Baki glanced at Eli, who struggled to stand. His eyes scanned the wounds covering his body. "Well, it seems you're in a rough situation. You can rest now."
"B-Baki-hyung?!" Eli's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected to see Baki here after a whole month, especially not like this.
Baki walked toward James. "What's with the pink hair? You trying to become an anime character or what?"
James's surprised expression shifted into a smile. "I didn't expect to meet you here after all this time."
Baki stopped before James, his figure towering over him. "But I very much wanted to meet you. After all, you're the Legend of the First Generation. The man they call One Man Circle. I heard you ended the first generation single-handedly. I'm saddened you didn't come to find me."
James's smile widened. He slowly raised his hands and straightened Baki's collar. "Are you sure it wasn't you who ran away to hide from me? Let's forget our past differences. Today I'm here on business."
Baki swatted his hands away. "Is that so? By the way, you were on business last time too. I remember you ran away then. Should I make you run away again?"
James glanced at Baki's arm. "Are you sure you want to do this now? Your condition doesn't look too good to me."
Baki's smile turned demonic. "Haha~ Don't worry. It's good enough to knock some sense into you. But sadly, I'm here on business too. I heard that the pesky little runt who conspired against me is here. So step aside and let me see the guy."
James glanced back at Eugene. "Him? Sorry. I can't let you have him."
Baki laughed. "Haha~ I see you're craving a good beating!"
With that, Baki threw a punch with his right hand. James moved his head sideways. The punch grazed his cheek. Blood trickled down. He wiped it with the back of his hand.
Baki immediately followed with a kick. His right leg came up fast, a roundhouse aimed at James's head. James leaned back, bending his spine at an impossible angle. His hands touched the ground behind him. Baki's kick passed over his face. James pushed off the ground with his hands and flipped backward, creating distance.
Baki charged forward and threw another punch. James sidestepped and countered with a spinning kick. Baki raised his right arm and blocked it.
James didn't give him time to recover. He launched into a series of spinning kicks, his body rotating through the air like a dancer. Baki backed away, dodging each kick by inches. One came too close. Baki ducked under it, and James's foot smashed into a steel support beam behind him. The beam bent from the impact, metal groaning.
Baki stepped in and threw a side kick at James's chest. James twisted his body mid-air and avoided it. Baki's kick hit a concrete pillar instead. Cracks spider-webbed across the concrete. Chunks of it fell to the ground.
James landed and immediately went low, sweeping at Baki's legs with a capoeira move. Baki jumped over it. James's leg hit a stack of metal pipes. The pipes scattered across the ground with a loud clatter.
James spun on his hand and kicked upward at Baki while he was in the air. Baki twisted his body and kicked downward at the same time. Their legs collided mid-air. The impact created a shockwave that kicked up dust around them. Both landed and immediately attacked again.
Baki threw a straight punch. James leaned to the side, letting it pass by his face. He immediately countered with a kick to Baki's ribs. Baki turned his body, and the kick glanced off his side instead of hitting directly. He grabbed James's leg with his right hand and pulled.
James used the momentum to spin, his other leg coming around for a hook kick aimed at Baki's head. Baki let go and ducked. James's kick passed over his head and hit a wooden support beam. The beam cracked and splintered.
Baki came up with an uppercut. James arched his back and dodged it. Baki's fist passed inches from James's chin. James grabbed Baki's extended arm with both hands and attempted to throw him using a judo technique.
Baki planted his feet and didn't budge. He pulled back, bringing James with him, then threw a knee at James's face. James let go and flipped backward over the knee. He landed on his hands and kicked upward at Baki's chin.
Baki jerked his head back. James's foot missed by a hair. James pushed off his hands and flipped away, landing on his feet.
Baki charged again and threw a crescent kick. James ducked under it. Baki's foot hit a metal barrel. The barrel dented and flew across the construction site, crashing through a wooden fence.
James came up with a spinning kick. Baki blocked with his right forearm. The impact pushed him back a step. James immediately followed with another spinning kick from the other direction. Baki blocked again. James kept spinning, throwing kick after kick from different angles, his movements graceful and fluid.
