Zan lay unconscious in his bed after the fight with his brother. His fainting was caused by his failure to unleash his attack. The power he released was too great and exploded right before he could release it.
"Typical Zan! You're still careless. Fortunately, you didn't suffer a fatal injury," Zum thought, carefully examining Zan's injured right hand.
"Alright, now you need to rest," he muttered softly as he left Zan's room.
With the sound of the door closing behind him, Zum sealed Zan's room. Then, he headed to the front door of their house and opened it. It appeared that Zum had a destination in mind.
He gazed at the explosion site in their front yard, which left a rather large black mark on the ground. This black mark was a result of Zan's previous attack. Zum imagined how spectacular it would have been if their attacks had collided and created an even larger black mark.
"What a shame. If that attack had succeeded, it would have been something extraordinary," Zum thought for a moment before continuing his journey.
---
Unbeknownst to Zum, he had walked quite a distance until he finally reached his destination, the Day-Fuji bakery.
*Creak...*
Zum opened the door to the bakery and scanned the atmosphere inside. He noticed several people busy enjoying their meals. He continued his gaze until he spotted a figure standing there.
"Welcome!" greeted the figure. The figure was the bakery's owner, Uncle Fuji, as referred to by the villagers. Uncle Fuji was a short-bearded man in traditional attire, wearing a brown vest.
Uncle Fuji stared at Zum for quite a while, making sure whether Zum was someone from the village that he knew or not. Once he was certain, Uncle Fuji greeted him.
"Hey, Zum! Long time no see. Have you been busy tending to your fields?"
"Hmm, yes, you could say that, Uncle," Zum replied, standing in front of the bakery's entrance. He then walked forward and sat in a chair near Uncle Fuji, both of them sitting facing each other in a relaxed manner.
"It's harvest season. Have you already harvested your fields, Zum?" Uncle Fuji initiated the conversation.
"Well, not yet, Uncle. My fields still need a little more time before they're ready for harvest," Zum replied, stroking his chin with a complicated expression. Seeing this, Uncle Fuji smiled wryly.
In truth, Zum's field was ready for harvest, but he was too lazy to do it. Since the previous harvest seasons, Zum had always been the last person to harvest his fields.
"Ah, I see. By the way, what can I get you, Zum?"
"I'd like to order five long rolls, to go, please, Uncle."
"Alright, wait a moment, and I'll get you your long rolls."
Uncle Fuji got up from his seat and headed towards the kitchen. He left Zum waiting at the table.
"Wait, is that you, Brother Zum?" a voice from the adjacent table sounded.
"Who's calling me? The voice sounds familiar," Zum thought for a moment after hearing the voice. He turned around to see who was calling him.
"Oh, you're Glen. What's up? You called me?" Zum said spontaneously after seeing Glen sitting behind him, enjoying sweet buns.
"I just wanted to ask, Brother. Is Zan at home? He usually comes for training, but he didn't show up today," Glen inquired.
"Yes, he's at home."
"Wow, is he sick?"
"Hmm, well, he fainted earlier."
"Fainted?!"
Glen's sudden shout startled Zum, and he paused in his speech.
"Hey, you surprised me."
Meanwhile, it seemed that Uncle Fuji had already prepared Zum's order.
"Hey, Zum! Here are your rolls," Uncle Fuji called out, waving his hand. Zum then walked over to retrieve his order.
He picked up the package and peered inside.
"Eh, sorry, Uncle. Didn't I order long rolls? Why are these sweet buns?" Zum asked when he saw that the package contained sweet buns instead of long rolls as he'd originally ordered.
"Oh, my apologies; I seemed to have forgotten your order. Haha!" Uncle Fuji said with a small laugh.
"Now, let me get your revised order, Zum."
Uncle Fuji turned and headed back to the kitchen. Zum returned to his seat, gazing at the empty space in front of him, where Glen had been seated before.
"..."
"Where did he go?" Zum wondered as he looked at the empty table behind him.
---
Glen ran as fast as he could without using his special techniques. He was in a hurry to check on his friend.
After hearing Zum mention that Zan had fainted, Glen immediately thought of seeing how his friend was doing.
"What really happened to Zan? Why did he faint?"
Many questions raced through his mind, increasing his anxiety. He didn't have time to listen to Zum's explanation and rushed to his friend's side.
Shortly afterward, Glen arrived at the front door of Zan's house. He entered in haste and went directly to Zan's room, which was on the ground floor.
"Zan!" Glen shouted as he abruptly opened Zan's door.
His loud shout woke Zan up from his fainting spell.
"What's happening?" Zan exclaimed as he opened his eyes.
"Zan, are you okay? How are you feeling?" Glen asked in a rush. Zan turned his head to look at Glen with a puzzled expression.
"What's going on? What happened?"
Unaware that he had just been lying there unconscious, Zan was confused.
"Your brother said you fainted, Zan."
"That's right, I was in a fight with my brother earlier. But it seems I couldn't unleash my power, and it ended up like this," Zan thought as he examined the injury on his hand.
His face appeared downcast as he realized his failure.
"Oh, yeah, Glen. I was a bit careless earlier," Zan replied with a bitter smile, trying to calm his concerned friend.
"Glen, you're really not polite. You entered someone's home without permission," Zum called out from behind, appearing to have just returned.
"Hehe, forgive me, Brother Zum. I was very worried about Zan's condition," Glen said.
"Don't worry! Zan is awake now, and I've already treated his injury."
"But why did he end up like this, Brother Zum?" Glen inquired.
Zum fell silent for a moment, while Zan looked at him with an odd expression as if asking him to keep quiet.
"Hah!"
"We had a fight earlier, and Zan pushed himself too hard, resulting in his condition."
"That explains why Zan is like this. He fought with Brother Zum," Glen thought. He knew that Zum's power was very strong, possibly the strongest in the village.
"Alright, let's all eat now. I brought some long rolls."
"Okay, Brother," Zan said as he got up from his bed. It seemed he was feeling better.
Zum shouted startling the whole room.
"Glen, you really aren't polite, are you? Entering someone's house without permission."
"Hehe, forgive me, Brother Zum. I was very worried about Zan's condition," Glen said.
"Don't worry! Zan is awake now, and I've already treated his injury."
"But why did he end up like this, Brother Zum?" Glen inquired.
Zum fell silent for a moment, while Zan looked at him with an odd expression as if asking him to keep quiet.
"Hah!"
"We had a fight earlier, and Zan pushed himself too hard, resulting in his condition."
"That explains why Zan is like this. He fought with Brother Zum," Glen thought. He knew that Zum's power was very strong, possibly the strongest in the village.
"Alright, let's all eat now. I brought some long rolls."
"Okay, Brother," Zan said as he got up from his bed. It seemed he was feeling better.
-------9--