The bald man struggled against Miyamoto's crushing grip, his face turning red as veins bulged across his forehead.
"Stop struggling. It's pointless," Miyamoto said coldly. "I have only one question, and I expect an honest answer. Tell me, Bald Head, is there a young girl named Amanda in this hideout?"
The man's expression changed instantly. He stopped struggling for a moment before glaring at Miyamoto with fury.
How dare you speak her name so casually?
Show some respect to one of the Top Five. You have no idea how powerful she is old man.
Watch your tongue before someone cuts it off."
Peaches smirked as he watched the man. "Looks like someone just made a big mistake."
Lucy chuckled, but when she glanced to the side, she caught Peaches staring at her again. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Stop staring at me, Peaches. You're making me uncomfortable."
Peaches scratched his cheek with an embarrassed grin. "Sorry, Lucy. I just can't help it."
Lucy quickly turned away, trying to hide her embarrassment. However, Miyamoto's sharp voice immediately brought them back to reality.
"This is not the time for your little discussion. Pay attention. I won't repeat myself."
Both of them straightened up at once, nodding quietly.
Miyamoto turned his attention back to the bald man.
"What exactly do you mean by the 'Top Five'? And what do you know about my student?"
His expression darkened. Renshi compressed around his palm, tightening its grip on the man's chest.
Crack.
The pressure increased, forcing the man's ribs together. He screamed in pain, struggling desperately to free himself.
"Go to hell!" he spat, glaring at Miyamoto through gritted teeth. "You might be stronger than me, but I'm nothing compared to the top dogs here. Run while you still can, old man. You've stepped into a graveyard, and you're the next corpse..."
"hmm....I see."
Miyamoto's expression barely changed, but disappointment was clear in his voice.
"So that's how it is. What a waste of time. I'll just kill you and wait for the others."
A chain flickered beside him as his storage link opened, and his blade appeared in his hand.
"Do your worst, you fool!" the bald man roared with hysterical laughter. "The moment you stepped onto this island, you were already dead!"
His laughter had barely begun to fade when Miyamoto moved.
His figure blurred, disappearing from the spot. Before the bald man could understand what had happened, Miyamoto appeared above him, following the upward motion of the body he had just hurled into the air.
His blade flashed once.
The strike was clean and precise.
The man's head separated from his body, spinning through the air before landing in the sand. His headless body fell several feet away, kicking up a cloud of dust on impact.
Lucy and Peaches stood frozen, staring at the scene.
Miyamoto flicked the blood from his blade before returning it to his side.
"Stay sharp," both of you,no playing around and I mean it."
A sharp whistle suddenly cut through the air.
Miyamoto tilted his head as several ice shards shot toward him from different directions. He activated Switch Mode, vanishing just before the projectiles reached him.
The ice smashed into the ground, sending fragments flying across the beach.
But the attack was only the beginning.
The earth beneath him rumbled. Several enormous stone hands burst from the ground, their thick fingers reaching upward to crush him between their palms.
Miyamoto twisted in midair and activated Switch Mode again, slipping between the closing hands.
A flash of fire suddenly appeared behind him.
A flaming blade came swinging toward his back.
Clang.
Miyamoto turned at the last possible moment. He raised his weapon to meet the attack, but before the blades could fully collide, his Renshi pressure surged outward, forcing the flaming strike away from him.
Sparks scattered.
His feet touched the ground.
Instantly, ice spread from beneath his boots, racing across the sand and climbing around his legs. Before he could take another step, a thick layer had frozen him in place.
Miyamoto glanced down at the ice before looking toward the attackers.
"Coordinated attacks, huh? Not bad." A faint smile crossed his face. "For rookies."
Three figures emerged from the shadows at the edge of the island.
They walked toward him without hesitation, their calm expressions suggesting that they had been waiting for this moment.
Two were men, both wearing masks.
The first wore a black cape streaked with crimson. Two swords rested across his back, and dark Renshi seeped from their blades like poisonous smoke.
