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____Narration____
While most of the fighters were looking forward to the fight that was about to take place, some of them couldn't help but wonder: did Yuji have a plan to beat Kuroki Gensai?
None of them wanted to demean the boy prodigy in any way, but Kuroki was a real monster, a fighter who put pressure even on someone as experienced as Kaolan Wongsawat. It was only natural that they were curious to know what the boy was thinking.
But if Yuji were asked this question directly? Would he be able to answer?
Well, the best answer the boy could give them would be...
Maybe?
He had many ideas, that was true, but whether they would work or not depended on whether his assessment of Kuroki's abilities was correct.
The old karate master seemed stronger than he remembered from the original story, but that was to be expected, after all, he couldn't rely on his knowledge of the plot when the world he was in was an amalgamation of countless other worlds.
In fact, it would be disappointing if Kuroki maintained his level of power from the original story, after all, from what he remembered of the works he watched, there was a glaring difference in power between the strongest of Baki and Kengan Ashura.
"Ready?!"
And looking at Kuroki's status one last time, Yuji had to say...
[Status]
Name: Kuroki Gensai
Age: 51
Strength: XXX+++
Durability: AX
Stamina: AX
Speed: XXX+++
Intelligence: AXX
Potential: XXX
.
It wasn't going to be an easy fight.
"Start."
Advancing with a single step, Yuji swept the distance between the two and started the fight with a sequence of punches that were easily blocked by a single hand from Kuroki, but this didn't seem to shake the young fighter, who continued his flurry of attacks while making them faster and faster.
The karate stance used by Kuroki was intended to provide an impenetrable defense, and Yuji could see this clearly. The position of his arms and legs allowed him to calmly block frontal attacks, while he could easily guard against lateral blows.
But Yuji could by no means be considered a regular fighter, since unlike the other fighters in the tournament, his attacks were not limited to just those dimensions.
Grabbing the young fighter's wrist just as he was about to back away, Kuroki was a little surprised when Yuji used the karate master's knee to propel himself upwards and hit him with a kick to the top of his head, an attack that Kuroki narrowly blocked.
Landing on the ground, Yuji took advantage of the old man's surprise to advance and continue his onslaught with a flurry of attacks, Kuroki backing away slowly as he continued to block them.
"What is this? What are they doing?" Akira, who had his arms bandaged because he had helped defend the tame during the invasion, asked curiously from the stands.
"Testing each other." Kaneda was the one who promptly answered his brother's question, his answer receiving a nod of approval from the other fighters in the stands.
"That's right. Yuji wouldn't be so reckless as to throw himself into the middle of the battlefield without first testing his enemy, and that's exactly what he's doing." Himuro added, his attention completely on the fight as he tried not to miss a single detail.
"But that won't do any good, because my master is going to smash his face in!" It was Lihito who exclaimed proudly, causing him to receive strange looks from everyone around him. "Uh? What?"
"Just be quiet."
"I agree."
"Refrain from commenting."
Lihito frowned as he was reprimanded, then mumbled as he crossed his arms.
"Look, something's happening!"
Back in the fight, Yuji gritted his teeth when his calf was suddenly kicked, the force behind the attack making him almost fall to his knees.
'Fuck! Stronger than I thought.'
But the boy was quick to regain his balance, stepping back the instant Kuroki's palm flew inches from his chest and counterattacking with a kick to his stomach, knocking his master backwards.
'I can't anticipate your attacks.'
Raising his guard, Yuji stood still as he watched Kuroki stare at him as if the kick to his stomach hadn't even happened.
With his predictive ability, Yuji was able to anticipate attacks through pre-initiation, but because it was a skill he had acquired not so long ago, it was something he hadn't yet mastered, so opponents who moved only with essential movements were almost impossible to predict.
And Kuroki was one of those cases.
The old master didn't waste any moves, and Yuji didn't even need much time to realize it. He would need to find a way to break through his powerful defense, and in this case, he couldn't rely too much on his foresight to do so.
And for that, he already had an idea of what to do.
Boom!
Exploding towards Gensai, Yuji threw a punch in his direction, the master blocking it with ease while counterattacking with his palm in an attempt to pierce the young man's chest.
"!"
But that was exactly what Yuji was hoping for, so that the moment Kuroki launched his palm towards his chest, the boy would grab his wrist with both hands.
This caused the karateka to squint his eyes and immediately launch his other palm towards Yuji's face, but before the blow could reach him, Kuroki was surprised when he felt his feet being lifted off the ground, his body being thrown through the air in a complete spin.
'Manipulation of the flow of power.
Regaining control of his body in the air, Kuroki deftly landed on the ground, but barely had time to breathe when he had to throw his head back to dodge a kick inches from his eye, immediately countering with his palm.
!
But seeing his palm hit only the dust that rose up in front of him, Kuroki felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as his body screamed at him to jump away, a warning he responded to without blinking, his young opponent's palm passing just a few centimeters from his neck.
"Oh, it almost worked." Yuji complained as he saw how Kuroki dodged his palm at the last second, his eyes turning to the old man to see him staring at him with a grim face.
"Kid, how do you know this technique? Did that Setsuna teach you?"
Abruptly, the fight stopped when Kuroki suddenly asked darkly, Yuji remaining silent for a moment before answering him.
"No. Setsuna is an idiot who wants to kill me, fortunately the intention is mutual." Staring stoically at his palm, Yuji turned to Kuroki as he slowly changed his posture, opening his hands to highlight the use of the Koei style, after all, there was no point in hiding it. "We faced each other two years ago, and during the fight, I observed the Koei style and decided to take it for myself."
"Since Setsuna is just a bastard who doesn't care about his own style, I've decided to take responsibility for mastering it and passing it on. Sounds good, doesn't it?"
"..."
Kuroki remained silent, his previously hardened expression softening as a small smile threatened to appear on his lips.
"Is that the truth?" He asked, to which Yuji replied with a sincere nod. "That makes me happy."
Resuming his karate stance, Kuroki prepared to return to the fight.
'Genzan, it seems that the style you cared so much about is not lost. '
Thinking as he prepared his feet, Kuroki looked at the boy who was his opponent with respectful eyes.
'I feel he's in good hands.'
Boom!
.