'I knew before we got here that it won't be easy dealing with these people.' 

'I expected this whole event to happen, the questioning, the yelling, trying to calm certain people down.' Ash thought as he walked down the stairs.

'Although I'm a bit disappointed that he's the only one rebelling, for now.' his eyes landed on the man as the crowd parted away from them.

'What I wasn't expecting, is a duel from him.' Ash stood in front of the man.

The standing difference between them was visible. The man was more built, both in size and height.

"It's good to see that you're not a coward like most of them and trying to avoid this fight," the man voiced out proudly.

Ash stood close to him with his hands perfectly tucked into his pockets.

"Why would I do that?" Ash asked with a calm look on his face.

"Who cares? Just prove to me that you're fit to lead," the man answered.

They both parted ways and stood a few meters away from each other.

"You sure you want to go through with this?" Jack asked Ash.

"It's fine, he asked for it," Ash replied.

"Hey, let's get on with this," a man from the crowd shouted out and others chorused in agreement.

"Shouldn't we be stopping this?" Jared asked Diva as they stood at the upper level of the house, watching.

"He told us not to interfere," she replied. "Besides, I'm sure he can handle this,"

Jared returned his attention to the fight with the hope that things don't escalate.

"For the rules..." Jack spoke out as the crowd started to get rowdy. "Just knock your opponent down, that should be enough,"

"Tsk, favoring the little kid," the man clicked his tongue. 

He then swung his bat around as he displayed some skills with it, getting the crowd's cheer.

"Since he's using a weapon, you should too," Jack handed Ash a wooden bat.

"I won't need it," Ash replied.

"You sure about that?" 

"Yes, thank you," 

"Alright then, let the match begin," Jack announced as he gave them the open space to fight.

'Judging from the way he rejected the bat, he should be confident in his ability.'

'But will he be able to handle this guy?' Jack thought as he watched them go.

"Don't complain if you get beaten," the man said shortly after moving around.

Ash watched him closely as they move around the open space, he observed his movements and coordination of his hands and feet.

The man swung his bat at Ash out of a test and he dodged it easily. He then chuckled a bit and swung again, this time a bit faster.

Ash lowered his body a bit, paving way for the swing. The man then swung at him several times more but none made contact.

Soon, the crowd began to murmur among themselves after watching the display.

"Don't tell me dodging is all you can do?" The man asked as he kept swinging his bat in his hand.

"You haven't even landed a blow yet, so why should I attack?" Ash replied.

This made the man a bit angry and he charged at him with far more powerful and faster strikes.

He swung strategically, making sure his attacks were coordinated but Ash kept dodging and allowing the attacks to pass him.

The man eventually swung at his legs, hoping to get a hit but as soon as the bat got closer, Ash stopped it by pinning the bat under his feet.

"Even you should have expected something like that," Ash said to him as the man struggled to remove the bat.

"I kinda did," he said as he drew the other bat from behind his back and struck down on Ash.

'So predictable.' A thought formed in Ash's head as he expected the other attack.

Using the bat under his feet as leverage, Ash lifted himself a bit with a slight spin, and immediately crashed his foot into the man's face.

The man rolled on the floor a couple of times before regaining his balance. The whole place went silent for a minute as they all watched in amazement.

'For a second there, the boy used that man's weight against him.' Ragnar thought as he watched closely.

"That attack was a bit slow only to those who have seen him fight at a faster rate," Jared whispered. "So cool,"

"That should do it," Jack immediately stepped in on the fight.

"Huh? You said knock your opponent to the ground," the man immediately cut in.

"And he just did that, to you," Jack responded.

"No no, you can't be serious, I'm not down for good," the man complained.

"Yeah, he can still fight,"

"Let him at the kid," 

"Let the fight continue,"

People began to protest while hiding behind the crowd. Jack glanced at Ash who nodded his head in agreement and so, he continued the fight.

