This story has been beta by Steven Badner. Enjoy!

Hongo felt his eyes tick when he overheard the scuffle before the radio went silent. From what he could decipher, was that the ambushers had taken John and Sho alive, which was good for now.

"Seta, track down the last coordinates," ordered Hongo, "If we can locate the last location of the broadcast, we should be able to track them down."

'I also need to teach the boy patience again,' thought Hongo to himself. Sho had always been a reckless person and easily distracted.

Sakaki hesitated on pulling out the tracker that he had on Kenichi and Miu for a second. While he would love to rub it in his rival's face that he was the better master for having a tracker on his disciple, it would also reveal the fact Ryozanpaku wasn't as poor as Yami thought it was.

Luckily, an unlikely solution arrived to prevent that.

"No need master," replied Seto as he began to type into the computer, "We placed trackers on Sho-sama himself."

Choju Giga bunnies hopped around them as Hongo raised his eyebrows at that action.

Hayami coughed into his hands to clear his throat, "Sho-sama has always been rather difficult to pin down, especially when we are ordered to stay with him. He prefers to elude us even when we try to tell him we were ordered to stay around him for his protection. The last time he went somewhere without us back on Fortuna's island, he came back to us with a giant slap mark on his face."

Sakaki had to school his face to stop himself from laughing loudly. The Elder had told them about Sho sneaking into Kenichi and Miu's room back during the DFOD tournament and had suitably punished him by slapping him on the face.

"After that situation, we decided instead of fruitlessly trying to catch up with Sho-sama, we decided to put trackers on Sho-sama's belongings. Besides his motorcycle, we also place one in his helmet, two in his golden necklace, and his earring. It was quite difficult to steal those from Sho-sama, as he almost always wears them. Once we managed to, we had holes drilled into the bird figure's wings and trackers placed inside each wing before having an expert cover it up. As for the earring, we had the bottom of the bird cage hollowed and placed the tracker there before covering it up," finished Hayami.

While Hongo was a bit flabbergasted at the layer of tracking his other two disciples had taken, he was also relieved that they had a suitable method of tracking Sho down.

Taking this information in, Hongo couldn't help but smirk at Sakaki. Sakaki instantly read that expression, knowing what Hongo was conveying.

'Looks like I take better care of my disciple,' smirked Hongo.

'Asshole! Your disciples were the ones who took your order to a whole new level, and you're reaping the rewards for their overzealousness,' growled Sakaki.

'But in the end, I'm the master who's able to keep track of where his disciple is,' replied Hongo, taking solace in the small victory.

Sakaki was sorely tempted to pull out his tracker, stating that he had been keeping track of Kenichi's location all along, but opted out so as to not to reveal Ryozanpaku's finances, as well as his inability to actually work the device.

"I'll prepare the helicopter," stated Hayami, only for Hongo to shoot down that offer as the noise would reveal their location, and instead opted to go on foot. The others quickly followed them.

'Sensei is going to kill me for this blunder,' thought Sho as he was unceremoniously shoved into a jail cell, 'At least I have company… sort of.'

Mercenary John, or Saiga in disguise, had been shoved into the same jail cell as Sho with his glasses broken and his weapons stripped. Sho had tried to keep the gauntlets, but they had been confiscated as well as his necklace. The only thing he could keep with him was his earring and the Yin-Yang pin.

[You took his weapons, right?] asked a guard.

[Yea. Without them, he's nothing but a fat pig.] replied the other guard.

John, or Saiga in reality, couldn't help but smirk at this. His disguise was still working, and Jenazad still hadn't detected him yet. Perhaps now was the time to break out. But first, he needed to locate Kenichi and Miu. But before he could do anything, two of Jenazad's servants appeared before them. Sho recognized the man being the one that had been skillfully spying on them before.

"Get up," ordered Menazad, the master spy that Jenazad had helped create, "Jenazad-sama wishes to see you."

The spy's daughter, Hartini, quickly unlocked Sho's chains before returning back to her father's side.

Seeing no choice, Sho obeyed, taking a quick glance over at John. John merely gave a reassuring smile before Sho was taken away.

Oddly enough, Sho felt like John would somehow get out of this mess, not knowing who he really was, but his gut instinct told him something was still very off with John. Soon, they arrived at an arena, where Sho saw Jenazad without his mask. Sho was pushed into the arena with the iron gates closing behind him by Menazad.

"I see you managed to live despite my attack," chuckled Jenazad, "Just how fortunate you must have been. I bruised my fingers when I tried to pierce through your stomach, only to find something that was hard enough to stop me."

Sho had been suspicious whether the man he saw was truly the Demon Fist, but after that comment, he had no doubt that it was him. Though he pondered why Jenazad's face looked so young, he learned not to question it, especially since one of his other masters was Kushinada, a 90+ old lady who looked like she was in her late 20s at most.

"What do you want?" asked Sho, gritting his teeth in anger at the betrayal from one of his masters.

"Although I may have tried to kill you, you are still my disciple, so to speak. So I want to give you a chance to prove yourself worthy of my tutelage," explained Jenazad as he snapped his fingers.

Another iron gate opened up before Miu was suddenly pushed in.

"Who are you? Why have you kidnapped me from my grandmother's home!?" demanded the still semi-amnesiac Miu.

"Grandmother?" questioned Sho, glancing over at Miu while also surprised to see her here. He had heard she had also been kidnapped, but the sources said that she had been kidnapped by Kushinada, not Jenazad, as well as suffering from a bit of amnesia. Though the question of why Miu said that she had been kidnapped from her grandmother's house was a surprise. He was sure that nobody from the Kuremisago was Miu's grandparents, and the Elder's wife had died long before Miu was born.

Before he could question that, he was distracted when another iron gate opened up to reveal a male teenager about their age wearing the uniform that Jenazad's troops wore. His face was covered by a mask similar to Jenazad's own, though without the pointed crowns.

