BOOM!
The table exploded under Gambit's punch, splinters flying like shrapnel. The entire bar froze—music cut, glasses trembled, and every drunk in the room suddenly remembered they had somewhere else to be.
"Holy hell! Who are these idiots?"
"They just picked a fight with Gambit? They're dead!"
Within seconds, chairs scraped back, people bolted for the exit, and only a few half-drunk thrill-seekers peeked from the doorway, whispering excitedly.
"You're way too aggressive," Ryuuto said, cracking his neck lazily. "We just sat down. Didn't realize you owned the table."
At his cue, Gwen leapt back, hands flashing. Thin white strands shot from her fingertips, weaving into a glimmering web that wrapped toward Gambit like a net of light.
"If you want to fight that bad," she said coldly, "then you picked the wrong couple to mess with."
Gambit's grin widened, eyes glinting crimson beneath the brim of his hat. "Spider webs? Now that's interesting. Didn't expect a lady like you to have tricks of her own."
He didn't even dodge. A flick of his wrist, a gleam of silver—and the entire web was sliced aside, fluttering harmlessly to the floor. His movements were too fast, too smooth—like a predator stretching after a nap.
"Huh. So you're not just another drunk," Gwen muttered. "Let me guess, mutant?"
"Something like that," Gambit said, his Cajun accent thickening with amusement.
Then he snapped his fingers. The empty beer bottle on the table shimmered pink with kinetic energy—before hurtling toward Ryuuto's face.
Ryuuto tilted his head slightly. The bottle whooshed past, smashing against the wall behind him.
"Gwen," he said calmly. "Sit this one out. I'll handle him."
"Alright," she said, though her eyes stayed sharp.
In an instant, Ryuuto vanished. The air rippled—and suddenly he was face-to-face with Gambit, close enough to see the faint glow behind the man's pupils.
Ryuuto's fist shot forward, wind cracking like thunder.
Gambit's instincts screamed. His body moved before his brain caught up—his own fist snapping up to meet the incoming blow.
BOOM!
The collision sounded like a bomb. Pressure rippled through the bar, shattering bottles and rattling lights. Both men were sent flying—but Ryuuto landed effortlessly, sliding backward with perfect balance.
Gambit wasn't so lucky. He crashed into a booth, clutching his trembling arm, his smirk faltering for the first time.
No one had ever matched his power in raw force before.
"Fast," he muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing. "Too fast."
Before he could recover, Ryuuto flicked his wrist.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
A storm of chakra-infused shuriken sliced through the air, gleaming like miniature comets. Gambit growled, spinning his iron staff in a blur. Every blade deflected with a ringing clang, sparks showering across the floor.
Ryuuto chuckled, rolling his shoulders. "Not bad. French boxing, kinetic tricks, fancy reflexes—you're basically the whole circus act."
Gambit's lips twitched. "You mocking me, boy?"
"Maybe."
"Then you just did something stupid."
He slammed his staff against the ground, the impact cracking the tiles. "If that's your best, you're dying here tonight. This stick hasn't had blood in days."
Ryuuto sighed, hands sliding into his pockets. "Man, everyone in this city's got a stick. What, you allergic to cards now?"
Gambit sneered. "You don't deserve my cards."
The air shifted. In one heartbeat, Gambit lunged—staff whirling with frightening precision, like a silver dragon twisting through air.
"Die!"
Ryuuto's eyes flared. "Tch. So the gambler doesn't play by the rules."
He parried the incoming strike with a shuriken, metal clashing with a burst of sparks. The two locked weapons, muscles straining, neither giving an inch. The floor cracked beneath their feet, the sound of grinding metal echoing through the empty bar.
Every remaining spectator forgot to breathe. The clash was too fast for the eye, too raw, too real.
This wasn't some brawl—it was two forces colliding head-on, each one testing the other's limits.
And in that tense silence, Ryuuto's grin returned.
"You talk big," he said softly, "but I can already tell... you're the one who's scared."