Jaden and Erina regarded each other as their own people.
Or rather-
As family members they could rely on when things mattered.
That was why Jaden told Erina about encountering the Kure Clan the moment he returned.
And that was why Erina, after hearing about the Kure Clan, immediately brought up The Wild Tiger-Takeshi Wakatsuki.
-My business is your business. Your business is my business.
Getting the two of them to say something like that out loud would have been impossible.
But the relationship existed regardless.
They had already accepted it in silence.
Jaden was calm.
Lazy.
And he hated unnecessary trouble.
Shinomiya had once offered him one-tenth of his assets just to get him involved in something bothersome.
Jaden had refused without hesitation.
But when Koyo was involved-
He stepped in.
Simply because it could ease Erina's pressure, even a little.
As for Erina-
Outsiders saw her as arrogant.
In reality, she was awkward.
Guarded.
Carrying wounds she didn't show.
And Jaden was one of the very few people she could truly speak to without restraint.
That was the nature of their relationship.
So when Erina mentioned the commission, she explained everything in detail.
"The reason Toyo Electric is targeting both Totsuki and Koyo," Erina said, "is because Hayami Katsumasa plans to launch a competition."
"The Kengan Annihilation Tournament."
"The tournament will be limited to members of the Kengan Association," she continued. "And the final winner will become the Chairman of the Kengan Association."
Jaden understood almost immediately.
He was the type of person who liked to use indirect methods himself.
Putting himself in Hayami Katsumasa's position, the logic was obvious.
"So," Jaden said, "he plans to strike companies that qualify for Kengan matches before the tournament begins."
"Then use assets to recruit fighters."
"And make sure as many of his own people as possible enter the tournament, increasing his odds of winning."
"Right?"
"Exactly."
Erina nodded.
"Totsuki is already the leading enterprise in the culinary industry," she said. "And if I, the God Tongue, were to judge something as 'unpleasant,' a single word could destroy certain establishments overnight."
"So Toyo Electric is probably planning to use my God Tongue to pressure more catering companies and pull them in as allies."
She raised three fingers.
"They're attacking from three directions."
"First, the Kengan match against Koyo."
"Second, the Kengan match against Totsuki in seven days."
"And third-during all of this-they somehow found a highly skilled chef who has been repeatedly challenging Totsuki to Shokugeki."
At that point, Erina smiled faintly.
"Before this, I had to guard against Toyo Electric suddenly initiating a Kengan match against Totsuki."
"I also had to deal with that chef who kept challenging us."
"And I suspected there was an insider leaking information."
"Honestly... I was overwhelmed."
She looked at Jaden.
"It's a good thing you helped shoulder some of that pressure."
"And if it's you, Jaden, I don't think the other Wild Tiger will be much of a problem either."
Jaden waved a hand dismissively.
"I can't do much about an insider," he said. "But about that chef who keeps challenging Totsuki-do you want me to..."
He stopped there.
He was confident that if he challenged someone to a Shokugeki, he'd probably win.
But Totsuki was the leader of the culinary world.
Losing a Kengan match wasn't shameful.
A Shokugeki, however-
They wouldn't necessarily want his help.
And Erina's answer confirmed it.
"You don't need to step in for that," she said. "That Wild Tiger is still troublesome, so you should focus on preparing for the Kengan match and the Kure Clan situation."
"As for Shokugeki..."
Erina smiled.
"Totsuki is the culinary leader of this country, after all."
...
I really shouldn't have boasted...
Early the next morning, Erina stood there watching Gin Dojima lose a Shokugeki.
She blinked.
Her mind went blank.
The opposing chef-
Asahi Saiba-
Held his prize aloft.
Gin Dojima's chef's knife.
His expression smug.
Standing beside Senzaemon Nakiri, Erina sighed quietly.
Senzaemon noticed and smiled.
"Don't worry, Erina," he said. "The Shura will return tomorrow."
The Shura.
Hearing that name, an image surfaced in Erina's mind.
But this time-
There was no flutter.
No disturbance.
She simply nodded.
If he's back, we'll win.
As for the feelings she once had toward his cooking-
They had all shifted elsewhere now.
Entirely.
To Jaden.
...
While Erina was dealing with Shokugeki at Totsuki early in the morning-
Jaden was woken up once again by the Sign-in System.
"Sign in..."
Jack Hanma's fusion percentage rose from forty percent to fifty percent.
Jaden tapped confirm.
[Sign-in Reward: Purity Enhancement Card]
"...Huh?"
Jaden froze.
After sitting up and reading the description, he understood.
This was an item used to increase bloodline potential.
It couldn't exceed the inherent limit.
In other words-
If you possessed a powerful bloodline but hadn't fully unlocked its potential, this card would excavate it.
It enhanced potential.
Not immediate strength.
Unless you were something ridiculous like a Saiyan, where bloodline enhancement could directly cause explosive growth, this was mainly an investment for the future.
Jaden used it immediately.
As the card dissolved into light, a choice appeared.
"I actually have two bloodlines..."
The first-
Hanma Blood.
The second-
The bloodline Old Man Yugi had mentioned before.
But it wasn't called Tennozu Blood.
It was called-
Royal Blood.
Jaden didn't hesitate.
He chose Hanma Blood.
Compared to an unknown bloodline, enhancing the bloodline of a Hanma-an alien-level existence-was obviously more meaningful.
He briefly wondered whether this would dilute the Royal Blood.
But once the enhancement completed, he understood.
To the System-
Bloodlines were like game items.
After the enhancement, his body felt noticeably stronger.
Denser.
More resilient.
Beside Hanma Blood, the display now read:
(Pure-Blood Hanma - Potential Level: Yujiro Hanma)
And beside Royal Blood, it still read:
(Pure-Blood Royalty)
"...I can actually possess two pure bloodlines?"
"Did the System glitch my body or something?"
By all logic, purifying one should reduce the other.
-This made no sense.
Jaden thought for a moment.
Then shook his head.
He had already transmigrated.
Trying to apply logic here was pointless.
He wasn't a scientist.
What did he know about logic anyway?
"But now that my Hanma Blood has reached Yujiro's potential..."
"The strength in my limbs and the durability of my body have clearly increased."
He glanced at the calendar.
"Seven days..."
"No-six days until the fight with The Wild Tiger."
By then-
With his curses.
A fully fused Jack Hanma template.
And Hanma Blood at Yujiro's potential-
How exactly was The Wild Tiger supposed to beat him?
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