“Guh, gaha…! Fufufu, hahahahaha…!!”
At the point of impact… as the flames surrounding it disappeared, both were standing.
Those violet flames had such power that it would make sense for everything to turn to ash, and after being hit with Yuugo’s fist enveloped in them, Zaraki was clearly badly wounded.
But he was standing. His whole body was hurt, but he stood after taking Yuugo’s attack.
He raised his hand, grabbed Yuugo’s arm, and stabbed his shoulder with the sharp claw on his other hand while laughing.
“Guh…!?”
“Big brother!!”
Blaster’s armor shattered, something unthinkable considering how tough it was before, and the claw reached Yuugo’s shoulder.
He slowly pulled Yuugo’s arm, and smiled after looking at the blood coming from Yuugo’s shoulder.
“The first strike. I noticed right from the first attack that hit me. You’re not doing well, are you? You’re hurt somewhere, right?”
Zaraki squinted and laughed, as he explained he saw through Yuugo’s poor condition.
At the same time, he praised Yuugo, as deep down, he acknowledged his power for hurting him that badly.
“That was really close. If you were in good condition, I would’ve been in trouble.”
The attack delivered just under the time limit did not explode with its maximum power.
Zaraki spoke of what decided the outcome, felt the magic energy of the violet flaming armor weakening, and his smile deepened.
“The recoil is hitting…! Yuugo can’t…!!”
“Dammit! Wait Yuugo! I’m coming to help… Guh!!”
It was not just Yuugo’s body that was damaged by the abnormally intense flames.
Blaster increased its metal to the maximum to mask the effects of the heat, and the recoil dropped its defense a lot.
The magic crystal in its chest was losing its shine, and Marcos and the others wanted to rush to Yuugo’s aid… but they were also at their limit, and fell.
“Yuugo…!”
“It’s over! In honor of your persistence, I’ll hear your last words! Anything you have to say? Ah?”
Zaraki raised his arm, joyful, amused, and confident in his victory.
This time he aimed at the neck, and showed enough confidence to hear Yuugo’s last words… But he whispered.
“…Id… Twi…”
“Ah?? What? I can’t hear you.”
Zaraki said with a mocking smile… and was surprised when his arm was grabbed.
He was shaken by the fact that he was grabbed too strongly by someone near death, and with a fierce smile under his helmet, Yuugo spoke clearly.
“I said Twin Explosion, didn’t I…!?”
“Ah…? …!?”
Zaraki did not understand, but his eyes opened wide when he felt the ground shake greatly under him.
His instincts told him this was bad, so he tried to back away, but could not shake Yuugo’s hand from his arm.
(Was that his plan from the start…!?)
Yuugo was not trying to win against Zaraki. His aim was this situation… where Zaraki let his guard down completely after blocking Yuugo’s finishing move.
The last attack was not meant to defeat him, it was setup.
Yuugo’s true goal was to burst with an all out attack after that. Zaraki turned pale when he realized this, and flames enveloped both as if bursting from a geyser.
“Gahh!? Gaah!! Guaaaaaaah!?”
“Z-Zaraki!?”
Koumaru yelled as he saw Zaraki enveloped in flames.
He could hear Zaraki groaning in pain, and being blown away with Yuugo after a big explosion.
“Yuugo!! Hang on!”
“Zaraki!”
Yuugo was blown towards his friends, and Zaraki towards Koumaru, as they rolled on the ground.
Zaraki raised his head in response to Koumaru’s voice, but all the composure was gone from him.
“Damn kid!! How dare he hurt me like this…!! I’ll kill… Gaha…!”
His anger towards Yuugo burned, and he tried to get up to finish him, but he took far more damage than he thought, and limply crumpled.
Still, he raised his head and looked ahead, saw Yuugo glare at him, and felt something he could not describe.
“Bring it on…!! I’ll take you on as much as you want…!”
“Nuh, uh…!?”
The boundless pressure and intensity coming from Yuugo dampened Zaraki’s fighting spirit.
He exploded himself and took as much damage as him, but stood up bursting with willpower. As Zaraki saw him, an emotion he could never acknowledge grew in his chest.
(Screw you! I am…!!)
The course of the fight, techniques, and at the end of it all… Yuugo won.
It would take time for Zaraki’s loong regeneration to heal such heavy wounds, and he was not far from death.
Yuugo had no power left to finish him off. He should be stronger, since he could heal his wounds.
But… Zaraki saw Yuugo get up with no loss to his fighting spirit and glare at him as he crawled, and the emotion he wanted to ignore welled up inside him.
“It can’t be! I… lost…!? U-uoooooh…!”
It was not a loss brought about simply due to power, it was due to strength of heart and resolve.
Zaraki was hit with this truth and writhed with humiliation, as Koumaru looked at him with shock. He sensed the presence of incoming guards, and yelled with a panicked expression.
“Zaraki! We’re retreating for now!”
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Your no longer a dragon, you’re now a worm!