Chapter 37: Brother My Brother
The next morning, J'Zaki was woken up by Ororo. She looked at him and nodded. It was time.
The pair walked out to the main area of Shuri's lab where Shuri, Elza, M'Baku, and Linoh were waiting. These were his supporters in the battle for the throne.
"Good to see that you are still surprising me, boy." M'Baku looked J'Zaki up and down before picking up the white paint. He and the others were there to make sure that the prince looked proper for his match.
The group painted him in a way that represented each of the gods the prince was a champion. His face was painted grey and brown to look like a hyena, his chest was mostly painted tan and brown except for his heart which was extra large and looked mighty. His back was covered with white fur that resembled a white ape. Lastly were his legs and arms which were covered in the green scales of a crocodile.
The only clothing he was allowed to wear was a leather loincloth and skirt that went over it as well as a pair of war sandals. He was armed with a spear, a pair of khopesh swords, and a small knife at his hip. The prince wasn't planning on bringing in a single piece of armor or a shield for his battle.
Shuri looked at her brother in approval. It was rare to see him dressed so colorfully. The boy usually wore only black or red.
"Looks like I am all set. Let's start heading toward the waterfall."
J'Zaki walked over to Maximus who was waiting patiently for him. He hopped on the white horse before stroking the side of its head.
"Apologies in advance."
Since he was traveling with M'Baki and Elza who did not use modern technology, he had to travel by horse with them. And since this match was occurring in secret, the only way to reach the outskirts of the city without being seen was through the sewer.
Ororo, Linoh, and Shuri took a jet to fly over to the venue, leaving the three of them to travel through the tunnels where they had the chance to talk.
"Boy. Why have you decided to kick your father off of the throne?"
J'Zaki rolled his eyes when he heard the question.
'I really need to record myself saying this or make a letter that I can pass out to others.' After complaining to himself, he repeated the message that Sekhmet had given him and his plans for the future.
M'Baku and Elza found what he was saying hard to believe but they knew that J'Zaki was speaking the truth. He was by no means insane and he had even told them about the true history of their nation before.
"Then I suppose we shall see what happens after your sister develops her tools. If she is able to find more people like you, then you might not need the two of us for that battle," Elza knew that even if she wanted to partake in the battle of honor for Wakanda, she might not be what was best for the nation. So all she could do was wait.
The group of three was the last to arrive. All of the others stood on the rocks while T'Challa stood alone on the flat ground. J'Zaki got off his horse and walked into the arena, standing across from his brother.
Unlike him who had prepared himself for nothing but offense, T'Challa had brought a shield, short spear, and spear with him. He was prepared to battle at any range and to be on either offense or defense. T'Challa was painted to resemble a panther like his goddess, Bast.
Zuri stepped forward to act as the judge of the match.
"This shall be a match between King T'Chaka and Prince J'Zaki. However, Prince J'Zaki has agreed to allow Prince T'Challa to fight in place of his father as his champion. Both sides have agreed to this so the results of the match, whether Prince T'Challa is victorious or not, shall reflect it as if King T'Chaka was the one to battle.
Prince J'Zaki has offered and agreed to several handicaps. He shall not use any spells, he shall not use the individual blessings of HIS gods, and he shall not use his mutation. Prince T'Challa shall keep the strength of the Black Panther during the duel.
This match shall be a battle for the throne. But since Prince J'Zaki is only 16, he shall be officially given the position of crown prince where until he is at least 18 years old. Then, he shall be allowed to take over the throne whenever he pleases.
This is the agreement both sides have come to and follow the royal tradition. Does anyone wish to object to this battle?"
No one spoke up, even if they thought the conditions were unfair. It was J'Zaki that had offered them after all.
"Then let the challenge commence."
Zuri stepped aside while the brothers faced each other. T'Challa had his long spear and shield ready while J'Zaki carried both of his swords. The former was planning to take advantage of J'Zaki's lack of range to wear him down. But alas, battles are never so easy.
T'Challa's greatest strength over his siblings was also his greatest weakness. He was a Jack-Of-All-Trades compared to each of them. Much better than J'Zaki when it came to technology but much worse than Shuri. And although he was much better at Shuri when it came to combat, he was not even close to J'Zaki's match.
J'Zaki had studied the techniques of the 5 Cults and the Dora Milaje as well as copied the fighting styles of countless others during his missions around the world. Not including his martial art styles, his pure instincts when it came to battle surpassed T'Challa.
So with both brothers having the same physique and weapons of similar quality, the match quickly went in J'Zaki's favor. Each of his blows carried a fierceness that T'Challa was lacking and they all aimed for where T'Challa's defense was the weakest.
Within the first minute, the older sibling had lost his shield. In the next, his long spear. And not even 10 seconds after that, he was left without a weapon to defend himself with. From there, it became a predator toying with its prey.
J'Zaki would move in and give T'Challa a swift cut or stab before moving out of his range. When the older prince tried to reach for a sword or the spear, he would just end up cutting his hands on their blades without being able to get a great grip.
"Enough, Brother! Just surrender!" Shuri cried out from the stands. Everyone but T'Challa could see it was already his loss. His body was littered with wounds.
"I shall not yield," T'Challa yelled towards Shuri, the crowd, J'Zaki, and himself. He needed to remind himself that he could not yield to his younger brother who had gone mad.
Hearing his brother's shout. J'Zaki had had enough. He rushed in and slid between his brother's legs, cutting his left Achilles with his knife. As T'Challa screamed out in pain, J'Zaki threw him over his shoulder and to the ground before pressing his knee into his older brother's chest and putting the knife in front of T'Challa's eyes.
"Enough, Brother. If you do not surrender now, I shall kill you in front of our parents and sister. Do not think that I shall hesitate to do so."
T'Challa looked into his brother's eyes and knew that he was serious. At the end of the day, J'Zaki was going to be the crown prince who would become king in 2 years. The only question was if he had to kill his brother or not to get there.
Seeing his brother's resolve, T'Challa lost all the power in his body. He stopped struggling. He was barely even breathing. It took all he had to utter the four words.
"I yield, Prince J'Zaki."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone