"I lost."
Sasaki and Isamu are staring at Kuragami on the floor. He's clearly mad about losing. Kuragami bangs his head on the ground several times while mumbling.
"I lost! Dammit I lost!"
Sasaki walks up to Kuragami and stops him from banging his head even more.
"This is a good lesson for you. Use this loss to become stronger. Hey why don't the three of us become stronger to defeat Daku and Hoshiko."
"Why Hoshiko?"
"Well because. Um. She's 4th and your 5th. It would be a good way to prove your strength."
"Hmm. Sounds good to me."
"Great what about you Kuragami?"
Kuragami stands up.
"Next time I fight Daku, I'll win."
"That's the spirit."
"So. How are we gonna train?"
They all try to think of ways to train. Kuragami finally thinks of something.
"I know. We need to create new special moves. Moves that we will use forever and advance throughout the years."
They all look at each other and nod.
"So what will your new moves be?"
"Probably a compressed thunder ball. Something like that. It will be small but have lots of power."
"Cool and yours?"
"That's for you to find out at the Shorai Skirmish."
"Sounds like Sasaki has nothing."
Isamu and Kuragami laugh. Sasaki chuckles and stands up.
"Just you wait."
He walks off.
"What about yours Kuragami."
"Well, Daku was stronger and faster than me. I want to make a technique where I'm subconsciously faster and stronger than my opponent."
"Interesting. Well I wish you the best of luck."
Isamu stands up and walks off.
"See you at the Shorai Skirmish."
"Yeah."
Kuragami makes his way back home.
The next day he's in the forest near his town. He is sat down legs crossed thinking of a way to increase his speed and strength.
"Not only strength and speed, but I also need to increase my durability. Ahh. All of this is confusing. But I think I found out a way how."
He stands up and raises his aura.
"Normally aura is used to do powerful attacks. It's also used to increase your strength, speed and durability. But I have to force myself to do it every time. And that leads to using more aura than normal."
He relaxes his aura.
"So I just need to find a way to do it subconsciously and take little amounts of aura overtime. This will be difficult. So I'll deal with it later. I need to think of a new move, a move that's very hard to counter."
Kuragami is thinking hard again. He starts to smile.
"Why does it have to be one technique? I can do all in one. I have an idea."
He raises the aura on his right hand and turns it into ice.
"I need this to become even bigger. And once it's bigger my techniques will be more powerful. But it will also slow me down. Small price to pay I guess. I still need help from a professional though. And I know the perfect guy."
Kuragami runs off to find a specific place.
There's a mansion around the middle of the Water Section. A mansion where Keikena resides.
"Sir there's a kid waiting outside for you."
"Let him in."
Kuragami is let in the mansion. They lead him into the main room. The doors open and there's Keikena there sitting on the table.
"What do you want? If it's something to do with your brother then I-"
"It's not."
"What is it then?"
"I want you to help me. Help me with this technique I want to do create."
"Why should I?"
"Um. Please?"
"No."
Keikena walks off
"Please. I need this. It's the only way I'll be able to become the strongest Shorai."
Keikena stops and looks back.
"So you have finally accepted that your not the strongest. Your cockiness is gone."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Fine I'll help you but only on one condition."
"What will that be?"
"If your team doesn't become first in the Shorai Skirmish, burn your armbands."
Burning your armband is a way of showing the world that you either give up being a Disciple to protect others or you become rogue.
"Fine."
"Great now tell me what you need help with."
"Well there's two things actually. The first one is-"
Sasaki makes it to his home town, Seichō Town. He has no parents. He lives in a home with other kids that have no parents. They've all lived there since they were young without knowing who their parents are.
Sasaki is making his way to the forest near his town.
"This new technique needs to blow everything away. But first I need to know how to control my aura even more."
He wields his sword.
"Hoshiko Hinode huh?"
Sasaki concentrates aura in his sword and lets off a air ripping slash. It's cuts and multiple trees in his path. Sasaki starts to laugh.
"This Shorai Skirmish is becoming more interesting than I expected."
"Seems like you've gotten stronger. That was expected though."
Sasaki looks back to see who said that.
"Not now. Please"
The person smiles.
