*It was the next day and the final Block B Round 1 matches were now beginning, the first battle of the day was Lui Shirasagijo and his Guilty Longinus VS Kensuke Midorikawa and his Chain Kerbeus!  The bladers made it to the arena and they walked up to the stadium*

Kensuke: Lui Shirasagijo, i haven't forgotten the day i lost to him...

*Kensuke remembered when he lost in the National Tournament all those years ago to Lui and his former Lost Longinus, since then Kensuke had been itching for a rematch since then and this was finally his chance*

Lui: I remember the battle we had back then and it's going to end the same way, this battle is going to end in a Burst Finish in just the 1st Round!

*Kensuke stared at Lui fiercely as he clutched his Chain Kerbeus tightly as his green aura began to glow brightly*

Kensuke: Kerbeus... let's do this thing!!

-----

*Valt and the others were watching the battle from the stands and Valt stared down at Kensuke*

Valt: You can do this..

-----

Referee: 1st Battle!!

*The bladers took their positions and the battle between the 2 bladers began*

Referee: Ready Set!!!

3 2 1 GO SHOOT!!!

*The beys were off and Chain Kerbeus took the center almost immediately as Guilty Longinus raced around the stadium at full speed*

Kensuke: Tch..!! Kerbeus!!!

*Kerbeus had fully taken the center as Guilty Longinus came charging in for the attack, its metal dragon heads glowing with a purple aura*

Kensuke: Hold your ground Kerbeus!!

Lui: Longinus!!!

*Longinus slams into Kerbeus with full force and Kerbeus's defenses were holding strong*

Kensuke: That's it! Keep that up!!!

*Longinus disengages as its speed wasn't dropping at all and it raced up the slope of the stadium and came back down for the next attack*

Lui: Now go! Longinus!!!

*Longinus began to pick up speed and used its metal dragon heads to land a brutal strike on Kerbeus but its rubber lock was holding out strong and keeping Kerbeus from a burst*

Kensuke: I won't lose this battle! I will not lose to you again!!

*Lui smirked as his aura began to glow, his hair igniting into flames as he smiled a toothy grin*

Lui: Don't get ahead of yourself..

*Longinus still wasn't losing speed and in fact, it was getting faster as its metal dragon heads were slicing through the air with every rotation* 

Kensuke: Tch.. it's so fast..!

Lui: Do it! Longinus!!

*Longinus came charging back in for the attack and clashes with Kerbeus as hard as it could, chipping away at its defenses and doing small amounts of damage*

Kensuke: We've had way worse! Repel them with Chain Shield!!

*Longinus's attacks were getting more and more aggressive as Kerbeus was being pushed back with each and every attack and eventually, Kerbeus couldn't take anymore as its aura began to fade and it started to wobble*

Kensuke: Kerbeus!!!

Lui: Guilty Upper!!!

*Longinus comes back in and uses its upper blades to knock Kerbeus into the air with a single strike! Kerbeus flew right in front of Kensuke's face and it burst in front of him*

Kensuke: N-No way.. Kerbeus..!

Referee: Guilty Longinus with a Burst Finish! Lui Shirasagijo wins with a final score of 2-0!!

*Kensuke fell to his knees in despair as Lui's laughter echoed throughout the arena and he stared down at Kensuke with his arms crossed*

Lui: I have to give you some credit, you've definitely gotten stronger but in the end it was me who came out on top!

*Lui continued laughing as Kensuke was getting even more frustrated, he couldn't believe he had been defeated by Lui AGAIN and so easily too*

Kensuke: K-Kerbeus..

---Later---

*Lui walked through the halls of the Ship and he was a board that had the Tournament Bracket listed on it! He looked at his section of the bracket and saw the remaining matchup for Block B which was going to be Shu VS Drum, both bladers he had close connections to*

Lui: Shu Kurenai and Drum Koryu.. it doesn't matter which one of you i face, i'll crush both of you and make it to the Semi-Finals!

*And just like that, Lui saw Shu coming down the hallway and Lui couldn't help but give his signature fierce grin! Shu just kept his composure and gave a much more softer smile*

Lui: Long time no see, Shu Kurenai..

Shu: Lui Shirasagijo, it's been a while.

Lui: I hope you aren't expecting to make it past the 1st round are you?

Shu: That's right. I'm gonna beat Drum and i'm coming for you next, he was your Tag Partner in the Legend Super Tag League right?

Lui: You remember. You fought with your student Lane Valhalla in the tournament and not to mention he crushed us both with that special move of his..

---Flashback---

Lane: Limit Break: The End!!!

*Lucifers Limit Break Ring slams down against the two beys and took Rage Longinus and Tempest Dragon along with it, the 2 beys were launched into the air by a beam of purple spiraling energy and the 2 beys burst*

Lui: What the-?!

