Chapter 178: A Bunch of Fools
Time flew by, and four or five days had passed in the blink of an eye.
It was the start of a brand-new day.
Ren Shiroki finished his morning long-distance run, headed home for a quick
shower, and opened the courtyard gates. He hauled the standing sign out front,
officially signaling that the Soul Combat Hub (SC Center) was open for business.
Because the dojo catered to a niche demographic, the atmosphere remained
somewhat quiet. However, it had already begun carving out a reputation in the
underground martial arts world. Its membership list was growing steadily, one
legend at a time.
Marco, Yuzuha Li, Hina Hongo, Fusui Kure, Cosmo Imai, several fighters from
Valkyrie, and even a few stray members from the Shinshinkai and Rokushin
Kaikan... Building a business like this was just like training your body; you
couldn't achieve perfection overnight.
Fortunately, Ren's capital was thick, and his pool of potential clients was even
thicker. He wasn't in any rush.
Today was a day off, so school was out. Arisa had taken it upon herself to
handle breakfast, eager to cook some of her favorite dishes. Ren was more than
happy to let his little sister take the reins while he enjoyed a rare moment of
peace.
After breakfast—and before diving into his actual workout—Ren stepped into the
SC Center's training hall and stood before the full-length mirror.
He stripped off his shirt, sporting only gym shorts and a pair of trainers. He
bounced on the balls of his feet, feeling the lightness in his step.
"Aaa—"
Ren bared his teeth at the mirror, checking for any lingering issues. He clamped
his jaw shut hard. Nothing. No discomfort, no misalignment.
Compared to his perfectly set teeth, the scars decorating his body were far more
prominent. Across his fluid, dense musculature, scars of all sizes were
etched—some fresh, some faded—marking him with a history that would make any
bystander gasp in awe.
"Nice. Looking sharp!"
His footwork grew more rhythmic and agile. Suddenly, he snapped a side kick,
using the momentum to slide across the floor.
Whoosh!
Ren planted his left foot, spun 360 degrees, and twisted his body mid-air,
transitioning into a high-speed parkour run along the corridor.
[Haha! Beautiful!]
Rashid was right there beside him, cheering him on. The "Desert Eagle" mirrored
Ren's movements, the two of them performing a synchronized display of indoor
parkour.
Vroom!
Ren vaulted over a dumbbell rack, slammed his palms onto a bench to pivot his
weight, and leaped onto the top of a squat rack. He finished the sequence with a
flying kick.
"Ha!"
Ren flipped through the air and landed in a forward roll right in front of a
heavy bag. He sprang up, unleashing a lightning-fast barrage of straights and
hooks, followed by a devastating roundhouse kick. The impacts echoed like
gunshots.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang—!
The heavy bag shuddered violently. The overhead chains rattled against the steel
support beams, ringing out in a rhythmic metallic clatter before finally
settling down.
"Phew...!"
Ren exhaled deeply. A thin layer of sweat coated his skin, and he felt a surge
of pure, refreshed energy. He grabbed a nearby towel and began wiping down,
heading toward the second floor for some weight training when he heard footsteps
at the entrance.
He turned to see Marco walking in.
Marco had just been discharged from the hospital yesterday and had spent the
night resting at the Hub. He clearly couldn't stay still; he'd already been out
for an early morning jog.
"Good morning, Ren-niisan!"
Marco pulled out a slip of paper and read it intently. It was the "Doctor's
Orders" written by An Sakurai. She had prepared custom recovery training menus
for both Marco and Cosmo Imai.
After greeting Marco, Ren headed upstairs.
The stairwell was decorated with "rare ornaments" that Ren considered highly
sentimental. There was a signed photo of the "Bushin" Doppo Orochi, a folding
fan embossed with the Tokugawa family crest, and, mounted in a corner, a steel
plate featuring a deep fist-imprint left by "The Wild Tiger," Takeshi Wakatsuki.
Reaching the second floor, he entered another wide-open training area.
"..."
The sky was clear, the sun was bright, and the natural light flooding the room
made the atmosphere incredibly invigorating.
After a few sets of lifting, a shout came from the courtyard below.
"Excuse me! Is anyone home?"
Ren pulled open the window and looked down. A teenage boy in a school shirt was
standing in the yard. He carried a backpack, had neat, short black hair, and a
handsome face. Despite his youthful look, his muscles were incredibly
developed—lean, refined, and bursting with power.
Ren recognized him instantly. They had crossed paths a few times before: the
Champion of the Underground Arena—Baki Hanma.
"Yo!"
Ren waved from the second floor, gesturing toward the outdoor pull-up bars
nearby.
The boy understood the hint instantly. Baki took two quick steps, leaped onto
the bar, and used the momentum to launch himself upward.
Zip!
He vaulted through the window with effortless grace, landing firmly on the
second floor. He greeted Ren with a grin.
"Good morning, Ren-san."
Baki kicked off his shoes and placed them on the rack. Ren studied him
curiously. Seeing the backpack, he guessed Baki wasn't here for a fight. "So,
what brings you here...?"
At that moment, Arisa came scurrying down from the third floor—she had been up
on the roof soaking up the sun.
"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you, Brother. Baki-kun asked me for a favor. The
kind of favor he didn't want to bother Kozue with."
Ren blinked, a few mental question marks popping up over his head.
Baki scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, I kind of turned in a blank sheet
during the last exam... The teacher insisted on a home visit. Mr. Kuriyagawa is
really busy lately, and I... well, I didn't want Kozue's mom to find out about
my school troubles."
