For the fight, Risei picked a stone table from the garden and placed it on the altar for the two fighters to use, shocking the guests and impressing their wives with his impressive strength.

And then, it began.

"Stand up, Vanguard!" Kagekiyo exclaimed.

"Stand up, Vanguard." Izuru said.

"Micro Hole Dracokid! (6000)"

"Tch, what's up with all the people with faces I have to bash in always use that clan..." The black haired clicked his tongue. "Crisis Revenger, Fritz. (6000)"

Izuru got out a large than usual coin and waved it around before tossing it into the air and catching it.

"Call it."

"...tch, tai-!"

"It's Hikaru's borrowed Disney coin, it's either Mickey or Donald but the mouse probably has a tail." Izuru sighed, revealing the result. "And I go. Draw. I ride Rinnal. (6000)" He said, tossing a card into his drop zone. "Fritz's skill, draw. Turn end."

Izuru
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Kagekiyo
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Draw! Ride! Prison Gate Star-Vader, Palladium! (8000) Micro Hole Dracokid's skill, draw and get a shield ticket! Attack! (8000)"

"No guard." Izuru shook his head.

"Drive check! (Star-Vader, Colony-Maker)"

"(Nullity Revenger, Masqerade)"

"Turn end!"

Izuru
Hand: 6
Damage: 6
OXO
OOO

Kagekiyo
Hand: 8
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"You're getting restless pretty early. That isn't very healthy. Draw. Dark Change. Blaster Dark. (10000)" Izuru discarded Mordred Phantom. "Twin drive on. Claudas, Dorint, call. (8000) (10000) Dorint's skill. (10000>>20000) With Claudas on my field, I draw a card. Boosted by Claudas, Blaster Dark attacks. (10000>>18000)"

"I... A-axino Dragon, guard! (23000)"

"Like I said, that isn't very healthy. For a King, if you can even take yourself serious while everyone else doesn't, you don't know that comes when Blaster Dark has two drive checks. (Death Feather Eagle - Critical) Vanguard. (18000>>28000/2) (Grim Revenger - Critical) Another one. Critical to Dark, power on Dorint. (20000>>30000) (28000/2>>28000/3)"

"D-damage check! (Aharonov Cat) (Bisection Star-Vader, Zirconium) (Bisection Star-Vader, Zirconium) Damn it!" Kagekiyo exclaimed, gritting his teeth.

"Dorint. (30000)"

"Oblivion Quasar Dragon, guard! Heal Guardian! (25000>>35000)"

"Turn end." Izuru sighed.

Izuru
Hand: 6
Damage: 1
XXO
OXO

Kagekiyo
Hand: 6
Damage: 3
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw! Ride! Gravity Collapse Dragon! (10000) Palladium's skill, m-move back! A-and then, attack! (10000>>18000)"

"Holding steady, huh? I thought you'd be more daring than this, o' great bullcrap king."

"I will... I will be the one to win this fight! For my family's honour!"

"...fight?" The black haired muttered.

Izuru narrowed his eyes and slammed a card on the table, making Kagekiyo stagger back in surprise.

"This isn't two sided enough to be a fight. Astral Chain Dragon, Heal Guardian, activate. (35000)"

"S-shut up! Drive check! (Axino Dragon - Critical) T-turn end!"

Izuru
Hand: 5
Damage: 1
XXO
OXO

Kagekiyo
Hand: 7
Damage: 3
OXO
OXO

"Tch, what a joke." Izuru clicked his tongue and sighed. "Stand and draw. Cry. Howl. The abyss dragon plunged in garnet flames, crawl out of the sixth heaven, and become the blade the cut them all."

Kagekiyo grit his teeth and held onto his cards tightly.

"...you know, Kagekiyo, when I met you, I thought I had a pretty fair idea of the type of guy you were." He admitted. "Burn the silence."

Sweat began rolling down Kagekiyo's forehead as his breathing became faster.

"You looked like the guy who it all planned out. You were King, but you didn't let that get to your head and even kept yourself away from the rest of the school. I thought that was kinda neat, considering the shitstains that came before you." Izuru said, placing down his cards as he grabbed the final card of his ride deck. "The spirals."

Wary of his surroundings, Kagekiyo began quickly shifting his head around.

"And I really thought we could have been friends... But yeah, this had to happen. And it's ironic that it happened in my second year of a school stage. Come on, man, you could have told me something... You think I wouldn't try to help you? Did I really strike you as the kind of guy to not budge when his friends are being dragged into their family's crap?" Izuru asked, holding a card up. "Through generations."

