Kai's battle instincts, Another kill, and Ambush

One breath One kill!

It was a killing method Kai had developed inadvertently in the last six months while deciphering, restructuring, and transforming an endless amount of runes.

This method used the principles of Occlumency and Legilimency, along with Kai's understanding of these principles.

Using this method, Kai could suppress all thoughts, memories, and emotions of the opponent. Then, he forced the target to undergo the calculations equivalent to his 1 hour-long session, compressed in one breath. It didn't mean he remembered 1 million runes, though.

Kai remembered a lot. True enough. But even he had a limit. Nor had he ever believed in randomly imprinting things in his mind.

This wasn't according to the Will of a Scientist.

What Kai truly depended on, and took confidence in, was his mastery of understanding the principles of runic variations. He remembered tens of thousands of runes, and how to deconstruct and reconstruct them to gain a new rune, letting him increase the number to a million.

It was like understanding a mathematical concept or principle by heart. Then, if needed, one could just derive many formulas based on that concept according to the applications.

This was where Kai's monstrosity lay; the chosen and promised prodigy of an entire world.

Aside from his Selfless Breathing Art, this was the second method that entirely belonged to him.

Even Kai himself would become a simpleton if he were to undergo an hour's worth of his calculations in one breath. Much less needed to be said about someone like the butt-slapped female. But only this wouldn't have been able to overload her brain, making her head explode.

At the core, this was a killing method based on Legilimency. So, naturally, it contained Kai's Mana, a wisp of which was contained in every rune. Counting together, it might not have come close to even 20 MP, but in the matter of minds, this was enough.

This absurd and hideous killing method wasn't infallible, however.

If a Contestant's Mana were to be significantly greater than Kai's, then he wouldn't be able to suppress the thoughts, memories, and emotions so easily. Moreover, if the Contestant had some mastery over Occlumency, complemented with Magical Aptitude Ability, then Kai would fail in that case as well.

The reason for the latter was simple. Even after reaching the 20 points limit in Intelligence, Kai had not begun working on a structure in his consciousness like the High Priest of Many-Faced God. This structure not only would have helped him with Occlumency, but it could also attack others' structures in their minds using Legilimency.

Kai, however, had chosen not to do so, leaving it almost empty, if one were to forget about the sea of yellow mist and the white room.

It wasn't like he couldn't create a complex defense or attack system in his consciousness on the scale of High Priest's 56-bit encryption, either. It was just… what Kai wanted was Perfection.

He was waiting; waiting for that spontaneous opportunity that would let him stumble upon the greatest structure one could develop, becoming an unparalleled master of Occlumency and Legilimency.

Only then he could truly make the best use of being a Faceless man once he became one. Kai knew it all, and thus he had been patient with it, despite the allure of such killing methods.

Coming back to the present, as Kai rushed back to the boat, tearing the seawater, the first one to reach wasn't the three closest to the boat, but the bare-chested Ninja.

The mocking smile under his smile had vanished after seeing the female Contestant's head exploding just from a touch of Kai's palm. Then there was the sword, glowing and pulsating with a murderous blood light.

The thought that Kai could change directions at any moment to kill him sent a shiver running down his spine.

At first, he had thought to let others tire themselves out underwater, watching the chaos from beyond the fence. Now, though, even his palms were sweating.

A part of Kai's focus was indeed on the bare-chested man, but this time he was truly aiming to kill one of the three Contestants ahead of him. At this moment, he saw the Ninja taking out a card from one pocket in his utility belt. The palm-sized card floated in front of the man, bobbing up and down.

And then, a shocking power erupted from the card, full of piercing Mana.

Even Sharpedo and its master, dark-skinned boy, and Ensui's wielder paused and eyed the scene to their left.

The bare-chested man lifted his hands and made several seals in succession. Then, he slapped his right palm on the card as if he was pushing it down.

Kai's eyes narrowed as he saw several columns of tiny runic letters originating from the card, running outward like serpents, and the name of a Skill exploded in his mind.

Summoning Jutsu!

"Come out…" ripples echoed out of the Ninja's mouth, "… Bakugan Balista!"

Not only was it a Summoning Art, but it was also one based on Multiverse Interdependency.

'Summoning a Bakugan using the Jutsus from the Naruto World,' Kai reflected, frowning. 'It's a pity that these creatures aren't magical creatures, but physical forms based on Breath. Hmm… he must be fueling the card with his Chakra. Not simple.'

Roar!

A dense roar, full of vile and evil aura, burst out of the card, and a blue lizard-like creature walked out, freezing the surrounding water. The moment Balista appeared, it charged toward the three Contestants near the boat, and the Ninja swam behind it closely. [Image 1 and 2]

The first one to back up was the dark-skinned boy with Water-Bearers. He was at the leftmost of the three, and nearest to the incoming creature. When he saw the Bakugan coming at him with an evil grin on its face, the tattoo on his arms glowed. From the water-bearers in his hands, a sword and a shield materialized, both glowing with the same colors.

