Chapter 154: Who’s the Real White Tiger?

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[Earlier]

The atmosphere was serene, with a gentle smoke incense filling the room and leaving out the open Japanese doors. An old man with gray hair and a short beard sat behind a table and sipped herbal tea while facing a man of younger age and yet similar features.

While the old man sipped tea, the young man didn’t. He sat with a fearsome posture and waited in silence. After a minute, the old man put down the cup of tea and looked at his son with a considerate look.

“This might be too hasty,” his wizened voice filled the room, making the young man scoff.

“I think you just lost your spine after I inherited the Sacred Beast, Father,” said the young man, a taunt in his voice that made his father chuckle.

Looking at his son, with his head shaven and eyes filled with intensity, the old man felt a little nostalgic. Was he this idiotic too when he was young? “Byakko, now that you inherited that name from me, you need to act with cause. What’ll I do if you end up injured? We can approach this slowly.”

Byakko Shinra, Heir of the Shinra Clan, frowned deeply at that. Did his father really believe in the rumors that much? How can a mortal defeat a God? Did this old man think he’d lose to that fake, false White Tiger?

Despite its small size, Japan was one of the world’s powerhouses. Out of the many reasons, one primary factor for that was the Sacred Beasts.

Who didn't know about the Four Guardian Beasts? The Mythological Symbols? The Azure Dragon, the Black Tortoise, the White Tiger, and the Vermilion Bird were four names even mortals would recognize. 

Along with that was a new, fifth name. At the center of these four, was the sacred beast known by few; the Gold Dragon, also called the Yellow Dragon.

These five together, known as the Five Sacred Beasts, roamed the Earth for eons. They dominated the world with their overwhelming strength and became legends. 

At one point in time, a few millennia ago, few knew for what reason, that these Five Sacred Beasts decided to choose human vessels. 

These beasts made pacts with five Japanese families, and since then a child from these bloodlines inherited their respective Sacred Beasts. Due to their strength, they could essentially be considered Demi-Gods, save for the eternal youth part.

The five possessors of these Five Sacred Gears all lived in Japan. So naturally, the country’s status in the supernatural world was high. And the Five Principal Clans, the undercover ruling class, now dominated Japan. 

Among the five, the Nakiri Clan who wielded the Yellow Dragon and unofficially led the four other four Clans, was considered the leading clan. They were crowned as the strongest among the five clans, as the Yellow Dragon was the strongest.

Yet however, the other clans were pretty close. People painted the gap larger than it actually was. After all, how could a bunch of cooks be Demi-Gods?

Byakko Shinra, the current heir of the Shinra Clan, aimed to take a step beyond and prove that the Shinra Clan was far stronger than the Nakiri Clan. Byakko believed that those foolish blondes, clearly not Japanese, shouldn’t be allowed to lead Japan. They should focus on their chef business and let the other clans take the lead.

As the wielder of the White Tiger, allowing him the ability to transform into a humanoid byakko, as well as reign over the Metal Element, he was an Ultimate-Class entity worthy of going against Satans and Gods.

But to overthrow the Nakiri, he’d need both strength and fame. He had the former, but it wasn’t enough, and he didn’t even want to talk about the latter. Recently, there was an opportunity for both right under his nose.

When the name [The White Tiger Sage] spread through the country, the entire world, after Odinson Thor’s defeat, people naturally came to congratulate Byakko and his Shinra Clan. Since it was a man with the power of White Tiger, it must have been someone from the Shinra Clan, right?

So how embarrassing was it that this Sage of White Tiger turned out to not be from the Clan, but from some random family? 

Byakko felt like he was slapped hard when people realized he wasn’t the one who defeated Thor, and when they said, ‘Ah, that makes sense. If it was the Nakiri Heir it’d have been more believable, we should have expected this was someone else from the get-go…’

The Shinra Clan began to look into it. Did one of the family members play around and have illegitimate children? There was the incident with Hanekawa Shinra 18 years ago, was this related to her? Did she conceive a child before death? Was this him?

