ARIFURETA: Cooking to be the Strongest?

The spar commenced.

Shin shot forward, a blur of motion. Kouki readied his stance, aiming for a direct sword clash. Shin's objective wasn't a decisive victory, but rather to test his limits and gauge the growth of his Hero Party friends.

Clang!

A deafening metallic ring echoed across the training ground as their swords met. They had initially been recommended wooden training swords, but after seeing countless iron training swords broken in the aftermath of Shin and Hajime's earlier combat practice, the instructors had accepted that Shin needed something sturdier.

With a powerful push, Kouki, leveraging his superior strength, locked the clash. He aimed to immediately follow up with a wide slash. Shin, however, had no intention of directly contesting this "stat monster" of a friend. Letting go of the direct confrontation, he twisted, barely evading the strike.

There was no doubt, Kouki was in a different league when it came to raw physicality.

Shin swiftly moved back, mentally reworking his strategy.

The spectators, initially dumbfounded that Shin had even managed to keep up with Kouki in that first exchange, now watched with bated breath as the match quickly resumed.

With a deep breath, Shin inhaled a lungful of air. His earlier, formal dojo stance melted away, replaced by a loose yet free posture. Then, he exhaled slowly.

In a sudden moment, his figure vanished. Then, in a blink, he was already in front of Kouki. Kouki, caught off guard, still managed to block the slash Shin was about to deliver.

Kouki immediately pushed the sword clash again, then quickly unleashed two rapid slashes. Shin managed to redirect the first, but the second one he barely evaded. Shin stepped back, but Kouki relentlessly followed him, giving him no space to breathe.

A large, wide, flashy slash was about to connect, but Shin somehow managed to reposition himself. His training sword, a mere blur, darted forward, pointing directly at Kouki's abdomen.

A soft thud indicated it had connected, and Kouki instinctively recoiled and counterattacked, sending Shin flying backward from the impact of the unexpected counter.

A cloud of dust and smoke billowed from where Shin had flown, momentarily obscuring him. Gasps rippled through the spectators, quickly followed by scattered cheers for Kouki. Hiyama shouted the loudest, a wide grin plastered across his face.

"Did you see that?!" someone from the crowd yelled.

"Kouki-kun's power is incredible!" another student shouted.

Hajime and Kaori's faces were etched with worry for Shin. Kaori's hands instinctively clenched at her chest. Sensing this, Hajime leaned in and comforted her. "Don't worry," he said quietly. "Shin's unusually sturdy. I learned that the hard way during our special training regimen."

Ryuutarou frowned, muttering to Kouki, "Kouki, wasn't the force you let go a bit much?"

As the dust in Shin's direction began to settle, revealing a clear figure, a wave of collective relief washed over some faces in the crowd. There he stood, walking just fine, seemingly pondering something. The crowd was dumbfounded, and Hiyama's elated reaction instantly reverted to his former grim expression.

"He's alright?!" a student shrieked in disbelief.

"Unbelievable! He took a hit from Kouki-kun and he's not even fazed!" another cried.

Shin casually brushed some dust from his uniform, his gaze still distant. His eyes narrowed slightly, not in pain, but in deep thought. It was as if the impact itself was part of his calculation.

Meanwhile, Kouki stared at his own abdomen, then at Shin, a mix of bewilderment and a little frustration. He thought that with him finally being a Hero and having stronger stats than Shin and finally defeat him, Shin still managed to land a hit first. And the worst part was not controlling his strength and counterattacking.

To others, it looked like Kouki had won, but in the eyes of Shizuku, Commander Meld, and his Vice Commander, it was clear as day that Shin might have lost the final clash, but technically, by the sparring rules, Shin had won by landing the hit first.

___________________

Meld cleared his throat, his voice cutting through the lingering murmurs of the crowd. "The winner of this spar is Shin!"

His declaration was met with immediate uproar. The spectators were in shock, particularly Kouki's fervent fan girls.

