In Hana-Sakana, there was an underground basement where they kept barrels of sake and bags of rice, but among all of this was a hidden passage. The bricks making up the walls, in one specific spot, were loose. The access to that spot was cut off by the supplies for the restaurant, but the guards cleared it in no time.

Few of them held torches, while the rest worked hard under the guidance of their captain. The remaining waited patiently before the pathway was revealed to them. Then the whole group moved into a dark tunnel leading to an unknown place.

They were rushing, as there was no time to waste.

It proved to be quite a long walk, despite the fast pace, which almost made the freshly lit torches burn out, but eventually, they all emerged somewhere at the edge of the woods around the city. The spot was well obscured by bushes, clearly planted there just for that purpose.

Overall, it was a lovely spot where the shadows of trees provided a cool space, hiding them from the hot rays of the morning sun. The birds hidden in the canopy sang songs, accompanied by the soft hum of the leaves.

"Look for tracks," Jiro ordered as soon as everybody was out.

He didn't spend even a moment enjoying the lovely area around them. The guards were similar in that manner, as they quickly spread in the vicinity, looking for anything that could lead them after the strangers.

The rest, though, enjoyed the short moment so close to nature as they had no experience in tracking anybody.

"Captain, I found something!" Moments later, Riku shouted, luring the attention of all participating in the pursuit.

Jiro rushed to him, followed by the guards and the participants of the tournament.

The cadet stood above several marks imprinted on disturbed soil. He was stretched like a tight string, with his head held high and the monocle on his eye, clearly proud of himself.

"Good job!" The captain called out, but he also wasted no time, immediately rushing to follow the tracks.

There were plenty of them, leading deeper into the woods.

"Quickly, we have a lot of distance to cover!" He added.

"Yes, sir!" the guards responded, darting right after him, with the participants of the tournament closing behind.

They moved through the woods at the fastest possible pace they could hold, eventually arriving at the remains of a camp. The charcoals marked the spot where the fire was lit, and around it, in a few spots, the grass and the forest litter were flattened, as if people chose those spots to lie down.

Jiro examined every single one of those spots.

"Spread out. Search for the traces," he ordered as he finished his checkup.

Riku immediately darted forward, bent in half, to look at the ground. Moments later, he screamed: "I found it! They went this way!"

That was enough for everybody to rush in his direction, following the tracks.

They kept the chase for several more hours until the day began to fade. Then they emerged from the forest into a large field. It was mostly empty, but further on the horizon line, they could spot another forest and also a group of figures going in that direction.

Those were indistinguishable silhouettes. The distance was simply too great.

"After them," Jiro ordered. "Spread out and surround them. If it's possible, catch the three culprits alive."

It didn't take long for the wide group of pursuers to be spotted, and the significantly smaller group of the chased decided to stop, showing no fear of confrontation.

As Ren and the others closed the distance, they were able to see the three strangers. The large, familiar man. The man, similar to him, with a massive rucksack full of weapons, with some of them sticking out, and the tall slender man with the black mask similar to a crow's beak, visible even underneath the large bamboo hat.

With them was Koji Tachibana. The massive young man was easy to spot, and the heavy mace resting on his shoulder made him stick out like a sore thumb. He appeared to be following on his own accord, as he even had some belongings packed in a backpack he carried.

He was not the only large person who decided to leave with the strangers. The even bigger Tetsuya Hayashi, with his bald head and white cloak, stretched to full height, was just as easy to notice, if not easier.

There were also two less eye-catching people. Kira Hayashi, the expert in thread and needle, and Kaori Isogai, the poison girl with the gas mask on her face.

Jiro, at the front of the chasing group, stopped abruptly, sliding on the grass, while his men, spread more to the sides, proceeded to surround the criminals in a semicircle.

"Stop right there!" The captain yelled. "You are under arrest! You are a suspect in an investigation about the incident in the stadium!"

"Let us go," the stranger who previously approached Ren spoke.

"There is no way I'll let a criminal go!" Jiro shouted. "Grab them!"

The guards followed the order, rushing at the group from all sides. Noticing it, Tetsuya and Koji dropped their belongings and stepped forward.

They got swarmed by much smaller men, but with a devastating show of power crushed the attacking guards. The regular weapons had no chance to do anything against the thick, bio-enhanced skin of the bald giant, and the heavy mace of Koji just sent those who approached him flying.

Those who got hit were thrown in the air and quickly fell down on the grass, groaning out of pain. They began picking themselves up, but Ryoma stepped forward before they managed to get back on their feet.

"Tell your men to stand back. I'll deal with those two," he said to the captain.

With a burst of speed, he appeared in front of his massive fellow clan member and then sliced his legs before Koji was able to react.

"AAARGH!” He screamed, trying to backhand the samurai in white, but missed.

Tetsuya came to help, attempting to catch Ryoma, but he was simply too slow, and the swordsman danced between his long hands, avoiding them with ease, only to switch to the offense and shower the bald giant with a swarm of cuts.

Blood sprayed from multiple slashes, marking the grass. It appeared that victory was inevitable, but then Kira and Kaori stepped in.

Kaori threw her gas bomb at the samurai. He avoided a direct hit, but the gas was still ejected, producing a pink cloud. This was enough for him to recognize that he needed to take her down before she was able to use more of her tricks. As he charged forward, he was blocked by a burst of needles thrown his way. Forced to parry, he had to stop, and that was enough for Kaori to throw yet another grenade, making him retreat back to the whole group.

