"The schedule of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament is roughly divided into two parts."
"First is the preliminary round. Second is the main tournament."
"The preliminary round will be held on a ship called the Annihilation. The main tournament will begin after we arrive at Chairman Katahara's private island."
"There will be thirty-two contestants, representing thirty-two companies."
"From thirty-two to sixteen. Sixteen to eight. Eight to four. Four to two."
"And finally-the championship match."
"The faction that wins in the end will succeed Chairman Katahara and become the new Chairman of the Kengan Association."
Jaden listened as Erina explained and nodded calmly.
"So..."
"That means the ship we're on right now is the Annihilation, and we'll be participating in the preliminary round later?"
"No."
Erina shook her head.
"Jaden, the ship we're currently on is called the Kengan. The other one is the Annihilation."
"The companies on the Kengan ship are those that received invitation letters from Chairman Katahara. There are twenty-seven of them."
"If you include Chairman Katahara himself, that makes twenty-eight."
"Those who received invitation letters can skip the preliminary round and enter the main tournament directly."
"The preliminary spots are for Kengan Association members who didn't receive invitations."
"It was originally said there would be five."
"But now it seems to have become four."
Jaden paused.
"Is that because there's an extra person?"
"No..."
Erina shook her head again.
"Apparently, one of the preliminary winners publicly provoked Chairman Katahara after winning."
"And was disqualified on the spot by the Chairman's guard squad."
Ah.
Then that was that.
Whether it was stupidity born from insufficient strength, or the fact that someone could be taken down by Katahara Metsudo's guard squad alone-
Jaden judged them insignificant.
He shifted his attention.
"So that means..."
"We need to win five matches after landing to take the championship?"
"Mhm."
Erina nodded.
Then she smiled.
"But it's fine even if we don't win every single match."
"Just receiving the invitation letter-or having the qualification to participate-already means a lot."
"After Totsuki received the invitation, business offers flooded in."
"And if we want to deal with Toyo Electric..."
"With a bit of luck, we might not even need the final victory."
Erina trusted Jaden deeply.
Even so, she didn't want to burden him with unnecessary pressure.
She wasn't discouraging him.
She simply understood him too well.
So she spoke again, her smile composed and steady.
"In short, Jaden..."
"Just have fun."
"Leave the rest to me~"
Jaden shrugged.
"Have fun, huh..."
"I'll try my best~"
He said that lightly.
In truth, even Takeshi Wakatsuki hadn't given him much excitement.
Not to mention-
He still had the Curse.
If an opponent randomly suffered unconsciousness or full-body muscle spasms, the match would end immediately.
As that thought crossed his mind-
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Erina looked at Jaden.
Jaden nodded and stood up.
He walked over and opened it.
The moment the door opened, a man wearing a knit hat lunged straight at him.
Then-
Bang.
It sounded like a gunshot.
The man flew backward, slammed into the wall across the corridor, and was embedded in it.
His entire body sunk into the surface.
On his chest-
A fist-shaped indentation had been carved directly into his flesh.
Erina watched calmly, as if she had expected this.
She let out a light sigh.
"It seems they're more anxious than I thought."
Jaden froze for a moment.
Then he understood.
"You mean..."
"Someone is trying to eliminate the representative combatants of other companies before the tournament starts."
"Then threaten the company heads, replace their combatants in the main tournament, and force them to cooperate?"
"Exactly..."
Erina sighed softly.
"It's the same approach Toyo Electric used when the news of the tournament first spread."
"They directly attacked us, Koyo, and the Fishing Port you're familiar with."
"In a tournament where only one faction can win..."
"The more teams you control, the higher your chances."
"And even as a backup, doing this preserves your own combatant's condition."
"They won't be worn down or injured before the later rounds."
"I see."
Jaden nodded.
"That makes sense."
"If you think about it, we also have Koyo on our side."
"So it's not strange that others would think the same way."
As he spoke, Jaden glanced at the unfortunate man he had just punched away.
Members of the Katahara Guard were already handling the aftermath.
He shrugged.
"Just bad luck."
"He came after us."
Jaden closed the door.
At the same time-
Elsewhere on the ship, other "assassins" also found their targets.
Most of the confrontations ended almost instantly.
The majority of these assassins had been sent by Toyo Electric.
Not long after giving them freedom to act, Hayami Katsumasa received the report.
"-They all failed!"
What!?
At first, Hayami Katsumasa didn't understand.
Then he saw the list of targets.
His face twisted.
The half-rotted side of his face, ruined by an old injury, became even more hideous.
-He was nearly driven mad with rage.
Look at who they went after.
The Demon Spear, Jaden.
The man who had repeatedly ruined his plans.
The man who had even defeated Takeshi Wakatsuki.
Someone else, apparently not arrogant enough to challenge Jaden, targeted-
The Wild Tiger, Takeshi Wakatsuki himself.
Others followed the same logic.
Some went after the Demon, Raian Kure.
Some targeted the Thunder God, Rei Mikazuchi-the representative combatant of his unfilial daughter's Gold Entertainment.
Some even attempted to break through the Katahara Guard to reach the Fang of Metsudo, Kanoh Agito.
How foolish.
-If the old man's location were that easy to breach, would it be your turn!?
Out of all the assassins he had sent-
Only one targeted someone he didn't recognize.
The Black Arm.
Kuroki Gensai.
If the previous ones were foolish-
Then this one was probably...
"Weak."
Hayami Katsumasa sighed.
Every assassin had been eliminated.
He found himself missing Meguro Masaki and Ren Nikaido.
Unfortunately, one had been killed by Jaden.
The other had vanished after being defeated by Jaden.
Thinking of that, Hayami sighed again.
"Forget it..."
"These are just petty tricks."
"If they failed, then so be it."
"As long as we win the main tournament in the end."
"That's all that matters."
"Wouldn't you agree, Julius?"
From the darkness behind him, Julius slowly smiled.
"Leave it to me."
He hadn't helped the assassins.
Since boarding the Kengan ship, he had stayed beside Hayami Katsumasa.
Even though Hayami had his own guard squad-
If an enemy assassin appeared, Julius believed it was safer to stay close.
Otherwise, it would be troublesome if someone went straight for their boss.
Most companies thought the same way.
Sometimes it was the combatant's decision.
Sometimes it was the boss's.
Jaden's side was no different.
Erina's face flushed red.
She suddenly reached out and grabbed Jaden's hand.
"Jaden..."
"Look, an assassin already came knocking."
"There might be more later."
"So..."
"So please stay tonight."
"We'll be safer together."
"...Don't you think?"
She gathered her courage as she spoke.
Her face was red.
Her eyes held a trace of anticipation.
Jaden looked at her.
He paused for a moment.
Then smiled.
He tightened his grip around her hand.
"Alright~"
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