The referee, who had nervously scrambled onto the ruined arena sands to separate them, cleared his throat anxiously.
"Um... I think you've already won—"
But Merun chose to ignore him entirely. He violently switched his grip, swapping his bleeding arms around the giant's unyielding neck, and roared, "RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGHGHHH!" He still absolutely refused to give up.
The man took a hesitant step closer.
"Lord Moretsuna, you've—"
"FUCK OFF! I DON'T ACCEPT!!" Merun grunted, baring his blood-slicked teeth as he returned to his futile struggle.
"..." The referee went completely silent, sweating profusely as he looked up at the laughing giant.
"Alright, that's enough," Sakuma said softly.
Before Merun could even react, Sakuma reached behind his own neck with a speed that defied his massive bulk. Two thick fingers clamped down on a precise point at the base of Merun's skull.
A sudden, sharp jolt of pain surged directly into Merun's nervous system, instantly short-circuiting his remaining adrenaline. Merun's eyes immediately rolled back, his mind plunging into pitch-black unconsciousness.
Yet, his arms didn't drop.
Even thoroughly out cold, Merun's body absolutely refused to surrender.
Driven by pure, instinctual spite and deep-rooted pride, his battered arms locked like iron clamps around Sakuma's throat, his muscles still actively tightening and squeezing with everything his body had left.
Sakuma blinked in surprise, then burst into another booming laugh.
"Hah! Still fighting even in your sleep? You really are a stubborn little bastard!"
The giant reached up, his massive, calloused hands gripping Merun's locked wrists.
He had to physically pry Merun's fingers apart, breaking the deadlocked chokehold through sheer brute strength. Only when Sakuma completely peeled the arms away did Merun's grip finally give out, his body going completely limp.
Sakuma caught the collapsing youth with one arm, slinging him effortlessly over his broad shoulder. Looking down at the unconscious, battered face of the brat, a wide, genuine grin split the giant's face.
"I have a feeling we'll get along quite well!"
Sakuma turned toward the referee and gave him a sharp, definitive nod.
The referee swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he raised them to activate his sound amplification technique. His voice echoed across the breathless colosseum.
"The... the match has concluded! By way of forfeit from the grand champion, the victor of the grand finals is... the Commoner's Wrath, Moretsuna!"
The announcer tried to maintain his professional composure, eagerly launching into the standard victory recap to fill the heavy silence.
"An absolutely historic run for the Steel Convergence! This newcomer entered our arena as a total unknown, carving a path through the Senior Realm by defeating Senior Roro Nora, breaking the defense of Senior Ephraim, and finally... facing our very own grand champion..."
The announcer's voice stuttered, tapering off awkwardly. He glanced down at the arena floor, completely unsure of how to phrase the ending.
To say Moretsuna had "defeated" Sakuma sounded entirely ridiculous when the youth was currently draped over the champion's shoulder like a sack of grain, bleeding and completely out cold.
A wave of confused murmuring immediately rippled through the massive spectator stands. The initial shock was turning into open skepticism.
"Is this a joke?" a noble from the upper tiers grumbled.
"The peasant was destroyed! He looks like a corpse!"
"Why is he being declared the winner? Lord Sakuma barely has a scrape on him!"
"This isn't a victory, it's a farce!"
Down in the front rows, a prominent elder from one of the ruling clans stood up, pointing an accusatory finger at the arena floor.
"A weaponless, armorless fool cannot claim the ultimate prize of our people! We are the Kinzoku—the Steel Clan! What will an outsider rogue even do with our sacred, Senior-grade Kinzoku steel? Sell it off for wine and women?!"
The noble's shout struck a chord. A mocking chant began to ripple through the upper noble stands, threatening to turn the entire grand finals into a massive political controversy.
Sakuma's smirk vanished.
His voice erupted with the force of an exploding volcanic vent, completely shattering the arena's atmosphere.
"SILENCE!"
The force of the shout caused the defensive barriers to vibrate, instantly striking the entire stadium silent.
Before launching into his speech, Sakuma looked down at the unconscious youth draped over his shoulder. A dangerous, mocking glint returned to the giant's eyes.
