Chapter 4: Fist of the Demon Vs Fist of the God of Death

It was a sad day for the Yellow Village. A day ago, they were attacked by a mysterious red haired man wearing prayer beads around his neck. No one knew his motive for the unprecedented attack on their village. However, more important things had to be done and the thought of the red haired man's motive was put aside for that day. For today was the day the villagers of Yellow Village would bury their deceased elder, Ougi. A grave had been dug and the villagers were crowded around, their eyes filled with tears. Ryu kneeled before the grave, his head hung low in respect. Kenshiro stood above him, and though he appeared stoic as ever, his eyes gave away his sadness. Suddenly, a funeral horn was sounded. All the villagers, including Ryu, turned to the source of the sound. Slowly, four men appeared, carrying the lifeless body of Ougi to his grave. The villagers let them pass, their heads hung low in both sadness and respect, as the four men placed Ougi into his grave. Ryu stood up and grabbed the shovel that was near him. As he approached the grave, he looked at Ougi for the last time. Tears rolled from his eyes and landed on Ougi's body. Wiping his tears away, Ryu then began the ritual of burying Ougi. Soon, some of the villagers joined in. Slowly by slowly, Ougi's body was covered with the dirt until he disappeared from the eyes of Ryu and the villagers. With the grave closed, the villagers said their last respects and left to rebuild the village. Ryu remained standing there. Now his eyes shifted from sadness to rage.

" He's still alive!" Ryu exclaimed, " All this time I presumed he would have died. But now he's back and has taken another innocent life!"

Ryu's fist shook with anger.

" I will personally take care of Gouki myself!" exclaimed Ryu, " This is something I have to do."

Ryu turned around, expecting to face Kenshiro. To his utter surprise, Kenshiro had disappeared.

" Kenshiro?" asked a confused Ryu.

Meanwhile, a great distance away from the Yellow Village stood Gouki, his back facing the village as he awaited his opponent. Hearing footsteps, he turned around to meet Kenshiro face to face.

" You are Gouki?" asked Kenshiro sternly.

" That would be me." replied Gouki, a small smile on his face.

" Why?" Kenshiro asked, " Why desecrate the entire village? What did you want?"

" Nothing." replied Gouki, " It was only a ruse to get you to meet me."

" What did you want to meet me for?" Kenshiro asked.

Gouki let out a small laugh before looking to the skies.

" For years I have been searching for the perfect opponent to test my skills." Gouki explained, " However, each fighter I faced was not worthy of my skill!"

" That was when I saw your little demonstration, man of Hokuto." Gouki said, his finger pointing towards Kenshiro, " I knew I had found the perfect opponent. However, I needed a way to get you out. I knew you wouldn't fight unless I did something to upset you."

" So in order to see me, you..." Kenshiro said, shocked.

" Yes." replied Gouki with an air of pride, " I destroyed the village!"

Kenshiro eyes filled with rage. The rage amplified his battle ki to the point it ripped his jacket off.

" You bastard!" Kenshiro yelled, " For your actions, you will die here!"

Gouki appeared pleased at the way Kenshiro reacted. As he took his stance, a smile broke on his face.

" Come then!" challenged Gouki, " Show me the true power of your fist!"

Both fighters were in their stance. Their ki flowed against each other, causing the air around them to become distorted. Suddenly, both fighters eyes flashed as they rushed towards one another. Gouki attacked first by unleashing a few powerful punches towards Kenshiro. Kenshiro parried and counter attacked with every attack he was given with another punch. Both fighters blocked and counter attacked their opponent's attack for a few seconds before Gouki was able to grab Kenshiro's arm and threw Kenshiro to the ground. Kenshiro, unhurt by the toss, lifted his right leg up, hitting Gouki in the head. Gouki stumbled back, giving Kenshiro enough time to get up and respond with a back roundhouse kick to Gouki's face, sending him to the ground. Gouki quickly got up and unleashed a combo of kicks and punches. Kenshiro dodged through each attack with ease before seeing an opening in Gouki's defense. As he was about to strike the opening, Kenshiro was caught off guard by a powerful uppercut from Gouki, sending him flying into air and landing a few feet from Gouki.

" You thought you had me." gloated Gouki, " I intentionally opened my defense so that you would drop yours and receive my Gou Shoryuken!"

Kenshiro got up. A mark from from Gouki's attack was seen clearly on Kenshiro's chest.

" His uppercut was stronger than Ryu's." wondered Kenshiro, " Is it because of his dark ki?"

Gouki seeing an opportunity, jumped into the air and started shooting purple fireballs towards Kenshiro.

" GOU HADOKEN!" yelled Gouki.

Kenshiro moved to dodge each fireball, as he tried to get closer to Gouki. As soon as he was near enough, Kenshiro leaped into the air and attacked Gouki with a chop. Gouki used his arms to block the attack, but the force of the chop was enough to send him back to the ground. As he landed, he felt a large pressure on his shoulder which ripped his gi. Stumbling back in pain, Gouki was surprised to see a bruise on his shoulder.

