Hearing Karla's words, Lu Li froze for a moment before a sudden realization hit him. Since Ohma Tokita was dead, the most awkward person in this entire situation was actually Hideki Nogi!
In the original storyline, Nogi only had the confidence to initiate the Kengan Annihilation Tournament and challenge Chairman Metsudo because he had discovered a trump card like Ohma. But after officially throwing down the gauntlet, his star fighter had abruptly died. That was a catastrophically awkward position to be in.
Because Ohma had died on the very first night Lu Li arrived in this world, the Nogi Group still had a small window of time to pivot. Lacking the time to thoroughly vet the quality of unknown underground fighters, it made perfect logical sense for Nogi to fall back on hiring the Kure Clan, whose reputation and strength were absolutely guaranteed.
But if the Nogi Group put the Kure Clan in Kazuo Yamashita's proxy company (Yamashita Trading Co.)... then who exactly was Kenzo Yamashita's company (Under Mount Inc.) going to hire as their fighter?!
Wait!
Lu Li suddenly remembered. The shadowy organization that had initially funded Kenzo Yamashita's computer research... was The Worm!
Right now, the Worm definitely wanted to investigate Ohma's death. Furthermore, their overarching goal was to destroy the Kengan Association from the inside out. Given that they were already secretly colluding with the Vice Chairman, Katsumasa Hayami of Toyo Electric Power Co., they would absolutely infiltrate as many operatives into the tournament as possible.
Kenzo Yamashita's corporate slot was the perfect, readymade entry point for them.
"Karla, thanks. You just gave me some incredibly useful intel. I need to go check the lottery results," Lu Li said, mentally logging the information. The moment the words left his mouth, he activated [Shunpo], vanishing from the spot.
Inside the luxurious grand hall, the titans of the corporate world gathered, their eyes fixed curiously on the massive bingo machine.
The method for determining the tournament bracket remained exactly the same as in the canon storyline: drawing numbered balls from the machine. The higher the number, the earlier the CEO got to pick their fighter's placement on the bracket board.
After Chairman Metsudo finished explaining the rules, no one raised any objections. With a sly, knowing smile, the old Chairman walked up to the massive tournament board to select the very first slot.
With a large calligraphy brush, he wrote the four bold characters for [Fang of Metsudo]. The surrounding CEOs remained calm; they were already mentally strategizing how to place their fighters as far away from the Fang's bracket as possible.
But as the Chairman continued writing, the collective expressions of the crowd violently shifted.
Because the fighter's name written next to the title wasn't the universally feared name they all knew—Agito Kanoh. It was an Eastern name: Lu Li.
The Fang of Metsudo: Lu Li!
An absolute uproar exploded across the venue. No one could have possibly anticipated this. Chairman Metsudo already possessed the undisputed, invincible champion of the underground arena. Why, in a tournament that literally determined his fate and legacy, would he suddenly replace the Fang?!
Every single CEO in the room had seen Agito Kanoh standing obediently behind the Chairman today. That meant Agito hadn't resigned or been fired. Did that mean... this new Fang, this 'Lu Li', was somehow even stronger than the legendary monster, Agito Kanoh?!
The corporate executives exchanged panicked, complicated glances. They could already sense that this Kengan Annihilation Tournament was going to be dangerously unpredictable.
If Metsudo Katahara really had found a fighter vastly superior to Agito Kanoh, how the hell were any of them supposed to win?
The man frowning the deepest was Katsumasa Hayami, the CEO of Toyo Electric Power Co. He was the Vice Chairman of the Kengan Association and the mastermind behind the "Hundred Man Meeting," a massive anti-Metsudo corporate faction. Aside from Metsudo himself, Hayami was the most powerful man in the Association and the undisputed favorite to usurp the Chairman's seat.
He saw this tournament as his ultimate opportunity. To guarantee his ascension to the throne, he hadn't just imported the German muscle-monster Julius Reinhold; he had secretly deployed assassins to hijack other fighters' qualifications and even willingly colluded with the Worm.
Given Hayami's status and intelligence network, it was impossible for him not to know the true nature of the Worm. They were the greatest existential threat to the Kengan Association. Yet, consumed by his blinding ambition, he chose to negotiate with a tiger for its skin. If he failed to claim the Chairman's seat after paying such a catastrophic price, utter ruin awaited him.
"Lu Li..." Hayami muttered, chewing on the name. He leaned over to his subordinate. "Look into this man. You have five minutes. I want his complete background file."
Hidden in the crowd, Kazuo Yamashita was sweating buckets. Just a few weeks ago, he was a miserable, middle-aged salaryman. He never dreamed he would be thrust into a massive, blood-soaked tournament that dictated the entire economy of Japan.
