Oliva's attack-one that looked like Pac-Man opening its mouth-was his ultimate move.
It looked absurd.
But in reality, ninety percent of fighters facing him in that state wouldn't even know how to respond.
And the moment hesitation appeared-
Their wrist would be seized.
And they would be completely swallowed by that opened "mouth."
The situation Jaden was facing now was no different.
Oliva charged forward, mouth open wide, aiming to bite him.
And Jaden-
He didn't pull back the hand that Oliva had grabbed.
Instead, he clenched his free hand into a fist.
And struck straight toward Oliva's chest.
Jaden had never used lethal force when fighting people in the Baki world.
But this punch-
He used a little more strength than before.
Bang!
The sound wasn't just flesh colliding.
It was an explosion.
A thunderous roar.
Like a meteor striking the earth.
The impact kicked up a violent gale that surged upward from the bottom of the canyon.
At the moment of impact, Jaden planted his feet firmly into the ground.
Oliva still tried to force his grip.
Still tried to attack regardless of the cost.
But under that punch-
Willpower became meaningless.
That overwhelming force tore his grip apart.
And Oliva's entire body was blasted from one side of the canyon to the other.
This canyon wasn't uniform.
Where Jaden and Oliva stood was its widest point.
The farther back it extended, the narrower the gap between the rock walls became.
At first, Oliva was simply flying backward.
But as the canyon narrowed-
The force had nowhere to go.
Two massive cracks tore open along both rock walls.
The farther he was driven, the deeper the cracks became.
Then the ground began to shake.
Violently.
At the very end, Oliva slammed down.
Motionless.
And the canyon around him-
Began to collapse.
At both ends, the rocks at the very top broke loose.
And the entire ceiling of the canyon started to fall.
The commentator froze.
The spectators fell silent.
No one knew what to say.
Because Oliva was lying there.
And the collapsing canyon-
The weight of those falling rocks-
It was like a mountain dropping from the sky.
Forget about the heavily injured, unmoving Oliva.
Even if he had been uninjured, being crushed like this would leave no chance of survival.
They wanted to save him.
But-
They couldn't.
Even scrambling fighter jets immediately wouldn't change anything.
This was a disaster beyond human response.
Watching the broadcast, Kaku Kaioh shook his head.
Yujiro Hanma, after a long moment of silence, let out a quiet snort.
Other fighters came to the same conclusion.
Oliva was finished.
But Baki-
Baki noticed something.
And his eyes widened.
He was the first.
But not the last.
Because someone had appeared beside Oliva.
The moment the commentator saw the figure through the equipment, his voice exploded through the megaphone.
"It's Jaden Yuki!"
"He's gone to Mr. Oliva's side!"
"What is he trying to do!?"
Everyone looked.
And then-
They witnessed something that shattered their understanding of the world.
Facing countless falling boulders, Jaden simply clenched his fist.
And punched upward.
Boom-
At that instant, a miracle occurred.
The falling rocks didn't continue downward.
They shot upward.
Faster than they had fallen.
And in the violent gale created by that impact-
They disintegrated.
Turned to dust.
Countless massive rocks vanished in an instant.
Gone.
What remained-
Was a basin.
A small, circular basin carved into the earth.
The entire top of the canyon was erased.
The surrounding area was blown outward.
Leaving Jaden and Oliva standing at the very center of the pit.
Ah...
No one could speak.
The spectators.
The commentator.
The fighters watching the broadcast.
All of them were frozen.
And the one most shocked-
Was Oliva himself.
Lying on the ground beside Jaden.
He had already accepted death.
When the falling rocks blocked out the sunlight, he knew he was finished.
But-
Jaden had come.
And Jaden had chosen to punch.
And-
Those countless rocks, heavy enough to bury everything beneath them-
Had been shattered by a single strike.
At that moment, Oliva understood something clearly.
Jaden hadn't just avoided using techniques.
He had been holding back the entire time.
Otherwise-
There was no way Oliva could believe that a punch capable of shattering a mountain hadn't killed him.
Slowly, Oliva closed his eyes.
"What a failure..."
"A failure in every sense."
"Failed to defeat my opponent."
"A failure."
"Failed to make him use his full strength."
"A failure."
"And even..."
"I, Biscuit Oliva, failed to make him serious enough to enjoy the fight."
"There is no greater failure than this."
He opened his eyes.
Forced his body to move.
Barely propped himself up.
And stared at the figure walking away into the depths of the canyon.
With the loudest voice he could muster, he shouted-
"Jaden!"
"I lost this time!"
"But whether it's ten years or twenty-wait for me!"
"I'll stand in front of you again someday!"
After shouting, all his strength left him.
He collapsed back onto the ground.
Then, in a much quieter voice-one meant only for himself-he added:
"Next time..."
"Next time, I'll at least make you fight me seriously."
The words were faint.
But Jaden heard them.
Even from far away.
He smiled slightly.
Next time, huh...
His arrival had probably placed immense pressure on this world.
With personalities like theirs-
Even Yujiro Hanma would continue pushing himself after Jaden left.
Getting stronger was good.
He hoped that the next time he came-
They would surprise him.
With that thought, Jaden didn't look back.
Because the moment he shattered the falling rocks-
Kuriboh had flown out from the card box on his chest.
Hovered by his ear.
And delivered a single message.
-Influence collection complete. Old Man Kaiba has arrived.