"Weaponless? Armorless? You blind fools wouldn't know true steel if it crushed your skulls."
With his free hand, Sakuma reached down to Merun's limp wrist. He unbuckled the thick, black bracer wrapped around the youth's forearm and casually tossed it onto the ground.
CLANG-BOOOM!
The arena floor violently shuddered. The seemingly simple black bracer punched straight through the reinforced stone, fracturing the surrounding slabs and burying itself deep inside a fresh, smoking crater.
A collective, breathless gasp rippled through the stadium.
Everyone in the clan knew the nature of Kinzoku steel: the higher the refinement and grade, the heavier it became. (Its molecular mass was multiplied, becoming astronomically heavy with each upgrade in realm.)
"The boy was wearing weighted training gear..." an elder whispered, his eyes wide with horror. "Senior-grade... during the entire tournament?!"
Sakuma let out a boisterous, rumbling laugh.
He leaned down, his massive fingers gripping the embedded black bracer. Even for the grand champion, his muscles tensed slightly as he hauled the staggering weight out of the crater.
But with a grunt of power, Sakuma successfully lifted it and began nonchalantly tossing the dense block of steel up and down in his palm like a harmless leather ball.
"He defeated powerful Seniors and pushed me to my absolute limits while carrying the weight of a mountain on his limbs," Sakuma roared, casting a fiercely mocking look toward the noble boxes. "This proves he's a true Kinzoku at heart, no? Or do any of you fancy stepping down here to try putting this on?!"
The protesting nobles instantly withered in their seats, their faces turning completely pale.
Sakuma slammed the heavy bracer onto the stone with a deafening thud, using the momentum to transition right back into his booming decree.
"More than that, it was I who set the rules of this engagement upon my own martial pride!" Sakuma bellowed, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, golden light as he glared at the crowd.
"I declared before you all that if this brat forced me to utilize my Martial Heart, I would claim defeat. He surpassed my expectations. He pushed me to the absolute brink. A warrior who betrays his own word has no path forward in this world! To deny his victory is to demand I break my own path!"
The crowd sat paralyzed under the weight of his authority. No one dared utter a single word against the grand champion's conviction.
Sakuma's expression softened back into a boisterous grin.
He shifted Merun's weight, grabbing the youth's limp, blood-stained wrist and hoisting his arm high into the air for the entire colosseum to see.
"He endured a beatdown that would have shattered any other man, and he never once begged for mercy! He is a magnificent addition to our ranks, and from this day forth, he will receive my backing!"
The word backing from the mouth of the clan's strongest Senior carried immense political weight, effectively drawing an iron line that the noble clans could never cross.
Hearing the absolute validation from their legendary champion, the crowd's confusion completely dissolved.
Hype took over.
No matter how strange the ending had been, one undeniable truth remained: a terrifyingly powerful new Martial Senior had officially joined the Kinzoku Clan.
The stadium erupted into a deafening, roaring cheer that shook the very foundations of the mountain fortress of Gifu.
"MORETSUNA! MORETSUNA!" tens of thousands of voices chanted in a thunderous, rhythmic wave that rattled the stadium walls.
"The Commoner's Wrath!" a common blacksmith screamed from the lower tiers, waving his arms wildly. "He fought the champion with fucking Senior-grade steel weights on!"
"Hail the new Senior! Glory to the Steel Clan!"
The sheer volume of the arena was intoxicating, the initial skepticism entirely washed away by the unadulterated awe of Merun's absurd feat.
Even the common martial squires and apprentices who had lost their life savings betting against the newcomer were swept up in the madness, screaming his name until their throats went hoarse.
As the artificial storm of cheers and cascading confetti rained down upon the scorched sands, Sakuma slowly looked up toward the highest VIP pavilion.
He locked eyes with Master Iaiashin.
The giant let out a hearty, booming laugh, letting her know that he had finally seen through her clever little manipulation—and that he was perfectly fine with playing his part.
After all, where else could he have gotten the steel for these weighted bracers and greaves?
High above the roaring crowd, Master Iaiashin offered her oldest, rowdiest student a warm, knowing smile, giving him a slow, approving nod.
She spoke with warmth in her tone, "Congratulations, idiot."