The next morning, all of them grouped together in the center of the island. Their belongings were tidied up and packed inside the tents, but not everything was packed up. This was because they were still awaiting their adversaries under the assumption they might not encounter them.

The previous night's scouting revealed no hidden traps or bombs. Even so, to stand right in the open was an act that could still be considered foolish. Under the eerily silence that excluded the faint sound of the waves crashing the boundaries of the island, they didn't think there would be any way for their enemies to execute a surprise attack.

If such a place was chosen, then it should mean that this meant to be a clean and fair exchange… right? Their enemies were intrigued by the defensive forces the Plasma Guardian had gathered, plus they already had four of the five shards, so they shouldn't have a reason to use dirty tricks, right?

Seconds turned to minutes and then to hours.

"Are we really on the right island?" Shin casually asked.

"That should be the case according to the map. Look, even the positioning of the nearby islands match was we saw last night," Randolf explained.

"Is there any chance that they simply lured us here to attack Derdalf?" asked an anxious Hannah.

"That is beyond impossible. Their goal should be to collect the five shards, right from the beginning. I see no merit in attacking Derdalf while we are away," Arashi replied.

They continued to wait… and slowly, unknown to them, a deep and low sound that reverberated around the air grew closer and closer. The sound was so low approached slowly enough that one would not notice it unless they explicitly compared the ambient sound at the moment from their memories of five or even ten minutes ago.

Meanwhile, below the cliff where the yacht was docked, Remcom sat and sighed. He had yet to hear anything out of the ordinary and, as the eldest one in the group, couldn't help but worry for the children. Not only that, but he was someone whose combat powers were quite inferior. But, where he excelled at was spatial perception.

"Should I expand my perception radius?" he thought, anxiously.

The enemy was an unknown group. If there existed an expert who could detect the disturbance caused by his perception, there might be trouble arising. But nevertheless, he did it.

Unknown to anybody in the group he came with, he expanded his senses far beyond what the group was aware of. And then he felt it.

"!!!" he exclaimed and shot his surprised gaze straight towards the sky.

His eyes trembled as he looked at the dense white clouds.

He slowly reached into his pocket and took out a small crystal, placing it over his forehead.

‹What is it, Remcon?› a familiar voice spoke into his mind.

"Stanley… till now I haven't questioned your decisions. But the children… have no way of winning this fight! What are you planning?!"

Five beings stood in place, looking down at the group.

"Heh! Look at them, glancing around like a bunch of ducks! What are we waiting for, Leader?"

"We're not in proper altitude yet. We need to descend further."

"Any lower and we'll be found out! Let's give these guys a fright!"

"You looking to break your bones?"

"It'll be fine if I use the ropes! Relax, relax! See ya!"

"Hey, wai—!"

But before he could reach out, the man grabbed a winded rope and jumped off.

As the tough rope continued to unwind, the man dropped alongside it making a distinct frictional sound with his clothes.

The rope finished unwinding over 100 meters above ground. But that didn't stop him nor slow him down. Without thinking twice, as he neared the end of the rope, his eyes narrowed, giving off a sinister, scheming smile.

And on the ground, the tension in the atmosphere grew. Not one person suspected an approach from the sky. Something was definitely amiss but none could point a finger at it.

It was then that a surging, explosive energy nearby made Diavolo's inhuman senses spark, reflexively shouting out, "EVERYONE SCATTER! NOW!!!" with great urgency.

BzzzZZZZZZT! BOOM!

Nearly managing, the group spread out, but suffered minor scratches as an act of desperation.

"Che! What a miss! Ah, well… You fuckers did well dodging that!"

It was horrifying.

Where was he? Where did he come from? Why couldn't they sense nor feel his presence before he arrived?

But it was then that they were able to see, because of their bodies lying on the ground looking up at him, the thin dangling object that rose all the way to the sky, slowly descending. And it was also at this time, that they were able to notice the dull sound coming from up there.

The clouds scattered and revealed the large floating body.

"An… airship?" Randolf muttered.

"Hmm? Oh, you're here! Looks like you survived! Lucky you! Or rather, lucky me! I get to torture the same person again! And this time, I don't have to be so secretive about it!!! HAHAHAHA!!!" a vile laughter came from the person.

Around the same time, three more ropes dropped down, alongside which descended appropriately numbered individuals. Unlike the first person, these three had the decency of landing some distance away.

The group stood up, staggering. So these were their enemies. So these were the Generals of Hisao.

"So you people… are the Generals…" Yukio muttered.

"Almost, brat!" the rude man interrupted, "Looks like the meatball hasn't come down yet!" and stared up at the flying ship.

Following his gaze, everybody saw a round shadow falling straight down, without any aiding tools. But just as it was about to touch ground, a gust of wind decelerated its descent, negating the possibility of a crash landing.

