Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
This story has been beta by TheReader2011. Enjoy, leave a review for me to improve! Also a little shorter than usual, but there's a reason for it!
Also, small heads up, during fight scene Natsu will be called Hermit since it is what he prefers to be called when fighting.
"Exciting isn't it!?" yelled out the announcer as the ring began to shift once more.
"What'd we miss?" asked Kenichi as he returned to his seat with Miu helping him.
"Just watched the Pankration team brutally beat the shit out of the karate team," replied Tsuji, "My kind of fight!"
"And now, we shall proceed to the second round, the quarter-finals!" announced the announcer, "First up will be... Ryozanpaku vs. the Three Headed Dragon! On one hand, we have the three biggest Chinese Martial Arts. However, on the other, we have the team that managed to defeat a master, if it was just barely scraping by! Such an exciting match up that's sure to come!"
"I'm going up this time!" declared Renka as she leaped out the booth, "You guys can't stop me this time."
"Fine, fine, we won't," chuckled Kenichi as he stood up, wincing slightly as he did so. His new injuries were aggravating his body a bit, but it wasn't something he couldn't shrug off.
However, as he was about to leave the booth, spears crossed in front of him, denying him entrance. Kenichi looked at the guards that had been standing there since the start of the second day.
"You are forbidden from participating until further notice, pending investigation," stated the guard, "We have reason to suspect that you are not the age you state you are. You and the girl who fought in the first round."
"What!?" shouted all of the Shinpaku Alliance members.
"You can't do this!" shouted Takeda.
"Just because Fortuna is the sponsor of this tournament doesn't mean he can do anything he wants," growled Freya.
"Yea, I wanna have a chance to fight against Kenichi again!" shouted Tsuji.
There was more shouting until the soldier smashed the butt of his spear into the ground, gaining their attention.
"Master Fortuna has spoken. However, he is willing to allow Fuurinji Miu the benefit of the doubt only if Shirahama Kenichi comes with us. We will escort him to a private room for further interrogation. We will escort him back safely when done."
"No deal," hissed Miu, hugging Kenichi as she did so. She knew, as well as everyone else, that this was just another ploy from Fortuna to sink his hands on Kenichi.
"Then I guess your friend will have to fight by herself," chuckled the guard with a burst of malicious laughter, "That Chinese team sure looked bloodthirsty. Especially that leader of theirs. He looks like he wants to kill anyone from the Ma family."
Kenichi growled and was ready to give himself up when Renka chimed in.
"Bah, I can take care of them all by myself! You just sit there and relax. I'll be back before you know it!"
Renka strode forward to the ring with confidence in every step, ignoring Miu and Kenichi's words to come back. That they were willing to just forfeit. For Renka, this was more of a battle for her pride in being part of the Phoenix Alliance. Her opponents were the representatives of the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance, the nemesis of the Phoenix Alliance! She grinned as she saw her opponents glaring at her, especially Kaku. He seemed to be especially thirsty for her blood.
"Hmm? Ryozanpaku is only sending one girl out?" mused Diego as he had the stage set up for a Chinese theme, "That doesn't seem right."
"Being the sole sponsor of this tournament, I felt the need to investigate Shirihama Kenichi and Miu Fuuriniji under the suspicion of lying about their age. Their currently level doesn't match for anyone of their age. Therefore, their participation in this tournament is currently temporarily suspended. If they lose... well it's just unfortunate," said Fortuna.
Diego frowned at this statement. He promised his audience DIEGO QUALITY entertainment! Sure, the two disciples of Ryozanpaku were stronger than anyone within their age, but it wasn't a reason to disqualify them. Following that logic, then the mysterious Garyu X would also have to be disqualified, as he wasn't fooling anyone with that mask. However, Garyu X had been giving DIEGO QUALITY entertainment, so Diego hadn't planned on doing anything unless he actually won the tournament. He knew that the Elder had entered so as to deal with the hidden master that entered the tournament. What the Elder would do in the next fight would also be entertaining, considering whom he was fighting.
Diego, however, did not voice his complaint. Though he would do anything for entertainment, there was one thing that surpassed his passion to entertain. It was just barely, but it was the safety of his precious disciple, Rachel. He was well aware that his disciple would have to fight Ryozanpaku eventually, but the current level told him that she was not a match.
Kenichi and Miu had managed to successfully defeat a Master class fighter without taking any crippling injury, something he knew would take perhaps three of Yomi to do so safely. Not only that, but the two did so while following Katsujinken.
Gorobe may have been a low trash master class, somewhere on the same level as Fortuna, but a master none the less. The fact that the two were also capable of Ki no Shouka was also a cause for concern. Based on this, he suspected that Kenichi and Miu were firmly in the Expert Class now, and suspected they wouldn't stay in the class for long.
The transition from Expert class to Master class was one of the hardest hurdles to overcome, which was why so many stayed in such a class for such a long time. It was mainly because of Ki control. Anyone could throw a punch, anyone could bulk up in strength, and techniques could be taught. However, Ki control was the hardest one of them all, and it wasn't something that people could easily pass through. Complete mastery of Ki no Kaiho and touching the realms of Ki no Shaoku were two completely different things. They were just on different levels.
