Masato Hayashi was the first to enter the arena, clad in a slightly oversized lab coat that completely obscured his hands due to long sleeves. Notably absent were the long rubber gloves typically worn by many other members of the Hayashi clan.

His short black hair was adorned with long bangs that partially covered his eyes. His slender build and V-shaped face, accentuated by prominent cheekbones, were apparent.

From the opposite direction came Toshiro, dressed in a rather distinctive fashion. He wore a grey kimono beneath a long brown vest with a tall collar. Additionally, he sported a cloak in the Isogai clan's colors – brown – though it was draped in a way that only obscured his right shoulder and arm.

Toshiro, a young man in his twenties, had dark brown hair neatly combed to the side, with a touch of disarray.

Upon reaching the middle of the arena, both competitors politely bowed.

"Everybody, please welcome Masato Hayashi and Toshiro Isogai!" the announcer called out, though his voice lacked the enthusiasm it had held before. Without the fervent audience, the atmosphere felt decidedly different.

Masato shed his coat while awaiting the gong that would signal the start of the duel. He tossed it aside, revealing a slim but well-defined physique. His fingers and hands were wrapped in bandages, as was a portion of his torso, but he wore nothing else except for a pair of short pants that wouldn't impede his movements.

Toshiro responded by removing his cloak as well. With a press of a button on a brooch securing it, the garment fell to the ground, exposing his right arm and the peculiar device encasing it from elbow to wrist. It was sizeable and appeared quite heavy.

Unfortunately, the loud toll of the gong left little time for further observation.

Toshiro swiftly aimed his arm, outfitted with the device, directly at his opponent. A mechanism clicked, and the front part of the device, a wrist-encircling ring, began to spin. Flaps opened, and barrels emerged from several holes, spewing a barrage of ice shards toward Masato.

With absolute composure, he raised his hands into a practiced stance. As the first shards neared him, his hands blurred into motion, fingers emanating a faint, pale energy. In the blink of an eye, he caught all the projectiles, then deftly discarded them around him. His stance transformed into another one in a fluid motion, with one hand extended forward, palm open, fingers pointing skyward, and the other arm tucked behind his back. He stood sideways, with his right leg forward.

„Please… Come at me,” he said with a calm voice.

Toshiro growled in frustration, showing his clenched teeth. Then his arm twitched. This action retracted the barrels and sealed the flaps. Forcing a large blade to extend from a different section of the device, just as he charged at Masato. He leaped forward. In mid-air, the blade began to shimmer with a fluid coating created by shinryoku.

"Wow," Kazuki exclaimed as he watched his fellow clan member in action.

The Hayashi clan member gracefully deflected the attack with his bare hand, as if there was no sharp, dangerous weapon but a mere cardboard dummy sword. Then, like a striking snake, his left hand appeared, hitting the opponent in the chest and pushing him back.

„I will end this fast,” he promised.

Toshiro gasped for air, unable to breathe, but he didn't panic. Instead, he rotated the arm with the device, causing the blade to retract. With a quick shift of gears, a larger barrel emerged, and a roaring stream of raging flames erupted from inside.

Masato reacted by swiftly jumping back to avoid the flamethrower. Meanwhile, Toshiro struggled for a moment longer before finally catching his breath.

"This fight is over," Kazuki said, capturing Ren's attention.

"Why? What makes you think that?" Ren inquired.

"This Masato guy isn't even trying. Did you see how he moved when he caught all those ice shards? I'm sure he could do the same to attack. He almost won with a single palm strike. Can you imagine what he could do with multiple strikes?"

Ren envisioned such a scenario, and it was devastating. "I see," he replied.

Back in the arena, Toshiro activated his hand device again, causing the mechanism to shift. Another large barrel emerged from a different location. He aimed it at the sky and fired a round ball the size of a fist. It emerged with a strange dull sound, arcing through the air and landing beneath Masato's feet. The ball immediately popped open, releasing purple smoke with a hissing noise.

The Hayashi clan warrior wasted no time. He assumed a fighting stance and struck the air in front of himself with an open palm. The impact tore an opening in the gas, which Masato used to charge at Toshiro.

The Isogai clan warrior reacted by forcing his hand device to retract the barrel, and the blade popped up again. He charged and swung the sword, but it was easily avoided.

The opening was wide enough for Masato to seize the opportunity, and he delivered a powerful strike that appeared capable of ending the fight. However, there was another transformation in Toshiro's hand device. It erected a crystal barrier on the side, which flashed with energy.

A barrier composed of hexagons formed around Toshiro, absorbing the impact of Masato's strike. The blow was loud, but the defenses held.

The warrior of the Hayashi clan was also taken aback, slightly tilting his head. He then disappeared with a flashy maneuver, reappearing on the other side. It was a perfect dodge, as Toshiro had already swung his blade, but it missed entirely.

He swung again while yelling, "You can't break my barrier! I've won!"

