Chapter 209: In and Out (1/2)

A clean and very violent blow struck Yoichi's jaw, causing him to turn his head from the recoil. At that moment, the young tamer's feet faltered, and his gaze blurred.

His eyes had been mechanically shifted from their previous position and now pointed toward the sea and the other side of the beach.

Yoichi tried with all his might to regain control of his body during that short time, but it was as if his enemy had pulled the plug on him. Although he focused hard on his legs and arms, he could no longer control them and fell with his chest to the ground.

Following the movement of the rest of his body, his head bounced several times on the sand and the brain moving inside his skull box made Yoichi even more confused, leaving him dazed.

Nobunaga was standing still and Yoichi was lying in front of him, sprawled on the sand like a jellyfish washed ashore by the waves. His blond hair was smeared with the thin, earthy gravel of that stretch of coastline, and his lips opened and closed as if he wanted to mumble something.

Without even looking at his master, Nobunaga stopped his every movement, just a second before giving Yoichi the killing blow. When he turned to Takamori, the guild leader had one arm raised with an open hand, ordering the fight to end.

”You...you will not...I don't...” more garbled words came out of Yoichi's mouth. His eyes gradually squinted because of the kick he had just taken: probably, if he had more time to charge the blow and if he had attacked with all his strength, Nobunaga would have ripped the head off his opponent's neck with that kick.

Taking advantage of Yoichi's strange defensive maneuver, the purple-haired warrior had managed to unleash one of the best blows he had ever executed. When Yoichi's jaw was hit, all the receptors in his brain deactivated their motor functions, activating the alert state throughout his body.

”Hey...hey, Yoichi! You can't pass out again, man!”

*slap*slap* - one slap after another, Yoichi opened his eyes again, sensing a large hand on his face. As the image in front of him took shape under the sunlight, he realized that Rinji was trying to bring him to his senses.

Yoichi could now move his arms and legs. Without wasting any more time, knowing that he had not made a good impression under the gaze of his master, he placed his hands on the ground and stood up in a hurry.

With his hair still tousled and his gaze lost in emptiness, he shook off the sand, looking at Takamori Sada. The short, potbellied man's moustache had its tips pointing upward, emphasizing his cute little smile.

In contrast, Nobunaga always had that sombre, disinterested expression. That young and talented warrior seemed to act as if he was stronger than anyone else and feared no one.

Would he have had the same cocky expression if Ogai's Blackblood had locked his hands and feet? What was his Oracle, and what power did it have?