Miu had already touched it, meaning that her transition through Expert class could be considered quicker than most. Kenichi, however, was already displaying unnerving control over it. It wouldn't be long for Kenichi to soon dive into the realms of Grand Masters, possibly after he finished high school. Diego could see Kenichi even reaching the status of Legendary Master, something not even he was close to. Frankly, Diego admitted he could learn a thing or two from Kenichi about Ki control.
Diego could also see Fortuna's greedy eyes on Kenichi, his gluttonous appetite to collect strong children and turning them into masters very apparent. Diego was also aware of his attempted ambush last night but chose not to comment on that for now. But after this tournament was over, he would be having some choice words with him about such attempts. It wasn't DIEGO QUALITY to do such a thing.
In short, he slightly feared for his cute little disciple's safety and pride and chose to let Fortuna have his way for now. Plus, having the daughter of the Phoenix Alliance fighting against the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance, two arch-nemesis, was also entertaining.
"So, he chose not to come out," sneered Kaku as he saw Renka to the ring alone, "He was right to fear us."
"You know, it would look more convincing if you hadn't breathed a sigh of relief when you saw Kenichi not coming," teased Renka, "Those shaking legs of yours told me a whole different story."
Kaku bit back a reply, as he couldn't deny such a claim. Yo and Chou had been in the same boat.
"Finally, we will have our vengeance today," growled Kaku, choosing to veer the conversation towards a different topic, "Our long term hatred will finally be satisfied."
"Hmph, in your dreams," snarked Renka as the stage finally came up to reveal an old Chinese style peasant's home.
"This battle will be a battle royal!" declared Diego, "Meaning, unfortunately for Ryozanpaku, it'll be a 1v3 match!"
"Hmph, I can take them all on," declared Renka, though a little less confident now.
The fighters all stepped into the ring, ready to fight.
"Tai Chi Clan Kaku Shin Ten!"
"Bagua Clan Chou Yin Lin!"
"Shin Yi Clan Yo Tekai!"
The three introduced themselves and their styles while charging towards Renka, who had gotten into a fighting position.
"Ma Renka, daughter of the Phoenix Alliance!"
"Annndd Fi-" Boom
Just as Diego had been to declare the match to start, a sudden object crashed right into the middle of Renka and the Three Headed Dragon, creating a dust cloud.
The fighters were wary of what had crashed into the arena and stood back in caution. They could hear someone coughing and hacking in the dust cloud.
"...-upid shitty master of mine!" muttered the figure in the dust cloud.
It was a very familiar voice that Renka, Kenichi, Sho, and the others recognized. As the dust settled, the audience found themselves looking at the missing Natsu Tanimoto in his Hermit gear.
Few minutes prior
Ma Sogetsu and Hermit were once more watching the fights, hidden in the shadows of the exit booth once more. Sogetsu was bored as he watched Rachel destroy her opponents as well and the Pankration team annihilating theirs. As he took a sip of baijiu, he heard Ryozanpaku's team heading up and perked up once more. At least the next fight would be amusing for him. They would be fighting the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance, an organization that had been his enemy in the past when he was still a part of the Phoenix Alliance. Of course, he didn't really care about both organizations when he left China. The Phoenix Alliance had a laissez faire policy regarding him. As long as he didn't do anything to them, they would just ignore him in return. He suspected the reason for such a lenient policy was due to the fact he was Kensei's older brother, and that he was smart enough not to waste manpower on him.
The Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance, however, had a more antagonistic policy against him. When he left the Phoenix Alliance, they tried to recruit him, only to get a solid no. That lead to an angry reaction by which they tried to kill him with the messengers they sent. Sogetsu easily dealt with them and went on his way. The Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance chose not to pursue him, but put an order to kill him by any means necessary if they met him.
Frankly, it annoyed him a lot whenever he tried to come back to China to get a refill of his favorite alcohol. And also, not that he would admit, the reason he had ditched Natsu in the middle of training wasn't only because of Sho, but rather he had gotten information that the organization had been closing on his trail. He didn't want to bring his grievances on his brat disciple, and he certainly did not want Kaede to be caught in the crossfire.
And so when he saw Renka as the only participant, he frowned. He peeked over at the booth to see the guards blocking Kenichi's path and saying something. Sogetsu figured either the Black Tiger White Dragon brats bribed the guards to give some shitty excuse or that Fortuna had pulled some strings. He knew Diego well enough he wouldn't do such a thing.
"What are they doing? Why are they letting the exhibitionist fight alone?"
Sogetsu looked at his disciple to see him biting his thumb in annoyance, hearing his words and piquing his interest.
"Exhibitionist?" asked Sogetsu.
"Nothing you need to know," Natsu quickly snapped.
That was something he was going to get the bottom of. Of course, he would just ask Kaede for the details. But from his words alone, Sogetsu knew that Natsu had some sort of relationship with Renka.
"You worried about her?"
Natsu shrugged, "She'll be fine. Whether she lives or dies doesn't matter to me."
That statement was a lie. Sogetsu could tell by the way he slightly tensed up. Kaede had been... informative enough to tell him how to tell when Natsu was lying. It was how she was so damn good in Mah Jong. Just from her opponent's facial, body, or any type of expression, she could tell whether or not they were close to a winning tile. Then with her freakish mind, she could calculate just what her opponent needed and cruelly deny them that winning tile. Sogetsu had half a mind to take Kaede as a disciple, knowing that with her mind, she would be a talented martial artist.
Sogetsu pondered about it a little more before a malicious smirk formed on his face.
