Chapter 28

He was nervous.

Tempest stood in the arena with countless others. Some he saw at his official weigh in to become a sumo, and then there were others who weren't even there. He overheard many of their conversations. They are sons and close family members of former sumo wrestlers. Not quite Yokozuna caliber, but high ranked sumos. Tempest felt like the odd man out in a sense. The moment he walked in, the others fell silent to him.

Not a word spoken, nor eye contact given. His father had opted to let him go in alone, perhaps sensing those within. He wouldn't have helped the tension that continued to grow within the arena.

"Is that him?" someone managed to say.

"I heard rumors about him!"

"No shit! HE'S got the backing of a former Yokozuna?!"

This went on for a while. After all, one of the rules of this tournament is that you do not mention who has sponsored you, after all, mind games such as that can cause an unfair advantage. Tempest kept quite and waited for the whole thing to start. He sat in the locker room as it were with other sumos that were starting to become more relaxed and chit chatted about.

"You Tempest?" boomed a voice.

He looked up and saw a rather large sumo before him. The man could rival Oni himself. "I am," he said politely.

He merely smirked wickedly. "I'll end your hype. I heard about your little weigh in incident from a few days ago. Don't think you're king shit since you don't look your weight!"

"Thank you for the advice, I will keep that in mind."

A sneer followed from this strange sumo as he walked off, however everyone was staring at Tempest with great aw. "Are you serious!?" one demanded aloud. "How can you be so calm after that!"

He was rather confused to their amazement. "Calm? Was he supposed to scare me?"

The room went dead silent. "You don't get it, that guy… that guy had been training with Raiden!"

Tempest blinked a few times, just trying to process what the big deal was. "And?" he said.

The pale faces that followed wouldn't soon be forgotten. Nonetheless, he kept focus on what needed to be done, if anything it will give him a taste as to what a sumo tournament is like before he has to battle before crowds of onlookers.

#

"We're ready for you, everyone, please come out to the arena!" called a referee. Tempest stood and lined up with everyone else as they entered the arena. There were hardly any people in the seats, yet those who were there appeared to be watching them with a careful gaze. He saw Oni and yet, he also saw this very massive man sitting next to him.

'That, must be Raiden' Tempest thought. But he couldn't focus on that just yet. He has to get through this tournament first. He and the other sumos gathered around the ring, there the head of the federation stood and explained the reasoning for this event.

"Not everyone who has entered the federation should be kept on the same level if one is talented enough. You are all here for you are sponsored by those who have made a grand impact on our industry and have chosen you as the best to carry on the legacy of your sponsor. Keep that in mind when you step into this Dohyo."

He gulped his dry saliva, Tempest began to have second thoughts about all of this. 'Keep your head in the game' he heard the voice of his father.

Looking about, he didn't see him, but he must have seen or sensed his nervousness. It made him smile briefly for a moment as his mind got back into focus. "Now, due to the sponsors we have decided the matches. Two have the backing of a Yokozuna, therefor they will face off against each other."

Tempest felt the piercing glare of the man he saw earlier, he was grinning like a cat cornering a mouse. Tempest however bared no emotion and kept his face stoic, after all. The man is nearly the same weight as him, he doesn't understand yet who he is up against!

"Tempest Brawler, you have the sponsorship of Onimaru. You will face off against Haru who is sponsored by Raiden. To set the pace, gentlemen step up to the dohyo."

'I never thought I would be the one to go first… oh well…' Tempest thought. He made his way through the other wrestlers until he stood before the ring, with great care he stepped up and stood outside of it before disrobing. The moment he did, he heard snickering from the others.

"He's no sumo, look how skinny he is!"

"What a string bean!"

"He's going to get knocked out!"

Tempest let one lone smirk escape from his lip as he grabbed the bag of salt and began the process of purifying the ring. When finished he stepped into it and stared at his opponent. Haru was still grinning a wicked smirk, Tempest could see that he intends on harming him.

However he won't be given the chance to.

They stepped up to the center. Haru leaned in and whispered. "Nothing personal boy, it's just business."

Tempest nodded. "I hope you keep that in mind for yourself as well."

