Meguro's move was obvious to anyone who knew what they were looking at.
-Judo.
Judo was the science of balance.
Everything revolved around it.
Center of gravity, leverage, technique-every concept existed to serve balance.
Mastering it.
Breaking it.
That was the core of Judo.
Meguro's opening move was textbook.
He grabbed Jaden's clothes and pulled upward in a smooth arc.
The goal was simple.
Force Jaden's body to lean forward.
Make his heel lift.
The first disrupted balance.
The second created opportunity.
At the same time, Meguro's foot swept toward Jaden's.
If Jaden's heel left the ground, Meguro would exploit the tiny contact point, collapse his footing, and instantly destroy half of his power output.
That was the plan.
And if Jaden resisted with raw strength-
Meguro would sink his own center of gravity, use body weight, and crush balance directly.
That was Judo's philosophy.
But-
The instant Meguro extended his foot, he realized something was wrong.
He hadn't pulled his opponent.
Not even slightly.
This-
If he were a normal martial artist, alarm bells would already be ringing.
But Masaki Meguro wasn't normal.
He immediately increased his strength.
His grip shifted-one hand locking onto Jaden's neck, the other clamping down on his arm.
He pressed his center of gravity forward with full force.
"My father once told me..."
Even though his strength still failed to move Jaden, Meguro continued exerting pressure.
His grin widened.
Saliva dripped down, mixing with the blood streaks that ran across his face and into his eyes.
"-Judo is the strongest fighting art~!"
Jaden heard him.
And clenched the fist being restrained.
"How shallow..."
In that instant, Masaki Meguro felt it clearly.
What he was restraining wasn't a person.
It was a wild ox.
An elephant.
Despite Meguro's weight, strength, and full commitment-
Jaden slowly lifted his right hand.
Along with Meguro's hand still gripping it.
Meguro hadn't even processed what was happening when Jaden's foot landed squarely on his chest.
Masaki Meguro barely felt pain.
Or rather-
The more pain he felt, the more excited he became.
His brain secreted substances from birth that warped his perception.
Toyo Electric had noticed this long ago.
And for twenty years, they had deliberately cultivated him this way.
Ordinary attacks meant nothing.
Eye gouges.
Ear strikes.
Bone-crushing blows.
They only made him more exhilarated.
But Jaden's kick-
It was too fast.
Too sudden.
It landed cleanly on his chest.
The force knocked the breath out of him.
Even Meguro froze for a split second.
In that moment, Jaden pulled backward.
His feet stayed planted.
He even stepped forward slightly.
Meguro instinctively tensed his back and lowered his body to reduce the impact as he landed.
That reflex caused his body to rebound upward.
Jaden's left hand struck his groin.
Meguro curled instinctively.
And at the same instant-
Jaden's right arm extended straight back.
Palm down.
Fist clenched.
A punch erupted upward.
Straight into Meguro's chin.
Speed.
Weight.
Grip strength.
Whether added or multiplied, the result was the same.
-Destructive force.
This wasn't a technique taught by any martial art.
It intentionally abandoned balance.
Left no room for recovery.
A punch that poured everything out.
If it missed, the opening would be fatal.
Even with Jack Hanma's memories-
Jaden had only ever seen one person use something like this.
Kaoru Hanayama.
-A Hanayama punch.
Bang!
Masaki Meguro was sent flying.
Jaden watched him crash across the arena.
He flexed his fingers.
Rolled his wrists.
Tilted his neck.
"I saw your stance," Jaden said calmly, "and thought you'd use something monstrous. Instinct. Madness. Something worth anticipating."
Meguro struggled to rise.
Even after that.
Jaden looked down at him.
"-But your purity is too low, Masaki Meguro."
Slap-
A horizontal strike slammed into Meguro's temple.
He was sent flying again, the moment he managed to sit up.
"It's over..."
Jaden said it quietly.
Everyone expected him to continue.
But he didn't move.
Then-
What was over?
Confusion spread.
Seconds passed.
Masaki Meguro didn't get up.
Someone finally rushed in to check.