"Y-you wouldn't get it..." Kagekiyo muttered. "This... This was... THIS WAS NEVER MY CHOICE!" He cried out.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't image us hanging out with Ban and Tate and doing dumb shit. Maybe it's my fault for being so quick on trusting people, it's like not liking Endo for a year and a half didn't do anything. Never your choice? What a load of bull. Honestly? I think you're the one who wants this the most, you're just too much of a pathalogic self liar to consider it. But in all honesty? That's fine. My grandmother once said: The bigger they are... The harder then fall when I punch 'em in the dick! Ride! The demon king of sixth heaven, Raging Form Dragon! (13000)"

Izuru called Rinnal behind Dorint and used that column for the first attack.

"G-guard, Axino Dragon! (25000)"

"And now look at you... You can't even live up to the fact you're the bad guy here."

Boosted by Claudas, Raging Form attacked.

"PERFECT GUARD! I NEVER WANTED ANY OF THIS! BUT I HAVE TO MAKE MY FAMILY PROUD! I HAVE TO PROTECT THE HONOUR THEY CREATED!" Kagekiyo barked.

"We're still doing that dance? Suit yourself. Sucks to admit, but my image of you has been broken beyond belief. And here I thought my bones after accidently meeting Yukiko at the supermarket looked bad. Inceneration of Enryaku-Ji."

After an attack where a draw trigger and Rinnal were revealed, Dorint, Claudas and Rinnal were retired, and a new Raging Form was ridden from hand.

And then, it attacked.

"I will... I WILL WIN FOR MY-"

"However, this isn't a fight. It's a hunt. When both players get desperate enough, things won't get any easier, no matter your status as a King, a Clan Leader, a Branch Manager, or even as a god itself. There's no going back now. Even if you're terrified with all your being, you've got to reach forward."

With his anxiety boosted through the roof, Kagekiyo started hearing eerie sounds coming from the fountain behind him. In his clouded vision, Izuru reached his hand into a dark mist next to him.

"A way to keep living, even in the deepest pitch black darkness you could image."

Izuru grabbed something and pulled it out, revealing himself to be holding onto a human-like hand of someone in a robe.

"Twin drive. Grim Revenger. A critical trigger."

Kagekiyo suddenly looked back at the fountain as a loud roar came from it.

A giant arm covered in pich black scales blasted out the water and swung its giant hand down at Kagekiyo, shattering his surroundings and turning the garden into a wasteland covered in dark mist in one swing, while leaving Kagekiyo himself bleeding from everywhere from the power of the attack.

But then, panting harshly, Kagekiyo got hold of his senses as he looked at his completly fine hand.

"Am I... B-bleeding?!"

He was sitting at five damage.

The garden was fine.

He was fine.

Kagekiyo looked at Izuru.

Izuru just stood there, glaring at him.

"Something wrong? My turn's over. Are you having fun yet?"

Izuru
Hand: 8
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

Kagekiyo
Hand: 4
Damage: 5
OXO
OXO

'Honestly, this is just the best. It's as if the real Nobunaga was here in flesh and the one fighting. What enjoyment!' Gakuganji thought, watching the fight in silence.

"S-stand and draw!!" Kagekiyo yelled out. "I'm ready for this, to fight and win for my fmaily's honour and the pride of the Yoshikawa! I'll be the one to win this fi-"

"Hunt."

"SHUT UP!" He screamed, gritting his teeth with widenned eyes. "RIDE! CHAOS BREAKER DRAGON! (13000) And then with his skill-!" 'He doesn't... Have anything to lock?!'

"Have to love mirage decks cucking a poorly designed mechanic from 2014. Still wanna give me a free gift?"

"Shut up... Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! I call Zirconium, Infinite Zero Dragon and Craving Claw! (10000) (13000) (8000) ZIRCONIUM'S SKILL, CALL A CARD AS LOCK! IF YOU CALL IT TO THE BACK, THEN-!"

"Call to the back, draw a pity card."

"SHUT UP! DRAW! (10000>>20000) CRAVING CLAW'S SKILL, TO SOUL AND UNLOCKED! THEN CHAOS' SKILL, RETIRE THE UNLOCKED CARD, REMOVE TWO GIFTS AND I GET TWO FORCES! DRAW! ON CHAOS AND INFINITY'S CIRCLES! (1300>>23000) (13000>>23000) PALLADIUM'S SKILL, COUNTERBLAST, DIE, CALL AS LOCKED AGAIN! CHAOS BREAKER'S SKILL, GET POWER! ZIRCONIUM'S SKILL, GIVE CHAOS A CRITICAL! (23000>>33000/2) INFINITY'S SKILL, POWER FOR EACH LOCKED CARD! (23000>>28000) ATTACK, INFINITY ZERO DRAGON! (28000)"

"I don't guard. (Nullity Revenger, Masquerade)"

"ZIRCONIUM! (20000)"

"I don't guard. (Transient Revenger, Masquerade)"

"MY VANGUARD CHAOS BREAKER, ATTACK! END HIM! END HIM UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT! (33000/2)"

"I don't guard."

"TWIN DRIVE! (Flowers in Vacuum, Cosmo Wreath - Draw) (Prison Gate Star-Vader, Palladium) ALL, ALL ON CHAOS BREAKER! DIE! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE! (33000>>44000/2)"

"(Astral Chain Dragon - Heal) (Illusionary Revenger, Masquerade) And the cracks start to form."

"I'LL KEEP FIGHTING FOR OUR HONOUR! THAT'S MY FATE! I WILL MAKE MY FMAILY PROUD!" Kagekiyo yelled out, clenching his trembling fist. "TURN END!"

Izuru
Hand: 8
Damage: 5
OXO
OOO

Kagekiyo
Hand: 5
Damage: 5
XXX
OXX

"All that yelling's pretty annoying, but I'll be dammed if it isn't a good start to ending this stupid act of yours, Yoshikawa-san." Izuru sighed, rubbing his collarbone as he sretched his neck. "Stand and draw. Call. Tartu, Rinnal, Masquerade, and Masquerade. (10000) (8000) (10000) (8000) Tartu's skill. Superior call, Masquerade. (8000) . Boosted by Rinnal, Tartu attacks. (10000>>18000)

"Shut up! Zirconium intercepts and guard with Colony Maker! (23000)"

"Masquerade. (13000)"

"AXINO DRAGON! (28000)"

"Raging Form Dragon, attack! (13000) Sengoku Impact!"

"COMPLETE GUARD!"

"Twin drive! (Revenger, Raging Form Dragon) (Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu) Raging Form's skill! Tartu, Rinnal, Masquerade! Burn for the Inceration of Enryaku-Ji! Now, let's do it the right away..." Izuru said, cracking his knuckles. "And with all the grove there is!"

(Media - Strongest Battle Start!)

"Cry! Howl! The abyss dragon plunged in garnet flames, crawl out of the sixth heaven abd become the blade that'll cut them all! Burn the silence! The spirals! Through generations! Ride, the demon king of the sixth heaven, Raging Form Dragon!"

The gift was placed in the open circle in front of Masquerade, to where a bigger Masquerade was called through Raging Form Dragon's skill.

"This is the hottest strike, blasting through from a raging bellow and a burning soul! TAKE THIS! MY-!"

戦 SEN

国 GOKU

IM イ

P ン

A パ

Cク

Tト

With his soul burning like an unstoppable wildfire, Izuru ripped through his opponent with the final attack!

And then, the everything came to a halt.

Kagekiyo let out a bellow of his own.

"Shut up... Shut up... Shut up... SHUT UP, INSECT! NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER PAWN USED FOR THE CONTINUOUS GREATNESS OF THE YOSHIKAWA! YOUR LIFE IS MINE! THAT USELESS WOMAN BELONGS TO ME! WHATEVE CLAN IT IS, THEY'RE ALL TOOLS FOR US, AS THEY HAVE BEEN SINCE THE START! NO STARS, PLANETS OR GODS CAN COMPARE! KNOW YOUR PLACE ONCE AND FOR ALL, YOU GODDAMN ANNOYING HOPPER! ALL WILL CRUMBLE DOWN UNDER OUR GLORY! UNDER THE YOSHIKAWA'S GLORY! NO ONE'S STRENGTH CAN EVEN BE COMPARED TO OURS! THAT'S THE REALITY OF IT ALL! THE YOSHIKAWA ARE BEYOND DIVINITY, THE TRUE OWNERS OF THIS USELESS WORLD!" Kagekiyo yelled out. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO BRING OUR GLORY TO QUESTION?! YOU'RE JUST A TOOL, YOU'RE ALL JUST USELESS TOOLS THAT EXIST FOR US TO USE!"

Izuru smirked.

"About time you got all of that out of your system... NOW I WON'T HAVE TO FEEL BAD FOR BEATING THE LIVING SHIT OUTTA YOU!"

With a tightened fist covered in garnet flames, Izuru punched through the glass barrier of Kagekiyo's true self, leading to the final stage of the fight.