...a technique even the strongest man on Earth is proud to boast about.
[Narrator's Voice]
During the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa, the U.S. troops landed on the Okinawa shore on April 1st, 1945, and stayed there in occupation until the Japanese surrender documents were signed on September 7th at Kadena.
They inflicted untold damage and chaos on the locals for about six months until they had even gone so far as angering the devil himself.
Located about 12 km to the North-East of the Main Island of Okinawa, surrounded by a bunch of small islands, existed a local legend on an small island about 1 km in diameter. In their hubris, they had opened Pandora's Box, unleasing the 'evil' into the world once again, waking the 'devil' from his peaceful slumber.
[Kuzan POV]
'No, it wasn't a devil.'
'It was a demon.'
That demon's technique one and only technique, which allowed him to always be armed, allowing one to use their own opponent's body as a weapon. The single technique which had caused over 2000 platoon members of the U.S. Battleship "IOWA" to abandon their posts and escape as fast as possible into the deep dark waters for safety.
'[Dress]'
It had taken the man's last strand of willpower to stand up once again after my small whisper into his ear.
'It's crazy what adrenaline can do in the most dire of situations.'
He'd realized, this wasn't a simple match, nor was he my opponent.
He was merely prey.
[Baki POV]
'And just what is he about to do?' I continued to guess while taking a quick glance at my dad to see if he was also interested...
'What?!' I had never before seen my father so surprised, as if already predicting the boy's next move. However, even that didn't explain the look of absolute shock and excitement spreading onto his face as his body started to clearly heat up next to me.
"WHOA!!! WHAT THE HELL!!!"
'That expression...'
[Kuzan POV]
I waited for the man to stand back up straight, his every movement seeming to pass in slow motion for me like a slowed-down taped recording. [Ultra Instinct] was certainly useful, but in situations like these, the wait was vexing...
'You must have recognized it by now, Mr. Hanma, after all it's 'your' family's 'secret' technique.'
I finally couldn't wait any longer and slid my left foot under him, causing the man to 'fly' into the air for a split moment before I used my left hand to grab the man's right leg. There he was, suspended in midair, helpless to the situation around him.
'Must be karma.'
[Narrator's Voice]
Joseph Lin, an audience member sitting in the stands during that same fight, would be interviewed later about the incident after the man in question had become a household name across all of America.
He would recount his tale with gory detail, the image having been clearly stuck in his brain ever since.
"He just started flinging him around, kinda like a pair of nunchaku," Joseph began, his eyes wide and unblinking as he relived the memory. "It felt unnatural. This guy—he's not small, you know? And his opponent, clearly younger than him... He grabbed the poor guy by the ankles first, lifted him effortlessly. Those moves... I could tell that I wasn't the only one affected by it."
"How could you tell that, Mr. Lin?" a female reporter asked while showing her microphone closer to his face.
"It started slowly, a few rotations to get momentum, but then he picked up speed. Faster and faster, until the guy was just a blur. The force was so intense that it looked like his body was creating a shield around the man."
"That's when I finally noticed that the area around me had suddenly become a lot more cramped. You see, I was sitting in the 5th row from the front, so I was somehow able to overcome the sense of danger his move was radiating, although barely."
"Let me ask you, Miss Aizawa, would you want to be locked in a cage with a hungry beast like a tiger for example? Of course you wouldn't. But what if that cage was the size of an entire town?"
"Are you saying that despite the terror you faced, you were unable to stop watching?"
"Yes, that's why, even as the first few rows of the arena were evacuated, we couldn't stop watching..."
[Kuzan POV]
I could see his face every now and then, twisted in pain and terror, his eyes rolling back. Usually, even this much would have been enough to put this son of a bitch into unconsciousness, giving him an escape from his pain.
However, 'I'd been careful,' utilizing my expertise in [Trans-species Anatomy Mastery] to keep the man just between that line, just on the edge of consciousness.
The sound of breaking bones, the sound of blood splattering on the ground continued to silently echo in the arena as the man stopped his struggle within my hands. You could see the life draining out of the guy with every impact, his body becoming more limp, more broken.
I could feel it, his heart finally succumbing to the reality that awaited him...
'Not even close to enough.' I had underestimated the amount of hate I felt towards the man, his actions irredeemable.
It was getting harder and harder to ensure his cognizance of the event. Regardless, I let myself go for a change and acted out of heart rather than sense.
'I always was quite the musician.'
I raised the man's body well above my head, using only one of my arms to hold onto his leg that I had taken great care not to break, awaiting just this moment, to actualize my personal 'spin' on the technique.
'[Drums]'
"SPLACK!" It was an interesting sound, reminiscent of the butcher's table, where hefty slabs of beef are thrown down for processing.
'Must have something to do with the arena floor, I mean it needs a repair after all of the previous fights, just look at all of the cracks in the pavement from the previous round.'
With a final surge of strength, I redirected the motion, slamming his body into the ground. The impact was brutal, resonating through the floor with a sickening thud. His bones cracked under the force, a grim symphony of breaking sounds that echoed in the sudden stillness.
'Still, a good musician never complains about the quality of his tools...'
'Practice makes perfect!' Just as I was about to continue tuning my 'instrument' and test it out once more, it seemed as if the string finally broke as I could feel the man slip deep into unconsciousness.
'I mean, I was planning to save you for her... but I'm sure she'll understand.'
Thankfully, it seemed that even the referee had lost his voice in recognition of the impact of my chord. Thus, I was free to continue forward for at least one more note...
[Baki POV]
'He's gonna kill him...' I was held in place, however, by my father's arm, which was now wrapped around my throat, preventing me from entering the arena.
[Yujiro Hanma POV]
"ZEHAHAHAHAHA"
[Kuzan POV]
'Just one more note...' 'Just one more note...' I was ready to finish my symphony, the final chord resonating both with the audience and with myself.
However, as they say, there's always gonna be critics.
I was forced to stop in the middle of my next 'swing', instead needing to 'dodge' the old man's attack, who had so unceremoniously entered the arena, breaking another one of our agreements. I was sure that without the help of [Ultra Instinct], I would have been caught off-guard by the old man's tricks, especially considering my current muddleheaded state.
'You fool me once-'
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, OLD MAN!"
"Hohoho, what a feisty little beast you've become, young man..."
[Arena Announcer POV]
'Thank God he's entered the arena.' I was still blaming myself for the guilt I was currently experiencing for not having ended the match sooner. I was just simply so shocked; it was as if my voice had been taken away right from me.
"Winner Kaiou Kuzan!" I screamed, hoping my words would somehow placate the young man's anger.
[Kuzan POV]
"The match has ended, boy. It's you who's breaking our promise this time around." The man spoke harshly, as if reprimanding his disciple for his behavior.
I continued staring silently at the man as my anger continued to lessen, breathing heavily while doing so. 'The moment's gone.'
"Chee," I clicked my tongue at my master's antics, throwing the rag doll within my hands towards him, like playing a game of catch with my old man.
Still, I received neither applause from the audience nor a 'thank you' from the man while exiting the arena.
'Don't worry, Master Ron, you still have a sister to apologize to. I'll be waiting till then for the encore performance.' Despite it being my original goal, it had not made my mood brighten up any bit more.
I had long realized that the only way for Xiao Li to overcome her inner 'demons' would be to take her revenge herself. She was more than capable of doing so; she just underestimated herself and her strength.
Still, I couldn't hold myself back once that man was directly in my face, looking at me with that smug look on his face.
I had still left some dessert for Xiao Li, to repay her kindness in sharing some of hers on one of our first 'outings' together. 'Still, if you're not up for it...'
'I don't mind spoiling my appetite further before the main course...'