Kenzou woke up and looked at his wristband. There were nine hours left till the end of the trial. “Huh.. Where’s Hana? She shouldn’t be far..” Kenzou yawned, looking around the hut for any traces. ‘Weird. We agreed to meet in the hut every day around this time. Maybe she went to get our hidden stash?’

  He walked a long distance before finally arriving at an inconspicuous spot. After rustling through a few bushes, he heaved a long sigh. ‘Huh, they’re not here.. Hana must’ve already gathered them and is now heading back. I must’ve missed her.’ Blaming his misfortune, he began walking back to the hut.

  ‘I have three coconuts, and she’s carrying two plus the four hidden ones. We have a total of nine coconuts!’ Kenzou smiled as he finally arrived.

  Yet no one was there.

  After waiting for a while, he furrowed his brows. ‘Maybe they decided to meet up at Rikou’s hut instead, and I just don’t remember?’ He jogged to Rikou’s hut, hoping to find someone.

  But he didn’t manage to find a single soul. He knew that others should be on this island, but ever since he woke up, no sign of life appeared. It was as if he were the only person on this stranded island.

  Kenzou helplessly ran to the middle of the island. However, the area was void of all life. “Hana! Where the hell are you?!” Kenzou yelled, hoping to get a response.

  Just then, bushes rustled nearby. Two figures came out of the forest, which instantly caught Kenzou’s attention.

  “Hana!” He stood up and ran towards them until a voice stopped him in his tracks. “Come any closer, and she won’t get to see nightfall.”

  Karasu held Hana’s hair in his left hand as he dragged her all the way to the center of the island. “You made my life much easier, screaming out like that. You know, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find you in time.” Hana’s body was a mess, completely beaten up and dirty. She seemed to be unconscious.

  Kenzou’s hands began trembling, his breathing unstable. “You can’t be serious..” He swung his arms to the side. “Why.. Why did you do that!? What the hell is wrong with you!!” He yelled at Karasu, his eyes filled with rage.

  Karasu simply smiled. His face resembled a sinister demon as he held his right hand out. “Give me all of your coconuts, and you’ll get her back. Don’t worry, I haven’t stolen anything from her, if you know what I mean.”

  As he heard those words, Kenzou could barely hold himself in. ‘Doesn’t this guy feel any shame?! Fuck.. he must’ve gotten all of her coconuts! Now we only have three.. I need to get them back! Damn it!!’ he thought to himself.

  “Why do you need any more coconuts! My team is going to lose anyway! Do you want to humiliate us? Is that it!?” He lashed out at him verbally; however, Karasu gave him a pitiful look.

  “Hah.. Hahahah. You’re a foolish kid. Didn’t you hear what was said at the start of the trial? The team with the most coconuts will get a special reward for the second trial. Of course, I wouldn’t want to miss out on this chance!” He grasped at his own face, looking at Kenzou through the gap of his fingers.

  “I don’t care about an assured victory for this trial only. I want to be safe for the next trial as well. This is the simple law of survival of the fittest. If you don’t get something that simple, then you’re bound to get left behind.” Karasu chuckled. Kenzou may be stronger, but he couldn’t do anything in this situation.

  Karasu sighed. “I’ve had enough of this pointless chatter.” Glancing at his wristband, he continued, “If you do not give me all of your coconuts right now, I’ll kill her.”

  “What?! You’re insane! She’s just an innocent girl who got dragged into this mess just like you!” Kenzou lashed out at him, but no response came. He didn’t see any weapon on Karasu, yet he couldn’t discern whether he was bluffing. What if he refused and Karasu twisted her neck?

  Exhaling sharply, Karasu’s fingers slightly trembled. ‘There’s only one hour left. We should be done with this deal soon.’ he thought to himself, then yelled at Kenzou. “I said right now! Hand them over, you have nothing to lose anyway! You’re done for! Don’t tell me that you want to see her die?” Karasu tugged harder on Hana’s messed-up hair.

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  Kenzou was startled, but he tried to remain calm and think things over. ‘Rikou’s team has a total of six coconuts, and from what I’ve heard, he lost his wristband. This means that only three of their coconuts are valid! No, he could just let Tenkai carry the other coconuts.

  What if.. What if I steal their coconuts? I could use them to remain safe and pay Karasu for Hana’s safety! This’ll work!’ Thus, he spoke to Karasu, “I can.. ensure your victory and our safety. How about we steal Rikou and Tenkai’s coconuts? Hell, we could even target that one girl’s coconuts! Didn’t she humiliate you? We can go get revenge!”

  This sweet talk of stirring Karasu’s thoughts up and making him target someone else seemed to work. “Huh.. that’s not a bad idea.” Karasu responded, which led to Kenzou finally seeing a small glimmer of hope.