"Martial arts both creates and destroys. You were all 'created' when you defeated your opponents. However, for a person to reach their peak, they must 'destroy' whatever is precious to them!" declared Jenazad, "My newest disciple, Indah Arang. Kill those two, and your eyes and abilities will truly shine!"

With a roar, the one named Arang charged forward.

"Miu, work with me on this one!" shouted Sho as he noticed Arang charging for him mostly.

Miu nodded, not knowing who Sho was but realizing that the other disciple was most likely out to kill them.

Sho ran forward, intending on meeting his opponent head-on with a punch when Arang suddenly leaped up above him. Without hesitation, Arang grabbed Sho's wrist, swinging in the air for a second before coming down with a kick. Sho quickly raised his other arm and blocked the kick, only to find himself open for Arang to swiftly swing down and grab his leg, intending to break it.

'Shit, that's Supreme Silat,' thought Sho as he tensed his muscles, ready to break out of the grip by hardening all of his body at once.

However, Sho didn't need to as Arang was suddenly flung off him by some invisible force. Arang growled as he landed on all four limbs, crouching like an animal before quickly assuming a Silat stance.

Sho looked over at Miu, realizing she had been the cause. He also recognized it as the Kushinada-style of Jiujitsu, having been on the receiving end of it before. Except he knew Miu wasn't supposed to know how to use that style, having always been with Ryozanpaku her whole life. Which begged the question, how did she know it?

"Where did you learn that?" asked Sho, voicing his question.

"My grandmother taught me," replied Miu, keeping her eyes on Arang.

'Grandmother? She refers to Kushinada-sensei as grandmother!?' thought Sho, his mind blazing now. It made no sense. Kushinada never married nor did she ever have kids, or so they knew. But with this revelation, it seems not all was what it seemed. Not to mention Miu was currently wearing exactly what Kushinada and Chikage wore, a white kimono and a red hakama. And just like Kushinada, Miu's cleavage was proudly on display, though maybe a bit more covered than Kushinada.

"Hahaha!" laughed Jenazad, distracting them all for a bit, "Now I see why that old hag wanted you so badly! You're of her blood! Now that's a surprise to hear. If she had just said something about that, I wouldn't have gone through such a hassle to kidnap you. Which begs the question, when did she even do it with the old bastard?"

Jenazad began to mumble to himself for a bit before giving Arang a pointed glare, telling him to continue. Arang nodded as he charged forward once more.

Miu took it upon herself to meet Kenichi first, intending to subdue the disciple into submission. Despite being taught by Kushinada, Miu still followed the way of Katsujinken. Surprisingly, Kushinada never focused on teaching Miu the principles and the essence of Satsujinken, merely focusing on techniques and tactics of Kushinada-style during the whole time she was with him.

Arang had been charging forward, getting closer to Miu when she raised her hand towards him, palms open. He had been ready to slide under the arm when he felt his legs suddenly force him to jump without his permission. Arang looked at Miu as she seemingly was guiding where he was going, hurling him into the ground. Growling in frustration, Arang managed to pick himself up before feeling himself going back up into the air via Miu's Jiujitsu.

With an effort, Arang broke free of Miu's throw by letting his Ki explode, blocking all the Ki feints Miu had been doing to force him to follow her will. Breaking out of the trap, Arang grabbed Miu's extended arm. Twisting his whole body, Arang hurled the surprised Miu into the ground via brute force that seemed to exceed what his body should've been capable of.

Landing above Miu with his legs astride over her torso, Arang raised his hand with a knife hand, ready to thrust it into her eyes when he suddenly paused.

Miu looked up, wondering why Arang hadn't struck yet. She had already raised her hand to defend herself but saw Arang pausing for a second.

The pause was enough for Sho to tackle the said Arang, causing the two to tumble. A few seconds later, the two of them managed to separate, though not without some scratches.

Sho coughed as he felt Arang's punch and knee into his stomach and ribs, wheezing a little before getting back up. In return, however, he managed to pry the ridiculous mask off his opponent. No point in letting him have the advantage with protective headgear.

"Ha, now you-" started Sho, only to freeze as he got a good look at who 'Arang' actually was.

Miu pushed herself up to see a teenager about her age with brown eyes and hair that looked very familiar to her. Almost as if the boy she was looking at was someone who she knew almost intimately.

Arang slowly raised his face, revealing his brown eyes to be rather vacant, as if still in a trance.

"Shirahama!?" gaped Sho, realizing who Arang was and why his body seemed so familiar.

"Ah yes, he was known as 'Shirahama Kenichi', but under my guidance, he is now 'Indah Arang'. And soon, he will be dyed in red and follow in my footsteps," smirked Jenazad whimsically, "He learned Silat so much faster than my previous disciple. But that's not to say you aren't of any value. Perhaps if you defeat him, then I'll take you up instead."

What he left unmentioned was that he personally had to drive most of those moves into Kenichi's own body to 'engrave' it in. A rather unorthodox teaching method, he supposed, but it worked after he had Hartini force-feed him the drugged broth to make him more malleable.

Sho growled as he stood up, facing the supposed 'Arang'. Miu stepped forward to help, only for Sho to throw his hand out to stop her.

"This is my fight," declared Sho, "I can't let you fight him."

"Why not?" hissed Miu, though her head was throbbing a bit every time she looked at Kenichi.

"The same reason why Jenazad wants his new disciple to kill you," replied Sho as he turned his attention to 'Arang', "It's unusual, but just for today, I'll fight for a different reason. I've always learned from my masters the path of Satsujinken, to further my own martial arts. But I want to fight Shirahama Kenichi as himself, not Indah Arang. So I'll defeat you not by killing, but knocking the lights out of you and bringing you back!"

Jenazad narrowed his eyes at this. It seems like Kenichi's influence and charisma among others was much stronger than he thought, just like Hayato Fuurinji, if it could make Sho act like this. Before he could give it more thought, though, he heard an explosion in the distance.

"So, they've come," murmured Jenazad, "Much faster than I thought they would. Did they manage to track this area by luck?"