Even so, how was he so strong? Byakko Shinra inherited the White Tiger, that's how he could tap into the legendary beast’s power. In that case, how could this kid do the same without the Sacred Beast? What was going on?

His identity was soon found to be Aquamarine Hoshino, and from there accessing his information wasn’t hard. Although his personal information was oddly locked, a lot of his information was out to the public due to his celebrity status.

From there, among many things, they learned of a dangerous fact.

Aqua was dating a Yokai girl.

A member of the Lagomorph Branch, no less.

The Five Principal Families and the Yokai Faction had a relationship like water and oil. Millennia ago, when the Sacred Beasts roamed China, the Nine-Tailed Fox ruled over Japan. Now they share this little country. They couldn't tolerate each other but had no choice but to endure and coexist, for they had fought in the past and the result was devastating. 

If this Aqua was truly a member of the Shinra Clan, illegitimate or not, he couldn’t be swayed by the Yokai faction.

Old man Shinra sighed at his son’s strong-headed eyes, as he failed to approach him even after an hour of trying. “Fine, have it your way,” it was better than him going on his own, anyway. “From our spy within the Yokai Faction, we learned about Queen Yasaka’s recent visit to Mai Sakurajima, and from there we heard about the exact date between Mai and Aqua’s meeting. If you want to go and confront him, about whatever you’re planning to confront him about.”

“....” the room’s atmosphere immediately changed.

“Just be sure to be careful,” Old man Shinra said, and let out a sigh right after when he looked at his son’s mad-stricken expression. More than stopping Aqua from dating a disgusting Yokai, Byakko Shinra wanted to test if the rumors were true.

He stood up, bowing to his father, and walked out of the room with steps that made the mansion tremble.

****

[Present]

I have a fucking date that I’ve been enjoying.

Sure we weren’t making out or giggling at unfunny jokes, but training Mai was fun. I would rather not have been interrupted. “Come out, you’d rather not make me wait,” I said with a voice that boomed under the weight of my presence.

There was silence at first, then a slight shifting in the bushes. A moment later, a group of seven men and three women walked into sight. They were led by a man large in size, big enough to give a man pause and wonder if he was really Japanese, enough to tower over me. He was muscular and large, wearing a beast-like grin as his golden eyes met my blue ones.

“There you are, boy,” said the hunk man, although I could tell he was barely in his 20s himself. His shoulders were a little low as if a tiger was ready to lunch at prey. “We would like you to come with us without resistance. Though I wish you’d resist, I wanna test something out.”

A slight grin crossed my face as Byakko issued his challenge, his voice dripping with arrogance. I laughed, "Planning to resist? No, I wouldn’t just resist, I’ll bash your face into the ground if you don’t fucking leave me alone." My tone was light, almost mocking, contrasting sharply with the tension that hung thick in the air. 

Byakko Shinra burst out laughing, while Mai, standing slightly behind Aqua, felt a surge of unease as she recognized the imposing figure of the bald man ahead of them. Her heart raced, not just from fear but from the recognition of the imminent danger.

She stepped closer to Aqua, tugging gently at his shirt to catch his attention. Leaning in, she whispered urgently, "We don’t have to fight them. That’s the heir of the Shinra Clan, Byakko Shinra. He wields the power of the White Tiger," she said, her voice a hushed plea, “I know you have White Tiger powers too, that’s why this isn’t a good idea. With the legendary White Tiger as his host, he might be able to overpower you.”

She was seeking to avoid conflict with a man known for his prowess and temper. While she knew her boyfriend, I, was strong enough to defeat Thor, she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, so she didn’t know if I had received outside or situational help. Supernatural powers also had wacky effects; as she said, it’s natural to assume that the infamous and legendary White Tiger might be able to enslave any lesser white tigers.