"Tch! Why do I have to handle his fatso's landing?" the woman among the three descended people complained to herself.

Immediately after, the rude man quickly appeared within his home group, as if presenting to their enemies, or rather, victims, that they were a bunch to be feared and respected as.

From right to left, was a tall, aged man with a long beard. He wore nothing but simple and complete robes, revealing his bulky and well toned muscles only in regions where his skin was exposed.

Next was the rude man, a lean but ripped figure with a sharp face and messy black hair. His eyes were sharp and pupils small and vicious.

In the center was a broad but lean built, middle aged man wearing a fancy eyepatch on his right eye. His attire was similar to that of the rude man, which was a set of black clothing. Only their jackets had different coloured designs; the former having purple and the latter having red.

Then stood a woman with an extremely alluring and curvaceous figure. Her attire was similarly black, only the coloured design being white. All of her green-tinted hair was tied into long braids that hung down almost to her hips.

Lastly, was a chained meatball, or rather, a really fat person with eyes of a dead fish. His plump face looked extremely dumb and lifeless, which his dazed expression that stared at group of eight, complemented. His overall demeanour seemed like that of someone whose vocabulary didn't exceed 100 or 50 words.

These five were their adversaries. There were several questions they had, but of them felt important enough for them to voice them out.

"Greeti—"

"Hand over the Plasma chick!"

Before the man in the center could finish, the rude man beside him interrupted and made an outrageous demand.

The group of eight were surprised, but soon enough, returned to frowning.

"Stop screwing with us!" Diavolo shouted. "Wasn't it you guys who wanted to fight us?! Well we are here now! What makes you think we'll just hand her over?!"

The man scoffed. "Tsk tsk tsk. I think you're mistaken, ya roasted duckling. The note only said we were willing to 'see' these bodyguards. But now that we have, we see no reason to get our hands dirty for inferior fuckers like you! Why should we, the ones who've received the power of Master Hisao, bother ourselves with the likes of you?!"

Another outrageous thing to say. It was clear to them now that this rude man was definitely the one called 'Splinter,' the one who used 'Black Lightning'. Recalling a few moments ago, the attack that came from above was also some kind of electric attack they didn't notice at first. Yes, he was one of the most loyal followers of Hisao. One who also used Pure Natura of Darkness.

VWOOM

"Oh shit—"

SCREECH! Clang!

Without a warning, a surging heat wave launched itself towards Splinter, catching everybody by surprise. Being caught almost off-guard, Splinter reflexively gushed out as much electricity he could muster in one breath with a loud screech, and caught the incoming figure with both hands, yet still being pushed back several meters.

"!!!!!" Diavolo couldn't believe his eyes.

"Inferior fuckers indeed!" Splinter scoffed at the man who was pushing his sword on him with all his might.

A few seconds passed until everyone present processed what had happened. Right after Splinter's outrageous speech, the group of eight were angered, but it was Diavolo who took the initiative to take action.

They were angered and stunned, but Diavolo was actually furious. After all of that, he dared to simply demand for Suzume without any conflict? He remembered everything in the past few months all in one instant. He remembered the first battle he fought while taking Suzume home. He remembered the life threatening experience he had after buying Blood Burner. He remembered all the rushed training the three of them did just so they could be adequately prepared for the next battle but it never came. He remembered the surprise attack on Yukio and Layla, and also the state of Randolf the day after. And finally, he remembered the life draining continuous battles they had against the sea beasts.

After experiencing all of that, Diavolo had one step after the next, continuously steeled his resolve. They were still all kids who were in a situation akin to blindly facing unknown enemies amidst a dark fog, ready to die at any moment. He was someone who never thought of death when fighting, but it was later that he realized that it was because he had a special constitution of healing quickly. Even after that, the fear of death was still awakened within him after experiencing the world-crumbling scene in that 'world of unconsciousness'. And amidst all that surfaced once again, the sheer helplessness he felt when his mother was killed right before him.

Finally, the previous night, Yukio unveiled another shocking possibility that he never thought of. If Suzume really was somehow related to him, he had all the more reason to protect her. The atmosphere was still quite heavy so he decided to face that bit after all this was over. And now that the enemies they had been waiting for finally appeared before them, they actually had the gall to demand to simply hand her over?!

"To hell with that!!! I will kill you!!!"

This would be the second time Diavolo would've killed a person. He who did not feel any guilt after his first murder was indeed an oddity. But so what? It just makes it easier to eradicate scums like Splinter from the face of the earth! If he did it once, he can do it again.

And thus, he had gushed out all his energy and might, and launched himself straight towards that repulsive face. The man didn't dodge, but prepared to block. This made him elated. Just what did he think of himself, to think that he'd be able to manage a proper block at the last minute while facing a full force attack? This was his end.

