"Will the final opponents of Block A please arrive!?"

The members of the Bladebreakers GR and the BC Sol Superstars all nested across from their respective teammates.

"For this time attack, your battles must be completed before twenty five minutes. The match ends after your Beyblade has either received a Spin, Over, or Burst Finish. Both teams take a few minutes to strategize before we start the timer."

"I should take on Free first," Tyson and Daichi said in accidental Unison. "My Beyblade is an attack type so we have the advantage against Free's stamina types. Hey, quit copying me!"

Kenny sighed. "We don't know if he's going first. But even if he does, he's able to take on powerful opponents before and can counterattack or counter their attacks back at them."

"Then we need someone who's fighting style can help them evade and strike before being hit by Fafnir's rubber blades," Max added on.

"So should we use Kenny? He can absorb spin but if Kenny attacks from all his angels and use Hoppers jumping abilities, we can get around that, right," Hillary asked.

"But Kenny's style works better for hit and run strategies," Ray added. "Fine, I'll go."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Driger's speed and survivability and my fighting style can wear him down before the rubber from Fafnir's wings do damage."

"But we don't know if they're going to pick him first."

"Don't worry, I'll make him," heading out and pointing his Beyblade at Driger. "Free De La Hoya, I'll take you on in the first match!"

"Did Ray just bait Free into taking on the first match?"

Free looked up while his teammates wondered why Free would come after him, originally planning on bringing Cuza out to fight him.

Sasha thought it over. "Should we take the bait? Shouldn't we save Free for their captain?"

"He's won the past two out of three matches. If Free can't take him down, I don't think any of us can," Kit admitted.

"I'll go," Sisco claimed. "My rollers can block out his speed."

"But he can get past your Universe Drift. I'll go," Cuza countered.

"It's fine, I'll go."

"Free, are you sure?"

"Kris, I'll be okay. It'll be fun, I'll win."

Sasha grabbed his hands. "Let's strategize first."

"Sure," half surprised at her grip.

Sisco went first. "If you shoot hard and aim for the center, your speed's defense should let you counterattack."

"No," Sasha said. "I think he should go on the offensive first. Take him head on and chip at his defenses."

"Maybe he should switch between the two," Cuza claimed with Carl added on.

"Why not use your special moves to make him waste his Beyblade's energy?"

Kris noticed Free was processing all of that through his blank expression, even though they thought otherwise.

"You've already developed a strategy, haven't you, Free."

"Yup, thanks," heading to the stadium where he met Ray from across.

"Nice sash."

"Likewise. You're the leader of the White Tigers X once. What's it like to be the former leader of a team? How hard is it to go back to one?"

"You left on your own?"

"I wanted to see how strong they could get without me and put my faith in our new recruits. That way I could face them myself."

"I left because I wanted to compete against them and prove we weren't just friends, but rivals, and battle them with everything I got. But whenever they'll need me, I'll always go back to any of my friends."
"Valuing your teammates from either side. Well they could be great opponents."

"As their leader, do you believe in them?"

"Sure, and I'll prove that by beating you."

"Ready, get set."

"Three, two, one," as Ray performed his martial pose and kata while Free aimed and positioned his launcher at a downward angle "Let it rip!"

"Go Shoot!"

Driger pounced into the stadium while the crowd's anticipation of which Beyblade Free was going to use left them all in shock.

"Free's using Mirage Fafnir? This battle's about to get all kinds of unpredictable!"

"Fafnir, attack!"

The golden dragon bounced off the slope, attacking Driger head on with his rubber wings on the Mirage Ring. With Ray having no time to accelerate away in time from Fafnir's clawing strikes, the tiger was being pushed back from where he expected the battle to commence.

He high-blocked. "Deflect, Driger!"

The tiger beast blocked with its frontal legs while the top skirted towards the wall and leading Fafnir near there. Knowing Fafnir's weaknesses, Free attempted to have his bey change trajectory but Driger had already baited both into hitting the wall.

This allowed Driger to spring off farther and escape like a parkour artist, flipping back towards the slope.

"Now Driger, attack!"

Driger raced from the slope to the ridge and struck Fafnir with a heavy blow. Ray delivered a strong roundhouse kick as Fafnir's attempts to evade resulted in Driger leaping from the wall back to Fafnir, striking from below and throwing it towards the center.

"Free De La Hoya has taken a super powerful hit. Can he recover from this!?"

Tyson snapped his fingers. "Atta boy Ray, you got him right where you want him!"

Sisco growled. "Free, fight back!"

Mirage used the Nothing Performance Tip's Driver ability, replenishing its rotation upon landing in the center, as Driger followed it in pursuit via Ray's headfirst lunge.

"We'll end this here and now!"

The white tiger's trajectory slipped inches from Fafnir, drifting around the edge of the inner circular edge at maximum potential, goating itself in a deeper green light energy aura and numerous speed clones, charging up lightning in his fists that he punched with.

"Gattling Claw!"

All of Driger's clones, all of them sped and slashed at Fafnir.
"Is it game over?!"

"Fafnir, tame them."