Jenazad merely shrugged as he put on his helmet, "No matter, I'll deal with them. If you die here, my disciples, it just means your talent only reached so far. Do as I did, and cut off one's attachment to life!"

While doing so, he signaled to one of his men at the bottom floor to open the other gate in five minutes if the fight did not end there. The one that contained his other experimental disciple that he may have stolen from Yami's Armed Division.

At the outer edge of the castle, a few of Jenazad's men were wondering what was going on, and why the explosions were getting closer and closer when the wall in front of them suddenly exploded. What confused them was that there seemed to be no sign of heat or gunpowder that caused the wall to collapse… until they saw Sakaki and Hongo stepping forward past the cloud of dust.

"We won't kill you… but we'll hurt you so bad you'll wish you were dead!" shouted Sakaki, prompting the other men to charge forward at them.

With ease, Sakaki and Hongo knocked them all out, sending bodies flying everywhere as Lona and the others cautiously stepped forward. They soon began to rush through the labyrinth of the castle, trying to navigate through without resorting to just kicking down walls for the shortest path.

"We're getting closer to one of them!" shouted Seto, holding the transceiver, "There are two separate locations! I think it's this one!"

"We can't risk the chance of being wrong," remarked Jennifer, "We should split up so we don't waste too much time."

"I'm going to the one that's moving," growled Sakaki, knowing Kenichi and Miu were most likely there.

He had finally caved in and used his transceiver to track Kenichi and Miu, asking Jennifer for help to use it. While Jennifer looked at Sakaki in suspicion why he had such an item on hand, she chose not to question it, and soon found the location.

Hongo had been ready to say he would go to the moving dot as he suspected Sho to be most likely there when they all suddenly stopped.

A feeling of dread overcame all of them before Sakaki and Hongo pinpointed just where it was, quickly looking up. The others slowly followed their line of sight to see the Demon God Fist standing on top of a tower, eating a fruit without even caring for its hard skin.

'This feeling…. it's maddening!' thought Spartacus, trying to stop himself from shaking. He had met a few Master Class masters, but none were like this.

Several more of Jenazad's men came charging forward to attack the intruders, only to stop in fear when they felt Hongo and Sakaki's Ki rising in retaliation.

Even though Batuan couldn't help but take a step back from the two Karate masters, he still had his doubts about whether they could take on the legendary Demon God Fist. Before he could voice his doubts though, Hongo stepped forward.

"Sakaki, I'll take care of this from here," declared Hongo.

"You idiot, you think I'm going to let you have him?" argued Sakaki.

Hongo merely momentarily took off his sunglasses to look Sakaki straight in the eyes, "Go to your disciple. There will be no more disciples lost here today! Not to mention, this man tried to kill my disciple. I believe I hold the right of challenge on this. If I die, then you can go next."

"Hehe, that's not like you," chuckled Sakaki darkly, "Is this a battle that you 'plan' to lose?"

Hongo scoffed, "I told you 'If I die.' That should be all the explanation needed. Not to mention, this is a worthy opponent!"

With that, Hongo launched himself up towards Jenazad while Seto and Hayami reluctantly guided the others towards the beacons. They soon split up, with Seto taking Sakaki while Hayami took Jennifer and the others.

Sho growled as he and Kenichi clashed once more, each trying to get the better of the other. So far, Sho had been using various techniques from different martial arts, even using his Silat to catch Kenichi off guard, but nothing worked. He had hoped his Karate techniques would awaken Kenichi, but Jenazad's grip on him was too strong.

'Let's see how you deal with this move!' thought Sho to himself as he readied himself.

Kyūgeki Issatsu

Sho launched a barrage of attacks from all different sorts of martial arts at Kenichi, hoping one of the attacks would connect. He had slightly been banking on the element of surprise for this, knowing that he had never fought Kenichi nor revealed all his moves.

The first three attacks were dodged, making Sho slightly sweat a little, but he continued forward with confidence. After the next four were dodged or parried, Sho began to worry. At the very last strike, using the move the One Shadow had taught him, Sho's arms shot forward at speeds that even low-class masters would have trouble dodging.

However, Sho felt himself go numb with shock when Kenichi caught both his wrists with his hands. It was then Sho noticed that Kenichi had been staring into his eyes the whole time his combo had been going off, with a strange light emanating from it.

'This feeling… it's just like what Kushinada-sensei did before!' thought Sho, realizing that Kenichi had just used Ryusui Seikuken.

Before Sho could react though, Kenichi threw him to the ground. Sho coughed in pain, but Kenichi wasn't done yet. Without mercy, Kenichi kicked Sho up into the air before using his own combo composed of all of his old styles, incorporating Supreme Silat into the mix. Sho was sent spiraling into the ground, groaning in pain as he quickly pushed himself back up. He was, however, surprised that Kenichi didn't follow up with his attack.

Sho looked up to see Kenichi looking at his own fist, as if shocked at the different styles he had performed.

'Looks like it's slowly getting back to him,' grunted Sho, 'Just gotta push it a bit further!'

Sho chanced a glance over to Miu, who was busy dealing with the newest intruder, Pengulu Sankan. Menazad tried to argue against releasing the murderous beast within human skin, but Jenazad's orders were absolute. So far, Miu had been able to guide his attacks away, but Sho could seen Miu was starting to strain against her opponent.

Kenichi clenched his fist and roared before charging at Sho once more. Sho gritted his teeth as he began to dodge and parry the best he could, but he was slowly being overwhelmed.

"No choice then. Hopefully, I can control this well-enough not to kill him or myself," muttered Sho to himself as he mentally prepared himself.

Seidou Goitsu

Utilizing both Sei and Dou Ki, Sho's strength and speed exploded exponentially, momentarily surpassing Kenichi's attack seed . This allowed Sho to go on the offensive before landing a high kick to Kenichi's face.

The impact sent Kenichi rolling onto the ground for a bit before he managed to push himself back up onto his feet.

