"You can do it, Bert!"
Bert didn't have high expectations for his strength and especially combat skills. But in front of his Cobra Kai friends, he couldn't let them be embarrassed to have him as a member, so he would do his best to at least put up a good fight.
"Do you really think you can take on my Cobra Kai guy? You've believed that you dominate in the realm of Karate, but you've only reopened for no more than a year and haven't faced real fighters yet." Paul raised his guard, looked coldly at Bert, preparing for the fight.
Bert felt strange; all the Cobra Kai students fell silent upon hearing these words that, though true, were hurtful. No one had focused on the fighters of Sakura Bushido because they had won the tournament, but seeing all these strong fighters made them realize that they had underestimated the true level of that martial arts school a bit.
"Now!"
Facing Bert's attack, Paul's expression cooled even more. Without the need to dodge, he faced Bert's attack directly with his fist.
Boom!
A strong wave of force surged from the blow, causing Bert to recoil to the point that he almost went off the combat mat. Bert was recovering, but at that moment, a quick kick landed on his right shoulder, almost taking him out of the established combat boundaries.
Everyone fell silent. They knew Bert was the weakest in terms of combat, but that was because he didn't have as big a body as others, giving him a disadvantage in strength. But seeing him lose without even being able to do anything surprised everyone; no one could react at this speed of combat, let alone do something against those attacks.
"Point!"
"Both back to your positions. Ready? Fight!" Johnny shouted without showing any emotion on his face. He knew exactly that many would get a beating, and this would make them focus more.
Considering Sakura Bushido's combat level, this would let all Cobra Kai students know that they are not strong but are still seeking true strength. Maybe winning that tournament was a good thing, but if they think they're on top just because of that, they're wrong.
Paul smiled as he watched Bert recover, raised his hands, and as soon as it was announced that the fight would continue, he took a step forward.
Bert, feeling embarrassed and very sore, thought he was doing things wrong, that he was ashamed in front of his peers, so regardless of anything, he went on the direct attack.
But what he didn't know is that Paul, although he had been in Sakura Bushido for no more than a year, was learning from Chozen himself, so his skills in Karate had advanced by leaps and bounds with the true power of Miyagi-Do.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dodging Bert's continuous blows, the moment he started an unrestrained attack, Paul switched to defense while patiently waiting for his opponent to tire, and at that moment, he would strike.
Raising his eyebrows slightly, Paul was surprised by his opponent's resilience, but that was all. He couldn't worry too much about this person's Karate level because he couldn't break through his defense.
Having seen enough and knowing perfectly well that Bert's attack level had decreased, Paul positioned himself, and leaning slightly, his elbow hit Bert's stomach, who didn't expect Paul to make such a sudden move.
"Huff...."
Spitting out all the air from his stomach upon receiving the blow, Bert knew he had no chance against this opponent.
"Ouch!" Bert, who fell to his knees while holding his stomach, tried to get up, but knowing that the result would be the same even if he got up, Johnny decided not to press him.
"Point, winner!"
"I can continue, Sensei!" Bert said as he stood up.
Johnny knew that his student wanted to continue, but if he fought again, it would be the same result because Paul's Karate level was superior, and in physical terms, there was no comparison between the two fighters.
"You did well, take a little rest." Johnny said as he nodded to his student. He didn't want him to feel bad, but these results were expected from the beginning.
Bert nodded, walked off the mat, and sat on the floor while holding his stomach. To be honest, he wanted to keep fighting, but his confidence had crumbled with those two points scored so easily without even being able to counterattack.
"What a shame..." Bert murmured, feeling embarrassed, but when he looked up, all his peers looked at him without any malice in their faces.
To be honest, no one expected Bert to win the fight. What everyone expected from him was to fight as much as he could to learn more deeply about Sakura Bushido's Karate. This was his victory, so no one except Kreese was angry with these results.
"Next, Nate, it's your turn!" Johnny sent his weaker soldiers as cannon fodder so that his stronger students would be ready for the real fight.
The first five fights were truly a total loss for Cobra Kai, making everyone feel a bit depressed and ashamed of their poor performance.
"Oh my God..." Kreese murmured as he saw each Cobra Kai student being defeated one after another.
Hawk on the side muttered, "Even though I expected this, it's still very embarrassing. How can we look so weak?"
"I hope Mitch can do something..." Miguel tried not to take it too seriously, but seeing defeat after defeat was something that really didn't sit well with him.
Seeing that Paul was tired, Chozen walked over to Johnny and asked, "Now that the best fights are coming, why don't we start changing students so that all of Sakura Bushido's students can fight with Cobra Kai's?"
"That sounds good, let's do that..." Johnny didn't have the face to complain that Chozen was underestimating his students because so far, it was defeat after defeat.