"You know, I just thought of an excellent idea for training," said Sogetsu as he slowly inched over to Natsu, who hadn't noticed his movements, "You need to fight some more brats around your age and skill level."
"And where will we get that?" shot back Natsu, still staring at Renka, "After the tournament? I'm sure as hell not sparring with the Shinpaku idiots."
"We have the perfect candidates right in that ring," smiled Sogetsu as he suddenly lifted Natsu by his cloak, "Those three will be good fodder for you. Not to mention, we'd be getting one over the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance. Those idiots annoy me too much. I may have left the Phoenix Alliance, but I prefer them over the other. This is a perfect chance to get two birds with one stone. So... go get them!"
With that, Sogetsu hurled Natsu towards the ring while his other hand took out something from his pocket and chucked it over to Diego.
"...-upid shitty master of mine!" muttered Natsu as he picked himself up from the ground. He would plot sweet revenge on his master for this trick. Perhaps sick his sister on him. He could never resist her.
"Ah, pervert! Where have you been?" shouted Renka.
"Who you calling pervert, exhibitionist!" shouted Natsu towards Renka.
The two butted heads in anger, glaring at each other while the audience was looking in confusion.
"Yo, what's going on?" asked Kaku in slight anger.
"It looks like Ryozanpaku has another participant that never showed up to the first day. That can't be allowed," said Fortuna from his chair, frowning, "We should disqualify them. Diego?"
Diego hadn't responded, his hand clutching an object as he looked at it. His eyebrows were raised when he recognized the object. It was the Moon emblem of Yami, though it was quite scuffed, dirty, and smelled like someone poured alcohol over it by accident. But none the less, it was still a Yami emblem, one that should have belonged to the current owner, Jisei Ro. But Jisei Ro was really just a fill in for the real owner, Ma Sogetsu. Meaning Ma Sogetsu was here, that the boy who had just entered into the arena (with a fantastic entrance, he might add) was his disciple, and he was telling Diego that his disciple would be joining the fight. But on who's side, was the question.
Diego thought about it before concluding that it was probably with Ryozanpaku. He knew Sogetsu's history with the Black Tiger White Dragon alliance, and was probably using this opportunity to both train his disciple and beat up the organization's chosen fighter.
This... was something he could spin off and make it work! Diego grinned as he made his decision.
"Ah, from a source of mine and a favor, this new fighter as Ryozanpaku's fourth fighter!" announced Diego, "Except just for this fight, we'll be renaming it as Phoenix Wings vs. Three Headed Dragon. The boy that entered now is a direct disciple of someone who used to be a part of the Phoenix Alliance!"
The audience erupted into a cheer at this statement. There was nobody in the underworld that hadn't heard of either Chinese Alliance, and the fact the two were butting heads now in this tournament added fuel to the fire.
"Captain Hermit!" cried Matsui, "You came back to help!"
"Like hell I did!" retorted Natsu as he turned his head while still butting heads with Renka, "I was tossed in here without a choice!"
Rachel, at Yomi's booth, was crushing the booth in a fit of anger that Natsu was attracting even more attention now. She had to admit, her master knew how to spin the crowd, but the fact that it wasn't her made her angry.
"Huh, didn't think Hermit was coming in," chuckled Sho.
"Does that mean he has officially allied himself with Ryozanpaku?" questioned Boris.
"Eh, doubt it," shrugged Sho, "Like he said, he was tossed in there. I bet Ma Sogetsu thought it would be good fun to do so."
"I am more curious on why Shirahama Kenichi didn't come out to fight," commented Tirawit, "As far as I observed, his injuries did not seem that dangerous."
"He was being detained from entering," replied Ethan, who had been paying attention to Shinpaku's booth the whole time, "For some reason, the guards wouldn't let him enter the ring."
"It probably has to do with yesterday," said Ryuto, who had just entered in the booth, being wheeled in by Rimi, "Fortuna tried to capture Kenichi yesterday. The fact it failed probably made him angry to make up an excuse to refrain him from fighting."
"What!? And Maestro allowed this?" whirled Rachel, appalled that Fortuna would get in the way of DIEGO QUALITY entertainment!
"I don't think he knew until now," replied Ryuto dryly, "None the less, he seems to have managed to spin this off in a different direction."
"Diego! You can't just do that! I've allowed you a free hand over the tournament, but this pushes it too far!" complained Fortuna.
Before he could complain further, a mic smashed right next to his head. Fortuna slowly looked from the crushed mic and wall back to Diego, who wasn't smiling.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing down there," breathed Diego, "Stopping Ryozanpaku's other fighters to come in? That's interfering with entertainment, and I hate when anybody does that! You're lucky I can spin this around. Do something like this again, and I'll show you my other self."
Fortuna could only slowly nod as he settled back down.
"Ahem, now we have that out of the way, let's stop delaying and fight!" shouted Diego, reminding them the match was still happening.
"I don't care who you are, but the moment you decided to side with the Ma family is the moment you signed your death warrant!" shouted Kaku as the Three Headed Dragon team charged forward.
Renka and Hermit broke off their argument, for now, getting ready to face their opponents. They soon found themselves being circled around rapidly by Yinlin, who was using mudwading step.
"Pervert, be careful," replied Renka as she prepared herself.
"Careful yourself idiot," snapped back Natsu, "And call me Hermit!"
Hermit tried to break out of the circle, only to block a high angle kick from Yinlin and was pushed back.
