Without losing a second more, the participants from both sides plunged into the water, heading for the big tree in the middle of the arena, except for Ornella. The wolf had sat on her platform, remaining motionless as her boss had asked her to do nothing for this match. Nevertheless, if she felt that he needed her help, she would not hesitate to act, so she remained attentive, staring at the action.
While the two squirrels were swimming on the surface of the water, the shark had disappeared under the waves and was no longer visible. Miraj had noticed that one of their two adversaries was not moving, and that the other had disappeared. It was disturbing to say the least, what was their strategy ? They waited for them to take the egg before acting ? It was probable.
Fortunately, once he would be up the tree and in possession of the egg, Kast could no longer be stopped. He will not bother going down, it was too risky now, since an ambush was probably waiting for them at the bottom of the tree. No, he would jump off the top of the branches trying not to kill himself. Even if the woman did not really agree to let him do it, she did not see many other possible solutions for them to succeed quickly.
"Be careful, Kast. I'll try to find where Jigô is to keep him from moving." Miraj shouted to her partner while swimming. She took her breath and plunged her head underwater, opening her eyes to try to distinguish the silhouette of the shark somewhere. Unfortunately, there was only the deep blue of the water that covered her field of vision. She was going to have to look for him a little more.
Meanwhile, Kast had emerged from the water and started to climb the tree trunk at an impressive speed. He did not lie when he said he was fast. He used to climb everywhere, and for him it was child's play to climb to the top.
Despite his enthusiasm and the smile on his face, he tried to keep an eye on the wolf who had remained on the platform. He wondered what she was going to do, and preferred to avoid the case where she could try to shoot him by sending stuff, even if it was unlikely.
And the fact that the shark had stayed downstairs also advantaged him. It was normal that a fish did not know how to climb trees, so the decor was really by their side, for once. Halfway through, the squirrel stopped to breathe a little. The branches and leaves became more and more frequent as he climbed, and yet he was still far from the top of the tree. It was really high.
Miraj, meanwhile, always in search of her opponent, was at a disadvantage by the aquatic terrain in which she was forced to fight. Since she could not stay underwater for a very long time, she had to go back often and expose herself to a potential attack.
And she was right to worry because she felt a sharp pain in her leg as she barely caught her breath. Teeth were squeezed around her calf, pulling her under the water without giving her time to breathe. Jigô was on the attack.
The man's mouth, open, revealed all the sharp teeth that had planted themselves in Miraj's skin. The latter was trying to free herself by hitting her opponent's face with her other foot, but he grabbed her with one of his arms that were still free. It prevented the ground squirrel from fighting, and also to swim in the hope of rising to the surface, which was moving away more and more as her air was exhausting.
From the audience, Arun watched the fight with a worried look on his face. The strategy of Jigô and Ornella was made to destabilize the two squirrels, and even the attacks of the shark were not ordinary.
"Usually the sharks attack their prey by swimming around, then biting their teeth until they die. And it's rare that they catch their prey like that to pull it down." Explained the vet wondering what Miraj could do to break free. Unfortunately, he saw no alternative but to drop the part of the body that Jigô had caught...
"At the same time, the water puts him to his advantage... Miraj does not have much chances against the shark in his natural environment..." He continued while Shuu kept his eyes on the match. He wanted to remember every tactic he saw for the next fight, and was already thinking of a way to counter them.
Kast had resumed his rapid ascent, slipping into the foliage of the huge tree. Each leaf was large enough to be used as a bed, and the branches were several times thicker than the trunk of a normal tree. Everything was disproportionate, and it was quite impressive. After a few seconds of further climbing, he arrived at last near the summit, where a wooden platform had formed just where the pedestal had been carried in the air. The egg was placed on it, and the squirrel was not slow to grasp it. He was exhausted and out of breath, but they had almost won ! It was too easy...
However, it had been several minutes since neither Jigô nor Miraj had risen to the surface, leaving the water without any fuss. Apart from Ornella, no one was visible from the public since the shark was underwater, and the squirrel in the foliage of the tree.
Miraj must surely have been defeated by the shark.. Without oxygen, we are very quickly exhausted. If she had not managed to get back on time, she had probably sunk to the bottom of the water. Even murder was allowed ? It was too dangerous ! He only hoped that she could be healed and that she would be able to come back, as Kast had explained to him earlier...
The fact that neither Jigô nor Ornella took the trouble to climb the tree also disturbed the vet. Either they knew they had lost, or they were totally sure and certain that their strategy would work.
The red squirrel meanwhile, was preparing to make the big dive to his platform. He had to admit that he did not think it was so high... And now he was less proud than when he was down. But he had no choice, and he had to do it quickly, before his partner could no longer hold back their opponent.
"Come on guy, you just have to unfold your wings and hover like a flying squirrel ! And at worst, you have hard skin !" He said to himself, warming himself, the egg under his arm. Kast took his momentum, and rushed to the edge of the branch to jump into the void.
But not everything went as planned. While he should have been in free fall, the squirrel felt restrained by something. On closer inspection, some of the leaves of the tree had wrapped around his ankles and arms, completely preventing him from jumping, immobilizing him.
Arun had seen Kast reappear between the leaves. However, he seemed to be unable to move, although he probably would have jumped from the top of the branches. What immobilized him ? The vet looked at Ornella, who had her eyes closed and seemed to be meditating. Could she be doing this stuff ?
But even in the case where Kast was immobilized, Jigô could not come to get him so high, since he was unable to climb the trunk. Unless...
"Oh no, he's going to use the breaching !" Arun exclaimed, remembering a hunting technique of the great white shark, very particular.
He now understood better the interest in letting the squirrel climb up the tree before attacking.