Chapter 189: The Man Who Can't Help Himself
Slap...
BOOM—!!!
With a crisp parry and a heavy strike, Retsu Kaioh sent Ren Shiroki flying. Ren
hurtled backward, slamming violently into the edge of the ring.
Snap!
Ren's back collided with the elastic ropes. He nearly tumbled out of the ring
entirely, but he managed to use his core strength to stabilize himself at the
last second. He gripped the ropes with both gloved hands, gasping for air,
feeling a piercing pain as if his chest had been skewered.
"Gah...!"
Ren coughed out a few drops of bloody foam. His pupils were momentarily
unfocused; his internal organs felt like they were vibrating uncontrollably, as
if they had been seized and shaken by a giant's hand.
"..."
"IT'S THE INCH POWER—!!!"
Sayaka Katahara gripped her microphone. After waiting through two entire
matches, she finally had the chance to fulfill her duty as the ultimate
hype-woman.
"Ren Shiroki was blown back several meters, crashing hard into the ropes!"
"Even at point-blank range, where the glove was already touching the skin, Retsu
Kaioh unleashed such staggering force!"
Sayaka gripped the mic tighter. "Fists like these are impossible to witness in a
normal boxing match! Is this terrifying short-range Kenpo going to extinguish
the [Soul Combat] of the Hub owner before he even gets a chance to challenge the
Thai God of War?!"
Metsudo Katahara arched an eyebrow. "Ho-ho! Has the Kenpo that inherits the name
of 'Kaioh' truly reached such a realm?"
Tokugawa was laughing so hard he could barely stay in his seat. "It's a bit of a
shame, but let's let them punch their hearts out in this boxing ring today!"
Ringside staff rushed forward to check on Ren's condition.
Ren stood up, shook his gloved hands, and signaled that he was fine. However,
his expression was stiff—likely from the sheer agony of the hit.
"He swatted my fist aside before I could even fully commit to the strike...?"
"Truly incredible..."
Ren coughed a few more times, then exhaled a cloud of hot breath, completely
resetting his breathing rhythm.
The next second—
Whoosh!
Ren exploded forward again. As if refusing to accept defeat, he launched into a
second high-speed lunge. But the moment he closed in on Retsu, Ren suddenly
halted his momentum, pivoting into a vicious left hook.
[LUKE'S RAWHIDE]!
Clack!
Retsu remained immovable, raising his right arm to parry the strike. Ren
immediately retreated half a step and fired off a lightning-fast right straight.
[LUKE'S MUZZLE]!
Zip!
This time, Retsu didn't defend. He dropped into a deep crouch, evading the
straight while simultaneously sliding into Ren's personal space.
"HAA—!!"
Retsu let out a low roar, driving up from the floor. Using the torque from his
waist and core, he launched a devastating right uppercut.
BANG!
The glove slammed into Ren's jaw. The force traveled upward, rattling his entire
skull and launching him into the air. Blood sprayed from Ren's mouth, painting
the air with crimson droplets as his body arched in mid-air.
As Retsu prepared to step in and follow up, a sudden anomaly occurred—
[ENGINE]—MAX OVERDRIVE!
Ren's consciousness went into a state of extreme acceleration. He snapped back
to awareness mid-air, slamming a fist into Retsu's guard to use the
counter-force to adjust his center of gravity.
[RASHID'S FRONT-FLIP RECOVERY]!
Slap!
Ren flipped through the air and landed directly behind Retsu. To the vast
majority of the audience, this looked like the perfect opportunity for Ren to
launch a counter-offensive.
But to their shock, Ren's first move upon landing was to drop into a
half-crouch, crossing his arms in a high-guard defense!
And the moment Ren settled into that guard—
"Hah!"
Retsu didn't miss a beat. He twisted his waist, spinning around in a fluid
evasion while simultaneously firing a lightning-fast counter-punch.
His movement made it clear: he had already predicted exactly where Ren would
land. There wasn't a hint of hesitation. Had Ren tried to attack blindly, he
would have been caught flush by that counter—an instant KO wouldn't have been
surprising.