Sho took this time to take a deep breath while releasing Seidou Goitsu for a bit. He could feel his body and mind straining from using such a dangerous technique. But if it would help him defeat Kenichi without killing him, then he would use it. He owed Kenichi his life thanks to the gauntlet he loaned to him. Not to mention if he did defeat Kenichi, he could technically 'brag' about defeating Ryozanpaku's Strongest Disciple, but that was just a mere side thought.

Seidou Goitsu Kyūgeki Issatsu

With Kenichi still disoriented, Sho took this chance to attack once more, mixing up the combo in hopes it would be enough to knock Kenichi unconscious while giving him enough strength to help Miu.

Sho felt several of his attacks land solid hits while a few others were parried, but he was doing some damage at least.

'The last strike!' exclaimed Sho in his mind as he thrust his palms towards Kenichi's face. Knowing how durable Kenichi was during the time they had been fighting, he had been hoping the strike would be enough to knock Kenichi out but not kill him.

Seidou Goitsu

In an instant, Kenichi's hand was on Sho's face, his fingers clawing into his head as he slammed Sho into a wall, utilizing Sei and Dou Ki.

'Shit, he knows it too?' thought Sho as he struggled to get out of the iron claw, 'Why would Ryozanpaku teach him this move? Did Demon God Fist teach this to him?'

Sho realized the key difference between their Seidou Goitsu. While they both used Sei and Dou Ki, he himself was only in the level of Ki no Kaihou while Kenichi was using Ki no Shouka, meaning he was regulating the Ki within his body much more efficiently. Yet Sho could tell that there was major damage in Kenichi's body right now despite just having used Seidou Goitsu.

"That damn Demon God Fist made him use this move without caring about his 'new' disciple's body," groaned out Sho as he quickly whipped his legs up, wrapping it around Kenichi's arm before using his whole weight to wrench himself out of Kenichi's grip while trying to toss him to the floor.

Kenichi quickly released Sho, twisting his arm to loosen Sho's grip on him before withdrawing it back. Sho landed on his right foot, quickly jumping back to gain some distance when he felt his left leg spike in pain. Looking down to see what caused it, he saw that his left foot had somehow been dislocated.

Sho's mind quickly raced through when that had happened, only to realize that when Kenichi managed to escape out of his grip, he had grabbed his left foot and twisted it before he even realized it.

Before Sho could contemplate more about that, he felt his breath leave him as Kenichi punched him in the stomach with a Seidou Goitsu-infused punch. Sho could feel his insides burning, trying to push down the need to hurl. Not to mention the Ki traveled deep inside his body, causing his whole system to shut down.

Kenichi slowly removed his fist back, letting Sho fall onto his knee before keeling over. At the last moment, Sho managed to turn his body so he laid on his back instead.

"Well, shit, I guess that's it for me," coughed Sho as he saw Kenichi slowly raising his fist for the final blow, "Sorry, guess I failed."

Sho closed his eyes, regretting that he could not do what he promised. His mind flashed back to his primary master, his fellow disciple brothers, and finally, to Izumi.

Back in Japan

Izumi was humming as she watered some plants before two pots containing some plants suddenly broke in half.

"Hwwaaa, how did this happen?" questioned Izumi as she quickly cleaned it up.

Looking at the pots carefully, she realized it was Sho and Kenichi's plants. Looking up to the sky, she wondered and prayed that they were alright.

Back to Tidat

A slight jingle reached Sho's ears. Sho's eyes snapped open as the familiar weight of Izumi's bracelet pushed him for one last move. Quickly shoving his hand into his vest, he grabbed the Yin-Yang pin. He had no idea why the pin was so important, or why Niijima stressed on the said pin and some keywords he passed on to him before leaving for Tidat, but Sho figured now was as good a time as any.

With the last of his strength, Sho chucked the Yin-Yang pin at Kenichi, who caught it instinctively, looking down at it in confusion.

"Hehe, don't tell me you've forgotten about that pin," coughed Sho weakly, "I've heard you made some promises on it. Weren't you going to protect Miu? You promised that."

As Sho's eyes began to flicker, he swore he saw a ghostly image of himself grabbing Kenichi's arm, holding him back before he finally lost consciousness.

Kenichi himself was looking at the Yin-Yang pin, frozen at the sight of the pin. That, and Sho's words echoed within his mind.

"Father, what's happening to Arang?" asked Hartini.

Truth be told, Hartini had been uncomfortable helping brainwash Kenichi. What Jenazad had seen as a mere lump of sheer potential for martial arts, Hartini saw Kenichi as a kind person he was in his eyes, never truly giving up even as the brainwashing broth and scent took over.

"He's… fighting back against Lord Jenazad's control," whispered Menazad, "What willpower he has!"

"Kyaaa!"

Kenichi's eyes snapped over to the source of the voice to see Miu pinned down against a wall by her kimono. Pengulu, without hesitation, went for an overhead cleave to split Miu into two.

Despite all of Jenazad's attempts, one thing remained within Kenichi that he always recited no matter the situation. The words echoed within him faintly after Jenazad's drugs, but it remained there. But now, the voice was increasing in volume and clarity after Sho's words and the Yin-Yang pin.

"Protect Miu!"

In an instant, Kenichi crossed over the arena and slammed a liver punch into Pengulu, causing him to flinch. This gave Miu enough time to dislodge the knife and escape Pengulu's attack, which sliced the wall behind her.

"I… will… protect… Miu," stammered Kenichi, his eyes revealing he had not fully broken out of the trance, but the core thought was in full display.

Miu looked up in shock at the boy who helped her, wondering who he was. Sho had mentioned that she shouldn't fight Kenichi, but he had not explained why. But her head was throbbing even harder when she looked at Kenichi.

