Chapter 424: The Resolution to Die
Thud—!
Alai Jr. clutched his groin, collapsing face-first into the sand. His entire frame was wracked with violent tremors. He rolled onto his back, his mouth hanging open in a silent, wide-eyed gasp for air.
Baki Hanma's kick—speed and technicality aside—was delivered with such perfect placement that every man in the audience felt a collective wave of phantom pain.
"—!!"
The spectators stared with bulging eyes, many of them instinctively wincing or hissing through their teeth.
It was too fast. Too surgical.
The announcer was momentarily speechless. Any explanation would have been a waste of frames; the [CHAMPION] was demonstrating his absolute dominance in the most primal way possible.
Baki remained silent. He stood over the trembling Alai Jr., staring down with a gaze as flat as a mirror.
Rihito, watching from the sidelines, felt his own legs shaking. The issue wasn't the "groin-kick" itself—it was the Startup and the Rhythm. Baki's reaction time and velocity were operating in a dimension Alai Jr. couldn't even perceive.
"He's unreal..." Rihito swallowed hard. "It's a complete gap in Rank!"
"And it's different from the 'Technical Mastery' Ren-aniki explores. Baki Hanma is a different category of 'Strong' altogether."
Baki: Height 171cm, Weight 70kg.
Even with all his training, Rihito couldn't fathom how such a small frame could house such a terrifying, atmospheric level of power.
Baki looked down at Alai Jr. his face cold.
"Alright. You're entering the 'Near-Death' frames."
He slowly raised his left foot, targeting Alai Jr.'s face. He performed a short hop, committing 100% of his body weight to the stomp.
BOOM!!
The sole of Baki's foot slammed into Alai Jr.'s face. The force was so great that Jr.'s entire body from the neck down actually bounced off the sand, hitting the ground a second time with a limp, wet thud.
The impact shattered Jr.'s remaining fighting spirit. Blood geysered from his nose and mouth as he lay there, his eyes rolling back in their sockets.
Baki leaned over, checking the boxer's pupils. He saw a flicker of consciousness remaining. Without a word, he grabbed a fistful of Alai Jr.'s hair, hoisted him into a half-crouch, and snaked his arms around the boy's neck from behind.
[REAR NAKED CHOKE]—Secured.
Click.
The grip was quiet, but the pressure was absolute. As Baki's biceps tightened, the carotid arteries were compressed. Alai Jr.'s eyes rolled back completely, and his limbs began to go slack as his brain starved for oxygen.
"—!?"
Rihito broke into a cold sweat. He turned to Ren Shiroki, who was mumbling to himself. "It seems Alai Jr. never considered that facing Baki-kun... would actually be a 'Difficult' thing."
"Wait—what?" Rihito asked, confused.
He didn't get an answer. It was obvious Alai Jr.'s face was turning a bruised purple. He was at the edge of his biological limit.
Is Baki really going to kill him?!
The spectators held their breath, the atmosphere in the Pit turning suffocating. Kozue Matsumoto's face was pale. Tokugawa stood up in his booth, his hand hovering over the signal to end the match.
The next second—Zip!
A massive silhouette exploded onto the arena floor.
A heavy left hook swung in a horizontal arc, catching Baki on the cheek and launching the half-squatting youth through the air.
BANG!!
Baki was forced to release the choke. He skidded across the sand for several meters, bracing himself with his elbows as he slid into a seated position.
"—!!"
The crowd erupted in shock. A third party had dared to interfere in an Underground Arena duel?!
As the dust settled, they saw the intruder. He was a powerfully built middle-aged... no, elderly Black man in high-end casual wear. Even with his sunglasses on, his identity was unmistakable.
"Wait, is that...?"
"Alai?"
"No way... Mohammad Alai Sr.?!"
"It's HIM! THE GOD HIMSELF!!"
The Arena hit its highest volume of the night. The legendary Mohammad Alai had stepped into the Pit.
Baki slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his left cheek. The skin was already beginning to swell; the mark of the punch was visible to everyone.
"Getting hit by a legend... I'm honored."
Baki's eyes narrowed, his gaze shifting to the unconscious Jr. on the sand. "But... if you hadn't interfered, I would have killed him. Truly."
No one knew if Baki was bluffing, but Alai Sr.'s intervention was a matter of fact.