I turned my head slightly, acknowledging her concern with a soft smile, "Be at ease, I don’t lose." Though I admit I was slightly surprised hearing the name ‘Shinra’, the same family where Sona’s Queen Tsubaki was from, as was my Tsubasa’s mother.

Just as I spoke, Byakko laughed derisively, the sound echoing through the clearing. His body abruptly shifted, transforming. His skin grew white fur, and his form grew even more muscular. He entered his White Tiger humanoid mode, muscles bulging and stripes rippling across his skin in a majestic yet terrifying transformation. Without a second's hesitation, he charged at me, a blur of speed and fury.

With a resigned sigh, I rubbed my temple, clearly annoyed by the interruption. "Not a smart one are you," I said under my breath as he approached.

I called upon the [Tiger Icon].

My own form began to mirror Byakko's transformation, but mine continued where his stopped. Stripes of energy coalesced around me, the air grew colder as I grew in size, and for a second I could see a glint of fear in Byakko’s companions. 

His claws met empty space as I teleported to his side, using [Whirlwind Blink]. I twisted my body and unleashed a spinning kick to his liver. 

– Boom!!!

I hit him just enough to keep his attention on me and scare the rest of his companions. From this close distance, I could accidentally hurt Mai just by unleashing my will. 

I maintained a calm expression, while my opponent grinned ear-to-ear. He drew back his arms and unleashed his own kick at my neck that I blocked with my forearm. 

Byakko’s attacks were fierce, each strike filled with the power of his bloodline, his claws swiping through the air aiming to tear at any vulnerability. He was fast enough to break the sound barrier with each of his movements, causing miniature sound bombs, and he was strong enough to break a mountain with his bare fist. 

He wasn’t exactly weak.

But saying that both of us were White Tigers was an insult. I suppose my standards and expectations for someone with the White Tiger power were greater than this. 

I parried each attack with calm precision, my movements fluid and untroubled. I dodged when needed and guided him to a more secluded area of the park. 

“Hah! You’re not bad, holding your own!” the stupid brat shouted as I failed to stop a sigh coming from my mouth. 

“Is this all you got? Come on, use your trump cards or something,” I said. He was strong, each punch enough to defeat someone like Vali or Rias if it landed, but I could do the same with my will alone. 

As the initial exchange of blows grew monotonous, my patience wore thin. “It’s my turn now,” I said, making the fool burst out laughing as he thought I was bluffing. Perhaps he thought that the kick at the beginning was my full power? What a stupid son of a bitch.

With a swift motion, more fluid than violent, I stepped to the right of Byakko. I guided his attack to my right with one hand while I delivered a powerful left hook to his face. The dungeon space shattered like glass on the spot, almost breaking, as I had used some of my willpower in the punch.

The impact was sharp and decisive; the sound of a thunderclap filled the area and Byakko’s large frame crumpled to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the soil.

It only took a single attack, and it wasn’t even my full power.

Silence fell, broken only by the heavy breathing of Byakko’s stunned followers. I stood over the fallen heir of the Shinra Clan, my expression one of mild irritation mixed with an undeniable air of authority.

If he was going to ruin my date, couldn’t he at least be worth fighting?

I addressed the followers with a commanding tone that brooked no argument, "I'll send a message to your clan soon. Don’t try to contact me before that; otherwise..." I let the words hang in the air, letting the full extent of my authority for a brief moment. They slammed down to their knees, their heads hitting the ground on their own.

I had no reason to kill him or them, I didn’t have bad blood with them, so I decided to let him off easy. Next time I won’t be so kind.

Turning, I caught Mai's wide-eyed stare, her expression one of stupefied shock mixed with a hint of awe. This was the first time she saw me fight, it must feel different to see it with her own eyes than hearing it from someone else.

Without a word, I gestured for her to follow, and together we walked out of the scene, leaving behind a group of bewildered and frightened followers and the unconscious form of Byakko Shinra. 

The park returned to its peaceful state as if the violent interlude had been nothing more than a gust of wind disturbing its tranquility.

How annoying of an encounter.

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