Dark fmes flicker. The underground battlefield is silent, save for the faint crackling of embers and the heavy, rumbling growl of the monstrous shadow hound before her.

  Yumi tries to push herself up, but pain nces through her ribs. She winces. “Damn it…” Her fingers dig into the stone floor. She can barely move. Her vision blurs, but she forces herself to focus on the fight.

  She has to see this.

  She lifts her gaze—And Watari is gone.

  The massive shadow dog tenses— A sudden burst of wind explodes behind it.

  A violent crack of thunder follows.

  Watari stands there, back turned, greatsword raised in a completed ssh motion.

  A single moment of silence.

  Then—A streak of lightning arcs through the beast’s body. Its massive form shudders violently.

  A monstrous howl shakes the walls as its body is torn apart by an unseen force. Yumi’s breath catches.

  “I didn’t even see him move.”

  The ground beneath the dog splinters from the impact of the strike. Arcs of wild electricity slither through the air before dispersing. Watari exhales slowly, straightening his stance.

  Then, under his breath—he names the technique.

  “Thundercp Rend.”

  The beast roars in defiance. Its massive, shadowy form convulses, but before it can fall, it retaliates.

  With a vicious snarl, it swipes its colossal cws forward—A massive crescent-shaped wave of darkness erupts from the motion, slicing through the air toward Watari.

  Watari’s eyes narrow.

  He vanishes just before impact, blitzing across the battlefield. Yumi’s vision wavered, but her mind remained sharp, analyzing every movement Watari made.

  Even in her state, she couldn’t deny it—his speed was monstrous. “This isn’t just Yoriki level… no, this is closer to Heishi.”

  Her fingers twitched slightly, still gripping her sais.

  “No… not just Heishi. His potential is…” Her thoughts trailed off as she watched him move.

  A regur Ashigaru—the lowest rank—wouldn’t even be able to see him.

  An Okachi might be able to track his movements, but wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

  A Yoriki, someone of her level when she first got her core, would struggle against just his raw energy alone.

  And yet, here he was—still just a Yoriki.

  Her chest ached as she exhaled, barely keeping herself conscious.

  “He fights like an Okachi… but his potential…”

  She clenched her teeth.

  “He could become a Musabori… or even a Hoju.”

  Watari bounces off the walls, a blur of white-blue electricity. The air shrieks with the sound of his rapid movement. The beast snaps its head around, trying to track him.

  But before it can react— Watari crashes in from its blind spot.

  A second thunderous strike.

  His sword erupts with electricity, carving through shadow and muscle alike.

  Another howl. The beast stumbles. But this time—

  It learns. With a snarl, it pnts its massive paws down, and from its throat, a sphere of pure darkness begins to form.

  Yumi’s eyes widen. “A shadow breath attack…?”

  The beast unleashes the devastating bst—a sphere of concentrated void energy, rge enough to swallow a building.

  But—Watari doesn’t falter. With a sharp pivot, he sshes forward. Lightning erupts from his bde. The attack is cleaved in half. The darkness dissipates instantly.

  Yumi blinks.

  “He… he cut through it like it was a cake.”

  The beast stares at Watari, its massive frame twitching. Watari locks eyes with the beast. Thinking to himself,

  “I can’t just run. I need to move like the wind. I think this sword generates more electricity the more I move. So…..I have to be the storm.”

  Suddenly the beasts sms its front paws down, sending wave after wave of shockwaves through the ground—It tries to force Watari into a direct hit.

  But Watari?

  He moves like a storm.

  He vanishes again, weaving through the attacks with fluid precision.Then, something changes.

  He stops running in random patterns.

  Instead—He starts circling the beast.

  Yumi furrows her brow. “What’s he…?”

  Watari keeps moving.

  The faster he runs, the more electricity arcs off his body. Each step leaves a faint trail of light.

  Ten times.

  He circles the beast ten times.

  Yumi realizes too te what’s happening. Then—Watari slides to a stop.

  His foot scrapes against the stone.

  He taps the greatsword against the ground.

  The moment the metal meets the earth—Lightning ignites.

  A single crackling spark follows his path.

  Then another. Then—A massive surge of electricity erupts, forming a perfect ring around the shadow hound.

  The battlefield is engulfed in a spiraling vortex of white-blue lightning. Watari’s voice echoes through the chaos.

  “Stormfang—”

  The circle tightens. The beast howls.

  “Kirin.”

  The lightning colpses inward. BOOM.

  A massive explosion of raw energy.

  When the smoke clears— The shadow dog is gone. Not regenerating. Not reforming. Gone.

  Yumi can only stare.

  Watari, his back still turned, exhales slowly.

  The storm subsides.

  The greatsword rests against his back, slung into position like an idle weapon. The soft glow of his lightning aura fades—but his eyes still gleam with an undeniable fire.

  Then, finally—He turns toward Yumi. With a bright, childish grin, he scratches the back of his head.“Hey, Mii-chan. You okay?”

  Yumi, still coughing from exhaustion, barely lifts her head. Through gritted teeth, she groans: “It’s… Yu-chan, idiot.” Then she immediately passes out with a small smile on her face.