The battlefield trembled beneath their feet. The air itself seemed to pulse with an electric tension, thick with the scent of burnt earth and the sharp tang of ozone.
Ten-Kai's breathing grew heavy, his chest rising and falling in ragged intervals as he assessed Daizen. This man was no ordinary warrior. Every strike, every counter, every movement—they all spoke of deep, refined mastery of martial arts. Yet, there was something even more daunting about him: he was still holding back.
Then, with a sudden burst of speed, Ten-Kai delivered a vicious hook that sent Daizen skidding backward, creating a trench in the dirt. The impact cracked the ground beneath him, sending jagged pieces of metal flying into the air.
Daizen rose to his feet, rubbing his jaw with a wide, gleeful grin. His golden eyes burned with a battle-lust that sent shivers through the onlookers.
"(Laughs) Enough playing around." His muscles flexed as steam hissed from his skin, the very heat of his fighting spirit warping the air around him. "Let's stop holding back and fight for real!"
Ten-Kai's eyes darkened with determination. He stomped his foot forward, his stance solid as an immovable mountain. His voice roared like a beast released from its cage.
"Ninth Martial Spirit: Strong Tiger!"
The ground quaked beneath him as his aura exploded outward in golden waves. A tiger's ethereal form coiled around his body, its glowing eyes filled with ancient wrath. His body tensed, power surging through his veins.
Daizen let out a thunderous laugh. "Now that's the spirit!"
From a safe distance, Ichigo and the others watched in awe.
"Wait… isn't this the same skill Ten-Kai used to erase that anomaly with three fighting spirits in a single strike?" Teigen asked, voice laced with unease.
Ichigo swallowed hard. "Yeah. Oh no… Rice Girl's brother doesn't stand a chance now."
Mizaki, her gaze locked on her brother, merely murmured, "Maybe."
Ichigo turned to her, confused. "Huh? Maybe?"
Mizaki's expression was somber, her voice weighed down by something deeper. "Yes. Maybe it will be enough… or maybe it won't. But my brother has spent his entire life traveling the world, fighting the strongest warriors from Brazil, England, India, Russia, Germany, Thailand… sixteen different countries. No one has defeated him yet. Maybe Ten-Kai will be the first. Maybe not. Either way… my brother lives for battles like this.He will never stop fighting, he will never give up,"
Ichigo studied her face. There was sadness there. Admiration. A quiet acceptance of the warrior's path. He clenched his fists.
On the battlefield, Ten-Kai moved.
No—he vanished.
A sonic boom echoed across the port as he broke past the sound barrier, his strength multiplied, his form a golden blur of motion.
Daizen met him head-on.
The world shattered in their wake.
Fists and kicks collided at blinding speeds, each impact sending shockwaves through the landscape. Buildings in the distance trembled. The very air distorted under their power. The ground cracked and buckled beneath their feet as they danced in a deadly exchange of skill, precision, and sheer willpower.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield, Payne had reached his limit or so Akitsugu thought.
Electricity arced through the air as he unleashed a final, desperate assault. Bolts of pure energy rained down like a thunderstorm, erasing every single one of Akitsugu's clones in an instant.
But Akitsugu had already made his move.
A whisper in the wind.
A flicker in the shadows.
A blade, unseen, pierced Payne's chest.
Pain bloomed across his body as the cold steel slid through his heart. He staggered.
"It's over," Akitsugu murmured, his voice resolute. His grip on the hilt tightened, relief washing over him.
Payne chuckled. Low. Amused.
"(Laughs) Did I not tell you?" His lips curled into a smirk, even as his fighting spirit flickered, threatening to shatter. "If you want to get to Daizen… you'd better bring everything you've got!"
The wind changed.
The air grew colder.
A pulse of unnatural energy rippled outward as Payne's fighting spirit refused to die. Instead, it began to take form.
Akitsugu leaped back, alarm flashing across his face. Something was wrong.
Around the ships at the port, the water churned violently. The sky darkened, thunder rumbling deep within the storm-heavy clouds. Payne reached up and—slowly, impossibly—pulled the blade from his own chest.
A monstrous aura erupted from his body, swirling like a tempest. The battlefield itself trembled under his awakening.
Elsewhere, Haido narrowed his eyes. He could sense it.
A shift in the spirit field. The vibrations in the air. The undeniable, bone-chilling realization—Kento had been hiding something all along.
"You can reveal it now," Haido muttered. His voice was low, steady, but tinged with anticipation. "I see it. You've been camouflaging your attacks… but I know now."
Kento met his gaze and—without hesitation—let his illusion fall.
A single step forward. A shift in aura.
And suddenly, his true fighting spirit unfurled like a banner in the wind.
"The Chameleon."
Haido's breath hitched. His instincts screamed at him—move!
"Ninth Martial Spirit: Strong Tiger!"
His body exploded forward, a blur of motion. His every muscle coiled, ready to tear Kento apart.
But then—
Something impossible happened.
Kento didn't dodge.
He didn't block.
Instead, he moved with an eerie, unnatural grace, his form shifting like liquid shadow. His fighting spirit morphed, adapting in real time, as if predicting Haido's every move before he even made it.
A single counter.
A flicker of motion.
Then—devastation.
Haido barely had time to process it before he was sent flying, his body smashing into the hull of a ship with bone-crushing force. Blood splattered across the steel.
He coughed. Staggered. His vision blurred.
Impossible. He had heard it and seen it but was it really true?
This was impossible.
Kento stood there, shrouded in an ethereal glow. His expression unreadable.
Then, his voice, low and absolute:
"Ninth Martial Spirit: Strong Tiger!"
The battle had only just begun.