Far away from Akashi and Omoshiro's battlefield.
yggdrasil.
Masaru Kenji stood across from Kanji.
Calling him simply a man somehow felt insufficient.
His body carried a massive pressence, He towered around 1.95 meters in height, built with the proportions of a heavyweight fighter whose body had long surpassed aesthetics and entered pure functionality. His frame looked dense in a way that felt strange to observe, His muscles did protrude dramatically, Carried an almost frightening heaviness, like every inch of his body had been compacted under impossible force over countless years.
His orange hair moved slightly beneath surrounding currents, rough and wild in appearance, spiked unevenly as though refusing structure entirely. His face carried harsh masculine features shaped by years of violence and pressure, his jawline sharp, nose slightly crooked from old fractures, while faint scars traveled across portions of his skin like old roads abandoned by time. His eyes looked dark at first glance, yet anyone staring long enough would notice microscopic fracture-like patterns spreading throughout them, tiny cracks resembling pressure damage spreading beneath glass, creating the unsettling sensation that tremendous force remained trapped somewhere beneath the surface.
His hands looked almost inhuman.
Scar tissue layered endlessly over his knuckles and fingers while thick calluses had distorted natural shape, each finger carrying years of accumulated punishment until they resembled weapons that had forgotten they were originally part of a human body.
He wore nothing over his torso.
His bare chest revealed dense musculature beneath skin carrying old impact scars and faint traces of previous injuries, while a massive dragon tattoo covered his body like a living creature wrapped around him. Dark scales began around his neck before extending diagonally across his chest and abdomen, continuing downward before disappearing across his back entirely where the dragon completed itself. The scales possessed incredible complexity, because small sections resembled fractured stone while others looked almost alive beneath changing light.
Solid black martial wristbands covered his forearms.
Dark combat trousers extended down his legs, woven from material reinforced through Yin integration, carrying faint shockwave patterns that occasionally illuminated beneath movement like distant electrical veins.
He stood barefoot.
Dust particles continuously vibrated around him despite complete absence of wind. Small pebbles shifted unpredictably across the surface. Tiny fractures occasionally spread through the ground before disappearing again. The branch beneath him emitted low vibrations resembling distant thunder traveling beneath stone.
Tau glowed across his arms.
The symbol burned with a deep amber color resembling magma beneath fractured earth.
Force surrounded him.
The frightening thing about Masaru's Yin came from how uncomplicated it was, Tau cared nothing about elegance and cared nothing about visual complexity. Tau existed purely to carry impact beyond ordinary limits. Every strike entered matter itself and traveled through it with almost no loss of energy, meaning distance held almost no meaning once Masaru decided to attack.
Earlier, Masaru had simply stomped the branch beneath his feet, and nearly half a kilometer away Kanji suddenly felt the surface beneath him violently erupt upward into countless spikes and shockwaves that nearly shattered his ribs despite Masaru standing nowhere near him.
Kanji's Yin Armor covered sections of his body while golden currents of energy flowed across his skin.
Light Mode remained active.
Yin symbols drifted around him.
His breathing had become heavier.
Masaru – ''You know, kid, Dodging that is a feat on itself.''
Kanji lowered his head slightly.
His expression carried that same sadness still buried inside him, because even while fighting and growing stronger and entering this insane world of Yin users and organizations and endless mysteries, somewhere beneath all of it his family remained there inside his mind.
Kanji – ''Can you move? Im am not interested on you!"
Masaru's smile widened.
Masaru – ''Who are you to chose who you fight, Know your place"
The branch exploded.
Masaru launched forward.
Kanji reacted instantly.
Both fists collided.
The shockwave tore directly through the branch beneath them and split massive sections of bark apart like tectonic plates separating.
Kanji slid backward.
Masaru did not.
Tau immediately activated.
The branch beneath him suddenly shook.
His eyes widened.
The shockwave wasn't coming toward him.
It was coming from beneath him.
The entire branch erupted upward.
Kanji barely crossed his arms before an explosion of force launched him through several kilometers of tree surface, his body skipping across bark ridges like a stone bouncing across water.
Masaru moved immediately.
His body accelerated while Tau spread through the branch beneath his feet, allowing force itself to travel through matter and push him forward with absurd momentum.
Then he arrived.
A punch traveled toward Kanji.
Kanji blocked.
The impact generated another massive explosion.
Kanji suddenly grabbed Masaru's arm.
Golden energy erupted violently.
