Chapter 366: Combat Passion
"THE MATCH IS DECIDED—!!"
The announcer's roar shook the foundations of the Arena. In the stands, the
spectators were on their feet, fists clenched in a fever pitch of excitement.
On the blood-stained sand of the Pit—
Crunch.
Ren Shiroki staggered forward a single step, his body swaying as he fought to
remain upright. Both arms dangled limp at his sides, and his head hung low,
breath coming in ragged, shallow gulps of oxygen.
Naoya Okubo lay flat on his back, limbs sprawled like a fallen titan. His eyes
were half-open, staring at the ceiling with a vacant, unfocused gaze.
Both men were masked in crimson. Teeth had been lost, and their stamina was in
the negatives. But not a single soul in the Tokyo Dome viewed this scene as
pathetic. Instead, the thousands in attendance felt a visceral sense of awe,
sending a wave of respect toward the two warriors.
"IT'S OVER!"
The announcer slammed his desk, screaming into the mic. "Ren Shiroki vs. Naoya
Okubo! The Soul of the Street vs. The King of Synthesis—we finally have a
victor!!"
"Modern combat is a thing of absolute beauty!"
The announcer's voice turned sharp and clear. "The anthem of victory plays for
the ever-evolving [SOUL COMBATANT]! For Ren Shiroki!!"
The cheers erupted like a physical wall of sound.
Ren suddenly lost the strength to stand straight. He doubled over, bracing his
hands on his knees and lowering his head to catch his breath during this brief
moment of silence.
"I played around... a little too much," he rasped, a bloody grin splitting his
face. "Facing a master of Synthesis is a death sentence. That German Suplex
nearly ended me..."
Ren looked over at the recovering Okubo. "Using a throw the second I yanked you
in... if you'd had an ounce more of stamina, it wouldn't have just been a
suplex. It would've been a Suplex-to-Mount, wouldn't it? You would've been on
top of me instantly."
"If you'd pulled that off, you would have pulverized my skull right then and
there." Ren spat out a glob of bloody phlegm. "Damn... I can't let that happen
next time."
"..."
Okubo slowly blinked back into consciousness, hearing Ren's complaints. He let
out a helpless, weary chuckle. "Give me a break. You say that, but you're loving
every second of it, aren't you?"
Only Okubo, from his position on the ground, could see it—Ren Shiroki, head down
and masked in gore, was grinning with a sense of pure, childlike joy.
Thinking back on the rush of executing [SOUL-LEVEL RELAXATION], Ren couldn't
hold it back. He burst into a raspy laugh. "Haha! I guess you caught me!"
Okubo sighed, his face becoming a map of exaggerated "Osaka-style" frustration.
"Tokugawa-jiisan said we were similar because we both practiced a hundred
different arts. But once we actually started hitting each other... man, we
aren't similar at all."
"You're in a league of your own." Okubo rubbed his jaw, wincing. "Tsk... I think
my chin is actually cracked. Getting hit by a heavyweight flicker-jab like
that... a concussion is the least of my worries."
"This was my total defeat." Okubo smacked his lips, tasting iron. "I doubt I'll
win the next one either, but you better believe I'm going to try. Just you wait,
Shiroki-kun. The Combat King is going to get stronger, and then I'm coming back
for my rematch!"
Ren forced himself to stand straight, offering a salute. "Nice. That's perfect!"
He watched as the paramedics entered the ring, loading Okubo onto a stretcher to
be rushed to the medical wing.
Passing through the White Tiger tunnel, Okubo's employer, Hisashi Atami, was
already waiting.
Okubo looked a bit bitter. "Sorry, Boss. I lost."
Atami smiled, extending a fist. "In business, as long as you don't quit, there's
no such thing as a 'final' deal. I imagine the arena works the same way. I have
no regrets about making you my fighter, Okubo-kun."
"Ah... thanks." Okubo felt the weight lift from his shoulders and bumped Atami's
fist.
Ren stood alone in the Pit. He had recovered enough strength to bounce on the
balls of his feet, so he waved off the medical staff, choosing instead to soak
in the atmosphere.
He turned to the crowd, raising a blood-bandaged right fist high into the air.
"HAH! I WON!!"
The shout triggered a secondary explosion of cheers.
"Great fight, Ren! Beautiful movement!" "The [SOUL COMBATANT] is invincible!"
