Then he raised his right hand, palm shaped like a blade, and slashed diagonally upward to meet the descending massive blade!
"Kusanagi-ryū Ancient Martial Arts, Style 109: Quarry Piercer!"
CLAAANG—!!!
Fist-palm met sword-edge in direct confrontation!
An ear-splitting metallic ring exploded outward!
Violent shockwaves expanded in all directions, blowing the waterfall's cascade backward!
Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, Cloud's right hand-blade had firmly blocked Zankuro's massive sword—a blade capable of cleaving mountains!
"How is this possible?! Blocking Zankuro's sword with bare flesh?!" Haohmaru's eyeballs nearly popped out of his skull.
"First strike." Cloud deflected the attack and spoke calmly.
"Interesting!" Zankuro's eyes blazed with even fiercer battle intent. He withdrew his sword and stepped back, then his blade-work transformed!
"Mugen-ryū Tenhōzan!"
The massive blade traced a bizarre arc through the air. An incomparably heavy "momentum" condensed on the blade, as if the weight of an entire mountain had been loaded onto this single strike!
"Bring it on!"
Cloud advanced instead of retreating. His left hand formed a claw, his right a fist, and his body began spinning like a top at high speed!
"Kyokugenryu Karate: Ryūko Ranbu!"
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
A dense series of muffled impacts rang out like rain on banana leaves!
Cloud's fists, feet, elbows, and knees struck Zankuro's blade in rapid succession—dozens of times within a single second!
He didn't try to hard-block that overwhelming "momentum." Instead, through countless high-frequency impacts, he dismantled and redirected it bit by bit!
It was the perfect fusion of technique and power!
When the final blow of "Ryūko Ranbu" landed, Zankuro's earth-shattering "Tenhōzan" had been forcibly deflected. The massive blade grazed past Cloud's body and sank deep into the rock at his feet!
"Second strike." Cloud steadied himself, his breathing not the slightest bit disturbed.
"You...!" For the first time, a grave expression appeared on Zankuro's face.
He realized that the man before him was like a "kaleidoscope" of martial arts!
He clearly wasn't using any energy, yet every move, every technique contained different martial principles! Sometimes fierce and domineering, sometimes fluid and graceful, sometimes bold and expansive, sometimes precise and subtle!
He was like a living "martial arts treasury"!
"It's not over yet!"
Zankuro let out a roar. He wrenched his blade free, and man and sword merged into one, transforming into a blood-red tornado that swept toward Cloud!
"Ultimate Secret Art—Mugen Cannon!"
This was Zankuro's most powerful killing technique! It fused all of his "oni ki" with his swordsmanship into one, becoming an ultimate storm of slashes that could not be dodged or blocked!
Facing this apocalyptic ultimate technique—
Cloud smiled.
"Finally here?"
He took a deep breath and, in this single moment, unified every fighting technique, every martial principle, every plundered ability he had learned in the KOF world and the Samurai Shodown world!
The ferocity of Kusanagi. The fluidity of Yagami. The selflessness of Kagura. The dominance of Kyokugenryu. The wildness of Fatal Fury. The lethal military arts of the Ikari Warriors. Haohmaru's boldness. Ukyo's precision. Genjuro's madness...
All these "Ways" converged into a single "fist"!
He assumed no flashy stance. He simply, plainly, threw what was perhaps the purest and most perfect punch of his entire life at the blood-red tornado sweeping toward him.
That punch had no name.
That punch represented everything Cloud was as a martial artist!
BOOM—!!!!
Fist and blood-red tornado collided violently before the waterfall!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Everyone held their breath.
Then they witnessed something they would never forget.
That blood-red tornado formed by Zankuro's ultimate technique—capable of annihilating everything—
Before Cloud's seemingly unremarkable punch—
Beginning from its center, it collapsed. Inch by inch.
It wasn't overwhelmed. It wasn't torn apart.
It was "convinced" by principle. Dissolved at its root by a higher level of "martial arts."
When the blood-red tornado completely dissipated—
Cloud's fist, its momentum undiminished, lightly pressed against the armor on Zankuro's chest.
Crack.
A soft sound.
The armor on Zankuro's body—specially crafted from rare materials, supposedly indestructible—began spreading spider-web cracks from where Cloud's fist had touched.
Then with a clatter, it shattered into countless pieces and scattered across the ground.
Zankuro's imposing figure stood frozen in place.
He looked down at his now-bare chest, then looked up at Cloud, who had withdrawn his fist and stood calmly before him.
The mad battle lust that had burned in those red eyes... was extinguished. In its place was the serenity of satisfaction and release.
"...So this... is the vista at the end of martial arts..."
He murmured to himself.
"...I have seen it."
After speaking these words, his imposing figure began to grow transparent, transforming into golden particles of light that slowly drifted toward the sky.
The legendary "oni," Kibagami Zankuro.
He hadn't been "killed."
After witnessing the "peak of martial arts" he had pursued his entire life, he had "dissolved" in contentment.
Cloud watched those drifting particles of light, silent for a long while.
This battle hadn't been easy for him.
But he felt a satisfaction and exhilaration unlike anything before.
This was what a true martial artist should pursue—a pure battle.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on defeating the Legendary Oni Kibagami Zankuro through pure martial arts!]
[Host's understanding of martial arts has received an EPIC-level enhancement! All fighting-type skills permanently increased in power by 20%!]
[Special Achievement Unlocked: Pinnacle of Martial Arts!]
Listening to the system's notification, Cloud slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
He knew his "journey" in this world was coming to its end.
He turned around to see his companions gathered at the waterfall's edge—every one of them looking at him as if witnessing a deity, completely won over.
A relieved smile spread across his face.
...
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