Kuriyagawa was Baki's handler and long-time friend; he usually handled "social"
matters like this. But with Kuriyagawa busy and Baki currently in a relationship
with Kozue, he didn't want his future mother-in-law thinking he was a complete
delinquent.
It was a very "high schooler" problem to have.
"Heh—"
Ren found the situation hilarious and had no reason to refuse. "But seriously,
why turn in a blank sheet?"
Baki looked even more embarrassed. "I couldn't read the English section at
all..."
Arisa chimed in with a sharp critique: "You were in such a hurry to get home and
sleep last time, I thought you were some kind of straight-A student."
Baki: "..."
"Ah, haha..." Baki leaned in and whispered to Ren, "Ren-san, your sister is way
too sharp."
Helping a friend deal with a pushy teacher wasn't an issue. While waiting for
the teacher to arrive, Baki killed time by testing out the various equipment in
the SC Center. He looked a bit nostalgic.
"This brings back memories. I used to train in professional facilities like this
a long time ago. Eventually, I just started doing my own thing."
Baki put a dumbbell back on the rack. "You're really amazing, Ren-san. Between
running this Hub and those fists that took down Speck..."
Before long, Baki's teacher arrived.
He was a portly, middle-aged man with tiny eyes and a small mouth. He wore an
expression of pure arrogance, looking like the type of person who was
fundamentally unsuited for the title of "Educator."
He wasn't alone. He had brought along several other students who had failed the
exam, dragging them along as examples of "what not to be."
The group came up to the second floor, meeting Ren and Baki in the lounge area.
This "Mr. Yamamoto" wasn't there for a constructive conversation. After barely
acknowledging Ren, he immediately began berating Baki.
"You only wrote your name on the exam paper? You've got a lot of nerve being
this relaxed..." The teacher puckered his lips. "I heard from Mr. Nakamura that
you have a perfect score in P.E. Why don't you just drop out and join the
Olympics then? Huh?!"
Seeing that the man was impossible to talk to, Ren lost interest. He walked over
to the window and noticed a few more friends had arrived; Marco was currently
greeting them.
"Take this gym, for example. What kind of power do you think built this place?"
The teacher tapped his temple. "It was built with brains!"
"Listen well, Baki! Everything in this world runs on the power of the mind—not
the power of muscle."
The teacher began laying out his "logic" with smug satisfaction. "No matter how
fast you run, you'll never be faster than a motorcycle!"
As Ren listened, he looked out into the yard.
Hina "The Revolutionary Princess" Hongo was bored and had challenged Marco to a
race. With her superhuman tendon elasticity, her explosive sprint speed was
visibly faster than the motorcycle passing by on the street.
The teacher continued: "No matter how strong you are, you can't break steel!"
In the courtyard, Nozomi Tenma was pestering Takeshi Wakatsuki, who had arrived
with a sales rep from Furumi Pharmaceuticals. Valkyrie was currently negotiating
a partnership with Furumi. Meanwhile, Nozomi was personally requesting that the
"Wild Tiger" punch another "fist-print steel plate" to serve as a decoration for
Valkyrie's new facility.
The teacher pushed on: "No matter how good your eyesight is, you'll never match
a high-powered telescope!"
At the gate, Fusui Kure tilted her head. Her "Kure Clan" eyes—black sclera with
white pupils—shifted as she spotted Ren at the window. She waved at him with a
cheerful smile.
The teacher added: "And fists? No matter how hard they are, they can't make your
dreams come true!"
Behind Fusui, Metsudo Katahara, the Chairman of the Kengan Association himself,
strolled in with two bodyguards in tow.
The teacher took a deep breath and looked triumphantly at Baki and the other
students. "Well? Am I right or am I right?!"
The students all looked miserable, long since tired of this toxic lecture.
But Yamamoto wouldn't stop. "In this day and age, anyone who thinks they can
achieve anything with their bare hands is just a fool!"
"Even a man like Carl Lewis has to use the stairs if he wants to get to this
second floor!"
Just as he said those words—THOOM!
Outside, Marco had been distracted by Hina during their sprint. Unable to stop
his momentum before hitting the first-floor glass, he had no choice but to leap.
He lunged upward with a massive jump, aiming straight for the second floor where
Ren was standing.
Ren reacted instantly, sliding the window open just as Marco came flying in from
the outside.
Whoosh!
Marco couldn't kill his momentum in time. He stumbled forward, crashing right
into Mr. Yamamoto. With a loud CRUNCH, the two of them went tumbling over the
furniture in the lounge.
...
Marco, of course, was perfectly fine. He stood up and looked around, confused.
Mr. Yamamoto, however, was in bad shape. He had been leveled flat and was now
completely unconscious, looking very "peaceful" in his slumber.
Seeing this, the students—and Baki—all stared at each other in stunned silence.
Ren, however, accepted the situation instantly and nodded in agreement. "Yeah...
I guess we really are a bunch of fools."
He turned and waved to the other students. "You guys want to get a workout in?
We've got free protein shakes. It's the good stuff from Furumi Pharmaceuticals."
The students: "..."
The students: "Heck yeah!"
Anything was better than listening to a boring lecture.
"Alright, then—"
Ren turned his gaze back to the courtyard. Metsudo Katahara looked up, met Ren's
eyes, and held up a "V" for victory with a mischievous, happy grin.
I wonder what the old man Metsudo is doing here?
☆☆☆
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