As Satoru made his way to the arena, he found his opponent was the same brute who had mocked them earlier.
"Well, well, well. Tough luck, twig. Looks like we're going to have some fun," the man sneered.
The referee explained the rules: "This match uses a point system. The first to score ten points wins. A competitor unable to continue or who surrenders will be eliminated."
Satoru raised his hand. "Referee, what happens if I accidentally kill my opponent?"
The question left the referee startled, but he responded professionally, "The arena allows injuries or deaths during matches. However, attacking after a victory is declared will result in disqualification."
Satoru nodded, not because he intended to kill, but simply to understand the rules. However, his opponent misinterpreted his intentions.
"Big words, kid. I'm going to enjoy putting you in your place," the man taunted.
The referee called out, "Begin!"
In an instant, Satoru flickered behind his opponent and landed a precise strike to the neck, rendering him unconscious.
_Thud!_
The sound of the body hitting the ground echoed through the silent arena. The audience and nearby fighters were frozen in shock. The referee recovered first and announced, "Match over! Competitor 4298 wins!"
Amidst a mixture of gasps and whispers, Satoru calmly walked up to the referee to receive his next-floor assignment.
"You're being promoted directly to the 50th floor," the referee said, handing him a slip.
Satoru wasn't surprised by his performance. Such opponents wouldn't even reach genin rank if he were back home.
After leaving the arena, Satoru shifted his attention to Tsunade, only to see her send her fat opponent flying to the wall with a single punch.
"What a poor guy," Satoru grimaced as the impact silenced the entire hall.
After receiving her slip, Tsunade made her way to him, ignoring the gazes directed at her. "Couldn't you be a little gentler?" Satoru sighed.
"I didn't like his words," Tsunade replied simply, heading toward the elevator.
"Well, what can I expect from a violent blonde," Satoru shook his head and followed her to the elevator.
As they left the arena, news of their performance spread rapidly. Their names and registration numbers became widely discussed throughout the lower floors of Heaven's Arena and were placed among the betting pools.
Unaware of their growing reputation, Satoru and Tsunade entered the elevator. The attendant began explaining the floor layout and the win/loss system, but Satoru's focus was elsewhere.
"Undoubtedly, Nen is the most precious thing in this world," he mused. Despite having chakra and being able to cast jutsu, Satoru was tempted to get his hands on nen. Not only would it boost his physical abilities, but the thought of creating his own techniques fascinated him.
However, he doubted they could easily use nen like the natives of this world, which frustrated him. But when he glanced at one of the system items, his heart skipped a beat.
[Energy Conversion (Ability): Grants the user the ability to convert their natural energy to other types of energy. 3,000,000 points (locked)]
It was the perfect ability that would allow them to access nen or any type of energy without facing problems. Satoru wanted to purchase the ability quickly, but he still needed Tsunade to agree, or the system wouldn't accept the transaction.
"But how could I tell her about this world's power system without getting suspicious?" he thought. They had just arrived in this world, so from Tsunade's perspective, it was impossible to gather such secret intel during this period.
"We are in the Heaven Arena, after all. Sooner or later, we'd encounter a Nen user, and then she could see its application," he reasoned.
After making up his mind to bring up the topic later, Satoru turned his attention to the attendant and listened to the rules.
When the elevator chimed and stopped, they exited and completed the formalities at the reception desk. They then entered the competitors' lounge.
"Since we registered this morning, we should be able to squeeze in one more fight today. Two matches a day seems to be the limit, considering the number of participants," Tsunade said as she settled beside him.
"So, what do you think of everything so far?" Satoru leaned on the comfortable couch.
Tsunade was silent for a while, probably thinking about everything she saw along the way. "Peaceful!" she finally replied.
Satoru waited for her to express her amazement about the technological progress, but he didn't expect her answer.
"It's indeed peaceful," he agreed. They had just finished a war that lasted for several years, so seeing how peaceful this part of the world was a bit enviable. Why wasn't their world like that without meaningless conflicts?
Satoru smiled and didn't bother to tell her about this world's dangers, even though it was indeed peaceful compared to theirs.
After waiting for about three hours, Satoru's number was called again. This time, his opponent was far more cautious, clearly having heard the rumors about him.
The opponent, dressed in a black martial arts uniform, displayed skilled breathing techniques, likely from a traditional school of combat. He also seemed to be a regular at the arena.
Not that it mattered. As with the first opponent, Satoru swiftly defeated him.
The referee declared his victory without hesitation and promoted him to the 100th floor.
But just as he was heading to the elevator, Tsunade rushed to his side. "Satoru, you won't believe what I just saw."
"What?" Satoru asked.
"My opponent used some weird type of energy that didn't resemble chakra in the slightest." Her expression turned serious. "I don't think we're in an ordinary world."
Satoru paused, a smirk slowly creeping across his face. "And here I was thinking how long I should wait before telling her about Nen."
He wouldn't let this chance slide. He must convince her to purchase the skill as soon as possible.
****
200 Power Stone : 1 Extra chapter