Chapter 382: The Fist of Shaori
[Soul Combat Hub — Living Room]
A deathly silence hung over the room. Not a single person breathed as every eye
remained fixed on the monitor.
Fwoosh—!
On the screen, Yujiro Hanma's right leg snapped upward in a thunderous high-line
side-blade kick. The air itself seemed to groan before the impact landed with
surgical precision directly on Kaku Kaioh's jaw.
It was a strike capable of pulverizing a human skull. Yet, the impact only sent
Kaku Kaioh into a graceful rearward somersault. He spun like a leaf caught in a
gale, inverted once in mid-air, and landed silently on his feet.
Cr-crack... snap.
Kaku's jaw hung at a grotesque angle, dislocated and swaying. With a casual
flick of his head, it clicked back into place—clack—returning to its proper
alignment.
"—"
The sight was so beyond the realm of logic that the residents of the Hub stared
with wide, unblinking eyes.
"That wasn't an evasion," Retsu Kaioh explained, his voice low and heavy with
technical awe. "At the microsecond of impact, he intentionally dislocated his
own joints to absorb and redirect the kinetic energy."
"That... is the defensive application of [SHAORI]!"
Baki Hanma's face was slick with sweat. "Retsu-san... are you saying he just
'tanked' a direct hit from the Old Man?"
Seeing the confusion, Retsu continued his lecture. "Since ancient times, the
secret to every martial art and self-preservation style has been Relaxation
(Datsuryoku). Even the famous self-portrait of the sword-saint Miyamoto Musashi
shows a stance of total, hollowed-out looseness."
"In a life-or-death struggle, when every instinct screams for the muscles to
tighten, a master treats the emergency as if they were cradling a baby's hand...
or holding a raw egg without cracking the shell."
Retsu thinned his lips.
"To use Relaxation when death is inches away... it is easy to say, but nearly
impossible to execute."
"Especially when facing the absolute 'Apex of Striking' that is Yujiro Hanma.
For the Master to maintain that state and nullify the damage... it is like
trying to cut a single sheet of tissue paper floating in the air with a heavy
broadsword. The blade simply pushes the paper aside."
The miracle on screen continued.
Yujiro's right leg rose again, extending vertically until it was a straight line
with his body—an incredible display of flexibility. He aimed directly for Kaku's
head.
Zip!
His heel, clad in a simple black cloth shoe, descended like a falling
guillotine. It was the [OGRE'S AXE KICK]. It buried itself into Kaku's wrinkled
face.
It was a nightmare scenario for any fighter—an overhead vertical strike is
almost impossible to parry. Yet, through the ultimate application of [SHAORI],
Kaku's body simply yielded. He performed a series of rapid mid-air flips,
bleeding off the downward torque before landing as light as a feather once more.
Tap.
Kaku stood firm. A few drops of blood leaked from his nose, which he casually
licked away with his tongue.
"Ho ho ho! Truly magnificent, O Strong One! I haven't seen my own blood in
decades...!"
The praise wasn't for Yujiro's power; it was a celebration of Kaku's own
confidence in his art. It was a terrifying display of ego.
Facing this "invincible" defense, Yujiro Hanma's reaction was singular.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
He burst into a peal of manic, thunderous laughter. He didn't look frustrated;
he looked amused.
"[SHAORI], is it...?"
"Since the dawn of the Fist, [SHAORI] has been considered the highest level of
technical refinement," the [STRONGEST CREATURE] rumbled.
"When a fist blazes toward your eye—when danger is imminent—the body naturally
stiffens. It is a biological necessity for survival. But it is that very
instinct that leads to destruction."
"A sturdy oak tree is snapped by a hurricane, but the supple blade of grass
survives the storm. An adult who trips will break a bone; a baby who falls from
a height will often walk away unscathed."
"It is the wisdom learned from nature," Yujiro smirked. "Through a lifetime of
training, a boxer learns not to blink when a punch arrives. In other words...
training is the act of Overcoming Instinct."
Yujiro's eyes narrowed into predatory slits. "Kaku. You overcame your instinct
to complete your [SHAORI]. Now... I'm going to wake that instinct back up."
In other words: Yujiro was going to force Kaku's body to "stiffen" by triggering
a primitive survival response.
It was a battle of "Check and Counter-Check" at a level never before seen in
human history.
Kaku Kaioh took the offensive for the first time, stepping forward to strike.
But in the heartbeat of the entry, Yujiro reached out and plucked a single hair
from Kaku's head. The tiny, sharp sting caught the 146-year-old off guard. His
body reacted to the minor pain with an instinctive, microscopic flinch.
The [SHAORI] was broken. The "Relaxation" turned into "Stiffness."
In that tiny window of lag, Yujiro fired a straight punch. With a light tap, he
sent Kaku sailing across the arena to crash onto his back.
