[Unknown POV]
[A few hours ago...]
'That good-for-nothing, suggesting I travel all the way to America again based on information that might be a farce.'
I needed to change my mood.
"Ring, ring..." The person on the other end of the phone finally picked up.
"Is it done?"
The man's words irritated me more by the second with his insistence.
"Listen here, sweetie, this mission has taken much longer than expected. You're not the only high-priority client I have, you know."
He caught my intent. "I'll double it."
"You could triple it for all I care, sweetie. I can't get anything done if you don't tell me where they are. I'm sure you can find them with those little satellites of yours."
He considered my words before conceding. "There's no need for that. We've received reports of a person matching her description right next to you in China. I'll text you the details."
His words didn't soothe me, especially after how long I'd been stuck on this mission. "Not enough, sweetie. I'll need something more..."
I tried to squeeze out more benefits for the man, not expecting his response. "I remember from one of our previous conversations that you're also hunting a member of royalty, aren't you?"
"Yes, go on..."
"Well, you might be able to kill two birds with one stone..."
[Kuzan POV]
Despite my rising anger at the man standing in front of me, I let Master Kaku finish his statements out of respect for all he had taught me.
However, I felt my limit approaching, my blood boiling, ready to wipe that smug look off his face.
"Wait, but what's going to happen to my match with Kaiou You?"
"Hmmm... well, a match can't begin if a fighter's already down, isn't that right?" A single tap from the man and the great Kaiou Mao was down.
"The coalition force is complet—"
"I don't think it is, Master Kaku." I cut off the old man, unable to hold back any longer.
"I'm truly sorry, Master," I continued, explaining my actions as I made my way toward my target, who seemed blissfully unaware of how much he had offended me. "And I'm not saying that I don't appreciate your words. I am truly honored to be part of this team representing, in part, the strength of Bailin Temple."
"However, it's just too bad," I said, knocking out his son in a similar manner, "this is personal, you see."
"Oh?" The old man seemed more curious than angered, not caring about the loss of a coalition member. "Go on..."
"I made a bet with you, Master, and I expect you to honor it." My veiled threat was clear, and the seriousness of my tone left no room for negotiation.
I had never talked to him like that before, always giving him the respect he deserved as my master of martial arts. However, it was necessary.
"Hohoho," he held up his hand, stopping Kaiou Retsu from charging at my disrespect, "and who do you want to fight so badly, young man?"
"Him..." I pointed to the man I wished to 'steal' from Master Kaku, realizing the misunderstanding between us.
[10 Minutes Later]
'Chee, she's still not here.' I was annoyed by Xiao Li's behavior. Despite formulating this painstakingly complicated plan to 'win her back,' she wouldn't even give me a second chance.
'I mean, I get that you never asked me for it yourself, but what kind of friend would I be if I couldn't even deliver a little birthday present to you?' I lamented her absence from the audience stands. "I guess just the recording will have to do."
"Hahahaha, this is wonderful! Those fools have accepted the challenge. How dim-witted they are." My Master continued to laugh, jubilant at having 'tricked' the opposing team.
'Whatever, old man, as long as I get my fight.'
Kaiou Retsu, however, had a much harsher take. "Master, as the world's foremost elder of Martial Arts, you have absolute authority here, but I have to say, right now..."
"I am disgusted by you!"
Still, the student underestimated the thickness of the old man's skin. "Oh, well, that's fine."
I rolled my eyes at their back and forth before joining the rest of the 'team' in the arena to face our competitors.
"This is the worst crisis in Chinese Martial Arts history. No one could have foreseen that foreigners would dominate the tournament like this," the announcer continued, "Shame on you Chinese fighters. We mustn't lose the title of Kaiou Emperor!"
"But Kaiou of Kaious, Master Kaku, has formed an emergency team to hold onto it."
"Nothing matters now except victory!"
I stared into the eyes of all but one of the competitors in front of me, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. I still stood by the side of the Chinese fighters in respect for my master's words, despite him knowing full well what was about to transpire.
"Kaku," the ogre spoke mockingly to my great old master.
"Yes, what?"
"Do you remember those words you said to me just a little while ago? Well, it's my turn to say them to you..."
"Now you're filled with the emptiness of all the things you lack..."
"HAHAHAHAHA" his demonic laughter echoed through the arena.
"Yujiro Hanma's mocking us with his laughter. It's as if he's saying we're going to win and laugh at you while doing it."
"HAHAHA!"
I waited for the man to finish having his fun before speaking. My facial expressions were perfect; even I almost believed I was unaware of the change before it was announced. My 'shocked' face towards Master Kaku during the announcement, and my act of being 'frozen' stiff at its reveal, were flawless.
