Path to Strength

"When I heard that Moebius got a new leader, I thought that this shit gang would finally get back on track, but as it turns out, I was wrong to think that way."

It was Pah who spoke. His fist was closed, and his body rigid, as if he was about to get into a fight, Yuji realized this, but continued to stare at them without showing a single trace of hesitation in front of the Toman members. Yuji in no way wishes to clash with Tokyo Manji so soon, but if they try anything, he will not hesitate to punch them and send them back to their gang.

He knows that the two believe that Osanai is to blame for what happened to that boy, but seeing that the two don't seem willing to listen to excuses, he believes that it won't be easy to convince them with the truth.

Although he doesn't think he can stop the impending conflict, it can't hurt to try, if the two want to fight after that, there is nothing to be done.

"Osanai fucked up and wasn't a good leader, but he wouldn't have his gang do something like that, that I can tell." Spoken Yuji, who held up his chin with confidence in his words.

Pah seemed to get angry at these words, the stout boy almost advancing towards Yuji. Seeing this, Peh quickly stopped him.

"How could you know that! You weren't there! That bastard was to blame for killing my friend's family, don't try to create lies! You bastard!"

Yuji watched the teenager struggling to free himself from his companion's arms, a sigh escaping his lips as he faced him. If he can avoid this confrontation, it will be great, but the boy doesn't know if that's what he really wants. As someone who loves to fight, facing the big boys of Toman sounds appealing, but he knows very well that his gang is not ready to face them.

Together with his gang, he needs to become stronger. In this world, unfortunately the most powerful reigns, and knowing that Kisaki probably already knows of his existence, it doesn't seem smart to abandon a chance to take him down more easily.

"Well, Osanai is a member of my gang, I take him at his word, so if you want to catch him, unfortunately for you, you'll have to go through me."

Osanai's eyes widened as he heard the boy's words. Despite feeling his pride as a delinquent being tarnished, he couldn't help but feel a little respect for the boy. In his condition, he could just let the two Toman members take him away, but he preferred to defend him.

"So it's that way, dammit?! If that's what you want, fine!" Pah shouted and pushed Peh aside, wasting no time in advancing towards Yuji like a bull.

Yuji seeing this, positioned his legs, but left his arms relaxed, without raising them in guard. Pah took this as an insult, veins bulging in his forehead as he reached for the boy. About to punch him, Yuji could see his movements from miles away, dodging with ease as he jumped back, keeping his distance.

The two are about the same height, which means Yuji doesn't have to put much effort into counterattacking. The teenager's movements are so crisp, he is sure he can beat him with minimal effort, but since he decided to attack him, Yuji needed to show a little superiority, after all, he was a proud boy.

Pah launched a flurry of punches towards Yuji, which he had no trouble dodging as he bounced around Pah. Peh and Osanai were impressed, Peh, who because he believed that Yuji would not be a difficult opponent for his captain, and Osanai, who remembered the movement of Mohammad Alai when watching Yuji, this fighter being one of his inspirations when he started learning boxing.

'His footwork... I can barely keep up with him!' Osanai thought, his mouth open in amazement.

"You bastard, stop running away!" Pah shouted and threw a punch directly towards Yuji's face.

Yuji, who realized this clearly, just dodged to the outside and countered with his left fist directly at Pah's chin, who fell face first into the ground like a rock.

"You asked me to stop running away, so I attacked." Spoke Yuji, a quiet voice as his eyes stared at the unconscious Pah.

Peh's eyes widened in amazement, sweat forming on his forehead at seeing his captain being knocked out so easily.

"Pah!" Peh shouted and before he could think about his actions, he advanced toward Yuji.

The boy, upon hearing the shout of the large statured teenager, quickly turned around, seeing him advancing towards him with his fist raised. Yuji was able to see Peh's movements clearly, his calm expression not changing as he prepared to counterattack and send the vice captain into the dream world.

When Peh got close enough to Yuji, his eyes widened when with his peripheral vision, he was able to perceive a blur advancing towards him.

