Chapter 474: Quack! It's the Lime Martial Saint!
If the opponent has an advantage in attack range, then he must be stronger than the opponent in this aspect—that was the true thought in Joe Higashi's heart.
So, after being pushed back a short distance, he decisively made a punching motion, swinging his fist upwards as if striking Ryuji Yamazaki's chin through the air.
As his arm swung, a small whirlwind directly condensed and shot towards Ryuji Yamazaki at a slow but resolute speed.
"It's the Hurricane Upper! One of Joe Higashi's signature moves! Although it sounds similar to Geese Howard's Reppuken, their natures are different!"
But what puzzled Joe Higashi was that facing the incoming small whirlwind, Ryuji Yamazaki neither dodged nor evaded, and even his left hand remained in his pocket.
This not only infuriated Joe Higashi—there's a limit to looking down on someone, right?
However, just as the whirlwind was about to touch Ryuji Yamazaki, the hand that had been in his pocket finally moved. Not only did it move, but it actively met Joe Higashi's Hurricane Upper.
The moment the two touched, the small whirlwind vanished into thin air... No, it didn't vanish; it was completely absorbed into Ryuji Yamazaki's arm and swiftly transformed into a special fluctuation that made some fighters' expressions change.
With a reverse swing and slam of Ryuji Yamazaki's arm, a crimson, blood-colored fluctuation was hurled back at the astonished Joe Higashi at an even faster speed!
"Double Return! Ryuji Yamazaki, who also has Orochi blood flowing within him, can instinctively endure flying fluctuations from others, corrupt them with his dark power, and reflect them back with higher velocity. It's a strategic ability against flying fluctuations that is more concealed and more powerful than mental reflection waves!"
Ryuji Yamazaki, who had been wearing a crazed smile, froze the moment he heard Cheng Tian unexpectedly reveal the Orochi blood within him without any warning.
Can this even be said directly in the arena!?
...No! How can you be so certain about something even I can't definitively confirm?!
"How exposed are those three from the New Faces Team? Did you really think you could remain unscathed? And getting distracted in the arena is a huge taboo, so focus on your match."
Noticing Ryuji Yamazaki's gaze, which was a mix of complex emotions, even containing murderous intent to silence him, Cheng Tian was completely unfazed.
On the contrary, if he could truly provoke Ryuji Yamazaki into attacking him, it would essentially mean another portion of Orochi blood was within his grasp.
Even if it was just to complete a side quest, Cheng Tian would inevitably seek trouble with Ryuji Yamazaki.
When Ryuji Yamazaki quickly turned his head, Joe Higashi had already executed a dashing slide, narrowly dodging the crimson Double Return fluctuation. His big foot was already sliding directly towards Ryuji Yamazaki's shinbone.
Due to intense training, Muay Thai practitioners almost invariably develop bone-related cancers in their later careers, but at this cost, every part of their body is incredibly tough, let alone a Muay Thai King of this caliber.
In a rush, Ryuji Yamazaki could only stomp his foot down and then meet Joe Higashi's slide with a front kick.
In terms of power, Ryuji Yamazaki, distracted and hastily meeting the attack, was clearly at a disadvantage. However, that seemingly habitual stomp just now had an unexpected effect.
Because the large clump of uneven sand and dirt formed by grinding the ground directly splattered all over Joe Higashi's face.
"Fighters with a gangster background are indeed incredibly dirty in their use of moves."
Cheng Tian chose to continue his commentary.
"Um, Host Cheng, it's best to avoid subjective bias in your commentary—"
The dedicated Sunglasses Man reminded Cheng Tian that hosts are generally quite wary of subjective commentary, as in a competition broadcast nationwide and even worldwide, a large number of viewers can easily be swayed by herd mentality and develop prejudices against the fighters.
At this moment, the big screen immediately cut to a slow-motion replay of the previous move.
The scene of Ryuji Yamazaki crushing the arena's stone slab and kicking a large amount of crushed rock and sand towards Joe Higashi was replayed in slow motion.