"Hoo, you're not too shabby," commented Yinlin.
Hermit merely huffed as he noticed Yo and Kaku getting ready to charge in. Then without warning, the two struck hard!
Hermit and Renka were sent flying back a bit, but easily recovered. Both had been able to block the attacks without a solid hit.
"Hehe, not bad," commented Kaku, "You managed to survive our Roku Gou Jin. But too bad, as nobody so far has been able to break through it! You're finished Phoenix Alliance!"
"Pfft, did you forget who you're fighting?" asked Renka, "You're fighting me, Ma Renka, the daughter of Ma Kensei, who's mastered all forms of Chinese Kenpo. I recognize each of your styles and how they work already. Even my dumb perverted friend here has seen through it, and his master is Ma Sogetsu, also a master of all forms of Chinese Kenpo."
"I thought I told you not to call me that," growled Hermit, "And yes, a child could see through your childish formation."
"Oh, and pray tell what it-" started Kaku, only to be interrupted.
"Circle, straight line, and spiral," replied both Renka and Hermit.
Silence reigned among them as Kaku and the others looked at them in shock.
"Circle line spiral?" questioned Takeda in confusion, "What's that mean?"
"I don't know, maybe some form of technique?" shrugged Tsuji.
"Whatever it is, it packs a punch," commented Kisara.
"It's like a car crash when they attack!" shouted Thor, "Be careful!"
"It's their movements," explained Niijima, "Their attacks come in that pattern. Circle for the girl. Straight for the eyepatch dude. Spiral for the last one."
The fighters looked at Niijima in surprise, turning to Miu and Kenichi in hopes he was wrong.
"He's right," smiled Miu.
The fighters looked back to the fight, feeling slightly ashamed that Niijima had been able to work out the analysis even faster than them.
"Such wisdom, as expected from my Demon Lord!" sang Siegfried.
"We shouldn't be too surprised, Niijima has shown that his analysis skills as quite higher than ours," sighed Freya as she leaned back.
Kaku shook out of his shock, "Just because you know doesn't mean you can counter it! The pattern can change at any time! It can't be broken by the likes of you!"
As if to punctuate that, Yo charged forward first, followed by a circle, then spiral.
"Damn punk's right," growled Natsu as he blocked the combo, unable to counter attack, "They cover each other's moves, leaving almost no weakness."
"Feh, I could handle them myself," pouted Renka as she rubbed her arms, having blocked the attacks too.
"Ma Kensei, your daughter, and your brother's disciple are nothing special," taunted Kaku as Kensei was kindly explaining the movements of the Three-Headed Dragon team to the Shinpaku Alliance.
Renka and Hermit felt a blood vessel pop in their foreheads as they heard this comment. Yet they couldn't do anything do their enemies teamwork.
"Hey, Hermit," said Renka, calling Natsu by his code name for the first time since the match started.
"What is it?" grunted Hermit as he blocked a hi low combo from Yinlin, preparing for what was to come next.
"I'm trusting you to watch my back," stated Renka, "I'm abandoning watching my back."
Before Hermit could react, Renka charged forward, jumping over him and kicking Kaku, who was using Kakei to neutralize the force of the attack.
"You're a fool to attack so brazenly!" laughed Kaku as he tried to kick Renka, using powerful spiral movements to enhance his attack. He was met with a shock as Renka easily used Kakei to parry it.
"You forget my father specializes in soft style!" shouted Renka as she tried to punch him, only for him to dodge back.
"Yo, now!" shouted Kaku as he jumped back.
Yo charged right towards Renka's back, who hadn't been paying attention at all. She had abandoned guarding her back in favor of being able to counter attack.
"Oh no, get out of the way!" shouted Takeda, but Yo was already behind her.
"Die!" shouted Yo as he threw a straight fist right at the back of Renka's head. Renka didn't even move to dodge it at all.
Abruptly, her head moved forward... no that wasn't correct. Her whole body was moving forward. Yo missed his punch, unable to understand what was happening. One moment, she was in front of him, the next moment, she was gone! She hadn't jumped or ducked either.
"Yo watch out behind you!" shouted Yinlin.
Yo turned around just in time to see Renka's foot smash into his face, sending him flying back.
"Arg, what the hell was that?" growled Yo in pain as he landed on his back right next to Kaku and Yinlin.
The trio looked to see Renka being whirled around by Natsu, who was grabbing her by her arm. Right before Yo's fist landed, Natsu had grabbed Renka by the arm and swung her around. The rotations soon stopped Natsu brought her close to kill the momentum before facing them once more. Renka landed on Natsu's thigh, one foot on it while the other was raised, assuming a fighting position, as did Natsu.
"Ha, you can't beat our combo!" grinned Renka.
"I'd prefer if you get your dirty shoes off my pants," growled Natsu, but not actually pushing her off, "Only reason I didn't let you get hit is that my sister would nag me for letting such an attack through."
"A combination born out of desperation won't defeat our Roku Gou Jin!" shouted Kaku as he initiated the first attack, quickly followed by Yo and Yinlin.
Suddenly, they were pushed back by a brutal combination attack from the two. Natsu was swinging Renka around his body while she launched a variety of kicks.
"Whoa, is that some combination attack they made to defeat their opponents?" asked Thor in excitement.
"Huh, didn't think Hermit was a team player," commented Sho.
