"What did you say?" Vital Orange asked with a stunned expression. Orange Ivy and Black Hand had equally surprised expressions on their faces. Beating Vital Orange easily didn't mean that it would be easy to take all of them on at once. They weren't just three individuals. They were a team. There was no team that didn't know how to fight together.
"Can I join them?" Tucker asked with an excited expression. Seeing how easily Mane dealt with Vital Orange, Tucker's blood boiled with expectation.
"No," Mane shook his head and dampened Tucker's enthusiasm.
"Why?" Tucker wondered. Since Mane could easily deal with Vital Orange, he didn't see why adding one more to a group of three would make any difference. After all, Mane was ready to take on Vital Orange, Orange Ivy, and Black Hand.
"Because every team has co-ordination and a degree understanding of their members. The three of them would be far more difficult to beat than the four of you. If you join them in fighting against me, you would make them weaker, not stronger. Basically, your addition would be inimical to the Orange Team, not a boost." Mane shook his head and explained to Tucker why he fighting together with the members of the Orange Team was not going to make them stronger but weaker.
"So you do know this. Yet you still want to do this?" Vital Orange was surprised to hear Mane' words, and so were Orange Ivy and Black Hand. They thought Mane didn't really understand what he was doing when he asked to fight against all of them at once, but after hearing his words they understood that Mane did understand what he was getting himself into. Since they were a team they were much more difficult to face as a group than they were individually.
"You want to know how strong I am. And I want to know how strong the team I am joining is." Mane smiled and gave his answer.
"Besides," Mane pointed at Black Hand and continued, "I am keen to experience the strength of a Predator level Assassin for myself."
Mane's words stunned Vital Orange, Orange Ivy, and Black Hand. Black Hand was a Predator, and both Orange Ivy and Vital Orange were obviously aware of this. After all, he was their teammate. What they didn't expect was that Mane knew about this as well.
"How did you know?" Black Hand smiled bitterly and asked.
"I could feel the strength of a Predator from you the first time I met you. But you do not have the physique of a Tiger Cub, so you cannot be one. Your physique is more suited to a Cheetah, a Mongoose or a Snake. So which one are you?"
"A Snake," Black Hand confessed with a wry smile on his face. "Who would have thought that in addition to your monstrous strength, you intelligence isn't average either," Black Hand laughed bitterly. Orange Ivy and Vital Orange nodded their heads in agreement. Mane's strength was impressive enough, but his intelligence was nothing to scoff at either.
"So, are there any restrictions – or can we use our weapons?" Black Hand asked with a smile.
"No weapons, obviously," Orange Ivy stated. She didn't understand why Black Hand would even ask this. What if one of them got hurt before the competition. How would they win then?
"I'm afraid our new friend doesn't agree," Black Hand laughed and said. Orange Ivy turned to Mane with a questioning look on her face.
Mane scratched his head and smiled wryly. But he admired Black Hand for seeing through his thoughts and understanding just what he was thinking.
"Black Hand is an assassin. His weapons are the source of his strength. Vital Orange is a Tiger, and without his claws and teeth, he's basically 65% weaker. As for you, you cannot really be classified as a Bull or a Boar because your fighting style seems different. I'm assuming that the whip attached to your hip isn't just for show. Which means you are more likely to be a rare type of Thrasher. A Fox maybe?" Mane looked at the charming Orange Ivy and asked.
He noticed it the first time he laid eyes on her through the Record Stone. Although she moved around seductively and was very flirtatious, her eyes remained untainted, which meant that what she was doing was only for the sake of her fighting style. And it was a fighting style that was very uncommon nowadays – the style of the Fox. Boars and Bulls weren't the only kind of Thrashers in the world. They were just the commonest kind. There were other styles that others took, and such people were more difficult to fight against.
For instance, Orange Monk's style wasn't the style of a Bull or a Boar. Orange Monk fought differently. Mane had seen records of that style before. It was called the style of the Piranha. Such people were agile, strong and very flexible. And when they lost their minds they were crazy difficult to deal with. Although Mane couldn't be a 100% sure that Orange Monk was a Piranha, there was a 50% chance that Mane was right. Foxes were also rare. They were charming, intelligent, and fought by distracting their opponents with tricks and their looks to get their way. Piranhas became Tiger Cubs when they broke through into the Predator realm and walked the path of Tigers. Foxes were the opposite. They walked the path of Snakes after breaking into the Predator realm.
"I actually am a Fox. You really are impressive for your age." Orange Ivy admitted that she was a Fox, and blinked her pretty eyes curiously as she looked Mane up and down like he was a rare specimen.
"You're Master and Disciple?" Mane pointed at Black Hand and Orange Ivy and asked.
"Yes."
Both of them replied with helpless sighs. Mane was able to infer this from the fact that Foxes trained to become Snakes. Since Orange Ivy was a Fox, it would be a waste for her to have a Snake at her side and not learn from him. Mane just guessed it, and he was right.
