The instant the signal was given—
Takeshi moved.
His foot slammed against the arena floor and his body shot forward like a released spring. The speed alone caused several nearby students to murmur.
Shido watched him approach calmly.
Enhancement type, he judged almost immediately. Physical reinforcement… leaning toward speed.
Takeshi closed the distance quickly and threw a straight punch toward Shido's face.
The strike carried real force.
But to Shido—
It looked slow.
He tilted his head slightly.
The punch passed beside his cheek.
Takeshi's eyes widened.
Before he could recover—
Shido stepped forward.
Not backward.
Forward.
His movement was smooth, controlled.
Then—
Tap!
His palm lightly struck Takeshi's shoulder.
The contact looked harmless.
Yet Takeshi's balance instantly collapsed.
"Wha—?!"
His feet slipped and he staggered two steps before barely managing to steady himself.
The arena fell quiet.
Students exchanged confused looks.
Even Professor Halden narrowed his eyes slightly.
Takeshi quickly recovered his stance and glared at Shido.
"What did you just do?"
Shido shrugged.
"Nothing special."
In truth, it had been a simple redirection of momentum—letting the opponent's own force disrupt his balance rather than resisting it.
A principle common in several martial arts.
But Takeshi had no interest in theory.
He rushed forward again.
This time his attacks came faster.
Two punches.
A kick.
Then a sweeping strike aimed at Shido's ribs.
Shido stepped back once.
Twice.
His movements were minimal, almost lazy.
Every strike missed by centimeters.
To the watching students, the scene looked strange.
Takeshi was attacking seriously.
Yet Shido barely moved.
It looked as if he was simply walking through the fight.
"He's reading everything," Halden realized silently. "Not just reacting… predicting."
Takeshi's frustration began to show.
"Stop dodging!"
He activated his ability more aggressively.
His muscles tightened and his speed increased.
The next punch shot forward much faster than before.
This time Shido didn't dodge.
He caught it.
The impact echoed faintly across the arena.
Takeshi froze.
His fist was trapped inside Shido's hand.
"What the—"
Shido tilted his head slightly.
"You rely too much on brute force."
Then he twisted his wrist gently.
Takeshi's balance collapsed again.
Before he understood what had happened—
His body was already flying sideways.
Thud!
He hit the arena floor hard.
Silence filled the training grounds.
Shido stood where he was, calm as ever.
Takeshi groaned and tried to push himself up, but Halden raised a hand.
"That's enough."
The barrier surrounding the arena faded.
"Winner: Shido Urazaki."
Whispers immediately spread among the watching students.
"That was fast…"
"He barely used his ability."
"Did he even activate one?"
Halden continued observing Shido carefully.
Interesting.
During the entire duel—
He had not sensed a clear ability activation.
Which meant either Shido possessed extremely refined control…
Or he was relying purely on combat skill.
Shido stepped down from the platform without any particular expression.
Several students instinctively moved aside as he walked past.
Not because he intimidated them—
But because they weren't sure what he was capable of.
Meanwhile, Takeshi remained seated on the arena floor, still processing what had happened.
"How the hell did I lose that…?"
Halden had already moved on.
"Next duel. Prepare yourselves."
The mock battles continued.
But Shido had already lost interest.
'Too easy,' he thought.
These matches were useful for observation.
But not much else.
As he leaned lightly against the railing and watched the next duel begin—
A pair of eyes observed him from the upper level of the training hall.
Hidden among the shadows of the viewing balcony stood someone.
His arms were folded.
His gaze never left Shido.
A faint smile slowly formed on his lips.
"…Interesting. So he was here along."
The student who was watching Shido closely was Akuma.
And for the first time that day—
Someone at Douma High looked genuinely intrigued.