Sogetsu, who was watching the whole fight, chuckled. The only reason they were able to perform such a combination was that they both used Chinese Kenpo and were familiar with each other's moves. Hermit had sparred with Renka a few times to become stronger. Not only that, but the two had been witnesses to his fight with Kensei, and had taken each of their moves to heart.
"It's no use, you've only made yourself a bigger target!" growled Kaku as the other two got behind him, "You still can't break through our Roku Gou Jin!"
Before he took the first step, Hermit had thrown Renka right towards him. Renka caught a surprised Kaku by the waist, and with a quick spin, threw him into the house. Then, not even stopping, using the spinning momentum to kick Yinlin to the opposite side and chased after her.
"Kaku, Yinlin!" shouted Yo as he tried to chase after Renka, "I'll get you-"
His charge was interrupted by a brutal lariat from Hermit. Yo quickly got up and charged at Hermit, but with just himself now, he was easy pickings for Hermit. Hermit dodged his charge and slammed a knee into Yo's stomach, leaving him breathless. Hermit then spun around Yo's body, slamming an elbow to the back of Yo's head. Now completely dazed, Yo was unable to defend himself from Natsu's sudden barrage attacks.
"It's over!" shouted Hermit as his palm strike slammed into Yo's chin before using the momentum to spin and used Uryuu Banda to finish it off, slamming an open palm right into the back of Yo's head, sending him careening into the ground.
The announcer saw Yo's eyes roll to the back of his head, now completely unconscious.
At the same time, Yinlin was desperately trying to attack Renka, only for her to easily block all her attacks and land a couple of punches into her stomach.
'Tch, then taste Bagua Tashin Kaei!' thought Yinlin as she suddenly pretended to retreat, getting ready to spin and try to strike Renka with a backhand strike.
It was a costly mistake as Renka suddenly sped up, stomping the ground with such force that the ground cracked as she placed one palm over the other right at Yinlin's back.
Tanpa
The palm strike at Yinlin's back sent her flying right into a tree that was planted in the stage, crashing into it before fainting.
Kaku quickly got back up from his impromptu trip into the house, shaking off the cobwebs in his head. That throw had hurt, and he was itching for revenge now. He stepped out of the house just in time to hear the announcer's voice.
"Ooh, the Three Headed Dragon's martial art formation has just been shattered! Both Yo and Yinlin won't be getting up anytime soon!"
"What!? Yo, Yinlin!" shouted Kaku in shock as he quickly jumped out to see their unconscious bodies.
"You lose," smiled Renka as she patted her hands, "It's 2v1, and I can beat you myself."
Kaku growled, "I can take you both on! I'll kill you both!"
Renka huffed and was about to charge in when Hermit stuck out his hands, stopping her from charging in.
"Hey, what's the big deal!?" complained Renka.
"I'll take him on alone," stated Hermit.
Renka frowned, glaring at Hermit for a second before sighing, "Fine. But you better win pervert."
"It's Hermit, exhibitionist!" roared Hermit before huffing and turning to Kaku, who was looking at him in a confusing gaze.
"Pervert?" asked Kaku, "Exhibitionist."
"Don't ask!" shouted Hermit and Renka.
"Hmph, anything that comes from the Ma family is pointless. Ma Kensei is a pervert, a liar, and someone who never takes responsibility for anything! It's because of him that the Chinese Martial Arts is looked down upon! Any offspring or brother of his is surely the same!" shouted Kaku. He began to launch a small explanation of his history with Ma Kensei before finally launching a fierce assault.
Hermit blocked the fierce assault until suddenly, Kaku managed to lift Hermit's arm up by force, leaving him defenseless for Kaku's next attack, a dual spinning palm strike to the chest.
"It's over!" shouted Kaku gleefully as the attack struck, sending Hermit back, "Now for the girl."
Kaku was just about to turn towards Renka when he heard Hermit taking a step forward. He whirled around to see Hermit seemingly dusting off the dirt off his shirt as if he hadn't been hit.
"You done ranting?" asked Hermit with a raised eyebrow, "I've taken harder hits than that strike. Good. Now everything you've just said... I pretty much agree with you."
Choju Giga bunny hopped across the stage as Kaku blinked in shock, as did Renka.
"Ma Kensei is a pervert to the highest degree, and is extremely whimsical, as is his daughter. My master, Ma Sogetsu, luckily didn't inherit the first part but definitely has the latter."
Ma Sogetsu felt a tick grow on his forehead at this.
"However... both Kensei and Sogetsu are surely the strongest people I've known to master Chinese Kenpo. Renka, however much I dislike her, is also strong. They bring their martial arts to new heights, and I am thankful for meeting my master, though I wish he wasn't so damn shitty sometimes," continued Hermit, "So quit your bitching and do something about it. I bet you wanted to go with Ma Kensei when he first offered it to you."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" roared Kaku as he tried to attack Hermit once more. Then he found something strange. The first time he attacked, he had been able to force Hermit on the defensive for a bit. Now, Hermit was easily blocking his attacks before suddenly changing the tempo, forcing Kaku to go on the defensive.
'Shit, he read me!' thought Kaku as he continued to use Kakei to parry Hermit's attack, 'He used the first clash to analyze my tempo, and now he's using it against me! But how is he so effective in dealing with my style?'
