Aira Shizukami and Takashi were now fifteen years old.
Aira had fully blossomed into a breathtaking young woman. Her beauty was hypnotic, capable of paralyzing anyone who laid eyes on her. But beneath that flawless elegance was a terrifying predator. Her muscles were densely packed, forged from thousands of hours of suicidal conditioning. She was a lethal weapon disguised as a goddess.
Many young men at the university stared at her, completely enchanted, but absolutely no one ever dared to approach her. They knew she was a madwoman. They knew the depth of her terrifying, obsessive love for a 'dead' boy named Takashi.
Over the past year, Aira and the Mizushi twins had managed to rein in their mutual hatred just enough to pass their final assessments. They were officially promoted to Senior Rank. It was time for them to forge their own independent squads.
Meanwhile, the new generation Arashi, Iyashi, Kenshi, and Kazuki's youngest daughter, Yomi Mizushi were arriving at Dominion University. The convergence of these Alpha bloodlines at the center of the world was about to shift the delicate balance of power.
Back in the quiet village, Takashi's hellish, decade-long training was finally reaching its climax.
The Legendary Master had made all the secret arrangements for the boy to enter Dominion University. He wanted Takashi to step out into the real world, to make friends, help others, and experience the life of a normal teenager.
But the Master was a paranoid perfectionist. He refused to let the boy leave the safety of the cabin until he was absolutely, completely satisfied with Takashi's combat readiness. The boy had to pass one final, ultimate test.
"If you want to go to the University, Takashi," the Master challenged, his ancient eyes burning with intensity, "you have to defeat me."
Takashi's blue eyes flared with competitive fire. For nine years, he had been mercilessly beaten by this old man. Now, he was ready.
But before the final clash, the Master had a few last secrets to impart. The 'small' techniques he taught next were considered absolute miracles to the modern world lost fragments of a 600-year-old era.
The Master took a deep breath.
FWOOSH!
Suddenly, two identical Legendary Masters stood in front of Takashi.
The boy blinked in surprise.
"This is a Phantom Clone (Fake Clone)," both Masters spoke in perfect unison. "By focusing your energy into a precise Rhythm, you can cast a perfect physical illusion of yourself. It is quite common. Any B-Rank warrior can do this."
The two Masters merged back into one. "But," the old man continued, his tone turning grave, "what I am going to teach you is infinitely superior. It is a lost Shiritsu known as the Blood Clone."
"Unlike a Phantom Clone, a Blood Clone has physical mass. It bleeds, it breathes, and it hits just as hard as you do. By combining your Shin-Noa Rhythm directly with your own blood, you forge a perfect, living copy of yourself. The more raw power you possess, the more clones you can create. But be warned: it consumes your actual blood. While your Wolf's regeneration will rapidly replenish it, making too many can cause fatal blood loss. They are completely under your direct mental control."
Takashi's eyes sparkled with an insatiable hunger for knowledge. He perfectly understood the terrifying potential of this lost art.
He started with the basic Phantom Clone/Fake Clone. He focused his Shin-Noa, visualizing his own reflection.
FWOOSH! A perfect, transparent illusion of the white-haired boy appeared beside him. Takashi stared at it in awe. It was this easy? he thought. If he had known this when he was six, he wouldn't have felt so desperately alone in the abyss. At least he would have had a fake friend to talk to.
But his life was far beyond those lonely shadows now.
He immediately moved on to the Blood Clone. He bit his thumb, mixed a drop of blood with his terrifying energy, and pushed.
SQUELCH. Flesh and bone rapidly materialized, forming a half-complete Blood Clone. But the sudden, violent extraction of blood was too much for his first attempt. Takashi's eyes rolled back, and he fainted, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
The Legendary Master laughed warmly, scooping the massive boy off the floor. He was immensely proud. He had successfully poured 600 years of forgotten, god-tier knowledge into his grandson's soul. Only a few final lessons remained.
Neither of them knew that Takashi was about to collide directly with his wife, his brother, and his cousins at Dominion University.
When Takashi woke up, the Master taught him the pinnacle of Healing Shiritsu.
