The First Tokushu Exam, Part 2
Zenatori emerges from the rock, catching the two students off guard. One raised their arm out and said.
"Kaigen Series-" he froze.
Zenatori caught him and threw him to the ground, and looked to see where Yachi was.
"Kaigen series sunkujutsu: Resevoir," Akikyo Yachi muttered under her breath as her palm reached out.
The air in front of her shattered, and a sharp gust of wind flew graciously through the air. The other boy stared as she missed she by the strand of his hair. The trees 30 meters behind the whole instantly reduce to a mere shrub, as the isotonic pressure blasts the leaves off.
When the attack finished, he dropped back and froze in what seemed like fear. Yachi said to Zenatori.
"I missed on purpose, now apprehend him."
Zenatori rushed to the other student and forced him onto the floor.
"I'm sorry, but WHAT was that?!" Zenatori exclaimed.
Yachi briefly chuckled.
"I'll explain it after the exam; let's focus on the matter at hand right now."
Yachi walked forward and absorbed the automorph. Zenatori suddenly paused.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Zenatori said.
"I should say the same thing to you."
"Look, just hand it over."
"Why would I do that..?"
Zenatori sighed.
"I don't want to fight you, Yachi, so let's not do this. Hand it over."
"Sorry, Zenatori, but I'm going to Mashaka."
Zenatori bolts over to Yachi, attempting to intercept her, but Yachi yells.
"KAIGEN SERIES: GREAT BREEZE."
Suddenly, Zenatori feels off. His legs aren't on the ground anymore. He flies through the forest, crashing straight through a tree, tumbling against the ground, skidding on the dirt as he goes. He rapidly thinks,
"She's fooled me. She purposely acted weak so that she could catch me off guard with such a strong blast of wind. I underestimated her."
He got up from the ground and noticed she was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, at least I know she has some type of wind-based syneji. Wait. Could it be that she's in one of the five bloodlines that were made to defeat Rokudan? I remember wind being one of them. Welp, I guess I'll worry about that later. Right now, I need to work on finding another automorph."
He wiped the dust off his legs, letting out one big sigh, and recalibrated himself. But he suddenly felt as if something was off. As he turnt around, he remembered the two students that Yachi and him briefly defeated, but they were now awakened.
The slightly bigger looking one turnt to the other one and said.
"Anzai, focus on defeating Naoko Akari. I'll link up with you after I'm done here."
"Alright, make sure to be quick about it, Iguchi," Anzai said.
"Don't even worry about it," Iguchi said.
Anzai ran off with his brown hair swaying in the distance. Iguchi finally turnt to Zenatori and explained.
"If you couldn't already tell, that is my brother, Anzai Sadoko, and I'm Iguchi Sadoko. We are the newly established Sadoko bloodline."
Zenatori looked deeply for a moment, then stood baffled.
"The who?"
"Geeze, man, you don't even know the Sadoko bloodline? Well, you'll serve as a nice warm-up."
"No man, I'm pretty sure this, 'Sadoko' bloodline is just unknown."
His smirking condescension turnt to a frown nearly instantly as he locked eyes with Zenatori.
"According to that, 'Suda Katashi,' you are with the Ice Queen frequently. You fit his description perfectly. Am I right?"
"I guess so."
"Listen, kid, I don't know who you think you are, but this ends here. Bloodlines of syneji artists are created every once in a while, but none ever make it to big 5. You'll make the perfect example,
"Friend of the Ice Queen, defeated decisively by the Sadoko clan. The prestige my brother and I will gain from defeating the Ice Queen is immeasurable. This exam was just perfect!"
"I still don't know who you are..."
With a fierce scowl, his brow knitted tightly together.
"I guess you'll get to know me more through this battle."
Zenatori then readied his fist, uncertain of what to expect."Well, this isn't very good. I have no idea how strong this guy will truly be. "
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Iguchi calmly smirked.
Zenatori felt his body and thought.
"What the-"
In an instant, he is shot back and slings through the forest, crashing through all the trees. He slides back, recalibrating himself, and looks around. A blade of air flashes behind him, and he failed to even react to Iguchi's speed.
Iguchi grabbed Zenatori by the collar and threw him further through the forest.
"Something's off. His speed and strength don't feel natural at all! He's nearly faster than Katashi! It feels as if his strength is tripled, but I still only feel the weakened form of his raw strength. Is it an application of his syneji?"
Zenatori fell through the forest and tumbled through the dirt, skidding through the branches. He rapidly stood back up and coughed, with a spec of blood hitting the grass.
As Zenatori wiped off the blood, Iguchi emerged from the shrubs looking down on Zenatori.
"Looks like I put a number on you quite fast. Well, that's usually what happens to anyone who underestimates me."
Zenatori ruggedly breathed and rested himself on a tree.
"So what?"
"Huh?"
"It seems that you think you've won already."
"I mean, look at you. You're gravely wounded. How about you quit that pointless determination, and we admit I've won this fight-"
"If I can't beat someone as weak as you, I won't ever achieve my goal."
Suddenly, Iguchi's smile turnt to a grimace, and he felt as if his own conviction was shaken.
"What..?"
"I think you heard me. How does it feel masking all that strength?"
"Masking my strength?! Please! You must think you're a real genius, don't you?! You must think you've figured it all out! Fine then! I'll beat you until you're unrecognizable. Not even the nurse will be able to heal the damage I'll inflict on you-"
Zenatori rushed forward and struck Iguchi, but the strike was aptly dodged. Iguchi grabbed Zenatori's arm and tossed him through the sky. As he flew through the air, he briefly recited.
Suddenly, Zenatori felt the gravity strength to an extreme degree, and he was pushed into the ground, plummeting into the dirt. He felt the ringing."I'm still alive..?" Zenatori mumbled to himself.
He fluttered his eyes back open and looked around him. His body felt numb, and his senses had worn down.
"W-What's going on?"
Iguchi slowly appeared in front of Zenatori and said.
"The squishing of the bug, this is, what a farce."
As he blitzed to Zenatori, Zenatori swiftly grabbed his fist.
"I think I got it all figured out now," he mumbled.
Zenatori strengthened his grip, but the ground beneath him suddenly started vibrating and felt uneven. Before Zenatori could move, the dirt under him caved in, causing him to tumble, releasing his grip. Iguchi went in for the strike, but Zenatori grabbed his arm, pulling him forward, and struck Iguchi square to the jaw.
Iguchi fell backward and tumbled back.
"What the..."
Zenatori looked up as blood trickled down his forehead, but his stance was immovable.
"I'm not exactly sure what the word for it is, but judging from what you're doing, it seems that you are able to redirect pressure. That's how you were able to increase your strength. You did it by just increasing the pressure of your speed and strength. That's also how you were able to form that dent into the ground just now. Once I figured that out, all I needed to do was reinforce my isotonic force to nullify your syneji. Am I correct?"
The sheer appalment on Iguchi's face told the story.
"That shouldn't be possible. None of this should be possible! Who are you?!"
Zenatori looked up and said.
"Me? Well, I'm just a random first year."
Iguchi raised his arms and sneered.
"Fine! Since the cat's out of the bag! You must think this is it!"
He darted his eyes at Zenatori and yelled out.
Zenatori instantly felt a shiver down his spine.
"Huh?!" He briefly thought.
Zenatori felt a mysterious force push against him, and before he knew it, his vision went black.