"Isn't this sand-kicking move, which is almost a variant of throwing lime, dirty?"
"But then again..."
Facing Cheng Tian's questioning while pointing at the big screen, the mustachioed man, capable of bending and stretching, decisively retracted his previous statement after watching the slow-motion replay.
Even if he were to go against his conscience, he couldn't say that this move was "not dirty."
Joe Higashi's entire body was trained to be incredibly tough, but eyeballs are something that truly cannot be trained. The moment the sand and dirt splattered his face, he almost instinctively closed his eyes, and the dry dirt mixing with the moist liquid inside his eyes immediately gummed them up.
Of course, Ryuji Yamazaki was not feeling well either. His physical strength was indeed inferior to that of the well-trained Joe Higashi. A pain akin to a bone fracture had already emanated from his big toe, which was where he had clashed with Joe Higashi.
But this pain instead intensified Ryuji Yamazaki's madness. His body was kicked off balance, causing him to lean forward and fall. However, Ryuji Yamazaki seized the crucial opportunity of Joe Higashi's restricted vision, a brilliant light suddenly flashed around his body, and then one hand directly clamped onto Joe Higashi's throat, pressing down forcefully!
Without giving the opponent any more time to react, Ryuji Yamazaki advanced instead of retreating, maintaining the posture of pressing Joe Higashi to the ground as he began to charge forward madly, allowing Joe Higashi's exposed back to make intimate contact with the ground, leaving a long, highly visible trail like plowing the earth!
"Here it comes, here it comes! It's Ryuji Yamazaki's finishing move! Guillotine Drop! True to its name, anyone with slightly inadequate physical strength would have their neck and body separated prematurely after this combo!"
The moment Cheng Tian finished his explanation, Ryuji Yamazaki's Guillotine Drop finishing move concluded with an ultra-powerful soccer kick.
Ryuji Yamazaki even deliberately kicked with the foot that had the fractured big toe. This action, which would exacerbate the injury and the pain transmitted back, further stimulated his frenzy.
The Orochi blood within him was already showing more obvious churning and surging.
In contrast, Joe Higashi, who was already spinning 360 degrees in the air, fell onto the ring in a nearly disheveled manner. For an ordinary person, this single impact would almost certainly lead to full-body paralysis, if not death. Yet, the moment Joe Higashi touched the ground, a light flashed around him, and he smoothly executed a breakfall roll.
Still temporarily blinded, he almost without hesitation, as he got up, swung his fist with all his might towards the direction of the evil aura.
A whirlwind, which at first glance seemed no different from a Hurricane Upper but was entirely blue, shot towards Ryuji Yamazaki at a slightly faster speed.
"Nonsense!"
Ryuji Yamazaki's expression grew even more disdainful, and he had already prepared to use Double Return again.
However, the moment the arm, imbued with the power of Dark Orochi and capable of devouring and returning flying fluctuations, touched the blue whirlwind, an astonishing force made Ryuji Yamazaki's expression change drastically.
The small whirlwind, originally only one person tall, suddenly expanded into a large whirlwind seven or eight stories high, unceremoniously blowing him directly into the air. At the same time, the whirlwind, like knives, furiously sliced at Ryuji Yamazaki's entire body.
"It's the Super Special Move, Death Hurricane, disguised as a normal Hurricane Upper! Ryuji Yamazaki's Double Return absorption power has a limit! Carelessness leads to defeat!!!"
Blown by the Death Hurricane, Ryuji Yamazaki flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and then... was directly blown out of the main arena.
The King of Fighters tournament didn't have an out-of-bounds countdown, and even aerial combat was fine, but being directly blown out of the arena and landing outside certainly required an additional ruling.
As the camera captured Ryuji Yamazaki's disheveled fall, the organizers immediately issued an additional rule.
"Ryuji Yamazaki now has 10 seconds to return. The countdown begins now!"
"Ten, nine..."
"Two! One!"
"Winner! Joe Higashi!!!!!"