matches in total.
Jaden's match against Ryo Mikazuchi was the very first one.
After that, there were still fifteen matches left.
At first, Jaden was somewhat interested.
But after watching several matches in a row, that interest gradually faded.
His next opponent had already been confirmed.
Ohma Tokita.
The man who had severely injured Kiryu Setsuna.
Jaden was actually looking forward to that fight.
On one side was Ohma Tokita.
On the other side-
A fighter called the Kaolan.
The Kaolan was old.
But Jaden initially thought he was someone similar to Gouki Shibukawa from the Baki world.
A technical type.
A veteran.
In the end-
He was knocked down before he could even really test Ohma Tokita's true strength.
The matches that followed were much the same.
The Wild Tiger even knocked out his opponent with a single punch.
Jaden could tell that a few fighters had real skill.
But their opponents were simply too weak.
Watching became boring.
Erina and Kaguya Shinomiya didn't understand martial arts.
But even so, they shared the same opinion.
The matches were boring.
Until-
This particular match began.
"Jaden."
Erina leaned slightly closer.
"This one is different from the others."
"Even though I don't understand martial arts, based on the records..."
"One side is called the King of Combat."
"And the other..."
She paused briefly.
"...That's the Fang of Metsudo."
The Fang of Metsudo?
Because he had already seen the Kaolan's match, Jaden had no interest in the so-called King of Combat.
But the Fang of Metsudo was different.
He had heard that title more than once.
He just hadn't paid much attention to it.
Only when the fighter was about to enter the arena did a thought suddenly cross his mind.
The Fang of Metsudo...
Judging by the title-
Could this guy be really good at biting people?
-He wouldn't lose in a biting contest.
Cough.
Of course, there was no need to compare that.
But this match did pique Jaden's interest.
-Did this world also have a Beast Style?
That was Jaden's first thought.
But once the match actually started-
He was disappointed.
Because-
Agito Kanoh had plenty of opportunities to use a Beast Style.
And he didn't.
And if one really had to say that this guy had a beast in his heart-
Then that beast was probably a turtle.
What Fang of Metsudo?
He was getting beaten the entire time.
Jaden kept watching.
And then-
He saw the Fang of Metsudo, who had been thoroughly beaten down, slowly stand back up.
On his face-
Was a very happy smile.
Jaden froze.
Sakura Ogami, who was also watching, froze as well.
Because this was-
-Formless.
And unlike Sakura Ogami's Formless-
This was a very mature Formless.
A Formless that relied on an established style.
However, it had the same problem as Sakura Ogami's early Formless.
A slight delay in response.
But the King of Combat didn't seem capable of exploiting that flaw at all.
Once Agito Kanoh activated Formless-
The King of Combat was defeated almost instantly.
While watching the process, Jaden also noticed something else.
Agito Kanoh's strength-
Was increasing during the fight.
Durable.
And growing stronger the longer the battle lasted.
If Curse failed to draw a useful effect-
And if he couldn't end the fight quickly-
This would be a slightly troublesome opponent.
In Jaden's mind, he acknowledged it.
Even if this man couldn't pose any truly unacceptable threat to him-
He was worth taking seriously.
At that moment-
Erina, sitting beside him, noticed something.
Out of the corner of her eye.
Jaden-
Was smiling.
Ever since the tournament began, he had shown almost no interest in other fighters' matches.
But after watching the Fang of Metsudo fight-
He was wearing a very happy smile.
A smile filled with eagerness to fight.
Is Jaden... happy?
After watching a few more matches, Jaden's smile gradually disappeared.
He himself didn't even realize it had been there.
At this moment, he was only thinking-
If Sakura Ogami were to face Agito Kanoh...
Then perhaps his cheap disciple's Formless could improve a little.
And if Sakura Ogami won her first match-
She really would face Agito Kanoh next.
As for Sakura Ogami's current opponent-
Black Arm, Gensai Kuroki?
To be honest, the first person Jaden thought of was Black Arm Zephyr from One Piece.
Aiya.
I missed a chance.
If I had thought of this earlier, I definitely would've given myself the nickname Iron Fist.
That way, when my opponent guarded against my fists-
I could just use my legs.
Which had been strengthened several times already.
And deliver a heavy blow.
Or-
I could call myself Whitebeard.
Even without a mustache, it felt like my seniority would instantly increase.
And if I later drew the One Piece manga or a related skill-
I could even let others understand the meaning behind the nickname~
As for drawing it myself?
Impossible.
He hadn't drawn the manga or a manga-related skill.
He couldn't draw it at all.
Even though writing novels had improved his storytelling ability-
He was still too lazy to write.
Especially when the image of Whitebeard's outfit appeared in his mind.
And the phrase "bare-chested" kept repeating-
He became even less motivated.
Bare-chested Whitebeard...
Hiss-
Just as Jaden's thoughts were drifting-
Gensai Kuroki entered the arena.
Jaden had originally thought Sakura Ogami might win.
But then-
He saw her completely suppressed.
Every move was seen through once she activated Formless.
She was crushed one-sidedly.
Indestructible was activated twice-
And then countered.
Gensai Kuroki found a way to break it.
At that moment, Jaden no longer had room for random thoughts.
He watched as the Black Arm knocked Sakura Ogami unconscious.
Then turned around.
And left the arena.
Completely uninjured.
Jaden couldn't help but feel admiration.
His cheap disciple was truly unlucky.
If she had faced some of the other opponents-
She would have been fully qualified to win.
In fact, several of the winners might not have been her match.
But this Gensai Kuroki-
He was different.
Probably the strongest fighter to appear so far.
Stronger than Raian Kure.
Stronger than the Fang of Metsudo.
Stronger than all of them.
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