When Izo Motobe finally woke up after being knocked unconscious by Jaden, he found several figures gathered around him, as if they had been waiting for him to regain consciousness.
His first reaction was vigilance.
But once his vision cleared and he recognized Doppo Orochi, Retsu Kaioh, Goki Shibukawa, Jack Hanma, and Baki standing nearby, he relaxed.
After all-
If these people wanted to kill him together, even fully armed, he would still be beaten to death.
"You're awake."
Doppo Orochi spoke immediately.
"Motobe, did you see Yuki's light sphere technique?"
Motobe paused.
Then he shook his head.
"I didn't see it."
Hearing the same answer again, Goki Shibukawa let out a quiet sigh.
"It seems none of us have the ability to make that young man use that light sphere again."
He paused, then continued slowly.
"But... though I could be mistaken, when I watched young Yuki fight the King, I vaguely felt that even without that technique in the end, the King still couldn't have beaten him."
As he said this, Goki Shibukawa glanced toward Hanma Baki.
His tone was cautious, as if worried Baki might object.
But Baki only laughed.
"Shibukawa-san, you don't need to be that polite."
"My bastard old man didn't seem unable to beat Yuki."
"He just couldn't beat him."
Baki's smile faded slightly as he continued.
"I think I can understand Yuki's mindset."
"If he meets someone with overwhelming strength, then unless he beats them with even greater strength, he doesn't consider it a true victory."
"If he meets someone with superior technique, then unless he defeats them using even greater technique, it still doesn't count."
"My bastard old man's most outstanding feature-the absolute violence I once thought was unrivaled-was crushed head-on by even greater violence."
"The light sphere was just the ultimate expression of that violence."
"If my old man's greatest strength had been technique or raw power instead, Yuki probably wouldn't have used it at all."
This wasn't speculation.
It was understanding.
Because Baki himself was the same type of person.
When he fought Pickle, that super-primitive monster, he had exchanged blows head-on.
When he fought Oliva, that muscle-bound freak, he had done the same.
In Baki's view, defeating someone didn't mean winning by any means necessary.
It meant surpassing them at the very thing they were best at.
Only that counted as a real victory.
Hearing Baki's words, the others fell silent.
They exchanged looks.
Then, one by one, memories surfaced.
Doppo Orochi remembered being knocked down by Jaden using Karate.
Goki Shibukawa remembered being countered cleanly with Aiki.
Retsu Kaioh remembered having every layer of defense dismantled by pure Fist Art, before being struck simultaneously in multiple vital points.
Izo Motobe remembered having his weapon taken barehanded, then being knocked unconscious with his own staff.
Jack Hanma-
Jack Hanma remembered that because his techniques were mixed and unfocused, Jaden had chosen the simplest method possible.
A strike to the back of the head.
A concussion.
After all-
Jaden couldn't very well bite him.
Seeing everyone fall into thought, Baki spread his hands.
"Looks like I wasn't wrong."
Among them, Baki was actually the most relaxed.
He didn't even care about fighting anymore.
He just wanted to find Jaden and play a card game with him.
Make him happy.
As for fighting-
He wasn't even sure if he would fight again.
Baki had started fighting for his mother.
After her death, he kept fighting for her.
And after his beliefs shattered recently, he realized that perhaps he had also been fighting for his father.
But now-
Both of those reasons were gone.
So Hanma Baki no longer had a reason to raise his fists.
Thinking about that, he felt a complicated heaviness in his chest.
And fell silent along with the others.
Their silence didn't last long.
An informant from the Shinshinkai approached and whispered something into Doppo Orochi's ear.
Doppo nodded.
Then he looked at the others with his one remaining eye.
"Yuki's been located."
"He should be on a plane now."
"A plane?"
Retsu Kaioh frowned.
"Did he go somewhere else?"
Doppo nodded.
"Yes."
"And judging by the flight information..."
"That Yuki seems to have gone to your country."
"He was muttering something about a Kaioh before leaving."
Retsu Kaioh's eyes widened.
"Kaioh...?"
"I didn't expect him to go looking for the Kaioh."
He immediately turned, intending to leave and buy a ticket.
But Doppo Orochi grabbed him.
When Retsu looked back in confusion, he saw that Doppo wasn't the only one smiling.
Goki Shibukawa.
Jack Hanma.
Izo Motobe.
Even Baki.
All of them were following.
"Don't rush, Retsu."
"I already had someone buy the tickets."
"I don't know if we'll make it in time..."
"But let's go together."
Hearing this, Retsu relaxed and nodded.
"Mhm."
"And we should make it."
"In my country, challenging a Kaioh requires approval and arrangements."
"And since Kaioh Kaku is already one hundred and forty-five years old this year..."
"Not just anyone is allowed to challenge him."
"So we should still have time."
-
In a general sense, Retsu Kaioh's understanding was correct.
In the Martial Arts Province, challenging Kaku Kaioh required screening and scheduling.
Normally, there were only two ways.
One was having your application approved.
The other was making it to the end of the Kaioh-only tournament held between regions.
But that was only the usual case.
Jaden had no patience for that.
After his Observation Haki locked onto Kaku Kaioh's location-
He simply fought his way there.
Directly.
His actions caused immediate upheaval.
By the time he reached Kaku Kaioh, the surrounding area had already been cleared.
Crowds pressed in from every direction.
Armed squads were hidden among them.
Helicopters hovered overhead.
No one knew how many snipers had their sights trained on Jaden's head.
"Heh heh..."
Kaku Kaioh smiled.
"The Strong One..."
"Do you want to challenge me that badly?"
Facing Jaden-
The man who had fought through the Martial Arts Province's fighters, rendering them immobile-
The man who had even drawn the attention of heavy-fire units-
Kaku Kaioh remained completely calm.
Smiling.
He even used the word challenge.
"However, Strong One..."
"Do you truly think this is an appropriate occasion?"
Hearing this, Jaden laughed.
"There's nothing wrong with it."
He glanced around.
At the cleared field.
At the surrounding spectators.
At the helicopters circling above.
And laughed openly.
"The field's cleared."
"The audience is here."
"What's wrong with this occasion?"
Then his gaze returned to Kaku Kaioh.
Sitting calmly in his wheelchair.
"Still..."
"I was mentally prepared before coming."
"But it looks like fighting you in your current state really wouldn't mean much."
Jaden looked directly into Kaku Kaioh's eyes.
And said something that made everyone's pupils shrink.
"Kaku Kaioh."
"Have you ever thought about taking back the power you once had?"
"Your former strength."
"Combined with your current technique."
"A fight against me at the strongest state of your one-hundred-and-forty-plus years."
He smiled.
"What do you say?"