Three days later, with Saiga's introduction, Hayashi, Erina, Hisako, and the still-infant Miu officially met the pinnacle of combat power in this world—the master among masters, the undefeated legendary "Dream Racehorse" (not really) Hayato Fūrinji.
A muscular titan standing over two meters tall and weighing more than 100 kilograms, hailed as the Invincible Superman.
"Hoho—" Stroking his beard, the old man chuckled as he looked at the three youngsters before him. "That brat Saiga told me you're visitors from another world?"
"That's correct." Hayashi nodded, then pointed at his feet with a smile. "At least this little cutie shouldn't exist in this world, right?"
"Gahahaha—"
Gengar raised both hands as it emerged from the shadows, gave the old man a polite bow, then retreated back with a mischievous grin.
Your little cutie has appeared! Your little cutie has gone back!
"Oh—"
The old man widened his eyes and said with a hint of curiosity, "It can stay in the shadows—is it a ghost?"
"Well, in terms of classification, Gengar is indeed a Ghost-type Pokémon," Hayashi nodded, then grinned and added, "Also, old man! Gengar is a lady."
"Oh, oh—" The old man quickly crouched down, placed his right hand by his mouth, and whispered toward Hayashi's shadow, "Miss Gengar, my apologies for referring to you as 'it' earlier."
"Ghehe!"
Gengar stretched out a hand and gave a thumbs-up with a playful "pop."
No worries, hehe!
The old man chuckled as he straightened up and looked at Hayashi. "Well then, shall we find a place to settle down first? To be honest, I'm currently on a journey of world correction, so I've been without a fixed residence."
"Hmm—"
Hayashi pondered for a few seconds. He remembered that this was indeed the setting in the manga: when Miu was young, she traveled the world with the old man on his correction journey (beating people up) until the old man established Ryōzanpaku and left her in the care of the others before continuing his journey alone.
'So, the three of us are going to follow the old man on his world correction journey?' Hayashi made a troubled face. Would it really be possible to focus on martial arts training under these circumstances?
Truthfully, if Hayashi truly wanted to learn martial arts comprehensively, the best time to travel to would be right before the main story began—by then, Ryōzanpaku would already be fully established, housing six master-level martial artists: Akisame Kōetsuji, Shio Sakaki, Kensei Ma, Apachai Hopachai, Shigure Kōsaka, and Hayato Fūrinji.
But if he did that, Hayashi would undoubtedly miss the chance to save Miu's mother. He didn't want to prioritize his own interests and let Miu grow up alone, just like in the original story.
"My original plan was to take Miu along on the world correction journey, but—" Just as Hayashi was wrestling with his thoughts, the old man stroked his beard and explained somewhat helplessly, "The two young ladies aside, young man, you're a bit too old to start learning martial arts. So I'll have to put in some extra effort."
No matter how you looked at it, Hayashi was already twenty-four! Generally, martial arts training should start in childhood, when the body's flexibility far surpasses that of an adult.
"Ahaha, well, there's nothing I can do about that—" Hayashi scratched his head helplessly. If he had obtained the Interdimensional Gate when he was five or six, he probably would've gotten himself killed out of sheer ignorance.
"So, I plan to ask an old friend to teach you in my stead—" The old man stroked his beard and chuckled. "Can't be helped. After all, I'm a firm believer in not taking disciples."
...
...
As the saying goes: Just when you think all hope is lost, a new path reveals itself!
Hayashi never expected that the "old friend" the old man mentioned would turn out to be Akisame Kōetsuji—the very person he most desired to meet! Among the other masters of future Ryōzanpaku, Akisame Kōetsuji could be considered the most skilled at teaching disciples.
"My, my, what astonishing news—" Akisame knelt on the tatami, studying the Indeedee sister holding Miu with keen interest, his tone laced with surprise. "Travelers from another world and creatures from another world?"
"Hoho, even I was startled when I first heard the news," the old man chuckled, stroking his beard. "They are the benefactors who saved my daughter-in-law, so it's only right that I personally guide them! Unfortunately, I must embark on a journey to correct the world, so I can only entrust them to you—"
'Bullshit—' Hayashi instantly transformed into the Tiger King internally.
"Since it's the old man's request, I naturally won't refuse," Akisame shook his head, then added in a slightly eerie tone, "However, young man—martial arts are best learned from childhood. At your age, mastering martial arts will require enduring great horrors~"
'I already know what lies ahead is hell—' Hayashi nervously gripped his clothes. He was well aware of how Spartan Akisame Kōetsuji's training methods were—to put it nicely, they were Spartan; to put it bluntly, they were practically torture devices designed to torment!
