“I will come back to this place,” Ren said, his gaze steady, looking ahead at something only he could feel.

“Do you think she will change?”

“People will definitely change,” Ren replied, a quiet conviction in his tone.

“Okay, okay… well… no one has died in any skirmishes or strife all these years…” Kazuma said, arms crossing lazily. “And—”

“I already said,” Ren cut in, a sharp breath lacing his words, “the guards did this intentionally. We’ve been living peacefully without worry until now... I don’t know why she wants to win the tournament… Well,” his voice softened, “at that age, they tend to feel that way.”

Kazuma exhaled, folding his arms tighter. “So many years have passed. No one came. I still can’t understand why.”

Ren waved it off with a flick. “Um… Don’t think about it. And by the way, you’re always telling kids like it’s your art,” he said with a half-smile. “Even I used to say it’s your art. You can tell the truth, right? Even Hisagi asked you to teach him because of that.”

“Hey! You listened to that conversation?!” Kazuma’s eyes shot wide.

“Yeah. You were twisting words with Hisagi. He’s innocently believing you.”

“Hehe…” Kazuma smirked, leaning back, “I’m just saying what I’ve been saying for the past years.”

Ren ran a tired hand through his hair. “Okay, so… how much Kairo Energy does Sakura actually have? And why is she calling it ‘power levels’?”

Kazuma shrugged, lips twitching. “Well, that’s just easier to understand. People in the capital city sometimes call it that too.”

“Okay,” Ren exhaled slowly, stretching his neck with a soft crack. “Now say. How much?”

“Guess?” Kazuma flashed a mischievous grin.

Ren frowned, eye twitching. “I don’t know. I’ll ask a question instead. Give me a hint. How many avatars can she do with 200 each?”

Kazuma didn’t answer. Just silence. “…”

Ren sighed, tapping his fingers on the thigh. “At least four… or three?”

Still nothing. “…”

Turning to him with an annoyed glare, Ren muttered, “Then…?”

“Hey!” Kazuma snapped, throwing his hands up dramatically. “I’m just delaying. You should thank me for that!”

Ren raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? I don’t think she’s the silent type when you delay.”

Kazuma groaned, slumping back with a hand to his forehead. “Shit… I talked about Kairo Energy and even explained how to increase it. But she’s impatient. She asked to fight me instead.”

“Then?” Ren leaned in slightly, voice curious.

“Then? What bastard?” Kazuma shot back, brows twitching. “Do you think I’ll fight just to push her limit?”

He scoffed. “Well, she was able to do two avatars, and I told her to divide it into four accurately. She couldn’t even manage that.”

“Then what did you teach her in four years?” Ren cracked a grin, teasing. “You couldn’t even manage to train one girl properly?”

Kazuma waved a lazy hand. “Don’t underestimate me,” he said, leaning forward with mock pride. “Her body endurance has increased. I taught her as best I could considering her impatience.”

Ren nodded slowly. “Then our biggest problem now is that we’re entering the Capital City after so many years. We’ll see familiar faces. Until now, I haven’t even crossed beyond the village. You’ve only visited a few villages and sometimes to town. Because of our appearance, no one’s able to recognize us. But…”

“Hehe, what happens if they do see us? They won’t even guess. We just need to control our expressions if we see, that’s it… and Ren… never mind, according to the situation we have to act.”

He paused, his tone easing. “The good thing is, when registering our Kairo Energy, they didn’t even ask our names. Of course, that situation was like that. So we’ll just enter the tournament using the names Ken and Azuma.”

His brows furrowed slightly. “By the way, you didn’t cross the village, but you went through portals. What happened there? I don’t know which world or any other place you went to.”

“Before that, and after that, you changed so much. You just went off randomly and came back. You said you didn’t want to tell. Do you know how tough it was to convince Sakura?”

Ren spoke calmly, gaze steady. “You said I have trauma. I’m still thinking and crying. Think like that.”

“Hey, even now you don’t want to tell.” Kazuma turned his face slightly, lips puffed in frustration. “I’m still curious how your’s got back… and I’m suspicious too.”

Ren gave a light shrug. “Don’t worry. It’s not anything suspicious.”

“Well, tell me whenever you want.” He chuckled under his breath. “By the way, I still remember the faces of Sakura and Hisagi when we talked about that. Whenever I think about their amused faces, I laugh. Even now, I’m trying not to.”

“I know. I won’t forget that. The villagers helped us, too.”

Kazuma finally stopped laughing. “Still… sometimes Sakura talks carelessly. But one thing really impressed me.”

“She never got disappointed when she lost in the tournament. She just went there alone, came back, and said, ‘I failed. Teach me more.’ Every time she said that, you know? I didn’t know how to respond.”

He smiled faintly. “I told her in a serious tone, ‘I already said what’s important. Learn for yourself what I taught.’ She didn’t treat me like a master, she just kept asking to fight. I think she sees me more as a friend.”

Ren gave a short nod.

****

(29 Days to Tournament)

Yui, Yuki, and Yuta had gone outside the town. Their house stood at the edge near a large lake that stretched between the town and nearby village. In the distance, some villagers were casting nets to catch fish for the market. On the quieter side of the lake, Yuta and Yui stood watching the water.

Yuki’s voice rang with curiosity. – ‘Hey, give control to me.’

Yui blinked. – “Huh? Why now?”

– ‘Hey! You said you’d ask Yuta to show me some ninja techniques. So give me control, I’ll ask him myself. And promise me you won’t take it back!’

– “Well, if you do anything weird, I’ll take it back. Do you agree?” Yui folded her arms, calmly.

– ‘Hmph… you’re taking advantage.’ Her voice turned sulky. ‘Please, just once. I won’t do anything weird. Just don’t suddenly take it back, okay?’

“Neesan!”

Before Yuta could say more, Yuki quickly stepped behind him, put her hands on his shoulders and leaned close to his ear. “I’m Yuki.”

Yuta jolted with a mix of nervousness and anger. He brushed her hands away quickly. “Hey, you… ah, shit! Neesan, why did you give her control?!”

(When Yui or Yuki speaks, both voices sound like Yui’s, but the way of talking is different.)

Yuki responded in a more composed manner, speaking in Yui’s style. “She asked for control, how was I supposed to know she’d do something weird?”

– “Hey, you’re talking like me and fooling Yuta, huh?”

Yuki laughed like a mischievous child. – ‘Just playing! Please don’t take the control back,’ she added in a pleading tone.

– “Don’t ask like that… you want to have fun too, right? I understand. I won’t take control back. But please, don’t do weird things.”

Yuta groaned, crossing his arms. “Neesan, if you want to give her control while I’m with you, at least inform me beforehand.”

Yuki grinned mischievously. “Who said I’m Yui?” Without warning, she tried to push him into the lake.

Yuta reacted instantly, stepping back with sharp reflexes to avoid falling. He landed lightly on the water’s surface and stood there, perfectly balanced.

Yuki’s eyes sparkled with childish curiosity and excitement. “Huh?! You’re really standing on water! When I was in the orphanage, I used to watch Ninja Hattori. Can you do clone techniques? Shuriken throwing ding ding?”

Yuta blinked, shocked, a mixture of confusion and mild anger flashing on his face. “Hey! Do you think I’m a performer?”

“Do that! Or can’t you? Then you’re not a ninja.” Yuki teased him, her eyes gleaming like stars as she leaned forward playfully. “But Yui told me you’re a strong ninja… and you can’t even do simple things? Hey Yui, he’s just a waste!”

Yui’s voice answered from within. – “Hey, talk to him nicely. He’ll do it.”

– ‘Hehe, don’t worry,’ she said with a giggle. ‘You said your brother’s anger doesn’t last long.’

– “But that’s with me, not with you. You dumb girl.”

– ‘Huh? Well, he can’t hit me, right? I’m in your body.’

– “Do whatever you want. For now, I won’t interrupt.”

Yuta muttered in a calm, deadpan voice, “Okay, I’m a waste. But don’t do things like that in that body,” he said with a slightly uneasy look.

Yuki gasped, puffing her cheeks in disappointment. Her eyes widened, and she began tapping her feet one by one on the ground like an impatient child, arms raised and lowered playfully from her elbows as she whined.