Finally, when she heard him utter those words, everything came rushing back to her. Her memories of when she first met Kenichi. The adventures she had with him. Fighting against Yomi. Sho sacrificing his life to protect them. Her being kidnapped by Jenazad, only to be saved by Kenichi himself. The final fight against Yami, only for the missile to prematurely detonate that should've killed them if not for Niijima's weird space technique. Them going back to the past to relive everything once more, only this time saving anyone they could. Saving Kaede, the Tanaka family, and even Sho himself. Then being hit with the same technique once more, only to see Kenichi be kidnapped by Jenazad himself this time.

"Kenichi!" shouted Miu, realizing the danger of the situation, "Get out of there!"

Kenichi coughed up blood in response, as the limits of Seidou Goitsu had been breached. Jenazad, without even caring for his new disciple's body, recklessly pushed Kenichi to keep using it even during practice.

Kenichi's own Ki network was being ravaged with the clashing Ki of Sei and Dou, his body and mind slowly being ripped apart.

Pengulu, unaware of what was happening in Kenichi nor caring about it, screeched in anger as he attacked Kenichi once more. Kenichi swayed for a second before dodging Pengulu's attacks once more. However, he was getting slower due to all the internal damage he was suffering. Pengulu's attack began to nick into his body, leaving cuts and gashes. Kenichi luckily survived a few thanks to the chainmail that Jenazad had never bothered to have Kenichi take off.

Pengulu continued to pursue Kenichi when he suddenly felt his sword being wrenched out of his hands. Taking a quick peek, he saw Miu was up already and using Jiujitsu to disarm him. Growling in anger, Pengulu shifted his attention to Miu, only to feel a knee slam into his gut. Pengulu growled as he looked down to see Kenichi still on him. With a roar, Pengulu kicked Kenichi away, sending him flying in the air.

Miu shouted, worried for Kenichi, but had to redirect her attention on Pengulu once more. Before Kenichi crashed into the wall, though, he was saved by Menazad, who caught him in midair.

"You've done more than enough, you need to rest," suggested Menazad as he gently placed Kenichi onto the ground, only for Kenichi to suddenly spring back up once more.

"Protect… Miu… must… protect… her," groaned Kenichi, still in his trance as he stumbled forward towards the fray once more, ignoring his body slowly shutting down due to the clashing of Ki.

Deep within the boy's consciousness, laid the real Kenichi, slowly breaking out of Jenazad's grip on him. But in there, he realized his problem. The clashing of Sei and Dou Ki was crippling his body by the second, and he had no idea how to balance out his Ki network. His mind began to find a way to balance it out, but each time he tried to shift the Ki, his body would be torn even more. As he began to ponder, he remembered the Elder's unique Ki, Ga Ki, and how it had both Sei and Dou.

'The Elder did it, now so do I! If I don't do it now, then I can't protect Miu. I won't let that happen!' roared Kenichi as he began to shift his Ki around his body, ignoring all the pain.

Thanks to his experience fighting against Kajima in the first timeline, manipulating Kajima's Ki flow to heal the damage from his own move, as well as healing Ryuto from being damaged by excessive use of Seidou Goitsu, Kenichi was able to manipulate the clashing waves of opposing Kis. Redirecting and separating the Dou Ki from the Sei Ki, Kenichi managed to calm down the waves. From there, he began to regulate the Ki levels of each one.

Kenichi did not pursue the same type of Ki like the Elder had, with a composition of 70% Dou Ki and 30% Sei Ki that was Ga Ki. Kenichi knew instinctively he was more oriented towards Sei, nor did he believe he could copy the Elder's Ki signature. Instead, he would create his own! It was a life and death choice, but if he didn't do so, then he would become crippled as Ryuto was the first time.

He increased the Sei Ki while lowering the Dou Ki, attempting the inverse of the Elder's Ki. As soon as he tried to stabilize that, he felt his mind being shredded from the pain. Gritting his teeth, Kenichi quickly changed it, increasing the Sei and lowering the Dou, fighting through the pain. Slowly but surely, he reached a ratio of 80% Sei and 20% Dou. Realizing this was his last chance as another failure would leave him too weak to try again, Kenichi took a deep breath, regulating it before and released it.

Miu hissed as she used her newfound skill to forcefully wrench another weapon off of Pengulu that it ended up dislocating his shoulder. She winced as she overestimated that move, but forced herself to move past it as Pengulu was attacking once more. She needed to finish this up and help Kenichi regulate his Ki quickly!

Before Miu could do anything though, she froze when she felt something change in the air. She was not the only one, as Pengulu froze up, as did Menazad and his daughter. The feeling was not only experienced by them, though.

Saiga was busy finishing off several Silat masters trying to make their way to Kenichi when he froze, feeling the air change. He slowly turned to look towards the source.

Sakaki and Seto were rushing through the maze of hallways with Sakaki starting to lose his patience and opting to just punch through walls for a straighter path when they both froze, feeling the change before looking towards the source.

Jennifer and the others were pushing their way through a few soldiers when they also felt the change in the air, too.

Jenazad and Hongo actually paused their deathmatch as they both turned towards the source of the sudden change in the air. Jenazad himself was slightly torn about the results and whether he wanted to head over to Kenichi or enjoy his little match.

The Elder had his eyes closed in a private airplane when he suddenly turned his head, his eyes glowing as he looked towards the source, as did Jenazad.

They were all sensing and witnessing the birth of a new Ki type; Kenichi's own Ki.

"Kenichi," whispered Miu in awe at Kenichi standing there, clearly using Ki that was not fully Sei but also not the dreaded Seidou Goitsu.

Pengulu narrowed his eyes before rushing towards Kenichi with his one good sword arm, slicing horizontally at Kenichi.

Kenichi merely ducked down, letting the blade graze past his hair as he took a step forward, using Ryuusui Seikuuken to close in. Pengulu rapidly swung his sword, only for Kenichi to dodge by mere centimeters before suddenly lashing out with a knee. Pengulu managed to guard the attack with his elbow, only to find Kenichi breaking through the guard.

Korui Nukui

With the last remains of his strength, Kenichi blasted a kick through the guard, hitting Pengulu in the waist, knocking him out while collapsing onto the floor.