"Another win for the Hub!" "Okubo was a beast too! MMA is badass!"
The roar of the crowd felt like a high-pressure current washing over Ren, making
his very skin itch with adrenaline. He dropped back into a side-facing Philly
Shell, his left jab snapping out again and again into the empty air.
Whish! Whish-shish-shish!
His feet blurred as he shadowboxed, weaving in a V-pattern, his movements light,
powerful, and whistling through the air. The blood on his face and the bruises
on his ribs did nothing to slow him down.
The sight of him—bloody, lethal, and undeniably cool—was something only found in
the Underground.
Ren finally walked out of the ring and headed into the Blue Dragon tunnel. Fusui
and Mitarai were waiting for him.
Mitarai bowed deeply. "Shiroki-san, that was a truly magnificent performance."
The old gentleman then stepped aside to let the couple have their moment.
"Ren-chin, you were amazing!" Fusui draped a long towel around his neck and
immediately began pouring a bottle of water over his head to wash away the gore.
"Phew...!" Ren shook his hair out like a dog, feeling refreshed.
Soon, the rest of the group from the VIP stands arrived. Rama XIII, Gaolang,
Tokugawa, Arisa, Marco, and Cosmo Imai all crowded into the tunnel to celebrate
the win.
Even Alai Jr. stepped out of the waiting room, clapping his hands for Ren.
"Shiroki-san!" Alai Jr. whistled. "That was some world-class boxing!"
Tokugawa was practically skipping. He stood between Ren and Alai Jr., beaming.
"Oho! I've seen some incredible things tonight!"
Alai Jr., however, looked a bit concerned. "Tokugawa-sama, are Adam Dudley and
Naoya Okubo going to be alright? Those were heavy concussions."
"Don't you worry about that," Tokugawa laughed. "When it comes to surgeons, the
Underground has the best in the world on speed-dial!"
Alai Jr. nodded, then turned back to Ren. He wore a polite, serene smile, but
his voice held a certain weight. "Underground fighting is truly a dangerous
world..."
Ren put his hands on his hips, his tone turning serious. "Yeah. The search for
'Strength' is a terrifying, dangerous path. It isn't simple."
Ren raised an eyebrow at Alai Jr., a mischievous spark entering his eyes as he
fought back a laugh.
"I've reached a new stage tonight. I've awakened... a 'Superpower' that defies
all logic and reality!"
Ren gripped his left hand, his face turning tense as he forced a bead of sweat
to appear on his brow.
"Inside my left arm... and inside my mind... a horrific power is being sealed!
If—" Ren's voice dropped to a dramatic whisper. "If I am consumed by that
energy, I won't be myself anymore. I'll become something monstrous!"
"I'll kill you all! I'll rule the world! I might even start wearing a military
cap and old-school power-shoulder pads—!!"
The group stared at him in dead silence.
Fusui, Cosmo, Arisa, Marco, and even the little old man Tokugawa all began
shaking their heads and waving their hands in perfect unison, their movements so
fast they left afterimages.
"No, no, no," they said in a chorus. "That's absolutely never going to happen."
"..."
Ren kept his serious face for a second. "Ever since I touched it, I haven't been
able to stop. Even in my dreams, I'm calculating the next frame of the fight. I
want to know 'What is Strength' so badly that I'm enjoying the process of the
abyss."
He bared his teeth in a manic grin. "That's how I can touch the Satsui no Hado
and the Psycho Power!"
The group looked at him with various expressions of exasperation, though a few
were able to appreciate the joke.
"Very well!" Rama XIII clapped his hands, laughing heartily. "I wish you luck
with your 'World Domination,' my friend!"
"Nice. That's perfect!"
Ren burst into laughter, his intense persona vanishing instantly. "Sorry, sorry!
The whole 'Superpower' thing was a total lie."
The group's faces flattened. "We knew that, Ren-chin!!"
Ren grinned. "The only thing I really want is that passion—the feeling of giving
everything in a fight. That's the treasure."
He threw an arm around Fusui's shoulder, gestured for Arisa, Marco, and even
Cosmo to follow.
"Let's get out of here!"
"First, I need to get bandaged up and get my teeth fixed. Then... we need to
figure out what we're eating for midnight snacks!"
☆☆☆
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