Chapter 32: The Hard-Working Loser
Once Beni Niro and Tarma stood facing each other, they removed their guns before Imprevisto told them to. While doing this, they kept staring at each other, which awed some and made others feel uncomfortable. Gelato was pumped, eager to see Beni Niro in action after he nearly beat Tony to a pulp during their first encounter, and Scar Face only smiled. Tarma's siblings were equally interested, as they were confident in their little brother's victory.
"Well, seeing that you two are anxious to start, I won't delay the fight any longer," Imprevisto sighed. "Begin!"
As Imprevisto raised his hand, Tarma swung his left hand in front of him, which caused the tie around the sack he carried to come loose and a wave of sand slithered out, heading towards Beni Niro. Everybody was surprised, but Beni Niro managed to dodge the sand as it continually tried to grab him. Then he charged toward Tarma, saying, "Adrenaline Sprint!"
He rushed at Tarma with tremendous speed, going for an uppercut punch, but found a wall of sand blocking him. Then he tried several more attempts from different sides, but every time the sand came to Tarma's defense and blocked every single one of Beni Niro's punches and kicks. Gelato gritted his teeth in frustration, while Oscuro grinned.
"This guy is unbelievable! How is he able to move the sand so fast that it blocks Beni from every side?" Gelato shouted.
"It's not Tarma," Oscuro answered. When Gelato gave him a confused look, Oscuro explained. "The sand's kind of alive, you see, so it protects Tarma on instinct, and so far, no gangster has ever penetrated through that Wall of Sand (Shield of Sand)."
"Poor Beni," Rosa said, watching.
After awhile, Beni Niro jumped some distance away to catch his breath. But Tarma, though his expression was blank, waved his hand as the sand went towards Beni Niro once more. He dodged like before, and even jumped onto the steel girders above, hanging on as the sand tried to reach him. Scar Face sighed, and leaned on the railing.
He gave Beni Niro a thumbs-up, and Beni Niro responded by nodding. He used his free hand to suddenly roll one of his pant-legs up. Underneath was a cinderblock ankle weight bound by a silver lock. Quickly, he took a key out of his pocket and undid the lock, causing the weight to fall from his ankle. It missed Tarma and hit the ground with a thunderous thud, making Spauracchio roll his eyes. Then Beni Niro did the same thing to his other leg, and after the second one fell to the floor, he let out a sigh of relief.
"I feel much better after taking off those weights," Beni Niro said, positioning into a crouched position on the girder. "All right, Tarma, I'm tired of playing games! This time I'm going to get serious!"
Tarma made no reply, and gestured his hand upward. The sand climbed, but when Beni Niro threw three knives at it, it immediately turned into a wall and blocked them. As it disintegrated, Tarma's eyes widened when he realized that Beni Niro was no longer there. Then something flashed out of the corner of his eye, followed by Beni Niro standing right in front of him making an upper kick with the sand blocking him, but he quickly vanished and popped up again, this time behind Tarma, making him turn every which way frantically as the sand tried to keep up with Beni Niro, who was nothing but a blur in the audience's eyes.
"And I thought he was pretty fast when I first met him," Gelato muttered.
It also happened that the more times Beni Niro attacked, the sand that protected Tarma was getting slower, which made him uneasy. Then finally, Beni Niro found an opening and punched Tarma in the face. Everyone was shocked, including his siblings. Tarma staggered back. Beni Niro quickly got into a fighting stance, but was slightly shaken when he heard Tarma suddenly break out into grumbling chuckles. When he removed the hand from his face, Beni Niro was surprised to see parts of Tarma's face literally fall off, revealing an undamaged face underneath. But as the pieces hit the floor, they turned into sand.
"The Coat of Sand (Armor of Sand)…" Oscuro said to himself out loud.
"The Coat of what?" Gelato heard him.
"When the Wall of Sand fails, Tarma creates a layer of sand over his body, which acts as a protective skin of sorts," Oscuro said, but jumped when his sister punched him on the shoulder.
"Why are telling the yellow-haired brat all about Tarma's powers?" she asked irritably. "What if he ends up fighting Tarma in the Finals? Then he'll know how to beat him!"
"But sis, I'm not giving away everything, I'm just telling the kid the basics!" Oscuro responded, then he said in a low voice, "For instance, I haven't told him that the Coat of Sand is weaker than the Wall of Sand, and it takes a lot of nature energy to maintain it."
"Geez, does this guy have any weaknesses?" Rosa moaned. "If the Chemistry system (fighting style) isn't going to work, why doesn't Beni Niro try to use something else, like Alchemy or Illusion?"
"He can't." Scar Face said firmly.
Gelato and Rosa looked up at him in surprise, but he merely folded his arms.
