**SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY, 9:30AM*

*sigh*

"This sure is annoying."

On a high-rise building nearby to the Family Grounds, sat Gyuwhan Ryūjin and Daisuke

Taejin, once again. This had become commonplace for them both, who had developed an

uncle-nephew relationship over the years, since Ivan Ryūjin’s death. At the moment,

however, they weren’t just taking in sceneries; they were observing the Hunters’

Tournament. Of course, they couldn’t directly observe the proceedings in the

Colosseum, but they instead viewed through the eyes of Mujin, who snuck into the

Family Grounds unnoticed. Normally, Tenchi Yamaguchi would be able to immediately

pick up on the energies of anyone entering, but Mujin had a special characteristic that

enabled him to conceal his presence, almost appearing to not even exist, even inside a

Soul Barrier that thoroughly scans the energies of all individuals. As Mujin watched the

events unfold, he activated the Dragon Relay Technique to enable his associates

Gyuwhan and Daisuke to watch.

Gyuwhan was just annoyed that he couldn’t be there in-person.

"So, that was Jamal Sanjuro, the youngest child of Gadō..." Daisuke remarked.

"He still looks like quite a weakling. Based on what I'm sensing through Mujin-san, that kid

has no readable energy. Almost like a civilian..."

Only one thought lingered on Gyuwhan’s mind: could this boy really have been related

to the disturbance his Father felt that time?

"Well, it seems the next match is about to begin." – Daisuke pointed out, observing

Mujin’s Relay.

“I don’t really care but…I guess I’ll watch. Nothing else to do anyway,” Gyuwhan

responded.

--------------------------------------

**COLOSSEUM**

The audience was still cheering on the boys from the previous matchup. As they left the

fighting ring, Jamal looked all around him, and saw his parents and brother toward the

North; they were watching him and clapping. Smiling back, he felt a big boost of

confidence within himself.

"Haha! Nice fighting out there, little brother!" - Ilmar fist-bumped his brother's chest as

he entered the waiting area with Kento, whose arm was slung over Jamal's shoulder

until they returned from the arena. Ilmar's face changed however, when he looked at

Kento, who was looking away.

"What happened out there, Kento? You seemed really upset about something," Zeke

asked, picking up on his odd performance.

"I-It was nothing, I got a little uneasy. Sorry."

It was at this point that the next match was announced: Ilmar Sanjuro and Namiyo

Yamaguchi. Stretching his arms in the air, Ilmar started taking a few steps to the arena

entrance.

"Well, I guess I'm up now." - as he said this, he glanced over at Namiyo who was still

sitting down, adorned in a dark blue martial arts robe, slim fit dark pants and track

shoes, along with a dark blue blindfold around his head.

"Let's get it started then, Namiyo."

Keenly discerning the boy's nonchalant tone, he smiled slightly without moving an inch.

"Confident as always," he said as he stood to his feet and approached Ilmar, hands in his

pocket.

"Namiyo...he'll definitely put up a challenge for Ilmar. I know I'd lose if it were me, without a

doubt..." Jamal thought to himself as he watched the blindfolded boy walk.

"You've got this, Mar-kun!" Gina cheered on her brother.

"Of course I do," he responded with a smirk, brimming with confidence as he entered

the arena. Typical Ilmar.

Upon seeing the boys walking to the ring, the audience cheered in eagerness for the next

exciting match that they were about to see. As was done last time, Katashi gave small

descriptions of the fighters:

"Approaching the ring, both at 12 years old, we have Namiyo Yamaguchi, who's actually

ranked #4 among the Hunter Trainees! Next to him, we have Ilmar Sanjuro, and once

again...a child of Gadō-sama enters the ring!"

Hearing that part, the audience absolutely erupted. Having previously witnessed the

younger son of Gadō, how much more thrilling of a sight would this match prove to be?

"Oooh? Another of Gadō-sama's sons?"

"The younger one earlier was quite impressive, I wonder if he's even more amazing?"

"That Namiyo kid...why does he wear a blindfold?"

"He seems quite strong himself."

As the competitors observed the two approaching the ring, their eyes were fixed to the

waiting room’s screens. Not even in sparring have these two geniuses ever fought each

other. It felt like the match could go either way, even though Ilmar was positioned

higher in class.

Tarik was engaged in thought; he was among those who had a very good idea of what

Namiyo had grown capable of.

"Namiyo-kun...can he really match up to Ilmar?"

Among the Heads, Gadō saw the blindfolded young man, and was intrigued.

"His eyes...?"

"Ah, I've heard a little about him. You can go ahead and elaborate, Emir," Tenchi

instructed, turning his head to his brother's direction.

"Yeah, about that kid..." – Emir began to explain, right as the match was about to start.

"Ready?...GO!!"

Ilmar started off explosively; completely ignoring his connector, he launched a punch at

the air, the force thereof rushing straight across the fighting ring, slightly vibrating the

very ground they stood on. Namiyo, still blindfolded, swiftly side-stepped this attack

that went past him, striking the 8-metre-high safety wall that surrounded the fighting

area, and caused a large gust of wind to kick up. Before one could even keep up with the

course of actions that were just taken, Ilmar had already closed the distance between

himself and Namiyo, and started attacking viciously. Surprisingly, the blindfolded

fighter anticipated and avoided every attack, engaging in very short exchanges as well,

but mostly dodging.