"I know," the legend replied. He looked Baki in the eye, his expression grave. "This is a gross violation of the rules. But... even if you chose to kill me right here, I wouldn't regret it."
That was the "Resolution" of Mohammad Alai. Compared to his father, Alai Jr. was indeed too young—too naive.
Baki pouted. "'To kill without losing your own life.' That's what Jr. told me."
"I don't see it that way."
"To try and take a life without putting your own on the line... to try and preserve your own skin while dealing death... naturally, you'll be the one to get killed."
Baki looked at Alai Sr. "At the very least, you have to have the 'Resolution to Die'—just like you did when you jumped in just now."
"Yeah... the resolution to die."
Baki paused, then turned his head. He looked past the ring, toward the VIP section where a massive silhouette sat.
[THE STRONGEST CREATURE ON EARTH] — Yujiro Hanma.
"Old man," Baki said, his voice level and clear. "Fight me."
The boy steeled his spirit. "I want this next match to be my final 'Defense Battle.' I want to put a period on my story."
"Let's settle everything between us."
The words were quiet, but they carried the weight of a tidal wave, dragging the entire Underground Arena into a storm that made it hard to breathe.
No one spoke. Not Ren, not Rihito, not even the rowdy fans. No one wanted to interrupt this moment.
Yujiro Hanma smiled. The muscles of his face stacked together like interlocking plates of armor, radiating a metallic sheen.
Whoosh!
He didn't use the stairs. He pushed off his toes and vaulted over the railing, landing in the Pit with a heavy, atmospheric THUD.
"Heh."
Yujiro looked down at his son.
"You've eaten rice. You've eaten Qi. You've tasted joy, sorrow, love, and ridicule. You've gorged yourself on desire."
"Through that cycle, the insignificant, weak little kitten has evolved. You've finally become a Lion that can catch my eye."
"You've molted. You've matured."
Yujiro's voice wasn't loud, but it resonated in every ear. Those who understood the dark history between father and son felt a surge of adrenaline. Was the Ogre finally acknowledging Baki as an "Enemy"?
But Yujiro's conclusion was different.
"Finally... you are ready to become my Prey."
"—?!"
Prey?
It wasn't a taunt. It was the natural, arrogant truth of the Strongest Creature.
Baki laughed contemptuously. "You're getting old and senile, aren't you? Your hearing's gone. I said I want to Fight you."
Yujiro ignored the jab, his smile growing wider. "That frivolous attitude... it's a sign of your freshness. I didn't expect you to become so flavorful. You are finally worth devouring."
Yujiro turned his head, glancing at Kozue Matsumoto in the front row. "You kept your promise, girl. You gave him the support he needed. Good job."
With that, the Ogre turned and walked away. He didn't look back. "Tokugawa! I'll wait for your call!!"
The night was over. The duel between Baki and Alai Jr. had been a technical execution rather than a war. But Baki's challenge to Yujiro had sent a shockwave through the world.
Ren Shiroki, Ohma, Fusui, Arisa, Marco, and Rihito were huddled around a vending machine in the Arena corridor, waiting for the crowd to thin out before heading to the elevators.
Rihito took a sip of his soda, leaning against the wall. "Ren-aniki... you said Alai Jr. didn't realize that fighting Baki would be 'Difficult.' I still don't quite get it."
Ren looked at his can of juice. "I meant it literally."
"Jr. thought fighting Baki was just another 'Match.' He didn't realize that Baki represents the absolute wall of reality. Facing that isn't a sport; it's a crisis."
"I see..." Rihito sighed. "Baki Hanma really is in his own league. If I stepped onto that sand, I'd probably look as pathetic as Jr. did."
"Is that a realization of your own limits?" Ohma asked, a faint smirk on his face.
"Maybe," Rihito chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Is this what they call 'Third-rate Hot-blood'? Am I just a fool who doesn't know his own place?"
Fusui Kure waved a hand, sipping her fruit juice as she leaned against Ren's arm. Her black-and-white eyes shimmered mischievously.
"The desire to fight... the desire to be strong... the 'Technical Itch' to see what's at the apex..."
The girl looked up at Ren, baring her teeth in a grin.
"Trust me, Rihito-kun. There's more than one 'Fool' in this group~!"
Ren caught her eye and let out a long, happy laugh.
"Similar to Baki-kun... I think I want to use my 'Resolution to Die' to do something difficult too."
—ARC END—
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