The first day of the main tournament concluded all sixteen matches of the first round.
Each fighter only needed to compete once.
Whether Metsudo Katahara had planned it this way or not was unclear, but the matches on the first day ended extremely quickly. The only bout that took a noticeable amount of time was the fight between the Fighting King and the Fang of Metsudo.
As for the rest-
After watching the recordings following Ogami's match, Jaden realized something.
Even Tokita Ohma's fight against the War God was considered long.
The other matches were absurdly short.
Especially the final match.
Julius Reinhold versus Suekichi Kaneda, the new representative fighter of Ginokuniya Bookstore.
Calling it a fight was generous.
Suekichi Kaneda was essentially one-shot.
Julius stood there and allowed him to attack. The blows were meaningless. Then Julius threw a single punch.
And it was over.
A match like that couldn't possibly last long.
"According to the bracket, my next match is against Tokita Ohma. That part is settled."
Jaden continued looking down the bracket.
"And after that..."
In the round of sixteen to eight, immediately following his and Ohma's match-
Was Raian Kure versus Cosmo Imai.
"To be honest, Raian's first-round opponent wasn't bad."
That priest was actually decent compared to the rest.
But once Raian became serious, the fight stopped being competitive.
Raian only used technique when breaking free from the hold. The rest of the time, he relied entirely on overwhelming physical power.
"Cosmo Imai is probably very strong in jiu-jitsu."
"But against Raian Kure... Raian will most likely win."
"So my third opponent will be Raian Kure."
"And the fourth..."
Jaden's gaze shifted again.
"Whoever wins between the Fang of Metsudo and Gensai Kuroki."
Finally-
His eyes landed on Julius Reinhold's profile.
Jaden didn't know whether Metsudo Katahara had deliberately arranged it this way, or if Toyo Electric was simply lucky.
But either way-
The only chance Julius had to face him was in the finals.
Before that, Jaden fought first.
Julius fought last.
There was no way for them to meet earlier.
Compared to Jaden's side of the bracket, where many fighters were memorable enough for him to recall their names, the fighters on Julius's side were mostly forgettable.
The only notable matchup was in the semifinals.
Julius versus Takeshi Wakatsuki.
"I don't know who will win between those two."
"But I hope it's Julius."
Jaden lay back on the bed.
"Otherwise, if I participate in the Kengan Annihilation Tournament and still can't fight Toyo Electric..."
"I might need to do something else after the tournament ends."
With that thought, he waited.
Kure Fuki, Karura Kure, Kaguya Shinomiya, and Ai Hayasaka were currently staying with Erina.
Which meant-
Jaden had a single room.
He lay there, analyzing the situation, occasionally scrolling through his phone.
Four hours passed.
Right on time, the system notification sounded.
"Sign In!"
Jaden activated the system without hesitation.
[Sign-In Reward: Tuoli (Limb Loosening / Ultimate Relaxation) (Kaiou Kaku)]
The moment Jaden saw the three words Kaiou Kaku, he sat up.
Immediately.
He carefully reviewed the reward.
Tuoli-Ultimate Relaxation.
Xiaoli-Flowing Force, or Deflection.
These were techniques Kaiou Kaku demonstrated alongside his fist techniques. What he referred to as the Logic of the Fist.
Xiaoli was applied to defense.
An ultra-advanced method that caused an opponent's attacks to be redirected and dispersed.
Tuoli was applied to offense.
It used complete relaxation followed by instant tension to produce an explosive burst of power-power capable of injuring Yuujirou Hanma.
According to Kaiou Kaku-
If martial arts couldn't be used by the weak, then martial arts were meaningless.
And Tuoli and Xiaoli were the core of that belief.
Jaden had already grasped a form of Xiaoli through Kami-e.
It wasn't as refined as Kaiou Kaku's version, but when paired with Kami-e, it was more than sufficient.
Tuoli, however-
That was the real problem.
It was the reason Jaden still hadn't fully perfected Geppo.
He understood the concept, but his progress was slow.
Jack Hanma excelled at direct methods.
That made techniques like Rankyaku easy.
But indirect techniques like Tuoli?
Jack's experience there was limited.
However-
The moment Jaden claimed today's reward, Kaiou Kaku's understanding of Tuoli flooded into his mind.
Step by step.
Layer by layer.
Everything connected.
"So that's it..."
"This is Tuoli."
"And this is the Logic of the Fist."
Jaden sprang off the bed.
His arms hung loosely at his sides.
There was no sonic boom.
But in an instant, his relaxed fist shifted into the exact structure needed for a straight punch.
Heat visibly radiated from it.
"Mach Punch?"
Jaden paused.
Then shook his head.
"Not quite."
"In terms of raw speed, it's already faster than a sonic punch."
"But I can't throw it casually."
"I still need the correct stance to generate power."
Even so-
With Tuoli, the nature of Jaden's punches had changed completely.
A Tuoli punch carried terrifying power.
And-
Jaden rose onto his toes and hopped lightly.
Then his feet stomped the air.
As if something solid existed beneath them.
"Geppo-completed."
"After a brief test, Kaijo Manpo should be no problem either."
"And combining Soru with Geppo..."
"The Razor technique."
"With Tuoli, my Soru can be even faster."
"And the Mach Punch..."
"With some Tuoli adjustments, I should be able to use it far more freely."
"Even better..."
"The space required to generate power has drastically decreased."
"At point-blank range, I can still throw a devastating punch."
Breaking through Tuoli felt like smashing a bottleneck.
Multiple techniques advanced at once.
Which made Jaden decide one thing.
Today-
He would fully integrate Kaiou Kaku's Tuoli into his fighting style.
...
Meanwhile, at Yamashita Trading Co.
Tokita Ohma stood alone in the training room assigned to fighters.
Everything he needed to remember-
He had remembered.
After his match with Kiryu Setsuna, Setsuna had told him things he hadn't known during his amnesia.
At this moment, Ohma finally recalled the ultimate technique of his branch of the Niko Style.
Onigami.
"The next match is against Jaden..."
"That guy is definitely strong."
Ohma muttered to himself.
His fists didn't hesitate.
His movements didn't slow.
The current Ohma was no longer the amnesiac version.
With his full memory of the Niko Style restored-
He was far stronger than before.
"Niko..."
"I'll have to apologize to you in advance."
"You told me not to use that move."
"But to defeat Jaden..."
"I'll have to use it."
"And I'll have to use the Niko Style alongside it."
"Even then..."
"I might not win."
"So..."
Ohma stopped punching.
He took a deep breath.
His focus sharpened to a razor's edge.
In that instant, the world seemed to slow.
And he smiled.
"It's complete."
"Niko..."
"I will use the complete Niko Style in the next fight."
"God or demon-it doesn't matter."
"I will master it."
"I will use it."
Then-
"I'll use everything I have to prove that the Niko Style is the strongest."
...
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