Commentator:
"If Crashnova loses he stays locked in the Rookie Division.
But if he wins…
He leaps into the B-Class Senior Division, and Rocky?
He gets demoted to Rookie status. Instant trade."
A dramatic beat. Spotlights swirl. The hexagon hums louder.
Commentator (with flair):
"High risk. High reward.
This is where reputations are made or shattered."
DING. DING. DING.
The fight begins.
WHAM!
Rocky lunged—his fists became blurs of motion, piston-strikes cracking the air in rapid succession.
WHOOSH!
A second punch launched a visible shockwave, the compressed wind forming a ghostly, clenched fist that
BOOM!—
Slammed into the arena's hex-barrier. The force field rippled like a drumhead struck by lightning.
THUMP!
His third strike detonated against the ground, kicking up a spiraling dust geyser.
FWAM!
The fourth came roaring at Gabriel's temple fast, clean, lethal.
Gabriel tilted his head. The compressed blast missed by a hair's breadth, the wind tugging at his edges.
"Already on the attack? Good." His voice was dry, almost amused.
TSSHHK!
Rocky's fifth strike tore through the air—just as brutal, just as precise.
He clicked his tongue, stepping back. His chest rose and fell, sweat already tracing his temple.
"Tsk… those eyes are gonna be a problem."
Gabriel's glowing irises tracked him unblinking, calculating, inhumanly focused.
A beat of silence.
Then, Gabriel smirked.
"My turn."
With a slow exhale, he flexed his right leg, rolling his ankle once. Beneath his skin, tendons shifted tightening like braided steel cables, each strand thrumming with violet-tinged energy.
"Ever wonder why they call my kicks superhuman?" Gabriel asked, his tone almost too casual calm, but edged with quiet confidence.
"Most people think it's because of my leg muscles… but they're wrong. It's all tendon control."
Rocky's brow furrowed.
Tendon control? What the hell does that mean?
"Gabriel offered no explanation. His body was the argument - power coiling from hips to heel in one fluid current, every tendon humming with lethal potential. The math was simple: let the kick speak for itself."
"I'll show you."
He flexed his ankle with surgical precision.
"Let's say… I increased my tendon tension by 11%."
His eyes narrowed, smirk sharpening.
"Let's see if your ribs can handle this."
He sank into a looser stance fluid, deceptively relaxed yet his right knee coiled like a loaded spring.
"Bring it! Whatever you're trying, I'm far enough to react!" Rocky roared.
WOOSH—
A blur.
Gabriel accelerated.
Then—
SHOOM!
He reappeared point-blank, erasing the distance in an eye-blink.
Rocky saw the shin coming—twisted to block—
Too late.
THWACK!
The impact echoed through the arena
and the crowd erupted in a roar.
Rocky stumbled back, face twisted in pain, one hand instantly clamping his side. His breathing hitched.
Gabriel stood motionless, foot still raised, posture balanced like a pendulum at rest.
"Still think it's arrogance?"
He slowly lowered his leg back to the ground.
***
Gin shouted, eyes wide.
"Huh?! How the heck did he do that?! That kick came outta nowhere!"
Tabaki blinked hard, still trying to process what he just saw.
"I didn't even see him lift his leg at first. That didn't make any sense! Hey old man Kenta, what just happened?"
Kenta stood calm, arms folded, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
"You're thinking just like I did the first time I saw him. Heh... I know it looks unreal, right?"
"But here's the thing Gabriel isn't following the usual rules of human body mechanics. Not the way you're used to seeing."
Gin frowned.
"What do you mean, 'usual body mechanics'?!"
Kenta pointed toward the arena.
"Alright, think of it like this"
"When you run, throw a punch, or fire off a kick... what happens first?"
Iwaizumi chimed in.
"You wind up. building up towards the kick or punch. Muscles stretch, you push off, then the leg fires. Boom."
Kenta nodded.
"Exactly. Muscles pull that's your engine, your body biomechanics for any movements the muscles have to stretch to generate power from the tendons opposite reaction. But here's the key:
1 "To move anything, those muscles have to pull on tendons."
Kenta gestured sharply, drawing a line through the air.
2 "Tendons are like ropes. They connect your muscles to your bones. No pull? no movement. The muscle contracts, but it's the tendon that transfers that force and makes the limb actually move."
He looked between them.