But the problem was, these "torture devices" were incredibly effective—the original protagonist, Kenichi Shirahama, an ordinary student with little talent, managed to build an astonishing foundation in just about a year!
Having long since made up his mind, Hayashi nodded firmly and said, "I understand! Master Kōetsuji, please use every means possible to train me! I may falter and think of giving up due to the hardship, so when that happens, I beg you to stop me!"
"Oh?" Akisame gave Hayashi a surprised look, then nodded. "If that's your request, I'll do just that."
"Then I leave them to you—" The old man stood up with a smile. "Well then, Kōetsuji, I shall take my leave."
Akisame nodded and rose to his feet, murmuring softly, "Safe travels."
...
...
The old man departed, leaving Hayashi, the three of them, along with his granddaughter, at Akisame's residence.
"Ahem."
Akisame cleared his throat lightly, his fist pressed to his lips, then said, "Would you mind releasing all the fascinating creatures from your world for me to see?"
At this moment, Akisame's left eye practically spelled out "I'm curious," while his right eye screamed "Waku waku"—his overwhelming thirst for knowledge was impossible to hide.
"Of course, no problem," Hayashi chuckled, glancing back at Erina and Hisako. "The little ones need to eat, after all, so they can't stay cooped up in Poké Balls forever."
Akisame nodded, feigning nonchalance as he said, "Then hurry and release them."
And so, the three of them made their way to Akisame's backyard, each pulling out their Poké Balls.
"Come out, Sylveon, Arcanine, Corviknight!"
"Come out, Alcremie, Pikachu, Klahh, Milotic, Dragonair!"
"Come out, Pinocchio, Tropius, Miltank, Indeedees!"
With the red light of Poké Balls opening, one Pokémon after another was released, stretching their bodies in the spacious backyard.
"Ohhh—"
Akisame rubbed his chin with keen interest, walking back and forth beside the Pokémon.
"Master Kōetsuji, are you curious about Pokémon?" Hayashi couldn't help but smile at Akisame's undisguised curiosity. "If you don't mind, I can introduce them to you?"
"Really?" Akisame's eyes lit up as he quickly pulled out a notebook, looking at Hayashi with the earnestness of an elementary school student. "Let's begin—which one first?"
You really aren't hiding your enthusiasm at all—
Hayashi chuckled and said, "First is Sylveon, an evolved form of Eevee—ah, Pokémon have a concept called evolution..."
After explaining the concept of evolution, Hayashi continued, "Eevee is the most special Pokémon. Its genes are highly unstable, so as of now, there are eight known evolved forms..."
As Hayashi explained, Akisame's notes grew longer and longer, his eyes shining brighter—he was brimming with curiosity about these unknown creatures!
"Alright, let's stop here—"
After Hayashi finished introducing Eevee, Gengar, and Arcanine, Akisame contentedly put away his notebook. Glancing at the sky, he said, "I should probably go pick up that child from the back mountain now."
"That child?"
"Ah, the child of a deceased friend of mine." Akisame nodded softly. "I'll introduce her to you all later—oh, and Hayashi-kun, starting training tomorrow is fine, right?"
"Of course! No problem!" Hayashi nodded decisively. "Also, please take care of Erina and Hisako—though, could you lower the intensity for them a bit?"
"Don't worry." Akisame stroked his mustache with a smile. "I know what to do!"
With that, he turned and headed toward the back mountain.
'If I'm not mistaken, he's probably going to fetch Shigure Kōsaka,' Hayashi thought, touching the tip of his nose—the daughter of swords and weapons, a natural-born master of arms, a martial artist at the master level in her twenties, Shigure Kōsaka.
"Master Hayashi—" Hisako approached him at that moment, unable to hold back her question. "Is the martial arts of this world really that impressive?"
It was no wonder Hisako would ask. After all, Senzui had been subdued by Gengar before he could demonstrate his strength, while Shizuha, Saiga, and the old man hadn't shown their abilities either. To Hisako, the combat prowess of this world remained a big question mark.
Not just her—even Erina couldn't help but feel curious. She remembered Hayashi telling her in the Pokémon world that they were heading to a place where they could build a solid foundation and learn combat skills!
From this perspective, Hayashi is referring to the current world we're in. So what exactly can we learn here?
I'm very curious!
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