Chapter 335: A Grueling 1-vs-2!
Yanagi Ryuko was a man of vast experience. From Gaolang's accent, skin tone, and
features, he could immediately make the deduction.
A Thai...?
Yanagi remained seated cross-legged on the floor, his eyes shifting toward
Gaolang, meeting that dull, "dead-fish" gaze.
—He's strong!
Yanagi made the judgment in an instant.
Incredibly strong!!
This sudden visitor was undeniably a combatant—and one of the highest caliber.
He carried the heavy, suffocating aura of a man who had survived a thousand
battlefields. This wasn't some mere athlete; this was a predator.
Under the simultaneous gaze of Ren Shiroki and Gaolang Wongsawat, a single bead
of cold sweat rolled down Yanagi's forehead.
How could anyone be visiting the Soul Combat Hub on a night of such torrential
rain? Was his luck truly this abysmal?
Thinking this, Yanagi glanced at Arisa. Ren's words from moments ago echoed in
his mind like a taunt.
"Are you really prepared for a 1-on-2, Yanagi?!"
Yanagi suddenly felt a surge of absurdity.
What a joke!
Did his hard-won "strength" really count for so little that it couldn't stand up
to a teenage girl? She was nothing more than Ren Shiroki's dead weight!
Yanagi forced himself to remain calm. He told himself that he was only getting
paranoid because Baki Hanma had recently thrashed him, and because his Poison
Hand had failed to produce an immediate kill.
"..."
Yanagi took a deep breath, focusing on the present. If Ren and the Thai giant
attacked him together, how would he respond? Fight or flee? Which exit was
fastest?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Gaolang took a half-step forward,
addressing Ren again. "Do you need assistance?"
"No, but thanks," Ren declined with a confident smile.
Gaolang didn't press the matter. He shot one last, lingering look at Yanagi,
accepted the souvenir bag from Arisa, and stepped back out into the rain,
opening his umbrella.
Yanagi watched the entire exchange, his mind racing. He wondered if the Thai man
was actually leaving or just waiting in the shadows.
But then—
"Ahem!"
Ren let out a loud, exaggerated cough that made Yanagi nearly jump out of his
skin.
Yanagi narrowed his eyes, refocusing on Ren and forcing back his sinister smirk.
"Giving up your help so easily? Is that confidence... or just pure arrogance?"
The psychological warfare was still in play, but for the first time, Yanagi was
the one feeling the tension. His eyes kept darting toward the door.
Ren chuckled. "Yanagi, I'm not like you. I don't use underhanded tactics to
attack your mind. I don't need to plan things like that."
Yanagi's eyes thinned.
But then, Ren's tone shifted. "However, since you insisted on a 1-vs-2, you have
to consider the fact that you are fighting Arisa right now."
"Even if my sister isn't a brawler, I honestly have no idea what's going to
happen next."
Ren's teeth flashed in a jagged grin. "Doesn't that sound exciting? Haha!"
Yanagi's lip curled, but he couldn't find it in him to laugh. He was just about
to lunge and end the games when another change occurred.
Knock, knock, knock!
Another urgent pounding on the glass door.
Ren and Yanagi both turned. Outside, the rain was still a wall of water, and two
more figures stood there.
Arisa's face lit up. "Ah! It's Dr. Hajo and Kokomi-san!"
Ren blinked in realization.
The newcomers were a man and a woman. The man had messy blond hair, a handsome
face, and incredibly deep dark circles under his eyes; the woman was dressed in
a standard nurse's uniform.
It was the genius physician of Teito University, Dr. Hajime Hajo, and his
secretary-assistant, Kokomi Yoshizawa.
Dr. Hajo was an old friend of the Hub, but this was his first time actually
visiting the premises.
"Pardon the intrusion!"
Hajo—known as [THE DISSECTION FREAK]—was as eccentric as ever. He lived on a
razor's edge of madness, using cold logic to suppress his more "surgical"
impulses. Kokomi, meanwhile, was a perfectly normal girl whose only "superpower"
was the mental fortitude required to manage a man like Hajo.
"Aha! Arisa-chan is here!"
Hajo kept one hand in his pocket while waving his phone with the other. "I got
your message about the souvenirs! We happened to be out on a house call and
figured we'd swing by."
"My, the rain is quite heavy..." He shook the droplets from his sleeves, his
gaze sweeping the room before locking onto Yanagi's "hand."
Hajo wasn't a warrior. He couldn't sense "combat aura" like Gaolang, but his
medical genius was so refined that he could see things others missed.
Wait. This middle-aged man... his right hand is saturated with toxin. And a
potent one at that!
"I see... so this is the Poison Hand?"
Hajo sent Kokomi to grab the gifts while he rubbed his chin, circling Yanagi
like a vulture.
"An-chan sent me a text last night bragging about getting a blood sample from a
Poison Hand victim. I was quite jealous. But... if I were to dissect the source
of the poison himself, I think it would be her turn to be envious, wouldn't it?"
Hajo's smile turned dark and clinical. He looked at Yanagi not as a threat, but
as a fascinating specimen. The look made Yanagi's skin crawl with an
instinctive, primal revulsion.