"Gah!" Peh choked as a fist hit him hard on the side of his stomach, his arms around his belly as he tries to deal with the pain of the blow. "Bastard."

Yuji was surprised, his eyes moving to the one responsible for punching the one who was about to attack him, slight surprise in his eyes as he realized who it was.

"Oh, does that mean you're going to join me, Osanai?"

Yuji smiled, this causing the older blond man to snort and turn his head in frustration.

Osanai knows that if he had let Toman's boy attack him, there would be a chance that Yuji would be defeated. This would give him a chance to finish off the two Toman members and regain control of his gang. But apparently he decided not to do this, correct? Why? Osanai was always a lover of boxing, he learned to fight by himself and became strong enough that no one dared to stand in his way. He was proud of his boxing, but when he was put in front of Yuji, he felt something he had never felt before.

He felt small, a small rock in front of a mountain. Of course, this was not due to strength, but technique. Watching the teenager move and hit Pah with a single punch, Osanai realized that he was miles away from that boy. But still undecided about what to do, his eyes soon noticed the second member of Toman, Peh, moving towards Yuji, who was staring at Pah on the ground.

With that, he needed to think fast, and although he was extremely proud, he decided, he decided that he wanted to learn from that boy, that he wanted to become even stronger, that he would believe the words of that teenager, who was probably a few years younger than him.

And so, he moved forward quickly, ready to intercept the one who dared to attack his leader in front of him.

"Well, we've seen where this is going." Yuji began, a yawn coming out of his mouth as he faced Peh. "Get your friend and get the hell out of here. I believe my members, whether or not they want to believe my words, I don't care, report to your leader about me or something, it won't change anything." He put his hands in his pockets and moved until he stood next to Osanai, the clear difference between the two as Yuji is his humble 1.65 while the blond is 1.82. "Do it soon before I change my mind."

Peh growled, his eyes filled with anger and pain staring at the two members of the new gang, Yggdrasil, as he moves over to Pah and begins to carry him. Without saying a single word, he begins to walk away from the scene. He is not capable of beating the two and he is smart enough to know it.

Yuji watched Peh carry an unconscious Pah, a smile on his lips as he turns his gaze to Osanai.

"I will see you here tomorrow, I will organize the gang posts." He spoke and nodded, starting to walk away from the scene. "By the way, don't come with that Moebius uniform, it's too ugly."

A vein popped out on Osanai's forehead, who huffed and turned to walk toward his own home. He wouldn't dare ignore his leader's command, although calling someone that way leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

"That sucks." The blond man sighed.

. . .

It was morning, in that abandoned warehouse that used to look like a junkyard, Yuji and the other members of the old Moebius were gathered. The place was not so dirty due to the cleaning done the day before, so much so that the members were all sitting neatly on the floor, including a figure well known to the gang members.

"Is that Osanai?"

"What the hell is that bastard doing here?"

"Did he come to take a beating again?"

"Well, if he came to challenge our leader, sure."

Yuji, who was standing in front of his members, stared at them intensely, causing everyone to shut up.

"As you all know, Moebius no longer exists. Now the one that takes its place is Yggdrasil, the gang founded by me. Everyone here is aware of that." As Yuji was speaking, he noticed a subtle increase in the numbers of people in the place, a bit of surprise in his gaze. "Oh, it looks like we have some new members."

Yuji's eyes wandered around the new faces, stopping at one person in particular who caught his attention. He looked like a boy of short stature, apparently a little larger than himself. Looking at his arms, his physique didn't seem to be anything too great, but something about him caught Yuji's attention.

'S...Shiki Makunouchi." This name came to his mind, an expression of recognition on his face as he remembered the boy he once saved from some bullies. 'Ah, so that's him! But what the hell is he doing here?'

He was curious, but decided he would ask in person later.

"Moving on, today I will organize the positions and divisions of the gang. Obviously I don't know everyone, but since you've probably been around each other for a while, I'll do it this way." The boy spoke and grabbed what looked like a chalkboard, then pulling a chalk from his pocket. "There will initially be three divisions. These divisions will have a captain and a vice captain. The captain will be able to choose any vice captain he wants."

