A clean and very violent blow struck Yoichi's jaw, causing him to turn his head from the recoil. At that moment, the young tamer's feet faltered, and his gaze blurred.

His eyes had been mechanically shifted from their previous position and now pointed toward the sea and the other side of the beach.

​​

Yoichi tried with all his might to regain control of his body during that short time, but it was as if his enemy had pulled the plug on him. Although he focused hard on his legs and arms, he could no longer control them and fell with his chest to the ground.

Following the movement of the rest of his body, his head bounced several times on the sand and the brain moving inside his skull box made Yoichi even more confused, leaving him dazed.

Nobunaga was standing still and Yoichi was lying in front of him, sprawled on the sand like a jellyfish washed ashore by the waves. His blond hair was smeared with the thin, earthy gravel of that stretch of coastline, and his lips opened and closed as if he wanted to mumble something.

Without even looking at his master, Nobunaga stopped his every movement, just a second before giving Yoichi the killing blow. When he turned to Takamori, the guild leader had one arm raised with an open hand, ordering the fight to end.

"You...you will not...I don't..." more garbled words came out of Yoichi's mouth. His eyes gradually squinted because of the kick he had just taken: probably, if he had more time to charge the blow and if he had attacked with all his strength, Nobunaga would have ripped the head off his opponent's neck with that kick.

Taking advantage of Yoichi's strange defensive maneuver, the purple-haired warrior had managed to unleash one of the best blows he had ever executed. When Yoichi's jaw was hit, all the receptors in his brain deactivated their motor functions, activating the alert state throughout his body.

"Hey...hey, Yoichi! You can't pass out again, man!"

*slap*slap* - one slap after another, Yoichi opened his eyes again, sensing a large hand on his face. As the image in front of him took shape under the sunlight, he realized that Rinji was trying to bring him to his senses.

Yoichi could now move his arms and legs. Without wasting any more time, knowing that he had not made a good impression under the gaze of his master, he placed his hands on the ground and stood up in a hurry.

With his hair still tousled and his gaze lost in emptiness, he shook off the sand, looking at Takamori Sada. The short, potbellied man's moustache had its tips pointing upward, emphasizing his cute little smile.

In contrast, Nobunaga always had that sombre, disinterested expression. That young and talented warrior seemed to act as if he was stronger than anyone else and feared no one.

Would he have had the same cocky expression if Ogai's Blackblood had locked his hands and feet? What was his Oracle, and what power did it have?

"Your test was excellent, Yoichi. Perhaps even better than the fight against Rinji," Takamori spoke, drawing the gaze of the giant who had just assisted his stunned companion.

"Better? But... but..." Yoichi stammered. "I was resoundingly defeated," he added. In his eyes, the desire to improve and challenge himself burned like a flame.

"Well, if you had defeated Nobunaga in a bare-knuckle duel, I probably would have proclaimed you guild leader! Ahahah!" Takamori laughed, massaging his belly with both hands.

Yoichi looked at his opponent, thinking back to the way he had attacked him repeatedly. Although his weird technique had managed to break through Nobunaga's defense, he hadn't been able to exploit that advantage. However, that demonstration duel had shown his master that although he had never practiced martial arts, he could hold his own against an experienced fighter.

"It doesn't matter if you lost or won, Yoichi. This is training, not competition," the mustachioed guild leader replied. "During your fight with Rinji, you showed that you could adapt even to dangerous situations, so I had decided to have you face someone who knows martial arts much better than you do. Nobunaga, do you have anything to say to your comrade?"

Takamori ordered the purple-haired warrior to speak with a hand gesture, making him understand to moderate his tone towards Yoichi. Nobunaga huffed and then began, "the technique with which you countered my vertical kick. What is it called?" he asked, beginning the explanation with a direct question.

A virtual question mark appeared on Yoichi's expression, who never expected such a question. After clearing his throat and puffing out his chest to try and look like a real veteran warrior, he replied, "It doesn't have a name, actually. I just thought quickly about what would be the most effective way to counterattack you."

"Extraordinary. Isn't that extraordinary?" Takamori interrupted, smacking the shoulder of Rinji, who was standing still beside him. The giant did not move an inch and looked at his master, not knowing what to reply.

"The speed of your attacks makes your kicks and punches uncontestable. For this reason, I decided to exploit the normal conformation of my body against you, knowing that you would not have missed the target," Yoichi reported, turning serious again.

"Not bad, I must admit," Nobunaga confessed. "It's been a long time since anyone has been able to worry me in the slightest. What kind of weapon do you use, Yoichi?" suddenly, after the Nightblades tamer's answer, Nobunaga seemed to take some interest in him.

Although Yoichi almost always said whatever was on his mind, his nonchalant and always friendly nature made it pleasant to converse with him. Even someone as reserved and gloomy as Nobunaga was immediately at ease, acknowledging his superiority.

Yoichi responded by scratching the back of his head to the purple-haired warrior's new question, slightly embarrassed. His gaze and that of his fellow warrior fell on the beach area where all their weapons were stored.

To the left, Nobunaga's various weapons; to the right, the dagger that had once belonged to Takamori, a weapon Yoichi had used little more than twice.