*Drum uncovered his face from the explosion and gasped upon their loss*

---Flashback Over---

Lui: He was able to pull that off thanks to you, you were the reason he won that battle and finished us off!

Shu: Well i didn't necessarily feel like losing that day and i still feel that way now.

Lui: Oh i'm sure because as far as i'm concerned, Astral Spriggan won't be able to beat Gatling Dragon much less my Longinus now!

*Shu smiled and his eyes began to glow slightly, he wasn't falling for Lui's games this time*

Shu: I guess we'll see about that soon!

*Lui and Shu shake hands and much to Shu's surprise, Lui didn't injure his arm like he did that one time. Lui had really grown since then.*

Lui: You have my respect Shu Kurenai but just know, if you make it to the 2nd Round with me then i will not be showing any mercy against you, i hope you know that.

Shu: Neither will i, i look forward to our eventual rematch.

---Later---

*The final Round 1 Battle over all was finally here and it was Shu Kurenai and his Astral Spriggan vs Drum Koryu and his Gatling Dragon! The bladers made it to the arena and stepped up to the stadium and right off the bat, Drums face immediately began to turn beet red*

Drum: Shu Kurenai, i've been looking forward to finally battling you!!

*Shu looked at the overheating Drum and he took a small step back*

Shu: What is wrong with this guy? What did Lui see in this guy that made him want to be his Tag Partner..? I guess in some way, he reminds me of Valt when he was younger..

----

*Valt sweatdropped at the scene Drum was making at the stadium and Bell deadpanned*

Bell: Seriously.. NOW of all times?

Valt: Yeah.. he is a bit of handful when it comes to his scary faces..

----

*Drum finally cooled down and he held up his Gatling Dragon with a smile*

Drum: I hope you're ready because me and Dragon are gonna get as serious as we'll ever get!

*Shu looked at the BU Bey and quickly analyzed it*

Shu: It's an attack type with a sliding blade ability, i guess i see where Bell got the D-Gear inspiration.. Let's go with this, Spriggan..

*Shu changed his Quattro Driver into Attack Mode and left the Astral Blade in Right Spin, with the metal facing upward*

Drum: Attack Mode huh? Looks like he's not holding back either..

Referee: 1st Battle!!!

*The bladers took their positions and the battle began*

Referee: Ready Set!!!

3 2 1 GO SHOOT!!!!

*The beys were off and Astral Spriggan and Gatling Dragon were racing around the stadium at full speed and Dragon was already on the attack*

Drum: Dragon Shoot!!!

*Dragon slams into Spriggan and starts to fire a volley of strikes on Spriggan but Spriggan was able to withstand the blows*

Shu: Spriggan! Knock it away!!

*Spriggan knocks back Dragon and it hits the wall hard but it stayed in the game*

Drum: Way to go Dragon! Now go!!!

Shu: I'm impressed! Valt actually taught this guy some things..

*Dragon was coming back around and it was coming straight for Spriggan once again*

Drum: Do it! Awaken!!

*Dragon clashes with Spriggan and the dragon mouths opened up, allowing the sliding blades to shift backwards and they were primed to strike*

Shu: So that's how he does it..

*Spriggan raced up the slope of the stadium as the rubber tip of Quattro's attack mode began to spark and emit smoke from the friction*

Shu: Counter Break!!

*Spriggan races down the slope of the stadium and was coming right for Dragon but it wasn't about to give in either as it geared for a counter attack of its own*

Drum: Time to get serious! Gatling Snap!!

*Dragon collides with Spriggan and its sliding blade slashes across the Astral Blade and Spriggan went flying out of the stadium with a single strike*

Shu: That power.. who could've thought Dragon was that powerful!

Referee: Gatling Dragon with an Over Finish! Drum Koryu earns 1 point!!

*Drum jumps into the air repeatedly at him winning a point over Shu*

Drum: Yes! We've got the 1st Point!!

*Shu picked up his bey and looked back at Drum who was smiling bright*

Shu: I guess i underestimated him a bit, he does have some skill after all. But now i think i have the perfect way to beat Gatling Dragon's power..

*Shu changed his Spriggan into Left Spin Defense Mode, he was going absorb Dragons power this time*

----

*Valt was watching from the crowd and he was intrigued by Shu's mode change*

Valt: Defense Mode in Left Mode huh? Interesting.. I guess he's going to try and absorb Dragon's power.

----

Drum: Left Spin Mode huh? What's he planning?!

Referee: 2nd Battle!!!

*The bladers took their positions and the next battle finally began!*

Referee: Ready Set!!!

3 2 1 GO SHOOT!!!

*The beys were off once again and Astral Spriggan took the center as Gatling Dragon raced around the stadium at full speed*

Shu: Bring it on! Show me what you can do!!

Drum: Now go! Dragon!!