"For most athletes especially sprinters or fighters tendons are the real difference-makers. The stronger and more elastic they are, the more power you get. Fast acceleration, quick direction changes, explosive kicks it all comes down to how well your tendons store and release energy."
Kenta glanced to the side.
"Gin—flex for a sec."
Gin, ever the good sport, rolled up his sleeve and flexed his arm.
Thick muscle bunched beneath his skin as Kenta pointed to the curve of his bicep.
"See that?" Kenta tapped just below the bulge.
"That's not just muscle. Right here this tight cord that's a tendon."
He turned back to the others, eyes sharp.
"When you throw a punch, your muscle fibers contract. They pull on tendons tight, biological springs that connect to your bones. That pull yanks your limb into motion."
He gestured, mimicking the motion of a punch.
"That's how force gets transferred. Same thing applies when you kick.
Muscle contracts → pulls the tendon → tendon moves the bone → movement happens."
He paused.
"But here's the thing that process takes time. Even if it's just a fraction of a second, the muscle has to load, stretch, and fire. And that's enough for the human eye to catch. Enough time for someone to react... if they know what they're looking for."
Gin stared at Kenta, wide-eyed.
This was the kind of knowledge his old world never had. No books, no master nothing had ever explained it like this.
And now, finally… This was something he could use.
Something that could take him closer to his dream.
Kenta let that sink in, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk.
"Now imagine this what happens when you face someone with a Pulse ability that lets him control his tendons at will?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Gabriel Kirrily. That's him. He can manipulate the size, thickness, even the elasticity of the tendons in his legs."
Kenta paused, letting the weight of that truth settle.
"He skips the whole wind-up."
He drew a short breath, then explained:
"Like I said before, normal human movement happens in a chain and it takes time.
First, the muscle contracts.
→ That pulls on the tendon.
→ The tendon moves the bone.
→ Then the strike actually happens."
He tapped his temple.
"All of that every step takes around 0.2 to 0.4 seconds. And it's sequential. One trigger at a time. That's just how the human body works."
He lowered his hand, voice sharpening.
"But Gabriel doesn't play by those rules."
He tapped his thigh.
"He doesn't start with muscle.
The realization was sinking in across the group.
Even the cloaked girl Samira, as Iwaizumi and Tabaki now knew her spoke up, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"Wait… you mean he starts from his tendons?!"
Kenta nodded, eyes locked on the arena.
"Exactly. That's why I had to see it in person not through a screen."
He folded his arms, tone steady.
"His tendons are already under precise tension. Like drawn crossbows."
He tilted his head slightly, gaze still fixed on Gabriel.
"When he moves, he's not beginning the action... he's releasing it."
Gin blinked hard.
"…Wait so he tightens his tendons ahead of time? But how? Wouldn't he still need to contract his muscles? What are his muscles even doing then?"
Kenta pointed at Jiro again.
"Good question. Normally, yeah you'd need to flex your muscles right then to move. That's the wind-up. The prep. Your muscles contract, pull on the tendons, and then your body reacts."
He turned back to the group.
"But Gabriel's different."
He held up a finger.
"His Pulse doesn't rely on the standard chain—muscle → tendon → bone. He's reprogrammed that. Gabriel can load tension directly into his tendons in advance. Hours before. Minutes before. Even mid-movement."
Kenta tapped his own thigh.
"His tendons act like biological springs, already stretched, already loaded. All they need is a release. And that's where his muscles come in but not the way you're thinking."
He looked at Gin.
"Instead of generating force, his muscles are just the switch. A flick. A signal. Just enough movement to let go of what's already built up. That's why there's no warning. No shoulder shift. No hip twist. The strike's already halfway finished by the time you even realize he's started."
Tabaki's eyes widened.
"No pull-back... just boom. I can't even comprehend it just yet."
"Wow…" Gin smirked, the realization clicking.
"So that means he increases the tension in his tendons on his own without needing muscle movement. The muscles just act as the trigger to release all that stored energy."
He shook his head, amazed.
"I didn't know a Pulse could be that precise… or that unique."
Kenta nodded, clearly pleased.
"Exactly. That's why Rocky didn't see it coming. He was watching for muscle cues looking for a wind-up, the usual prep before a strike."
"But the attack had already started buried deep in the tendons, under the skin. By the time the muscle moved, it was already too late."