Natsuhi stepped forward slowly, her body gradually lowering. A small stature has its advantages; the attacks are aimed lower, making it difficult for the enemy to defend while simultaneously reducing the risk of injury.
Instead of a traditional Boxing stance, she chose to hunch her back with her hands raised in front of her chest, left foot forward and right foot back, adopting a crouched posture focused on offense.
It felt like... a four-legged beast ready to go berserk at any moment.
This preparatory movement is called 'Peek-a-boo.'
Its advantage lies in lowering the center of gravity to achieve powerful leg drive, providing explosive power for devastating uppercuts and hooks.
Famous for its constant, violent pressure on the opponent's torso and jaw, it was perfect for Natsuhi's current slightly small frame and short wingspan.
By lowering the body and bobbing the head, one can easily dodge the opponent's high jabs and straights, closing into the inner circle to complete an underdog victory!
[It seems she really knows how to fight... and knows how to deal with taller opponents.]
Seeing Natsuhi's stance, the Black man immediately knew she was professional. The only thing he couldn't understand was why she looked like an ordinary woman despite having the air of a battle-hardened veteran.
Regardless of what was going on, he didn't dare be careless. After all, she was a tough character who had easily taken down two adult men.
He assumed a standard Philly Shell stance, with his left fist hanging low and swaying slightly, and his right fist raised tight against his jaw.
Maintaining a bouncing step, his gaze was locked onto Natsuhi's every move.
The Philly Shell is a stance biased toward defensive counter-attacking. Compared to traditional stances with hands held high and constant disruptive jabs, maintaining the Philly Shell requires less energy.
It doesn't require frequent jabs to control distance; instead, it uses posture and movement to neutralize attacks.
Moreover, it exposes the side of the body to the opponent, greatly reducing the target area for hits.
One had to admit this Black man was very cautious, or was he just a 'turtle-style' fighter?
She didn't care about that. Since the opponent had handed over the initiative, she didn't need to be polite.
She knew the fatal weakness of the Philly Shell: to raise the shoulder to protect the head, the torso—especially the liver and rib area—is completely exposed.
A fighter like her, who loved launching fierce attacks, was all too familiar with it.
The two watched each other warily, slowly closing the distance between them.
The moment the distance between them shortened to a critical point, Natsuhi finally moved.
She took an extremely short, hidden breath to store oxygen for the subsequent forceful exhale, acting like a gas pedal pressed to the floor.
Pom!!!
Natsuhi dashed forward at high speed, her figure seemingly vanishing from her original spot as she charged straight at the Bald Black man. A savage grin uncontrollably surfaced on her face, her features distorted by the sheer force of her exertion!
An arc flashed through the air.
Natsuhi threw a crouched, full-rotation mid-level uppercut. In the instant of her lunging charge, she twisted her hips and back, maximizing the kinetic chain of her entire body to strike directly at the man's wide-open abdomen.
Without compromising speed, she exerted all the power of this body!
[So fast!!!]
Seeing the girl rush in instantly, the Black man hadn't expected her to be so fast and froze for a brief moment.
[But... it's still within the range of reaction!]
[As expected, the target is the abdomen?!]
The Black man had already guessed where Natsuhi would attack; his years of underground fighting weren't for nothing.
The torso is the largest target on the human body and is less flexible than the head, making it harder to dodge. Plus, with his jaw protected by his right hand, an attack to the head would require a motion too large and easy to predict.
Once she missed, his prepared, stronger right hand could directly land a fatal counter-punch to end the fight.
Having anticipated the opponent's target, and coupled with Natsuhi's poor physical condition, her speed was still limited despite the boost from her technique.
In fact, the moment he saw Natsuhi move, the Black man's body instantly jumped back, and he intercepted the attack by pressing his arms down.
[It looks fierce, but the force is actually much lighter than I imagined. As I thought, everything before was just a bluff!]
Feeling the power of the strike, the Black man immediately flashed a confident smile. She put on a good show, but her power was just so-so; he really had been intimidated by her aura for a moment.
After all, she was just an ordinary woman. How could her physical stats compare to a burly man like him who fought year-round?!
The instant he blocked Natsuhi's uppercut, he immediately threw a heavy right straight punch at the girl below him with all his might. In his ecstasy, he seemed to already see the image of Natsuhi being blown away by this punch.
[Damn it! Such a heavy attack had no effect. Is the quality of this body really this bad?!]
[So fast, there's no room to dodge!]
This body's reaction system was too slow. By the time Natsuhi realized it, the fist was already in front of her eyes. Because the distance was so close, there was very little room to react.
She could only raise her arms to block in front of her as fast as possible. Just as she lifted them, a loud 'bang' rang out, and Natsuhi's slender body was sent flying. She stumbled back several steps, gritting her teeth to barely stabilize herself.
Her arms were hit so hard she could barely lift them...
This is why fighting competitions are divided into weight classes. In just one encounter, Natsuhi was crushed in every aspect. This was a gap in pure strength and physique that no technique could compensate for.
And this was even with the Black man being too close to Natsuhi, meaning his right straight didn't have full extension...
With her physical stats being completely overwhelmed, can Natsuhi really defeat the enemy before her?
Though it would be difficult, how would she know without trying?
Body Data:
[Ito Natsuhi]
[Height]: 172cm
[Weight]: 57.3kg
[Wingspan]: 173cm
[Bald Black man]
[Height]: 185cm
[Weight]: 83.2kg
[Wingspan]: 197cm