The second wore red. His weapon remained sheathed at his waist.
The third figure was a blonde girl with piercing eyes. A white cape embroidered with silver covered her shoulders, while a long silver blade gleamed in her hand.
Behind Miyamoto, Lucy and Peaches struggled to free their legs from the ice as well.
"Don't panic," Miyamoto ordered without looking back. "I'll handle these three. Stay out of my way."
Peaches swallowed nervously as he studied the newcomers.
"They look seriously strong. Can your master really handle all three of them?"
Lucy kept her eyes on Miyamoto.
"Trust him. He's my master....he's the strongest person I know"
She clenched her fist, allowing her Renshi to flow through her body.
"Besides, we've come too far to turn back now. I'm not leaving this island without Amanda."
Her Renshi surged around her legs as she forced them against the frozen ground. Cracks began spreading through the ice, it was thick it didn't break so easily...but it definitely break.
Lucy frowned before reaching into her storage ring and pulling out a talisman.
"Art of Seal, Limited Flame."
She slapped the talisman against Peaches' frozen leg.
A burst of flame erupted from the paper, spreading across the ice without burning his skin. The thick layer melted almost instantly, releasing his leg before the flames disappeared.
Peaches stared at the talisman in disbelief.
"Lucy, I didn't know you could do something like that."
Meanwhile, Miyamoto flexed his legs.
The ice surrounding them shattered under the force of his Renshi, breaking into pieces that scattered across the ground.
The blonde girl's eyes narrowed.
"Don't underestimate him," she warned the two men beside her. "That man isn't some ordinary wanderer. He's the junior Emperor's master."
She tightened her grip on her sword.
"One mistake, he will take the advantage.
But she had barely finished speaking when Miyamoto disappeared.
"Where...."
The man in red barely had time to turn his head.
Miyamoto had already appeared between the three of them.
The masked men reacted immediately, reaching for their weapons, while the blonde girl shifted her stance and prepared to strike.
Miyamoto placed one hand on the shoulder of the man in red.
The man stiffened.
"I have a question for all three of you," Miyamoto said, his voice calm enough to make the situation even more frightening.
"And I expect a polite answer."
His fingers tightened around the man's shoulder.
"Where is my student, Amanda?"
The masked man froze with miyamoto hand on his shoulder, while the blonde girl's expression hardened.
"I heard from that bald fool that Amanda is now one of the Top Five," Miyamoto continued, shaking his head in disappointment. "Honestly, I expected more from her. She can do much better than that....what the hell is a top five ,she can do better than that,a top one won't be bad."
His gaze swept across the three of them.
"That's enough playing around. It's time for her to come home with me. So talk to me kiddos, where is she?"
The blonde girl moved first.
She activated Switch Mode, vanishing from her position before reappearing above Miyamoto. Her silver blade came down toward his arm, aimed at the limb holding the man in red.
"Let him go!"
Miyamoto didn't even turn to face her.
He simply opened his other palm.
BOOM!
An invisible wave of Renshi pressure burst outward.
The blonde girl's blade stopped inches from his arm, unable to push through the force surrounding him. Before she could withdraw, the pressure struck her head-on, sending her flying backward.
She crashed into the ground several meters away, rolling across the sand as her sword slipped from her hand.
The shockwave spread through the island.
The other masked man nearest to Miyamoto staggered backward, coughing up blood as the force struck his chest. He struggled to remain standing, his eyes wide behind his mask.
Miyamoto's hand never left the shoulder of the man in red.
He hadn't even needed to change his stance.
Miyamoto slowly turned his head toward the other two.
"You don't want to make me angry, kiddos," he said softly.
The man beneath his grip trembled as he tried to move, only to realize that Miyamoto's hand held him firmly in place.
"Respect your elders," Miyamoto continued, his expression growing colder. "Now, I'll ask you one last time."
His Renshi began to press down on the man's shoulder.
"Where is Amanda?"