" Hokuto Shichishi Kiheizan." exclaimed Kenshiro, " You were lucky your dark ki was able to protect your body. If not, your arm would have been ripped off."

Gouki growled in anger and launched a series of kicks towards Kenshiro before unleashing a hurricane kick.

" TATSUMAKI ZANKUKYAKU!" yelled Gouki.

Kenshiro was having a hard time dodging Gouki's hurricane kick.

" His hurricane kick is even faster than Ryu's." Kenshiro thought, " I can barely see them!"

As Gouki's hurricane kick came to a stop, he began charging another fireball and instantly launched it at an open Kenshiro.

" SHAKUNETSU HADOUKEN!" yelled Gouki.

Kenshiro grunted in pain as he was hit by the swirling fireball which knocked him a few feet away. As he landed, blood gushed out from his mouth.

" What's the matter, Hokuto man?!" Gouki taunted, " If you can't defeat me, Hokuto Shinken must be really useless."

This made Kenshiro even more angrier.

" Hokuto Shinken is invincible!" Kenshiro exclaimed as he stood up.

" We shall see!" retorted Gouki as he launched a flying kick towards Kenshiro.

Kenshiro place his hands together, his fingers pointing towards the incoming Gouki.

" HOKUTO GOSHO HA!" yelled Kenshiro as a large beam of energy surged from his hands towards Gouki.

Gouki was caught off guard and absorbed the full brunt of Kenshiro's attack. As the beam subsided, Kenshiro prepared for his next attack.

" HOKUTO HIEI KEN!" Kenshiro yelled and launched into a flying kick.

Gouki was too weak to dodge and block the attack as he received Kenshiro's flying kick right in the chest, causing blood to gush out. Gouki crashed to the ground while Kenshiro landed a few feet from Gouki's crash site. Kenshiro approached the crash site as Gouki struggled to stand up.

" Your time on this earth has run out." exclaimed Kenshiro, " It's time to go to Hell!"

Gouki stood there, blood on every part of his body, and smiled.

Kenshiro prepared the final blow. As he was about to hit Gouki, Gouki's eyes flashed. Suddenly, Gouki went through Kenshiro's body, leaving after images behind him. Surprised, Kenshiro tried hitting Gouki but missed. Gouki stopped just behind Kenshiro and smiled. Kenshiro, surprised, turned to face Gouki. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain throughout his body and blood gushed out. Kenshiro dropped to his knees, surprised and hurt by the attack.

" Shun Goku Satsu, also known as the Raging Demon." exclaimed Gouki, " Allows me to attack my opponents without them so much as touching me."

Gouki turned towards Kenshiro, who was trying his hardest to stand up. As Kenshiro stood up, Gouki once again used Shun Goku Satsu on Kenshiro, causing more blood to gush out from Kenshiro's body. He continued using this technique until Kenshiro fell to the ground, body bleeding all over. Kenshiro struggled to stand up as Gouki watched.

" Your Shun Goku Satsu will not defeat me!" exclaimed Kenshiro, as he stood up, " Hokuto Shinken is invincible!"

" Hmmm!" scoffed Gouki, " I admire your confidence. Too bad it is misplaced."

Once again, Gouki used the Shun Goku Satsu. However, this time Kenshiro was prepared.

" If this worked on Souther, it should work on him!" thought Kenshiro.

As Gouki grew close, Kenshiro pushed his hands towards Gouki.

" TENSHO HONRETSU!" yelled Kenshiro, as an energy blast launched from his fingers.

However, the energy blast when through Gouki, surprising Kenshiro. As Gouki appeared behind him, Kenshiro felt the same painful experience and even more blood gushed out from his body. Kenshiro struggled to remain standing.

" Kenshiro!" Gouki gloated, " It is pointless! Only two men can defeat my Shun Goku Satsu but they are already dead!"

Kenshiro remained motionless

" PREPARE TO DIE!" yelled Gouki and launched into another Shun Goku Satsu.

As Gouki approached Kenshiro, Kenshiro's eyes flashed and suddenly Kenshiro's body was split into several images. This greatly surprised and confused Gouki, that he stopped. As he stood there, the images of Kenshiro circled around him. Finally, the images reformed back into Kenshiro. As Gouki stood there, still confused, he felt a sharp pain all over his body, causing blood to gush out. This caused Gouki to fall to the ground.

" What?" stammered a confused Gouki, " How were you able to use Shun Goku Satsu as well?"

" No." replied Kenshiro, " This is not Shun Goku Satsu."

" Then , what is it?!" Gouki demanded.

" Hokuto Shinken's Secret Ultimate Technique!" explained Kenshiro, " MUSOU TENSEI!"