I Surrender the Fight

Zumo, whose real name appeared to be Ralphie in reality, put his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes. Ralphie talked with Number One in the midst of the ongoing fights.

"You were the one who shot Zumo in the leg as part of the SM Agency. In front of my eyes, you injured him. It's a moron's play to use your "role" to gain an advantage and wreck our people's lives. What would you do if you were to be renounced of your responsibilities? You'd just stand there, afraid to shoot, because the agency and its global government would have hunted you down for committing an unintentional murder."

"That's correct. Ralphie, it's been a while. I'd like to thank you for coming back to see me. I'd like to talk to you about some "things." First, a warning concerning the final outcome of our conflict. Because I didn't get the chance to shoot you the last time, I'd rather you died now. Battling me and struggling to win is not a good idea, and the next item I'd want to talk about is Zumo."

The cooks' realization of Ralphie's true nature came as little surprise, but the rest of Tim's buddies were taken aback, and Codey instantly reacted by turning in the direction of Ralphie. "There are two different agencies? The SM Agency and the SP Agency are two agencies. Do you recognize the name Yules based on your expertise and your status as an official member of the SP Agency? We encountered him as one of the "Most-Trusted Agents" in Oxfell Arton. You must tell me everything there is to know about him; it is needed, and I will not stop asking until you do. But I'm busy right now, and so are you."

"Yeah, Yules was the one who came to confront me and Zumo. Why does that matter?"

"Because I'm his brother, or so he told me. Anyway, we don't have time to talk; hurry ahead and beat him so I can learn everything there is to know about Yules as quickly as possible."

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to tell you, but if he's your brother, we're suddenly enemies. I'm not going to trust someone who is related to a member of the SM Agency who attacked us and almost killed Zumo..."

"Oh? So you claim to have some hope for him to still be alive, Ralphie? You truly think that your cooking master survived back then? He's definitely dead."

"Despite witnessing that gigantic ship being blown to bits, Zumo swore that he'd see me again, and on that basis, I'll listen. I'm confident he's still alive and avoided the hellfire if he promised."

"How did you come to that conclusion? He couldn't get away fast enough, and even if he could, how could he swim with his arms and legs bound? It's impossible; he'd sink and die before you even realized it! I'm Number One for a reason; I was previously a member of the 'Number Family', which has existed for generations. I've been persuaded to join the SM Agency in order to track down you and other villains who try to cause trouble, such as Castlemania's current order giver, Muro. We were on our way there, but decided to stop at this uninteresting eatery on the way. We feel compelled to kill Muro, who, thanks to the gigantic bomb he's been making, nearly killed our team in the blink of an eye. I can't afford to lose in this situation. Unless, if Alfred pretends to be retreating, I guess I'll have to murder that snotty little jerk another day! But first, allow me to clean up this mess and introduce demise to you and to your new pals."

"I've mastered my Kicking Style and developed my durability everyday. It's time to show you just how strong I can kick."

Number One snatched a metal bat from behind his back. He dashed toward Ralphie, dragging a bat that he was about to smack into Ralphie's head. Ralphie readied for the attack and leaped back, causing the bat to slam into the ice on the ground. Ralphie then hopped forward and obliquely kicked Number One on the left side of his face, knocking him to the side. He then kicked Number One in the left hip, followed by a kick upward into Number One's chin. He was thrown into the air and lost control of his body.

Ralphie crouched and leapt after Number One, kicking his sole into Number One's stomach from one side to the other. The powerful kick launched Number One through the air, crushing him on the hard ice, which was surrounded by steam from the ice. In the midst of the steam, Number One's silhouette loomed in Ralphie's vision. He rapidly jumped from the position up to a viable distance in front of Ralphie, swinging his own bat and hopefully smashing Ralphie into the hip.

Ralphie lifted his right leg and stopped the strike before the bat shattered his bones, and then he spun in the air and kicked Number One in the face with his instep, flinging him back onto the ice, where he crashed and began to lose his equilibrium.

Ralphie landed on the ice after falling from the sky. Number One regained his equilibrium and irritably revealed his hatred for Ralphie. He seized his bat and hoisted it high above his right shoulder, slamming his sole into the ground to generate speed and launch himself toward Ralphie, who backstepped and raised his left leg, absorbing the bat's force. When the bat smashed into Ralphie's shin, he was stunned.

The impact caused a violent whirlwind, scattering ice, particles, and steam over the area and cracking the ice beneath them. Despite the reckless attack on Ralphie, his legs proved to be stronger than expected, allowing him to extend his elevated leg forward and slam the bottom of his sole into Number One's stomach, causing him to gasp for air and fall to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

Ralphie held his right leg in front of his stomach as he raised his right foot and arms. "Hundred Row Kicks!" A barrage of kicks began pummeling into Number One's body as a result of his first kick's unexpected momentum, causing him to feel pain and barely endure the attacks. Ralphie leaped in the air and flipped with a readied leg after delivering multiple kicks in a row to Number One. "Skull-Breaking Kick!" He dropped from the sky and slammed his heel into the top of Number One's head, crushing him into the ground. He then executed a devastating kick, shattering the ice to the sides and even stomping Number One's body through the ice and into the ocean, splashing on impact.

While Ayuka and Karisa continued to eat their lunch, Ayuka swooshed her arm up into the air while holding the fork in his left arm in front of her mouth and called out. "Great job, Ralphie! I knew you would do it!"

Ralphie closed his eyes and spun around with his eyes turning into pink hearts. "I didn't want to disappoint a lovely customer such as yourself, dear angel!"

Kou crossed his arms while watching him from afar and became extremely unamused. "Do we really want another pervert on the ship? Dealing with one is too much already..."

Number One's body was then seen swimming to the surface and grasping the edge of the cracked ice, his entire body wet and hardly able to move. Ralphie looked down at him with a serious expression on his face and was about to kick him when Number One submitted. "Stop, I'm not going to fight. You've already won, and my body is hardly moving. Please don't kill me..."

"Why shouldn't I? You shot someone essential in my life, and now you expect me to forgive you?"

"Zumo... Yes, he was shot, but the bullet didn't kill him, as you recall. Yules was the one who killed your friend, and I had nothing to do with it, so please spare me. You've already accomplished a great deal, and I've learned there's no way to defeat you..."

Ralphie lowered his leg and knelt in front of Number One, who gave him a direct stare. Ralphie extended his arm forward to assist Number One in climbing out of the water, after which he stepped to the side and sat down on the icy ice.

"Number Two! Don't fight anymore!"

Number Two's attention was swiftly drawn to Number One's demand, which took him off guard, and Codey dashed into the air and kicked forward.

"I got you this time!"

Number Two bowed forward, committing to ending the conflict, and Codey's body flung over Number Two's, who dodged him once more. Codey shouted and slammed into the growing ice, which heaped up on top of him.

Number Two was taken aback and went around to check on Codey, whose body had been wedged between the ice and the pieces' edges. His expression was serious as he realized he hadn't managed to land a single attack.

"How can you be so lucky to dodge every attack I sent at you?! What the hell are you?!"

Meanwhile, Tim was still fighting Alfred, who had moved his concentration to his two sidekicks. It enraged him to see his sidekicks abandon the fight, and he prepared to scream, but was interrupted by Tim, who appeared out of nowhere and delivered a strong blow to Alfred's face. Alfred's body was easily thrown across the frozen ship's deck and into the wall by the force of the blow.

Tim touched down and continued to pant.