*Dragon wasted no time activating its BU Ability and the Sliding blades moved back into its primed position and it came straight for Spriggan*

Drum: End this with one shot! Gatling Snap!!

*Dragon lands a nasty strike but Spriggan was able to take the hit and survive but it was still knocked back from the recoil*

Shu: Spriggan!!

*Spriggan retook the center and Dragon wasn't losing speed as its Charge Metal' Driver was sparking with each rotation and it sped up even more*

Drum: Go! Gatling Bound!!

*Dragon clashes with Spriggan once again and used its Bound Core to knock Spriggan away once again but it still seemed fine*

Drum: I don't get it! What's going on here?!

Shu: This is the power of Astral Spriggan's Defense Mode, i've been absorbing your attacks this whole time and making it Spriggans strength!

*Drum recognized the technique from Free's Fafnir but Spriggan was seemingly making better use of it*

Drum: Don't let that deter you Dragon, get in there!!

*Dragon started to recklessly fire off a barrage of attacks on Astral Spriggan but no attack seemed to do any damage at all*

----

*Valt was impressed by how well Shu was managing to take on Drum's assault, there was nothing Dragon could do to even land a direct hit on Spriggan*

Valt: That's impressive, Shu!

----

Drum: Time to get serious! Dragon!!

*Dragon was racing around the stadium at full speed and it began to glow with a rainbow colored aura as it sped around the perimeter of the stadium*

Drum: I'm not going to lose here!! Go Dragon!!

*Dragon comes back in and clashes with Spriggan and knocks it back into the air*

Drum: Yes!!!

Shu: Now Change! Attack Mode!!

*Spriggan's Quattro Driver unlocked and it changed into Attack mode similarly to the "Zeta Technique" and just like that, Spriggan sped up even more and raced around the stadium at full speed*

Drum: WHAT?!

----

*Bell jumped to his feet in shock at what Spriggan just did, Spriggan had just changed modes mid battle*

Bell: No way.. Spriggan just changed modes right there!

----

*Astral Spriggan was now racing around the stadium and barely clinched the blades of Gatling Dragon but even then, it still managed to wobble*

Shu: It's time! End this Spriggan!!!

Drum: I'll be the one who moves on to the 2nd Round! Time to get serious, Gatling Snap!!

Shu: Astral Slash!!!

*The 2 beys circle around the stadium at full speed before colliding in the center and with little to no effort, Dragon was burst, ending the battle!*

Drum: No way..! I-Impossible!!!

Referee: Astral Spriggan with a Burst Finish! Shu Kurenai is the winner!!

*Drum fell to his knees in despair as Shu picked up his bey and looked down at his fallen opponent*

Shu: You did well even though you lost, you should be proud of yourself.

*Drum was still super frustrated as Shu's words wasn't helping his case at all, in fact, Drums face started to turn red again*

Drum: I'll get you someday! Just you watch!!

*Shu smiled and turned and walked away and just like that, Round 1 was officially over and it was now time for the 2nd Round. For Block A, it would be Bell VS Free and Aiga VS Phenomeno! For Block B, it would be Chiyoh VS Gigi and Lui VS Shu! The Beyblade Ultimate World Series was just getting heated up!*

---Later That Night---

*Bell stood alone on the bow of the ship as he looked down at his Divine Belial with the new Ultimate Gear evolution, he was confident he would defeat Free and his Vanish Fafnir a 2nd time the next day*

Bell: Belial.. It's almost hard to believe we're battling Free for what might be the last time in a while, he was the first real challenge we ever had aside from Valt and now, we're going to be battling him again on the big stage again.

*Belial shined in the moonlight and Bell smiled and listened to the ocean waves clash against the boat. His mind then wandered to Chiyoh who he was determined to reach the finals with and defeat her once and for all*

Bell: We're getting much stronger than ever before, we're going to the finals one way or another and chances are, we'll see Chiyoh there too!

*Bells aura began to glow softly as he stared off into the night sky, he was ready for whatever this tournament had to throw at him*

{TBC}

Next Episode: 2nd Round! The Demon King Strikes Back!! (Little star wars reference for those who get it)

With the 2nd Round now underway! Bell must fight his way past Free if he is to make it to the Semi-Finals and later, Aiga has a fierce battle against a new opponent but yet a familiar bey!

(Aiga VS Phenomeno is gonna basically be your Aiga VS Phi battle in BU)

----------------------------------------------

On another note, i've made you all wait long enough but brought to you by the same guy who made Arrow Griffin, i now give you Royal Cassiel.Illegal.Metal Bearing Drift-8!!

Left Picture: Attack/Counter Mode

Right Picture: Defense Mode

(For those who think it looks like Variant Lucifer, someone on the WBO mentioned that. I'm starting to see the resemblance a little bit LMAO)