"You're awesome, Kinro!" Suika exclaimed, her cheeks flushed with joy as a big grin broke out on her face. "But it's not too convincing when you say it with that mask on."

Behind her, both Chrome and Senku nodded their heads in agreement with blank looks on their faces. Meanwhile, Ginro was cheering with his hands thrown in the air as he hopped from side to side in excitement. "Yay! Magma's all worn out! Kinro's going to win it!"

"We've already won, then!" Kaseki piped up from beside the blonde.

You, on the other hand, clapped your hands in glee, a bright smile spreading on your lips as you shouted, "Yay, Kinro did it! Looks like the odds are in our favour!"

Brown eyes were gleaming with hope as Chrome beamed at the good news, "Now we can give Ruri the cure-all!"

Meanwhile, back on the open field, Magma was still on his knees, wincing slightly from the pain as he raised his head to stare at Kinro with narrowed eyes. "Is that watermelon mask your sorcery? Isn't that against the rules?"

The brunette hesitated for a moment before admitting, "You're right. Even though it comes late, we'll have to confirm the rules."

"I can't move anymore," Magma responded with a helpless smile. "I can hardly even speak. The match is over. Ask Jasper, the referee. If he agrees, I'll accept my loss."

There was a soft smile on Suika's face as she glanced over to Magma with gentle eyes and commented, "I can't hear what they're talking about, but Magma's turned into a clean Magma."

However, the same couldn't be said for you as you stared at the blonde in suspicion, your brows furrowing as you mumbled, "I don't like the sound of this. Something doesn't feel right to me..."

Doing as suggested, Kinro turned to face Jasper and began to walk towards him while asking in a serious tone, "Referee, this mask was clearly thrown into the match by Suika in order to help me. Knowing that, I still wore it. If I've broken the rules, then I've lost."

Upon hearing that, Chrome let out a disappointed sigh as he said, "Damn it, you could just keep your mouth shut if it's going to hurt you."

"That's Kinro for you. He's so straight-laced." Ginro complained from beside the other teen.

Jasper didn't say anything for a second or two as he stared at Kinro with unwavering eyes before replying, "You didn't throw it at him or anything. The mask is just an article of clothing. Therefore, it's not a—"

However, before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by a loud yell as Magma appeared behind Kinro with his weapon raised in the air and with his lips twisted into a sadistic grin, he aimed for the watermelon mask with all his strength.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the mask shattered into many pieces while the force of the hit was hard enough to knock Kinro out, his body falling onto the ground with a loud crash.

Delighted laughter fell from Magma's lips as he proudly boasted, "I knew you'd go and ask! You're as proper as hell, after all, Kinro!"

Jasper said nothing but let out a small sigh and announced, "Winner: Magma!"

Immediately, loud cries broke out amongst the villagers at the announcement, excited applause filling the air at the unexpected outcome. The only ones who weren't cheering with joy were the Kingdom of Science, their blood boiling with anger at the unfairness of it all.

"Damn, that dirty bastard!" Chrome cursed as he palmed his fist, brown eyes blazing with fury.

Your hands curled into tight fists at the sides of your body, your lips curling with disgust as you glared at Magma. "What a sore loser!"

"Kinro!" Ginro cried out, his voice betraying his worry as he ran over to his brother who was being carried over to your group by Jasper. "Kinro! Kinro!"

Said brunette struggled to peek an eye open and let out a small wince before apologizing to everyone, "Sorry."

"Thank goodness you're alive!" Ginro exclaimed in relief as tears ran in rivulets down his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Senku let out a small chuckle but you could hear the relief in his voice as he said, "Well, whatever. This is a team battle. As long as someone beats Magma, we win. That match should have dealt plenty of damage to him. That's what matters the most."

"That's true, but it's still unfair at how he played dirty by sneaking up on Kinro and attacking him when his guards were down!" You huffed; arms folded in a petulant manner as you stuck your bottom lips out in a small pout.

Senku said nothing but let out an amused grin as he ruffled your hair, earning an annoyed glare from you for messing up your hair.

After a short break so that the next pair of fighters could get ready for the next match, Jasper began to announce the participants for the second round of the Grand Bout.

"Round two: Chrome, Mantle."