"Do you need me to give you some time to set up traps and stuff?" Mane asked.
"Yes. 30 minutes should be enough." Black Hand nodded his head and replied.
"Okay," Mane smiled and proceeded to walk away. If they were going to set traps, he being here would ruin it for them. After all, if he saw where the traps were set up, he could easily avoid them.
"Wait. I need to ask you something." Vital Orange who had been silent all this while stopped Mane from leaving.
"What is it?" Mane asked with a curious expression on his face. This time he couldn't guess what Vital Orange wanted.
"Would you use your weapons?" Vital Orange asked. Just like Mane said, a warrior's weapon was a big part of their strength. Without it, a warrior wouldn't be able to bring out even 50% of his/her strength. This question was basically meant to find out if Mane was going to be fighting at full capacity or not.
"No. But don't underestimate my fists." Mane smiled and left. The twins quickly run after him, and Tucker followed them as well. Ivor watched the Orange Team members for a while, smiled like he knew what they were up to, and left through another exit.
"That boy…there's something about him" Orange Ivy said once Mane and the others were long gone.
"Yes. I get this feeling that I am naked when I am standing in front of him." Vital Orange furrowed his brows and said.
"He could identify my strength without engaging me in a real fight. He's really something else." Black Hand sighed.
"I'm going for the weapons. Ivy, set the traps." Black Hand instructed and retreated into the mansion to get his hidden weapons. Since Orange Ivy was his student, he was aware of the kind of weapons she preferred and would get hers to. All she had to do was to set the traps.
"Okay," Orange Ivy nodded and got to work.
They were done with their preparations in 30 minutes, just like they said. Mane and the others were very punctual. They arrived on time, and not a minute later.
"Shall we start?" Mane asked with a smile once he returned. The field was empty, and the only member of the Orange Team on it was Vital Orange.
"Wait a minute Master Mane. The others aren't here yet." Tucker said.
"They are assassins. They are better fighting from the shadows." Lam spoke up, and Vital Orange looked at him with a hint of appreciation. Although Lam didn't have Mane's strength, his intelligence was at the very top. It may be just a practice match, but it had to be taken seriously. And since Snakes and Foxes fought with tricks and concealment techniques, it would be detrimental to them if they showed themselves at the start.
"We can start," Vital Orange stated. Immediately he did, his docile aura underwent a huge change. He hoisted his huge axe into the air as his muscles exploded with the power of a Predator. The aura of a hungry battle maniac was unleashed from his large frame, and his eyes were fixed upon Mane like a Predator surveying his prey. His countenance with his weapon was a far cry from his bearing without his axe. Mane could feel his skin growing cold at the man's transformation, and a small smile graced his lips.
"This kid," Hildegarde was watching the battle from the top. This time she could tell that things weren't going to be so easy, so she had vacated Mane's shoulder. She could also tell that Mane was excited from the huge grin on his face and the battle intent that he was expressing.
"It's been a long time since I used any of my techniques," Mane mumbled to himself in a voice only he could hear. He missed his skills – Splintering Fist which he learned from his father, Extreme Burst, Star Flicker, and the combination of Extreme Burst and Star Flicker to produce Flickering Burst. He couldn't use them before due to the absence of Edict. But now there was no such restriction. He wouldn't be able to use his glows though, for he hadn't forgotten that there was a snake watching his every move; a snake called Ivor he didn't trust. He had to save his true trump cards for any surprises from Ivor.
He pushed his worries to the back of his mind and focused on the task ahead. His aura skyrocketed as his intent for battle filled the hearts of everyone here; from Vital Orange who had to bear the full brunt of Mane's overbearing aura to Lam, Lily, Tucker and Ivor who were only spectators. Mane licked his lips as a bloodthirsty gleam flashed past his eyes. He quickly pushed down his thirst for murder by reminding himself that he couldn't hurt his own teammates. Giving himself one final reminder to stay in control of himself, he turned his attention to Vital Orange.
The large man was taken aback by Mane's murderous aura.
"He has killed before! And more than once!" Vital Orange realised. But he didn't dwell on such thoughts. He dashed at Mane, axe in hand and aura at its peak. The ground beneath him exploded into many tiny fragments because it couldn't handle the sudden outburst of power. Seeing the approaching Tiger, Mane grinned viciously and pushed his feet against the ground as he rushed towards the incoming Vital Orange. Unlike with Vital Orange, the ground beneath Mane's feet remained intact as the young man rushed headfirst into the storm that was coming. Yet his aura was like a billowing wave. It pushed and pushed and swallowed Vital Orange's aura as the two met mid charge, each unwilling to give the other any advantage.
"ROAR!" Vital Orange gave a thunderous roar as his huge axe descended upon Mane. The wind howled in protest as the large weapon swept past and the ground had already began to shake in anticipation of the collision that was to come.