The sudden change of the Fang of Metsudo didn't shock him too much, mostly because he barely comprehended how terrifying the original Fang was to begin with. He was entirely focused on picking a good spot on the bracket.
Thanks to his dynamic kinetic vision—the legendary "Fist Eye"—he had managed to snatch an excellent number, granting him priority placement. But under the suffocating pressure of the surrounding billionaires, he panicked.
"If I pick a bad spot, Mr. Raian is absolutely going to kill me..." Kazuo thought, trembling.
Urged on by the impatient crowd and his own overwhelming anxiety, Kazuo slammed his placard onto a spot completely on the opposite side of the bracket from the Fang of Metsudo. According to the schedule, they wouldn't have to face the Fang until the semi-finals at the absolute earliest.
Quickly, the rest of the corporate helmsmen locked in their positions. The official Kengan Annihilation Tournament bracket was finalized.
Meanwhile, Lu Li was casually strolling through the labyrinthine corridors of the Ganryu Island dome, inspecting the arena. Along the way, he passed several other fighters scoping out the venue, some chatting with familiar faces.
BANG—! BANG—! BANG—!
As Lu Li approached a corner in the corridor, the heavy, metallic sound of something violently piercing steel echoed through the hall. Intrigued, he turned the corner and witnessed a scene that made his blood boil with excitement.
A man wearing a worn, black karate gi was standing in front of a reinforced concrete wall. For structural safety, these specific walls had been heavily reinforced with thick steel plates. Yet, the man was relentlessly striking the wall.
His physical frame wasn't excessively massive for a Kengan fighter—standing at roughly 185cm—but his build was incredibly dense and solid, exuding an aura of immovable stability.
He was currently rooted in a deep horse stance, ruthlessly driving his open spear-hand (Nukite) directly into the wall. Concrete dust exploded outward as his fingers violently punched straight through the thick steel plating buried beneath the surface, creating that deafening, metallic ring.
The man looked to be in his fifties or sixties, right in the absolute prime of his martial maturity, showing no signs of physical decline. Every single movement he made radiated the profound, esoteric mysteries of true martial arts.
He possessed a tremendously powerful physique, but he wasn't relying on brute force to pierce the steel. He was using pure, transcendent martial technique.
The Devil Lance: Kuroki Gensai!
Perhaps sensing Lu Li's gaze, or perhaps relying on his peerless intuition, Kuroki ceased his training and stood up straight, slowly turning to face Lu Li.
He stared at Lu Li in silence for a few seconds. Suddenly, a blinding, razor-sharp glint erupted within his deep, placid eyes. An invisible, suffocating pressure exploded from him, sending a freezing chill down the spines of the other fighters loitering at the far ends of the corridor.
But it lasted only for a microsecond. In the very next instant, Kuroki's terrifying aura completely dissipated into nothingness. "To think there is a powerhouse like you gathered here. The younger generation is truly formidable."
Lu Li held Kuroki's gaze and bared his teeth in a wide grin. "Senior has clearly reached the absolute pinnacle of martial arts. I still have much to refine."
"I am merely a seeker of the way. In the realm of martial arts, there is no pinnacle," Kuroki shook his head calmly. With that, he turned away from Lu Li and calmly resumed punching holes into the steel wall.
Watching him, Lu Li felt a deep sense of respect. Kuroki's overwhelming strength wasn't purely the result of unmatched innate talent; it was forged through a lifetime of absolute, unyielding dedication. He possessed an unwavering martial heart. Even well into his middle age, he was constantly, relentlessly pushing himself to improve.
Lu Li theorized that when the Origin Seed descended upon this world, the individuals who benefited the most were likely supreme Grandmasters exactly like Kuroki. For men like him, even if they couldn't see a higher mountain to climb, they would continue to scale the empty void just to conquer their past selves.
That was exactly why, in the sequel manga (Kengan Omega), despite the introduction of countless absurd, superhuman freaks, Kuroki simply showed up and reminded everyone that he was still the absolute ceiling. In the entire lore of the series, aside from the legendary Long Yi 80 years ago, Kuroki Gensai was the only modern fighter capable of actually wounding the "Connector", Shen Wulong.
While other Grandmasters only began to evolve after witnessing Shen Wulong's power, Kuroki's ascent had simply never stopped.
Now, with his physical vessel massively upgraded by the ambient mutation of the Origin Seed, what terrifying realm had his martial arts reached? Even Lu Li couldn't accurately gauge it without actually trading blows.
What an incredibly formidable Grandmaster. It's been a long time since my blood burned this hot. And if Kuroki was this strong... just how terrifying was the ultimate final boss of this world, the "Connector", Shen Wulong? Just how much entertainment could he provide?
Lu Li genuinely couldn't wait to find out.
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