Kaku coughed up blood when Hermit got through his defense and slammed a palm strike to the chest. One of the reasons why Hermit was able to read through Kaku wasn't just due to the fact he analyzed him in the first clash, but he had witnessed the Ma brothers fight each other in a duel to the death... which didn't really end in anyone's death. But because of that duel, he was able to see Ma Kensei use Kakei and how Ma Sogetsu dealt with it. He saw the best fighting each other, and Kaku's Kakei, when compared to Kensei, was just a pale imitation of it, barely a shadow of a true master.
Kau growled as he pushed forward, trying to perform a twin handstrike to Hermit's ears, only for Hermit to easily block both hands. Then, without hesitation, Hermit twisted his body like a coil and lashed out, catching Kaku in the ribs and fracturing some of them. Kaku coughed in pain but used the recoil to spin around him and grabbing Hermit by the chin and head.
Ban Ran!
Kaku turned while twisting Hermit's head, hoping to snap his neck. Hermit didn't fight it, but instead rolled with it, keeping his neck safe. After landing, he slammed a palm strike into Kaku's fractured ribs once more, forcing him to let go and leap back in pain.
"Grr, fine. I'll use my strongest move to finish this fight!" snarled Kaku as he took up his stance once more, his breathing becoming more controlled.
Hermit's eyebrow went up for a bit, taking a peak at his master. He too had recently learned a new move and wanted to see if he could use it on Kaku. Sogetsu shook his head, denying him that chance. The reason for Sogetsu's denial was quite simple. Hermit could beat this punk easily without it, and the longer his new move stayed hidden, the better his chances were in future fights that were bound to come. Especially in a televised area, where it was almost impossible to hide a technique.
Hermit frowned but turned back to facing Kaku, who seemed to be done with his breathing.
"Die!" screamed Kaku as he stepped forward, smashing Hermit with his secret technique, Raisei.
'Shit!' thought Hermit as he felt the winds from the punch, 'This is much stronger than I anticipated!'
As his mind raced through what to do, a memory appeared before him.
Flashback
Ma Kensei and Ma Ryo aka Hakube were glancing at each other nervously. Their opponent was someone who they could not afford to hold back! Kensei slowly raised his hand up before reaching forward, probing for any form of attack. Then he slowly lowered it down onto a table, before picking up an object from it, slowly retreating his hand back before flipping it up.
It was a three tile bamboo shoot.
Right now, Ma Kensei and Ma Ryo were playing Mah Jong against Kaede and Honoka while Natsu was shouting obscenities in the background, trying to beat up Renka. They were currently at Ma Ryo's house, playing near the open background while Natsu was cursing up a storm, sparring against Renka.
Kensei put the tile into his hand, and with trepidation, threw out a Green Dragon tile to the discard. He had to risk it, even though the Green Dragon tile hadn't been played yet. He had currently held the dealer title for 6 rounds and the hand he had drawn was something he needed! By discarding the Green Dragon tile, he was now in Richi! He just needed a two, three, five, or six bamboo tile to win! With this, they could topple the one who stood at the pinnacle of Mah Jong!
"Kan."
Kaede uttered those words that frightened the two Masters. She easily took the Green Dragon tile before placing it to the side, drawing out three more tiles to reveal she had the other three. The masters gulped but kept their calming, hoping that they could still win as she drew a tile from the back end.
"Kan."
Kaede put four more tiles to the side, drawing another tile.
"Kan."
This time, the masters were sweating now. Kaede had somehow drawn all the dragon tiles in the game, and was still continuing to draw. She looked at her tile for a bit before putting it in her hand, taking another tile out and placing a seven bamboo tile out. The masters let out a breath of relief as the round continued, though Kensei was cursing his luck of not drawing the winning tile yet. Yet in just two turns, Kaede had disposed of a nine bamboo tile and an eight bamboo tile, confusing them all before she declared richi. Then in just one turn later, she slew the masters of all their points by drawing the winning tile.
"Tsumo."
With a bright smile, she flipped over her tiles to reveal the North and South winds, with the winning tile being the North winds. While the masters lamented their losses, Honoka turned to Kaede in curiosity.
"Hey, you could have won earlier with your bamboo tiles earlier. Why didn't you?" asked Honoka.
"I could've, but it wouldn't have taken all their points in one go then," Kaede kindly explained, "Sometimes, in order to win firmly, you just have to step back and look at the bigger picture. Sure, you can ruthlessly charge forward to try to win, but what happens if you run out of steam? Or even fall into a trap? No, it's far wiser to step back and counter when necessary."
"Aye, that applies to martial arts too!" cheered Renka as she took a step back and countered Hermit's cross attack, causing him to cough in pain, "I know Uncle Sogetsu is someone who tends to attack head on, but even knows when to step back for a second."
"That's true," added Kensei, looking up from his depression state for a second, "During our fight, you may not have noticed it, but Sogetsu had more than once stepped back to asses the situation, even if he does favor charging forward."
Natsu huffed as he slowly regained control of his breath, taking in the advice slowly. From others, he would've ignored, but if it was from his senior and his little sister... then it was something he would keep in mind.
"Anyways, I have a technique I want to teach you," said Ma Kensei as he stood up to walk over, "It's called Taiho. It's a technique in your scrolls that my brother left you. It's-"
"Uncle Short Ma! You can't leave like that, you still have a punishment game to play!" shouted Kaede.
Kensei cursed up a storm in his mind as he had hoped an impromptu lesson with Natsu would have made Kaede forget about the bet. None the less, he did teach Natsu the new technique at a later time.