"What?! That's impossible! Kouki-kun won! He sent Shin-kun flying!" one shrieked, clearly forgetting the established rules of the spar. "There's no way he lost!" another chimed in, echoing the sentiment.

Meld, Shizuku, and the Vice Commander quickly moved to calm the rioting crowd, patiently explaining the rule: first hit marked the victor. Despite the dramatic exchange and Kouki's powerful counter, Shin had indeed landed the initial strike on Kouki's abdomen.

Amidst the commotion, Shin simply walked towards Kouki.

"Yep, definitely a cheat," Shin muttered, his voice barely audible above the crowd's din, as he approached Kouki, who stood with the aura of a sulking child. He clapped a hand on Kouki's shoulder.

"Come on, Hero, don't be depressed." Shin's usual aloof expression remained, yet his words were an odd comfort.

Kouki, however, just shook his head, his gaze fixed on the ground. "No, Shin... I'm the Hero. I have to be the strongest. I have to win. Evil can't win, not against justice! This... this can't be right!" His voice was tight, a mixture of self-doubt and rigid conviction.

Shin blinked, his head tilting slightly. He pointed a thumb at his own chest. "Me? Evil? What the hell are you saying, Kouki? Ain't I your friend? And isn't it common for Heroes to have strong friends? What's gotten into you?" Shin's tone was laced with a genuine bewilderment that seemed to label Kouki's unusual behavior as a severe case of his usual hero obsession.

Shin reached into his pocket, but his hand met empty cloth. He'd forgotten again that his bag of "Ration Cookies" wasn't there. Usually, these were effective in cases like this, as for some unknown reason, his cookies had an unusual effect of pacifying angry people or stabilizing their minds. With a sigh, Shin gave a loud shout.

"Shizuku! Kouki is at it again!"

As if on cue, Shizuku, having just finished calming down the spectators, approached them and promptly helped to calm Kouki, her own exasperation evident.

________________________

"As expected of Shizuku," Shin nodded, observing her evident calming effect on Kouki. This was just like during their dojo days, whenever Kouki suffered one of his timely severe cases of hero obsession.

The only effective medicines then were either Shin's snacks or Shizuku's nagging—or her unique calming technique.

Shizuku, being well used to this routine, didn't outwardly mind, but a flicker of irritation still crossed her face at Shin's consistently aloof expression.

With Kouki finally calming down, he mumbled an apology to Shin. Shin just waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't mind it," he said.

"It's not like it's the first time this happened. Though, I guess today's was a bit more severe than in the past.

With Kouki's outburst finally settled, Ryuutarou gently escorted him back to the spectators' area. Several of Kouki's fan girls, seeing their chance, immediately swarmed him, vying to offer comfort and score points.

Then, the match proceeded to Shin vs. Shizuku.

Unlike Kouki's flashy and intense battle, this next match promised to be much more refined.

To Shin's impression, Kouki was undoubtedly strong, but he relied too much on his raw stats and his usual "hero antics," making flashy, wide-open moves that gave his opponents ample opportunities.

Shizuku, on the other hand, was different. Stat-wise, she might not compare to Kouki, but she was still relatively strong. What truly set her apart was not just her stats, but her masterful ability to handle them, a testament to her honed skill and disciplined technique.

The battle commenced with Meld's declaration.

Shin and Shizuku's spar was not a clash of raw strength and power, but a mesmerizing dance of skill and precise techniques.

The air grew taut with expectation. Shizuku moved first, her movements fluid and economical, a stark contrast to Kouki's explosive charges. Her training sword, a blur of motion, jabbed and feinted with deceptive speed, testing Shin's guard.

Shin met her with equal grace. His earlier vanishing act was replaced by a more grounded, yet equally elusive style. He didn't just block; he deflected, subtly shifting the angle of her attacks, his blade singing against hers with soft shings rather than loud clangs. Each parry was precise, redirecting the force of her blows away from him, making her own momentum work against her.