"Chemistry is the only thing he knows and excels at. When he was assigned to my Squad a year ago, he had no talent for Alchemy or Illusion whatsoever, but he always practiced Chemistry, even if he wasn't very good at it back then. He told me and the others that he wanted to become a noble gangster even with his setbacks, and that inspired me to teach him further."
"Like the Blood Pressure Drop, which is considered to be a forbidden attack (technique) by our standards," Spauracchio said, making Scar Face look at him oddly. "I heard about it from them when they got here. What do you gain by being his personal instructor in one particular kind of system?"
"If I help him be the best Chemistry expert, he might be able to achieve his goal, even with the disadvantage he has, which can be turned into a major advantage if he plays his cards right." Then Scar Face shouted to Beni Niro, "Beni Niro, you know what has to be done!"
"Thanks, Scar Face, honorable gangster of gangsters!" Beni Niro said, saluting at Scar Face.
He sprinted at Tarma once more, going for a lower kick, which threw Tarma off balance. Before he could recover, Beni Niro kicked him into the air, and performed the same Adrenaline Rush that he did on Tony a few days before. Only this time, he permanently bound Tarma up in the bandages and threw them together into a winding tailspin downwards. Tarma's eyes widened as the floor came at them fast, but Beni Niro grinned, shouting, "Blood Pressure Drop!"
A huge explosion followed, complete with dust and a cracked cement floor. At the center, Tarma was lying flat on his back, as if in deep shock and pain. Meanwhile, Beni Niro was standing nearby, panting heavily. When Tarma didn't appear to move, Beni Niro whooped in victory just as Imprevisto came to check on Tarma. But to his surprise, Tarma's entire body fell apart, revealing it to be merely an empty shell of sand. Everyone was shocked, especially Beni Niro, who looked around frantically for Tarma, but failed to dodge when a wave of sand punched him from behind. He landed on his feet and saw Tarma staring back at him with the look of an insane person. His siblings shuttered in fear.
"He must've created a Sand Double (Sand Clone) while the dark-haired boy was punching him into the air," Oscuro said. "Now he's getting interested in the battle…"
"This is bad…" Pallamano muttered. "If this keeps up, he'll…"
"He'll what?" Gelato said, anxiously asking Oscuro.
But before Oscuro answered, Tarma chuckled again, only it was much louder, and everyone could hear it.
"Is that all you've got?" Tarma asked, positioning his hands into a Lion sign. "This battle is more boring than I thought it would be. There just isn't enough blood!"
Suddenly, the sand from the Double grew into a gigantic tornado, spinning towards Beni Niro and picking up scattered grains, getting taller and taller. It was clear that Beni Niro was exhausted, but he somehow managed to avoid the tornado's path, even when it spat great chunks of sand at him. But when the tornado dissolved and became a great wave, Beni Niro got swept up into it, and was tossed around like a ragged doll.
"What's wrong with him? First he's super fast, now he's barely moving!"
"That's the problem with the Chemistry system," Spauracchio said, "It increases a person's natural physical strength, speed, and endurance, but at the cost of becoming extremely worn out after using one or two attacks, like the Blood Pressure Drop."
"This is awful!" Rosa cried, looking at Beni Niro with pity. "Scar Face, why didn't you teach him the other systems? Why Chemistry?"
Scar Face's determined expression didn't change.
"I myself don't know the other systems. In fact, I was much like him when I was his age, right up to the eyebrows. But through hard work and never giving up, I became a formidable gangster, even rivaling someone as talented as Spauracchio. So I hoped he could do the same if I taught him Chemistry, maybe even surpass me. But I wouldn't pity Beni Niro just yet. He still has one trick up his sleeve that will guarantee his victory in this match."
"You don't mean…" Spauracchio looked at Scar Face, then at Beni Niro, who now had renowned strength and was dodging Tarma's relentless sand attacks just as quickly as before.
"Yes, Spauracchio, I'm not afraid to admit it. I did indeed teach him how to activate the Eight Centers (Eight Gates)."
"The Eight Centers? What're those?" Rosa asked, while Gelato leaned close to listen.
Spauracchio sighed. "They're special areas in the human body with high densities of nature energy that can be activated through special training in order to reach peak physical condition, with enough power to even surpass the Godfather himself."
"It also allows Beni Niro to perform the Testosterone Bomb (Reverse Lotus), an attack that is even more powerful than the Blood Pressure Drop," Scar Face said with confidence.
"How can you be so proud that you taught him such a dangerous power? You…ignorant moron!" Spauracchio said, glaring at Scar Face with one eye.
"Someone as naturally talented as you wouldn't understand what us hard-working losers have to put up with!" Scar Face shouted back. "Being all alone, kicked around, and made fun of by people who're better than us! But I say that every kid should have a chance, no matter how talentless they may be, and by teaching him how to unlock the Eight Centers, he now has a trump card that can't be surpassed by anyone!"
