After the gates were opened and the gargantuan crowd came into view, the announcer stood in the middle of the arena, shouting excitedly: — WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELCOME TO LUTHERKING'S 700-YEAR TOURNAMENT!
The audience vibrated immediately after, joining the announcer. In a small section of the stands, Yuji was eating popcorn, watching intently. — And a special thanks to our main sponsors: the head of Lutherking General Hospital, Aline Yamada, who, along with her team, will look after the fighters; and our other heavy-hitting sponsor, the Lord of Worlds and primary financier, who unfortunately cannot be here due to many commitments, but whose great influence on this tournament cannot be denied... A round of applause and cheers for MON DEMATSURO! — the announcer shouted shamelessly.
Jhony and Yasoke grumbled about who Mon Dematsuro might be; they had only a vague notion that he was important, but they didn't care. Yuji finished the popcorn he was eating, stole some from a man without him noticing, and continued eating.
— SO! Everyone, pay attention: Lutherking's 700-year tournament will consist of three stages. The first will be the qualifiers; the second will be group-based; and in the third, we will take the qualifiers and hold a single-elimination bracket!
Everyone listened as the tournament rules were explained. Yasoke and Jhony grew serious upon hearing the announcer's instructions, while Yuji continued eating plenty of popcorn, excited for what was to come. — That being said, FIGHTERS! COME TO THE ARENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The crowd began to roar, including Yuji, who accidentally dropped his popcorn out of excitement; he looked around and stole another bag. Jhony and Yasoke were climbing the stairs to the arena, which was also gargantuan, spanning 2,500 square meters. From their vantage point, there were about 300 people, and among the fighters, there was only one woman. Once all the fighters were in the arena, the announcer positioned himself in the center and spoke: — Now, the rules are as follows: anyone who goes outside the arena is disqualified. This lasts until the 20-minute timer runs out. Understood? Of course you understood!
The announcer stepped out of the arena and shouted: — THEN, LET THE LUTHERKING 700-YEAR TOURNAMENT BEGIN!
The crowd clamored, and Yuji, now wiser, didn't throw his popcorn away but celebrated excitedly nonetheless. The fighters began to strike one another down, and Yasoke and Jhony split up. They saw several people being defeated. Yasoke was running around the arena, jumping and dodging, until he found himself cornered by three tall, large men. — Whoa, little guy, what is a kid doing here? — Yasoke felt very uncomfortable, and one of the large men advanced: — Kids shouldn't be here!
Yasoke dodged easily and kicked the man's backside, sending him flying out of the arena. The other large men grew angry and charged at the youth, who delivered a flying kick to the face of one of them. Using his foot on the opponent's face, he gained momentum and landed a well-placed punch on the other large man, making them both bleed. Next, he kicked one man out, hitting his stomach, and then kicked the other, striking him in the face. Yasoke stuck out his tongue and flipped them off.
Meanwhile, Jhony was dodging attacks from several fighters without hitting anyone, until a fighter wearing glasses landed a kick on him. However, the redhead was alert and managed to defend himself. — So, we have a real fighter here! — the man in glasses said to Jhony before disappearing into the crowd.
Jhony understood nothing and looked to the side; he saw a girl defeating brutes as if they were nothing, using only her hands. The only thing he thought was, "I think I'm in trouble here." In that fog of thought, a tall man covered in scars and tattoos approached. — You were impressed by the girl too, weren't you? — he smiled diabolically, looking at the young redhead, who was nearly the same height, though Jhony was a bit taller. The tattooed man took his fighting stance and advanced toward Jhony: — Hey, kid, let's not even talk!
Jhony dodged, but he noticed something: the tattooed man's strikes were very precise. Jhony interpreted this as a threat and took his own fighting stance, assuming a slugger's posture.
Yasoke was jumping from one side to the other, enjoying himself. Running through the arena, he encountered a group forming a team; Yasoke jumped into the middle of them and began to beat everyone down, until the supposed leader of the group stopped one of Yasoke's punches, catching it with his hand. — Boy, you really don't understand what you're getting into, do you?
Yasoke nodded, surprised, and raised his foot, striking the leader's chin, causing him to release Yasoke's fist and recoil. — Truly, I don't know what I'm doing here! — he said, and advanced toward the leader.
The leader, alert, threw a punch that Yasoke easily dodged with a simple head movement. Yasoke took advantage of his running momentum, jumped, and delivered a right gazelle punch to the leader's chin, senting him flying. Seeing this, the others fled. Yasoke then picked up the leader's unconscious body and took it to the edge of the arena to throw him out.
Jhony was fighting the tattooed man. — Kid, you know how to fight, that's impressive! — and the tattooed man kept coming, hitting, punching, and kicking without stopping.
Jhony couldn't find an opening to strike until the tattooed man broke his defense, and the opponent's left foot landed a precise kick to his temple. Jhony grew disoriented, and the tattooed man began the motion of an uppercut, but Jhony had anticipated this possibility. As he was about to fall, he pulled himself up, dodged the hook, and the tattooed man was left completely exposed. At that moment, the tattooed man turned pale seeing the young redhead's serious face. — Now, I strike back!
He charged pure Macogo into his fist and landed a hook so perfectly placed that it shattered all of the tattooed man's teeth and knocked him out cold. Jhony then picked up the unconscious, toothless body and threw it out of the arena.
Yuji celebrated, watching entirely entertained and eating popcorn. He was impressed by Yasoke being "half-crazy" and by Jhony's absurd strength. However, he and the crowd took notice primarily of two fighters: the mysterious girl in the white dress and a man with a red bandana on his head.