The skies above Sarutobi Academy were unusually clear, a calm canvas of blue spread across the bustling courtyard below. Students trained, laughed, and sparred under the warmth of the sun. But an invisible tension hummed in the air—one that even the most novice trainee could feel buzzing just beneath the surface.
At the center of the courtyard stood Xzavier—his posture relaxed, yet every movement whispered danger. His new outfit caught more than a few stares: a sleek, black and cyan combat coat, adorned with glowing angular lines tracing down the sleeves and edges, hugging his lean, powerful frame. The coat swayed lightly with the breeze, just as his jet-black hair did—longer now, untamed and wilder than before. The eyepatch over his right eye was a stark contrast to the rest of him: plain, matte, and silent—hiding the unstable Sacred Eye that simmered beneath.
At his side hung the Shadow Blade, pulsing with a low, dark aura. Like it hungered for a worthy opponent.
That opponent had just arrived.
Hageshi.
The crowd parted with reverence and dread as the blue tempest walked through. His new outfit matched his reputation: a frost-lined, navy blue combat cloak, layered with deep cerulean threads. Snowflake-like sigils decorated his sleeves, and jagged blue accents cut across the fabric like ice shards. On the side of his neck glowed his Ascension Mark—a stunning blue rose, its petals shifting subtly like a living tattoo.
But most noticeably, his left eye was covered—not with an eyepatch, but with a lock of his own blonde and electric-blue hair, tied strangely to fall across half his face. Hageshi had never hidden anything before.
Now, he was.
He stood silently across from Xzavier, arms folded, cold mist trailing from the blade at his back. The air grew thin. Students stopped what they were doing. Even the instructors watched closely.
The two locked eyes.
Xzavier smirked. "Didn't think you'd show."
Hageshi's lips barely moved. "Didn't think you'd still be wearing that eyepatch. What's under it? A weakness you're too scared to tame?"
Xzavier's smirk faltered, but only for a second. "Bold words coming from a guy hiding behind his bangs. What's wrong? Left eye infected with all that pride?"
The mist from Hageshi's blade intensified. "Just give up, the next Titan of Eidolon can't be playing babysitter."
Xzavier gripped the handle of his Shadow Blade. "The next Titan of Eidolon can't be in a situationship either."
Without a signal, both moved at once—
Xzavier unsheathing his blade, a blast of darkness erupting from beneath his feet.
Hageshi drawing his own, as a blizzard surge howled around him in a tight spiral.
They clashed.
Shadow met frost in a blazing, whirling cyclone—dark energy snarling against cold mist, each swing shaking the ground, drawing gasps from onlookers.
Every strike from Xzavier was wild, precise, and filled with restraint—he couldn't afford to lose control. The unstable eye beneath the patch throbbed with temptation, begging to be unleashed.
Hageshi was cold and brutal—every movement calculated, almost cruel. His strikes aimed not just to beat, but to humiliate. The blue rose on his neck shimmered each time he landed a blow.
Blades locked. Faces inches apart.
"You've gotten stronger," Hageshi said flatly, frost forming on Xzavier's shoulder.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Xzavier growled, dark lightning crawling across his fingers.
Then—a pause.
Both fighters stopped mid-swing. The air around them pulsed unnaturally.
Xzavier's hidden eye ached, flaring with unstable power. He gritted his teeth, suppressing it.
But across from him… Hageshi's hidden eye shimmered beneath the hair. A faint glow of icy blue escaped through the strands.
He's hiding something too, Xzavier realized.
Their blades slid apart. They stood several meters apart once more.
The duel ended—not with a victor, but with a deeper understanding:
They had both changed.
Both had new secrets. New power. New pain.
And the rivalry had been reborn.
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