Chapter 2: The Path to Strength
In the dense woods of Japan, nature could be as harsh and unforgiving as the battles that raged within the confines of the Blood Garden. As a child, Yuro Kubomi had faced his own battles, not within a cage but in the classroom.
Yuro's prodigious intellect was both a gift and a curse. By the age of 10, he had already surpassed many of his seniors, leaping grades with ease. But this gift made him an outcast. A bully named Gija took particular pleasure in tormenting him, a boy three years his senior but in the same grade. It was a bruising lesson for Yuro. No amount of knowledge could prepare him for the harsh reality of physical confrontation. And when he finally mustered the courage to face Gija, he was brutally defeated.
With the weight of expectation from his parents, Yuro's spirit was crushed. His parents, though strict and uncompromising, hoped for a fresh start, taking Yuro on a "vacation" to the wilderness for isolated studying. However, fate had other plans. As they traveled through a high mountain road, an intoxicated driver veered into their path. The last thing Yuro remembered was the violent jolt of their car as it hurtled off the road. He woke up in the thick woods, surrounded by the mangled wreckage and the lifeless bodies of his parents.
Alone, terrified, and grief-stricken, Yuro wandered through the dense forest for days. Desperation crept in as he grew weak from hunger and thirst. Just when he thought he would succumb to the wilderness, he stumbled upon a man meditating in a clearing. It was Itai Kanashi, the legendary fighter. With a sense of urgency, Itai noticed the starving child and offered him food and shelter.
Yuro, though wary at first, soon found solace in Itai's presence. The walls of the makeshift hut were adorned with various fight memorabilia. Through these relics, Yuro pieced together the story of Itai's legendary past. Hungry not just for sustenance but also for strength, Yuro begged Itai to teach him to fight.
Itai, always the enigmatic mentor, initially refused, but Yuro's persistence and revelations about his own past intrigued the fighter. Recognizing the boy's genuine thirst for knowledge and strength, Itai first introduced him to the art of meditation.
Yuro, being the questioning mind that he was, found it hard to see the effectiveness of this method. "Why sit still when there's so much to learn?" he thought. But Itai's point was soon proven in a dramatic and terrifying manner.
As they sat in deep meditation one day, the rustling of leaves and the growls of a massive bear echoed through the forest. The bear, maddened with hunger, charged directly at them. In a swift motion, Itai pushed Yuro to safety. The sight that followed was etched into Yuro's memory forever.
With grace and precision, Itai dodged the charging beast, blinding it with two sharp jabs to its eyes. The bear, disoriented and in pain, let out a deafening roar. Without missing a beat, Itai delivered a lethal spinning axe kick, landing his heel on the weakest point of the bear's skull. The giant creature fell dead in an instant.
Yuro, mouth agape, watched the entire scene unfold in disbelief. Any skepticism he had about Itai's teachings vanished in that moment. It was clear to him that true strength was not just in physical combat but also in the calmness of mind that meditation brought.
From that day forth, under Itai's watchful eyes and disciplined guidance, Yuro's journey to become a fighter began. He was no longer the bullied boy but a student of a legendary master, preparing to face the battles that life threw his way.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone