Inside the Arena!

The Arena had an oval structure and had no roof, exposing the sky above. And, it had tiered stands arranged in three levels, completely surrounding the central area.

At the very top, there was a raised platform with reserved seats for the Feudal Lord and the captains.

In the center, there was a large dirt field, where small patches of wild grass grew here and there without any pattern.

This was the battleground for the duels.

In the stands, there were only soldiers — both ninjas and samurais — and they were all buzzing with excitement for the event.

The Feudal Lord and the group of captains arrived at the platform. Then, the Feudal Lord took the center seat, and the captains followed, each taking their place.

To the left of the Feudal Lord sat Hoshino, followed by Minata, then Suji.

To his right were Hiro, Ichiro, and Aoi — still looking hungover.

Just as Kubo went to sit down next to Aoi, smiling at her, immediately she stood up in annoyance and marched over to the other side where Suji was sitting.

“Move! I want to sit here,” Aoi demanded.

“Get lost, you drunk. This seat’s mine,” Suji snapped, not even looking at her.

“Ah, I see… you want me to sit on your lap, don’t you? Naughty boy,” Aoi said with a teasing grin.

She started to sit on Suji’s lap, but he jumped up instantly, leaving the seat to her and walking off.

Then, Aoi sat and smiled at Minata, who sat beside her. Minata, however, rolled her eyes and turned away in pure irritation.

Meanwhile, Suji sat back in Aoi’s previous spot, next to Kubo.

“You sure you did that blood pact right, Kubo? ‘Cause your girlfriend didn’t just lose her powers, she seems to have lost her mind too,” Suji muttered, to which Kubo said nothing.

A few seats over, Hiro leaned over to Ichiro.

“So, Ichiro… your wife and daughter doing okay?”

“They’re great. You should come by for dinner sometime. Been a while, hasn’t it? Not like we haven’t invited you.”

“I know, my friend… Listen, I promise this week I’ll stop by. I’ll even bring a nice bottle of wine.”

Suddenly, Aoi nearly jumped out of her seat.

“Wine!? Did someone say wine!?” she asked, eyes wide and eager.

Everyone turned toward her, bewildered — especially Hiro and Ichiro, who couldn’t believe she heard that from so far away.

 

***       

 

Back in the Arena field…

The candidates began entering in a line, and the crowd in the stands clapped and cheered as they made their way in.

While all the candidates walked toward the center of the field, the Kamui siblings turned and headed toward the stands to watch.

Seeing this, Kioji’s outrage grew even more.

The candidates reached the middle of the field and stood in a row, facing the high platform where the Feudal Lord and the captains sat.

There were 16 candidates in total: 6 girls and 10 boys, standing randomly along the line.

Shiro scanned the entire row. He seemed to be looking for something. Then, he left his spot and slipped between two girls.

They both gave him strange looks as he smiled goofily at them.

Suddenly, Genmo, the Arena’s appointed judge, stepped in front of the row, holding a small open box in his hands.

“Attention, fighters! I will be the judge of the matches. Inside this box are folded slips of paper numbered from 1 to 16. Each of you will come forward, take a paper, and return to your spot. Follow the order of the line!” explained Genmo.

One by one, the candidates stepped forward, grabbed a slip, and returned to their positions.

The papers were tightly folded, so the number inside couldn’t be seen in advance.

When it was Shiro’s turn, he took a slip, looked at it, then swapped it for another.

Then another.

Then another.

The line stopped as everyone waited, growing increasingly annoyed at Shiro’s indecision.

Just as he was about to switch again, the girl behind him punched him in the head, forcing him to move along.

He walked back to his spot, rubbing his head with a pained expression.

Once everyone had their numbers, they returned to their places in line.

 

***       

 

Elsewhere, inside the Headquarters, someone was running — fast, desperately.

The individual wore a black cloak with a hood, completely covering their body and face.

Behind them, a ninja soldier chased.

“Hey! Stop! Come back here!”

But the person kept running.

The ninja threw a kunai — and it hit the fugitive in the back, dropping them instantly.

The body was motionless.

The soldier approached cautiously and nudged the body over with his foot.

And when he saw the face under the hood, his eyes went wide with shock.

Whatever he saw… it wasn’t something normal.

 

***       

 

Back in the Arena, at the top platform.

The Feudal Lord, observing the candidates closely, he felt a surge of curiosity:

“Captains, tell me… aside from Kurochi Kamui, who isn’t competing, have any of your candidates awakened the ‘X’? Or are they all still at ‘Line’ level?”

The captains began murmuring among themselves. Judging by their expressions, none of them seemed to have a candidate who had reached the X-level.

“It seems not, Feudal Lord. We know that awakening the ‘X’ at this age is a rare case, especially while still in the academy,” answered Hoshino in a proud tone, clearly enjoying the fact that his son was still the only one of the new generation to awaken the X-level so young.

