Paras City was peaceful that morning.
Sunlight reflected softly on glass buildings. The wind moved lazily through the streets, carrying the distant sounds of traffic and life. Nothing in the city hinted at the storm that was about to erupt.
Inside Sai's dojo—
Sai sat comfortably on the sofa, legs crossed, lazily sipping from a cold can. His goggles rested perfectly on his face, hiding his eyes as usual.
Across the training floor, Astra was working hard on his own.
Weights lifted. Dropped. Lifted again.
Sweat rolled down his forehead, but he was smiling.
"I didn't know training would actually be fun…"
Aoi stood behind him, helping stabilize the bar as he lifted.
She glanced at him with bored, half-lidded eyes.
"You really like having girls around you, don't you?"
Astra blushed faintly but kept lifting.
"Y-Yeah… sometimes."
Sai turned his head slightly and smirked.
"I think you're enjoying this a little too much."
Astra nearly dropped the weight.
Before Sai could tease further—
His hand suddenly tightened around the can.
The air shifted.
A deep, suffocating pressure hit him from somewhere far away.
The can slipped from his fingers and spilled across the floor.
His goggles fell.
For the first time—
His eyes were visible.
They were glowing.
Sai stood up slowly, arms clenching.
"No way…"
Aoi stiffened. "What happened?"
Sai exhaled heavily.
"She awakened."
His jaw tightened.
"The Queen of North Lake."
Astra blinked. "Sensei…?"
Sai cracked his knuckles slowly.
"It's time to save my clan."
Before Astra could say anything—
Sai vanished.
Teleported.
---
North side of Paras City.
Near the river connected to North Lake—
The sky darkened slightly.
Fura knelt near the water's edge, holding glowing fragments in her hand. One by one, she swallowed them.
Her red eyes ignited like burning rubies.
"Good… I've consumed all fragments."
Energy surged violently around her.
"My maximum power… has returned."
A sudden distortion in space formed behind her.
A voice spoke calmly.
"Hello, Mrs. Queen. It's been a while."
Fura slowly turned.
Her forehead veins pulsed.
"Sai."
He stood there with hands in pockets, sword resting behind him, expression unreadable.
"Oh? So you are the strongest warrior of the Water Clan?" she mocked. "But how do you know me?"
Sai sighed lightly.
"When I was a child, my father Yamato used to tell stories. About a sealed mermaid monster… named Fura."
Fura burst into laughter.
"How amusing."
Her smile twisted.
"So that old man was your father? The one I killed after awakening?"
Silence.
Sai froze for a fraction of a second.
His usual lazy confidence disappeared.
Then—
He smiled.
But it wasn't warm.
It was dangerous.
"Well… I don't really care about the clan anymore," he said quietly. "I just came to defeat you so you don't threaten everyone else."
Fura tilted her head.
"If you don't care… why did your expression change?"
Sai didn't respond immediately.
"…That's nothing."
Boiling water began forming around his wrists.
"So? Shall we begin?"
Fura's smile widened.
"Gladly."
In an instant—
Sai dashed forward and threw a punch.
Fura vanished and countered with a brutal kick to his head.
Sai bent backward, barely dodging, then counter-kicked.
She blocked.
The abandoned riverside buildings trembled from the impact alone.
Sai pulled his sword and slashed twice.
Fura's roots burst from the ground and blocked both strikes—
CRACK.
His sword shattered from the impact.
Sai stepped back calmly.
"You think I'm useless without a sword?"
He vanished.
Reappeared.
A devastating punch struck Fura's abdomen.
She crashed into an office building, walls collapsing around her.
Sai leapt and smashed downward with a water-coated fist.
The entire building flooded instantly.
Fura swam through the sudden ocean inside the ruins and emerged gracefully.
Suddenly—
Roots burst from beneath the water and wrapped around Sai's arms and legs, restraining him.
Sai blinked.
His glowing eyes snapped fully open.
A shockwave exploded outward—
The entire building shattered into debris.
Sai descended slowly from the sky, landing on broken concrete.
"Is that all you've got?"
Two razor-sharp roots pierced upward.
He dodged, but one sliced his cheek.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Fura smiled.
"Careful, brat."
She stomped.
Roots wrapped around Sai's legs and slammed him downward.
Water blades erupted from the ground around him.
For a brief second—
Sai closed his eyes.
*She has stronger water manipulation. Root techniques. Experience. And I'm just a 25-year-old sensei teaching two brats…*
His eyes snapped open.
He smiled.
"Alright."
"I'm winning this."
He raised one hand.
"Technique of Boiling Mass."
Water around Fura began superheating violently, exploding in controlled bursts.
Buildings nearby detonated from pressure alone.
Before she could fully shield—
Sai dashed forward.
His fist surrounded by rotating water halos.
"Perfect Hit."
The punch connected with her face.
She was launched through trees, cars, concrete.
She stood up seconds later—
Wounds healing instantly.
Her red eyes burned brighter.
"That's enough."
She raised both arms.
From every direction—
An army of roots attacked.
Sai teleported between them, punching and shattering roots with compressed water blasts.
"Water Control… Maximum!"
From the sky, dozens of water spears rained down, piercing roots like rain of judgment.
Sai appeared behind her and kicked—
She blocked and counter-punched.
He slid under her roots, countering with twin water strikes.
The battlefield was ruined.
Then—
Fura whispered coldly.
"You've left me no choice."
She formed a complex hand sign.
"Pocket Dimension… The Deadly Sea."
Sai's pupils shrank.
"No way… A domain-type technique?"
Space warped violently.
Reality cracked like glass.
And suddenly—
They were no longer in the city.
They stood above a massive, endless sea.
The sky was dark.
Sai stood on the water's surface.
Below him—
Sharks circled.
Monstrous mermaids grinned with jagged teeth.
Gigantic octopus tentacles slithered in the depths.
Fura floated above the sea like a goddess of destruction.
"This is my domain," she said calmly. "You cannot escape."
The water beneath Sai rippled with hunger.
He cracked his knuckles slowly.
A faint smile returned to his face.
"Well…"
"Let's see whether I can."
The sea roared.
And the real battle—
Was only beginning.