Flashback ends
His body moved before his mind could even react. Hermit took a step back, his whole body shifting to the side as he managed to barely dodge Kaku's Rasei as it scraped by his chest. His left hand was already up, his palm facing towards Kaku as Kaku drove himself into the palm.
Taiho Shouhai
With a simple shift in weight, Hermit pushed, sending Kaku flying back into the house once more. Seeing as all three of the Chinese teammates were down, Ryozanpaku was quickly declared the winner.
"He, I see you used that technique even though you swore it would be useless," grinned Renka as she waltzed up to Hermit.
"Shut up, I didn't even think about it," muttered Hermit as the medics quickly loaded the Three Headed Dragon team into stretchers, quickly taking them to the infirmary.
As Kaku's vision was slowly fading, he looked at Hermit and Renka arguing before switching to Kenichi, where he was cheering for them.
'Taiho… I completely forgot about that technique,' thought Kaku, 'I've been so focused on moving forward that I never thought about stepping back. It's strange... that Ryozanpaku disciple is so strong, and yet he's surrounded by friends. Same with the one who calls himself Hermit. Even if he looks like someone who prefers to be alone, he still has people that care for him. That time... if I had taken Ma Kensei's offer to follow him...'
His mind wandered as he imagined himself with Kenichi, Renka, and Hermit. He and Kenichi were laughing together like brothers while watching Renka and Hermit arguing with each other again, all under the watchful eye of Ma Kensei. And somewhere in the background, Ma Sogetsu chuckled as he continued to drink his alcohol.
'There's no way... right?' thought Kaku as he finally fainted.
"So you're coming back with us right?" asked Renka as a path was made for them.
"Nope," corrected Hermit, "I fought the battle my shitty master had me fight. Now I'm getting out of here."
With that note, he dropped a smoke bomb out of nowhere, covering himself and Renka. By the time Renka managed to get out, she had already lost track of him. With a huff, she stomped back to the booth.
"Nice fight Renka," greeted Miu, "But why is your face red?"
"Eh?" blustered Renka, "Ah… it's the heat! The heat got to me!"
The truth was that in that smoke, Renka had managed to stumble upon Natsu as he was about to make his escape. However, as Renka lunged at him, she had missed... and may have face planted near his waist... or somewhere lower. She couldn't tell as it was too dusty, but her hands had touched his thighs, giving her an idea of where she face planted. She swore she felt something hard on her cheek that was also... roundish.
'Grr... now you really have to take responsibility for this! First, you touched mine, and now you forced me to touch yours!' Renka screamed mentally as the announcer was preparing to announce the next round.
"Nice fight brat," said Sogetsu as Natsu walked towards him, "Why are you clutching your stomach?"
"Freaking exhibitionist face planted into my stomach when she tried to stop me from leaving," growled Natsu, revealing that Renka had not actually done what she thought she had done.
"Hmph, just shows you need more training," scoffed Sogetsu when they both heard the announcement for the next match.
"So... any comments about that?" asked Sho.
"Those two fighters are closer to our level," admitted Tirawit, "For the girl, I predict … that I would have a 45-55% chance of beating her in a one on one fight, with a 30% chance of killing her with the current data. However, I know that she has not shown all her skills yet. This fight was not able to showcase all her abilities, just the ability to adapt easily in a team fight."
Boris and Ethan made similar comments while Rachel and Chikage merely looked bored.
"And Hermit?" asked Sho.
"Perhaps on par with Chou Enshin, our current Chinese Kenpo user and holder of the Moon Symbol of Yomi," analyzed Boris, "Perhaps a bit weaker, but these things can change."
"Yea, he's definitely gotten stronger," smiled Sho, happy for his friend.
"Since the one you call Hermit fought with Ryozanpaku, does that mean Ma Sogetsu and his disciple have allied themselves with Ryozanpaku and Katsujinken?" asked Chikage, suddenly piping up.
"Err, I don't think so?" shrugged Sho, "I've never actually met Ma Sogetsu personally, but from what I know, he is... was... still is? Whatever, he's part of the One Fist Nine Shadows, but he gave his seat to his friend Jisei Ro to hold onto, stating it was too troublesome to keep track with Yami. I'm pretty sure he's still a Satsujinken, like us. Most likely he wanted some fresh fodder for his disciple and chucked him in there. I've heard that despite leaving the feud with the Phoenix Alliance and Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance, he dislikes the latter because they tend to bother him while the former don't actively seek to fight him."
Before they could discuss this topic further, the announcement had them turn their attention back to the ring.
"Such an exciting match we just witnessed! But now, let's get the next match underway! Next up is the unbelievable people that we didn't imagine would past the first round, the Shinpaku Alliance vs. Mysterious Teenager who's background is completely unknown to the world! Garyu X! This time the stage is the Jungle, and is one of Diego Carlo's masterpiece! Especially that fruit tree in the middle! So who will emerge victoriously!? Oh, by the way, it's going to be a battle royale once more, so it's 1v5! So choose your fighters!"
"So who's going up?" Takeda asked Niijima.
Niijima didn't seem to respond, but rather was watching Garyu X as he jumped into the stage. Seconds later, Niijima seemed to perceptively nod before making his choices.
"Freya, Kisara, Tsuji, Thor, and Siegfried. You're all up," declared Niijma.
