Yakasa watched as Gai, the man with the blue tattoo, raced across the hallway and threw a fist aimed straight towards his head. "You may have hit me once, but I swear it won't happen again!" he declared, attempting to pull Yakasa's hand away from his head. Yakasa pushed away from Gai, carefully squinting his eyes and scanning his enemy at the same time. "A split second before blinking, I can see an enormous forcefield shielding the enemy," he observed, noticing his confident grin. "Even if you've barely thrown hands with me so far, I can tell you're holding back your power by a significant amount! Keep toying with me, and I'll overpower you FOR REAL!" He chased Yakasa through the lengthy hallways, which was just what he wanted. "Leading this guy away from Blu and Blossom is my key objective right now! Once I'm settled, then I'll go all out!"
Volume 13, Chapter 17 - Once a Man, Always a Man
Now that the battle at the cave entrance had concluded, multiple Team Pyron members had used the time to advance deeper into the cave. Kevin and Gerald are currently rushing across the hallways to reach the child, when Blu and Blossom are trying their best to break through the forcefield to neutralize Pyron's awakening inside him. Rushing away from their fight was Yakasa, who was trying to lead Gai away from their battle so he could use his full power. Lastly, there was Stephanie and Forrest in the Great Armor, who had just entered a fight with another cult member. Currently, the spotlight is on Yakasa and Gai - will the Man of Stone uphold his position, or will he fall from glory all these years later?
---
Yakasa used his distance from Gai to turn behind him, narrowly blocking yet another superhuman-like attack. "Come on, show me your true power!" he begged, throwing yet another hand that caused Yakasa to drag a short distance across the hallway. "If you're no longer a man like you were back then, admitting it is key! Know your place, you scamming scum!" he screamed, pushing Yakasa back yet again. "Or, I'll force you to use your power with a single attack!"
"This is it!" Yakasa thought to himself. "If I deflect his attack from my direction to the direction of the sky, then I can move the fight outside!" He charged right towards Gai, completely sure that he wouldn't be able to launch an attack with his forcefield in the way. "You're running to your death!?" Gai exclaimed, digging his fingers into the dirt. "Punch of Penetration!" he screamed, charging right in Yakasa's direction with his fist cocked back. "Now's my chance!" he exclaimed, noticing the forcefield had been temporarily disabled. He took a few steps until he was in the place of where his forcefield would be, then grabbed his hand and activated Stone Style. "We're taking this outside, you feel me?"
Just like that, he threw Gai out of the cave and into the air, swiftly following after him. Yakasa admired the beautiful sun that shadowed his opponent and activated Stone Style on his right hand, zipping across the sky and grabbing ahold of his arm. "You finally stepped up your game!" Gai exclaimed, a smile beaming across his face. Yakasa began to spin him across the skies with both of his hands now in Stone Style, aiming him straight towards the grassfield. "Whenever he attacks, his forcefield isn't active - giving him more things to worry about is key!" he thought to himself. "Stone Slam!" Yakasa screamed, throwing Gai straight into the ground and creating a massive cloud of dust.
Gai came flying straight out of the dust cloud, planning to grab Yakasa's head and slam it straight into the ground. "You got it all wrong!" he complained. "I may have wanted you to show off your power, but THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO EMBARRASS ME IN THE PROCESS!" He diverted the path of Gai's hand just in time, somersaulting right over him for the ability to land on the ground. "All of that big talk, and now you're the one that's falling behind!" Yakasa joked, attempting to aggravate him. He converted his left hand to stone, a purple aura circulating around it this time. "I'll break through that forcefield of yours and show you that I'm still a man! Once a man, ALWAYS A MAN!"
Yakasa lifted his hand up in the direction of the sky, slamming the forcefield with all of his might. Right after he penetrated the forcefield, he noticed that Gai's blue tattoo was glowing once again, and he took a step back to make sure that the forcefield was broken. "Speed Style - Speed Blitz!" Gai called out, zipping across the grassfield and landing a hit on Yakasa for the first time. "Nobody is able to keep up with me when I'm in this form - not even a legend like you!"
The impact of Gai's attack blew Yakasa back significantly, causing him to crash in the grass. "I'm bleeding!" he said to himself, applying pressure to a wound on his chest. "If that hit my heart, then I would've lost the battle instantly!" Gai sped right back to Yakasa, clashing both of his fists together aggressively. "Seems like I missed by one inch," Gai observed, noticing the bloodstain on Yakasa's blue shirt. While Yakasa was tying his long, brown hair into a ponytail, Gai was already preparing his next attack - one that would end the entire battle if he was hit. "It's all or nothing - I'LL MAKE SURE I KILL YOU WITH THIS SHOT ALONE!"
Gai's tattoo was now lit up, and a similar glow to the one on his face was now circulating around his hand, similar to the attack Yakasa had used on him.