But no, that wasn't the case. Just as quickly as Diavolo managed to gush out his energy, this man, Splinter managed to bring out even more at a tenth of the time as him. His fire was eradicated and dispersed into the atmosphere by his lightning, and what he managed to do was simply push him back a little. Moreover, since it was more of a press than a slashing motion, his large sword, which was meant more for hacking than slashing, didn't even cut his leather gloves.

"My turn." He grinned and grabbed onto the blade tightly, starting to pull it apart in two opposite directions.

Under normal circumstances, such an act would not faze Diavolo. After all, his sword was really thick and Splinter was quite lean. Nobody would think he'd have the power to bend a sword like that, much less break it.

But the unease quickly grew as he noticed Splinter's fingertips glow with a red-white light and pressed onto the blade. He immediately launched a fiery kick up at his chin, which was dodged at the last instant as Splinter's head faced the sky.

"Diav!!!" Sensing the danger, Shin wasted no time and shot towards the enemy in a piercing motion with White Lightning on his hands. Only now, was Splinter forced to let go of his grip.

But things didn't take that well of a turn either, since as soon as he loosened his grip, he pushed the blade of Blood Burner towards the side, landing it on White Lightning's at an angle, thwarting both Shin's attack and any chances of Diavolo managing a counterattack while he was busy dealing with Shin.

The opposing sides stepped back from each other.

"One inferior fucker, two inferior fuckers. Makes no difference. You could've just taken the easy way, but you had to make things complicated." He shrugged with a grin.

Regardless of what he said, Splinter was well aware that they wouldn't go down without a fight. That's the kind of impression they gave off. That's the reason he made the previous demand. Just to spite them. He was the kind of character who liked to see weaklings flail around from a high ground. He also believed that people can unleash their highest potential when angered.

Since Splinter was completely confident in his own prowess, angering them was the first step. If he overpowered them after they've completely exhausted themselves, just what would their reaction be? He could trample on their confidence all he wanted. These clowns would know the true might of having faced him and his Master Hisao.

Shin pointed his sword at Splinter.

"Don't you dare use my powers to defeat him! The only one who gets to beat Diav with lightning abilities is me!!"

…

"Er… what?" Splinter was speechless, even after a few seconds. The hell was this guy spouting? Since when was electricity based Material 'his' power? Basically anybody can learn it!

But it was just a spur of the moment plan to lower his guard, so he could take the chance to convey something to Diavolo.

"Diav…" he whispered. "Let's use 'that'."

Diavolo was surprised, but almost immediately he came to the realization that their situation could not be dealt with without 'that'. A trump card that the two of them had learnt recently. Until Diavolo could unleash the immense power he always spoke of, this was their remaining bet.

Since it was a newly learnt technique, Shin wanted to make sure they weren't cautious, since it was just that terrifying. However, he was unaware that the other party would've actually simply let them execute whatever they were planning willingly, without hindering them, even if Shin didn't spout such nonsense.

Diavolo and Shin stood shoulder to shoulder, with Diavolo holding Blood Burner on his left hand and Shin holding White Lightning on his right. The two then crossed their swords across each other and raised both of them to the sky after a small spark of them colliding.

"Hmm?" Splinter tilted his head.

VOSHHH! SKREEEEE

After one single, strong breath, both gushed out a tremendous amount of energy, and after connecting the tips together, both of their energies violently merged as they finally spoke together.

"『☆ Anti-Unit Ravaging Technique; Hybrid Surge: Plasma; Thunder-Flame Javelin』!!!"

And the arms were swung, letting out an ear shattering crash as the explosive energy wave made its way towards Splinter. It ripped apart the air in its path as if nothing could stop it. The fire and electricity complemented each other in the sense that this was perfect for both Shin and Diavolo.

Shin could not control where the current traveled and it would generally spread everywhere unless he used a particular medium. Diavolo's fire provided that medium.

On the flip side, even if Diavolo could launch a well developed fire projectile, it didn't have nearly enough force nor power behind it as his 'Beastial Talon Lance'. Shin's electricity compensated for that since electricity was a more powerful and concentrated plasma than fire.

This was an attack that the two of them created through Hannah's guidance after the event of the attack in the carnival. Meaning, it wasn't even a full day that they got to practice it. And yet, even in its infancy, this attack contained more than 100,000 Barts of energy.

Hybrid Surge. The term used to describe the merger of two different energies as one. Diavolo and Shin, who had fought together countless times in the forests as kids, knew well about each other's fighting habits. As such, even if it was something new, like energy manipulation that they had learnt after leaving their home, they subconsciously managed to do it in the carnival. Hannah took notice and acted quickly, letting them know about its existence.