"Kenichi!" shouted Miu, quickly cradling his head to her thigh, "Are you alright? Are you back?"

Seeing an unresponsive Kenichi, Miu's eyes began to water, blurring her vision until she felt a hand touch her face. Clearing her eyes, she saw Kenichi touching her face.

"Promised… to protect…. you... didn't I?" whispered Kenichi with a small smile before falling further into unconsciousness.

"Yes, yes you did," smiled Miu as she relished in his warmth before putting his arms over his shoulder, picking him up.

"What are you planning to do?" asked Miu, her gaze sharpening when she focused on Menazad.

Menazad paused for a second. While Kenichi was supposed to be his lord's test subject/disciple, he couldn't help but be awed by Kenichi's tenacity to not only resist Jenazad's control, but develop something new. After thinking about it for a second, he decided it would be best to follow and protect them. After all, Jenazad would want his precious test subjects if they survived.

"Follow me if you want to live," said Menazad as he signaled his daughter to open the gate. After pausing for a second, he scooped up Sho, feeling that it would be unwise to leave him unconscious in the middle of the arena alone. He was aware of Jenazad's other subjects who had rather sadistic tendencies like Jenazad. That, and he had no doubt Miu would demand that Sho be taken along with them.

While running, Menazad did find it suspicious that none of Jenazad's other servants had revealed themselves, but he chalked it up to luck. He had no idea that inside another part of the castle, Saiga was finishing up with a few more masters that were trying to intercept Jennifer's group after taking care of another group.

"Stop!" ordered Menazad, slamming the brakes as he felt a disturbance on the floor, his guts telling him to stop.

The others did so just in time to see Sakaki punching three men through the wall. He had lost patience and opted for a straighter path, even if it meant running into other opponents.

"Aha! There you all are! I told you this was a faster path!" laughed Sakaki as he punted another opponent into the ceiling.

"So violent," whispered Seto in slight fear before noticing the unconscious Sho, "Sho-sama!"

Without even asking, Seto took Sho off Menazad's hands, insisting that he care for Sho. Immediately, he took out a restoration booster from his pocket and injected it into Sho.

"You two alright?" asked Sakaki, worried about Kenichi from the looks of his body.

"We're fine. But we need to get out of here fast," suggested Miu, pulling Kenichi away from Menazad as he tried to help carry Kenichi. A glare from the girl made him understand he wasn't allowed to touch Kenichi as he was still Jenazad's spy.

"Alright, then I'm going all out then!" shouted Sakaki, his eyes glowing with Ki.

Mourasouken Zuki!

His opponents were met with a barrage of different punch techniques that ultimately sent them flying away unconscious. With a huff, Sakaki took Kenichi into his own arms, holding him tenderly, a sight that would make anyone pause.

"Now let's get going," announced Sakaki before passing his jacket to Miu, "And why are you in such clothes?"

Miu looked down before realizing she was wearing a white kimono that had been absolutely shredded, revealing her chest to the whole world like Kushinada. Shrieking in panic, Miu quickly donned Sakaki's jacket.

'Why didn't I realize I was half-naked?' thought Miu to herself, 'Usually I would notice it so much earlier! Was it because nobody else was really watching? Am I becoming a deviant?'

In reality, during her time with Kushinada, she had learned not to care about nudity in a fight. If her nudity could distract her opponent and force them to make a mistake, then all the better to take advantage of. It was especially effective as both of them were beautiful busty women that most men would lust for.

Ignorant of Miu's own little crisis, Sakaki kicked another wall down, choosing the fastest way while Seto contacted Hayami, telling him he had Sho. Hayami replied that they had recovered his belongings as well as Kenichi's gauntlet, and were currently on route back.

While Hayami's group returned without encountering any enemies much to their surprise, Saiga let out a sigh of relief when he heard Sakaki had reached Kenichi, Miu, and Sho and confirmed they were safe and alive. There had been a lot more Master Class fights than he thought, and he had been subtly dealing with them all to ensure that the group didn't encounter any dangerous situations.

When the two groups found each other, they were suddenly surrounded by more of Jenazad's grunts. Before anyone could attack though, Menazad intervened.

"Calm your fists, everyone! Jenazad-sama is fighting right now! It is our duty to watch the battle through up there!" shouted Menazad, pointing up to where Hongo and Jenazad were fighting. With that, everyone looked up, distracted and no longer wishing to fight.

They saw Hongo and Jenzad clash fists against each other before separating, where Jenazad sped up to the point he created afterimages of himself. Hongo remained calm and repelled the barrage of attacks before discovering the real Jenazad via shadow and countered with a thrust to the face. He grabbed Jenazad and smashed him into the ground that caused the tower to shudder and crash.

Hongo soon realized the real Jenazad had managed to escape his throw when his fist phased through an afterimage, only for Jenazad to suddenly appear behind him, grabbing him by the throat. With a laugh, Jenazad jumped up with Hongo in his grip before tossing him down into another tower, diving right after him while firing a barrage of attacks, destroying another tower. He soon realized that Hongo had already gotten out of the way when rocks flew right past his body, revealing it to be an afterimage. Hongo suddenly reappeared from behind to karate chop Jenazad on the neck, only for him to counter with a spinning kick, blocking the attack.

"Urggg, I feel like shit," coughed Sho as he looked up to the fight.

"Sho-sama! You're awake! You should rest!" suggested Hayami.

"Shove it, I need to watch this fight," coughed Sho, willing himself to keep awake, "This once-in-a-lifetime fight with Hongo-sensei is something I can't miss."

Miu shivered as she watched the fight. Kenichi had described the fight to her while she had been unconscious as a dark collision of two souls trying to extinguish each other. Now she knew exactly what Kenichi was talking about.

While Jenazad managed to stand horizontally on the tower wall with his toes gripping onto the cracks to support his body, Hongo shoved his foot into the wall to meet him head-on.