“Hey! Yui said you’d do it! Please do that clone technique and walk on walls! Please do, please do! At least throw the shuri—”

Before she could even finish, a shuriken sliced through the air at high speed, barely grazing a few strands of Yui’s hair. Yuki froze, holding her breath in shock.

The shuriken spun rapidly and struck a tree behind her with a solid thud.

Yui gasped and spun around, voice rising with anger. “Hey Yuta! What are you doing?!”

Yuta turned his face away, sulking. “Huh… she’s the one who asked me to throw the shuriken. So I threw it.”

With a sudden burst of speed, Yui rushed behind him, a swirling fog kicking up from where she moved. She grabbed his cheeks and pulled hard. “You idiot! What if she had moved suddenly and it hit the body!?”

Yuta flinched. “Ah! Stop pulling my cheeks, Neesan! I aimed it perfectly!”

As she scolded him, Yuki noticed the fog still fading where Yui’s body had stood just a moment ago.

Her eyes widened in realization. – ‘Now you used teleportation, right!?’

Yui answered calmly. – “Huh? No. Teleportation is advanced art. That was just a temporary flex.”

– ‘Huh?’

After returning to the road, Yui’s voice rose in frustration. “Don’t play tricks like that! She doesn’t know. What if it hit her? And by the way you threw that right after saying ‘I’m a waste.’ Are you showing off?”

Yuki responded defensively. – ‘Hey, why are you scolding him? Nothing happened, right?’

Yui snapped, – “What if it had? Then what would you do? If my mother finds out, she would have scolded him more than me.”

Yuta lowered his head, voice apologetic. “Sorry, Yuki. I was just playing. Don’t misunderstand me. And Neesan… don’t tell Mom. Even if I’ve grown, in front of her I’m still a kid.”

Yui let out a sigh. “Ahh, okay. Do the avatar technique. She wants to see. After that, we’ll go home.”

Yuta nodded. He first brought only the index and middle fingers of both hands together, the remaining fingers naturally bent. Then, in one smooth motion, he aligned all five fingers of each hand, touched them briefly, and released them. In a flash, five Yutas appeared in front of Yui’s body, including the real one.

Yuki’s eyes sparkled with excitement. – ‘Hey! That is cool! By the way, how many clones can you do?’

– “It’s not about how many you can do. It’s about how strong the avatars are.” Yui exhaled slowly. “Of course, the more avatars you create, the more Kario energy you need.”

He smirked, puffing up slightly. “Happy now? This is easy.”

Yui rolled her eyes. “Ugh, shut up. Don’t brag, you arrogant idiot.”

****

(29 Days to the Tournament)

The conversation between Sujin and Haruki continued.

“By the way, Haruki,” Sujin said, looking thoughtful as he tapped his chin. “I didn’t ask my son. I’m curious… what is his type?”

He kept a straight face. “I don’t know, Sujin-sama.”

Sujin blinked, clearly surprised. “Huh?”

“Even with Mei and Himari,” Haruki continued, folding his arms casually. “I said I’d take them after they turn 25.”

Sujin leaned back, brows furrowing. “Hey, why are you doing that? If that’s the case… they might not win. Is that why Mei and Himari didn’t use and perform last year?”

“What comes from winning?” Haruki’s voice remained calm, almost indifferent.

“If we produce strong members—” Sujin leaned forward, eyes sharp, the sentence stopped in the air.

Haruki cut in softly. “We’re living peacefully, right? Even if they don’t win, nothing changes. If you want them to become powerful, I’ll take them after they’re 25. There’s plenty of time.”

“Okay, okay. I’m not greedy, that’s why I’m not mad at you,” Sujin said with a soft exhale, letting his shoulders drop.

Haruki offered a small smile. “I know you, Sujin-sama.”

“But even though…” Sujin paused for a moment before adding the words, his voice quieter now.

“I understand,” Haruki nodded gently. “But if they do win through my teaching, I’ll accept it wholeheartedly. And besides, this year’s rounds may help them.”

“What helps them?” Sujin sighed, “How can they fight? And… it could go the opposite way too, right?”

“That depends on them,” Haruki said with quiet confidence, his eyes steady.

Author’s Note:

I hope you’re enjoying this chapter. I’d love to know your thoughts, did you like Yuki’s character? Your feedback is always welcome. Thank you, as always, for reading and supporting my work.