"She's adapting!" Meld murmured, his eyes narrowed, keenly observing. "His footwork... it's changed again. Remarkable."

Shizuku pressed her assault, her blade a silver serpent, striking from unexpected angles.

She targeted his joints, his exposed flanks, every attack hinting at a follow-up.

Her footwork was impeccable, dancing around him, trying to find an opening.

But Shin seemed to anticipate her every move.

He flowed with her attacks, a leaf on a current, always just out of reach.

He rarely initiated a direct offense, instead waiting, observing, his sword a quiet sentinel.

When he did strike, it was a sudden, sharp flick of his wrist, a light tap against her sword arm or shoulder.

These were feather-light touches, yet by the rules of the spar, they would count as a hit.

The crowd, initially restless after the boisterous Kouki match, was now mesmerized.

There was no dust, no loud explosions of power.

Just the rhythmic swish of blades cutting air, the soft clink of steel on steel, and the almost silent footfalls of two masters moving in perfect harmony.

It was like watching a perfectly choreographed performance, where every move had intent, and every counter was a graceful rejection.

"He's reading her," Ryuutarou breathed from the spectator area, his earlier worry for Kouki forgotten in the face of this unexpected display.

"Or... no, it's like he already knows what she'll do."

Shizuku's brow furrowed slightly, a rare sign of deep concentration. She increased her speed, her attacks becoming a relentless flurry.

Shin continued to meet her, his movements economical, never wasting an ounce of energy.

His blade, almost like an extension of his will, seemed to appear exactly where her attacks would land, a ghost in her path.

But as the seconds stretched, a subtle shift occurred. Shin's deflections, while precise, began to carry just a fraction less force.

His evasions, though still nimble, were slightly less expansive.

Shizuku, a master of observing subtle shifts in her opponent's rhythm, noticed.

Her eyes sharpened. She hadn't been able to force an opening through pure power like Kouki, but Shin's relentless defense, his continuous adaptation, was slowly, subtly, taxing him.

Seizing the micro-opening that appeared when Shin's recovery from a particularly wide parry was a hair's breadth slower, Shizuku dropped her center of gravity.

Her blade, which had been pressing Shin's defense from the right, suddenly snapped back, executing a lightning-fast, almost invisible thrust directly at his solar plexus.

Shin's eyes widened, recognizing the attack for what it was—a perfect, disciplined strike that exploited the most minuscule window.

He tried to twist, but it was too late. The flat of Shizuku's training sword landed with a firm, decisive thwack against his chest, sending a jolt through him.

Shin slid back two steps, his feet digging slightly into the packed earth, the force of the well-placed blow stealing his breath for a moment.

He looked at Shizuku, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touching his lips as he straightened.

Shizuku lowered her sword, her posture still perfect, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple. She hadn't let her relief show, but the internal sigh was immense.

This had been far more difficult than she'd anticipated.

______

"The winner of this spar is Shizuku!" Meld's voice boomed across the training ground, his declaration met with a roar of applause, far more unified and less chaotic than Kouki's bout.

A chorus of "Shizuku-oneesama!" could be heard from various female classmates, cheering for their composed and elegant idol.

From the spectator area, Kouki slumped, emitting an almost visible aura of depression after seeing the spar between his two friends. Ryuutarou patted his friend's back awkwardly, trying to offer comfort.

Hajime's gaze, however, remained intense, fixed on Shin, though his friend lost he can see the small smile on Shin's face. Kaori, on the other hand, let out a visible sigh of relief. This spar, thankfully, hadn't ended with someone dramatically flying through the air.

"What the hell have you been training with Hajime?" Shizuku asked, her voice tired, as she approached Shin.

The question seemed to fly right through Shin's ears. Now in his usual relaxed and aloof demeanor, he was thinking deeply, the match having given him significant new insights.

He muttered, "Hmm, looks like I need to train more to bridge the stats. I need to be much faster, much more efficient."

His eyes, previously hidden by his hair, now held a long-unseen fire, beginning to burn with renewed intensity.