" sister Kurenai, I'm hungry!!"
"Okay, okay, it'll be ready now."
13 years ago – Ashin Village;
Zeno, a 5-year-old child wearing patched-up clothes, was sitting at the table. On the other side, Kurenai was preparing soup.
The soup was ready, poured into a bowl, and placed right in front of Zeno. Kurenai sat beside him and slowly fed him the soup.
"Mmmmmm… it's very delicious, Sister Kurenai."
With a smile, Kurenai slowly fed all the soup to Zeno. When it was finished, Zeno wanted more, but Kurenai gave a sad smile and apologetically said, "Sorry Zeno, but it's finished."
Zeno said sadly, "Why didn't you eat any, Sister?"
Kurenai smiled and said, "I'm full. I ate something earlier in the forest."
But suddenly her stomach growled. "Grrrrrr!!!"
When Zeno heard the sound, he said sadly, "Forgive me, Sister Kurenai. I ate all the soup."
Kurenai felt sad, but she acted serious. She brought her little finger forward and said, "Then instead of eating my soup, I'll take a promise from you in return. How about that?"
Zeno said sadly, "If I promise, will you be full?"
Kurenai smiled and quickly said, "Yes. Whenever I get hungry, I take a promise."
Zeno smiled, wrapped his little finger around Kurenai's, and both of them said together:
"I promise that one day...???"
"Good, he finally passed out!"
"Forgive us, we did this to save you!"
"Alright, lift him. We have to take him back to Ikan (hospital)."
As Zeno lay unconscious on the ground, suddenly a red light appeared beneath his bandages. Nothing could be clearly seen, but one of them had sweat forming on his forehead.
"Where is this light coming from?!"
Veil tried to lift Zeno, but suddenly small bolts of lightning began swirling around him.
The doctor, eyes wide and sweat on his forehead, said, "What does this mean?! He's unconscious—naturally he shouldn't be able to use his power!!"
Arisa and Veil were confused when suddenly, as Zeno's eyes opened, they jumped back.
"Why are his eyes white?!"
The doctor quickly said, "Hold him down so I can inject a sedative!"
As they tried to approach Zeno, he suddenly released a powerful wave from his body and threw them all backward.
Battlefield:
"Oh, we see that the western gate is rising. Who could it be?"
All the people stood up carefully, eyes wide, staring at the gate.
The western gate of the arena rose, and a man in very shiny golden armor entered the field along with six flag bearers.
"Welcome Shishi (Lion) of the Taikan clan (Crowned)!"
Sheikh entered the arena with a proud smile and full ceremony.
Shishi only received cheers from the royal families, but nothing from the poor people.
He glanced at the poor with disgust, spat, and proudly walked to stand beside Raika.
Raika began speaking again. "And on the right side!… We have someone who has recently returned from execution. He is currently in Ikan, but according to the battle rules, I am obligated to count to 10. If he does not make it here—which is very unlikely—then I will count…"
All the poor people listened carefully.
"1!… 2!… 3!… 4!… 5!… 6!…"
Everyone in the battlefield had their eyes fixed on the eastern gate and their ears on Raika's voice!…
The only one smiling wickedly was Shishi. He was hopeful that Zeno would not appear in the battlefield and that he would win this battle for free.
"7!… 8!… 9!…"
SHOOOOOOO!...BOOOOOOM!!!!
Just as Raika was about to say 10, something descended from the sky with such force that the stones beneath it exploded.
"I, Zeno… announce… my presence… and for the… match… I am ready…"
Zeno landed in the middle of the battlefield, his body bloody and crushed, leaving everyone frozen and wide-eyed at the sight of him.
Seeing Zeno, Shishi clenched his teeth, a vein bulging on his forehead.
"Damn it, you stubborn dog—how can you still stand with all that blood and bandages?!"
When Raika saw that Zeno was covered in blood, she stepped forward trembling and softly said, "Can you fight?!"
Zeno, his body crushed, bloody, trembling, and exhausted, nodded his head in confirmation.
Raika told Zeno to stand face to face with Shishi to begin the battle. She explained the rules and quickly returned to the Shinpan stand (referee platform).
Zeno stood crookedly, his battered and bloody body facing Shishi directly, and his smile showed his excitement for the fight.
In contrast, Shishi stood with teeth grinding under pressure and a vein about to burst from anger.
Raika raised her hand and shouted, "Ready?!…"
SHIIIIIING!…
Both of them drew their swords, ready to attack.
"Fight!"
Both clashed with powerful force.
TIIIIING!!!...
A few minutes before the battle started:
After releasing the wave and throwing the doctor, Arisa, and Veil away, Zeno was floating. With his white eyes, he tried to run toward the battlefield again, but Veil and Arisa stood in front of him with drawn swords.
"We won't let you reach the battle!"
But Zeno, with white eyes and sword drawn, moved forward without saying a word.
Arisa, angry and covered in dust, said, "Don't come any closer, Zeno! Don't make me use my power against you!"
Suddenly Arisa and Veil's eyes widened, sweat forming on their foreheads, because Zeno, with an unbelievably fast movement, was suddenly standing right in front of them and said in a terrifying voice:
"Move."
But they were frozen and couldn't move.
Zeno trembled as he raised his sword, as if he didn't want to hurt them.
He controlled himself, lifted his foot, and slammed it powerfully onto the ground, throwing the two of them into the air. With a powerful force, he leaped up himself and landed right in the middle of the battlefield.
"I, Zeno… announce… my presence… and for the… match… I am ready!!"
One stood armored and powerful… and the other stood crushed, bloody, and exhausted without any strength—yet with an unbreakable will.
The decisive battle was about to begin!…