Under the command of the ninja, Balista fired a water cannon at the dark-skinned boy, and both of them began an intense fight.

Kai had nearly caught up with the three, his eyes locking on the Sharpedo.

Just beyond the woman, and the nearest to the boat was the black-haired man with the water blade. He, too, had sensed Kai approaching the Sharpedo as the Pokemon lost the momentum of its Aqua Jet.

Suddenly, the user of Ensui paused and turned around.

The golden-haired female eyes widened instantly. She had been already feeling a great apprehension because of Kai. Now, even the other Contestant seemed to have targeted her.

Kai saw it all, and a smile of understanding surfaced on his lips.

It was then the woman said, "I think I don't like this boat that much… Sharpedo, let's go!"

Under the shocked gazes of both Kai and Ensui's user, Sharpedo let out a snarling noise, turned to the right, and used all its power to fire another jet of water. Midway, the Pokemon used Aqua Jet again, boosting its speed.

The corner of Kai's mouth twitched as he saw the Pokemon Trainer vanishing in the distant sea, but inwardly he nodded.

Only these kinds of Contestants could remain alive in the Primordial Tower, who were decisive, and who knew how to give up. The lure of Jolly Mon, and it being an Item that could become Named Item, was great. But was it great enough to lose one's life over it?

Even though the matter of the woman escaping had shocked Kai and the other Contestant, their momentum hadn't decreased.

Bubble's escaped the mouth of Ensui's user, and he hacked at Kai with his long water blade.

Kai still didn't use Afro's Tachi. It was now packing the power to inflict 100 HP damage, and there was no way he wouldn't make it count.

Kai outstretched his left hand, and a ball of water appeared in front of his open palm.

The moment Ensui's water blade arrived, the water ball exploded with a bang.

It was just a complex use of Telekinesis. It was so weak that it couldn't even harm a 4th-floor Contestant. Much less needed to be said about the Contestants here, who were all High-level 5th-floor ones.

Kai hadn't aimed to harm the black-haired Contestant, either.

When the water ball exploded, it did nothing to the incoming water blade. Instead, all the power of the explosion was directed at Kai himself.

A sharp pain coursed through his left hand and chest, making Kai grit his teeth, and he got thrown toward the place where the dark-skinned boy and Balista were fighting. Meanwhile, the Contestant with Ensui in his hand was still covered under a layer of chaotic seawater behind him.

Suddenly, Golduck-Kai's tail thrashed as he kicked the water, his speed exploding even further.

In his previous life, blood essence cultivators used to say that Kai became stronger as he fought. However, it wasn't because he could use some otherworldly skills or arts, but because he was Kai of House Stormborn.

No matter what field he chose to be proficient in, he would eventually master it to an unprecedented degree.

Kai became strong with the progress of battle because he could access the minute changes in scenarios, and could observe and analyze his opponents' weaknesses in no time, letting him take advantage of the situations as per he desired.

Both the dark-skinned boy and ninja saw Kai coming, but his speed was just too fast and unexpected for them to react.

The Contestant with Water-Bearers turned his shield construct toward Kai, hoping to use the blow to swim away from the disadvantageous position. [Image 3]

Alas! He miscalculated.

Kai lifted the Afro's Tachi and hacked. And the sword went through the shield, the dark-skinned boy's head, chest, and waist like a knife through butter.

When the Water-Bearer Item parted in two, one could see disbelief written over the boy's face. This was the last emotion he showed, and Kai's smile was the last thing he saw.

[You have killed 1 Order's Contestant]

Just as the notification appeared in front of Kai's eyes, making his smile widen, it was also when the seabed exploded beneath the three Contestants.

Boom!

"Don't let anyone go!" a muffled shout penetrated the sea through the sand and shells. "Catch them all!"

Wherever there were pirates, there would naturally be Bounty Hunters as well.

But the moment Kai saw others' appearances and get-ups, he knew they weren't Bounty Hunters.

In the lead, there was a Contestant in Atlantean Elite Commando Armor from the DC extended universe. There was an Atlantean Steel Sword in his hand, the edge of its blade pulsating with blue plasma. [Image 4 and 5]

Behind the Elite Commando, there were two more Contestants in Atlantean Standard Armors, both carrying Hydro-Pulse Rifles.

To the left of these three, there was another Contestant in blue armor. He was also carrying a sword, but it had a yellow handle and a blue disc, which was rotating with a blinding blue-white flash. [Image 6 and 7]

Kai recognized that sword.

It was a Secret Playback Katana Shinkenmaru, with a Secret Disk attached to its hilt. It also made him learn the identity of this Contestant.

'Shinken Blue from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger Random World,' Kai thought, his face becoming hard. They are not Bounty Hunters. 'They are…'

Marines!!!