Isamu goes up the Air Elevators to reach the Air Section.
The Air Elevators were created by a certain scientist, same Scientist who created The Bullet Train, to connect the Ground to the Sky Islands also known as the Air Section.
Isamu makes it home to his father.
"Where you been?"
"Just chilling with the other Prodigy Disciples."
"You know how important this Shorai Skirmish is don't you? It's a way to separate the weak from the strong. And it's your choice wether you want to be labelled weak or strong."
"I know."
"No you don't! That's why Ryoma's boy beat you."
"Why does that matter. I'll admit he's stronger than me. He works hard. He deserves all the praise he's getting. Plus he's a decent person."
"Nobody in that cursed family is decent. They deserve no mercy. All they receive is false praise."
"Why don't you get to know them instead of hating on them?"
"Trust me I know. And you should know also. It doesn't matter if your on the same team they don't care about that. Show no mercy to anyone! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yeah. No mercy."
"Great. Now come to the training grounds. I'm going to show you a move that I mastered. I learnt it when I was your age. Once you learn this, it will be certain that you obliterate everyone in your path."
Isamu starts to get excited.
"Cool. Let's go."
They both go to the training grounds near their house.
"This move is called Thunder Arena. You generate thunder in the palm of your hands and slam it to the ground. Then around you forms a large thunder circle where everyone inside it gets shocked and paralysed. Then forms a large thunder pillar around you. You get powered up from it. It increases your speed and strength. It's like your one with lightning."
"Show me it. Please?"
"Okay."
Kuragami, Sasaki and Isamu all start training. They're going to create new powerful techniques that will help them in the Shorai Skirmish. But they're not the only one training.
Sky, Cherry and Homura are in a forest near Danketsu City. They're training significantly hard for the Shorai Skirmish. Cherry and Homura are sweating a lot. They have been training non stop.
"You guys have improved a lot. To be honest I don't think you need Sasaki or Kuragami to make it to top 10."
"Maybe not. But I want to defeat one of the Prodigy Disciples."
"Why's that Homura?"
"To prove my strength. To prove that it's not just Kuragami and Sasaki doing all the hard work. We need to prove to everyone that we're strong too Cherry. Otherwise those two will leave us in the dust."
"Yeah you right. They even ignored us like it's nothing. How dare they."
"Yeah but they did that because it's Prodigy Disciple rules. They're not allowed to speak to any other Shorai until the Skirmish."
"That makes sense then. I almost got offended. Kura isn't the type of person to look down on his friends."
"Yeah. I've known him since we were little. He always tries to help his friends. But we need to help ourselves and win the Shorai Skirmish."
"That's the spirit you two. Now show me the move you were working on Homura."
"Alright."
Sasaki creates a big explosion around himself, bigger than any explosion he's made in his life. Everything around him is destroyed, there's no trace of any trees ever existing there. He is sweating and breathing heavily.
"This isn't it. I have to take control."
"Try concentrating your aura around the sword instead of inside it.
He charges up his aura around his sword and then uses his sword to release another attack. However it didn't work. He needs to learn how to do it properly.
Isamu has tried to learn the technique his father showed him. He's attempted doing it multiple times but kept failing.
"Concentrate more Isamu and then it will be a piece of cake once you do it the first time."
"Okay."
Isamu then tries again. Thunder gets scattered all around the training field. Isamu still hasn't done the technique properly.
Kuragami uses his technique on a large rock and destroys it. Ice is shattered everywhere. He is sweating heavily and breathing hard. He has been working very hard non stop.
"I done it Keikena. But it's very tiring."
"It might be tiring but it's still not enough. You need to find a way for it to not be destroyed. Just like that ice from the last time I saw you. Follow me. I'll take you to a sacred temple that helps unlock your potential little by little. Then you might be able to use that ice again."
"Please do."
"Ok. Let's go."
Kuragami and Keikena make their way to the Bullet Train Station to go to a sacred temple that will apparently help Kuragami unlock his Heavenly Ice.
There's a female voice being projected from a unknown dark place. A voice that no one can hear.
"I thinks it's time I start lending you some of my power. But when she comes here, I need her to keep me secret. After all, the source of the power isn't from me nor over there, it's all you."