The sun was still high when Niran prepared for the night ahead. The message from the Leeches was clear: a fight at midnight, a promise of information about Jirapat in exchange for victory. He had no other choice.
In the dojo, Kao watched him as he completed his evening training. The monkey had grown significantly in recent times, now standing a little over one meter and fifty centimeters tall, almost at the level of his mother, whom Niran had fought some time ago. But more than his size, what surprised him was his technique. Kao no longer simply mimicked Niran's movements, he absorbed them, adapted them, refined them with astonishing speed.
Niran stopped, wiping the sweat from his forehead, while Kao landed after a series of agile and precise movements. He looked at him with a mix of astonishment and pride.
"If you keep this up, you might fight sooner than I expected. If you want, after I settle things with Jirapat, I could take you to your first match."
Kao let out an excited sound and pounded his fists on the ground, clearly impatient. Niran smirked slightly, then turned away, lost in his thoughts. The time for levity was over, an encounter with unknown consequences awaited him.
The streets of Bangkok were cloaked in twilight when he left the dojo. Neon signs reflected their glow on the damp sidewalks, and the nighttime traffic thinned out as he neared his destination.
Niran arrived at the underground arena, where traces of the Leeches were scattered here and there, just before midnight, already knowing that the only way to get information about Jirapat was to fight. The tension was palpable as he moved through the crowd of excited spectators, the hum of their conversations filling the air thick with smoke and sweat.
The ring, illuminated by flickering lights, was surrounded by both familiar and unfamiliar faces. The announcer, a man with a raspy and piercing voice, stepped forward to the center of the arena, raising a microphone that amplified his voice above the crowd's roar.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight brings us a special showdown! On one side, the one who defeated Raksa and Yoru, the fighter shaking up the underground fighting world: Niran!" The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, while Niran maintained a composed expression.
"On the other, the personal fighter of the Leeches' leader! A man whose strength has been honed through countless battles, a veteran who has never known defeat: Thanom!"
A massive man, with a scar running across his face and eyes devoid of any emotion, stepped into the ring. His body was a mountain of sculpted muscle, and his predatory gaze locked onto Niran with an icy intensity.
Niran took a deep breath, his heartbeat slowing with focus. He knew this fight would be very different from the ones before. Thanom was no ordinary warrior, he was the personal blade of the Leeches' leader, forged through endless combat.
But it wasn't just his opponent that unsettled him. Just before the gong sounded, the announcer made one last revelation: "And to spice up the night, it seems an important guest has placed a significant bet on Niran's victory! Let's see if their trust is well-founded!"
Who could this guest be? Niran wondered as the gong rang out, marking the beginning of the fight. It was time to put everything he had learned to the test.