Path to Strength

"This guy... He's strong."

Akira looked at the screen that broadcast what was happening in the arena. Osanai was being carried by a stretcher, while Arashi walked quietly out of the arena. Akira had his gaze fixed on that man's back, his eyes half-closed as he seemed to think deeply.

"Osanai got distracted, got overconfident and ended up being defeated in less than two minutes, that's a trait of his that I feel will never change, but he needs to be strong enough to live like this." Akira spoke, his eyes shifting away from the screen and turning to his commander, who was sitting on the floor as he seemed lost in thought. "Commander?"

"..."

During the course of the fight, Yuji watched the confrontation intently. His eyes caught every detail of the fight, every body movement, every reaction of the surrounding scenery, and he could only conclude: They were facing monsters. Of course, he knew that according to what he saw in the fight, he could beat Arashi with a little effort, but Akira was another story. Depending on the next opponent, Akira could easily lose, and even if Yuji won his fight, the 2x1 wouldn't change.

'They wouldn't send that girl, Senju, to fight now. With their first representative's easy win, they must surely be confident.' Yuji sighed, his eyes turning to Akira, who was staring at him with confusion. 'But if Akira's opponent is someone capable of standing up to that man, the situation could get complicated.'

With a sigh, Yuji relaxed. There was nothing to be done, he had accepted the challenge knowing that there would be a chance of losing, so now he needed to rely on the strength of his captains.

"Akira, you will fight now, get ready" Yuji spoke as he stood up, "With Osanai's defeat, we can't even think about losing."

He walked until he was standing in front of Akira, where he placed his hand on his captain's shoulder and stared at him with a determined look. The scene might look funny to someone on the outside, since Yuji was considerably smaller than Akira.

"I trust you, so go ahead and finish off the next one they send."

Akira faced his commander with a bit of hesitation in his gaze, the boy swallowing dryly and nodding in agreement.

"Yes, commander!"

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.

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"After the one-sided victory of the representative of this wonderful arena over the first representative of Yggdrasil, everyone seems quite excited and confident about the certain victory of the B1 arena! But..." The announcer's voice sounded throughout the venue, everyone's eyes turning to the arena as the clear sound of footsteps rang through the room.

"We still have two fights left, and the winner is not yet set! So, with you, the second representative of Yggdrasil!"

When the announcer finished his presentation, Akira entered the arena in calm steps, a serene expression, with a gentle smile on his lips. His eyes were half-closed, thin, as if they weren't even open. The boy was wearing the pants of his school uniform, together with a simple white shirt, which only made the people in the audience look at him indifferently. Even to the eyes of experienced fighters, Akira looked weak, someone simple who didn't deserve their time.

Inside the room where Yuji and Shiki were watching Akira's entrance into the arena, the Yggdrasil leader was surprised to see Akira's expression, his eyes shining in recognition as a familiar character came to his mind.

'Kaneda... Kaneda Suekichi! Your expression is extremely similar to his! That's why I was thinking I recognized his last name!'

Yuji, realizing the similarity between the two, couldn't help but remain silent. His mind stopped for a moment, trying to understand the fact that was right in front of him. If Akira was some kind of relative of Kaneda, then what did that mean?

It was that Kengan Ashura was also part of this world.

Sweat formed on Yuji's forehead, his eyes closing as a gentle smile appeared on his face.

'I hope this is just a mere coincidence.' He asked in his mind.

Back in the arena, Akira was stretching as he waited for his opponent. His expression remained unchanged, and the audience could only watch him with disdain, to them, Akira looked like a wimp who was mocking them just by being there.

"Now, with the victory of the first round, he now comes to claim the second victory for this wonderful underground arena that we all love! With you, the second B1 representative!"

The audience cheered, everyone's eyes turning to the entrance of the arena, as a man with feminine features entered. The boy was handsome, his long hair dyed in different colors, tied up in a ponytail that served only to enhance his beauty. The man could be even more charming, if it weren't for his disinterested and exhausted expression.

Akira, who watched his opponent walk toward him, could not help but frown. Despite his bored and tired appearance, Akira could feel it.

'This guy, he's pretty strong.' Akira sighed, and stopped his stretches, fixing his gaze on his opponent. 'To win, I'm going to need to give it my all.'

The man stopped in front of Akira, he didn't even seem to be interested in the boy in front of him. Akira noticed this, and didn't feel offended, if the man was underestimating him, he would use that to get the win.

"Ah, you look pretty strong!" Akira spoke, a gentle smile on his lips as he tried to be friendly with the person in front of him. "My name is Akira Suekichi, let's have a good fight!"

The man finally laid his eyes on the teenager, a small trace of interest appearing in his eyes, before it disappeared as the announcer's voice sounded throughout the arena.

"Since I already quoted the rules in the first fight, I will not repeat them! So you can start immediately!"

When the announcer finished speaking, Akira was about to get into his stance, his eyes going wide when his opponent didn't even give him time to react with a kick flying towards him.

Boom!

Like a punching bag being hit by a boxer of immense strength, the sound of the impact reverberated through the venue. Akira, who at the last second was able to block the kick with his forearm and hand, groaned in pain as he took desperate steps away. His eyes landed on his forearm, an ugly bruise forming on his skin as intense pain coursed through his limb.