Those words brought a smile to Masato's face. In the blink of an eye, his hands rose to strike, unleashing a fury of blows. They were so fast that his hands practically disappeared. Ren did his best to keep up with what was happening, catching glimpses of impacts from various directions. Masato wasn't using his fists but rather employing knuckles, bent fingers, and thumbs to land blows from multiple angles. Eventually, the barrier shattered as the side crystal ball on Toshiro's arm device cracked. All of the impacts struck the Isogai clan warrior.

Masato landed only a handful of those hits before jumping back to create some space. Everyone anticipated some response from Toshiro, but he just stood there, frozen, unable even to speak. A moment later, he managed to squeeze out, "I give up," with a hoarse voice.

The medical team rushed to provide help, and to Ren's surprise, Masato joined them.

"What a fight!" The announcer's crackling voice once again resonated in the stadium. "And what sportsmanship! The winner is even helping his opponent after the duel! That's something nice to see!"

The commentary provided ample cover for the medical team to provide emergency assistance, especially when the person who had inflicted the damage was helping them as well. Soon, the whole group began heading out of the arena. This prompted the announcer to speak again, "Participants Kaori Isogai and Tetsuya Hayashi, please prepare for your match!"

The two participants rose from their seats and began walking toward the exit, escorted by guards. Ren paid very little attention to them as he was too focused on calculating which opponents he could face in his duel.

‘There are not many people left, and it seems that all the participants I was warned about have already fought. This gives me a good chance, doesn't it?’ He smiled, asking himself this question.

Kazuki brought him back to reality by patting him on the shoulder and pointing below, at the arena, where the two new warriors emerged.

One was a girl with short blonde hair and a pair of goggles resting on her forehead. She wore a long brown coat, characteristic of the Isogai clan. She also had a pair of shorts with long black knee-high socks to cover her legs and a backpack. But the most surprising of all was the gas mask covering her mouth.

From the other side emerged a grotesque figure that Ren had already noticed previously. He was wide but short and walked in a strange manner. Ren couldn't help but compare him to a massive ball wrapped in a long white cloak. His head was completely bald, adorned with a massive smile on his lips, big enough to show his perfectly white teeth.

"Everybody give it up for our two warriors!" The announcer spoke again. "Participants Kaori Isogai and Tetsuya Hayashi."

Each raised a hand as their names were spoken, receiving moderate applause from the few people in the stands.

‘What nonsense,’ Ren thought to himself. ‘This whole event is turning into a sad joke, but I'll just have to deal with it and win. Then, when I become a candidate, I can forget all about it.’

Moments later, the whole stadium fell silent. Just before the fight began, Tetsuya dropped his cloak and finally rose from the crouching position he had stayed in the whole time. He was a massive man with bulging muscles. He wore a lab coat, but the sleeves were torn, exposing his enormous arms. He wore white gloves, but the pair was shorter, not reaching his elbows.

"Wow... He is so big," Kazuki remarked.

"Yeah," Ren agreed.

"About three meters tall."

‘That's ten... in his case maybe even eleven feet. This girl is doomed,’ Ren thought to himself before the loud sound of the gong rendered even his thoughts silent.

Tetsuya let out a loud laugh while spreading his arms wide, attracting people's eyes to himself. "Look! Watch me! The peak of the Hayashi clan's body modification! I'll show you the might of my body!"

"Tch!" a noise escaped Kaori's mouth, and she immediately reached into the pocket of her coat to pull out a grenade, which she threw at the hulking man.

It exploded around him, spraying pink gas, but he completely ignored it, emerging from the cloud.

"You think your toys will work on me? I'm immune to your tricks! Hahahahaha!"

She responded by throwing another grenade at him, which created another pink cloud upon impact, while she retreated further. This time, though, he emerged charging with surprising speed. He leaped forward, falling with both hands raised high, to slam her into the ground, but with nimble footwork, she escaped. He tried to grab her, but she avoided his grasp skillfully, jumping swiftly until she was beyond his reach, and then she sprinted away.

"Huh?" Left Tetsuya's mouth, as he noticed something on his arms. He picked up an empty syringe and raised it to his eye. Then a chuckle left his mouth before he took off the rest of them.

"I'll crush you for that," he stated before charging again. This time he didn't jump, only shortened the distance with several long steps. She couldn't match him, although she tried to get out. For a moment, he tried to grab her again, but she was too nimble, so he decided to attack and backhanded her.

Kaori was sent flying, at the last moment throwing another grenade, which hit Tetsuya in the face and sprayed the pink cloud all over his body.

Despite hitting the ground, she tumbled, and ended up on her feet, sliding on the sand. Meanwhile, the large man emerged from the cloud of gas charging once again. It appeared as if he was going to get her, but suddenly his legs gave out under his weight, and he fell to the ground face-first.

"He is not the smartest one," Kazuki noticed.

"Yeah," Ren agreed.

Kaori approached the giant as he was trying to pick himself up from the ground. From her backpack, she pulled out a can of spray, then sprayed him with some green substance all over his face, making him completely collapse.