"Oh, I'm up," The brunette pointed to himself, brown eyes wide with panic.

Senku's gaze slid over to a nervous Chrome, his lips curling into a small frown as he confessed, "I'm more worried about the next match. If Kohaku isn't back by the end of match two, she'll be disqualified."

"Yeah, I know," The other teen nodded, his hands clenching into tight fists.

"Well, let's just hope that she returns before that happens," You mumbled, your brows furrowing with worry as you glanced over to Mantle who was grinning from ear to ear, a hungry look in his eyes as he stared at Chrome.

Suika, who overheard the mention of Kohaku's name, blinked in confusion as she just noticed the lack of said blonde's presence. "Where's Kohaku-chan? Where did Kohaku-chan go?"

"She ran off earlier to save you," Ginro answered from beside her.

"What?! I'm going to go find her!" The young girl let out a shocked gasp before turning on her heels and running towards the bridge, only to trip over her feet due to her lack of vision and falling face-first into the ground.

"Suika!" You exclaimed, rushing over towards the fallen girl to help her up. "Are you alright?!"

"Sit still. You don't have your glasses." Senku sighed before glancing over to the middle of the arena where Chrome and Mantle were about to face off, the frown on his face deepening. "It's too late either way. All we can do is wait."

Time skipped

"What on earth is happening..." You mumbled, confusion colouring your voice as you stared at the scene happening in front of you with furrowed brows.

At the moment, both Chrome and Mantle were fighting each other but unlike Kinro's and Magma's powerful display from earlier on, it looked like the two were having a catfight.

You weren't the only one feeling this way as a villager sweatdropped at the sight, commenting, "After seeing Kinro and Magma fight for the top..."

"It's like watching two kids fight," Another added, letting out an amused snort at the two going against each other.

"So if Chrome wins, he'll have to fight Magma. Although, I don't know how that's gonna go well for any of us..." You trailed off, your lips curling into a grimace.

"Yeah," Senku agreed in a dry tone.

Meanwhile, Magma was resting at the sideline, watching the fight played out with an amused smirk on his face. "Chrome, huh? He's not going to be a match for me. Even if he makes it to the top with me, he won't last a second."

Suddenly, a surprised gasp escaped his lips when he noticed something in his peripheral vision. Blue eyes widened with panic when he saw Kohaku in the distance, swinging from tree to tree as she made her way back towards the village as fast as she could.

Without hesitation, he called out to his sidekick. "Mantle!"

Startled, said person stopped fighting as he turned around to look at the blonde who was signalling by slicing a finger across his neck while sticking his tongue out. 'Lose! Right now!'

Mantle got the message straight away and without being told, he fell on to his back on purpose with both arms in the air while shouting, "Mercy!"

With that, the second match came to an end just like that as Jasper declared, "Winner: Chrome!"

Loud cheers from the villagers filled the air but the brunette had no time to taste his victory as he let out a curse, "Shit."

"Oh no, this is bad, this is really bad!" You muttered as you glanced around with wide eyes but when Kohaku was still nowhere in sight, you turned to Senku and let out a hiss, "Senku, do something!"

However, there was nothing the scientist could do as Jasper, with a heavy heart, declared him as the winner of the third match. "The third match...Due to Kohaku's absence, the winner is Senku."

Tears gathered in the corners of Suika's eyes as she cried, "She didn't make it back in time!"

"Senku!" Kohaku's loud voice filled the air and all eyes turned towards her as she finally arrived, panting from all the running.

"Damn it!" Chrome let out a frustrated growl as he greeted the blonde who collapsed onto her knees in front of him. "You barely missed it!"

"I'm sorry!" Suika rushed over to Kohaku, her voice trembling as she tried to explain, "Mantle caught me!"

"Thank goodness!" Kohaku exclaimed in relief before pulling the younger girl into a tight embrace, tears slipping down her cheeks as she nuzzled her face into the other's hair. "I'm so glad he was lying. All that matters is that you didn't drown."

"This is my fault," Suika whispered before burying her face into the blonde's chest, her sobs muffled as she apologized, "I'm sorry. You lost because of me, Kohaku-chan."

