The Martial Unity

Every move he made was brand-new, and divergent from every move he made before.

There were no patterns.

He had no inclinations.

No preferences.

No inclinations.

No biases.

He was a blank slate.

This was what his instincts had warned him about. Yet it was only after he began going all out with the pattern recognition system that he realized what was wrong.

The man's combat style was devoid of patterns.

Rui didn't understand.

The patterns in a person's movements were part of who they were. It was the essence of one's being manifested in combat.

They were inevitable. The sources of one's strengths and weaknesses.

He gazed into Ieyasu's eyes.

They were hollow.

Empty.

Two endless abysses of nothingness.

'No...' Rui's eyes narrowed.

That wasn't quite right.

He saw himself. Reflected in the man's pitch-black eyes.

WHOOSH!

Rui's attention was pulled back into the battle as Ieyasu surged forward with renewed momentum.

What followed was even more surprising.

His fist flew forward as he employed Flowing Canon, empowered with the full might of Outer Convergence, Wind Breathing, and Thundering Lance.

Every shift.

Every twitch.

Its timing and placement.

Even his expressions, demeanor, and breathing.

They were identical to the original.

Rui's eyes widened in shock as he witnessed a mirror image of his most powerful close-range attack.

He knew that this would happen.

It was inevitable.

Yet actually experiencing it was something different.

His reaction was momentarily delayed.

BOOM!!

Rui grimaced as the powerful attack crashed into a hastily conjured guard, flinging him away.

He narrowed his eyes, quickly honing his mind.

Yet Ieyasu was not done.

The man activated Wind Breathing and Parallel Walk as he surged forward toward Rui with remarkable velocity.

POW POW POW!

He hammered Rui with Vital Pressure, looking to optimize the damage that he inflicted on Rui.

Rui managed to guard against the attacks with Flux Earther, yet the biggest blow he suffered was psychological.

It was unnerving.

One could easily mistake Ieyasu for Rui if one was not paying attention to the battle. That was the degree of resemblance that Ieyasu had managed to generate. Rui's expression grew severe as he lashed out forward, throwing a powerful Flowing Canon kick to the man's head.

A knockout blow.

And yet...

WHOOSH

It crashed into an empty image.

A feint.

Phantom Step.

BAM!

Rui barely managed to block a powerful side kick, negating the impact with Flux Earther.

The guardians gaped in amazement as the battle evolved.

It was no longer Ieyasu versus Rui.

It was Rui versus Rui.

If Rui had maintained his original hair and eyes, then it would have been impossible for them to tell which one was which. The battle evolved into something else entirely as the two forces furiously clashed at each other.

BAM BAM BAM!

Ieyasu blocked a furious combo of attacks with a solid guard, negating their impact with Flux Earther.

The very sight of that gripped Rui's heart, squeezing at it.

His expression grew severe as he grew determined to ascertain the limits of Ieyasu's copying. His index fingers pointed out as he launched several Lightning Taps.

This was a technique that Rui had developed with the presence of a special esoteric substance that could generate electric currents.

It was not something that could not be copied with movements.

Or so he thought.

Yet Ieyasu impassively replicated the motions.

TAP TAP TAP!

Rui froze as several momentary spikes of paralysis flashed through his body.

'How...?' Rui stared at him with shock.

He didn't understand how the man had managed to replicate a technique that made use of substances that he didn't even have. There was absolutely no chance that the man had the necessary esoterics, yet he had managed to fully replicate even Lightning Tap.

BAM BAM BAM!

Rui felt like he was standing in front of a mirror.

The two of them moved in unison.

They maneuvered in unison.

They struck in unison.

They defended in unison.

Almost everything was identical.

Almost.

Two Flowing Canons crashed into each other.

BOOM!!

Rui grimaced as he leaped back with a reeling fist.

His expression grew severe.

A realization had dawned on not just him, but everyone.

Ieyasu surged forward throwing a powerful set of combos. Rui pushed his body to the limit as he retaliated.

BAM BAM BAM!

The one difference between them became evident.

Ieyasu was stronger.

They appeared to be equals, yet he appeared to grow stronger as he copied Rui.

No one understood why, but it didn't particularly matter.

"Rgh!" Rui leaped back again, opening up the distance between them.

Yet Ieyasu did not intend to give him a break. He immediately surged forward, appearing before Rui.

Yet another powerful Flowing Canon crashed into Rui.

WHOOSH!

The attack launched Rui flying far away. Farther than anyone thought possible.

Yet Ieyasu's eyes narrowed as Rui grinned.

He had used a partial Flux Earther to use Ieyasu's momentum to launch himself away, opening a massive amount of distance between them. Ieyasu rushed forward, hoping to get him in time.

But it was too late.

The very skies quivered as Rui inhaled deeply, preparing his most powerful attack.

THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM!

The Pathfinder technique kicked into action as Rui launched his most powerful attack. A Tier five Transverse Resonance rushed forward Ieyasu under he guidance of the ODA System.

Yet Rui's eyes widened as Ieyasu replicated every movement side by side, launching his own Transverse Resonance.

The two attacks met midway between Rui and Ieyasu.

BOOM!!!

A titanic explosion with immense power washed over the entire colosseum, shaking the entire structure.

Not even Rui's most powerful attack was safe from Ieyasu's Martial Art.

And yet, an expression of peace and calmness appeared on Rui's face.

"I see... I understand now." Rui spoke to him as his eyes narrowed.

'You... can read my mind, can't you?' Rui stared directly at Ieyasu.

Ieyasu froze, before the smallest of smirks appeared on his face.

"You are the first Martial Artist to have ever realized that..." His voice plummeted to a whisper audible only to his opponent. "...Rui Quarrier."