Episode 9: Each of Their Perspectives

The young Mapuche men from the south are astonished.

“Nahuel had his hair grabbed so easily. That guy is no ordinary person...”
Repomande (Hmm? What is he planning?)

Nahuel still hasn't tried to grab his opponent's hair.

Repomande (...But, feeling this as I grab his hair, he's an opponent I need to finish off in an instant.)

Repomande grabbed his hair with his other hand and tried to pull it all at once.

At that moment, Nahuel moved his neck in the direction his opponent was pulling.

Whoosh. Due to the unexpected force applied, Repomande lost his balance, hit the ground forehead-first, and rolled over.

The surroundings went silent.
“Huh... what just happened? That was settled pretty quickly.”

Parta: “Winner, Nahuel!”

“What, it looks like Nahuel just let him grab his hair because he had room to spare. Did he lose out of fear, or was the short-haired guy just too weak?”
There were some who tried to rationalize it by the opponent's weakness rather than Nahuel's greatness.

“That Repomande guy was pretty good, too. I guess it was settled in an instant because he was brave. Don't you think?”
Elney spoke to Rengo, who was standing next to him.

Rengo: “Hmph.”

Mareande: “You had your own strength used against you.”

Repomande: “Yeah, the qualifications of an exempt person are no joke. Like you, he has a certain flair.”

Mareande: “Hmph, don't lump me in with him. I am much more elegant.”

Parta: “Next! Lautaro and Epref, step forward.”

Epref is glaring at Lautaro with a wicked smile.

Epref's cronies: “Epref, you can show him your decisive power right here.”

Epref: “Yeah.”

Nahuel: “Lautaro, you're not going to hold back this time, right?”

Lautaro: “Yeah, if the rankings are settled at this festival, he won't be able to pester me anymore.”

Nahuel: “That's true. Epref is a proud guy, for better or worse.”

Parta: “Begin!”

Epref: (I have his movements completely figured out. Even if he tries to catch me off guard, I won't be caught lagging.)

Lautaro had already reached out with his left hand.

Epref: (I know his habits. His right foot is turned inward, the left is a feint.)

Epref: "What?!"

Epref tried to raise his left arm to defend himself, but Lautaro's right arm wasn't there.

And then, Lautaro's left arm easily grabbed Epref's hair firmly.

Nauel: "That was brilliant. You planted a fake habit in him during the last fight, didn't you?"

Lautaro immediately reached out with his right arm.

However, its target was not his hair, but Epref's ear.

Epref felt a chill and instinctively tried to protect his ear, which was already on the verge of being cut.

As Epref raised his left hand, he was confused by the situation as his vision drew closer to the ground.

Lautaro had pretended to aim for his ear, while his real intention was to use his left hand to break Epref's stance.

Epref tried to put his right hand on the ground by instinct, but Lautaro's foot was waiting there to block him.

Thud!

Epref's forehead collided with the ground with a loud sound.

Those who were watching the fight were unable to grasp what had just happened.

Parta: "Winner, Lautaro!"

Epref: "You bastard... that's dirty. You were trying to aim for my ear, weren't you?"

Lautaro: "I didn't touch your ear, did I? It looked like you got scared and went to protect it yourself."

Epref: "Ugh..."

Nahuel: "Epref dominates the opponent's heart with intimidation, while Lautaro does it with traps. Epref will always be one step behind Lautaro from now on."

The battles progressed one after another, and four people remained.

Palta: "It's finally the semifinals!"

Nahuel appeared amidst the cheers.

His opponent was Colpijan, who had advanced by overpowering his opponents with overwhelming brute strength.

"Who do you think will win?"

"It's gotta be Nahuel. For him, strength and such don't really matter."

"No, that guy Colpijan is something else, too."

"This match is hard to call."

The people around them were getting very excited, sharing their own predictions.

Mairongo: "Don't underestimate him. However, if you both end up grappling, you have the advantage. Even he won't be able to beat you in terms of raw power."

Palta: "Begin!!"

Colpijan immediately went to grab Nahuel's hair, but he couldn't catch him at all.

To Nahuel, Colpijan's movements were far too slow.

