Path to Strength

"You did very well, Akira! But I think you could have gone a little lighter at the end." It was Shiki who spoke, the boy holding an ice pack over the back of Osanai's head, who seemed to slowly regain consciousness.

Akira, the winner of the second round, had a shy smile on his face as he pressed an ice pack on his forearm. Luckily, there was nothing broken, but he would still need to go to the hospital. "I just got carried away." He laughed lightly.

"You won in quick fashion, no more unnecessary injuries, so it's okay." Yuji spoke, the boy punching the air in preparation for his fight.

After Akira's fight, they were given some time to prepare for the last fight and Yuji took the opportunity to warm up his body as much as possible. From when he was fighting in his old body, Yuji and his trainers realized that his performance in battle depended on how excited he was before the fight. If he was bored before the fight, an average fighter might give him a bit of a headache.

But at that moment, Yuji was very excited. The anxiety while waiting for his fight was killing him, and he could only take out his will to fight on his punches, which traveled through the air like bullets. Akira and Shiki, who were watching him, were impressed by the speed of his blows. Akira compared it to Wakasa's kicks, and could conclude that Yuji, even at a distance, would hit Wakasa before he could land his kick. His commander was on a different level, he knew that, but what perplexed him was that Yuji was a year younger than him.

'He is simply a monster...' The two captains thought.

When the screen requested Yuji's presence in the arena, the boy smiled and walked towards the exit.

"Commander, good luck!"

"Show them what you told us!"

"Oh, what great thighs you have here, beautiful girl."

"..."

All three of them laid their eyes on Osanai, who had his head resting on an ice pack, his hands squeezing Shiki's thighs, who had a perplexed expression on his face.

"Nice thighs, he..." Osanai squeezed Shiki's thigh as he looked at the boy's face, hallucinating due to the confusion in his head.

Shiki, realizing what was happening, screamed in horror and jumped away from Osanai, the blond hitting his head on the ground and passing out again. Akira and Yuji, who were just watching the situation, choked as they started laughing wildly. Shiki, with tears in her eyes, looked at the two with frowning eyebrows.

"Don't laugh!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

.

.

.

"After the shock of the second round, we are back, now with the last fight, which will decide the winner of this wonderful challenge! Arena B1 or the Yggdrasil gang! With you, the leader of the newly formed gang, owner of the Shinjuku territory, Yuji Shinakawa!" The announcer introduced.

"This guy's name has been circulating around quite a bit! They say he's as strong as Mikey the Invincible!"

Yuji entered the arena with an excited expression. He missed the feeling of being around people, in a fight where there would be a chance of his defeat. Walking through that venue, brought back memories of when he would climb into a ring, ready to show the results of months of preparation for a fight.

'I can barely control this excitement.' He ignored the booing, stopping in the middle of the arena, and skipping past, his eyes fixed on the other side of the arena, awaiting the presence of his opponent.

"Now, the one who stands above everyone in this arena! The princess of the B1! Our leader, the strongest among the strong! With you, Senju Kawaragi!" The announcer introduced, cheer clear in his tone.

"Surely, not even the leader of Yggdrasil will be able to survive!"

After the introduction, Yuji noticed a movement on the other side of the arena, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the approaching person. Senju, the arena leader, was walking quietly toward Yuji, a serene expression, as if she didn't even care that she was there. The aura around her, seen only by Yuji, was enormous, indicative of her strength as a fighter. He knew that if he wasn't careful, he might lose without being able to make at least one considerable move.

'That girl is dangerous~...' Yuji commented, an excited smile appearing on his lips as he felt his body tremble with anticipation. 'In my old body, I was always excited to fight strong people, but a feeling like this, I've never felt... It's as if my body is going against my mind, my muscles are preparing, my fists anticipating to punch, and my legs warming up, ready to move.'

'This is great!'

Yuji admired every sensation in his body. There was no pain or discomfort, just the excitement of combat. The boy felt as if that body was designed for fighting, and after years of being weakened by the old Yuji, it was now releasing all of its restrained will. It was an incredible feeling, Yuji had to agree.

"Begin!"

Lost in his own world, the boy forgot what was going on around him, his eyes shining in recognition when he was able to hear the announcer's voice starting the fight. Surprised at his lack of attention, his eyes turned to Senju, only to miss his presence.

'Wha-'

Bam!

