The Side clones began moving with lightning speed, spreading across the floating arena like black specters, confusing the Original and disrupting his focus. The Original watched the scene intently, then raised his hand and said with deadly calm, "No point in playing games… I'll finish this off in one fell swoop."
In an instant, he aimed all the floating cubes at the clones and unleashed a barrage of deadly projectiles. The blows rained down. With each cube that struck a clone, it faded into scattered shadows. The Original smiled confidently and said, "Your plan was good, Side… but you forgot something important."
Then, with a mocking tone, he continued, "Shadow clones are inherently weak… and easy to destroy."
But suddenly, he stopped. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed the vanished clones beginning to reform, one after another. He calculated coldly, "Reforming clones consumes a tremendous amount of energy… so all I have to do is keep destroying them until you run out of energy, Side."
And he began to execute his plan. He attacked. The clones were destroyed. They disappeared. Then they reappeared. An endless cycle. A full hour of relentless fighting passed. Yet the Original noticed that Side energy still hadn't run out. His face darkened, and he thought to himself, "This is impossible… How come his energy hasn't run out yet?"
Then he smiled slyly and added, "Alright… Let's move on to Plan B."
The Original rushed forward, pressing down on the clones from all sides, directing the cubes to force them toward a single point. Slowly, he gathered Side and his clones into a confined space. Side noticed the trap and said irritably, "Damn it… All this time I haven't found a single opening to attack, and now he's managed to trap me."
The cubes began to stick together, forming a giant, closed cube that trapped Side and his clones inside like an inescapable cage. The Original said coldly, "I'm not finished yet."
Inside the cage, Side began to think frantically about how to escape. Suddenly, one of the cubes hurtled toward him. He dodged with difficulty, then his eyes transformed into those of a dragon, granting him the ability to see through the pitch-black darkness.
He noticed the terrifying truth: the cubes that formed the prison were attacking and then retreating to their places with incredible speed. The attacks began to intensify. Side managed to dodge some, but the clones were falling rapidly, one after another.
Finally, he canceled the summoning of the clones. The Origin watched the scene and noticed that the clones had completely vanished, leaving only Side alone. He smiled and said, "Finally… you've revealed yourself."
He aimed all the cubes directly at Side. Side dodged some, but his body couldn't withstand it for long. He was struck by several blows in quick succession and collapsed, exhausted. The giant cube began to disintegrate, transforming once again into dozens of floating cubes.
Side lay atop one of them, his body riddled with wounds, his energy nearly depleted. With his strength waning, the fusion ended. Side disappeared. Saruto reappeared. The Origin looked at him and said in a testing tone, "Will you surrender, Saruto?"
Despite the pain, Saruto tried to get up and said firmly, "No… not yet."
The Origin smiled and said, "Then let's continue."
He prepared to attack again. But Saruto didn't rush forward. Instead, he closed his eyes. He began to replay every moment since the beginning of the fight: every dodge, every failure, every strike, and every move the Origin had made. At the same time, he began to gather his strength again.
The Origin noticed this and stopped. He let him do so without interfering. After a few moments, Saruto opened his eyes and whispered, "Perhaps this idea will work… there's no harm in trying."
The Origin launched the cubes at him again. But Saruto didn't move. The Origin said sarcastically, "Are you thinking, Saruto? Or have you finally given up hope?"
Before the cubes reached him, they suddenly stopped in mid-air. The Origin froze. "What's happening?" he said in surprise. "Why did the cubes stop?"
At that moment, Saruto smiled and said confidently, "Thank you, Origin… without you, I wouldn't have this ability."
He slowly raised his hands, and the cubes moved at his command. Their paths reversed, and they headed back toward the original. "So… you've learned telekinesis," the original said with genuine admiration.
Saruto smiled. "Yes… and it's all thanks to you."
Then, in a firm tone, he added, "And now… let's continue what we started."
He launched the cubes toward him.