'My arm... That sure is a fracture.' Akira thought, barely able to close the fingers of his hand due to the pain. 'This guy... I could barely keep up with his speed.'

Akira turned his gaze to the tired looking man, his teeth clenched due to pain as he massaged the fractured site.

"My name is Wakasa, let's finish this quickly." The man finally said something since entering the arena, this being his introduction to his opponent, who looked like he was already about to collapse. "You're no opponent to me, so don't make this last any longer than it has to, I'm really in the mood for sleep right now."

Akira regulated his breathing, sweat beading down his forehead as he analyzed Wakasa. Hearing his words, the boy couldn't help but click his tongue, a clear gesture of frustration.

"I'm not an opponent for you? That's not a nice thing to say to someone who is standing here facing you head-on, Mr. Wakasa." Akira spoke, his thin eyes, which always seemed closed, opening just enough so that Wakasa could see his eyes. "But don't worry, I will make you swallow your words."

The aura around Akira changed completely, the boy raising both his arms with ease, his fingers open, as if the fracture caused by the blow from the man in front of him didn't even exist. With a posture strange to everyone present, Akira stared at Wakasa with intensity, his analytical eyes focused on the man's every move.

He knew he was at a disadvantage there. Wakasa was faster, and if the fracture in his arm meant anything, stronger and tougher as well, and more experienced.

'But still, I won't back down. If I have to lose an arm to win, so be it.'

Wakasa regarded the boy with a little interest. Considering the blow he had landed on Akira, he knew that the boy wouldn't be able to take much more, so it was dumb to keep fighting. But well, there the boy was, challenging him with his eyes and body, ready for combat.

Well, if that was the way he wanted to do it, Wakasa would deliver what the boy wanted.

Almost like a blur, Wakasa advanced toward Akira at an alarming speed, the teenager sweating as he prepared for the attack. Close enough, believing the boy would not be able to withstand it, Wakasa launched a simple kick towards his head, force and speed enough to knock him out, perhaps a nagging concussion.

What he didn't expect, was Akira dodging without much difficulty.

'What?!' Wakasa was surprised.

Akira, who saw the kick flying towards him, ducked causing his opponent's leg to go over his head. But obviously, it wouldn't end that way, and taking advantage of the moment when Wakasa was with his center of gravity so unstable, using only one leg to keep him standing, Akira gritted his teeth and kicked the side of the man's knee hard, this drawing a groan of pain from him and making him fall to the ground.

'Got it!'

Akira advanced towards the fallen Wakasa, the man with a surprised expression turning his gaze towards him. Seeing his situation, Wakasa immediately tried to hit Akira in the chin with his foot, trying to push him away, or even knock him out.

But that was exactly what Akira wanted.

"Don't be so reckless, Mr. Wakasa!"

Akira tilted his head to the side, dodging the kick aimed at his face, while gripping the man's leg tightly, preventing him from pulling it back. With a grim smile, Akira faced Wakasa, his lips moving slowly to utter the words that would indicate his victory.

"Checkmate."

Wakasa's eyes widened, his eyes landing on the boy who was grabbing his leg and moving faster than he could react. The man felt sweat trickle down his forehead, his back heaving as he tried to move forward to hit Akira with a punch.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough.

Crack!

"ARGH!"

Wakasa's cry of pain sounded throughout the arena as he grabbed his leg. Akira, with Wakasa's leg, was able to execute a perfect leglock, with the man unable to react and this resulting in the boy breaking his knee in half. Releasing his leg, Akira stood up and stood above Wakasa, who groaned in pain as he grabbed his leg.

"This is my victory, Mr. Wakasa, please give it up." Akira asked with real sincerity. He did not want to knock out the man in front of him, considering that he had already just broken his leg.

When Wakasa heard the boy's words, the man's always bored expression faded, his eyes glittering dangerously as he turned his gaze to Akira.

Akira upon seeing this could only sigh, his sharp eyes opening slightly as he stood above the man.

"I vo-"

Wakasa was about to swear at him, but was abruptly interrupted when a foot hit him hard in the face in a stomp.

"You said you wanted to sleep, Mr. Wakasa, so please-" Akira lifted the foot from Wakasa's face, who had his nose bleeding as tears pooled around his eyes from the intense combined pain from his nose and leg.

"Sleep!"

Akira stomped on Wakasa's face, over and over again, until the man was in the eighth layer of unconsciousness.

In the room where Yuji was standing, Shiki held an ice pack behind the head of Osanai, who still seemed to be unconscious. Yuji, who was staring at the events in the arena, had his face pale, sweat running down his forehead as he watched Akira trample Wakasa.

'It's just like Kaneda and Himuro's fight..."

"..."

Akira pulled himself off Wakasa, the boy with his hands on his knee as he breathed heavily. His arm was swollen, but fortunately he had suffered no further injuries, apart from his numb foot from kicking Wakasa in the face several times. The arena was quiet, everyone looking perplexed and disbelieving at what had just happened in front of them.

"O-O winner is the second representative of Yggdrasil!"