  “As if!” Karasu kicked Hana in front of Kenzou, which instantly crushed his hopes. “Stop delaying this any further! Hand them over already!” Hana’s body slightly trembled from the hit.

  Kenzou’s eyes widened, staring down at the ground next to Karasu. ‘She’s..’ He then looked back at Karasu. “Okay.. I’ll give them to you.” Slowly and carefully, he walked closer to Karasu while carrying his backpack in his right hand.

  As the distance lessened, Karasu grew more careful. “Stop. Throw it from where you are.” He slightly lessened his grip on Hana’s hair and was ready to intercept the backpack.

  Afterwards, he would escape as fast as he could. He knew that Kenzou would fight with all his might if he got close enough to him. Karasu was not his match. Thus, he carefully planned his steps.

  Just then, Karasu’s world turned around. Everything seemed to be rotating as he fell sideways. Hana must’ve woken up from the hit and pulled his leg!

  He pulled on her hair harder than before, making sure that she wouldn’t escape his grasp. “Don’t think that you’ll escape me!”

  “Now!! Kenzou!!” she yelled, trying to escape Karasu’s grip as Kenzou ran towards them. Karasu fell down on the ground, which led to him tightening his grip as he quickly tried to stand up.

  However, at the next moment, a powerful fist filled with fury hit his face. Karasu’s grip loosened as he was sent flying a few meters back. Blood poured from his nose; it was broken. Kenzou had gotten close enough to hit him. The force of the impact was unbearable!

  Karasu let out a shriek as he swiftly got back up and turned around to run into the forest. Though Kenzou had already caught up with him and grappled him from behind, bringing him down on the ground.

  Quickly, Kenzou stabilized his own position, mounting Karasu and trapping his arms with his knees. A punch hit his face; another one came right after. More and more fists were bombarded against Karasu’s face, each hitting harder than the last.

  Karasu couldn’t think straight anymore. His ears were ringing, and his field of vision shrank. ‘This damned.. monster..’ He coughed up blood, his face was a mess, and his consciousness was fading.

  Kenzou continued, punching his face over and over. His fists were bleeding. A few teeth fell out of Karasu’s mouth, yet he kept on going. The red, oozing blood of Karasu on Kenzou’s fists mixed with his own, he was far too enraged to control himself.

  Kenzou lifted his arm, blocking the sun in Karasu’s vision. Karasu’s eyes widened as he attempted to stop him. He tried to escape his grasp while screaming out in fear.

  However, the loud, shrill sound suddenly stopped a few moments later. Kenzou’s fist crashed against him one last time. Blood splattered across the beautiful grass, shading it a deep scarlet red.

  Karasu’s eyes were rolled back as Kenzou finally stood up and walked to Hana. “I’m glad.. I’m glad you’re fine.” He smiled at her, even though his face had traces of Karasu’s blood on it.

  This sight shocked Hana. The moment he got closer, she stepped back. She was relieved to be safe, but what stood before her scared her more than anything she had seen until now. She didn’t know whether she was grateful or afraid of having landed in the hands of an even worse devil.

  “There’s only thirty minutes left. We’ll lose.. damn it!” Kenzou looked down at his feet, stomping against the ground. “Wait, we can still gather our hidden stash of coconuts if we rush! I hid my coconuts in the stash before leaving, so we can still win with nine coconuts!” Hana spoke in hopes of calming him down.

  “No.. I checked before leaving. They weren’t there!” Kenzou tightly clenched his fists. “They.. weren’t?!” Hana’s eyes widened in shock. She had hidden her coconuts in the stash just a few hours before attempting to steal Karasu’s.

  Karasu was unconscious, and he had no coconuts on him. It seemed like he planned for Hakaku to carry all of them instead, leaving him free to do whatever he wanted. Even if he got caught, his team wouldn’t have any losses.

  Looking at Karasu’s body once more, Kenzou let out a heavy sigh. “Survival of the fittest, you say.. Maybe I should show you how deep that law can run.” He began walking toward the unconscious body as rage boiled inside him.

  “This.. is all your fault.” He stood in front of the unconscious body and continued, “Why are you still breathing?” Kenzou clenched his fists hard enough to bleed.

  Hana didn’t dare to get close to him. Who knew what was going on in his mind right now? She felt deep hatred for Karasu, but this seemed too much for her, even though she was the main victim of this situation.

  “Even so...” Tears slowly formed in his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “Even so... I cannot bring myself to kill you. No one deserves that.” He sorrowfully let tears flow down his face as he looked down at Karasu. They fell onto Karasu’s body as the countdown neared its end.