"That Ogre-like back... it isn't just a 'pattern.'"
Doppo Orochi watched the two figures in the arena collide again and again, unable to stop himself from sighing.
He was someone who had personally faced Yujiro Hanma when the Ogre Back was fully activated.
"I wanted to say this earlier, but it's exactly as I thought. Muscles like that are basically impossible for a normal human to build. Even bodybuilders who use extreme shaping techniques can only imitate the appearance. They can't actually coordinate and use every muscle the way these two are doing."
"For us fighters, generating power without involving the back is extremely difficult. Hands, feet-everything ultimately relies on it. To train the back, one of the original sources of power, to this degree... that requires either abnormal talent."
"Or a bloodline."
As Doppo spoke, his gaze shifted to Baki Hanma.
From his point of view, Jaden's age, his ability to manifest an Ogre-like back, and the Ogre-like grin he showed when facing Katsumi-
In every sense, Jaden looked more like Yujiro Hanma's son than Baki did.
Doppo thought so.
And he wasn't the only one.
Sensing the atmosphere around him, Baki Hanma could only shake his head helplessly.
"Don't ask me," he said quietly. "I don't know."
His voice was low.
His eyes were fixed on the arena, as if he were completely absorbed in the fight, with no room left to think about anything else.
But in truth-
His heart was in chaos.
Not because of what Doppo and the others were implying.
But because of something else.
Before today, Baki had believed that his desire to defeat Yujiro Hanma was purely about proving something for his mother.
He had always thought his goal was that simple.
So-
If Yujiro Hanma was the Strongest Creature on Earth, then he would surpass the Strongest Creature on Earth.
If Yujiro Hanma were the Weakest Creature on Earth, then he would only need to become the second weakest.
That was what Baki had believed.
Or rather... what he thought was his own belief.
But now-
Watching Jaden trade blows with Yujiro Hanma, even overpower him at times, Baki felt something he didn't want to admit.
Jealousy.
He was jealous of Jaden.
And it wasn't just jealousy over power he hadn't inherited.
It felt more like jealousy that Jaden could stand in front of Yujiro Hanma, could display himself fully, could seize his father's attention-
While he couldn't.
Before today, Baki had been certain that all he felt toward his father was hatred.
Now, he wasn't so sure.
So compared to whether Jaden might be his brother, what troubled him more was his own unclear feelings toward Yujiro Hanma.
That was what mattered most to him right now.
Because up until today, he had fought for his mother.
But after today?
Who should he fight for?
Or-
Should he even keep fighting at all?
...
While Baki wrestled with his thoughts, the two men in the arena were oblivious to everything else.
Jaden and Yujiro Hanma simply charged at each other.
Punch for punch.
Strike for strike.
Then, at some point-almost as if by mutual agreement-both of them began incorporating technique into their attacks.
Even so, the trajectories of their punches became impossibly dense and chaotic in the eyes of the spectators.
So chaotic that even world-famous fighters couldn't understand why they were striking this way.
It wasn't just difficult.
It was incomprehensible.
And in truth-
That was exactly what was happening.
Yujiro Hanma was not lacking in technique.
He possessed an enormous accumulation of it. It was just that he hadn't needed to use most of it for a very long time. So at the start, observers could still recognize familiar movements.
But later-
Those techniques that only became visible after climbing to the absolute peak-
They were completely beyond the comprehension of everyone watching.
And Jaden-
Some of his punches looked almost random to them.
No martial arts theory would ever recommend striking like that.
Yet he did.
And the results were undeniable.
Of course, it made sense that they couldn't understand.
Jaden had fought gods.
Many of his movements had been simplified, refined, or transcended through that experience.
That wasn't just a matter of technique.
It was his understanding of himself.
Naturally, others couldn't grasp it.
Yujiro Hanma was punching with a vision that transcended modern technique.
Jaden was punching with a vision that had broken free from modern technique entirely.
Logically, no one else should have been able to understand either of them.
But as the fight intensified-
Their trajectories began to merge.
Yujiro Hanma began to understand Jaden's way of punching and applied it himself.
Jaden, in turn, grasped Yujiro Hanma's transcendent techniques and used them.
Before this, the spectators had felt fear.
Shock.
But not despair.
Not helplessness.
At this moment, however, many of the fighters present began to feel powerless.
"Two... monsters..."
No one knew who muttered it.
But almost everyone agreed.
Only those like Doppo Orochi and Goki Shibukawa, who already possessed unwavering convictions, remained unaffected.
And they knew.
If nothing else changed-
This battle was approaching its final stage.
That was what they all thought.
And sure enough, the rhythm of the fight suddenly synchronized.
Jaden's fist smashed into Yujiro Hanma's face.
At the same instant, Yujiro Hanma's fist slammed into Jaden's.
Both faces caved inward under the impact.
Both pairs of eyes stared straight at each other.
Their upper bodies leaned back, but their legs remained rooted to the ground.
Then-
They were pushed apart by each other's force.
Both retreated.
Jaden stopped after half a step.
Yujiro Hanma staggered back three full steps before barely regaining balance.
The difference in reserve power was obvious.
But Yujiro Hanma didn't mind at all.
He simply smiled.
"Yuki," he said, "it seems this is your limit. If we keep going like this, the result won't change."
"You're not the opponent who far surpasses me-the one I always hoped to meet."
"Such a person probably doesn't exist."
"But for me right now, you're an excellent opponent."
"So let's keep fighting."
Hearing this, Jaden smiled.
Then he laughed.
"Hahahaha. Don't be naïve."
"I told you already. I was just warming up."
As he spoke, Jaden rolled his shoulders slightly, looking at Yujiro Hanma's momentarily stunned expression.
He had thought that fighting Yujiro would at least force him into Second Gear.
But even without using Haki, and without any intent to kill-
He still couldn't ignite his King's Engine.
That made him sigh.
Yujiro Hanma stared at him.
And felt something disturbingly familiar.
In the past, that expression-
That feeling-
Had belonged only to him.
It was the feeling of being bored.
Of being disappointed in an opponent.
And that was exactly it.
"Forget it," Jaden said calmly. "Fighting you isn't even enough for a warm-up."
"In that case, I won't play around anymore."
He raised his right hand toward Yujiro Hanma.
Blue electricity flickered along his forearm, racing toward his palm.
As the visible arcs of light stunned everyone watching, Jaden spoke again.
"If you can, learn this move too."
"Of course-"
"That's assuming you survive it first."
There was a trace of pity in his voice.
And a trace of expectation.
"So don't die, Yujiro."