Ryuji's words were filled with genuine sincerity. Although Kasumi's figure wasn't quite as striking as Ranma's female form, comparing women's bodies and picking out the "best" had never been Ryuji's style. He was the kind of man who always believed in "having it all." There was no such thing as choosing just one.
But for Kasumi...
"Well… thank you very much for the compliment, Mr. Ryuji. But the winner is supposed to marry Ranma…"
Kasumi covered her cheek with one hand, acting very shy. Ryuji, meanwhile, reached out and gently took both her hands, gazing at her with heartfelt affection.
"It's fine. If you marry me instead, Miss Kasumi, you can avoid this engagement entirely..."
As soon as he finished speaking, expressions of displeasure appeared on the faces of Usagi , Makoto and Ami Mizuno. They quickly marched up to Ryuji's side.
"Hey, are you flirting with girls again?!" Usagi glared at Ryuji, annoyed.
His stuff is still inside my panties, and he flirts with other women right in front of me? Does he look down on me or something?!
Makoto also grabbed Ryuji's arm discontentedly, looking at him angrily. She'd already made up her mind to give herself to him, and this is how he treats her?
Ami, on the other hand, didn't say much but her disapproval of his womanizing was written all over her face.
"My, Mr. Ryuji is certainly popular."
Kasumi said with a light laugh, walking back to her sisters' side. She had technically won the 'femininity contest' against Ranma, but it felt rather strange. Fortunately, Ranma also didn't want the engagement to proceed, so it didn't really matter.
After all, she still hoped to marry someone she truly loved.
"Well, can't say I'm surprised. He's handsome and rich…"
Nabiki leaned an arm on her eldest sister's shoulder and pointed at the sports car parked nearby.
"This car alone costs several hundred million yen."
Nabiki didn't know it was a gift from Princess Mira. For an ordinary person, several hundred million yen was enough to live comfortably without financial worries. But for a royal family, this amount of money was just pocket change.
Especially for a kingdom with its own industrial base and a highly developed tourism industry, this money was practically nothing.
"Well, money is secondary, isn't it?"
Akane said, folding her arms behind her head. She had only come to prove that the three sisters were more attractive than Ranma. Now that it was settled, there were naturally no further issues.
However, she also cast a curious glance at Ryuji, wondering what his deal was. He acted like such a lecher, yet showed no interest in Ranma's female body, but somehow had so many girls who cared about him.
Meanwhile, Ryuji easily soothed the displeasure of the three girls around him, then turned his attention back to the Tendo sisters.
Although he very much wanted to chat with these three girls, each with their own distinct charm, Ryuji was more concerned with another matter: the Sailor Moons. After all, as long as he could use the pretext of training to give these girls close, hands-on combat instruction, he could easily win over their bodies... and their hearts.
Let's be honest, when it comes to intimate physical contact between men and women, a purely platonic relationship where neither party entertains any thoughts is practically impossible. Ryuji was even considering getting certified as a skating, dance, swimming, and fitness instructor just to make things look professional.
With his body's flexibility and coordination, mastering these things would be easy. All he had to do was learn the movements and practice them a little.
Kasumi Tendo naturally sensed Ryuji's current focus and spoke up politely.
"It seems Mr. Ryuji is quite busy now, so we won't disturb you further. Please feel free to visit the Tendo Dojo for tea when you have time."
She bowed slightly as she spoke, while Nabiki strode forward boldly and handed Ryuji a business card.
"This is the Tendo Dojo's card. If you're interested in learning martial arts, Big Brother Ryuji, you must come visit! Oh, and if you're interested in my sister, you can ask me for information!"
Nabiki's eyes gleamed mischievously. She didn't really think their dojo had much to offer, but if she could get Ryuji to visit, that alone would be worth it!
And besides, with three pretty girls at the dojo, no man would pass that up, right?
After saying this, she even winked at Ryuji, hinting that if he paid her, she could provide intel on her sisters!
"Nabiki, what are you saying..."
Kasumi shook her head, knowing that her sister's materialistic nature was acting up again. She'd done this before, extorting money from Akane's suitors for pocket money, which led to Akane having to sneak around to visit many of her favorite shops nowadays.
