Under dim lights, several powerfully built figures sat around a round table.
"The Tiger's Vessel is dead."
"Who killed him?"
"That is not important. Do we have a backup?"
"This is troublesome. Will that man be angry?"
"Hard to say. But the Tiger's Vessel is essential. Prepare a new one."
"What about the Kengan Annihilation Tournament?"
"Leave that to the Worm. Our Westward Faction has other matters to handle."
...
Undercurrents churned through the underworld. Beneath a sky where the moon and stars hung high, Luke arrived at his destination.
"It really is huge... Money really can buy anything."
From the mountainside, Luke looked down at the enormous estate and its sprawling lawn, his tone tinged with admiration.
Then he moved forward, diving down the mountain. He landed lightly on a tree branch, used its springiness to launch himself skyward, and sailed over the estate.
When his feet touched the lawn within the grounds, he made no sound at all.
During dinner, old Erioh had contacted him and told him that he had already spoken to Katahara Metsudo. The other man had made an interesting suggestion: Luke should come meet him "directly."
After landing, Luke kept his eyes and ears open. Moving silently and swiftly, he infiltrated the estate without even leaving a shadow for Katahara Metsudo's elite personal guards to notice.
Yes, he was a brute—but that did not mean he could not infiltrate somewhere.
As an exceptional martial arts master, few could match his ability to conceal his presence. Luke knew what kind of man Katahara Metsudo was: an old man who loved a good show. By telling Luke to come directly, he was testing him on one hand, while hoping to see something entertaining on the other.
But the result would likely disappoint the nearly hundred-year-old man: the iron-willed controller of Dainippon Bank and the true power behind Japan's economy.
Knock, knock, knock—
Luke knocked on the reception room's door. A moment later, a voice invited him inside.
Two personal guards pulled open the massive doors from within. At the center of the huge reception room sat a single sofa, occupied by an old man as frail and gaunt as Erioh.
By physical standards, the man felt incredibly weak—far weaker than an ordinary person, a dying old man with one foot in the grave. Yet as he sat there, an invisible pressure blanketed the entire room. It was the authority cultivated by a man who had wielded power for a lifetime.
Katahara Metsudo. The iron-fisted figure who had controlled the Kengan Association for more than sixty years. Though he was old enough to be nearly buried, his eyes still carried the fierce presence of a tiger.
The men standing behind him were the elite of his personal guard. Every one of them was a first-rate fighter, the kind who could be sent into Kengan matches and casually rack up dozens of victories.
The tall man standing slightly ahead and to one side of him was wrapped head to toe in a black bodysuit. He stared at Luke, the muscles around his mouth twitching upward until they formed a twisted grin.
That invisible pressure made even the two guards who had opened the door for Luke uncomfortable. This was the man with an undefeated record of 157 consecutive victories in Kengan matches, hailed as the strongest fighter in Kengan history—the Fang of Metsudo, Kanoh Agito.
Katahara Metsudo watched Luke for two seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter. "You must be the young man Erioh mentioned. You certainly possess remarkable ability. My guards failed to notice you at all. It seems our security needs strengthening."
"Even so, there is no need for concern. I am still here."
Kanoh Agito's gaze remained fixed on Luke, his muscles already tensed. He did not know what his master and the Kure Clan's patriarch had discussed during the day, but someone had infiltrated the reception room without the guards noticing. That was an unforgivable failure of duty.
When he had been a child, the Worm had abducted him for the Gu ritual. Katahara Metsudo had rescued him during the ordeal. To repay that debt, he had resolved to give his life if necessary. If this young man was an assassin, he would show him exactly what the Fang of Metsudo was.
"Hahahaha, how dependable."
Katahara Metsudo laughed, then looked back at Luke. "Erioh tells me you wish to enter the Kengan Annihilation Tournament and need an identity as a fighter?"
"That is correct."
Luke stepped forward. "Although I do not think you care all that much about retaining your position, if you can win, then naturally it is better to win, is it not?"