Lautaro: "Richuen, Tsurkupichun, watch Nahuel's movements closely. In this tournament, he hasn't grabbed his opponent's hair even once."

Tsurkupichun: "Now that you mention it..."

Lautaro: "He is teaching them how the weak fight through his own example."

Richuen: "!"

Colpijan's attempts ended in empty swings, and he was only exhausting his stamina.

Lautaro: "Opponents with big bodies like that are slow and consume a lot of stamina. He'll self-destruct before long."

Colpijan is desperately trying to grab Nahuel.

Mairongo: "Argh, you slowpoke!
Nobody wants to see your twisted dancing."
Even his ally Mairongo was starting to get annoyed with Korpijan.

Korpijan could no longer hear Mairongo's voice.

Lautaro: "The act of grabbing hair,
just like attacking someone, takes a lot of stamina if you miss.
And it seems that guy, just like with pain,
can't even feel fatigue."

Thud!!

Just as Lautaro had expected,
he showed no signs of exhaustion.

Korpijan suddenly collapsed.

Parta: "Winner, Nahuel!!"

"That wasn't much of a match, more than I thought."

"If you can't catch your opponent, there's nothing you can do."

"I'm starting to feel like even I could do it!"

Parta: "We will now begin the second semifinal match! Lautaro and Chirukan, step forward!"

In front of Lautaro,
a man with dark skin wearing a grayish cloak appeared.

Nahuel: "You're next, Lautaro!
We haven't been able to watch his matches until now, but
he's probably no ordinary person."

Nahuel placed his hand on Lautaro's shoulder.
"Be careful."

The crowd was starting to buzz.
"That's him, right? The guy who lets his opponent grab his hair first."

"Yeah, he doesn't look that well-built... but apparently he doesn't move like a giant rock."

Feniston looked at Chirukan and muttered.
"...He's probably using a secret technique."

Mairongo: "How can you tell?"

Feniston: "Look closely at his neck.
It has several holes in it, just like my legs, doesn't it?"

Mairongo: "You're right!
There are several holes in his neck."

Feniston: "He's probably injecting powder made from crushed giant rocks.
However, seeing as he doesn't feel pain even when his hair is pulled,
he must be injecting it into his head too."

Mairongo: "Seriously... that looks painful..."

Palta: "Begin!!"

Lautaro: (He's wide open. It's as if he's begging me to grab his hair.)

Lautaro went to grab Chilcan's hair without hesitation.

"!"

Lautaro felt as if he were touching a giant boulder.

He tried to move it, but Chilcan's head didn't budge an inch.

Lautaro: (Once he starts moving, I'll have to use his own strength against him to win.)

Hey, hey, don't just stand there, one of you hurry up and move.

Chilcan had always waited for his opponents to exhaust their strength before taking them down to demonstrate the difference in power.

Chilcan felt that Lautaro hadn't used his full strength yet, so he was reluctant to move.

“If you lose without giving it your all, you'll have regrets.” Chilcan spoke, making a sound as if he were grinding something between his upper and lower teeth.

“It's not my strength that I'm holding back, it's this.” Lautaro pointed to his head.

Chilcan: "Oh? Let's see it then."

Chilcan reached out to grab Lautaro's hair.

Lautaro was trying to use his opponent's strength against him.

Lautaro: (Alright, now!)

Lautaro moved his body in response to his opponent's force, attempting to amplify that power and trip him.

Lautaro: (What! Th... this is no longer a human body...)

Thud.

Chilcan effortlessly forced Lautaro's forehead to the ground.

Chilcan: "Your techniques are likely designed for human bodies. Unfortunately, they are ineffective against my body, which has turned to stone."

Parta: "The winner is Chilcan!!"

Lautaro: "Interesting. There are people like that in this world, huh. Nahuel, you'd better think of that guy as a rock."

Nahuel: "Looks like it."

Parta: "Finally, the finals! Nahuel and Chilcan, step forward."

Epref: "Hey, hey. Isn't this unfair? That guy Chilcan just finished fighting, didn't he?"

Parta: "Begin!!"

Nahuel offered his neck to Chilcan, as if telling him to grab his hair.