Because of the Wolf's apocalyptic regeneration, healing others was effortlessly easy for Takashi. With just a tiny pulse of his energy, he could instantly close massive, fatal wounds. For Takashi himself, if his arm was severed, the Wolf would grow it back in less than a second. It was completely normal for him and his Grandpa.
But the Master warned him strictly: "In the outside world, this level of healing does not exist. The greatest Healers in the world would collapse in exhaustion trying to close a simple sword wound. If people see you instantly regenerating flesh, they will ask questions. They will hunt you. Only use it when absolutely necessary, and never in public."
Next, the Master taught him about his Phantom Eyes.
He taught the boy the terrifying ocular Shiritsu of the Shizukami and Kaimetsuza bloodlines. But again, the Master forbade him from using them. A white-haired commoner wielding the sacred, hereditary powers of the top Alpha Clans would instantly expose his true identity.
Finally, it was time for the ultimate test.
"I want you to completely erase your aura," the Master ordered. "Suppress your power until you physically do not exist in the environment. Then, hit me with everything you have."
Takashi hesitated. "Grandpa... are you sure?"
"Do it!" the Master commanded, dropping into a defensive stance, his ancient eyes scanning the boy.
Takashi took a deep breath and began compressing his aura. He pushed it down. Deeper. And deeper.
Suddenly, Takashi vanished.
He didn't turn invisible. He simply ceased to exist. There was absolutely zero energy radiating from him. The Master's god-like senses couldn't detect a heartbeat, a breath, or even the displacement of air. Erasing one's presence entirely was considered biologically impossible. Perhaps because Takashi was suppressing his own innate power, the Wolf's leaking energy had fully retreated, creating a perfect void.
But the moment Takashi erased his aura, his appearance shifted. His glowing white hair reverted to half-black, half-white. His eyes turned mismatched one green, one red. The white pattern on his face remained, but his true, original identity was fully exposed.
A fifteen-year-old, breathtakingly handsome prince stood in the cabin.
Without a sound, Takashi stepped forward and threw a punch straight at the Master's chest.
At the last millisecond, afraid of hurting his Grandpa, Takashi stopped his fist an inch from the old man's chest.
BOOM!
The sheer, localized air pressure generated by the stopped fist exploded forward like a cannonball. The Legendary Master crossed his arms in shock. The force hit him like a mountain, dragging the 600-year-old X-Rank warrior violently backward across the dirt floor, his boots carving deep trenches into the earth.
The Master stared at his own trembling arms. He hadn't sensed the attack. If Takashi hadn't stopped, the Master's ribs would have been shattered.
Standing up, the Master spoke with absolute, terrifying severity. "Never, ever completely erase your aura again. Do you understand? It exposes your true hair and eyes. You will be hunted."
The boy nodded quickly, releasing his suppression just enough for his hair and eyes to shift back to their disguised white and blue.
"Good," the Master smirked, rubbing his aching arms. "Now... let us take this outside."
It was time for the final Power Test.
They stepped out of the village and walked deep into the desolate mountains of the East Land. This area was dangerously close to the center of the world, near the Supreme Council and Dominion University the absolute hub of global power.
A clash between a 600-year-old X-Rank veteran and a fifteen-year-old boy possessing the physical density of bedrock and the power of a Legendary Divine Spirit was about to occur.
This wasn't just a spar. It was a terrifying, earth-shattering power show. The Master needed absolute confirmation. He needed to know that Takashi was truly ready to face the apocalyptic horrors of the world.
Takashi's body was an impenetrable fortress. A casual punch from him could shatter a mountain. He had mastered 600 years of lost arts. He could comfortably draw A-Rank power from the Wolf without feeling any strain, as his dense body easily absorbed the burden. He still didn't know how to use his own original power, relying solely on the Wolf, Nature Mode, and his monstrous physical strength.
Two nearly Z-Rank gods were about to clash. The shockwaves were destined to shake the entire global power system.
The Master smiled. Once this fight was over, he fully intended to dump the heavy burden of saving the world onto Takashi's broad shoulders, so he could finally retire and live the rest of his life in absolute peace.