And then-
"...He's dead."
The doctor was a physician who followed Kengan matches specifically.
Officially, killing was forbidden.
In reality-
Death in Kengan matches was common.
At first, people feared it.
Eventually-
They grew used to it.
Still, the surrounding crowd went silent.
Their gaze toward Jaden changed.
Gin Dojima merely nodded.
There was approval.
And gratitude.
Erina ran to Jaden's side the moment the match was confirmed over.
Jaden himself felt nothing.
No shock.
No regret.
No reaction.
He didn't know if it was the Hanma blood.
Jack Hanma's memories.
Or if he himself was simply abnormal.
But killing someone felt no different from eating or drinking.
He felt numb.
If anything-
The only burden came from feeling nothing at all.
Jaden looked at Erina.
She was clearly shaken.
This was likely the first time she'd seen someone die in front of her.
And yet-
She spoke first.
"D-don't be nervous..." Erina said softly. "I heard that... d-dying is normal in Kengan matches... You shouldn't blame yourself..."
"And Chef Dojima said... the opponent was a murderer. A vicious one. Protected for twenty years. Someone who should've died long ago..."
Jaden had expected fear.
Rejection.
Distance.
He hadn't expected comfort.
Especially from someone who was clearly terrified herself.
Hearing her words, the last trace of psychological pressure vanished.
Jaden smiled.
A genuinely warm smile.
"Thank you, Erina."
Her breathing slowly steadied when she saw it.
She exhaled deeply.
"You helped me and Ryo Himuro at O-uchu... the Shokugeki with Eizan... you saved me... and now you solved another major problem for Totsuki..."
Her face flushed.
She turned away, voice quiet.
"But... I'm the one who should be thanking you."
"So... thank you, Jaden."
...
Jaden fought another Kengan match at the Totsuki Resort.
This one spread even further than the last.
Masaki Meguro may have been a first-time combatant-
But he represented Toyo Electric.
That alone drew attention.
After all, Kengan matches were about profit.
Companies.
Leverage.
Who you defeated mattered more than how strong they were.
At Koyo Academy-
Chairwoman Shion received intelligence immediately.
Long wine-red hair.
A woman's cigarette between her fingers.
Her eyes narrowed slowly.
Like her sister Akemi, she had a severe muscle fetish.
She stared at Jaden's photo.
For a long time.
Then sighed.
"Totsuki is lucky..."
"When will Koyo recruit someone like this?"
"And the situation isn't optimistic..."
Koyo's predicament mirrored Totsuki's.
If anything-
It would erupt sooner.
"If only this kid could help..." she murmured. "But that's impossible."
"Totsuki would treasure someone like him."
She glanced at another report.
Her brows furrowed.
"Negotiating with him-and Totsuki-would take time."
"And time..."
"...is running out."
That was Shion's conclusion.
Meanwhile-
At the Yuki Orphanage.
Yugi received the report from a man in black.
His eyes lingered on one line.
Opponent: deceased.
He sighed.
"I expected this the moment you entered Kengan..."
"But I didn't think it would happen this soon."
He wasn't unable to accept that Jaden had killed someone.
He was worried about something else entirely.
"You really gave me a difficult problem..."
"...my other self."
A knock sounded.
Yugi put the report away and opened the door.
A black-haired girl smiled brightly.
"Old man Yuki, I'm done for today. I'll come help again tomorrow."
If Jaden were here-
He would recognize her.
-Akemi.
One of the two girls he had rescued at O-uchu.
"Mhm. Thank you for always helping."
"No problem. I like kids," Akemi said cheerfully. "I've got something to do today. It's summer vacation, so I'll be back tomorrow."
She waved.
Grabbed her backpack.
And ran toward Shirakami Gym.
She had been helping the orphanage since last summer.
Whenever she had time.
Today, she just wanted a little more time to train.
Yugi watched her leave.
Thoughts of Jaden weighing heavily on his mind.
He sighed.
"I'll talk to him properly when he comes back..."
"As for what he chooses after that..."
"...That's up to him."
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