He saw a moment of weakness. Haru was slightly stunned to Tempest's tone as they took their positions. The match doesn't begin until both men have their hands on the ground. Tempest took the position but went for the spider stance. Making a fist, Tempest balanced himself on the closed hand. It's harder to get up, however going up against a large opponent would make it perfect.

Others began to whisper, granted, he was taller than Haru. But as his father always said. Keep them guessing.

"If they don't know what you are going to do, they cannot prepare for it. Why do you think I am training you on everything I know?"

Tempest smiled to himself, despite his father not being there physically, he's there mentally. "SPIRIT!"

It was like a clash of thunder. Tempest snapped to his feet as Haru came in charging. Yet the moment their bodies struck each other, the ring shook! Then, Haru was thrown back from the recoil, he stumbled yet kept to his feet. He was pissed off, and came at Tempest. His hand wide and managed to land a single slap across his face. The whole arena froze as Tempest didn't even flinch. With one open palm, he struck back, hitting Haru his chest. The air knocked out of him, and Haru was sent flying out of the ring and on to the floor.

No one moved.

Not a soul could quite understand what just happened before them. However Tempest stood strong, he showed no emotion or sense of pride to his accomplishment. Instead he bowed to his opponent, to the referee and then walked out of the dohyo in a dignified manner.

The other sumos parted as he walked pass them. His turn was up, now it was time to watch the others. However, the chairman of the sumo federation was quick to get to his side. "You need to come with me,"

Tempest froze. "Did… I hit him too hard?" he asked with worry. Was his career over before it even started? He blindly followed the head of the federation out of the arena. When they were away from the others he stood in the hallway, just as Oni came to him with the biggest grin on his face.

"Amazing! Simply amazing!" Oni said with great pride as he clasped Tempest's shoulders proudly. "You have what it takes!"

"That was ONE match!"

Tempest then saw the massive sumo who sat with Oni. "Raiden, that was your best student?" Oni asked with a smirk on his face. "You need to tighten up your training with them!"

He sneered, but then his eyes came down to Tempest. "You must be the prodigy he spoke of… and won't shut up about."

Tempest bowed meekly. "You must be Yokozuna Raiden. It's an honor to meet you."

"You won't be saying that soon enough."

"Raiden, please." The chairmen stated. He turned to Tempest and said. "You are a novice aren't you?" He nodded his head. "Oni, how long has he been sumo wrestling?"

He thought it over. "Well, I think he has been training seriously, maybe a month or two."

There was silence. "A MONTH OR TWO!" Raiden demanded.

"I have been training every day thanks to Oni and my father. I have learned every aspect of sumo wrestling and traditions that are to be enforced. My father is not lenient to say the least when it comes to my preparation."

"Still, you possess skills that are not normally seen in someone as tall as you. Let alone the body frame, however it is stated that you are over 700 pounds."

"This little man?" Raiden questioned.

"Be that as it may, I don't need to see anymore. I have witnessed much of Haru's matches to know what he is capable of. Most end with a single strike to the face, very much like the one Tempest here endured and didn't even flinch from. Let's not forget the swiftness of this match, this victory is no accident."

"You can't be serious…" Raiden said.

The chairman nodded. "Tempest, we no longer need to see what you can do for the rest of the tournament…"

"Am… I no longer welcomed to become a sumo wrestler?" he asked with worry.

"On the contrary. I want to make certain you are ready for the tournament coming up. Your official rank will be dictated depending on your performance. For I will have you face off against all those in the Komusubi rank. Depending on how well you do within that tournament… I will place you accordingly. Understood?"

Tempest was stunned yet nodded his head. "Yes sir," he said respectfully.

"Good. Oni… you have an eye for talent!"

Onimaru bowed respectfully. "Thank you chairman."

When the chairman left, Oni was beaming with pride as he turned to Raiden. "Finally, a worthy opponent for you." He said offhandedly.

Raiden stared down Tempest, but there was a look in his eyes, he was seriously thinking over what kind of match they could have. Tempest knew he had to get better at sumo before that even happens. Komusubi rank is nothing to sneeze at either. However he is going to be thrown into the sharks in a sense. This rank is where many make or break their careers, if they can get out of the Komusubi rank and move up, they can proceed onward. But he has read many who don't break out of it and fall in the system, never make it up again.

For that, he has to train harder than ever before.

Perhaps he sees what advice Pig God was willing to offer him…