Baki blocked each one with his right arm, unable to counter with his left. James's final kick came from above, an axe kick aimed at Baki's head. Baki stepped to the side. James's heel hit the ground. The concrete cracked beneath his foot, creating a small crater.
Baki stepped in and threw a back kick. James saw it coming and jumped. Baki's kick hit a concrete pillar behind where James had been standing. The pillar exploded, chunks of concrete flying everywhere. The structure above groaned and shifted.
James landed on top of a steel beam and immediately launched himself at Baki, his body spinning through the air. His kick came from an angle Baki didn't expect—from above and to the side, aimed at his blind spot.
Baki's instincts kicked in. He moved his head at the last second. James's kick grazed his temple. Blood appeared. James landed and immediately attacked again, his movements becoming faster, more unpredictable.
He threw a kick at Baki's blind spot—the area just outside his peripheral vision. Baki didn't see it until it hit his shoulder. He stumbled. James's next kick came from another blind spot, hitting Baki's side. Then another, hitting his leg.
Invisible Attacks.
Baki couldn't see them coming. Each kick hit him before he could react. James was targeting his blind spots so quickly that the attacks seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Baki gritted his teeth. He stopped trying to see the attacks and relied on instinct. When he felt the slightest change in air pressure, he moved. James's next kick missed. Baki immediately countered with a roundhouse kick of his own.
James flipped over it. Baki's kick hit a steel beam. The beam bent at a right angle.
James landed and went low again, using capoeira movements. His leg swept at Baki's feet. Baki jumped. James spun on his hand and kicked upward. Baki twisted in the air and kicked downward. Their legs collided again. The impact sent both of them sliding backward across the ground.
Baki landed and immediately charged. He threw a straight punch. James sidestepped, but Baki had anticipated it. His leg came up in a hook kick, catching James in the ribs before he could fully dodge.
James gasped and stumbled to the side. Baki followed up with a side kick. James ducked under it. Baki's kick hit the wall of an unfinished building. The wall cracked. Bricks fell out.
James flipped backward, creating distance. He was breathing harder now. "I see you've grown a lot stronger too."
Baki had managed to land a solid hit.
Baki charged again, not giving James time to recover. He threw a combination—right punch, right hook, roundhouse kick. James dodged the first two but had to block the kick. The impact sent him sliding backward.
James's feet left tracks in the mud. He looked up at Baki, who was already coming at him again.
Baki threw a flash kick—a fast, straight kick aimed at James's face. James tilted his head. The kick passed by his cheek. Baki immediately followed with a back kick. James jumped to the side. Baki's kick hit a concrete mixer. The entire machine tipped over and crashed to the ground with a deafening bang.
James landed on top of a pile of construction materials. He immediately launched himself at Baki, his body spinning through the air. Multiple kicks came from different angles as he spun, each one aimed at Baki's blind spots.
Baki couldn't see them all. One kick hit his shoulder. Another hit his side. A third hit his leg. But Baki endured them. He planted his feet and waited.
James came in for a final spinning kick, aiming for Baki's head. Baki saw this one. He ducked under it and came up with an uppercut.
James saw it too late. He tried to move, but Baki's fist caught him under the chin. James's head snapped back. He flew upward and crashed into a steel beam above. The beam bent from the impact. James fell back down.
Baki was waiting. He threw a roundhouse kick. James twisted his body mid-air and managed to block with his arm. The impact still sent him flying to the side. He crashed through a stack of wooden pallets. Wood splintered everywhere.
James rolled and came up to his feet. Blood dripped from his chin. He wiped it away and looked at Baki. "I would have loved to fight you at your best."
Baki was breathing hard. His right arm was trembling slightly from blocking so many of James's kicks.
James smiled. "But I've also grown stronger."
He moved. His speed increased dramatically. He came at Baki from an angle, then suddenly changed direction mid-movement, using a capoeira technique. His kick came from Baki's blind spot.
