Just like that, the day before the tournament finally arrived.
That day, the organizers formally invited all fighters who had received invitation letters to come to their hotel for the presentation ceremony.
But this also proved that the organizers really didn't care who originally received the invitation letter. As long as someone had the ability to snatch an invitation letter from someone else, they could join the tournament. Otherwise, they wouldn't hold the presentation ceremony only the day before the tournament began.
You could even say that they didn't care if teams with invitation letters were robbed on the way to the hotel. As long as eight teams arrived in the end, it was fine.
———
[That Morning]
After Aiden and the Kagura sisters finished breakfast, they each drove their own car toward the Shiranui Dojo.
They were going to pick up Mai Shiranui and the others so they could go to the hotel together.
When the two cars arrived at the entrance of the Shiranui Dojo, Mai Shiranui and the others were already waiting outside.
After getting out of the car and handing the keys to King, Aiden chatted with them for a bit, then got into the Kagura sisters' car. Not long after, they arrived near the hotel.
At this moment, a huge crowd of reporters and spectators hoping to see the fighters up close had gathered at the hotel entrance. Some staff members hired by the organizers, along with local police, were working hard to maintain order.
Just then, one of the organizers' staff members stopped their car.
"Sorry, this area..."
"We're here to participate in the tournament."
Lowering the window, Aiden handed out the invitation letter before the staff member could finish.
"Ah! Please follow me, then. We have a special VIP entrance prepared for you." The staff member took one look and immediately returned the invitation letter to Aiden, then jogged ahead to guide their car.
After parking in the area reserved specifically for participating fighters, Aiden, the Kagura sisters, and Mai Shiranui's group followed the staff member through a special passage into the hotel.
Then, in the lounge area on the second floor of the hotel, Aiden saw two unexpected people.
Shermie, Helena.
Speaking of which, there were also quite a few reporters in the lounge area. These reporters were different from the ones waiting outside, they were qualified to enter the hotel to take photos and livestream. And besides these reporters, there were actually some specially invited guests.
And all of these special guests were people with status and dignity, and their purpose was to support this tournament, in other words, to boost popularity.
After all, the purpose of Rugal holding the tournament was mainly to prove to the whole world that he was number one in the world, so the higher the popularity, the better.
'Still, with Helena's identity, it was normal for her to attend the introduction ceremony, but how did Shermie get in?'
With this question in mind, Aiden turned his head to look at the Kagura sisters and Mai Shiranui.
"If you want to go, just go." It was Maki who spoke; she had also noticed Shermie and Helena long ago, and naturally her tone didn't sound very pleasant.
"I'll be right back," Aiden said a little embarrassed, then walked toward Helena and Shermie under the disapproving gazes of the three women.
However, just as he walked up to Helena, and before he could even say anything, the blonde girl pounced directly onto him.
And then, the dissatisfied looks behind him instantly turned into sharp blades…
The feeling of pins and needles on his back made cold sweat appear on Aiden immediately. One woman staring at him was manageable, but with several women looking at him like that at the same time, even he couldn't handle it.
Moving uneasily, Aiden realized Helena was hugging him very tightly, so he could only let her be. He then lowered his voice and asked, "Why are you two here?"
"Originally Helena didn't want to come, but when I called her two days ago, I mentioned that you were participating in this tournament."
"Then she went to her father and asked for permission to attend the introduction ceremony. Mm, and she brought me in with her." Shermie said smiling happily at the side, completely ignoring the deadly glares from the Kagura sisters.
"I see!" Aiden understood. He nodded, then said to Helena who was hugging him, "Let go already, so many people are watching, and there are reporters."
"Oh!" Helena was quite obedient. Hearing that, she immediately let go of Aiden, then tilted her head and glanced at the Kagura sisters and Mai Shiranui who were standing not far away, staring at them.
"Those two over there are the eldest and second young ladies of the Kagura family, right?" Helena didn't know Mai and the others, but her family had its own intelligence department, so she had some impression of the Kagura sisters.
"Mm, they're also my teammates for this tournament." Aiden nodded.
"Teammates… Since you're participating in the tournament, why didn't you call me? I'm a fighter too!" Helena said, a bit dissatisfied. "You, me, and Shermie, three people make a perfect team."
'…Can I say I simply forgot about you?'
He definitely couldn't say that, so Aiden could only reply, "Next time there's a tournament like this, I'll invite you."
"Okay!" The blonde girl was especially easy to talk to and nodded immediately.
Just then, a staff member suddenly called out, "All participating teams, please proceed to the meeting hall on the third floor for the introduction ceremony. Reporters and special guests, please also move to the third-floor meeting hall."
Hearing that voice, Aiden shrugged and said to Helena and Shermie, "Let's leave it here for now. We can talk more after the ceremony is over."
———
Several lounge areas were set up on the second floor of the hotel, and the eight teams were separated into different lounges. Of course, this wasn't intentional, if the fighters wanted to gather together, they could. But since the number of reporters and guests added up was quite large, separation was the only option.
Now, after hearing the staff's call, the fighters from the eight teams walked out from their respective lounges, took the elevators to the third floor, and then met in the hallway on the third floor.
The reporters and guests were currently entering in an orderly manner, which gave the fighters waiting in the hallway an opportunity to talk and get to know one another.
Standing beside Aiden, Maki pointed at a young man who was greeting Chin Gentsai and said, "See that guy with the center-part hair and the white headband wrapped around his forehead?"
Aiden withdrew his gaze from Mai Shiranui's direction… The three of them had just walked out of the elevator when they ran into the three members of the Art of Fighting team.
