Chapter 26: Trump Card X Opportunity
At this moment, Jackie Chan, observing Ryker's recent behavior, became even more confident in his judgment.
This kid's disguise must be tied to his ability. If Jackie could break it, the battle would almost certainly end in his favor.
He noticed that Ryker's psychological defenses had begun to waver. If he could exploit this weakness further, it might force the boy into a reckless move, granting Jackie a decisive upper hand.
Determined, Jackie began a new wave of verbal attacks, aiming to increase the psychological pressure on Ryker.
"Kid, let's be honest here—there's no way you're breaking through my defense. Even if you rely on that clone-like speed ability of yours to dodge my attacks, how many times can you manage it?"
Hearing these words, Ryker felt like he had caught onto something crucial. He began replaying the entire fight in his mind.
'Speed. That's it—speed!'
At the start of the match, facing an opponent who seemed to use projectiles and resembled an emitter-type Nen user, Jackie's plan must have been to close the distance as quickly as possible to leverage his enhancement-type strengths.
But if speed was the goal, why carry both a mop and a folding chair? Wouldn't it have been faster to just focus on one weapon—especially the mop?
Even during the second attack, when Jackie threw the mop, he made sure to retrieve the folding chair before charging in. That means...
'The number matters.'
Ryker pieced the clues together: Jackie's abilities seemed tied to both distance and the number of weapons he carried.
'The closer the weapons are, the stronger his enhancement. The more weapons he holds, the greater the boost.'
He recalled how Jackie evenly distributed his Nen over his two weapons at the beginning of the fight.
If the goal was to conserve energy, Jackie could have used Ren to focus his Nen on a single weapon. But he didn't—why?
It was likely because his abilities required him to protect both weapons equally. Damaging either weapon could severely weaken him.
Ryker smirked under his mask. 'That's it. His strength hinges on those weapons.'
But how could he exploit this? Jackie clearly wouldn't willingly relinquish his weapons, and forcing him into a mistake wouldn't be easy. Ryker needed the perfect opportunity.
Meanwhile, Jackie was also deep in thought. He noticed Ryker's hesitation and assumed the boy was intimidated by his dual-weapon setup.
Jackie believed his opponent had yet to figure out his true abilities.
He decided to press his advantage by feigning an opening or launching an aggressive attack.
"Kid, this match is already over for you. I suggest you surrender now. But if you want to keep struggling, I'm not wasting any more time playing games with you."
With that, Jackie repeated his earlier tactic, throwing the mop directly at Ryker while charging in with the folding chair.
This was the moment Ryker had been waiting for.
He crouched down suddenly, gripping a stone tile beneath him. With all his strength, he ripped the tile from the ground and hurled it toward the incoming mop.
The mop shattered the stone mid-air, but the impact disrupted its trajectory, causing it to land closer than Jackie had intended.
Using the broken shards of the tile as cover, Ryker charged forward.
Jackie was ecstatic. The mop's adjusted trajectory landed in an ideal spot for maximizing his enhancement. He was now at his strongest.
And Ryker's bold charge? Jackie interpreted it as a desperate gamble by an inexperienced fighter.
But Ryker was playing a much deeper game.
As Jackie activated his En to track Ryker's movements, the boy darted through the shards, his silhouette flickering unpredictably. Jackie quickly locked onto him, preparing to strike at his perceived weak point: Ryker's headgear.
Jackie swung the folding chair toward Ryker's head with surgical precision.
Ryker raised his arms in defense, deliberately exposing his face while shielding most of his head. The folding chair struck true, shattering Ryker's sunglasses.
Jackie smirked. 'Just as I thought. Breaking his disguise will cripple him. This fight is mine.'
But then something unexpected happened.
Ryker lowered his arms and locked eyes with Jackie. For a split second, Jackie froze. He had never seen eyes like these before.
Crimson with black tomoe swirling in hypnotic patterns.
And then, in an instant, Jackie was plunged into a world unlike anything he had ever seen—an illusion so vivid, so strange, that he couldn't tell reality from fantasy.
'This battle was far from over.'
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