"Well it'll be your loss if he gets himself killed!" Spauracchio sighed heavily, and lit a cigarette. "How many Centers has he activated?"
"Five total."
"So what exactly do these Centers do?" Gelato asked.
"Allow me to explain," Scar Face said, nodding at Beni Niro. "During this match, he was able to perform the Blood Pressure Drop by activating the Center of Awareness (Gate of Opening), which increases the use of the person's muscles, and just now, he's activated the Center of Restoration (Gate of Healing), which made him recover faster from his previous injuries."
Then just as he spoke, Beni Niro landed on his feet, and closed his eyes. This surprised Tarma, but he didn't attack as Beni Niro concentrated really hard. Suddenly, a green aura surrounded Beni Niro as his skin turned bright red and when he opened his eyes, they were completely blank. Everyone who saw this was intrigued, but Tarma's face didn't change.
"Well this is new," he said, and grinned maniacally.
"This is the end, Tarma! Your demise was sealed the moment you crossed paths with me!" Beni Niro shouted with a raging voice like that of a wild man. "After activating the Center of Power (Gate of Life), I now activate the Center of Strength (Gate of Pain), and it's all over for you!"
The green aura grew stronger as Beni Niro's veins suddenly popped on the surface of his skin, and then in an instant, he was gone. He immediately attacked Tarma, but to everyone's surprise, the sand protected Tarma too late. As the Coat of Sand fractured further with every blow Beni Niro dealt, Tarma found it harder to hold his ground. Then he was kicked high up into the air as Beni Niro leaped onto the steel girder, letting the bandages from his right hand fall and catch Tarma. His siblings looked at him hanging by the white bandage as Beni Niro held the other end, panting heavily and unevenly.
"Now it's time to finish this! I activate the Center of Endurance (Gate of Limit), and with that…" he lunged down towards Tarma and punched him with both fists to the chest, saying, "Testosterone Bomb!"
Both fell to the floor, and the impact was much greater than the first one, causing the tin roof to shake and the railings vibrated from the enormous power that was just unleashed. Everyone backed away as the dust swirled everywhere, as well as debris from the cracked floor. An even bigger hole was left where Tarma fell, who was really stunned this time, and breathing with uneven gasps. However, the sack he wore was completely open, revealing a bed of sand underneath him. Meanwhile, Beni Niro had fallen off to the side of the hole, and was shaking all over, moaning in deep pain. But before Imprevisto could come out to inspect them, Tarma weakly raised his hand, and the sand slowly moved towards Beni Niro.
"He…used his sack as a shield to absorb the impact of the Testosterone Bomb," Scar Face said with his jaw gaping. "What a kid!"
"Come on, Beni!" Gelato shouted as Beni Niro crawled away from the incoming sand. "Move, dammit!"
Despite Gelato's cheers, Beni Niro could barely move. He tried to get up, but was pulled back as the sand caught up to him and wrapped around his left leg. In fear, he tried to punch the sand, but wound up having his left arm sucked into it as well. Weakly, he tried to free himself, but Tarma's expression was determined. He spread his palms wide, and then he made a gripping motion with them. An agonizing scream left Beni Niro's mouth as the sand crushed his arm and leg.
Scar Face's eyes widened. Then as Tarma got up and made the sand creep forward, Morte looked away when he recalled his team's earlier encounter with Tarma in the Dead Man's Sewers as they watched him annihilate a whole team of Pioggia (Rain Village) Soldiers by crushing them to death with the sand. Gelato and Rosa watched as Scar Face suddenly vanished, and then reappear in the arena, standing between the oncoming sand and Beni Niro. Tarma was surprised, and then he held the sides of his head as if in mental pain. The sand resided, and Imprevisto stepped forward.
"You do realize that the match is automatically forfeited when someone else interferes in a match," Imprevisto said, and walked over to Tarma. "Therefore, the winner is…"
A sudden movement behind Scar Face made him turn. His jaw dropped when he saw Beni Niro standing up, though his left arm and leg were bleeding. However, when Scar Face looked at his eyes, they were back to normal, but unfocused. He then realized what was happening, and felt tears fall down his face.
"Beni Niro…even though you're unconscious…you still want to prove yourself," Scar Face said as he hugged Beni Niro. "But you've done enough already…today, you've become…a noble gangster."
With that, the unconscious Beni Niro was taken away by the medics. As for Tarma, he wouldn't let anyone come near him, not even Imprevisto, who tried to raise his hand to declare him the winner. But Tarma refused, and so Imprevisto was forced to simply announce it. The bodyguards were about to head down to clean the arena, but the Godfather told them not to.
"The damage this match has caused is too much to clean up," he said, and pulled the lever for the last time.
End of Chapter 32