“I see. Most recruits join the army at ‘Line’ level and awaken the next levels here because of the intense routine of training and missions. I asked just in case, you never know. But it seems this wasn’t the time,” said the Feudal Lord with a sigh.

“Actually…” Ichiro began, causing all eyes to turn to him. “There is one of my candidates who has awakened the ‘X’!”

A wave of curiosity spread across the platform.

“Well, say it! Which of your candidates?” asked Hoshino, impatient.

“Sagato!” said Ichiro confidently, pointing at him in the row of candidates.

Everyone looked.

There he was — Sagato — standing still with a serious, calm expression. Always seemingly deep in thought.

Mania, realizing everyone was looking at him, turned with intrigue.

She began to eye him with a mischievous grin.

Sagato, without turning his head, looked back at her with a glance from the corner of his eye, then looked away again with a faint, knowing smile.

“He always seems lost in thought,” noted the Feudal Lord.

“Truth is, this will be a walk in the park for him. Because with his powers, he’s going to win this whole thing… no doubt about it,” Ichiro stated boldly.

Everyone tensed. That wasn’t a bluff.

“Then you'd better not pair him against my girl,” warned Aoi.

“Don’t be stupid!” snapped Minata. “Aside from the fact that candidates from the same captain can't face off in the first round, the matches will be decided by draw. So shut it!”

“You’re only worried about the girl? What about the other one? That walking armory. Why does he even carry that many weapons?” asked Suji.

“I’m not worried about Hanzo. No matter the other candidates’ powers… because he’s here for one thing: to overcome any power.”

Everyone turned their gaze toward Hanzo, who was warming up and stretching casually.

This year’s Arena might be interesting after all, it’s all on you now... Gotan, Mania! Thought Kubo as he glanced toward Gotan, who gave him a confident nod and a smile.

Kubo smiled back, then turned to look at Mania — she was already dozing off standing up. Kubo was left speechless.

 

***        

 

Meanwhile, down on the field.

Genmo, standing before the candidates, resumed his instructions:

“Fighters, now that you've drawn your numbers, you may open your papers and see what number you got.”

All of them unfolded their slips, eyes curious.

Shiro peeked at his — number four.

Nice, four is a lucky number… Wait! Or is it unlucky? He began to think deeply, and then: it’s unlucky! I should’ve stuck with my first pick!

“Alright, now show your numbers so we can register them,” ordered Genmo. “This is to prevent pairing candidates from the same sensei in the first round.”

All the candidates raised their papers, showing their numbers.

 

***     

 

Up in the stands again. At the platform...

Kubo, relaxed, started casually scanning the audience in the stands.

As his eyes swept the rows, he stopped, something caught his attention — a figure wrapped in a black cloak, hood pulled low. Suspicious.

It was clearly the same person seen fleeing through the HQ corridors earlier.

But unlike the rest of the crowd, this figure wore no uniform — neither ninja nor samurai. Just a presence that was off.

Kubo narrowed his eyes, intrigued.

“Hey… look down there. Follow my gaze,” he said calmly.

The other captains followed his line of sight and soon they all spotted the individual.

“A spy from another nation?” guessed Ichiro.

“Doubt it!” said Hiro. “A real spy wouldn’t be that exposed. They know being caught means they’re on their own. They could be tortured or killed. This one’s either reckless… or wants to be seen.”

“And clearly didn’t go through the guards dressed like that? She must’ve slipped in by other means,” said Minata.

“Captains, relax!” said Aoi, lazily. “It’s just a poorly dressed person who came to watch a fun show. Chill out.”

“She’s right! Our strongest soldiers are right here. No need to worry. Whoever it is, we’ll deal with them later,” added Hoshino, calmly.

“Let’s stay focused. The matches are about to begin,” said the Feudal Lord.

Kubo, still watching that mysterious figure, analyzed silently:

If the killer of the Amazo clan really is the same man from Rino’s vision, then that one can’t be him. Judging by the posture, the pose… that's clearly a woman.

The cloaked figure turned slightly, glancing up toward them, then quickly looked away.

From closer angle, it was clear from the face that it was a girl, with a pale skin, dark straight hair, and vertical pupils in her eyes.

Even with her exotic features, she looked harmless. And, she was clearly nervous.

 

***          

 

Back on the field...

Genmo continued:

“Now that you know your numbers, you may leave the field. From now on, whenever two numbers are shown on that screen, their respective candidates must enter to fight. Got it?”

The candidates nodded and turned to look at the screen — an enormous scroll glowing, displaying two separate numbers, both zero.

They exited the field and stood together at a section away from the audience.

“We're ready to begin the Arena's first fight! Fighters, prepare yourselves! Numbers on the screen!” Genmo shouted, raising his hand toward the scroll.

Then, the two numbers on the screen began cycling rapidly and randomly between 1 and 16, switching faster and faster.

The atmosphere turned heavy among the candidates.

Smiles disappeared.

Breathing slowed.

Everyone’s gaze locked on the screen.

The first battle… was about to begin!