As the battle intensified, Kazuki asked calmly,
"Do you even know what that red paper on your shirt is?"
The Pompadour leader roared back, completely disinterested. "I don't know, and I don't care! Men... don't let these punks leave this place alive!"
Following his command, Kazuki swung his massive scythe in a powerful arc. In a split second, a terrifying Red Slash of energy tore through the air toward the leader.
"Are you kidding me?!" the Pompadour guy yelled, swinging his iron pipe with all his might to deflect the energy.
The Red Slash was knocked aside, slamming into the cavern wall and leaving a deep, jagged scar in the stone. Kazuki calmly pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose and muttered to himself,
"How strong..."
Kazuki asked with a mocking smirk, "What exactly are you?"
The Pompadour leader smoothed back his hair and replied in a low, slow voice, "Me? Well, I'm an incredibly handsome guy, you know."
"You look like a scruffy rat..." Kazuki retorted bluntly.
At those words, the Pompadour's followers froze, their eyes widening in shock. When Kazuki added, "And that hair... it's like a cheap thug's style or something," the gang members' eyes practically popped out of their sockets.
"Are you insane?!" one of them screamed. "Talking to our Master like that... you must have a death wish!"
Suddenly, visible heat began to radiate from the Pompadour leader's body. He bit his lip hard in a fury, his face flushing a deep, angry red.
"You can do whatever you want... but calling me ugly? Now you've got a real problem. And even worse... what did you just say about my hair?!"
He vanished with incredible speed, reappearing instantly in front of Kazuki and delivering a heavy kick directly to the Great Scythe's staff.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
He roared with every strike, unleashing a relentless barrage that forced Kazuki to defend himself with everything he had.
Amidst the surrounding chaos, Kasksu remained incredibly composed. He calmly pulled a cigarette from his pocket and remarked, "Yo ye... don't forget I'm still over here."
Every remaining gang member's gaze snapped toward him. At that exact moment, Kasksu's hands ignited with eerie white flames.
"Come... stupid!"
Triggered by his taunt, the mob charged at him all at once. Kasksu settled into a professional boxing stance and launched himself forward.
He flickered to the side, then dashed to the other, moving in a lightning-fast "Z" pattern to close the gap. He delivered a devastating punch to the lead attacker, sending the man flying backward into the oncoming crowd.
"Big Bro! Don't die on me! Please stay with me forever!" one of the subordinates cried out emotionally.
Gyau yelled back, exasperated, "You punks... you guys are already dead!"
The weeping subordinate froze. "Ah... that's right! I forgot!"
Even the leader, who had been knocked down, smacked his subordinate on the head and grumbled, "Exactly! We're already dead!" before they all settled back into their realization.One of the subordinates struggled to his feet, eyes burning with resolve.
"I'll avenge my Big Bro! I'm taking you down!"
Kasksu remained unfazed, simply beckoning him forward with a flick of his wrist. "Come then, show me what you've got."
Meanwhile, Tochi was losing his mind on the sidelines. "Gyau! It's all your fault! What kind of mess have you dragged us into this time?!"
Gyau just gave a wide, cheeky grin. "Hey, you're the one who decided to follow me, man!"
In the middle of the standoff, the Pompadour leader suddenly raised his hand. "Everyone! Let's sing our song!"
"Roger that!" the gang members shouted in unison. Suddenly, the cavern echoed with their rhythmic chanting:
"We are the greatest thugs of all... We are the greatest thugs of all..."
Kazuki let out a heavy sigh, taking off his glasses to wipe them clean. "These guys are absolute idiots..." he muttered under his breath.
Instantly, every gang member's head snapped toward Kazuki with murderous intent. One of them roared,
"Hey! We spent two whole months composing this masterpiece specifically for battles, man!"
The Pompadour leader roared, "You arrogant brat! You've been insulting us way too much!"
"Am I wrong? What on earth are you guys even doing right now?!" Kazuki snapped back, losing his patience.
But the gang members ignored him and continued their chant.
"We are the great and noble thugs... x2"
(30 seconds later...)
(1 minute later...)
(Even after 5 long minutes...)
"We are the great and noble thugs..." The same line echoed relentlessly throughout the cavern.
Tears actually started welling up in Kazuki's eyes from the sheer mental exhaustion. "What... what did my ears do to deserve this torture?!"
Even Rio lost his trademark composure, his eyes widening in disbelief. Kawsoki shouted in frustration, "Seriously?! How many times are you going to sing that one single line?!"
But the thugs didn't care. They just kept going with a terrifying level of commitment.
"We are the noble thugs..."
Finally, Kazuki reached his breaking point. Unable to stand another second of the "masterpiece," he swung his massive scythe with a furious roar, launching a devastating strike right into the middle of the singing group.