"Wait!"
"I give up!"
Titan's shout rang through the entire Fighting Arena.
WHOOOSH!
Titan's eyes widened as the violent wind from Aaron's punch swept toward him.
In an instant, his hair was blown straight back, and the flesh on his face rippled from the pressure.
It felt as though a train had just passed inches from his face.
The shockwave almost rattled his brain loose.
A furious gale burst from Aaron's fist, sweeping across the surrounding area and kicking up clouds of dust.
Aaron's fist stopped just ten centimeters from Titan's face.
A faint smile appeared on Aaron's face. He unclenched his fist, patted Titan on the cheek, and said with a grin,
"Good call. If you'd been a second later, this would've ended very differently."
Titan was drenched in sweat.
Even his back was soaked.
His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest.
"Gulp..."
Titan could not stop trembling as he swallowed. He stammered at Aaron,
"Y-Your strength... what the hell is going on?"
"Just the wind from your punch made me feel like I was suffocating."
Titan was beyond shaken.
The young man in front of him was terrifyingly powerful.
He was practically inhuman.
For a moment, Titan felt as if he had seen something divine in Aaron's fist.
The God's Fist.
At that moment, Titan's attitude toward Aaron changed completely. He stared at Aaron with burning eyes.
This was a real man.
This was the absolute strength Titan had always pursued.
Seeing the strange look in Titan's eyes, Aaron suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly stepped away and said,
"Now you know how strong I am, right?"
"Hurry up and admit defeat."
Titan also got up from the ground and said,
"Fine... I admit defeat!"
"But from now on, you're my master!"
"I want to train under you!"
Titan's eyes were filled with excitement as he stared at Aaron with scorching intensity.
"You want me to train you?"
"That'll depend on how you perform. We'll talk about it later."
After saying that, Aaron left with Infernape.
He did not want to get tangled up with a weirdo like Titan.
Something about that look in Titan's eyes made him feel deeply unsafe.
Only the completely dumbfounded host and audience were left behind.
"What... what the hell just happened? Titan actually got pinned to the ground and humiliated by that kid!?"
"Did you see that? That kid's final punch kicked up dust for dozens of meters around him. How much strength does that take?"
"Titan admitted defeat, so he must have acknowledged that kid's strength."
"I really didn't expect it. With those skinny arms and legs, he's actually a monster!"
"Ahhh... he's amazing. I like him so much~"
"Handsome, come to my place for dinner tonight. I'll make you noodles."
"Pfft... shameless!"
"What's it to you? Worry about yourself, old man!"
...
In the audience, everyone was in disbelief over Aaron's strength.
Even the famous Titan had been defeated by Aaron in a single move and nearly scared out of his mind.
How could they not be shocked?
"Oh my god... Contestant Aaron is truly... truly, I don't even know how to describe him."
"All I can say is, he has the makings of a King of Fighters!"
Even host Kenny still had shock in his eyes. He could barely find the words to describe Aaron, and his tone was full of praise.
...
In the main stands, the mayor of Grit City and the other leaders were also very optimistic about Aaron.
After all, Aaron was so young, yet already so powerful.
His potential was limitless.
No one here recognized Aaron as the top scorer on the national college entrance exam.
Back when he was interviewed, Aaron had kept avoiding the media, so the photo used in the headlines was still a headshot from when he had just entered high school.
It was even a photo from his freshman year.
He looked completely different now, so it was understandable that no one recognized him.
...
As the tournament continued, Aaron went on stage a few more times, and Infernape won every match with ease.
Aaron's popularity also soared.
He gained countless young female fans and older admirers, and even some grown men were won over by his strength and became fans too.
Of course, Aaron's number one fan was still Titan.
He stood in the audience holding an Aaron banner, cheering for him like crazy.
At last, the tournament reached the final stage.
Only the last ten contestants remained.
All ten of them were powerful, and none of them could be underestimated.
However, for fairness, contestants had to enter the rest area after their matches and could not watch the other contestants fight.
The strongest ten fighters of the Fighting Tournament had now appeared.
And in the very first match, it was Aaron's turn to step onto the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's here! The final stage between the strongest ten contestants has finally begun!"
"Please welcome our first contestant... our invincible young prodigy: Aaron!"
As host Kenny shouted excitedly and the audience erupted into deafening cheers, Aaron slowly walked out onto the ring.
"And his opponent is the man they call the Iron-Fisted Panda — Parker!"
Across from Aaron, a man wearing a panda hood walked out.
A question popped into Aaron's mind.
It's this hot, and he's wearing that thing? Isn't he roasting in there?
"Let's enjoy this exciting match together!"
"The match officially begins!"
As soon as Kenny finished speaking, the referee in the ring immediately announced the start of the match.
There was not the slightest delay.
"Come out... Infernape!"
Aaron released Infernape.
The Panda Man facing him also sent out his Pokémon.
"Come out... Pangoro!"
A flash of light passed, and a two-meter-tall Pokémon appeared on the field. It had black-and-white fur and looked like a panda.
It was none other than Pangoro!
...