With a cackle of laughter, Jenazad leaped back before rushing forward, as if the ground he was on wasn't a vertical wall, attacking Hongo while easily scaling across the wall to attack from all directions.

"What mobility! How can he fight as if he was on the ground?" asked Spartacus.

"He'd be a nightmare to try to snipe," muttered Jennifer, her eyes desperately trying to keep up.

"The Silat style of fighting originated from fighting in the jungle, so many of its moves utilize the dense terrain," explained Menazad.

"Tch, good point. Most Karate moves were created with the idea that both people would be fighting on flat ground," admitted Sakaki.

"Does that mean that Karate is weaker against Silat's style in this situation?" asked Lohan with worry.

"Not that weak, I'd say it's just a tiny bit stronger," scoffed Sakaki defensively before raising his hand, showcasing a small amount of space between his forefinger and thumb, "Like this much only."

"Yea, yea!" shouted Sho, only to cough in pain after moving again.

"At this rate, though, he'll be overwhelmed. He can't use his legs to fight back or move!" said Spartacus.

Before Sho, Hayami, and Seto could argue back, Hongo revealed that he could indeed actually fight with his legs despite being parallel to the ground by using the basic front kick technique. Hongo then proceeded to front kick up the wall despite its simplicity.

Jenazad yawned at this attack before dodging the latest front kick, intending to end the fight. Suddenly, Hongo switched up his attack, launching a complicated and devious attack to catch Jenazad off guard. However, before Jenazad, it failed to deal any real damage besides a couple of hits that Jenazad shrugged off.

"Kakakaka… That's how it needs to be. You're fighting to the death with one of the Nine Fists," cackled Jenazad before his whole movements and aura changed, "You need to use tricks like that!"

Hongo quickly leaped back, feeling the sudden change, glaring at Jenazad with caution. Jenazad's fighting stance caused Spartacus and the others to look in confusion, but only Sho, Miu, and Sakaki realized how dangerous it was. Sakaki from his experience in fighting, and Sho and Miu from having learned a bit of Silat.

Jenazad rushed forward, and Hongo was seemingly slammed into the ground by some invisible force. None of the Disciple Class fighters seemed to understand what was happening until Sho was the first to notice that Hongo had been throwing himself into the ground to dodge all of Jenazad's death grapples.

Hongo grunted as he slammed himself into a wall before his eyes narrowed and charged forward, seeing a small opening to attack and thrust a knife hand. However, he soon found out the opening had been a trap laid by Jenazad to destroy his defense when Jenazad grabbed the offending arm.

Hantu Glundung Pringis

In an instant, Jenazad used one of Silat's secret techniques, striking at Hongo's vital areas while spinning him around, making it almost impossible for Hongo to escape out alive.

"Hongo-sensei!" shouted Seto, Hayami, and Sho in worry when they saw that move.

"Hongo, get out of there!" snapped Sakaki.

Suddenly, Hongo managed to escape Jenazad's attack by dislocating his right arm. Sadly, that barely bought him enough time as he quickly pushed it back into place as Jenazad used Hantu Glundung Pringis once more. This time, Hongo escaped by dislocating his left leg. Though he quickly pushed it back into place, his mobility had been severely hampered now.

Jenazad attacked once more with the same move, knowing that Hongo could no longer dislocate another joint to escape with his mobility limited.

"It's over!" laughed Jenazad, feeling confident and deciding whether to play with his prey a little longer.

Hongo's eyes opened as he took a step forward. Without hesitation, Hongo threw a Seiken Tsuki, allowing his muscles to suddenly constrict and harden. The attack neutralized Jenazad's attack, as he could no longer get a good grip on Hongo's limbs and blew him back a bit.

"Hoo, that boy used that move once," sneered Jenazad as he landed.

"Haha, that's awesome! He used a simple move to deal with a complicated one, just as he taught me before!" grinned Sho.

"Kakaka, to think my attack would be bounced away!" laughed Jenazad, "Good thing you made your disciple a Silat spy, eh? It's a shame that I didn't properly finish him off."

An audible snap could seemingly be heard from Hongo's head before he fired a barrage of furious attacks at Jenazad. Jenazad sighed, thinking he had screwed up. People whose anger limit was broken tend to become careless with their defense. They were the easiest to kill, in his opinion, as just one small opening was enough to finish any opponent. He had been excited fighting such an opponent, too.

'Well, there's that other Karate fighter too. Maybe he'll give a good fight too,' thought Jenazad to himself as he dodged a big swing from Hongo.

"You're finished," declared Jenazad as his hand rushed out to snap Hongo's neck.

Suddenly, Hongo blocked the attack with unerring accuracy, his fingers perfectly placed to counter Jenazad's grip that he couldn't grab onto anything.

"Die," said Hongo coldly as he spear handed Jenazad in the face.

Though Jenazad narrowly dodged it, the attack shattered his mask, revealing his true face to the audience.

"Hoo… not bad," complimented Jenazad with a confident grin despite having narrowly dodged such an attack.

The fact his face had not changed caused many of his followers to cry out in joy, knowing the man up there was indeed the savior of the Tidat Kingdom. Some had thought that the real one had died, and a fake one had taken up the mantle to continue the legacy. Seeing his true face revealed strengthened their faith in Jenazad once more, despite all the atrocities he had committed.

Hongo continued to attack, drawing closer and closer to Jenazad with each thrust of his arm until he almost pierced Jenazad's eye out. However, Jenazad easily caught the thrust, countering with his own thrusts that drew blood. Soon, it became obvious that Jenazad was toying with Hongo as he began to damage Hongo, his punches causing serious damages to Hongo's legs and right arm, even piercing through skin and muscle with his fingers.

Saruarsa Umeguraha

Jenazad's last attack slammed Hongo into the floor with injuries everywhere that made it seem impossible for Hongo to recover. Lohan covered her eyes in fear and turned to the nearest body for comfort, which happened to be Spartacus.

