There were many reasons why Max cared about his friendships. They were always connected to the world of contact sports, but above all, what stood out was that whenever he spent time with someone, there wasn't much to consider in recognizing who his friends were.
That's why he appreciated Devon—she was actually his first female friend who didn't judge him for his appearance. And right now, Ryan was his best friend.
"Hey..."
Max turned around to see Daniel, who, without hesitation, asked, "Is there really a need to be so cruel to your opponents?"
"This is martial arts, Mr. LaRusso. Things like this are common in tournaments in China and Japan. I thought you, of all people, would understand these results."
Max left Daniel speechless. The man recalled his own fights in Japan, one of which had been a battle to the death.
But times had changed—at least for him.
Johnny stepped between his student and Daniel, then asked, "Haven't you noticed? From your point of view, everything you do and have done is right. But when something angers or unsettles you, you point fingers and criticize how wrong things seem to you."
"And someone like you is telling me this?" Daniel, irritated, turned away and said nothing more.
The brutality of these fights hadn't been this intense since the last time he had competed. Now, with Cobra Kai returning to tournaments, seeing blood or unconscious fighters had become common.
This wasn't right. Daniel knew things shouldn't be this way, and now, all he could do was pray that Robby could win this championship, as he was the last student he had left in the competition.
Johnny looked at Max and said, "Go talk to Ryan. He looks injured, so he won't stand a chance against Jack..."
According to the tournament bracket, Max was the first finalist. Beside him was Miguel, who would face him if he won his match.
On the other side of the bracket, Hawk was set to fight Robby, while Ryan would be facing Jack.
Maybe before, this wouldn't have mattered to him, but Ryan trusted him and hoped that when they reached bigger competitions, they could stand together representing Cobra Kai.
That's why he wanted to tell him that fighting while injured wasn't worth it.
...
Upon reaching the infirmary, Max knocked briefly on the door, and a few seconds later, Ryan's father opened it, looking surprised to see him there.
"And your match?"
Hearing Ryan's father's question, Max smiled and said, "I just won. I'm the first finalist."
"That was quicker than I expected. Congratulations, kid. You completely deserve to be in the final."
Ryan's father, a man of few words, did his best to deliver this robotic-sounding compliment to Max.
"How's Ryan?"
"He can fight one more time, but he might not be at his best for a while. Still, it'll be enough if that's what he wants to do."
As he responded, Ryan stepped out of the room. Seeing Max talking to his father, he immediately approached and asked, "Did you win?"
"I'm in the semifinals, so now it's up to you to decide if you're going to fight."
Ryan knew what Max thought about it, so he asked, "What do you think?"
"It's not worth it—not in a small local tournament like this..."
Ryan's father, standing nearby, added, "Looks like I'm not the only one with common sense in this room. Ryan, you should listen and realize it's not worth injuring yourself for this local tournament."
"I don't want to lessen our chances of winning..." Ryan wanted to see their martial arts school triumph.
"Don't you trust me?"
Max's question made Ryan grin from ear to ear as he recalled the thrill of victory in his past fights.
Now that his match was about to begin, they spoke little, and Ryan started asking Max about that fighter named Jack.
"I wanted to fight you in a real competition..."
"That time will come."
"You're strong. I'm sure you'll have more chances."
Max's response was brief, but he was genuinely surprised that Ryan had said this to him.
The amount of trust one can place in another person varies, depending on how close they are. For someone like Max, having Ryan trust him that much meant a lot. He had never thought he could be that reliable for someone, and he truly appreciated it.
Meanwhile, Ryan, feeling good about Max's presence and the fact that he had come all the way here just to advise him, gave his response.
"Are you sure you're going to win?"
"Absolutely sure. Don't you believe it?"
Max looked at Ryan, who was more serious than usual—maybe due to nerves, or perhaps something else.
"Just don't leave this to someone else. Victory can only be claimed by your own hands."
Max nodded and said, "Of course."
Now that he had a friend, and maybe his anger could be erased in a fight, Max felt it was far better to advise Ryan to give it his all and move on rather than never do it and let the problems keep escalating.
...
"Wait, how did Bert make it to the quarterfinals, and his opponent is Miguel Díaz?"
"Don't even mention it. Matches like these between friends are something I wouldn't wish on anyone."
When Max returned, he realized Miguel would be facing Bert, and now that he thought about it, it was really uncertain how Bert had gotten this far.
He wasn't strong, yet he had advanced further than much more talented opponents.
"Don't go easy on him. Treat him with respect."
It was normal for students from the same school to reach this stage and have to face each other. The least one could do was not underestimate a teammate.
This match was quick—Miguel won 3-0 in under five minutes. But Bert wasn't sad. Reaching this stage meant he was among the top competitors, and for him, this wasn't a loss.
"The next match is Robby versus Hawk. I heard Daniel's last remaining fighter has an injured leg."
By the time Hawk heard this, they had arrived at the arena. The crowd, eager to see more fights, erupted in cheers and excitement upon seeing Robby enter, limping slightly.
"I'll do my best, guys, but I'll fight knowing you have my back."
"Go finish him."
Max raised his fist and sat down near Devon, who was beside him.
"It looks like the contestant is still going to fight, so there's nothing else to do."
Knowing that Robby, who was also injured, would continue participating, the announcer let the referee take over the match and stepped down from the platform.
Max's eyes gleamed with excitement—he truly hoped to see his teammate win. But if it didn't turn out that way, then everything would fall on him, the first finalist.
"Ready? Fight!"
Robby looked at Hawk, who glared at him with an intense expression. Obviously, they had their issues, but Max believed that everything would be settled after a good fight.
Robby positioned himself for the match and, with full seriousness, started taking the blows Hawk was throwing at him with force. This wasn't too difficult for him since he had focused on defense and landing key strikes to win his fights.
And within seconds, the sound of powerful strikes began to echo across the combat platform.