Kohaku shook her head as she tried to reassure the young girl that it wasn't her fault. "There's nothing we can do about that. Besides, it isn't your fault in the slightest."

Seeing the touching moment between the two of them, you couldn't help but let out a quiet sniffle as you wiped away the tears, the corners of your lips curling into a soft smile. Next to you, Senku was wearing a similar expression, red eyes softened with a fondness for those two.

Meanwhile, murmurs broke out amongst the villagers, confusion painting their voices as someone commented, "Doesn't that basically settle it? The priestess's husband, the new chief is...It's Magma!"

A bright grin fille with pride broke out on said blonde's face as he turned towards Ruri, blue eyes sparkling as he pursed his lips and sent a flying kiss in her direction. "Be glad, Ruri. From now on, you're my woman."

"I feel so sorry for Ruri," You let out a wince, your lips twisted into a grimace as you glanced over to said person, whose face was drained of all colours, with sympathy reflected in your eyes.

From beside you, the corners of Senku's mouth were curled into a dismayed frown as he turned to address Ginro, "Now that we've lost our last stand in Kohaku, the only real fighting chance we have left is...Ginro the guard. You're all we've got."

"Ginro the guard..." Said blonde stated lowly, his back facing all of you.

You, Chrome, and Kohaku exchanged deadpanned looks with each other at what the scientist said before the brunette turned to whisper to both of you, "Does Ginro have any shot against Magma?"

"It's hard to say for sure," You answered with a small frown.

Kohaku nodded in agreement, saying in a blunt tone, "To be honest, it'll be tough."

"You said it yourself, Senku..." Ginro began, chuckling with confidence. "We're gaming the hell out of this Grand Bout. The strongest isn't necessarily going to win."

Then, he whipped his head around to all of you, his cheeks bulging like a chipmunk as he asked, "Haven't you been wondering what I've had in my mouth this whole time?"

"Don't tell me..." Kohaku trailed off as realization dawned upon her.

"Isn't that the raw ingredients for Senku's science drink?" Chrome questioned; his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Well, not exactly what I expected, then again, it's Ginro so I'm not too entirely surprised either," You added, letting out an amused chuckle.

"You've kept that in your cheeks like a squirrel this whole time?" Senku pipped up, sweat dropping at the blonde's revelation.

"I've been saving it for just before my match," Ginro answered in a muffled voice.

All four of you let out defeated sighs at the blonde's reasoning but said nothing as Jasper announced the start of the next match.

"Ginro, Argo, forward."

Letting out a low chuckle, Ginro began to chew on the raw ingredients in his mouth, placing both hands on his stuffed cheeks to help with the process. "I happen to know how powerful Senku's science power is from when we went to get sulfuric acid. Senku's special power-up drink...I bet it's even more effective if it's raw!"

"Raw?!" Chrome questioned in a worried tone. "You're just going to end up with the runs!"

Next to him, Senku placed a finger on his lips as he turned to the brunette with a mischievous grin. "Shh. He's better off not knowing anything at this point."

"He's gonna regret after this," You giggled, finding the whole thing amusing.

"Here we go! Here we go!" Ginro chanted as he felt his muscles thickening, gaining strength as his lips curled into a confident smirk. "Here we go!"

However, the self-image that the blonde had was all in his head when in reality, he was swaying from side to side, barely able to stand upright; causing his opponent to sweatdrop at the sight.

"That man sure is impressionable," Kohaku blinked, unsure if she should be impressed or not. "Not that I didn't know that..."

Senku simply let out an amused chuckle as he said, "For better or worse. There's so much gaming going on in this Grand Bout. Simpletons like him tend to break through in situations like these."

You nodded your head in agreement, an amused, but fond smile gracing your lips as you turned your attention towards the match about to start as Jasper announced, "Match four, begin!"

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Ginro launched himself at his opponent and directed a straight thrust to the other's stomach. Said person didn't have the time to take on a defensive stance against the blonde who kept delivering blow after blow without so much as pausing to catch a breath, similar to his older brother's fast attacks earlier on.

"He's going straight at him," Someone in the crowd shouted, unable to take their eyes off the match while another added, "Ginro's on fire!"

