Kyogoku Makoto stared at Chi Feichi, his gaze serious.
It was his first time seeing this starting stance.
Starting with an open palm wasn't strange; he had seen it once from an opponent practicing Baguazhang. What was strange was that Chi Feichi stood very straight, which didn't look like Baguazhang. Could it be some martial art he hadn't seen before?
Chi Feichi waited quietly for Kyogoku Makoto's response. But after waiting for a while, he found Kyogoku Makoto still staring at him without saying a word. "Is it hard to choose?"
Kyogoku Makoto said frankly, "No, it's just that I've never seen your starting stance before. I was wondering if it's some fighting technique I don't know."
Chi Feichi: "..."
"Sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked that," Kyogoku Makoto continued on his own. "This isn't a formal match, there's no need to tell me so much. Besides, you ran ahead of me the whole time. Although part of it was because I couldn't catch up to your speed, you also did it to show me your basic capabilities, right? I understand your meaning. Then..."
"This starting stance has no offensive significance," Chi Feichi lowered his hand. "It's just a signal inviting a fight, expressing recognition and respect for the opponent. You can treat it as a habit of mine."
Kyogoku Makoto: "..."
Just... just that?
And here I was, guessing so seriously.
Chi Feichi also fell silent. If he didn't clarify, changing his attack style suddenly later might raise suspicion of 'intentionally playing dirty'. But clarifying it made him feel a bit awkward, let alone Kyogoku Makoto...
Kyogoku Makoto didn't stay awkward for long and said seriously, "So there's such a way to invite a fight. Thank you for your respect. Then I'll warm up first!"
Running all the way into the woods, he was already warmed up.
However, since Chi Feichi let him understand the situation, he felt that for fairness' sake, he should also let Chi Feichi understand his situation, such as strength, speed, and preferred attack methods.
"No need," Chi Feichi stopped Kyogoku Makoto. "All-Japan Karate Champion. There are plenty of live broadcasts and videos of your matches online. I already know your situation. I've learned a mixed bag of things, so letting you understand my basics makes for the fairest fight."
So that's how it is...
Kyogoku Makoto looked even more serious. He raised his hand and assumed Chi Feichi's starting stance just now. He knew very well that Chi Feichi didn't have to let him gauge the situation, but for fairness, Chi Feichi did it anyway.
This is an opponent worthy of respect!
Chi Feichi was surprised inwardly when he saw Kyogoku Makoto assume the stance.
Alright, this is an honest and cute junior.
The moonlight shone on the clearing, bright yet hazy.
The two faced each other in silence. Occasionally, the wind blew through the surrounding woods, rustling the leaves.
Kyogoku Makoto stared intently at Chi Feichi, both to find an opening and to gauge the opponent's combat quality. This was a mindset of taking the opponent seriously, and the opponent deserved his respect. Chi Feichi clearly remained steady, gradually igniting Kyogoku's fighting spirit.
Chi Feichi moved first. Pushing off with his feet, he lunged forward while clenching his fist to gather power.
Kyogoku Makoto first caught the power-gathering movement. What surprised him was that Chi Feichi's short-term burst speed was faster than his running speed earlier, and the height of this leap was very high.
The distance between them during the standoff wasn't close. He estimated that if he attacked first, it would take at least three steps. But Chi Feichi covered it in just one leap!
He believed that if viewed from the side, it would definitely be a parabola inconsistent with Chi Feichi's weight, as if his entire body weight had been reduced after leaping.
Besides the explosive power in his legs when jumping, there must be other techniques involved!
Analysis aside, Kyogoku Makoto's movements weren't slow. Although Chi Feichi hadn't landed yet and the attack was coming almost from above and in front, being airborne was also a vulnerability. His combat habits made him instinctively sidestep and execute a roundhouse kick as Chi Feichi lunged over.
If this kick landed, Chi Feichi would probably be sent flying before he could even touch Kyogoku Makoto.
However, Chi Feichi suddenly shifted his center of gravity in mid-air. His trajectory abruptly deviated. Using Kyogoku Makoto's sweeping leg as leverage, he pushed off in the opposite direction. The moment one foot landed, the other knee drove towards Kyogoku Makoto's lower back.
