In a blink, Kenji vanished—the ground exploding beneath his feet from the force of his launch.
Gatta, already braced, raised her clawed arms just in time—
CLANG!
Kenji's dual blades slammed against her cross-guard, the sound shrieking like metal tearing across bone.
Kenji spun mid-air, twisting his blades around hers, the movement fluid like water, then—
"KEN–X!!"
His twin blades crossed over his chest—then ripped outward, unleashing a violent, X-shaped shockwave of compressed Aura.
BOOM.
The energy strike detonated on impact.
Gatta's body was flung like a broken doll, crashing through a boulder and into the rubble—instantly unconscious. A clean one-shot.
Kenji didn't even glance at her. His eyes were already locked on Bruto, who came barreling toward him like a tank.
"Don't ignore me!"
The giant slammed his fist into the ground, cracks spidering outward like lightning. Kenji flipped over the shockwave, airborne—calm, precise.
Midair, he twisted his body—
CRACK! His boot connected clean with Bruto's jaw, jerking the brute's head to the side.
Bruto grunted, swinging wildly. Kenji dropped behind him in a blur and unleashed a flurry of slashes—clean, calculated, shallow enough not to maim but powerful enough to drive Bruto back.
Dust kicked up as Bruto was pushed farther away—step by step, blow by blow.
Finally, Bruto stumbled to a stop, panting.
"Really? That's it? You're just moving me away from your team?"
Kenji straightened, swords at his sides.
"That was the plan."
Suddenly, his body began to radiate a thick, flowing aura—like mist, like blood in water. The ground beneath him cracked from the pressure.
"Now you're isolated."
His blades shimmered faint gold.
"KEN–MULTI–SLASH!"
He blurred into motion—slashing in every direction, speed so overwhelming it looked like he'd multiplied. Bruto tried to defend, but Kenji's strikes rained like a storm—slicing through his defenses, cutting through his aura guard, battering his body with precision and ferocity.
Each slash sent ripples through the air, the pressure alone enough to whip dirt and rubble into a cyclone. Bruto was being torn apart by a thousand cuts—until Kenji landed one final spinning slash that sent him flying across the battlefield.
Silence.
Then—
"YYYYOOO!! THAT'S MY BOY!"
Tony stood on top of a broken pillar, laughing and pointing like a hype man at a concert.
Timmy, bouncing on Tony's shoulder, screamed with a huge grin,
"KENJI!! KENJI!! KENJI!!"
Kenji stood tall, backlit by the settling dust and his fading aura, blades still humming with energy. His face calm, his breathing steady.
"Damn," Tony grinned. "You just baptized that man with hands. That was art."
Timmy's eyes sparkled. "You're so cool it's unfair!"
Olorun stepped forward, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "Alright! My turn now, guys! Tony, Timmy—look over here. Get ready to witness greatness!"
Tony and Timmy turned, half-expecting a god-tier transformation or a dramatic power-up pose.
But instead—
"It's time, Mago. Get ready to fig—"
Olorun froze mid-sentence, his eye twitching.
Mago was asleep.
Flat on his back. Snoring. Drooling. One leg twitching like he was dreaming about running through a field of snacks.
"…Are you kidding me?" Olorun barked, jaw dropping. "I wasted my whole dramatic intro on a nap?!"
Timmy blinked. "He's out cold…"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Olorun shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "I've been hyping this up for five minutes! Five minutes of my life! Gone!"
Tony casually plucked a fruit from the rubble and bit into it. "Hey, don't look at us. We didn't get to see your 'epic' fight. Kenji wins this one."
Timmy nodded without hesitation. "Yup. Kenji wins. You took too long, man."
Olorun looked like someone had kicked over his emotional sandcastle. "Damn you, Kenji…"
Kenji blinked from across the battlefield. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do anything."
"Oh yeah? Sure you didn't!" Olorun jabbed a finger in his direction. "You always steal the spotlight with your broody silent swordsman crap! You think you're so cool with your glowing slashes and mysterious aura!"
"I am cool," Kenji said flatly, arms crossed. "And you're loud."
"Loud AND lovable!" Olorun grinned, flicking his nose upward proudly.
Tony raised a brow. "Hold up. Where's Eleo?"