“You really love fighting, don’t you?” Namiyo asked him as he dodged some low and high

kicks.

“Well, that technique of yours is too damn annoying. I’m getting rid of you first,

Namiyo,” Ilmar responded while throwing jabs and hooks, that were all swiftly evaded.

The audience watched with their jaws in their laps, completely on the edges of their

seats: this battle was nothing like what they just saw!

As the Heads took in the battle, Emir took the liberty of continuing his elaboration:

"Namiyo Yamaguchi...he was born with a rare eye condition known as Retinitis

Pigmentosa. It's a condition where the photoreceptors of your Retina begin to break

down, and in the worst case, results in complete blindness. It's an extremely rare illness,

but there have definitely been recorded cases in the Yamaguchi Family."

He continued, "The most obvious symptom is impaired vision, but bright light is also

extremely uncomfortable. For this reason, he wears a blindfold."

"I see, so right now he must be using his Spirit Energy to read his surroundi-" Gadō

began to summarise right before Emir cut him off:

"No, Gadō-sama. That kid...is a whole other genius. Watch him closely."

As they continued watching the battle unfold, Gadō carefully examined the boy’s moves,

trying to determine his secret.

"...I can't tell what he's doing. But, you're saying he's not using energy to interact with

his surroundings?" Gadō asked confusedly.

"Yep...he's actually using sound."

Hearing this, Gadō’s eyes widened. This was in fact, exactly what Namiyo was doing; he

listened keenly for the vibrations in the air, and responded accordingly. This was an

absolutely rare sight.

"Based on the information Chojo shared with us, Namiyo-kun's training and even

regular day-to-day engagements all involved listening. In order to circumvent his

deteriorating vision, that kid sharpened his hearing to unfathomable levels. As long as

he can hear, he knows where he is, who or what’s nearby, who's doing what; it wouldn't

be wrong to assume he can see perfectly fine." - Emir explained as he watched the boy,

utterly impressed.

"Nothing short of amazing...I like that kid," Gadō remarked in admiration. However,

something still felt unclear to him:

"But, I don't understand why his specialty is called Wave Controller. Why is that?"

At this moment, after studying Ilmar’s fighting pattern for a bit, Namiyo began the

counterattack. He wasn’t aiming to land perfect hits, but as he started attacking, Ilmar’s

course of action was now to absolutely avoid them, not even blocking anything.

Unfortunately, he got careless for a split second, and blocked an attack with his forearm.

"Crap...here goes," Ilmar thought, smiling nervously as a drop of sweat ran down his

face.

After this exchange, Namiyo quickly retreated away. Ilmar ran after him, but he was

late: Namiyo clapped his hands together.

Ilmar…stumbled to his knee, stunned.

"He attacks using Sound Waves."

All the eyes that were watching at that point became like saucers, especially the

trainees: someone slowed down Ilmar! A feat like this performed by anyone other than

Satoru was simply inconceivable. Satoru himself, upon seeing this, actually facepalmed

and sighed. Everyone else however, suffered a skipped heartbeat.

"NAMIYO CAUGHT ILMAR!!" the Trainees all thought in unison.

Following this development, Emir continued to explain:

"Hunters from the Yamaguchi Clan are trained in Ninja-Arts...their fighting style

revolves around hitting your body's Energy Circulatory System directly, to shut it down

overtime as a means of restraint. The thing is, as they do that, they'll be putting their

own energy into your body."

"In Namiyo's case...that's all he needs. Just one touch."

"Namiyo can transmit his energy through sound waves. But, at his current level, he's

only effective by placing some of his energy inside an opponent's body. After that, he's

clear to start attacking. His attacks are aimed for the 5 senses, particularly hearing. The

opponent will be stunned whenever it connects."

“What an annoying technique…I wonder how Ilmar intends to counter this,” Gadō

wondered as he watched his second son, kneeling down in the ring.

Slowly regaining his bearings, Ilmar looked up at Namiyo who stared back at him (lol),

and began speaking,

“I knew your technique was annoying, but this is pretty damn annoying,” Ilmar

remarked as he glanced all around him, looking at the audience, as well as searching for

his connector; it was quite a distance away from him, while Namiyo had picked up his

connector by now.

"Just how much better will he become as he trains this technique?" Ilmar thought to

himself.

“You’re strong, Ilmar. But, you can’t beat this technique. I can stun you as much as I

want, just like this-“ he responded as he snapped his fingers, the sound echoing and

vibrating throughout Ilmar’s body, making him almost lose his balance and fall over.

“You also can’t use Body Reinforcement, since it’ll only strengthen my technique’s effect

on you. That technique enhances your 5 senses, correct?”

“Heh…you’re even more confident than I am, y’know.”

“At least I’m the one who’ll actually win,” he teased as he walked toward the center of

the ring, connector in hand.

