The battlefield was chaos—flames clashing with stone, shadow meeting light.
Shoei Kazemura stood firm atop a rising wall of earth, his Earth Blade now drawn—its jagged edge pulsing with tectonic fury. His smirk faded into a cold mask of focus as he launched himself forward, his blade dragging across the ground, splitting rock and soil in his wake.
Opposite him, Levine spun midair, flames curling around his arms before he unsheathed a new weapon—the stolen Shadow Blade. Dark tendrils leaked from it like smoke, distorting the air. Gimori had stolen it from Xzavier months ago, and now Levine wielded it with venomous glee.
Together, Shoei and Levine charged as one.
Kaze clashed with Shoei, wind pressure exploding outward as their blades collided. Lightning crackled where Raijin met Levine, who deflected blow after blow with shadow-infused counters. Xzavier held the front, his fury unwavering, twin blades flashing—one of fire, one of steel, his movements fluid like dancing flame and sharp like judgment.
But amid the chaos, Yagumi Daisuke stood behind, fists clenched, breath shaking.
"Stay back," Xzavier had told him.
"We don't need you right now," Kaze echoed, barely glancing at him.
The words seared through Yagumi's pride like acid.
He grit his teeth as a memory surged forth—
A younger Yagumi, standing tall at Sarutobi Academy. His blade shone brightest, his stance flawless, his victories countless. They called him The Rising Star. Teachers whispered his name with hope. The King of Akira? It wasn't a question—it was a prophecy.
Until Xzavier arrived.
Until Hageshi began training.
In mere months, they rose through the rankings with terrifying speed. Xzavier's raw instinct, Hageshi's brutal precision—they were unlike anything Sarutobi had seen. And Yagumi? Once untouchable, he became just another name.
From #1 to #3.
He had challenged Xzavier once—demanded a duel to prove the rankings wrong. But it wasn't a battle. It was a lesson.
Xzavier didn't beat him.
He humiliated him.
Yagumi had been washed, left gasping on the ground as Sarutobi's eyes looked past him. Then came Hageshi's rise, pushing Yagumi to #4. The forgotten one.
The failure.
He then faked a friendship with Xzavier in an attempt to get close and study Xzavier.
He blinked back to the present—his eyes trembling.
That's when the voice slithered in—Gimori's voice.
"You're better than them... You're meant for more... They just fear you... Let me show you what you could be..."
Darkness coiled around his thoughts, wrapping its lies in a truth he wanted to believe.
And then—
SNAP.
Something inside cracked. No… erupted.
His right eye blazed red. Then his left ignited as well—but it was different. Deeper. Darker.
A Super Aku no Eye.
He roared as black lightning coursed through his veins, surging into his arms. From behind him, two twisted blades—The Twin Reapers—burst free from their sheaths, crackling with malevolent aura. Shadows spiraled around their curved edges.
"I will NOT—" he howled, stepping forward as the earth trembled, "—be overtaken by the likes of YOU!!!"
With a violent whoosh, he launched into the battlefield, slashing through a boulder with a single strike. Debris scattered like feathers.
Xzavier turned, barely catching the blur of dark steel.
"Yagumi?!" he shouted.
Yagumi didn't answer. Instead, he skidded across the ground and landed between the fighters. The sheer pressure of his presence pushed back the winds Kaze had summoned.
He stabbed the Twin Reapers into the cracked earth.
"From this moment on," Yagumi declared, eyes glowing like cursed stars, "We are rivals, Xzavier!"
Kaze drew back in alarm. "What the hell did he just—"
Before he could finish, Gara Tengu—their seasoned sensei—stepped forward. His long coat fluttered as his own blade shimmered to life, etched with runes of light and restraint.
"I'll handle this." Gara said quietly, eyes narrowed.
Yagumi turned to him, sneering.
"A washed-up teacher wants to stop me?!" He raised his Reapers. "You're just the ghost of a forgotten era!"
But Gara didn't respond with words.
He vanished.
CLANG!
Yagumi's eyes widened as Gara reappeared mid-air, his blade slamming down. Yagumi blocked just in time, but the impact cratered the earth beneath them.
Gara spun, light surging through his strikes, forcing Yagumi back.
"You've grown stronger," Gara said between blows. "But that power in your eyes… it isn't yours. Not truly."
"SHUT UP!" Yagumi shouted, lashing out with a wide arc that shattered nearby pillars. "I earned this! I've bled more than anyone!"
He dashed forward, shadows trailing him, his blades forming spirals of void-like energy.
They clashed again, faster and faster. Gara's light began to crack under the overwhelming pressure of Yagumi's wrath-fueled strikes.
But Gara was calm. Measured.
"You're not fighting to rise…" Gara said, blocking another furious slash. "You're fighting because you've already fallen."
Yagumi screamed, unleashing a black wave of cursed energy that knocked Gara back.
Meanwhile, Xzavier, Kaze, and Raijin continued their battle against Shoei and Levine. Stone jutted from the ground like fangs, flames carved through the battlefield, and shadows wrapped around every movement like a second skin. Xzavier and Levine clashed with mirrored rage—brother against brother, fire against shadow.
Shoei slammed his Earth Blade into Kaze's wind, the shockwave erupting in a deafening explosion. Dust blanketed the sky.
But everyone paused for a moment as they turned toward the center—where Yagumi and Gara's battle now took the spotlight.
Twin Reapers clashed against the old master's brilliance. Rage against wisdom. Jealousy against legacy.
The star that once shone the brightest…
Had now become a supernova of hate.