To the surprise of friend and rival alike, Fafnir's avatar circled around the air, feasting off tiger at tiger while defending itself with his wings as shields. The audience watched most of the clones either fall prey to the wings on the Mirage Ring, or have its energy restored through converting the electric cones into stamina with spin stealing.

"You saw this was coming?!"

"BC Sol's light will overcome your lightning. Is that all?"

Ray looked agitated, starting to question what to do.

"Where's your pride Ray!"

"Fight back Ray!"

"Get in there, Ray!"

"Show him the power you had fighting me!"

"You owe me a rematch in the finals."

Hearing Lee, Mariah, Tyson, Crusher, and Mystel's words, Ray snapped himself out of his doubts, charging a large array of green electrcity, his hair chaotically howling with a tiger's intensity.

His eyes glowed light, firing a beam of green lightning into the sky, destroying the ground in his plane of Resonance. He channeled the lightning to strike his Beyblade and cover it into a green glow, as Driger sped off.

"Gatling Claw Maximum!"

Ray punched and kicked as Driger's lightning enveloped the clones, striking Mirage Fafnir between the wings, and taking the offensive with a high voltage barrage.

Free had to cross his hands to block, pushed back from the force of Driger's green glowing high speed assault attacking, circling away and striking back like a tiger continuing to stalk and slash his prey rapidly before the wings can hit or steal the White Tiger's energy.

Free's veins started to bulge, smacking wind with their swing. "Fafnir!"

His Beyblade started using the rotation from the clones to amplify its own, forcing Ray to take on Fafnir head on.

"I'll knock you out of the stadium," winding back both fists. He released them into a palm thrust and Driger made a straight dash to Fafnir, pushing them out of the center, akin to a rocket attempting to push the moon.

Free's feet started to charge up lightning, generating in his gauntlet as it neared the center. Driger started to push it down for a smash attack, completely what Free anticipated, who smiled.

"Let's do this Fafnir!"

Fafnir sped away from Driger with a blinding yellow glow about on par with his own, using the upper ridge to further put himself in the same speed.

"Nothing Break!"

"Driger," letting the avatar charge up more lightning, spinning in the center before blasting straight at Fafnir heading straight towards him.

"Slay this dragon," charging more energy into his fist and letting it out through a passionate thrust from his fist. "Thunder Slash!"

Both attacks struck into each other like a bullet. Driger and Fafnir collided head on, but against the different rotations, both Beyblades pushed each other, racing around the stadium while both of their veins were bulging from beneath their arms.

The tiger and dragon avatar were in deadlock, zipping to the center, circling around the entire upper ridge, breaking off and making rapid strikes before swinging back for a more brutal collision, both of their bodies and eyes coated in green and yellow, refusing to let go.

"Driger, Thunder Slash, full power!"

Using both arms, Ray pushed Free's beyblade towards the center of the stadium, who held back with his arms like an airplane as Driger lifted Mirage Fafnir in the air, disabling it's Nothing gimmick as it dropped into the center.

"End it!"

Free smiled as it seemed to be over, but Ray's face turned to shock as the Nothing Driver clamped back down against the force of Ray's attract decreasing increase, activating again, pushing back with the reactivation with the same power of Nothing Break.

"Mirage Claw!"

"Last Resort, Mountain Sage's White Tiger Strike!"

Mirage ripped at Driger with a powerful claw style swipe formed from a black maelstrom while Driger poured most of its power into the same attack layer to empower the Thunder Slash. Two claws of darkness and lightning struck the opponent Beyblade, absorbing and eliminating the rotation of both Beyblades to smithereens.

"Which one will stop first?"

Ray looked on in shock as Driger fell first while Mirage Fafnir stayed spinning.

"The winner of the First Battle is Free De La Hoya from BC Sol!"

Ray fell, out of stamina while Free was left panting, heavily tired and sweating. The former slammed his fist on the ground, laughing and picking himself to get his partner.

"I was only supposed to use that move as a last resort."

"An evolved version of your own technique?"

"Thunder Slash was meant to be a replica of my own technique and experience, while the White Tiger Strike is based on the White Tigers legends and history. It's only the incomplete version but I didn't expect you to use that move a second time."

"You almost had me figured out. If you had used that move to knock Fafnir out of the stadium, I probably wouldn't have survived," spotting Mirage's layers mere centimeters from Burst for the first time.

"I'll take that as a complement," rising up to match Free's height. "You already had input from your team to face me, didn't you."

"I guess you did the same."

"It almost worked. So why did you ask me?"

"Looking back seeing their face, part of me wondered if I acted differently back then."

"The fact you won means you've grown since then. Let's battle again some time," offering his hand.

"Sure," lighting up enough to smile and shake it.

"Give a round of applause for a great battle and good showmanship. This battle has shaved off 4 minutes. Only less than 21 minutes to break the record. Now, who will be the next blader?"

Ray turned back to his team. "Sorry guys, I gave it my all."

"Nonsense, that was one of your best battles Ray. You did great."

He had to accept they may have had a point. "Still, wanted to keep the momentum."

"Don't worry, we got this "