Lucy narrowly dodged Shoji's punch, swiftly counterattacking with a punch to Shoji's back.
...so, in the end, the young man crashed to the ground with a thud.
Swiftly picking himself up, Shoji grinned, "You wouldn't be my boss if you weren't able to dodge something like that."
Lucy shrugged, turning his head to the side. It was obvious he would dodge, considering Shoji hadn't used any of his Tama in the attack.
Lucy locked his amber eyes on Shoji, dodging his incoming attacks with ease. However, Tsukino, who was observing from the sidelines with her arms crossed, noticed Lucy's technique.
'Lucy-san is channeling more Rei into his eyes to track Danasama's movements, and when dodging, he's using Rei in his legs to sidestep. Considering he started using Rei in his body recently, that's quite effective.'
Shoji let out a loud groan as Lucy's kick sent him tumbling to the ground, his face twisted in discomfort.
"Why aren't you using your Tama?"
Lucy replied coldly, "Are you?"
Shoji's lips trembled in question. Using his Tama in close combat felt like cheating, and that didn't sit well with him.
Shoji turned to Tsukino, who shrugged. He sighed, standing up straight, before yelling, "Here I come, Lucy-senpai! Testujin no Kosei!"
Before Lucy could tell him there was no need to yell, a powerful gust of wind announced Shoji's punch. The red-haired man dropped to the ground, rolling over to evade the attack.
Shoji chuckled, raising his foot to stomp on Lucy. Lucy barely rolled out of the way in time, avoiding the attack.
The ground where Lucy had lain was devastated, a testament to Shoji's immense strength.
For several minutes, Lucy was on the defensive, struggling to keep up with Shoji's relentless assault. However, it was Shoji who felt threatened.
His lips curled downward as he thought, 'Why is he dodging all my attacks? I've seen all his Tama in use before, but none of them could let him predict a person's attacks. Could it be a new one?'
Shoji didn't let his concerns deter him. Activating his Kensei no Jitsuryoku Tama, he threw a punch at Lucy, who was standing up.
When the amber-eyed man tried to dodge, Shoji followed his movement, using the back of his fist to send Lucy flying toward the stairs.
Lucy crashed into the stairs with a loud bang, but he managed to use his Rei to protect his bones from breaking. As he got up, he was met with another fierce punch that sent him flying to the side.
For a short period, Lucy was pummeled with punches from all directions. If it weren't for the Rei he used to take the impact, he would have been severely injured, possibly even shattered into small fragments of flesh and bone.
Seeing Lucy stand up, seemingly unfazed by the pain, Shoji grinned.
"That's some endurance you have there, Lucy-senpai, but it's time to finish this."
Shoji activated all three of his Tama and rushed toward Lucy, his fist aiming for the kill.
Lucy tried to dodge, but Shoji had already sensed his movement. However, Shoji's punch failed to connect, leaving him blinking in surprise.
Lucy, who had managed to dodge by channeling Rei into his muscles, concentrated his remaining Rei into his fist and thrust a fierce punch toward Shoji's exposed back.
Wham!
The punch sent Shoji flying toward the foggy forest, screaming in pain.
Meanwhile, Lucy coughed up a handful of blood from overexerting his Rei and admitted, "It's my loss."
Shoji had no time to deny anything, as he rushed out of the forest to escape the poison in the fog.
Lucy ignored him, using his Akiraka Tama to restore the Rei in his body, momentarily ignoring his internal injuries.
Tsukino walked over to Shoji, handing him a green heart-cut Tama. Shoji sighed, accepting the Akiraka Tama. Although he would have won if they continued fighting, Lucy had proven his point: the Akiraka Tama was essential for all types of Tama Artists.
Before using the Tama, Shoji attempted to kiss Tsukino, but she caught his face, stopping him.
"Let's respect our boss." She said shyly.
Shoji nodded in understanding and sat down to begin his reverse zazen.
The process was painful at first, but his muscles endured, and soon he was naturally circulating Rei into his body.
His meditation was interrupted by Sora and Mikino's arrival.
"Lucy-san, the cold war is over!" Sora exclaimed.
Everyone raised an eyebrow at this news, focusing on Mikino's worried voice:
"As you know, the Katsuragi and Atsuki clans have been eying for the Shojo's position for decades, creating tension between the three factions as they secretly prepared for war. However, with the emergence of the Mikiru Movement, or M2, the tension has become a four-way fight."
The group remained silent, aware that M2 was made from Tama Artists born as mortals. This group was the reason why the male mortals were massacred on X-You Mountain.
Lila's actions of killing Kushi villagers were her twisted entertainment and a means to conceal internal disputes.
Lucy quickly grasped why the samurai who came with them were killed by Risa. Tsukino voiced his thoughts in a cold tone, "Most Tama Artists born as mortals have no faction allegiance, except for M2. The Katsuragi clan's actions are a way of declaration of war against M2, as they had sent spies with us."
Sora jumped from Mikino's back, adding, "The same thing happened on the Atsuki Clan's side. But what's surprising is that once they finished, the strongest samurai along with a few of his subordinates slaughtered all members of the Atsuki-Han clan."
The air turned cold as the group realized the extent of Lucy's uncle's strength.
"I knew he was strong." Sora continued, "But not to the point of annihilating an entire branch family of the Atsuki clan, even with his subordinates' help."
A cold silence shrouded the group, and Mikino's sigh took everyone's attention, "Apparently, this all started when one of our boss's cousins slapped a member of the Atsuki clan, blaming them for destroying the gambling den. A fight broke out between the subordinates of the two clans, and when the police arrived, they didn't intervene. Instead, the two factions joined forces, beating up the police and calling them the Shojo's dogs. After that, things escalated in Kanazumi District, and soon fights were breaking out throughout the island."
Kanazumi District was the largest and most functional district on the island, with numerous businesses operating there. It was natural for the factions to halt their attacks in the district and focus on other resource points.
As the group grasped the gravity of the situation, they turned to Lucy, awaiting his instructions.
The young man stood up, his gaze unwavering, "Tsukino, we'll continue with our original plan. Sora and Shoji, you do the same."
His eyes landed on Mikino, who stared back at him. "Mikino, get in touch with the Zaha organization. We need to tap into the black market. We might as well profit from this chaos."
The group quickly acknowledged their orders, responding in unison.
"Yes!"