With a sudden pain at the top of his head, Yuji's body was pushed against the ground with a colossal force, his face crushing the ground as the boy felt as if gravity increased several times over his body. Blood gushed from his nose, and although he felt confused, his mind was still sane enough to understand what was happening, he rolled to the side, dodging a kick to the ground that caused a loud enough thud to intimidate everyone in the arena.

Yuji stood up, his hand holding his nose as blood continued to leak out. 'Was that a kick?!' he wondered in astonishment, such force could not be exerted even by a sumo wrestler. Had Yuji's body not had such resistance, he would be on his way to the hospital at that moment.

Senju, who was now staring at Yuji, had surprise in his gaze. In order to apply the kick to the boy, she had jumped and spun in the air while applying an axe kick; with the force of her kick combined with acceleration, she could crumple a car door quietly. But there Yuji was, standing there with only a bleeding nose and a bit of swaying in his body, indicating the confusion in his head. Senju was dumbfounded, she believed that not even Mikey, who was considered the strongest of his generation, could handle that kick like Yuji was handling.

"That was something..." Yuji's voice caught Senju's attention, the girl getting into a stance as she took a step back, clearly intimidated by the discomfiting stamina of the teenager in front of her. "That was a hell of a kick that one.... Too bad though, it's going to be really hard for you to hit me again~"

Yuji took a deep breath, the bleeding in his nose finally stopping. Taking a stance, his fists raised in front of his face and legs parted, indicating his style as a boxer, the boy let all his senses work to the fullest. Hearing, sight and smell, all senses working together in a way that an ordinary human would never be able to replicate.

The boy's presence intimidated everyone in the place, even Senju, who felt the sweat run down her forehead as she anticipated a possible attack.

"Let's get started."

Yuji advanced towards the girl, sweeping the distance between the two in the blink of an eye. Senju seeing this, sent a straight kick towards the boy's torso, the tip of his foot ready to strike his stomach with full force. Yuji, who watched the attack coming, moved his torso to the side, surprising the girl and barely giving her time to block a punch to his rib.

Blocking the punch with difficulty using her forearm, Senju moved away in quick steps, she taking a deep breath as she felt her arm go numb from the blow. 'The force behind that blow is incredible, but I'm sure I can handle it if I don't get hit in the face, I need to be cautious when approaching.'

Yuji gestured in front of the girl, a leg movement commonly used in boxing, but with participation in several martial arts. His movements were polished, clear to any sharp eye with technical knowledge in combat.

When the girl caught her breath, Yuji came forward again, this time sending two quick punches, which were easily parried by Senju, who countered with a kick to the rib, easily blocked by the boy, who continued the attack. The two started exchanging blows, all of their attacks blocked or parried, both unable to do any considerable damage to the opponent. Many might think that because Yuji used only his fists, he would be at a disadvantage, but with the exchange of blows, this proved not to be true, for even if the girl used her legs and fists, Yuji proved to be able to make her retreat.

In an office, sitting on a sofa, a black-haired woman could be seen watching the fight through a television on the wall. Her eyes were fixed on Yuji, who had an excited smile on his face as he exchanged blows with Senju. Seeing the boy's performance, a smile with sharp teeth like a shark's appeared on the woman's lips, she grabbing a glass of wine and drinking while enjoying the fight.

During the exchange of blows, Yuji suddenly pulled away when a kick was able to penetrate his defense and hit him in the rib, the boy groaning in pain as he placed his hand on the spot.

'I understood your way of fighting...' He commented in his mind, his eyes fixed on the girl as she, seeing that she was able to hit him, moved forward and tried to take advantage of the pain of the kick to continue with another kick, this time aimed at his face. Yuji simply stepped back, evading the kick, but the girl didn't seem to give up as long as she attacked him with a sequence of kicks and punches, putting him on the defensive. 'She doesn't have that much physical strength, and uses acceleration to increase the power of her kicks. Her flexibility is almost inhuman, which gives her the freedom to apply spinning kicks and somersaults without difficulty. Moreover, she seems to adapt every time I push her, a true genius in combat.'

When the girl rotated her body and sent a kick towards Yuji's face, the boy raised his hand and directed the palm towards his foot, the blow fitting and causing a loud sound. Senju, who believed she was able to get the kick right, widened her eyes when she saw Yuji holding her leg with a hand, his eyes staring at her with a dangerous glare.

'But that won't be enough to beat me.'

Holding the girl's leg, he sent a punch towards her face. With tremendous strength, Yuji knew that victory was guaranteed. But even though he was someone who transmigrated into another body, an accomplished fighter and an intelligent person, he was unable to predict what would happen next.

