"Silva, you'll face that Sakura Bushido kid; both he and the girl are unbeatable in this tournament, so you must injure him enough for Marcus to finish him in the final, understand?"
The Kruske Dojo Sensei, who led his team to the championship last year, knew that these kids would be impossible to beat. However, if he wanted his Dojo to win consecutively, he had to do everything possible in the male division.
"Should I go for his knee?" Silva asked, looking at Sensei Santiago.
Santiago scorned his student's lack of intellect and said, "Don't be foolish; you won't be able to harm him even if your intention is to hurt him. First, let him feel confident. When he drops his guard, aim for one of his eyes, and everything will be fine in the next round."
Antoni Silva nodded. If there was something he had to do to be compliant with his Sensei, he would do it. He would be paid enough; he was aware of the old man's history and knew he secretly ran an underground fight club for criminal gangs. Having a club was just an excuse to find good fighters or money-needing masters.
If losing this tournament meant the end of their Dojo as the center of attention this year, they had to do something to prevent that from happening and endure until next year if possible.
"How much will you pay me?"
"Enough for you to cover your mother's rent this month and medical bills. Didn't you ask for help a few days ago? Well, here's a job for you."
Dash was a strong warrior and could be more ruthless, a rough diamond that could be useful, but he was useless now due to his young age.
"This place stinks. I should make plans to move somewhere where birds don't defecate..." Santiago, the Kruske Karate Sensei, grew bored watching these dull fights; if there was no blood, it wasn't fun for him.
The fights had been long and much heavier because three points were required to win the battle. This demanded true combat skills from the fighters, going beyond luck or scoring two points to win.
Dash, who had seen the leaderboard, knew his opponent was Silva, a sixteen-year-old guy who was quite good with kicks. If he managed to reach the final, his opponent would be Marcus Rosado from the same Dojo as Silva or Oliver Bruss from Topanga Karate.
"It's the quarterfinals. Remember not to trust yourself and always be observant." When she saw that both were in the final, she was genuinely happy that they could have the chance to win, and if they did, at least they would have triumphed in the valley.
"I'll win and enter the final." Devon nodded and stepped onto the mat ready to give her all, but this time her opponent was an incredible veteran fighter who, although she hadn't participated in valley tournaments, had sought others in different states.
Sasha Petit, a fifteen-year-old Karate fighter, was four years older than Devon, so it was entirely normal that she would lose in the eyes of others.
Devon clenched her fists and walked towards the arena. There was no doubt that she would face possibly the best opponent she could have in this division, so she wouldn't hold back at all.
"How long have you been learning Karate? No, judging by your hands and fighting style, you're incorporating other martial arts into Karate, but I like that. Among all these girls, you, who are just one more, are better equipped."
Upon hearing Sasha's words, Devon frowned and said, "I would talk less and fight more. I wouldn't want to grow fond of you before crushing you."
"Charming. If you were my age, that dream might come true. It's a pity that it's just a girl who will cry after losing." Sasha smiled at Devon, who didn't respond further.
At least she wasn't foolish; if she could be easily provoked, the battle would be even more boring than Sasha believed, but that was okay. At least she hoped to win another title in this historically significant place.
"Look at me, bow."
"Look at each other, bow!"
Devon clenched her fists, stabilized her breathing, and lowered her guard position a bit more than usual.
Since she had started training, losing to younger students was never an option for her. She had improved on the mistakes she had made, and today, she would put everything into practice.
Consequently, even though she wouldn't tell Dash, she trained at home thinking about this tournament and how important it could be for the opening of Sakura Bushido Dojo, especially for Dash, who wanted to win and never lose.
Devon promised to win, so, as she never broke the promises she made, today wouldn't be the day she lost. So, after relaxing, she patiently waited for the referee's announcement to begin.
"Fight!"