POW!
The heavy punch slammed into Ren's forearms, but the defense held.
Seizing this narrow window, Ren let out a low growl. He unleashed a flurry of
strikes, his gloves raining down on Retsu's face.
[LUKE'S TRIPLE IMPACT]!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rapid-fire punches drew blood from Retsu's nose. Yet, despite the hits,
Retsu's feet didn't move an inch. He remained as stable as a mountain, swinging
a horizontal roundhouse punch in return.
Schwing...
Ren retreated two steps, narrowly evading the fist. He maintained a small
distance, his feet dancing with agile lightness as he searched for the next
opening.
"..."
The exchange had been like a lightning strike—so fast that the audience could
barely follow the action, forced to reconstruct the fight through the blurred
trails of the boxing gloves.
Seeing the fire of battle burning in his opponent's eyes, Retsu didn't rush his
next move.
"Drunken Boxing, Karate, Military CQC, MMA, and that agile footwork just now...
are those recent acquisitions? I believe you used Wrestling earlier as well..."
Retsu wiped the blood from under his nose with his glove and looked at Ren.
"Hmph. You're quite the hard worker."
This wasn't sarcasm; it was a straightforward compliment. Retsu could tell that
unlike Chiba Takayuki, who only engaged in shallow mimicry, Ren Shiroki had
truly "studied" and internalized a vast array of techniques. The sweat and
effort Ren had poured into his training was no less than any underground
gladiator—in fact, it was likely much more.
But that was exactly why Retsu couldn't agree with Ren's methods.
"Hurrying to learn, hurrying to train, hurrying to fight—immersed in this
frantic pace, do you truly possess any 'Respect' for those martial arts?"
"Do you believe that simply by gathering the techniques of more masters, you can
buy your way to victory against a true powerhouse?"
"Answer me, Ren Shiroki!"
"..."
Retsu's question thundered through the hall. Ren blinked, then began to speak in
a low murmur.
"Someone just asked me a similar question—how do I intend to walk the 'Path of
Strength'? How should I face everything along the way?"
"It seems I'm still far from being able to answer that fully."
"But there is one thing I know for sure—" Ren lifted his head, meeting Retsu's
gaze with a question of his own. "Retsu-san, what do you think of my martial
arts?"
"..."
Retsu paused. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "Karate, Kenpo, Wrestling,
Military, MMA, Footwork... every single one is magnificent. They show me
infinite possibilities."
"And that is precisely why I cannot agree with your decision to keep wandering
and 'collecting' styles. So... I apologize, but I cannot give a final evaluation
of your martial arts."
"..."
Hearing this, Ren suddenly bared his teeth and laughed. "Is that so? Even the
ultimate master of Kenpo—the Great Retsu Kaioh—doesn't know the answer!"
Retsu frowned, not quite catching Ren's meaning. But suddenly, he noticed a
change in Ren's state.
Ren began to pant heavily. His body started to tremble uncontrollably, and a
thin layer of steam seemed to rise from his skin as he broke into a fresh sweat.
"Phew... Hah..."
Ren took a few deep breaths, looking at Retsu with eyes that were practically
glowing. He began rubbing his gloves together in a state of high-pitched
excitement.
"Retsu-san, I understand everything you've said."
"Spending an entire lifetime dedicated to a single Path—that kind of dream-like
devotion is what you wish for me. I'm grateful for that."
"In your eyes, my learning of so many styles is a sign of lack of confidence in
myself, or a lack of respect for the arts. To you, that is the 'Correct' way to
look at it."
"But... does being 'Correct' matter?"
"...I just can't help myself."
The more Ren thought about it, the happier he felt. "I can't help it! I just
can't stop doing this...!"
"The chance to experience new moves, new opponents! Training until I'm
satisfied, studying until I'm satisfied, fighting until I've had my fill!"
"I don't know where the end is. I don't even know if I'll succeed!"
"But I don't care!"
"The exploration, the excitement, the confusion
☆☆☆
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