"Wait!" I 'attempted' to stopped everyone from leaving the arena, despite the fact that they had long left before I was able to 'thaw' myself out. I spoke my next words loudly, as if addressing the entire arena.
"I will not allow all of this to proceed..." I articulated my words filled with emotion perfectly, surprising the audience with my outburst.
"What's this, folks? Has Kaiou Kuzan switched his alliances after Master Kaku has so graciously instructed him since 'birth'?" The commentator was truly adept at his job, making me out to be the bad guy of the situation before I could even finish my words. However, he had picked the wrong opponent today.
"There is a bond closer than even the relation between master and disciple..." I let my words hang in the air before continuing.
"And this bastard has dirtied it."
I refused to elobrate further, despite the silent gazes of the audience asking me desprately to do so.
"Get the fuck out here!"
The audience was visibly taken aback by the raw anger in my voice as I finally dropped the act and let my true feelings emerge.
'This little bitch.' There wasn't another man on Earth who infuriated me more, especially after my conversations with Xiao Li, once she began opening up to Melissa and me following her time in Japan.
It was one of the rare times my sister broke her best friend's trust, choosing to 'spill her secrets' to me out of concern for the severity of the situation.
I still remembered the start of that conversation...
"Kuzan, I think it's worse than we thought. The way she's describing her 'training' under him is scary." My sister had given me another update while hanging with Xiao Li in America during my training under Master Orochi in Japan.
At first, I dismissed her concerns, thinking she was naive about the 'harshness' of Master Shikai Bun's teachings. But once I gave her a chance to explain, I was horrified by what I discovered.
His treatment of her under the guise of training that had been specially designed to break the poor girl.
'None of it was to make her stronger. It was just for his sick pleasure in watching her struggle.'
'I'll kill him.'
[Baki POV]
"What a rare sight, us standing side by side like this. How long has it been since the last time?" My father's words did nothing to distract me from the show unfolding before us.
"Sigh, what's really rare is what's going on out there in the arena."
"Oh? So you feel it too, huh, Baki? Before the match has even begun."
"Yeah, I can. But can you explain exactly what 'it' is?"
"It's the Hanma blood within you. I'm sure you've figured that much out at least," my dad continued, explaining our condition. "It's responding for us to his aggression. That boy's a trickster, but no matter how much he tries to hide it, I'm sure you can see it in his eyes too."
I finished my dad's words, finally understanding the restlessness I felt deep within my body. It was unreal, not being able to imagine how a fight with him would go despite seeing him fight in person.
"He's out for blood."
[Kuzan POV]
I made my way to the center of the arena, not wanting to wait a second longer to inflict a fraction of the pain Xiao Li had endured onto the piece of shit in front of me.
"Begin."
I disregarded his attempts at using Hand-Pocket to 'counter' my charge. Although I couldn't reveal my 'full strength' just yet, that didn't stop me from using one of my newly learned moves on the man.
At the very least, it would let me burn off some steam before the actual 'fun' match began.
It was very simple, really.
[Narrator's Voice]
The fastest human recorded in the modern age achieved this using just his two feet, despite having two more limbs to utilize. A human can only accelerate when they are actively pushing off the ground to reach a greater speed. A cheetah spends almost 70% of its stride accelerating, pushing on the ground, but when Usain Bolt set the 100-meter dash human world record, he was only on the ground for a mere 43% of the time.
Thus, scientists have determined that the best way to run faster is to 'have more legs.' A group of researchers even made the bold and controversial claim that, given expected improvements in two- and four-legged running, by the 2048 Olympics, the fastest human would be a quadruped.
[Kuzan POV]
'I don't even need a fully horizontal charge like the primitive man to surpass his speed. All I need is a little help from my martial techniques.'
With the help of Pickle's natural talent in this sort of thing, this 'move' was practically built into my genes, despite not being acknowledged by the system in any way.
However, that didn't stop me from giving my new technique a name:
'Flash.'
It took less than a fraction of a second to reach him, although I held back tremendously to avoid crushing him into unconsciousness from the onset.
Still, the man's face looked bruised, as if he'd been run over by a train. I held him in place, preventing him from falling by carefully trapping his face within the palms of my hands. It was similar to a mother's actions while telling her child that she loved them before planting a kiss on their forehead.
My coddling worked, as I saw his eyes opening slowly, preventing the referee from ending the match. I stared into his eyes with hunger surpassing even that of the caveman.
Never before had a meal looked more delicious.
But I was sure, even devouring him wouldn't satisfy my hunger.
'It would be too quick.'
"Well, there's always that."
It had always been my favorite technique to emulate. I was only able to fully 'unlock' the technique after my 'evolution' made it possible to try and replicate...
'I'm sure it'll be quite a surprise for him as well...'