Crown

*Buzzz*

The buzzer sound echoed throughout the large room as the first-round participants were released from their cages. Sasuke walked out of the cage first, followed by Ho and Laure. He looked around and saw only two other teams besides them.

"Two other stupid teams, huh?" Shibisu commented nonchalantly from the right end of Sasuke's team. "And they look weak too," belittled Anaak, pointing at a team nearby consisting of three boys.

"But he seems dangerous," Anaak continued, looking at Sasuke from afar. 'What is this unsettling presence I'm sensing from him?' Her instinct is screaming at her, just the mere thought of going against him. She was not pleased with this feeling.

"You'll regret this!" A black-haired short boy angrily shouted from the weak team.

"Let the first round of the Crown Game begin," announced Leorio.

"Who are we attacking first, Mr. Sasuke?" He asked.

"Let's not. Our goal is to take the crown and pass this round, eventually winning the game. So whoever gets in our way, fight back!" Sasuke said. He wanted to win the game and skip this floor if he could.

' While I can easily take the crown and sit on the throne, I need to know more about my skill arsenal and fighting style, which I currently lack due to no experience. I hope Anaak and Hatz will give a good fight, ' he pondered, watching Anaak solo the other team and finishing them all with just three moves.

Sasuke and his team approached the Throne when the fight between Anaak and the other team came over.

As Hatz and Shibisu were distracted by Anaak's fight, Ho saw an opportunity to try his luck and take the crown. However, as he took his first step toward the throne, a sword came straight at him. Ho quickly evaded the sword by doing a backflip and landed near Laure, who had somehow fallen back asleep.

He smiled and said, "Well, it looks like it won't end without a fight." He then turned to Laure and pleaded with a dry smile, "Mr. Laure, can you please wake up? We're in the middle of a battle!"

"What do you expect entering the arena? Dinner with our Anaak? And who is that-" Before Shibisu could continue his rant, Anaak interrupted him while pointing at Sasuke, "I'll handle him, you two fight others." She didn't want to waste any time because of the unsettling feeling she had felt earlier.

Anaak rushed at Sasuke while swinging the hook-like weapon she had. She didn't hesitate and used all the physical strength she could muster in this attack.

"That lizard must have felt it too," Rak commented from within one of the cages, upon seeing Anaak's strange behavior after easily defeating a team single-handedly.

"What is it? An animal instinct?" Khun teased Rak but didn't miss the ongoing events. He thought of the lizard as someone dangerous because of her monstrous strength and guessed her to be a descendant of the 10 Great Families. However, for even her to react like this against that purple-eyed guy, not to mention even he found him suspicious after the Shinsu barrier test. Soon, his expression changed from mocking to shocked. Not just him, even Rak and Baam had the same reaction.

"The Green April," muttered Sasuke, as he caught the hook in his hand without getting a single scratch. He looked at Anaak, who looked back at him furiously. She couldn't move a muscle because of the Shinsu pressure she was receiving from the Green April, as if it was telling her to run.

Sasuke didn't have any knowledge about this. He didn't give any movement for her and kicked in the head, making her crash into the wall at the end of the large room. The force of her impact was so strong that it broke the wall around that area completely.

' I should learn to control my strength ' he thought, looking at the bloodied Anaak falling to the floor. But he didn't feel the slightest pity because her first attack had been aimed at his head. If he didn't have the strength to block it or like any normal regular here, he would have been seriously injured or perhaps even dead.

"Anaak!" Shibisu shouted when he noticed her condition. He and Hatz were in the middle of a battle against Ho, who was getting beaten while protecting the sleeping Laure.

They left Ho and rushed towards Anaak as she stood up slowly, her legs shaking from the blow to her head. But the most miraculous thing would be, she is already healing slowly and only Sasuke took note of it, because of his Rinnegan.

"Give it back !" she shouted, seeing the Green April in Sasuke's hand. The anger she felt from being beaten couldn't compare to the rage she felt from seeing the Green April in someone else's hand.

"I have no interest in your weapon," Sasuke said, throwing the Green April toward Anaak while also reminding them, "You three should quit before it gets too late."

" You basta-" Before Anaak could lunge at him again, Shibisu closed her mouth and dragged her back to their cage. She couldn't even struggle because of her injury and could only let herself be dragged. Hatz just looked at Sasuke before going back to his cage. He knew his limits.

Sasuke didn't say anything and just looked at them until they got into their cage. After that, he helped Ho sit on the throne and gave him the crown to wear, marking the end of the first round.

"Since Mr. Ho sat on the chair before five minutes elapsed, this round's winner is the team of Ho, Sasuke, and Laure," Leoro-ro announced.

"A reminder for you: the one who sat on the king's throne with the crown can't get up from the chair until all the rounds are over."

The entire arena was plunged into silence after the end of the first round. The regulars in the cage started panicking upon witnessing Sasuke's strength. They came here in the hope of easily passing this floor, but now it seems impossible.

"You are really strong Mr. Sasuke, I believe you might be the strongest of all the regulars here," Ho smiled and said enviously.

"Don't forget we are a team," Laure made this statement by waking up suddenly and going back to sleep right after.

'Should I beat this bastard?' Sasuke thought, looking at the peacefully sleeping Laure. He knows Laure must have sensed his strength, albeit a little.

"But, He is correct. We are a team," Sasuke stated confidently while perched on the throne's armrest. Having witnessed his strength, he felt no pressure, knowing that he was even stronger than one of the strongest Regular taking the test on this floor, according to the original plot.

After a few seconds of rest, Leoro-ro began his Count for the Second Round. After his count, Four new teams entered the Arena. They didn't seem anything out of the ordinary.

" The Second Round begins now! "

Right after the round started, the new teams grouped up opposite Sasuke, indicating that he was their target.

"Am I famous now?" Sasuke asked mockingly while moving from the throne to the gathered four teams quickly, which seemed like teleportation to the Regulars.

"You can't face all of us by yourself, even if you're strong," said a bulky regular from one of the teams arrogantly, his fist glowing with fire. Even though they are intimidated, they put on a strong front.

"Your fire wouldn't even cook a chicken. Let me show you what real fire is " Sasuke suggested kindly and spread his arms open.

[ Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation ]

This time he didn't release the fire from his mouth like he did in Headon's Test. Instead, he released it from his palm. Like a tsunami wave, the fire engulfed all the new participants. They couldn't even react before being suffocated by the fire. While it isn't hot enough to burn them to ashes, it did destroy all their clothes.

After the smoke cleared, the new participants could be seen charred black and without any clothes, fainted on the floor.

Sasuke doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He didn't make the same mistake and reduced the intensity of his flames as much as he could. But, who would've thought these guys are absolute weaklings?

' Thank god they aren't dead. ' he sighed and looked at Leoro-ro above, only to receive a glare from him.

" Since the new participants couldn't continue anymore, The winner of this Round is again the Team of Ho, Sasuke, and Laure. " Leoro-ro announced without taking his eyes off Sasuke as if he wanted to see through him.