"Rest position!"
"Yes!"
In one of the main areas where Karate was taught, Chozen looked at all the new and old students in his class today. "Listen, many of you may know what will happen in a few hours, but remember, you must be courteous to the guests."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Chozen, with his hands behind him, said, "Cordiality is a virtue we teach in this dojo. They will train with us, but they will also be our rivals. If any of you are challenged, you must fight and uphold the name of Sakura Bushido as high as possible."
"Each of you will be assigned a Cobra Kai student to train with, fight with, and exchange knowledge with. If any of you feel uncomfortable for any reason unknown to me, you can always approach me, and I will personally take care of changing your partner."
"Yes, Sensei!"
"For now, practice calm stretching movements."
When Chozen said these words, he didn't want his students to be docile—quite the opposite. They had to show the virtues taught in this place and later show their teeth if these visitors became aggressive.
It's obvious that the behavior of Cobra Kai students is not correct; they handle brutality in a way that could backfire, and that's something this dojo does not respect. But he understands the meaning, so today he would try to teach them what is taught in Sakura Bushido to make these students understand that the world is very different outside.
He could feel it; unlike Johnny, who seemed like a man seeking radical change in his students, John Kreese is a totally different man, a ruthless one who will not seek peace even knowing his possibilities.
That supposed rivalry that Johnny wanted to be fair is changing in some way, and it's most likely due to Kreese's presence. So the idea of having Cobra Kai students train at Sakura Bushido is good, at least until the true Sensei returns.
"If mercy is for the weak, the result will always be to kill or be killed." Chozen knew that Cobra Kai students were escalating more and more into unfounded hatred for Miyagi-Do, so he deeply believed he could change it.
While walking through the hallways of this huge dojo, very modernized for his taste, Chozen looked at Dash, who was wrapping bandages around his hands.
"Sensei, can you control that old military guy?" Dash made a joke while greeting Chozen, who approached.
Devon on the side nudged him and said, "Our duty is not to confront an ingrained doctrine of thought; sooner or later, circumstances will judge each one."
Chozen nodded and said, "You are very right about that, but the young ones do need to be taught correctly, and I think Dash's initiation class would be very correct to teach to Cobra Kai students who live in a karate bubble."
"Are you saying..." Dash's eyes lit up, knowing that he could give an initiation class to Cobra Kai students.
Chozen nodded and said, "You will give the welcome words; you and Devon can be the ones to teach those kids to think twice before getting into a fight."
"Is that really right?" Devon had suggested that instead of doing a presentation with a fake weapon replica, it would be better to use a real weapon like a knife, so it would be less shocking, but Dash disagreed with this point.
Dash, who seemed very excited about this proposal, frowned when he heard Devon's question with obvious intentions. They never really fought, but they did argue for long hours until one of them gave in to the other's arguments, but now there was nothing to discuss. After a few seconds of contemplation, he waved his hand and said, "Maybe that will teach them a bit of the reality that their Sensei talks so much about."
With that response, Devon knew she wouldn't have any chance of changing Dash's mind. She didn't get haloed either, so she also began to wrap bandages around her wrists.
Now everyone, at least the Kung Fu students, was dressed in a black uniform, while the Karate students wore their respective white uniforms. Both were from Sakura Bushido, but this was a way to know who was the more experienced one.
Once Chozen left, Dash stood in front of the window and said, "Don't worry too much; I know the limits, so I won't go too far with this situation."
"We could just report Cobra Kai to the country's karate association to have it closed if you really care. Obviously, the sport they teach abandons people, and they use this same doctrine to cause problems." Devon didn't look at Dash while expressing her thoughts on the matter; she knew Dash didn't want Cobra Kai to be closed, but this was an easier way to avoid so many problems.
"Maybe you're right, but I want to try it." Dash wasn't one to cut Johnny's hopes of being a different man; it seems that now he doesn't have control, but surely he will. Also, to know if Kreese had changed or not, he had sent someone to place cameras in the Cobra Kai Dojo to record everything twenty-four hours a day. This would give him an idea of whether to remove Kreese from the rivalry or not.
He and Devon agreed on a fair rivalry, but what's bothering them is that there are fights as if each Dojo were a gang of lunatics.
Karate is a doctrine and should only be used in an emergency, not to show how strong you are. Dash wanted to change the mentality of Cobra Kai students and hoped to achieve it. He would also test Kreese and know if he was a problem or not. Maybe he didn't want to get too involved in Johnny's rivalry with Daniel, but if this continued to escalate, he would intervene.
"Dash, the Cobra Kai guys have arrived!"
Looking at the young student who came to inform them, Dash nodded and said, "Everyone in formation, let the Sensei know!"
"Yes!"
Devon, who had wrapped bandages around her ankles, wrists, and elbows, looked at Dash discreetly and said, "If you don't have control, it's better to stay out of it, you know?"
"I totally agree with that; after all, it's neither my fight nor my problem."
...
At the entrance of Sakura Bushido, there was a large parking lot with Sakura trees and lots of vegetation. Being in this place near an artificial forest, few cars were seen, and normally everyone traveled by bicycle.
But at the moment, a small truck was parked outside the Sakura Bushido Dojo. This truck was actually part of the dojo and was responsible for moving large numbers of students when they had competitions.
"This place is incredible." Eli murmured, looking at the large place and all the vegetation around.
Miguel had no choice but to nod and say, "Everyone says it costs a lot of money to train at this dojo, but seeing the facilities, I think it's worth every penny they charge for classes."
"But we are Cobra Kai; it wouldn't be very good if others heard us talking about a rival Dojo that way." Tory knew that, being from Cobra Kai, they couldn't honestly expose what they thought; that would leave Cobra Kai in a very bad position.
Miguel smiled and said, "We may not have top-notch facilities, but our karate is the best."
Mitch muttered on the side, "Being realistic, they gave us a beating; we only won because they brought young students who had been training for no more than four months."
Eli on the side frowned; he looked at Mitch and said, "You lost to a smaller guy than you; you should consider whether strength or speed is better."
"Move, guys; it's not time to get ready when our enemy enters right in front of us." Kresse said, looking at Sakura Bushido Dojo.
Miguel frowned and asked, "Enemies? They are allies; they will open the doors to their facilities, so they are not enemies."
Kresse looked at this troublesome student because he always contradicted him and said, "When a beast invites its prey into its cave, it's not to be friends. It's clear that Sakura Bushido wants to destroy them, so you must do it first."
"That is..." Eli was also confused; did his friend Dash want to destroy them? He could be anything but heartless; he could tell from the day he sat in front of him when everyone bullied him.
Kresse, seeing that his students were turning against him, coughed a bit and said, "But the important thing is to have fun and enjoy these experiences, but don't forget that they will be studying our karate, so we must do the same. After all, we will face them in the tournament."
Upon hearing those more convincing words, Eli nodded and said, "My goal is to defeat Dash; his karate is on a completely different level."
Miguel agreed and said, "To be the best, we must defeat the best."
Kresse nodded at these words; once they beat Dash, then the whole valley would be for Cobra Kai. "Good, guys, you know what to do."
"Yes, Sensei!"