Yujiro hadn't used his full power. He was simply proving a point: I can touch
you.
The war resumed. Kaku slowly rose, his sandals scuffing—tap, tap, tap—as he
approached a man four times his muscular volume.
"O Strong One... try a taste of this old man's soft, 'cotton-like' fist."
Kaku threw a punch toward Yujiro's abdomen.
The next instant, Yujiro's expression flipped. He arched his back and performed
a high-speed back-dash, clearing the range of the strike.
The observers gasped. Baki Hanma broke into a cold sweat. No one understood the
significance of Yujiro Dodging better than his own son.
It's a miracle... He's actually afraid of the hit!
"And next—"
Kaku shuffled forward. Yujiro retreated step by step until his back hit the
stone wall of the arena. Cornered, the Ogre watched as the Sea Emperor closed
the distance.
Whoosh!
Kaku stepped in and fired. Yujiro pivoted his head to the side. Kaku's fist
slammed into the reinforced stone wall.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion rocked the stadium. The massive stone blocks shattered
into a spiderweb of cracks, a deep crater imploding where the withered fist had
landed. Stone fragments sprayed outward like shrapnel.
That punch—delivered by a gaunt, 146-year-old fossil—carried more destructive
force than Takeshi Wakatsuki or Biscuit Oliva.
It was more powerful than Ren's [STRIKE AT THE APEX].
This was the Offensive [SHAORI]!!
"This is it!" Retsu explained, his voice trembling with pride. "By taking
Relaxation to the level where even one's own body weight is discarded... he
converts the 'Void' into 'Impact'!"
"By transitioning from total relaxation to a strike in a single frame... he
releases the ultimate punch!"
Mohammad Alai Sr. nodded in agreement. "In professional boxing, we emphasize the
same thing. You must be loose before you explode. The difference between the
'Relaxed' state and the 'Contracted' state... that is the secret to a knockout."
Ren Shiroki was having a technical epiphany of his own. He compared his
[SOUL-LEVEL RELAXATION] to Kaku's [SHAORI].
There's a similarity... but they aren't the same.
Ren shadowboxed a small arc. Kaku's [SHAORI] was about overcoming biological
instinct. Ren's [Datsuryoku] was about his will overriding his body.
The Sea Emperor's level of relaxation is deeper... I'm still just a prototype.
How far can I take this?
On screen, Kaku was raining "soft" punches and kicks onto Yujiro. Every blow
sent the 120kg Ogre flying.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
As he took a punch, Yujiro's body went limp. He performed a mid-air rotation,
nullifying the impact perfectly. He landed without a scratch.
Yujiro Hanma was using [SHAORI]!!
Had he copied it in a single glance? Or had he mastered it long ago? It didn't
matter. Every twitch of the Ogre's frame proved his genius as the [STRONGEST
CREATURE ON EARTH].
Kaku Kaioh recognized the threat. He steeled his spirit for a duel of the
masters.
But Yujiro suddenly stopped. He announced he would no longer use [SHAORI]. He
had only used it to tease the old man; it wasn't his "Style."
Yujiro looked at the man standing at the peak of Kenpo and mentioned "Schools."
What was the Ogre's "Style"?
Creeeeeee—!
Yujiro clenched his right fist. His arm muscles tightened until they looked like
forged chrome, veins and arteries bulging in a terrifying, jagged display of
power. He raised his arm and slammed it vertically into the arena floor.
BOOM—!!!
The earth itself seemed to split. A crater deeper and wider than Kaku's strike
appeared in the center of the ring, cracks racing toward the audience.
"Do you understand now, old man?" Yujiro rumbled. "Combat is the Release of
Power. A punch without weight... it doesn't satisfy the soul!"
[Soul Combat Hub — Living Room]
Retsu and Baki were vibrating with tension. No one could predict who would walk
away from this.
Everyone was sweating.
But one person was in a state beyond "nervous." Ren Shiroki was drenched. Sweat
soaked his hair and his shirt, his body radiating a heat that surpassed the
room's temperature.
He was undergoing Mental Image Training at a lethal intensity.
His body was seated, but his mind was in that arena. He was running simulations
against Yujiro and Kaku simultaneously.
If I'm in that frame... do I use [SATSUI CHOICE]? Can I tech that lunge? How do
I experience that level of power?!
The desire was so overwhelming that his muscles were firing in micro-bursts, his
internal [ENGINE] redlining without him even standing up.
He didn't care about the sweat. He stared at the screen, his chin resting on his
hands, his mind "boiling" with the technical itch.
If I can't do that... if I never get to throw a punch like that... if I die
without experiencing that 'Apex'... what a pathetic waste of a life that would
be!
☆☆☆
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