"Eh, what's the point?" yawned Tsuji, still getting up anyways, "Not like we're going to get a real fight. Man, I wanted to fight one of the other teams."
"Just shut up and get up there," growled Kisara, "I don't like it as much as you, but we still got to go up if not for appearance sake."
While the five were heading towards the ring, Kenichi and Miu couldn't help but feel something was going to happen. As if it was Deja Vu.
"Feh, this is going to be boring," yawned Sho as he leaned back, "The 'mysterious teenager' only joined in to deal with Kiryu Aryu. At most, he'll probably let the kids 'hit' him and just 'faint'."
"I would have thought he'd leave after such a farce," nodded Tirawit.
"Perhaps he thought it would be disrespectful to do so without formally announcing his forfeit," suggested Boris.
"Whatever, gives me time to plan out how to shine out more when it's my time," grinned Rachel.
The audience seemed to be agreeing with Sho's statement, getting bored of this farce as the five fighters were now face to face with Garyu X.
"Oh, and the mysterious teenager Garyu X seems to be dropping his offensive posture," noted the announcer.
"Hmph, not even the Elder would continue with this," chuckled Sakaki as he pulled out a beer, taking a sip.
"This is boring, let's leave," said Sogetsu, getting ready to leave.
"See, nothing much to do," sighed Tsuji as the others seemed to agree.
"Idiot! Guard Up!" shouted Niijima, much to everyone's confusion. Their confusion turned into shock about 0.2 seconds later. The reason for it?
Garyu X punched them all so hard with a single punch that they went flying into the air, his eyes glowing through his mask.
Sakaki spat out his drink while the others of Ryozanpaku stared in shock.
Members of the Shinpaku Alliance felt their jaws drop while Choju Giga animals sat next to them in glee.
Yomi had the same reaction as the Shinpaku Alliance, and several analysis programs within their brains malfunctioned.
Sogetsu, who had been ready to leave, stared at the ring in surprise while Natsu had similar reactions to Shinpaku.
Renka felt her hairs wilt down as she saw the scene.
Miu and Kenichi know understood just why they had felt the Deja Vu. This was the exact same thing that had happened in the timeline, except they had been the victim.
Niijima merely sighed as he remembered his conversation with the Elder the previous night.
Flashback
"So why did you have me send Takeda?" asked Niijima as he sat alone with the Elder.
"Because the next fight for your group will be with me," stated the Elder, "I shall be fighting them."
"Wait, you mean legitimately fighting!?" shrieked Niijima.
"I won't be too harsh," laughed the Elder, "However, even though you have talented fighters, many are self-study. Even I had someone temporarily help me when learning martial arts."
"Please don't break them," sighed Niijima.
Flashback ends
Diego was laughing while the flying fighters landed at the edge of the arena, almost tumbling off the edge. Then, with a simple gesture, Garyu X sent a shock wave towards the fighters, as if to emphasize the danger they were in.
"Hmm, perhaps this is?" mused Akisame, "0.0005% Group sparring and combination technique?"
"Here, in this stage?" hissed Kenichi.
"And how come I'm not in it!" pouted Takeda indignantly. Niijima later explained his reasoning to the others.
The glowing eyes that had been emanating through the mask slowly dimmed until it was gone, signifying Garyu X had chosen to close his eyes for the fight. None the less, he was still strong enough to completely annihilate others, including his next victims... cough fighters.
"What the hell is this?" hissed Sho, "What the hell is Ryozanpaku comprised of, maniacs?"
"It does seem to be rather... extreme," admitted Tirawit.
"Who cares, now this is entertainment!" shouted Rachel in glee, who was for once not angry at the show being stolen. The disciples all had to admit, though, seeing the Invincible Superman in action was certainly worth watching.
Diego Carlo seemed to have conflicting emotions at this show, but in the ended angrily praised his decision to allow Garyu X to continue. The audience was certainly being entertained.
Freya and the others had managed to wake up and quickly hid behind a tree, trying to get their breath back.
"What the hell is this!?" hissed Kisara.
"Perhaps he's angry we decided to come despite his warnings?" muttered Thor.
"Or maybe he wants to prepare us for the world that we're diving into," theorized Freya.
"Who cares!? This is so much better than I thought it would be!" shouted Tsuji with excitement, "Let's go kick his ass!"
"Shhh!" hissed all of them, but it was too late.
A spear hand struck right through the trunk of the tree they had been hiding behind, narrowly missing Tsuji's head. The five fighters slowly but surely turned towards the hand, shaking in slight fear as another hand joined in, widening the gap to reveal Garyu X's face. Then, with a peal of cackling laughter, Garyu X split the poor tree in half to chase after them as they ran.
"You really think this is a good time for training?" asked Takeda as Niijima finished his explanation to him and the others.
"Now may be the only time," admitted Niijima, "The reason I agreed not to put Tsuji in the first round, but rather in this one, instead of you, is because in that group, none of them have real masters. Freya might if she decides to head back to her old dojo more, but other than that, most of them are self-taught. Even Tsuji, who had a master for a few months, was only taught the basics as a way to get him off the mountain."
"Getting training from the Invincible Superman, even advice, is something," admitted Renka, "A lot of people around the world keep asking him for even a single lesson. The fact he's doing this willingly is something."
"Well, since you have this situation handled, I'm off to handle another one," said Kensei as he trotted away. His goal was the injured Three Headed Dragon.
And done. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.