Timmy perked up on his shoulder. "I think he's fighting the Mayor."
Olorun's entire mood shifted. "Shit. We gotta help him!"
Kenji held up a hand, calm and resolute. "No. Eleo's got this."
Both Tony and Timmy blinked.
"…WHAT?!"
Kenji didn't flinch. "He's our leader. Shouldn't we have faith in him?"
Olorun stared, caught off guard by the seriousness in Kenji's voice.
"Y-Yeah, okay, but what if he dies?" Olorun asked, his usual grin faltering.
Kenji looked up at the sky, eyes sharp. "Then he doesn't deserve to be our leader."
Silence.
Tony let out a low whistle. "Cold. Ice cold."
Olorun sighed, rubbing his face. "You're such a buzzkill, you know that?"
Kenji glanced sideways. "And you're such a clown."
"HAH?! Say that again, bamboo stick!"
"Clown."
"I'll kick your ass right now!"
"You can try."
They locked eyes—sparks flying between them like two rival wolves in the same pack, both too proud to back down.
Tony smirked. "Ohh, here we go again…"
Timmy whispered to him, "They're like an old married couple."
Tony cackled. "Right?! Except one's allergic to fun and the other's made of it."
Kenji and Olorun were still bickering in the background.
"You wanna go, porcupine head?"
"Bring it, sad samurai!"
Meanwhile…
Dust exploded into the air as Eleo sprinted full speed toward Budey, Beside him loomed a massive plant beast.
Eleo's cheek was scraped, his ear singed, and one of his shoes was definitely missing. But he was grinning.
"Alright, Leafy McStinky, let's see you handle THIS!" he shouted, leaping high into the air.
"INK BARRAGE!!!" he yelled, his fists morphing into rapidly-firing ink gloves, launching punch after punch midair like a living ink machine gun.
The monstrous plant beast twisted unnaturally, dodging with surprising agility. Budey ducked behind it, watching calmly.
Eleo landed, blinking. "HUH?! How the heck is this big plant thingy so fast?! It's got, like, NO LEGS!!"
Budey smirked. "Your S-Orb is ink-based, huh? I gotta say, I'm impressed with how you're weaponizing it."
Eleo nodded proudly. "Yup! I got creativ—WAIT A MINUTE! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING YOU, NOT TALKING TO YOU!!"
He clapped his hands together, ink swirling around his palms. "Let's turn this up to MAXIMUM BUNNY!!"
His arms twisted into a cannon-like shape, a goofy grin on his face.
"INK CANNON!!" he bellowed, firing a massive burst of swirling ink straight at Budey.
But Budey calmly extended his hand. Vines burst from the ground, intertwining into a thick, layered shield.
The ink splashed harmlessly off. Eleo's ears drooped.
Crap. I don't have fire. I can't bypass that damn shield, he thought, squinting. Maybe I can just… keep punching it?
Before he could try, Budey flicked his hand, launching a barrage of glowing seeds.
"WOAH WOAH WOAH—WHAT THE HECK?!" Eleo screamed, leaping up as the seeds exploded behind him in tiny mushroom clouds. The shockwave sent him flipping midair.
"Alright, time for plan… uh… whatever number I'm on now!!"
He landed with a dramatic THUMP, crouching low.
"INK HAMMER!!"
His hands twisted and stretched, transforming into massive black hammers dripping with ink. With a mighty battle cry, he swung down on the vine shield like he was trying to crack open a giant coconut.
BOOM!!
The shock echoed—but the shield held firm.
"…Dang it," Eleo muttered, sweating. "This guy's like a salad made of plot armor…"
Budey tilted his head. "You really don't think things through, do you?"
Eleo grinned. "Nope! But that's what makes me awesome!"
And even as he panted, scuffed up and covered in ink smudges, his eyes were still shining bright, filled with determination.
"I'm Eleo! The Bunny Kid who's gonna become the strongest!! So I don't care how tough your veggies are—I'm gonna turn your salad into SOUP!!"
Budey blinked. "…Salad doesn't turn into—"
"SHHH! I'M HAVING A MOMENT!" Eleo yelled, already charging again, his ears flapping behind him like a superhero cape.