Everyone watched as Namiyo walked, and some of the audience started clapping and

cheering on, pleased with his skillful display of his capabilities. The Trainees however,

mostly watched in anticipation for something totally unexpected; even Satoru watched

in complete silence with his head rested in his hand…waiting for Ilmar to make a move.

Jamal was the only one who didn’t share this anticipation however:

“No way…hey, Brother’s really gonna-!”

“??”

Looking around at his classmates, they were completely fixed to the display, watching in

silence. Jamal was utterly confused. Did he miss something?

“Hey, Gina…!” he turned to his older sister.

“Hm?”

‘Hm’ ???

“Is…Isn’t this bad for him??”

Gina stared at her younger brother.

“Don’t you know who your brother is, Jamal?”

The boy was speechless at these words.

“You’re silly, y’know?”

“But, remember this, Jamal. Your brother…”

Back in the ring, as Namiyo neared the insertion point, Ilmar who was still kneeling

down, uttered a small phrase, and the sight that followed was absolutely horrifying…

Body Reinforcement. · 身體強化 (Shin-tai Kyō-ka)

With his energy flaring up within him, Ilmar bolted over to Namiyo’s position like a

rocket, the latter receiving the shock of his lifetime upon noticing:

“Is…this guy insane?? Is he aware that if I attack him while he’s reinforced, I could

probably-?!”

Before Namiyo could even finish thinking, he was already delivered a heavy kick to the

chest that sent him with his connector flying outside the ring! If the viewers were

bewildered at the beginning of the match, the current bewilderment was far beyond

comprehension.

Gina then continued her statement to Jamal:

“…He’s a lunatic.”

As Namiyo flew outside the ring, Ilmar had already begun dashing toward his connector.

Before Namiyo fully exited however, he grit his teeth and brought his hands

together:

“Fine…if this is what you want, you damn psychopath!” – Namiyo clapped his hands

together, before passing the ring boundary!

In that moment, his senses enhanced by the Body Reinforcement Technique…the pain

that was dealt to Ilmar’s body was at least 5 times greater than what he felt initially. He

felt like if he were to stop, he would never move again. Nevertheless, his body couldn’t

manage, and Ilmar fell to the ground a few feet away from his connector. Following

these occurrences, Katashi announced:

“Namiyo Yamaguchi has been disqualified via Ring-Out! As one connector remains,

Ilmar Sanjuro has 10 seconds to insert his connector!”

Ilmar felt like moving even an inch would take an eternity. His body was completely

battered, the backlash of Body Reinforcement along with the amplified attack he fell

victim to. He was dizzy, and his ears were ringing out of control. It didn’t seem like Ilmar

would be moving anytime soon.

The trainees first, all began cheering on Ilmar from the waiting areas, except a small few

including Maki, Saki, Akiro and Satoru, who simply watched intently to see what would

happen. Following this, the audience began cheering him on, trying to give him some

form of energy boost. The Heads as well as Fūdo and Emir were also quite engaged.

As Ilmar laid on his back, he looked up at the Colosseum’s glass roofing, and was lost in

thought for a moment.

"Man...do I really have to move right now?..."

"Everything feels so...peaceful..."

In the background of his thoughts, he could hear a countdown:

“7!”

“6!”

“5!”

He could hear slight cheering as well:

“Ilmar! Ilmar! Ilmar!”

Then, as he was about to close his eyes…he suddenly remembered the faces of his

younger brother, and his sister, smiling.

"..."

"Fine...just please, let me rest after this."

Suddenly, his body’s energy flared up within him once more! By the time Katashi

arrived at 3 seconds, Ilmar had immediately bolted up and grabbed his connector,

hurling it toward the center of the ring, just as he saw Kento do it earlier. About half a

second after Katashi said “1”, the connector had snapped into place: Ilmar won!

“Winner: Ilmar Sanjuro!!!”

The crowd erupted louder than any volcano possibly could. Ilmar’s magnificent victory

stole the hearts of everyone present. His fellow classmates all cheered on as well, except

Jamal who looked on with giant eyes.

Ilmar was still standing at the moment, and with a grin and a sigh of relief, he was about

to fall flat on his face before Katashi caught him.

“You’re the craziest kid I know,” he whispered to the boy as he carried him over to some

medics who had come to escort him and Namiyo. As the medics passed through the

waiting area, Jamal, Gina, and Zeke came over to see him.

“He’s out cold at the moment. He’ll be fine once we treat him,” one of the medics assured

them. They couldn’t help but admire the smile on Ilmar’s face as he was asleep.

On the outside, Gyuwhan and Daisuke had seen the match. Daisuke was quite

impressed, but Gyuwhan didn’t care much.

“He’s much more talented than his younger brother. Quite reckless, as well.”

“Yeah. He’s a stupid one, but he doesn’t do anything unnecessary. I didn’t care at all at

first, but I’ll give him a little attention,” Gyuwhan half-heartedly praised him.

However, even after such a thrilling matchup, there was no room for any delays; the

third match was now underway:

“Now, for the next match:”

“Kinshi Yamaguchi, Zeke Sanjuro!”

**TO BE CONTINUED**