"I guess you're capable of something," the man voiced out as he held his jaw.

"Let's see if you can do better," he spat on the floor a mixture of blood and saliva before dashing at Ash, this time with swings even deadlier.

He gripped his bats more and went straight for his head. Ash turned his body to the side as the attack hit the ground.

He immediately swung as he was closer to Ash, using his body to apply more force and speed, just then, Ash through a backflip and landed several meters away from him as he carefully avoided the attack.

The man, holding on to the two bats, started spinning around as he got closer and closer to Ash.

He then changed his pattern in a second and went up and down, while still swinging.

'He changed his pattern?' Ash thought as he watched the attack get closer.

The man then increased the speed and power of the spin, hoping to charge enough power before getting to Ash. But unfortunately, Ash read his move in time and dashed at him.

Ash stopped the spin almost immediately as he held the man's two hands with his opposite hands.

The man immediately threw a head-butt but was cleanly avoided with Ash shifting his upper body back from him.

'He dodged that?' the man thought as his attack missed and then thought of a new way to attack again.

Ash didn't give the man the opportunity to think as he applied power to his grip.

The man felt a sudden press on his arms and soon, was thrown into the air spinning upside down.

The crowd gasped as they watched him spin before crashing to the ground. 

"Arrgg, damn it," he grunted.

He immediately plunged at Ash again, relentless and hoping for a hit.

He had already been knocked to the ground two times and it was pissing him off.

As he struck with his left hand, Ash caught the attack before it got to him using his right and brought it past his side while he stared at the man dead in the eye.

Not feeling threatened by this, he immediately threw another strike using his right hand this time.

Regardless of whatever arm he used, Ash seemed to be reading his move.

He swiftly caught the man's arm again with his left hand, crossed them, brought it over his shoulder and immediately, he lifted the man off the ground before flipping him over.

The man's eyes widened as he saw all those quick hand movements and the next thing he knew, he was about to be brutally slammed into the ground.

He had taken enough hits and was determined to get a strike this time, so he quickly landed with his legs holding him up.

"Woahhh," the crowd echoed at the sudden turn of events.

Though the man was inverted, he managed to hold himself as Ash held on to his arms. Ash felt his grip being twisted and soon the man was holding onto his arms this time.

His eyes dimmed as he wasn't expecting this. 

With the man's weight being unbalanced, he immediately twisted himself along with Ash as they both flipped around several times before landing again.

This time he was standing straight while Ash was inverted and was almost touching the ground.

A dark grin formed on his face as he pinned two of Ash's hands in one of his own and was about to strike down on Ash with his bat.

Ash pushed his feet and propelled himself upwards, and with full force, he curved his feet towards his back and he swung himself underneath the man.

With their grips still connected, Ash swung himself under the man, and in return, the man was pulled by the force and ultimately slammed him into the ground, hard.

The whole room went dead silent after the crash as dust flew out and dissipated into the air.

"Now, that's enough," Jack stepped in again with a smile of his face.

"I think these are skills even pro fighters will have a hard time countering," he added as he walked up to Ash.

"Anyone who has watched this fight now can say that he's fit to lead," he turned to the crowd.

Immediately the crowd burst out with cheers as they agreed and celebrated his win.

The entire place shook for a moment and following that, the lighting in the room began to flicker.

It continued for a while before becoming stable as they all watched.

"Hmm, weird," someone from the crowd voiced out shortly after.

Immediately, Ash felt his chest tighten as it started to strain on him.

He was not the only one who felt the strain and so, everyone began to fall to their knees.

"What's going on?" Someone asked but immediately, the strain vanished from them without a trace.

'That was weird, I've never felt something like that before.' Ash thought as he rubbed his chest area.

"I refuse..." The man who fought Ash suddenly voiced out in rage. 

Where he knelt on the floor started to get hot, and soon...

"I refuse to be led by a brat!!" His shouted as his rage exploded in a burst of flames.