TAKEAKI stood there, skin glowing red, steam rising from his body in waves. He ignored Kiro eyes locked on the Foreman.
TAKEAKI: "You. With the axe." A grin split his face. "I heard rumours. You're an ex-bounty hunter, right? I want a match. If I win..." He spread his arms, taking in the burning dome. "I get this place."
The Foreman opened his mouth
KIRO: Stepped forward. Shoulders square. Jaw tight. "Your next fight is with me."
Takeaki's eyes finally shifted to the collared man. He started to laugh
Kiro dashed.
A single punch square in Takeaki's face.
The impact reverberated. Takeaki's head twisted with the force. But his body? Didn't move. Didn't flinch. Just... absorbed it.
A shockwave of wind exploded behind him from the punch's displaced force.
BANG.
Takeaki turned back, slow, deliberate. Touched his jaw. No blood. Just a mark.
TAKEAKI: (Flat, unimpressed) "Is that all you got?" His eyes burned hotter. "I got no time for weaklings. Not when I'm fired up."
He moved.
A punch to Kiro's gut faster than thought sent him flying. Before he could recover, Takeaki was there, a barrage of blows raining down.
Kiro twisted mid-air. Blocked. Parried. Caught a rhythm in the chaos. He kicked Takeaki's gut then dropped low, grabbed his ankle, and hurled him with everything he had.
Both men flew separate trajectories and crashed into the ground.
BANG. BANG.
Two craters carved into the earth. Trees around them shattered from the shockwaves.
Takeaki stood up first. Spat blood onto the ground. Looked at it. Then at Kiro.
TAKEAKI: (Wiping his mouth, a new respect in his eyes) "You can take a punch." He cracked his neck. "But you can't give one."
He got up. Spit more blood. Waited.
TAKEAKI came again another barrage of blows, faster than before.
Kiro blocked, dodged, absorbed then grinned through the pain.
KIRO: "You're lucky I got this collar on." He ducked a punch. "Wait. I'm lucky too."
He dashed not at Takeaki, but at a tree. He hit it, bounced, rebounded at an angle confusing, unpredictable.
TAKEAKI: (Tracking him, annoyed) "Stand still!"
He caught Kiro mid-bounce super punch to the gut with both hands. Kiro folded but bounced again, using the force to move. Punch after punch, Kiro absorbed, redirected, bounced until Takeaki drove him through the ground.
TAKEAKI: (Breathing hard, frustrated) "You're so slow."
VEYRA: (Watching from the sidelines, cold calculating TAKEAKI every move) "He's able to stop Kiro at that speed? Impossible. Even at half speed, Kiro should"
Takeaki grabbed Kiro, lifted him one-handed, and threw him across the clearing.
TAKEAKI: "That it? Good. That bug is done. Manager next."
He stepped forward
And Kiro was there.
Super-speed return. A punch straight into Takeaki's open wound the one Xuelong's ice blade left. Then a kick to the ankle. An uppercut.
Takeaki dropped to one knee.
DAVID stumbled back into view, joining Veyra and Aurora. He stared at the kneeling Manager.
DAVID: "This guy... who is he? He just dropped the Manager."
VEYRA: (A small, proud smile) "He's just some nobody. Runs a village now. With my help."
Takeaki stood up. Touched his injured arm. Looked at the blood on his fingers.
TAKEAKI: (Genuine surprise) "Oh. That... I felt that. My injured arm." He flexed it, tested it. "And I got dropped."
His eyes locked onto Kiro interested now.
"Now you've got my attention. Who are you?"
They clashed again a flurry of blows. Kiro parried each one, and when Takeaki punched, Kiro answered with his own, driving him backward step by step.
Takeaki kicked Kiro's gut sent him skyward.
TAKEAKI: (Shouting up at him) "Enough! I've got a bet for you."
Kiro landed, crouched, ready.
TAKEAKI: "I'll leave. I'll abandon the dome. If you can lay me flat. Just like I did you. But if I lay you flat first?" He spread his arms. "I win. I take the dome. Only punches. No moving from this spot. "
The Foreman stepped forward, axe grounded.
FOREMAN: (To Kiro) "I accept that bet on behalf of the dome." A pause. "What about you, kid?"
Kiro coughed blood. Wiped his mouth. Stood straight.
KIRO: "Game on."
Both men stood close. Inches apart. Breathing the same air.
DAVID: (Frantic, stepping forward) "How could he accept that bet against a beast like him? He's going to lose! I have to step in"
AURORA: Her staff slammed down in front of him, barring his path. "No. You do not get involved in a man's fight." Her voice was calm, certain. "You're a man too. You should understand. I don't. But even if the Manager is strong... he's not dumb enough to bet on a weak opponent and win."
DAVID: "But his skin is tougher than average! He's a fire master! Raw strength"
VEYRA: (Sitting on a broken crate, watching intently) "Kiro has all that. Plus a Cube."
DAVID: "So he's not natural?"
VEYRA: A small, proud smile. "He's one hundred percent natural. He was strong before the Cube. Strong in will. Strong in skill."
The first exchange.
Kiro and Takeaki traded.
Each blow shook the ground. Shockwaves rippled outward, rattling debris, forcing onlookers to brace. Kiro's body rocked with every hit but his feet? They didn't move.
TAKEAKI: (Smiling through the violence) "Good. Good. "
He accelerated. Maximum speed.
TAKEAKI (CONT'D): "This is my max."
Kiro's head bled. Punches to gut, head, chin no effect. He adjusted. Dropped into a boxer's stance. Started dodging. Started answering.
Takeaki's red skin faded to normal then focused. All his fire, all his heat, concentrated into one arm. It ignited. Blazing. Unbearable.
He punched.
A flaming mark seared into Kiro's chest.
Kiro held his ground.
Another punch. Another. Each blow drove him down but he rose. Again. Again. Until Takeaki wound up for the final strike. Aimed at Kiro's gut. Side.
KIRO (thought): Hope this works. This is where Master Lee said his liver is.
Sparks crackled around Kiro's arm. His fist glowed.
Takeaki's final blow landed first all his force, all his fire, concentrated into one devastating hit.
CRACK.
Kiro's skull snapped back. His flames died.
He fell backward.
And stopped.
Silence.
Kiro lay still. Eyes white. Unconscious.
Takeaki stood over him swaying.
The Foreman stepped forward, voice carrying across the silent dome.
FOREMAN: "Kiro wins... by the look of it." He studied both men. "But it's a draw if you want it, Takeaki. You get half the dome."
Takeaki didn't look at him. Didn't look at the dome. He looked at Kiro.
TAKEAKI: (Quiet, final) "No." A pause. "Kiro won."
He turned. Walked away.
Kiro didn't move. Eyes still white. Out cold.
But standing? No. He'd fallen.
And yet Takeaki conceded.