Naoya Zenin, who had watched the entire exchange, now wore a thunderous expression.
His fists were clenched tight, his knuckles white and his fingertips digging painfully into his palms.
Before this, he had been certain Qingxiao had beaten Toji through a deceitful sneak attack and underhanded tricks, that his victory had been an undeserved fluke.
So he had slandered and insulted him at every turn, determined to erase the shame of his idol's "defeat."
But he had now watched Qingxiao sweep through everyone with physical combat alone, without even using Cursed Energy.
Even Kamo Noritsugu had gone down without knowing what had happened, and the stubborn conviction in Naoya's heart began to crack.
Yet his deep-rooted arrogance and conceit still clung desperately to the last of his dignity.
He refused to concede, refused to admit that the man he had always scorned was truly powerful, and refused even more fiercely to admit that he had been blind.
"If that useless Kamo couldn't stop you, then I'll do it."
Naoya Zenin pushed sharply off the ground and leaped into the arena.
He stood ramrod straight opposite Qingxiao, keeping his chin raised high even though his confidence was already faltering.
He put on a haughty air, as though that could preserve the last of his dignity.
Qingxiao was speechless at those words and thought:
This savage has lost his mind. He's a complete lunatic.
Are those eyes just for show? Can he seriously not see the gap in our strength?
The instant those words ended, Naoya Zenin finished presetting twenty-four frames of movement in his mind.
Step left, close in face-to-face, thrust out his palm, make contact to lock in the rules, retreat into a counterattack, then finish with three projection punches.
The entire sequence formed a perfect loop, with even the