Light Mode X10 + Dragon Hands.
Massive golden arms manifested behind Kanji and immediately grabbed Masaru before slamming him downward with enough force to collapse several layers of branch terrain.
Kanji followed immediately.
Yin currents exploded around him.
Masaru crashed downward through bark and stone-like structures before Kanji appeared above him and drove both fists downward.
Impact.
Another explosion.
Another.
Another.
Masaru's body tore through multiple layers before finally emerging from the branch entirely.
Masaru became a projectile.
Then kilometers.
suddenly—
Far away within the city battlefield...
Akashi moved toward Omoshiro with his fist pulled backward while red energy compressed around him.
Omoshiro simultaneously manipulated surrounding pressure currents and accelerated toward him.
Both prepared to collide.
Then something entered Akashi's peripheral vision.
Akashi's eyes shifted.
His body immediately moved sideways.
A human body flew directly between them.
It was Masaru, He crashed into the ground below.
The resulting impact erased several city blocks instantly.
Dust spread.
Then slowly...
All four looked at each other.
Kanji stood several hundred meters away, still surrounded by golden energy, Flying.
Masaru slowly pulled himself from the crater.
Akashi floated in the air surrounded by crimson Omega energy.
Omoshiro hovered through compressed atmospheric currents.
Akashi looked toward Kanji.
Kanji looked toward Akashi.
Omoshiro looked toward Masaru.
Masaru looked toward everyone.
Several seconds passed.
Then Akashi pointed downward.
Akashi – ''...Golden boy, guess its time for round 2!"
Akashi remained floating above the fractured battlefield while crimson Omega energy drifted around his body in unstable spirals.
Masaru slowly rolled his shoulder while fragments of destroyed concrete continued falling from his bare torso, the dragon tattoo across his chest flexing alongside dense muscle as pressure currents vibrated beneath his feet hard enough to create tiny shock fractures throughout the branch surface below him. His dark eyes shifted away from Akashi for only a second before locking toward Kanji again, and that single glance alone carried enough aggression to reveal the truth immediately.
Kanji looked back toward him with equal hostility, golden Yin currents slowly circulating around his body while Light Mode illuminated the dust surrounding him in radiant waves. Parts of his clothing remained torn from previous impacts while blood traveled slowly across his forearms from blocking Akashi's attacks earlier, yet his attention no longer rested entirely on the crimson-haired monster floating above them.
Kanji wanted answers.
Masaru stood between him and those answers.
Akashi noticed instantly.
Akashi, grinning wider while lowering slowly toward the battlefield – ''Oh this is way better, I believed the two of you were about to do something painfully boring like working together against me.''
Masaru cracked his neck slowly before tightening his fists hard enough for visible pressure distortions to ripple through the surrounding atmosphere.
Masaru – ''You talk too much for somebody interrupting another man's battlr, and if you keep floating there smiling like that I might just decide crushing your skull sounds more satisfying than finishing my original fight.''
Kanji stepped forward simultaneously while Dragon Hands slowly manifested behind him again, larger than before, their golden scales radiating enough light to illuminate portions of the massive branch beneath them.
Kanji – ''I do not care which one of you I need to kill anymore, Every second spent around people like you only reminds me how disgusting this entire world has become after Yin entered my life.''
Akashi actually laughed hearing that.
Loud enough for nearby military helicopters to pick up clearly through their damaged microphones.
Akashi – ''Now that right there is the ultimate hypocrisy!"
Kanji attacked Masaru first.
Golden Dragon Hands surged forward violently while Kanji himself accelerated directly behind them, Light Mode pushing his physical output far beyond normal human limits as his fist aimed directly toward Masaru's jaw with enough force to collapse nearby structures through displaced air pressure alone.
Masaru answered immediately.
Tau activated through his entire body at once while shockwaves traveled downward through the branch beneath him before rebounding upward through his stance like stored tectonic force. He stepped forward directly into Kanji's attack instead of retreating from it, his own fist colliding against Kanji's mid-punch with such density that the resulting impact created a circular explosion spreading across nearly half the battlefield.
Akashi entered the collision from above.
He descended rotating violently through the air before driving a devastating axe kick directly toward both fighters simultaneously, Omega energy concentrating around his leg until the entire limb glowed crimson white from compression heat alone.
Masaru sensed him first.
His hand slammed upward while pressure currents condensed around his forearm, intercepting Akashi's descending kick directly above Kanji's head. The collision generated a localized shockwave so concentrated that nearby debris evaporated instantly while sections of the building collapsed downward into open air beneath them.