The members show focus as Yuji explains, seeming not to want to miss a single detail.

"The first division already has a captain selected by me, as for the second and third, I will leave it up to you to decide. How? Well, I want those who want to lead one of the two divisions to stand. They will receive nominations, and the one with the most nominations wins. Got it?"

"Yes!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"All right, let's get started." Yuji turned to the board and wrote 'Third Division'. "Those who want to lead the third division, on your feet!"

Immediately, three people stood up. Yuji doesn't know their names, so he asked them.

"Otoki Shinsai!"

"Akira Suekichi!"

"Takamura Aoki!"

The three didn't catch Yuji's attention, but the name Suekichi seemed to make him remember something, though it was vague. Without wanting to think too much, he just wrote their names on the boards.

"Now, for nominations, make a line under the name of the one you believe would be the best captain."

Yuji turned the board so that the votes were not visible. "In a line! Let's not make a mess of it!" He spoke up, receiving nods of agreement.

"The three participants, if you want to say something, say it right away."

Otoki was the first to speak, a generic phrase that didn't excite his companions at all. "Follow the good guys!"

Takamura quickly continued. "Vote for me, I'll protect you like a tank!" Takamura is 1.87 tall and has a robust body like a youth wrestler. He is the only teenager with this physique, and probably one of the physically strongest. Yuji, observing him, immediately realized that although big as a bull, the teenager is gentle as a butterfly.

His phrase seemed to cheer up the teenagers in the place, who smiled as they already decided for whom they were going to vote.

At this moment, Akira, who was quiet at all times, took a deep breath and seemed to be preparing for something, a detail that Yuji noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"My name is Akira Suekichi! I promise that I will lead my division to victory! With me in command, no one under my wing will lose!" Akira spoke with confidence, his voice and words drawing the attention of those who were heading to vote. "Therefore, I ask you to vote for me! Choose me as captain of the second division, and I will dedicate my heart to this division, as a leader should do!"

Yuji listened to the teenager's words with a smile on his lips, a look of interest on the boy. 'This is one of those who stand out. His name reminds me of something, so I should keep an eye on him.'

Hearing the boy's words, the other gang members thought for a moment before heading to the blackboard.

A few minutes passed, everyone finishing voting and returning to their seats.

"Sit down!" Yuji ordered.

The teenagers sat down and looked at their leader with curiosity. Yuji moved until he was behind the board and set his gaze on the scribbles, his eyebrow raised as he quickly counted the amount of votes each had cast. Seconds passed before the boy stepped back in front of the teenagers.

"I will announce the division captain, stand up again!"

They stood up, hands behind their backs in a sign of respect and discipline. Most in the place witnessed Yuji's strength, so they didn't dare act casual in front of him.

Everyone shows anxiety in their gaze as they wait for Yuji to reveal the captain of the third division, already Yuji just kept quiet, his eyes roaming the teenagers, until he stopped at a single person.

"Akira Suekichi, step forward!"

Akira, who despite his words, did not expect to be the winner, widened his eyes in surprise. Those around him stared at him, some congratulating him while others just watched. Still surprised, but not wanting to upset his leader, he quickly stepped out from among the crowd and stood in front of Yuji.

"Starting today, you will be the captain of Yggdrasil's third division! You will be a pinnacle of the gang, a role model among the other members, so act like one!" Spoken Yuji with authority, causing the boy in front of him to swallow dryly.

With a nod in agreement, Akira bowed in token of respect to Yuji.

"Stay by my side until the other captains are announced." Yuji spoke, Akira agreeing and moving to stand beside the boy.

"Thank you so much for trusting me!" He shouted, receiving applause from the members.

After everyone calmed down, Yuji erased the chalk on the board and wrote "Second division".

"Now, those who wish to lead the second division, on your feet!"

When Yuji finished his order, surprise spread through the place, when out of dozens of gang members, only two stood up.

And one of them was a thin boy whom Yuji had previously known as Shiki Makunouchi.

'This is going to be interesting.'