"Oh? You believe my Fang will lose in the tournament?"
Katahara Metsudo looked at Luke. His aged face gave nothing away, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"Surely you know the answer better than anyone. Why ask me?"
Luke smiled.
In the original story, Katahara Metsudo had personally invited Kuroki Gensai to represent another company in the tournament, specifically so that the old master could teach the Fang of Metsudo a lesson. He had never cared much about winning or losing this tournament in the first place.
In terms of sheer magnanimity, he utterly surpassed that vice chairman who wanted to stir things up. Katahara Metsudo truly was getting old. Now, he only wanted to choose a successor with both ability and character to manage the Kengan Association in his place. If he could temper the Fang at the same time, that would kill two birds with one stone.
"Boy, you seem quite clever. The question is whether your strength matches your brains."
Katahara Metsudo spoke with a smile, showing no reaction whatsoever at having his thoughts seen through. He looked at Kanoh Agito. "You heard him. He wants to compete, and he came here. Surely I do not need to tell you what to do?"
Kanoh Agito's face split into an almost grotesque grin as he stepped forward. His 201-centimeter, 130-kilogram frame radiated oppression. He was not bulky; his muscles were perfectly proportioned, every contour clearly outlined by his tight bodysuit.
He spread his arms and lowered his body slightly, like a predator preparing to pounce. "I will crush him with everything I have."
"Crush me..."
Luke looked at Kanoh Agito's towering build, sensing the man's "purity," and walked forward.
In the next instant, Kanoh Agito changed his stance. He drew his arms back into a half-defensive posture and took half a step backward.
"Oh?"
Luke seemed mildly surprised. "You are strong. Stronger than Raian was before."
Kanoh Agito froze—not because Luke had said he was stronger than some Raian he had never heard of, but because he had retreated.
He did not know why he had shifted into a defensive stance. He did not know why he had stepped back.
In that brief moment, his body had seemingly reacted on instinct.
As though if he had not done so, he would have been utterly crushed in the next instant.
The personal guards standing behind Katahara Metsudo found it strange as well. As Luke slowly approached, they stared in shock at the sight before them.
The Fang of Metsudo was trembling.
Yes. Kanoh Agito's tall, magnificent body would not stop shaking. It was the first time he had ever experienced anything like this.
Why was it happening? He was not afraid of death. Even if the man before him was powerful beyond all measure, he would not fear him. Yet he was trembling.
Ah...
He understood now.
He watched the man's silhouette beneath the lights. He looked upon an enemy stronger than any he had ever faced, and his body continued to shake.
He was excited.
In the next instant, Kanoh Agito charged like a pouncing tiger. He shifted into Formless: a stance unconstrained by any fixed posture, its movements impossible to predict and flexible enough to respond to every style of combat.
The Fang of Metsudo threw an incomparably fierce punch driven by instinct. But something happened that made even Katahara Metsudo's eyes widen.
Luke did not yield even an inch. He raised one hand and caught Kanoh Agito's punch. Part of the force flowed through his body and was transmitted behind him like water, while the rest vanished without a trace.
It was a bizarre scene. A two-meter giant had thrown his entire body into a punch, only for the comparatively smaller Luke to block it one-handed without moving in the slightest. It defied every law of strength.
Before Kanoh Agito, the man at the center of it all, could react, a fist smashed into his jaw and sent him flying. He crashed heavily to the floor.
He truly deserved his title as the current Fang of Metsudo. He instinctively dissipated the force when he was struck, and his breakfall upon landing was excellent. He suffered no serious injury and no concussion, though blood streamed from his mouth.
When he rose and turned toward Luke, a smile covered his face, plainly conveying his joy.
He trembled at encountering a strong opponent. He was exhilarated by encountering a strong opponent. He rejoiced at the chance to evolve.
Meanwhile, Katahara's guards were completely dumbfounded. They had never imagined that the strongest Fang of Metsudo would be beaten into such a state in a single exchange.
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