Hakishi, barely conscious, lay on the ground as Lee closed his hand, making Hakishi fall limp and unconscious.
With no hesitation, Lee lifted Hakishi's limp body and carried him to his lab, accompanied by two others—a boy named Mike and a girl named Angela. They entered a dimly lit, high-tech lab filled with strange equipment.
"Good job, Lee," Mike said with a satisfied grin. "Now, put him in that small door that says 'Science Lab Power Checker Thingy.'"
Angela shot him a confused look. "Who came up with that ridiculous name?"
Mike smirked. "You did, Angela."
Angela blinked, taken aback. "Uh, don't listen to him. Just put him in the small door, Lee."
Lee nodded, ignoring the banter, and placed Hakishi inside the small room.
"Good," Mike said. "Now, look at that thing—it's the Power Checker Thingy. Plenty of buttons to press."
Lee moved to the area Mike pointed at, while Mike continued, "Press the big button, Lee, and tell me what his drill energy percentage is."
Lee pressed the button, watching the numbers appear on the screen. "Five thousand," he said.
Mike smiled proudly. "Good. Last time I checked, mine was thirty thousand."
Angela added, "Yeah, I remember."
Lee shrugged, uninterested. "Mine's ten thousand, and Angela's is nine thousand. That means all of us can easily defeat this weakling."
But just as Lee finished his sentence, Hakishi stirred, his eyes snapping open. The conversation around him no longer mattered. In a flash, he shattered the glass of the door and kicked Mike squarely in the head, sending him sprawling across the room.
Angela and Lee turned in shock to see Hakishi standing, already moving to strike again. Hakishi punched Angela, sending her flying through the air. Without a moment's pause, he launched a brutal kick toward Lee.
Lee, however, dodged with incredible agility, retaliating with a precise karate chop aimed at Hakishi's neck. Hakishi faltered but quickly regained his balance, delivering a punishing kick to Lee's stomach that sent him crashing through a wall.
Hakishi didn't wait—he ran, his movements swift and unrelenting, and punched Lee's head with the force of a meteor.
"If you stay with me, I'll stop fighting you," Hakishi growled.
Lee slowly stood, opening his hand to reveal his long, sharp nails. "You've made a mistake. I'll cut you down."
Hakishi's eyes narrowed. He jumped and delivered a crushing kick to Lee, sending him through another wall.
Lee, now visibly enraged, summoned cursed energy to his hands and tried to slice Hakishi with his sharp nails. Hakishi countered by using fire to cut Lee's leg, leaving him howling in pain.
"This is your last chance—join me, or you die," Hakishi warned coldly.
Lee, panting heavily, groaned. "Fine. I'll join you."
Hakishi nodded, satisfied. "Good."
But Lee's tone suddenly shifted. "Actually, no. I won't join you—now, team."
Mike and Angela jumped on Hakishi, attempting to overpower him, but Lee raised his hand. "Enough. It's my turn now."
Angela and Mike reluctantly backed off as Lee stepped forward, a menacing grin on his face.
"Drill of the Cursed!" Lee shouted, clapping his hands. A massive cursed hand materialized, crashing down toward Hakishi.
Hakishi, however, stood unfazed. With a wave of his hand, he froze Mike and Angela in place. He then used fire to sever Lee's cursed hand, the fiery energy scorching it to the bone.
"Join me, or you die," Hakishi repeated.
Lee, struggling to stand, finally relented. "Fine. I'll join you for real this time."
Hakishi turned, his expression calm yet stern. "Now, your punishment. I'm going to tell you a real-life story, or would you prefer to die?"
Lee sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. I'll just get a chair."
Hakishi smirked. "No chairs. Now, once upon a time, there was a man who never fell in his life..."
Before Hakishi could continue, Lee interrupted. "You know, I think we should watch the news instead. The news sounds better."
Hakishi raised an eyebrow, but sighed. "Fine. I know a house."
The two of them walked to a nearby empty house with only a TV and two chairs. They sat down, and Hakishi turned on the news.
The TV flickered on, and a familiar face appeared. "It's me, Jeremy, and I'm back. Where did I leave off? Oh, right—Nelson Realer is back. The man who never fell in his life. If you see him, run away. He destroys everything and everyone in his path. I'm told I need to say something else—I think I see Nelson now... Goodbye, everyone. I'm going to another country."
The news anchor quickly ran off the screen, leaving the TV static behind.
Hakishi turned off the television and glanced at Lee. "He's back. Lee, please train with me. I'm not sure Assassin Mode will be enough to defeat the savage Nelson. I need a lock."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "A lock?"
"Yes," Hakishi replied. "Do you know how to get one?"
Lee nodded. "Yes, I can get one for you."
"Please train me," Hakishi urged.
"Okay," Lee agreed reluctantly. "Let's go outside."
They walked out, and Lee handed Hakishi a small, mysterious lock. "Now, time to test it."
Hakishi tried everything to unlock it, but it wouldn't budge. "Hey, it's not working."
Lee chuckled. "Oh, I forgot to mention—it takes one full day before it works."
Hakishi grimaced. "I hope Nelson doesn't come before tomorrow."
"So, how strong is this Nelson Realer?" Lee asked.
Hakishi pulled out his phone and showed Lee a video titled 'Never Go Close to Nelson Realer.'
In the video, Nelson was fighting an opponent named Johnny. Nelson punched Johnny, shouting, "Lock 6—Lightning Element!" A bolt of lightning surged toward Johnny, but he dodged it, retaliating with a "Lightning Bolt Fist." Johnny ran toward Nelson, lightning crackling from his fist, and punched Nelson in the stomach and head.
Nelson didn't flinch. He simply stood, then used a brutal punch that sent Johnny crashing through five skyscrapers.
Nelson smirked as he approached Johnny's broken form. "Good. He's done."
Hakishi stopped the video and looked at Lee. "That's how strong he is."
Lee's eyes widened. "Whoa, how did that happen?"
"It's night already. I'll stay up and practice fighting," Hakishi said, turning his gaze toward the horizon.
Lee shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm going to sleep."
Lee ran to a corner, quickly finding a spot to lie down. Hakishi, concerned, checked to make sure Lee wasn't injured and heard the soft sounds of Lee snoring.
Nine hours later, Lee woke up and immediately asked, "Is Nelson Realer here?"
Hakishi nodded. "I think I saw him while you were asleep. I want to follow him. I don't know much about him, and I want to spy on him. If we're lucky, we'll see him fighting or training."
Lee groaned. "Why didn't you spy on him while I was sleeping? I don't want to die."
Hakishi glanced at Lee. "Because I know I can't do it alone. I need backup."
"Fine," Lee sighed. "Okay, I'll track him down with my phone."
Lee pulled out a shiny golden iPhone from his pocket, and Hakishi raised an eyebrow. "How many gold things do you have?"
"Never mind that," Lee muttered. "Siri, show me the shortest path to Nelson Realer."
The phone responded, "Calculating... Done."
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the location Lee's phone had tracked.
"Looks like we're in luck," Hakishi whispered. "We can see him training."
Nelson stood in the clearing, preparing to continue his training.
"Now to continue training. I will use all my drills!" Nelson declared, his voice booming.
Lee stared, wide-eyed. "What! Do you have some kind of luck drill?"
Hakishi hissed, "No. Keep quiet, before he knows we're spying on him."
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