Just as the punch was about to hit the girl, Yuji was startled when, with only the strength of a single leg, Senju lifted her body into the air, the boy feeling her full weight as she leaned her other foot on Yuji's shoulder and propelled herself upwards, freeing herself from his hand.

'How the hell is that possible?!'

About to turn around, Yuji was taken aback when the girl, with a Front Flip in mid-air, smashed her foot into the back of his head with a powerful spinning kick, the teenager's body being pushed against the ground as his eyes lost their glow and his head crashed into the ground hard enough to crack the ground slightly. Senju, who landed on the girl's back, took a deep breath and stepped back a little, she was sweaty, and her body was sore from the boy's blows. What she wanted at the moment was a shower, and she couldn't wait for that.

"..."

"A-The winner is-"

"..."

As the announcer was about to declare the winner of the match, silence reverberated through the place. Senju, confused by this, looked around curiously, noticing everyone in the venue with amazed expressions as they had their eyes fixed on a certain place. Curious, the girl followed everyone's gaze, turning around slowly.

The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, everyone in the arena completely shocked as they tried to understand what the hell was going on. Senju, the princess of B1, the one said to be the strongest among the strong, took a step back as she watched the figure standing in front of her. She felt her limbs stiffen, as if they were afraid to move, and it really scared her.

( Note: When I was writing this moment, I thought of some soundtracks that could be nominated, and in the end, because I was writing while listening to Ghostemane - Fed Up, every time I read this moment this song ends up coming to my mind. )

Standing in the middle of the arena, Yuji had his hair messy, his eyes shining like a predator face to face with its prey. His face, completely inexpressive, only served to make his appearance even more intimidating. His eyes staring intensely at Senju, caused the girl to stop breathing for a second.

"That was a nice kick." He spoke, his tone calm, but audibly frustrated.

Yuji didn't dare smile. If not for his resistance, he would probably be dead, his neck broken. This made him angry, even if it was not intended, Senju had hit him hard enough to kill. If it was Akira or Osanai... He didn't even want to think about this possibility.

So he would try to show that girl what happens when you try to kill a person, even more so him.

"Now it's my turn."

Yuji swept the distance between the two in the blink of an eye, a kick hitting the girl's stomach with tremendous force, which sent her flying backwards, her back scraping on the ground as she got up with a little difficulty.

'That... Was that a kick?! I thought he was a boxer.' Senju thought in disbelief, her hands gripping her stomach. The kick was sharp, and caused tremendous internal damage, hampering her mobility and breathing.

As the girl was recovering, Yuji advanced again, this time sending a punch toward her face. The blow flew like a bullet, but Senju, with his very high reflexes, threw his torso back to escape.

Bam!

The girl's eyes widened when, even though she had clearly moved out of range of Yuji's attack, the punch hit her hard on the cheek, causing her to stagger backwards.

'Is that Taekwondo?!'

Without time to think, Yuji launched a second punch, this time hitting the girl in the nose and causing her to groan in pain. Feeling pressured, Senju tried to counter with a punch aimed at Yuji's face, but the boy was able to parry and grab the girl's fist with ease, taking advantage and applying a kick to her abdomen, causing her to fall to her knees from the pain.

"You must be wondering what martial art this is, right?" Yuji asked, staring at the girl kneeling in front of him. Senju, breathing hard, turned his gaze to the boy upon hearing her question.

"That's Jeet Kune Do."

Yuji sent a kick toward the girl's chin, hitting her hard enough to knock her out. Senju fell unconscious to the ground as silence hung in the air. Turning around, Yuji walked towards the exit of the arena while wiping his face with his shirt.

Jeet Kune Do, a modern martial art, created from Chinese martial arts. With no set style, Jeet Kune Do evolves differently according to the practitioner. With fast attacks and the ability to parry blows in full execution, it is a martial art that if used correctly, turns the user into a deadly weapon. Yuji, despite having boxing as his favorite, didn't despise other martial arts, and started to learn at least the basics of each one. But with Jeet Kune Do, Yuji found himself fascinated by the martial art, and used much of his time to learn it.

With this, Yuji has become an accomplished practitioner of Jeet Kune Do, but despite this, he only uses the style when he sees that it is really necessary.

"You did well, girl."

"O-O v-winner is Yuji Shinakawa! Yggdrasil comes out as the winner!"

Leaving the arena, he walked toward the room his companions were in, the boy pausing for a second as he seemed to think about something.

'I should have given her a chance to surrender.'

'...'