Kyogoku Makoto's sweeping kick hadn't lost momentum. Realizing Chi Feichi had seized the opening in his attack to counter, he immediately planted his kicking foot, shifting his center of gravity. While dodging Chi Feichi's attack, he used the momentum to execute a spinning back kick, sweeping towards Chi Feichi again.
In his view, Chi Feichi, possessing the advantage of agility and speed, should widen the distance to avoid a head-on collision. However, Chi Feichi's reaction surprised him again.
Instead of widening the distance, Chi Feichi moved closer, sticking to him and moving with him, fingers aimed straight at his eyes.
Kyogoku Makoto immediately raised his hand to defend, reducing the power of his kick. Sensing Chi Feichi targeting his supporting leg, he immediately retracted his stance to defend.
Chi Feichi didn't expect to hit Kyogoku Makoto. Even if he did, he didn't believe Kyogoku Makoto's base would be unstable. The most likely outcome was that he would hit Kyogoku Makoto without knocking him down, while Kyogoku Makoto's sweeping leg would also hit him.
He knew best how hard the bones of someone who trained from childhood were. With his current body, which had only been trained up recently, trading blows would definitely result in him being more injured than Kyogoku Makoto.
Aside from harder bones, Kyogoku Makoto's strength was greater than his, with an unknown upper limit. He had marveled at this when watching Conan. Trading blows was not a wise choice.
Having watched videos of Kyogoku Makoto's matches, specifically the toughest one in the national tournament, he saw that Kyogoku Makoto had honed karate techniques like kicking, striking, throwing, grappling, locking, and choking to near perfection. At least currently, no one was stronger than Kyogoku Makoto.
Amazing strength, amazing endurance, amazing ability to withstand blows, pinnacle karate skills, and not slow in speed or reaction—he was simply a monster.
With a few more years of training, he believed he could put up a fight. But currently, his advantages over this monster were speed and technique.
Endurance was hard to estimate because Kyogoku Makoto's matches never reached the point of testing endurance. But his own endurance wasn't weak; if it came down to an endurance battle, he believed he wouldn't lose.
Additionally, Kyogoku Makoto's speed was fast compared to others, but still a notch slower than his. This was the key to victory!
If he couldn't find a weakness for now, he would suppress the opponent's strengths.
Kyogoku Makoto was known as the Prince of Kicks, the Isolated Fist Saint, and the Noble of Kicking. He excelled in creating distance for instant bursts, boxing, and leg techniques.
So, he would close the distance to the minimum, giving Kyogoku Makoto no chance to leverage power or enough distance to punch. Although Kyogoku Makoto could still use knee and elbow strikes, he could forget about using karate kicks.
Kyogoku Makoto realized that from the moment he retracted his stance to defend... no, from the moment Chi Feichi truly got close, he was vaguely suppressed.
It was his first time realizing that when one's physique was inferior to the opponent's and only speed was an advantage, extreme close-quarters combat could create such terrifying suppression!
Fists, palms, grabs, twists, knee strikes, elbow strikes... In a split second, countless attacks came rapidly from everywhere.
Eyes, temples, collarbones, Adam's apple, back of the head, floating ribs, solar plexus... Every attack aimed straight at a vital point.
When he was forced back, Chi Feichi attempted to target areas like the inner knee joint and shin, places that could cause disability.
Chi Feichi's sharp and swift attacks were like an executioner aiming for a one-hit kill, making him believe for a moment that the opponent was out to kill or cripple him.
In fact, he had been defending and dodging the whole time. If this continued, sooner or later he wouldn't be able to keep up with the rhythm. If he was slow for a bit, messed up once, or got confused by a feint, with Chi Feichi's speed and striking power, he would be dead or crippled.
And this kind of close-quarters combat didn't consume much of Chi Feichi's stamina. He believed that under the suppressed mental pressure and dazzling attacks, he would definitely be the first to collapse.
Must break free from this predicament!