Time was of essence and if these two managed to completely learn it, their attacks would be unstoppable amongst the entirety of Derdalf. Too bad they didn't even get to practice and had to use a premature attack.

Both Shin and Diavolo's peak power output was just above 20,000 BPS each. But that was only if all of their focus and attention was drawn towards simply 'outputting'. Diverting attention towards forming the attack, maintaining its structure, and many other factors would decrease their actual usable power output by a heavy margin. Not to mention that the more energy that was gathered up in the attack, the more attention would be needed to maintain it and prevent it from going haywire.

As such, the entire attack took over four seconds. But that's all they could manage before their enemy would notice something was amiss… was what they thought.

"Oh boy…" Splinter thought as the attack was right up on his face, only to see it change direction at the last instant.

When the light cleared, another man could be seen in front of Splinter, holding up his cane towards the direction the attack went to and dispersed.

"I apologize for my colleague's impoliteness. But let's not get hasty before we make introductions."

This was the man with the eyepatch who had been standing in the center of the five before the fight started.

Diavolo and Shin were stunned. Even if that attack was premature, it still had their all in it, and yet this man thwarted it away with a single whip of his cane.

But what was more terrifying was the rate at which he had reacted. The distance between the two and Splinter was not much to begin with. And adding that to the speed of the energy wave, one would need to have an inhuman level of speed to cover the whole distance from his original spot.

However, it was nothing that spectacular. This man noticed something was amiss from the moment Shin and Diavolo stood shoulder to shoulder. After that, everybody else's attention was simply directed towards that spectacle too much to notice his approach.

"What are you doing, Leader?! I could've taken that attack on my own!"

Leader? What did he mean 'Leader'? Was what went through the youths' minds. Wasn't the leader supposed to be Hisao?

"Unscathed?" the man spoke as if implying something.

"!! A-a-at most a first degree burn! It doesn't matter! I was just caught o—"

"Master Hisao is watching. Don't shame us." And with that alone, he silenced him. He then faced the youths again. "I shall introduce myself again. I am the acting leader of the Generals of Master Hisao. My name is Geralt. Geralt Hisao."

"… Hisao?" Diavolo muttered. Why did they have the same names?

"Indeed my last name is Hisao. We have not only received Master's powers, but also his surname as his loyal subjects."

"Why do we have to explain all that to these wimps?! They don't deserve to even—"

"Splinter," he solemnly said, once again making him shut his mouth. "Pardon us, folks. But my colleague has been quite… impatient, after attaining yet another power. He is riling to go at any moment, although he has become careless in the previous act as you've seen. Which was why I had to step in," Geralt continued upholding some kind of mannerisms.

"If he's riling up to fight, then why bother telling us to hand her over without one?!" Diavolo spat out annoyed.

"Of course this side understands very well we wouldn't leave without a proper bout. He was just taking measures that he thought was appropriate to start a ruckus. My views are different however," he said and stared up at the airship they came down from. "For our Master, I wish to put up a show less… chaotic. One versus ones' would be nice. And as for that…" He turned his head cuing Splinter over.

Splinter sighed. "Ugh, fine. Say, you there! Earlier you spouted some nonsense about being the only one allowed to beat up your friend using electricity, weren't you? Let me show you what happens when you're so pretentious in front of me!"

"Bring it!" Shin bellowed.

"We have a match, then. Tanran," Geralt cued.

"I'll take that red hair kid over there. For some reason she pisses me off. I want to teach her not to partake in matters of adults."

"K-k-kid?!" Hannah flushed with embarrassment and anger. "F-fine then! I'll show you the powers of a Rose descendant… Aunty!"

"Who're you calling aunty, you brat!!! I'm still 25 years old!!!"

"Looks like another match has been set. How would—"

"I wish to exchange blows with the lad that has large eyes," the old man interrupted Geralt.

Yukio gulped. "Alright, I accept."

"Very well. And so that leaves—"

"Save it!" Diavolo interrupted. "If you're the leader here, then that means you're right under Hisao. If I beat you, then the final wall before I kick that guy's ass will be gone! There's no way I'm fighting anyone else!"

"I shall accept then." He slightly bowed. "And then the three of you would have to face…" He looked towards the fat chained man.

"Hmph! Didn't you say this was gonna be one on one?" Arashi snorted.

"Indeed that was what I said, but given that that fellow over there has a thing loose in the head, he might be a little too dangerous for one person. But if it's the three of you, then—"

"Layla isn't fighting!" Yukio firmly addressed.

Arashi glanced at the youth, but didn't reject it. "That's right. It's just me and Randolf."

"That's fine, too." And he gestured at Tanran to unchain the fat man.