"Well then… I feel like eating another Karate master," smirked Jenazad as he turned his gaze at Sakaki, "The two strongest Karate masters in this world should die peacefully on Tidat soil, kakakaka!"

Sakaki glared at Jenazad for a second before smirking, "Na, I don't feel like fighting old man."

As Jenny, Hayami, and Seto began to turn to Sakaki, wondering what he meant by that, Sho grinned as he realized what was going to happen next.

Hongo suddenly 'revived', his eyes blazing with Ki as he rushed at the surprised Jenazad. Jenazad had no time to jump back when he saw Hongo's next attack pattern completely surround him with no chance of escape. Despite his grievous injuries, Hongo wasn't letting go of this surprise chance he had created for himself.

Jinetsuken Inyou Kyouha Nukite

Jenazad quickly realized that this move devoted one's body and soul to a single spear hand while the other spear head was a feint. In this move and situation, the opponent had a 50% chance of guessing which one was real and which one was fake. Jenazad's eyes quickly shifted while his mind raced, trying to decide which arm was the real attack. In order to survive, Jenazad had to grab the fake one while dodging the real one.

'The right one is the fake one!' thought Jenazad as he began to move to grab it. Almost instantaneously, Jenazad remembered what type of person Hongo was and switched targets, grabbing the left one instead.

Hongo's left nukite was halted while Jenazad barely dodged the real one, having chosen correctly. Jenazad couldn't help but grin and compliment Hongo for pulling such a dangerous feat, using his damaged right arm as the true nukite, before countering with a twin thrust that penetrated right through Hongo's sides.

"Sensei!" shouted Sho, Hayami, and Seto.

Sparatacus quickly covered Lohan's eyes to prevent her from seeing such a bloody scene while Jennifer did the same with Sham. Miu couldn't help but shiver at witnessing this fight firsthand.

Jenazad held his prey up in the air, as if holding a trophy while his men cheered at what seemed to be his victory.

Jenazad turned his gaze at the group, flaunting his killing intent at them, causing most of them to quiver in fear. Sho gritted his teeth, glaring at Jenazad in return, swearing to avenge his teacher before he noticed that Sakaki's Ki hadn't surged in response…almost as if he knew something.

"Remember what I told you before about your master, brat?" whispered Sakaki quietly to Sho's questioning gaze, "About his tenacity towards martial arts. It alone can make him jump over the abyss of death!"

Hongo's eyes suddenly snapped open, glowing with Ki as he raised his arms once more, shocking Jenazad.

"Impossible! I should've killed you already!" exclaimed Jenazad, "You really are stubborn aren't you!? Then I'll skewer you even more!"

Jenazad pushed his hand in further to not only damage Hongo, but also find a vital organ to crush with his hands. If he could crush the liver or stomach, then Jenazad was sure that Hongo wouldn't be able to even move. Despite Hongo coughing blood as Jenazad's hands went deeper, he couldn't help but grin. Jenazad's eyes widened when he couldn't find the said organs.

"He used Naizouage," smirked Sakaki, with the Karate disciples instantly catching on to his meaning.

Not only that, but Hongo had trapped Jenazad's arms inside by hardening his abs, the force squeezing down on Jenazad's arms.

As Hongo's hands came closer, Jenazad couldn't help but remember his dead master's words, that the only way he would face defeat would be if his opponent surpassed him in the tenacity in martial arts.

Jenazad quickly relaxed his whole body, allowing him to slip his arms out of Hongo's sides. Before he could move though, he found himself surrounded once more by Hongo's attack pattern, unable to escape. It was the same move, the Jinetsuken Inyou Kyouha Nukite. Once more, Jenazad had to gamble which nukite was the fake and which was the real. His mind began to race, trying to guess which arm was the fake. This whole battle had been Hongo's preparation for him to use this move on him once more.

Jenazad couldn't use his previous knowledge of Hongo as it wouldn't work, so he began to use logic. He instantly assumed the right arm was the fake one, based on all the damage Hongo had taken.

'It can't be, even for him! This isn't a matter of risk anymore, his right arm is too damaged, weakened, and debilitated! He can't use it nor muster enough power for it even if he wanted to. It's pure fact that the right arm cannot pierce through me, so it must be the fake one!' thought Jenazad as his hands seized the right arm.

He didn't expect Hongo to knee his right arm with his right knee, giving it the additional thrust for his attack. Jenazad's eyes opened as he knew he had chosen the wrong arm when he saw that, but it was too late.

Jinetsuken Kyakuha Nejirinukite

Hongo's right nukite pierced through Jenazad's stomach, destroying most of the vital organs as his hand exited out of Jenazad's back.

"Demon God Fist Silkwat Jenazad. I admit you are stronger than me, but victory is mine!" declared Hongo before jerking his arm back out.

Jenazad coughed up blood as he felt his life slowly ebbing away before laughing, "To think the day that I would be defeated would come! Excellent job, God Fist Akira Hongo! Could you come closer so that I may memorize the face of the man who defeated me?"

Hongo instantly took several steps back, knowing it was a trap. Jenazad couldn't help but chuckle, proud that the man who defeated him was still cautious enough to know that he had enough strength to take him down with him.

'Still, there's one last thing I must do,' though Jenazad. With the last of his strength, he threw himself off the tower, surprising them all.

His target? Kenichi's group.

Without even a warning, Jenazad blasted a massive killing intent at the group, but more specifically, at Miu.

Almost instantly, Kenichi, who had been unconscious the whole time, suddenly opened his eyes and sprung himself off Sakaki.

Since Miu had been the target, Kenichi's core thoughts sprung into action without even thinking, jumping towards whomever was trying to kill Miu.

'My last will… will to dye my last disciple in red!' cackled Jenazad as he saw Kenichi jumping towards him, the others around him too slow to react.

Jenazad had driven into Kenichi various killing techniques, and now it was time for the disciple to use it on him. He would use his own life to have Kenichi learn what it meant to take a person's life!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get to read my chapters earlier!