Kanji used that exact moment.
His Dragon Hands wrapped violently around Masaru's torso while Kanji himself pivoted sideways and launched a brutal elbow directly toward Akashi's ribs during the brief clash between Omega and Tau.
Akashi twisted mid-air.
The elbow barely missed his torso by centimeters.
He caught Kanji's arm instantly afterward and redirected the momentum downward, launching Kanji directly into the branch of the tree, surface hard enough to create a crater stretching across multiple city blocks built along the yggdrasil.
Masaru attacked Akashi immediately afterward.
The spear returned to his hand through compressed Tau formation while fire-like pressure currents spiraled around its tip. He thrust forward repeatedly with terrifying precision, every movement transmitting force not only through direct contact but through the surrounding terrain itself, meaning Akashi simultaneously faced visible spear strikes and invisible impact waves erupting upward beneath his feet.
Akashi flowed around them beautifully.
His body moved almost lazily despite the absurd violence surrounding him, He redirected spear thrusts using minimal movement while spinning between pressure detonations with impossible balance.
Then Kanji returned.
The crater exploded upward behind Akashi while golden energy erupted into the sky like a solar flare, and Kanji launched from within the destruction at massively increased speed compared to earlier exchanges.
He was adapting.
Rapidly.
Akashi smiled immediately after noticing.
Kanji appeared beside him almost instantly before unleashing an enormous spinning kick aimed directly toward Akashi's skull. Akashi blocked with one arm while simultaneously ducking beneath another spear thrust from Masaru, but the combined timing finally forced him backward several meters across the battlefield.
Masaru noticed too.
That realization alone changed the atmosphere entirely.
Kanji attacked Masaru again immediately afterward because despite their temporary synchronization neither trusted the other enough to maintain focus solely on Akashi. Golden constructs erupted across the battlefield while Kanji launched dozens of glowing weapons toward Masaru from multiple directions simultaneously.
Masaru answered through overwhelming force.
Tau currents surged through the branch beneath them while entire sections of terrain erupted upward into massive walls of compressed debris and stone, intercepting Kanji's barrage before exploding outward again into thousands of deadly fragments.
Akashi entered directly through the middle of both attacks.
Crimson Omega energy coated his arms before he unleashed a devastating combination across both fighters simultaneously, his fists moving fast enough to generate repeated sonic detonations with every strike.
A hook toward Masaru.
A spinning elbow toward Kanji.
A knee strike toward Masaru's ribs.
A reverse kick toward Kanji's jaw.
Kanji blocked several strikes before retaliating through rapid Light Mode bursts enhancing every movement beyond previous limits. Masaru continuously manipulated battlefield positioning through Tau pressure transmissions while using his spear alongside devastating close-range physical attacks.
Meanwhile Akashi fought both effortlessly.
Akashi existed on another level entirely regarding combat understanding itself.
Even while facing two elite Yin users attacking independently from different directions with completely different fighting styles, Akashi still controlled the pace of the battle.
Entire districts along the branch continued collapsing throughout the fight.
Military helicopters struggled maintaining altitude after repeated shockwaves destabilized the surrounding atmosphere constantly. Civilians trapped farther below screamed while emergency sirens echoed endlessly through ruined sections of the city beneath Yggdrasil's shadow.
Every exchange with Akashi carried the unbearable sensation of trying to strike against something standing several dimensions above him in combat comprehension, no matter how much force he produced, no matter how quickly Light Mode evolved his body and reactions mid battle, Akashi somehow remained ahead of everything by margins so precise they became infuriating. The crimson-haired monster flowed through violence with almost artistic comfort while the battlefield around them continuously collapsed beneath leftover force alone.
Akashi was enjoying himself too much.
That meant he still was not threatened.
Kanji slid backward across fractured stone while steam-like golden Yin currents escaped from his skin in unstable bursts, his breathing heavier now as countless calculations collided inside his mind simultaneously. The city below them burned in scattered sections beneath the endless shadow of the world tree while helicopters struggled desperately to maintain distance from the battlefield, their cameras barely functioning through the repeated pressure distortions erupting through the atmosphere.
Masaru stood several dozen meters away crushing debris beneath his bare feet while orange currents pulsed throughout his muscular frame like molten pressure trapped inside human flesh. Dust continuously vibrated around him because Tau naturally destabilized the environment whenever his emotional state intensified, and his dark eyes became light grey.
