Biscuit Oliva.
If you wanted to clearly explain this man, you would probably have to start from the moment he first became famous.
That's right.
Not from why he trained.
Not from why he became strong.
Because when he first appeared in the public eye, he was already like this.
Hands raised high.
That devil's horns pose.
Always gentlemanly.
Always calm.
Always free.
As if he had been born this way.
As if this was how he was supposed to be.
And if you asked why-
-It's because he is Biscuit Oliva.
"Speaking of the world's strongest," the commentator said loudly into the microphone from a helicopter high above, "there have been recent rumors that the king has been defeated. However, those rumors have yet to be confirmed."
"In such a situation, when people talk about the world's strongest-"
"They naturally think of the strongest creature on earth."
The commentator paused.
Then, instead of speaking into the microphone, he raised it high and shouted a name toward the sky.
"-BISCUIT OLIVA!"
Normally, with that kind of movement, the audio pickup would have been terrible.
But the moment he shouted-
The wilderness below erupted.
Countless voices shouted the same name in unison.
Uniform.
Thunderous.
From the helicopter's perspective, looking down-
People filled the land.
Packed so densely that even from the sky, the end of the crowd couldn't be seen.
Most of them had come after hearing today's news.
Some of them couldn't even see the match venue with their own eyes and could only rely on their phones.
Yet they still came.
Why?
-Because today was Biscuit Oliva's match.
And more than that.
The venue itself-
"Oliva Canyon!"
The commentator's voice echoed again.
"Although this canyon did not originally bear that name, due to the disaster everyone is familiar with, it has officially been renamed Oliva Canyon!"
"Biscuit Oliva was undeniably a hero in that disaster."
"He is a symbol of freedom."
"Or rather-"
"That man is freedom itself!"
As the commentator spoke, dozens of men in prisoner uniforms appeared at the top of the canyon.
They carried a massive bed.
Step by step, they moved it forward and placed it at the best viewing position.
At the bottom of the canyon-
Both fighters had arrived.
Jaden Yuki.
Biscuit Oliva.
Jaden was the same as always.
Calm.
Unhurried.
He walked indifferently to his position.
Across from him, Oliva didn't look like someone here to fight.
He was wearing a suit.
Like a gentleman attending a date.
The moment the two appeared, the noise vanished.
Whether watching from the canyon's edge.
Or watching through mobile screens far away.
Everyone fell silent.
Feeling the atmosphere, Oliva raised his arms high.
The classic devil's horns pose.
Then-
His arms dropped.
His posture shifted into a bodybuilder's crab pose.
And-
He disappeared.
No.
Not disappeared.
He separated.
The suit remained.
Frozen in the crab pose.
As if an invisible person were still wearing it.
Only the back of the suit had been torn open.
And Oliva-
He was already standing in front of it.
Arms relaxed at his sides.
Freed from the restraints of clothing, muscles like exoskeleton armor were fully exposed.
At that moment-
The canyon erupted.
The crowd.
The commentator.
All of them cheered.
"Oliva! Oliva!"
Those with poor vantage points raised their phones.
Those with good vantage points did the same.
As a duel venue, the canyon was fine.
As a spectator venue, it was terrible.
No giant screens.
No clear lines of sight.
Everyone had to rely on mobile devices.
In truth, they could have stayed home.
Watching on a screen there would have been more comfortable.
And yet-
They came.
This was passion.
This was devotion.
This was yearning for the name Biscuit Oliva.
As the excitement surged, Oliva glanced around the canyon's edge.
Finally, he looked toward one direction.
He couldn't see clearly.
But he smiled.
-His lover was watching from there.
Then-
His gaze returned to Jaden Yuki.
Even though Jaden wasn't short, standing before Oliva made him look a size smaller.
"I won't lose."
Oliva said it simply.
Jaden didn't respond.
He stood there.
Waiting.
Even Oliva, carried by the atmosphere, gradually noticed something.
Jaden was shorter.
Logically, he should have been looking down at him.
But-
When Jaden looked at Oliva-
It felt like Jaden was the one looking down.
No.
More accurately-
He was looking down at the world.
Oliva's smile slowly faded.
"Now," he said, "even if someone told me you've surpassed Hanma Yujiro..."
"I'd believe it."
In the sky, the commentator saw both fighters ready.
He raised the microphone and shouted.
"MATCH-START!"
The moment his voice fell-
Oliva moved.
The casual tone from moments ago vanished.
His right arm rose.
Jaden's eyes had erased any thought of underestimation.
But-
Oliva also refused to be underestimated.
Facing me.
Relying on physique alone.
Without technique!?
"Don't be too arrogant!"
Veins bulged across half his body.
Muscle swelling grotesquely.
Like a living mass of flesh and power.
Then-
He swung.
A wide arc.
A fist smashing straight toward Jaden's face.
Bang!
The sound exploded through the canyon.
Even the wind and the helicopter were drowned out.
Like a cannon firing.
At first, the crowd roared.
Cheered.
But slowly-
As they saw clearly-
Their voices faded.
Silence fell again.
Because-
Jaden didn't raise his arms.
Didn't dodge.
Didn't defend.
He stood there.
Just as before.
And took Biscuit Oliva's punch directly to the face.
His expression didn't change.
Aside from his face being slightly compressed by the fist-
His eyes remained the same.
Still looking down.
Then-
Through the audio equipment, everyone heard Jaden's calm voice.
Completely indifferent.
"Are you done hitting?"