Meanwhile, Kinro was taken aback by his younger brother's agility and prowess, green eyes wide as he stared on in disbelief, "He's under the impression that he's gotten stronger just by eating the herbs?"

Grinning, Senku replied, "He's never had caffeine before. He's probably completely wired."

"And his gullibility makes him fearless. Not a thing wrong with that," You added with a wink before cupping your hands around your mouth, cheering, "Go, Ginro, go!"

However, both of you spoke too soon as the opponent turned the tables on the blonde with fast attacks as well, stirring up a cloud of dust around the two of them and obscuring everyone's views.

Soon, the dust cleared, and a horrifying sight was revealed to the spectators, causing mixed looks of disgust and concern from the ground. The poor blonde's face was covered in large bruises and his right eye was swollen shut as blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

Ginro, on the other hand, thought he was unharmed despite taking so many blows to the face and let out a confident chuckle, "That does nothing to me. What I have that you don't is the mind to trust in science!"

However, in reality, he was looking the worse for wear with his bloody, swollen face. You winced at the sight, feeling pity for the blonde as you muttered, "Holy crap, Ginro..."

"Oh, damn..." Chrome piped up from beside you, his brows furrowing with worry for his friend's state.

Despite his bad state, the blonde, still high on adrenaline and caffeine, began to approach his opponent.

"Damn it!" Why won't you go down?" The man cursed as he kept walking backwards while Ginro kept advancing towards him and that was when he realized he had been backed up towards the edge of the cliff with nowhere to go.

He began to panic as his eyes widened tenfold, frantically glancing around for an escape route but he was too late and the next thing he knew, he was falling off the cliff and into the waters below with one weak push from Ginro's spear as his screams filled the air.

Just like that, Ginro won the fourth round of the Grand Bout.

The blonde, who was basking in his victory, froze when he heard a rumbling coming from his stomach when suddenly, he was hit with a wave of pain. His legs were trembling as he wrapped both arms around his stomach to try and staved off whatever was happening to him, but the urge grew and unable to hold it in anymore, he ran out of the village as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Where are you going, Ginro?!" Kinro yelled after his brother, confused by what happened considering the other just dashed off without so much as a warning.

"He probably has the runs," Suika mumbled from beside the brunette, her face squinting to get a better vision since she was missing her watermelon mask.

There was a deadpan expression on Chrome's face as he bluntly replied, "Not surprising after how much he ate."

You nodded in agreement, a wry grin gracing your lips as you weren't sure if you were amused by the situation or feeling pity for the blonde. You decided to go with pity after seeing his state when he returned to the arena, lying on the ground with his soul flying out of his mouth.

"He's all beat up and withered out," You sighed while Kinro added, "Not good...I don't think he'll be fighting anymore."

Suddenly, the air was filled with the steady beats of the drums and gaining everyone's attention as all eyes turned towards the announcement board to reveal the new match-ups from the previous winners; the first round would be Chrome against Magma followed by Senku versus Ginro.

"I'm sure you know what the situation is," Senku began, his lips curled into a frown as he stared at the announcement board. "If we let Magma make it to the final match, it's game over."

"The probability of Ginro, who's all beat up, or you defeating Magma is zero," Kohaku responded with a grim expression, her brows furrowing with worry about the upcoming matches as things weren't looking good for the Kingdom of Science.

You raised a brow upon hearing the implication behind her words, asking, "So the person that has to defeat Magma is..."

The corners of his lips curled into a confident smirk as Chrome responded, "I know. The only way to save Ruri is for me to defeat Magma."

"Magma, Chrome, forward!" Jasper announced.

The air was filled with tense anticipation as the two of them met in the middle of the fighting field, staring down at each other with one pair of blue eyes flashing with arrogance while the other pair of brown eyes gleamed with determination.

"If you can take down Magma, you'll be the new village chief and Ruri's husband, Chrome."

The conversation he had with Senku earlier flashed through the brunette's mind as brown eyes travelled upwards to said blonde sitting on the priestess' throne in the shed behind him, determined to win this match so that he could fulfil the promise he made all those years to her.

"There's no way Chrome can beat Magma if they go head-to-head," Kohaku stated in a worried voice, but despite that, she believed in said teen because he wasn't alone in this.