Golden cracks of light spread across kanji, Gauntlets appeared in each hand, While the Dragon Hands behind him dissolved into raw energy again, compressing back into his body through violent spiraling currents that illuminated entire portions of the battlefield beneath him.
Kanji (in his own mind)– ''This feeling is disgusting, After everything i STILL feel weak and pathetic!"
Akashi's smile widened instantly.
Kanji raised his head slowly afterward, his eyes glowing brighter while Light Mode surged throughout his nervous system hard enough to make nearby air currents distort around his body.
The branch beneath Kanji exploded.
Golden light erupted outward violently while pressure waves traveled through the battlefield hard enough to crack nearby structures apart before the actual power-up even completed.
Kanji – ''LIGHT MODE TIMES FIFTY!!''
Massive golden shockwaves spiraled outward from Kanji's body while his gauntlets reconstructed themselves entirely, becoming larger, denser, layered with glowing inscriptions and mechanical-looking Yin patterns that continuously shifted across their surfaces like living circuitry. His muscles compressed tighter beneath his skin while glowing lines spread throughout his arms, neck and chest in radiant fractures resembling sunlight breaking through shattered glass.
The atmosphere around him destabilized instantly.
Buildings already damaged throughout the branch collapsed completely while sections of the battlefield melted beneath the sudden release of energy.
Akashi looked genuinely excited.
Kanji disappeared.
No sonic boom followed immediately because his acceleration surpassed the atmosphere's ability to process displacement properly before secondary shockwaves finally erupted behind him several milliseconds later. He appeared directly beside Akashi almost instantly, twisting his body into a devastating uppercut enhanced by Times Fifty output and reinforced through the new gauntlets compressing enormous amounts of force directly into the strike.
Akashi barely moved in time.
The uppercut missed his jaw by centimeters.
The consequences still devastated everything around them.
The displaced wind alone generated a vertical shockwave column that tore upward through the atmosphere like an anti-air missile launch, splitting clouds apart instantly while several distant drones simply disintegrated from the pressure burst.
Akashi's eyes widened slightly.
Kanji followed immediately afterward with relentless aggression, his boxing stance now incredibly refined despite the overwhelming emotional instability behind his attacks. Jabs exploded forward repeatedly at hypersonic velocity while every missed strike generated compressed detonations throughout the battlefield beneath them.
Akashi blocked several.
Dodged others.
Forcing Akashi into serious defensive movement.
Masaru watched everything unfolding while heat distortions rippled around his body more violently with every passing second. His pride had already suffered enough damage during this encounter, and watching Kanji suddenly rise closer toward Akashi's level ignited something deeply aggressive inside him.
Tau erupted.
Orange light exploded throughout Masaru's body while pressure currents condensed around his skin dense enough to resemble molten metal glowing beneath flesh. The branch beneath his feet cracked apart continuously while surrounding debris began floating upward through inverted pressure displacement.
He resembled a miniature star beginning collapse.
Heat waves spread outward from his body in overlapping distortions while the dragon tattoo across his torso almost appeared alive beneath the burning orange glow consuming him.
Kanji noticed immediately.
Akashi noticed too.
Masaru slowly raised his hand afterward.
Two fingers extended forward casually.
A gun gesture.
The atmosphere around his fingertips compressed violently.
Masaru – ''The both of you, DIE!!"
Orange pressure condensed further.
Further.
A massive blast erupted forward instantly.
Tau converted force itself into concentrated directional destruction. The beam tore through the place like a compressed tectonic lazer unleashed in straight-line form, vaporizing a entire branch while surrounding air ignited orange from friction alone.
Kanji and Akashi both reacted simultaneously.
Too late.
The blast consumed their positions instantly.
It resembled a semi-nuclear detonation occurring directly beside Yggdrasil.
Red eyes watched From above.
Orange and crimson light engulfed almost everything visible while an expanding dome of destruction erupted outward across the branch surface, vaporizing nearby structures completely and launching enormous fragments of debris into the sky. distant skyscrapers collapsed through consecutive shock impacts traveling kilometers away from the epicenter.
The mushroom-shaped explosion climbed upward through the atmosphere beneath the endless branches of the tree, illuminating the darkened city below in burning orange light.
Windows exploded across dozens of districts simultaneously.
People screamed while watching the distant branch consumed beneath what genuinely looked like a nuclear strike occurring above the skyline.