Ever since separating from Jaden, both Ohma Tokita and Raian Kure had been training nonstop.
They acknowledged Jaden's strength.
But neither of them had given up on surpassing it.
Raian Kure, after his defeat at Lü Bu's hands, secluded himself within the Kure Clan, only leaving to carry out missions. Ohma Tokita, meanwhile, returned to the chaotic region known as the Inside and began re-adapting to life there.
And today-
Someone came looking for Ohma.
"This guy..."
Ohma stared at the figure standing opposite him, their entire body wrapped in a black hoodie. He dodged another strike, his brows knitting together.
It wasn't until he seized an opening, exchanged a single clash, and forced some distance between them that Ohma finally spoke.
"Hey," he said calmly. "You're using the Niko Style, aren't you? Who the hell are you?"
From the very first exchange, something had felt off.
After several more passes, although Ohma noticed a number of unfamiliar techniques mixed in, the framework and philosophy beneath them were unmistakable.
There was no doubt.
This man was using the Niko Style.
But it was a Niko Style fundamentally different from Ohma's.
"Niko Style... heh... heh heh... hahahahaha!"
Ohma's question made the man laugh.
"I use the Niko Style, and I don't use the Niko Style," he said. "If I had to explain it-what you know isn't the real thing. Compared to mine, your Niko Style is nothing but an outdated Fake Niko Style."
The hooded man, who had been mirroring Ohma's stance, suddenly relaxed his arms. He twisted his torso, turned his body sideways, and adopted a guard completely different from Ohma's.
"Ohma Tokita," he continued coldly. "You're nothing but a failure. I am the true Tiger's Vessel. My purpose in the Far East this time is simple."
"To eliminate every one of you failures."
Ohma frowned.
As if remembering something, the man added casually,
"Oh, right. I'm not the only one here. Niko is here too. He's preparing something big. Now that he has me-the true Tiger's Vessel-the time for our plan has finally arrived."
Niko.
Ohma's pupils contracted.
But his expression quickly steadied.
His master, Tokita Niko, was dead.
The dead did not return.
If there was another Niko-
Ohma placed a hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat.
It didn't hurt anymore.
But he still remembered.
The white-haired man who had forced Possessing Spirit onto him.
The man who also called himself Tokita Niko.
The man who killed his master.
Understanding dawned, and Ohma's gaze sharpened.
"I see," he said quietly. "So that guy's back. Makes sense. Among the people I know, there were only ever two Nikos."
His posture shifted.
His breathing steadied.
"All I need to do," Ohma continued, "is beat you, find out where he is, and then finish what Niko couldn't. Right?"
The hooded man charged.
Their forearms collided.
The opponent leaned in, pressing his weight forward, his voice riding along with the force.
"That depends on whether you can beat me. And even if you could-if Niko does what he plans to do, you won't even have the courage to challenge him."
His tone carried pride.
"After all... Niko is going to kill the so-called strongest creature on earth."
Huh?
Ohma's eyes widened for a split second.
Then his brow relaxed.
He became calm.
In the next instant, his arm shifted. He diverted the opponent's center of gravity, refusing to meet force with force. Water Kata: Weeping Willow flowed smoothly, disrupting the opponent's balance at the critical point.
Adamant Kata: Indestructible followed.
Ohma locked onto the opponent's fingers and sent his center of gravity straight upward.
With just those two simple techniques, the fight ended.
Ohma flashed forward.
The man was sent flying, only stopping after smashing through a wall.
Under the pressure Jaden had placed on him, Ohma had grown stronger.
He had developed specific countermeasures for Jaden, but more importantly, his understanding of the Niko Style had deepened.
Using the right technique at the right time.
No excess.
No waste.
-Just like Niko.
"Since you put it that way," Ohma said casually, looking at the man struggling to rise, "I probably won't need to go looking for that white-haired guy anymore."
"After all-if he's planning to kill Yuki, then he's already dead."
"What kind of joke is that?" the man spat. "Do you have any idea how much resolve he has? What preparations he's made-"
Ohma vanished.
In the next instant, his fist slammed into the man's face, cutting him off mid-sentence.
The body hit the ground.
Ohma looked down at him.
"A do-or-die resolve. Throwing everything away. Burning through every resource-yours, others', acceptable or not."
"If you want to challenge Yuki, that's not some grand preparation."
"That's the bare minimum."
Ohma stomped the ground.
The shock lifted the man into the air, and Ohma's fists and raised leg struck in rapid succession, smashing into vital points without mercy.
When it was over, the man lay on the ground, barely breathing.
Ohma raised his voice.
"If you don't even have that level of resolve, that level of preparation-"
"Then you don't even have the right to challenge him."
"Do you know who that man is?"
"He's the strongest creature on earth."
"He's the world's strongest man."
-
"Are you really that confident about challenging the world's strongest?"
Kure Fuki had asked that question countless times.
Niko finally stopped responding altogether.
Seeing that she wouldn't get an answer, Fuki led him out of the shadows and toward Jaden's location.
As they walked, she asked again,
"The preparation you've made is having me bring you to him in broad daylight."
"Mr. Niko," she said coldly. "That's suicide."
"Enough," Niko snapped.
The white-haired man frowned as he walked down the commercial street, ignoring the surrounding crowd. From the beginning, his gaze had been fixed on a single point.
"Of course I'm prepared," he said. "And this isn't really walking up openly. Before the fight even starts, there's something I need to do first."
Niko had devised countless assassination plans.
Almost all of them began with a sneak attack.
As for this Kure Clan girl-
She was meant to be the sacrifice for that first strike.
Jaden being out with Erina was a rare opportunity.
But Niko knew Jaden's perception was terrifying. For a sneak attack to work, he needed someone with at least some combat strength.
Originally, he planned to grab a random person.
Then he ran into Kure Fuki.
So he chose her.
Otherwise, he would never have cooperated with someone he neither trusted nor understood.
But-
What Niko hadn't anticipated was this.
The moment Fuki brought him in front of Jaden, before he could act, she rushed forward, ducked behind Jaden, pointed at him, and blurted out:
"Jaden, this guy wants to kill you!"
In that instant, Niko mentally ground Fuki into dust.
His perfectly prepared opening was completely ruined.
Facing Jaden head-on was already bad enough.
Now that even the sneak attack had failed-
The situation was far worse.
Killing someone might not be difficult.
But-
This was a terrible start.