Chapter 76: The Flawless Stance
Lower deck, inside the hall.
Besides the standoff between the men in black and the mercenaries, there were dozens of "debtors" who hadn't managed to escape yet. Only a few had fled during the chaos.
These debtors weren't the brightest, and they couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing situation. The scene before them was inconceivable.
"Hey, what the hell? Why are there real guns..."
"Are those two fighting already?"
"That was a sneak attack just now? How despicable!"
"That briefcase he threw... is there really a hundred million yen inside?!"
"..."
The debtors whispered among themselves, but cowed by the guns on both sides, no one dared to speak up. They all looked like frightened animals.
In stark contrast were the people in the upper deck monitoring room.
Hyodo Kazutaka, Suedo Atsushi, Akimiya Kaede, and the Kengan referee all had keen eyes and had already thought deeper.
"Too reckless!"
Akimiya stared at the monitor, locking onto Kei and Mekama.
"In surface world fighting events, like the UFC, fighters average about 1.6 matches a year."
"Even in the Kengan Association, which has many events, fighters only average 8.5 matches a year!"
Akimiya frowned deeply. "Shiraki-san is already injured, yet he's fighting two Kengan Challenge Matches in one day—this intensity is too high!"
"..."
Hearing Akimiya's words, Suedo suddenly perked up.
He rubbed his chin, smiling. "High intensity? I was knocked out in one hit! Against a 'rookie' like me, that guy Kei didn't use much strength, did he?"
"Suedo-san, please don't treat me like a complete amateur."
Akimiya looked back at Suedo, her gaze sharp and cold. "I can tell you are no second-rate fighter. You are fully capable of being an active Kengan Fighter."
"To achieve a one-hit KO against you would require immense mental effort to find the perfect opening."
"Your fight with Shiraki-san was an undisputed Kengan match!"
Akimiya looked back at the screen.
"Therefore, facing a second challenge, Shiraki-san has no need to accept—at least not for now. He could listen to Mekama's threats; there might be another way out."
...
Listening to Akimiya, Suedo smirked and dug his ear. "Ah, right. You have that... what's it called? Business mindset? You certainly dress like you work for a big corporation."
"I don't know how to refute you properly, but the founder of our Shinshinkai, Orochi Doppo, once told us dojo brats something—"
Suedo recalled:
"He said, in 'our world,' the rule is: if an opponent stands in front of you, you knock him down."
"Even if you're not in top condition, you can't call the opponent despicable."
"Living in this world, you have to eat, you have to drink, and of course, you get injured and sick."
"You shouldn't expect to be in perfect condition when you fight—that is common sense in 'our world'."
Hearing this, Akimiya silently marveled. As expected of the famous "Orochi Doppo," a grandmaster who founded his own school; his insights were indeed extraordinary.
But even if the principle was sound, the reality remained unchanged.
"Mekama is attacking!"
Lower deck hall.
The crowd unconsciously cleared a large space for the two men to use as a ring.
Mekama bounced on the balls of his feet, his steps light, his sinister eyes gleaming with malice.
"You say... you can block me? It seems your first victory made you misjudge your opponent's strength..."
"To be precise, you misjudged the 'exquisiteness' of my fists."
Mekama clenched his fists, butterfly-stepping closer bit by bit.
The instant Kei entered his reach, Mekama swung, striking Kei's raised forearms.
BANG! BANG!
Two rapid straight punches made a dull, heavy sound.
But Kei kept his guard up, using his upper arms to protect his sides and his forearms and fists to shield his face, blocking both heavy blows.
"Hoo—"
Mekama took a quick breath, followed by a flurry of straights and hooks, speeding up, each punch heavier than the last.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
But no matter how Mekama attacked, Kei only defended.
It wasn't just "enduring," nor was it Hanayama's style of "standing tall." Kei adjusted his movements constantly based on Mekama's attacks.
Sometimes pushing into the blow, sometimes retreating to disperse the force, he took every punch.
"..."
Watching this, the debtors started to whisper.
"Attack and defense?"
"It looks fierce, but it doesn't seem effective!"
"Is he putting on a boxing exhibition?"
The debtors were amateurs; they couldn't see the depth of it and even started getting bored. But the next second—
SWISH!
Mekama threw a hook that grazed Kei's forearm and smashed into a nearby gambling table.
CRASH!
The solid wood table was punched clean through!
Looking at Kei again, there was a straight scrape on his defending forearm. A large patch of skin was gone, beads of blood seeping out.
The debtors were shocked. "What happened?!"
"...It's his grip."
Answering them was a gun-wielding man in black, a mercenary who knew a bit about fighting.
He explained, "Mekama's fist grip is special. Based on a normal fist, the thumb rests on the outside, and the index finger knuckle protrudes slightly."
The man mimicked it. "This is a common combat technique, using the 'knuckle' to increase the sharpness of the punch."
"Combined with Mekama's Fa Jin and boxing 'speed,' if the angle is right, his strikes can even 'scrape off' the opponent's skin!"
"..."
Hearing this, the debtors gasped in amazement.
But no one noticed that after landing the hit, Mekama looked confused, a question rising in his heart—Why?
Before Mekama could figure it out, Kei reset his defensive stance.
Extreme confusion and unease welled up, forcing Mekama to continue his onslaught, throwing heavy, rapid punches.
He's just a punching bag who only knows how to defend! Why?!
As time passed, Kei gradually adapted to Mekama's rhythm. His defending arms moved appropriately, following Mekama's force, preventing the knuckles from scraping his skin again.
Mekama's eyes widened.
Why?!
Swish!
In his haste, Mekama unleashed a kick, a high roundhouse so fast it tore the air, but it was blocked by Kei's upper arm.
"HAAAH!"
Mekama gritted his teeth, channeling his whole body's power into a mid-level straight punch. With a dull THUD, he finally forced Kei back a few steps.
"..."
"Hoo..."
Kei exhaled a hot breath, slightly moving his red and swollen arms, letting the blood drip. Then he raised his guard again, lowering his body even further, almost into a crouch.
At the same time, Mekama hopped back, his sinister gaze trembling uncontrollably.
He looked at Kei and finally understood the source of his confusion—
Why is it that he's just crouching there, yet the pressure is overwhelming?
His stance... has no flaws!