Chilcan: "Are you showing me mercy because I just finished my match?"

Mairongo: "Haha, are you an idiot! What kind of composure is he showing? That rock man! Just grab his hair and throw him already!!"

Chilcan: "Don't regret this." Chilcan slowly grabbed Nahuel's hair and pulled with all his might.

However, Nahuel's neck did not budge at all.

Chilcan: "What is going on with this guy?"

Chilcan performed the pulling motion several times, but Nahuel did not move an inch.

"Seriously? What is going on? Wasn't that guy Nahuel supposed to be known for his agility?" The area was filled with people who couldn't comprehend what was happening.

Nahuel: "Huh, so this is the kind of view you were seeing."

Chilcan was taken aback.

Nahuel: "Well, is it my turn now?"

Just as it seemed Nahuel slowly reached for Chilcan's hair, he quickly pulled it and forced his opponent's forehead to the ground in an instant.

Palta: "The winner is Nahuel!"

A great cheer went up.
"That's way too far out of the norm. Is that what an exempt person is like..."

Trukupichun: "Nahuel, that was amazing! That was an easy win, right?"

"Not exactly."
Nahuel showed his blood-stained palms and the fact that part of a toenail on one foot had been torn off.

Lautaro: (He endured that much power without changing his expression at all,
and he pulled with such force that even his own skin couldn't withstand it, I suppose.)

"Well, as you'd expect, I'm going to sit out the next event."

Saying that, Nahuel headed toward a nearby riverbank.

Repomande: "Looks like he's not participating in the next event."

Mareande: "Can't be helped.
I guess I'll liven things up as an exempt person."

Repomande: "No, you're just participating because it's not a gritty event..."

Palta: "The next event is the Kurantun!"

Mareande stepped into the match arena.

"So that's Mareande. What a picturesque guy!"
Those around were captivated by Mareande's refined appearance.

-Riverbank-
"I don't recognize your face. Where did you come from?"
Nahuel spoke to a girl sitting by the riverbank.

"Over there."

The girl, with sun-kissed skin and faint freckles,
said while pointing to the other side of the riverbank.

Nahuel: "Huh, don't tell me you came from the land of giants?"

Girl: "It's not that far.
Wait, did I look that big to you?"

Nahuel: "Well, your heart seems to be that big, at least."

Girl: "What's that supposed to mean?
I heard there was a festival today,
so I snuck away from my family to come play."

Nahuel: "You came all by yourself? That's impressive."

Girl: "Don't treat me like a child!
You're not my father!"

Nauel: "Sorry, sorry."

Girl: "Now that I look closely, you're covered in wounds!
What? Are you participating in the festival?
Wow, that's an intense festival, isn't it?"

Nauel: (This girl came to the festival, but she doesn't even know what kind of festival it is?)

"Stay still."

The girl tore a piece of her own clothing and
began to bandage Nauel's right hand.

Nauel: "Thank you! You really are a big person, haha."

Girl: "Are you still going on about that?!"

Nauel smiled shyly and spoke to the girl while looking at his own hand.
"That's an unusual cloth. Do we have things like this around here?"

It was a fine, white cloth the likes of which he had never seen in this region.

Girl: "My father got it from a merchant somewhere a long time ago and gave it to me."

Nauel: "It's such a precious thing,
and you tore it up??"

Girl: "...Well, it looked painful."

Nauel: "Let me do something to thank you for this."

Girl: "It's fine, really.
I just enjoyed being able to talk to someone around my age like this."

Nauel: "I see.
I guess there aren't many people your age where you live."

The girl smiled.
"Think of something for a thank-you gift until we meet again somewhere!"

Nauel: "Sure, I'll think about it!"

Girl: "I have to get back to everyone soon. See you again sometime!"

The girl left the spot with a faster pace than he had expected.

Nauel: "Ah, I should have at least asked for their name. Well, time for me to head back to the others!"

-Competition Venue-
Nauel: "Oh! They're still at it."

A crowd had already formed.

"The exempt contestant and the quiet-looking one are having a good match!"

◉Thank you for reading!
Episode 9 will be released on Monday, 7/8 at 12:00 PM.🙇

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