Punch

Closing his eyes for an instant and opening his ears well, he focused on his legs. He moved his toes into his leather boots, trying to sense every inch of his ankles and calves.

Kenji's was activated. Just as the Nekage transferred its energy to its tamer, Rinji snapped forward.

*vrooom* - With the tonnage of a tank and the speed of a gazelle, the Nightblades giant lashed out at Yoichi, leaving a straight groove in the stone surface of the tatami.

Enatsu put his hand in front of his mouth, fearing the worst. Just as his friend was activating his power, the stone warrior had attacked him, leaving him no time to reason.

When the dust lifted by Rinji's impetus dissolved, under the astonished looks of Enatsu and Takamori, the giant's hands were once again resting on the ground.

"Did you lose something, my friend?" Yoichi's cheerful voice exclaimed, coming from the opposite corner of the tatami. The young tamer's legs had completed their transformation in no time: Kenji's black scales covered them entirely, and his feet had adapted to the new reptilian legs, equipped with sharp claws on the fingertips.

Every inch of his new lower limbs had been upgraded, allowing him to dodge that quick attack easily. "If your strategy is speed, I will try to be faster than you!" Yoichi challenged, determined.

Fearlessly, he pointed a hand at Rinji, who looked in his direction. Moving his fingers towards himself, he invited him to try again with the same attack.

Rinji stood still for a few moments, focusing on his opponent's unexpected power-up. Emitting the sound of rock rubbing other rock, his neck rotated in the direction of sensei.

Takamori, visibly amused by the accident, nodded to Renji. With that gesture, the Nightblades guild master gave his warrior a quick command without speaking.

"You can run as far as you want, little Yoichi. But be careful, the ground is uneven" the rock giant grunted, walking towards him. "One misstep and my stone hands could crush you" he added, changing tactics.

He's provoking me. He's trying to use against me the exact strategy I used against Kato. Is your fighting style really that trivial? Yoichi thought. Springing on his strong legs, the young tamer continued to hopping, ready to dash in every direction.

"Bring it on!" he shouted with arrogance, inviting Rinji to attack with a hand gesture. If he keeps on attacking me without thinking, sooner or later, I will find a corner to hit him, he reasoned.

Without loading on his legs, this time, the giant began to run awkwardly towards him. Travelling about two meters with each stride, the titanic warrior came closer and closer to Yoichi.

When the distance between the two warriors became small enough for Rinji to attack, the Nightblades giant punched, without thinking twice.

Yoichi's reptile-foot claws, helpful in increasing his grip on the rough tatami stone, allowed him to move nimbly to the side. The young tamer easily dodged the blow without counterattacking.

Rinji's fist hit the air, unleashing a shockwave in front of him that spread several metres forward. With a slow and relatively predictable movement, the giant attempted a second attack, turning on himself and trying to hit Yoichi with the back of the other hand.

With perfect timing, Yoichi bent his legs, passing under the giant's mighty arm. I can try to hit him! His side is uncovered! He thought quickly, noting that Rinji's rib was helpless due to the attack he had just launched.

Exceeding the expectations of his master, who, until a moment earlier, believed he had put him in trouble, Yoichi again activated Kenji's power. During the dodge, his landing leg remained wrapped in scales, while the leg that had been lifted from the ground returned to its standard shape.

Concurrently, the Nekage's large black scales appeared on his arm: from the upper shoulder to the fingertips, it was enhanced, absorbing the energy coming from the leg.

"Aaaargh!" Yoichi shouted, lashing out at a powerful right hook on Rinji's side to the maximum of his power. The strike scored, hitting the target with a clean shot.

The scaled knuckles of Yoichi's large hand impacted the rock of Rinji's body, unleashing all the accumulated energy on it.

"Wooo!" Enatsu yelled, unable to believe his eyes. Without ever training that particular skill, his comrade had managed to switch the upgrade target from leg to arm. To do so, it only took him a few moments.

The noise that followed the blow was thunderous. Rinji's body remained motionless, in the same position. Yoichi's gaze and that of the stone giant crossed.

"I told you I was going to catch you" Rinji smiled, with his square stone jaw. Before Yoichi could make any other movement, the giant took advantage of the young tamer's moment of recovery.

Having transiently channelled all his strength in his fist, Yoichi could not move on a single foot. The young tamer's hand broke away from Renji's abdomen: his body had not suffered any damage.

Oh, shit. Yoichi thought while a stone fist took shape before his eyes.

*baam* - Making full use of the advantage of his opponent's lowered position, Rinji mercilessly punched Yoichi in the face.

The young warrior's feet broke off the ground, and his body was catapulted metres away. When he crashed to the floor, he rolled over the tatami, suffering further damage.

"No, Yoichi! Yoichi!" Enatsu gasped, frightened. The young merchant, caught in the rush to help his friend, took a step forward. Before he could advance further, a massive ice blade appeared in front of his chest, blocking his run.

Without moving from his position as an observer, Takamori had raised an arm in the direction of the young merchant. From his forearm, a sharp snow-white blade had grown in less than a second.

"Don't you dare interfere, Enatsu. When your turn comes, you'll show me what you're capable of," the guild master ordered. His gaze pointed towards the two fighters.