Right now Yuri's father, Takuma Sakazaki, and Ryo Sakazaki were scolding them, while Mai and King were just standing with their arms crossed watching the show, not planning to intervene at all.
Then, looking in the direction Maki pointed, Aiden nodded. "I see him."
Then he asked, even though he already knew the answer, "Who is he?"
"He's Kyo Kusanagi from the Kusanagi family. A genius teenager. Last year, he won the championship at the Mixed Martial Arts Tournament held in Japan. Rumor has it that even his father, Kusanagi Saisyu, isn't his match." Maki said with a frown.
"And compared to you?" Aiden looked at her.
Maki thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Probably… about the same. After all, we've never fought before."
"But even if I can beat him, I probably wouldn't be able to continue fighting afterward."
A trace of worry flashed through her eyes.
"Teaming up with Kyo are two others, one is Benimaru Nikaido, the heir of the Nikaido Group. Besides his strange lightning-based abilities, his fighting skills are also strong."
"The other is Goro Daimon, a judo master known as Japan's number one in judo. He specializes in various joint locks and ground techniques, once he grabs you, it's almost impossible to break free. And his strength is unbelievably huge; I heard that with pure physical strength alone, he can stop a speeding truck."
"So if we meet them, even if I take down Kyo, your pressure won't decrease much."
As she spoke, Maki's eyes landed on Aiden. Although she knew Aiden was a fighter, she really had no idea how strong he actually was, after all, he had never shown his abilities.
Facing her curious and worried gaze, Aiden smiled and said confidently, "Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll show you a one-versus-three… And honestly, I can basically say, even if all the fighters here teamed up, they still wouldn't be enough for one of my hands."
"Really?" The two sisters widened their eyes at the same time. Even though they liked Aiden immensely, such a boastful statement still made them doubt a little.
"You'll know when the time comes." Aiden said, patting his chest.
Speaking of which, aside from Aiden and the Kagura sisters, the other seven teams all had varying degrees of reputation in the fighting world, and many fighters knew each other.
Not to mention a senior like Chin Gentsai, his fame was so big that everyone knowing him wasn't surprising.
Even the Art of Fighting team and King from the Women Fighters team knew each other; the Fatal Fury and Kim teams also knew Kim Kaphwan…
So while all these fighters were greeting each other, not many people paid attention to Aiden and the others.
Uh… Actually, it wasn't that no one noticed them. At the very least, ever since Aiden walked out of the elevator, there had been one pair of eyes staring fixedly at him.
That person was Andy from the Fatal Fury team.
After catching up with Terry and a few familiar fighters, he walked straight to Aiden alone.
"Booked your hospital bed yet, kid?" Andy said provocatively.
He wasn't truly a bad person, but ever since he believed Aiden had "tricked" Mai away, he had a terrible impression of him. And seeing Aiden participating in the tournament with other women made him even more convinced that Aiden was deceiving Mai's feelings.
Seeing Andy provoking Aiden, the Kagura sisters' expressions immediately darkened. Chizuru even said coldly, "Are you looking for a beating? Believe it or not, I'll send you to the hospital right now?"
Andy ignored her and just asked Aiden coldly, "Do you only know how to hide behind women? Before it was Mai and the others, and now… Damn it, you bastard, what do you take Mai's feelings for?"
"Mai? You mean Miss Mai Shiranui?" Hearing Andy's words, Maki asked calmly.
"What else!" Andy looked at Maki. "And who are you? Being so close to him, are you also his girlfriend?"
"My sister is." Maki pointed at Chizuru. "To be precise, she is his fiancée."
"Damn it, you already have a fiancée, so why are you still messing with Mai?" Andy grew even angrier. Pointing at Aiden, he said, "You're actually two-timing."
'Sorry, but as of right now…'
Aiden paused in his heart, then mentally counted.
'As of now, I'm stepping on six boats… and if I add the ones still in the ambiguous stage, that should make nine boats…'
However, even though he really wanted to correct Andy, saying it out loud definitely wouldn't be good.
At this moment, Andy continued speaking to Maki, "Do you not know your sister's fiancé has other women outside?"
"So what if I know? Being able to two-time is his ability." Chizuru suddenly said gloomily. "Besides, Mai isn't the only one he has outside…"
"Uh…"
Hearing this, Andy was the one who froze.
After a moment, he finally said, "Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"None of your damn business." Chizuru snapped.
Then she was scolded by her sister. "Chizuru, mind your wording."
"Oh."
Then Chizuru adjusted her wording and continued, "It has nothing to do with you."
"But you're his fiancée!" Andy shouted while pointing at Aiden. This caught many people's attention, several curious gazes turned toward them, and a few people even walked over.
Mai Shiranui arrived first. She completely ignored Andy and stared straight at Chizuru.
"Explain clearly. Since when did Aiden become your fiancé?"
"A long time ago." Chizuru glared back without backing down.
"When exactly? Be specific."
"What's it to you? It was earlier than you."
"You were only earlier by one day…"
"Earlier by one day is still earlier…"
Watching Mai Shiranui and Chizuru suddenly locking horns, Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose, then gritted his teeth and said to Andy, "You'd better pray we don't meet in tomorrow's first match. Otherwise… I'll beat you so hard you'll be searching the floor for your teeth."
Originally, Mai and the Kagura sisters could still barely maintain peace, but thanks to this guy stirring things up, now Aiden truly hoped that tomorrow's draw would pair them against the Fatal Fury team.