"FIGHT!" The referee shouted before jumping away to the safety.
Xenon's light green hair billowed around him as he made the first move.
Through the shoulder to the fist, Xenon's punch landed directly against Nathaniel's block, and the strength of the punch was enough to make him slide backwards.
With feet sliding across the cement ground, Nathaniel barely managed to stop himself before he fell off the ring.
His arms were already trembling in pain, and he doubted he could block another heavy punch like that anymore.
The difference in their physical attributes was scary.
'If I only had Kiernan's rock-solid defense, I could've redirected that punch away…'
However, as soon as that thought came to his mind, he shook his head and slapped himself on the cheek.
'I can't think about other people's martial arts! I must focus on Kamala Style! Come on!'
Xenon came rushing in, his fists flying like a whirlwind.
The punches pushed Nathaniel to the side. He kept backing off, but Xenon chased after him, and his fists kept landing on his blocking arms.
Smack, smack, smack, smack!
They circled around the ring—one kept punching while the other kept dodging and blocking.
Ambrossa High's coach watched the match with crossed arms.
'All Xenon must do is reserve his stamina,' he thought. 'Karuza High is a weak school. Without their ace, they wouldn't have reached nationals, let alone the round of 16.'
'I must stop his rampage or I'll lose!' Nathaniel ignored blocking for a moment and punched forward.
The punch was about to be too short, but then his arm started stretching like rubber and landed on Xenon's shoulder.
"?" Xenon backed off further while shrugging off that punch like it was nothing.
The sudden increase of the arm took him slightly off-guard, but the punch lacked strength anyway.
Nathaniel rushed forward and landed a low kick at Xenon's shinbone. It seemed like a pain-inducing kick, but Xenon didn't change an expression.
'Kamala Style!' Nathaniel grabbed his hands together and clapped them. "Melody!"
A sharp ringing noise attacked Xenon's ears, and he stumbled backward, finally showing a hint of discomfort on his face.
"What is your fear?" Nathaniel asked.
"Hmph!" Xenon's fist shot out and smashed into Nathaniel's face with a force that sent him flying across the ring.
He crashed on the ring right by the edge, his mouth bleeding and nose facing the wrong way.
That punch was a display of pure power and anger!
'Kamala Style failed…' Nathaniel gritted his teeth. 'As I expected, it is too weak…'
Karuza High's bench was cheering him on, but it was out of desperation. They were also realizing the vast gap between the two fighters.
It was far too obvious for everyone that was watching.
"Down!" The referee shouted after Nathaniel stayed down on the ground.
'What to do?' Nathaniel looked ahead at the sky. 'The Three Techniques, my trump card, have been failing me constantly.'
At that moment, he remembered one technique that his father had been trying to teach him since he was very young.
Sometimes when he returned from school, he saw his father punching a tree in the backyard.
It seemed nothing out of the ordinary, but that was because of his untrained eye. In fact, the technique was very special.
'I don't even know how to do it, but I've seen him do it thousands of times…'
Nathaniel started to slowly stand back up.
'Fuck it. If I fail, I'll lose this match.'
"4…" The referee finished with, and saw that the young man was back on his feet. "Continue!"
"Kamala Style, Water Strike." Nathaniel spread his legs wide and placed his arms to his side.
Waters Residence, in the backyard.
By the tall tree that was standing against the fence, a middle-aged man placed two hands against the bark, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
The tree shook, and two handprints appeared against the rough bark.
"Father, what was that?" The young Nathaniel asked while swinging on the tire swing in the backyard.
"That's Water Strike, my son," his father said and picked up his jacket from the grass ground. "A technique my father taught me, and one day I shall teach it to you."
"Mm~" The young Nathaniel looked away from the tree, no longer interested as he was busy licking the ice cream cone.
At the present time, Waters Residence.
"Husband…" Nathaniel's mother whispered. "You taught him that?"
"No…" Her husband shook his head as he stared at the television. "I thought about teaching him once he has reached the Age of Growth…"
"Won't he hurt himself?" The mother said worryingly. "When you started learning it, you kept breaking your hands."
"It's out of desperation." Her husband said in pain. "Nathaniel is lacking faith in his martial arts, which is why the abandonment happened. Now, he is trying everything to fight back, even if he risks hurting himself."
The father and mother quieted down and kept their eyes glued to the television. The decisive moment of the fight was about to begin.
Xenon raised his fist high and then started running towards his opponent.
'I can see your stance.' Xenon thought with a smirk. 'The last-ditch effort. However, it won't be working on me!'
With his run coming to an end, he rotated his shoulder and threw the punch like it was an arrow shot from a bow.
"Wood Arts, Heavy Punch of Falling Tree!"
The punch landed squarely against Nathaniel's chest.
Everyone thought that the fight was over and that Nathaniel was going to fly off the ring.
However, after merely taking a single step back, Nathaniel screamed and slammed his hands against Xenon's chest.
The tremors of Xenon's attack rippled through Nathaniel's body, and then using Water Strike, he concentrated those tremors back at him!
"Ugh!" Nathaniel got pushed back another step.
Xenon gritted his teeth heavily and took a single step back while suffering through the pain.
At his chest, there were two deep, red handprints that made his chest feel like it was on fire.
"Wood Chopping!" Xenon smashed his chopping hand at Nathaniel's shoulder and dislocated it.
"?!" Nathaniel coughed in pain.
Then, Xenon smashed his leg at Nathaniel's thigh and made it bruised and swollen.
With his free hand, Xenon grabbed Nathaniel by his collar and smashed him to the ground with a ground-shaking thud.
The fist then came flying down and smashed into Nathaniel's face.
'Water Strike wasn't enough to take him down?!' Nathaniel coughed out in pain and quickly jumped back to his feet.
It was looking horrible for him.
His legs were shaking, and his body was barely able to stand straight.
"Nathaniel!" Jin cried out and held the white towel tightly in his hand.
If need be, he would forfeit the first match immediately, but seeing the look in Nathaniel's eyes, it was clear that he still wanted to fight.
"Argh, it hurts…" Nathaniel teared up because of the pain, but still, he clapped his hands together.