Soma had been watching them from a tree branch in the distance, eavesdropping on their conversation. His anger towards Rikimaru had intensified. He was torn between telling his father about what had happened or not. As he was about to move, Rikimaru noticed the sound of the branch. He suddenly stood up and quickly came to Soma's side.
"What are you doing here? Are you secretly listening to us? YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR, SOMA!" he roared and landed a solid punch on his face. Soma lost his balance and fell from the tree, his anger completely consuming him. Rikimaru jumped down and Soma immediately got to his feet. When he fixed his eyes on Rikimaru, his Seimei-sen eye was active; another line had been added. He was filled with an energy fused with rage.
"PLEASE STOP, DON'T FIGHT!" Sanda shouted from behind them, but neither of them paid any attention to her.
Soma lunged at Rikimaru and grabbed him by the stomach. Although Rikimaru landed a few punches on his back, his feet were lifted off the ground and he was slammed down. When his head hit the ground hard, his whole body writhed in pain.
Sanda had fallen to her knees, crying and begging them to stop. But Soma continued to rain down punches on Rikimaru's head without holding back. "Ice Element: Ice Spears!" Somehow managing to release an elemental attack between the punches, long, sharp ice rods shot out from around Rikimaru towards Soma. Although Soma leapt backwards, the five spears that emerged grazed different parts of his body. One had pierced his shoulder, but it wasn't very deep. As he retreated, he pulled the ice out of his arm.
Rikimaru quickly stood up. Due to his sudden rise, he experienced dizziness and was about to lose consciousness, but before collapsing to the ground, he stepped forward with his right foot and regained his composure.
Rikimaru's face was battered, with blood flowing from his mouth and nose. Panting heavily, he said, "Come on, Soma, let's finish this." He clenched his fists and looked on with confidence. He wiped the blood from his nose with his right hand, took a deep breath, and lunged at Soma. Although he threw a series of punches, Soma easily blocked them. Dodging the last punch by ducking, Soma struck Rikimaru's legs and knocked him to the ground.
With a contemptuous look, Soma said, "Is this all you've got, Rikimaru? Really?"
Rikimaru was furious. He was choking on the thought of being humiliated in front of the girl he loved; he couldn't be disgraced. "Wood Element: Clones!" he shouted, and about six Rikimaru clones appeared.
Sanda and Soma were shocked. Soma trembled with fear and retreated. The Rikimarus charged at Soma. Although he managed to take down the first two clones, he didn't have time to fend off the rest. Trapped under the Rikimarus, Soma was subjected to severe kicks and punches.
"STOP IT, RIKIMARU!" Sanda's scream echoed everywhere. Rikimaru momentarily came to his senses, and his clones also stopped, then disappeared leaving behind a few pieces of wood. Soma had lost consciousness; his face was covered in blood, and his body was full of bruises.
Suddenly, Dokuro appeared. With one glance, he understood that the two young men had gotten into a fight. "Rikimaru and Soma!" he roared. Both of them had lost consciousness. He took one in each arm and headed towards the village. "Sanda, go find your father immediately!" he said.
Dokuro quickly headed to the hospital. "Hanzo!" he called out in the corridor. Hanzo was sitting in his office, feet up on his desk, taking a nap. He jumped up at the sound of his name and came out into the corridor. "Why are you shouting my name at this hour, Dokuro!" he said in an irritated voice. When he saw Soma and Rikimaru, he suddenly calmed down. "Really? What happened, did these two brats get into a fight?"
Dokuro nodded, saying, "It looks that way. Can you take care of them?"
Hanzo pointed to his room. They laid them on two beds inside. Hanzo quickly tended to their wounds.
Sanda had gone to Kamiya and told him what happened, omitting some details. "Ah, I suspected this would happen," Kamiya said with a sigh.
"My brother attacked first. It's not Rikimaru's fault, please don't be too angry with him, father," Sanda pleaded.
Kamiya glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He immediately noticed Sanda's interest in Rikimaru. He smiled slightly, then his face became serious again. "They're both guilty, I'll teach them a good lesson," he said.
A while later, Kamiya and Sanda arrived at the hospital. Soma and Rikimaru were awake, sitting without looking at each other. Dokuro and Hanzo were silently watching them.
Kamiya entered angrily. "Everyone except Rikimaru and Soma, get out!" he ordered. His tone was calm, but it was clear he was quite angry.
After the three of them were left in the room, Kamiya said, "What am I going to do with you two?" while rubbing his forehead with his hand. "What do you want? While we have so many things to deal with outside, you're fighting among yourselves." He took Hanzo's chair, placed it in the middle of the room, and sat down.
He looked at both of them and said, "You'll get used to living with each other, whether you like it or not. When the time comes, you have to watch each other's backs. You are no longer enemies, but friends now."
Kamiya leaned back. "Let me tell you a story," he said. "There were two young warriors. They spent every day together and got along very well. But one day, they had a fierce argument and grew apart. They didn't see each other for a long time. Later, whenever they met, they would always fight. Years passed. Despite all that time and accumulated hatred, they felt great remorse. They regretted spending their youth apart, filled with hatred for each other. When they tried to fix everything, the situation turned into an even bigger chaos, and they started losing their loved ones. In the end, one of these two friends died. The one who remained continued to live with a great emptiness inside." The story Kamiya told actually reflected his own feelings. He had narrated his experiences with Sato as if they had happened to others.
When he stood up, Rikimaru and Soma were still silent. Kamiya knew this wouldn't be resolved easily. "If you want to fight, from now on it will be under my control. We'll arrange a competition-style match. Just because someone wins doesn't mean there won't be another duel. There will also be rules: No fatal damage, no fighting outside the dueling area, and it will consist of three rounds. I'll add more rules if necessary. I'm leaving for now. If I hear that you've fought again, I'll punish you without mercy."
For the rest of the day, neither of them spoke. They were staying together at Rikimaru's house. Since Sato was no longer around, because Kamiya wanted to keep an eye on Rikimaru, he had preferred this arrangement.