"We need to help him,” Kazuki announced, and he took off his cloak, revealing the device on his back. The arms stretched out, raising him in the air, while the remaining four stayed able to fight.

“I’ll clear the gas cloud,” said Masato, taking his lab coat off and throwing it aside. “Hikari and Yumi prevent them from attacking at a distance. Ryusuke, Kaito, you handle the two giants. Kazuki, support them. This will be enough for Ryoma to finish this.”

As he said those words, his eyes briefly moved to Ren, but he clearly didn’t want to engage him in this fight.

Masato took a few quick steps forward, striking the air with his palm, producing a shockwave that tore one of the clouds apart, pushing the gas away. Then he struck for the second time, causing the other one to be shredded into pieces.

At the same moment, Hikari stabbed the air with her rapier. The sound of a gunshot shook the area, forcing Kaori to retreat before she could throw more of her grenades. Yumi did a similar thing, shooting an arrow coated with shinryoku at Kira.

“Who are you to order me?” Kaito asked, but despite his question, he charged at the bald giant.

The other member of the Noroi clan followed him, directing his footsteps at Koji.

The change in the battlefield didn’t escape the eyes of Ryoma, who immediately seized the opportunity created for him and rushed after the two who caused him the most trouble.

He closed the distance, ready to strike Kaori, but that was a mistake. He clearly had forgotten the skills of other participants, as Kira’s threads went into action. The needles he threw before were enough for him to establish a couple of anchors, so all he needed was to spread his tentacles, which blocked the samurai before he was able to strike. Out of the blue, he found himself trapped within a web of shinryoku-enhanced threads, which completely confined his movement.

Fortunately, Kazuki came to the rescue, charging, dragged by his massive robotic arms, which allowed him to reach his temporary companion and break the trap he was caught in.

Kaori tried to seize the moment, but the grenade she was about to throw got struck by an arrow and burst in her hand, covering her in a pink cloud.

This directed Ryoma to switch his target and attack Kira. He struck him with a few cuts, which was enough to establish a clear victory, as Kaito and Ryusuke easily subdued the two wounded giants.

"Your skills are amazing, but this won't be enough to stop us," said the stranger who had previously made contact with Ren.

As if called out, his companion with the massive rucksack took it off his back and pulled out two rather ordinary-looking katanas. They were wrapped in bandages, but their shapes were clearly visible. He untied them and then swiftly moved toward the battlefield, disappearing with just a couple of steps.

He materialized between Ryoma and Kira, striking the samurai with such force that the candidate could barely react in time to block. He was pushed away, sliding on the grass due to the sheer power behind the attack.

Hikari immediately provided assistance, trusting her rapier. Another gunshot shook the area, but the mysterious warrior avoided it with ease, only to be attacked by Yumi. She shot several arrows at him, but he deflected them all.

Then the stranger disappeared again, only to reappear before Kaito. He struck the swordsman from the Noroi clan, pushing him away from the bald giant.

"Retreat," with a calm voice the man ordered Tetsuya, who followed the order, moving away toward the other two mysterious men.

In the blink of an eye, the battlefield changed once again. It was no longer the group against the group; now it was everybody against this strange warrior. While the whole team focused on him, the participants who had decided to leave Hikarimura retreated behind the other two criminals.

"He is incredibly skilled. We need to strike him together," Masato declared.

"This guy has Jujin swords," Kaito growled.

This information took everybody by surprise, but there was no time to dwell on it as they had an enemy right in front of them.

The three Tachibana clan members were the first to resume their assault. Ryoma closed the distance, engaging the warrior directly, but his swift attack didn't seem to be enough. Hikari and Yumi provided assistance from a distance, using different angles to hit the mark, but the man had no problems blocking even against the tree.

This prompted Kaito and Ryusuke to charge, but even against the three swordsmen and the two supporters, the warrior was like an immovable wall. The sparks of their weapons clashing showered the area, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't land a single hit.

"Tch!" Escaped Masato's mouth as he decided to join in. He seized a moment with a display of speed he hadn't shown during the tournament. He appeared right before the swordsman, who seemed to be busy fighting everybody else and struck with his fist, producing so much power that his feet dug into the ground.

But before his fist could land, the warrior somehow squeezed in a kick of his own. The power behind it immediately brought Ren back to his fight with the Hearteater. It appeared to be of a similar level to that display of strength.

The blast threw Masato away like a ragdoll, making him fly several meters before landing painfully on the ground. He tumbled for a while before finally coming to a stop. The shockwave of the kick pushed the other fighters away, creating some distance between them and the stranger.

"Masato!" Kazuki screamed. "Enough of this!" He yelled, and from the device on his back, several capsules shot out. They landed around him, only to burst with a dull sound, producing a cloud of white smoke. From this cloud, several mechanical puppets emerged.

The two were very similar to one another, with wigs creating manes of black hair around their heads. One had much longer hair, extending all the way to the back. One was bulky but short, holding a giant shield similar to a turtle shell. And the largest one carried a heavy hammer. This one was bald.

"Ren! Check on Masato! We will deal with this guy!" Kazuki added, prompting his friend to take action.

Ren rushed to check on the member of the Hayashi clan.