Baki moved on instinct. He leaned back. James's kick missed. But James immediately transitioned into another kick from a different blind spot. Baki couldn't dodge this one. It hit his shoulder. He stumbled.
James pressed the advantage. He threw a barrage of kicks from different blind spots, his movements so fast and graceful that they seemed to blend together. Baki couldn't see most of them coming.
One kick hit his ribs. Another hit his leg. A third hit his shoulder again. Baki's body was accumulating damage. He tried to counter but couldn't pin down where James would attack from next.
James's kick came from above, an axe kick aimed at Baki's head. Baki raised his right arm to block. The impact drove him down to one knee. The ground beneath him cracked.
James spun and kicked again, this time from the side. Baki tried to block, but the kick was too fast. It hit his ribs. He gasped. James immediately followed with another kick from a different angle. Then another. Then another.
Baki's vision blurred. He was taking too much damage. His left arm was useless, and his right arm was getting too tired to block properly.
James came in for what looked like a finishing kick. His leg came up, aimed at Baki's head from his blind spot.
Baki stopped trying to see it. He just moved. His body twisted, and his leg came up at the same time. A 1440-degree kick—his body spinning through the air, his leg extended.
The two kicks collided mid-air. The impact created a shockwave that shattered every window in the surrounding buildings. Glass rained down. The ground beneath them cracked and cratered. Both fighters were blown backward.
James crashed through a wooden structure. Wood exploded around him. He hit the ground and rolled, then pushed himself up.
Baki landed on his feet but slid backward across the ground, his feet carving deep trenches in the mud. He stopped and looked at James. "Trust me, you won't like it if I use all my strength."
James pulled his hands out of his pockets for the first time. "You really are something."
Baki smiled, his expression demonic. "That's my line."
Both charged at the same time. James came in spinning, his kicks coming from multiple blind spots. Baki met him head-on, throwing kicks of his own. Their legs collided mid-air multiple times. Each impact created shockwaves. The ground cracked beneath them.
James landed and immediately transitioned into a low spinning kick. Baki jumped over it. James continued the spin and kicked upward. Baki twisted in the air and kicked downward. Their legs collided. Both were blown apart again.
James flipped backward and landed on a steel beam. Baki landed on the ground. James immediately launched himself from the beam, his body spinning through the air like a drill. Multiple kicks came at Baki from every direction.
Baki planted his feet and started spinning too. His leg extended, deflecting each of James's kicks. The impacts created a continuous series of shockwaves. Everything around them was blown away—pipes, barrels, wood, metal, everything scattered.
Both landed at the same time. Both immediately charged again.
James's kick came from Baki's blind spot. Baki's kick came at the same time from a different angle. Both kicks hit simultaneously—James's kick hit Baki's ribs, Baki's kick hit James's shoulder.
Both gasped. Both stumbled. Both refused to back down.
James threw another kick. Baki threw a punch. The kick hit Baki's arm. The punch hit James's leg. James spun from the impact and kicked with his other leg. Baki ducked and came up with an uppercut.
James leaned back, dodging the uppercut by inches. He planted his hands on the ground and kicked both legs at Baki's chest. Baki crossed his right arm over his chest and blocked. The impact sent him sliding backward. His feet left deep trenches in the ground.
James flipped back to his feet. He was breathing hard. His shoulder was bruised where Baki had kicked him. His legs ached from blocking Baki's powerful kicks. "He's a beast. Should I take it up a notch?"
Baki was in worse condition. His ribs hurt where James had kicked him multiple times. His right arm was trembling. His left arm was still useless. Blood dripped from cuts on his face. "My body will break down if I push any harder. Did I really overdo it this month? I was enjoying the fights too much."
But both of them smiled.
They were about to charge again when—
"What's this?"
The voice came from the side. Both James and Baki turned.
Three figures stood at the edge of the construction site.
Gun Park. Goo Kim. And the Chairman of the HNH Group, Charles Choi.
Charles Choi's eyes scanned the destroyed construction site, then settled on James. "I was wondering what was taking so long. But I didn't expect to see you here, DG."