"I say, Shiroki-kun!" Hajo narrowed his eyes. "Are you two having a bout? Do you
need a hand? I can take care of the body afterward—take it back to the lab for a
full autopsy and such."
Hajo wasn't an underground fighter, but in terms of lethality, his "Acupuncture"
and biological modifications made him a nightmare to face.
Yanagi's expression grew increasingly pale. Ren found the situation hilarious
but politely declined the doctor's help once more.
Hajo sighed in disappointment, lingering at the door until Kokomi literally had
to drag him away by the arm.
Another round of visitors departed.
Yanagi's brow was deeply furrowed. He actually felt a strange sense of relief
when the doctor left, which only made him realize how much his composure had
been shaken.
This is bad...
Wait, why is this dojo so busy in the middle of a damn hurricane?!
Just as he was centering himself—
Knock, knock.
The knocking this time was light, elegant, and perfectly timed.
Yanagi's face finally twisted in genuine agitation. Ren, seeing this, burst out
laughing.
He turned to the door to see an elderly gentleman in a bespoke suit, sporting a
meticulously groomed mustache and arched eyebrows.
It was Hikoichi Yagyo, the Referee Number 2 of the Kakerou Club.
Ren grinned. "Yagyo-san? Don't tell me you're here for a souvenir too?"
"Too?" Yagyo arched an eyebrow, not quite following. "In any case, it has been a
while, Shiroki-sama. Your sister is a valued regular at my cafe."
"I heard she had a gift for me. It is truly an honor."
"As luck would have it, there are no Kakerou matches requiring a referee tonight
due to the storm, so I decided to stop by. It saves Arisa-sama a trip in this
weather."
Yagyo's eyes shifted, his elegant gaze sweeping the room and settling on Yanagi.
As a Kakerou Referee, he was more than just a witness to bets—he was a
"Collector" with the martial prowess to seize stakes by force. He was a veteran
of a thousand blood-soaked gambles.
He immediately sensed the lethal danger radiating from the small man.
"My, my... what a coincidence."
Yagyo took a measured step forward, his voice silky and cold. "Sir, are you an
assassin? Or perhaps a challenger? I must ask you to refrain from directed
hostility toward a regular of my establishment."
Despite his age, Yagyo's eyes were clear and piercing, glowing with a terrifying
intensity.
"Or perhaps... would you also like to try a cup of my finest coffee?"
This direct provocation made Yanagi's blood boil.
But he could tell—beyond any doubt—that this old man in the suit was a monster.
He could even see the slight bulge of a handgun tucked into the man's waistband.
Not a fighter... but definitely a killer!
A Thai God of War, a mad doctor, and now a high-society hitman... why are they
coming one after another?! Don't these people have lives? And what the hell kind
of dojo is this?!
Yanagi's mind was a mess of questions. Ren couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Yanagi, you tried to mess with my head, but you're the one being dismantled by
this 1-vs-2!"
"Shut up!" Yanagi hissed. He wanted to flip the table and end this, but with
Yagyo standing there, he didn't dare move.
"Hahaha!" Ren wiped a tear from his eye. "At this rate, you won't even be able
to beat Arisa—"
"It seems Shiroki-sama has things well in hand," Yagyo said with a polite bow.
"I shall not intrude any further."
He took the gift from Arisa, thanked her gracefully, and vanished into the rainy
night under his umbrella.
Finally, Yanagi couldn't take it anymore. He turned to Arisa, his voice cracking
with frustration. "Please tell me... there are no more people coming for 'gifts'
tonight."
Arisa looked at her brother. Ren gave a small nod. She checked her phone and
said firmly, "Nope! That was the last one!"
Yanagi's face was dark.
The psychological game had failed. Ren was fully prepared, and Yanagi's own
mental state was in tatters. If he was going to move, it had to be now.
Now—!!
Knock, knock, knock!
ANOTHER knock at the door.
Yanagi's eyes bulged with fury. He glared at Arisa. "I thought you said no one
else was coming!!"
Arisa looked genuinely embarrassed. "I... I did! I don't know who this is!"
The door slid open, and a titan of a man stepped in. He was wearing an oversized
storm-coat to shield his massive frame from the rain.
"Souvenirs? I'm not here for a gift."
"I'm here for my 'medicine'."
The giant addressed Yanagi, his face hidden beneath a hood. He looked at Arisa
with a calm, friendly smile. "Arisa-chan, did the raw materials I ordered from
Dr. Shinogi arrive?"
"Oh! Right!" Arisa remembered. "They're here! I'll go grab them from the
storehouse!"
She turned to her brother. "An-aniki, this is a temporary member Dr. Kureha
introduced. He's been here for a few fitness tests. He trains harder than anyone
I've ever seen!"
"..."
"Hmm? Arisa-chan's brother is back? No wonder it's so lively tonight—"
The giant pushed back his hood, revealing a confident, shark-like grin. He
looked at Ren and flashed a row of gleaming white teeth.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jack Hanma."
☆☆☆
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