But to be honest, without that extra money, the household finances would be a bit tight.
After all, in this day and age, who seriously wanted to learn martial arts? Most of the remaining students were admirers of Akane, herself, or Nabiki.
"'Anything-Goes Martial Arts – Tendo Style,' huh…"
Ryuji took the card, and the corner of his eye twitched. He had actually read the Ranma ½ manga and knew exactly what 'Anything-Goes' martial arts meant.
To put it simply: no rules, no limits, anything goes. As long as you won, anything was fair game. There was no bottom line whatsoever.
Especially in the Saotome branch of the style.
He recalled several of their infamous "techniques" names like: Crouch of the Wild Tiger, Howl of the Demon Dog, Tiger Strike Form,Wolf Fang Sneak Attack,Frog Feign-Death Style,Mountain-Thousand Fist, and Ocean-Thousand Fist.
They sounded impressive, but in practice? Not so much.
The Crouch of the Wild Tiger was literally dropping to your knees like a tiger pouncing, except you were actually surrendering.
The Howl of the Demon Dog involved retreating to safety and cursing at your opponent from afar like a sore loser.
The Wolf Fang Sneak Attack? A fancy name for hitting someone from behind.
The Tiger Strike Form was about distracting your enemy—like shouting "Hey, there's money on the ground!" and then sucker-punching them.
The Frog Feign-Death Style? You played dead. And then attacked.
The Mountain-Thousand Fist required you to yell dramatically and barge into houses to "train your presence."
And the Ocean-Thousand Fist was basically cat burglary for the sake of stealth practice.
As for things like betraying one's master, dining and dashing, breaking contracts, or kidnapping the opponent's relatives to secure victory... all were standard practice.
One could say that, aside from not crossing the absolute bottom line of humanity, these guys were a bunch of scoundrels.
So Ryuji felt that visiting the Tendo household for a chat and maybe sleeping with the daughters was fine, but there was no way he was inheriting that kind of martial art.
Still, he had to admit that the Tendo branch was at least more respectable. Soun Tendo hadn't abandoned his wife, and he'd tried to turn "Anything-Goes" into something resembling a proper martial art.
However, Ryuji didn't show his lack of interest in Anything-Goes martial arts.
So recalling how easily Ryuji had tossed Ranma into the sewer earlier, Akane couldn't help but speak up.
"You're quite skilled. Want to spar with me sometime?" she asked, looking at Ryuji expectantly.
Because Ranma subconsciously held Ryuji in high regard, and knowing Ranma was a skilled fighter himself, Akane wanted to see just what kind of strength could earn his admiration.
"Akane, don't be rude."
Kasumi quickly stopped her younger sister. In her opinion, they had already disturbed Ryuji enough and it really wasn't proper to keep him any longer. But when Ryuji saw Akane looking at him with such eager, expectant eyes, he thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"Well, why not? I was just about to teach some girls how to fight anyway. They can watch and learn while I spar with you. What do you say, Miss Akane? Are you up for it?"
Ryuji was quite serious about training the Sailor Moons. He had no intention of letting them rely on reckless, self-taught techniques. Instead, he wanted to guide them toward proper, disciplined martial arts methods that had been refined through generations of real combat experience.
After all, with him around, they wouldn't be lacking in actual battle experience anyway.
He wanted the girls to observe how true martial artists fought, how they moved, and how they held themselves in combat.
While the "Anything-Goes Martial Arts" style was infamous for its cheap tricks, Akane herself hadn't learned those underhanded moves. And to be fair, beneath its shameless techniques, the style did have a core philosophy:
'Do whatever it takes to defeat your enemy so long as you survive.'
That was the essence of Anything-Goes. And Ryuji actually thought it fit the Sailor Moons rather well. Still, what kind of path they ultimately chose would be up to them.
Judging by their personalities, though, he had a feeling they'd all end up being the self-sacrificing type... ready to blow themselves up if it meant saving their friends and defeating the enemy.
Honestly, Ryuji hated that kind of mindset.
Just then, a black sedan pulled up beside them. Out stepped Rei Hino and Minako Aino along with a middle-aged man who clearly had the air of a government official. However moment he saw Ryuji, his serious expression melted into a wide, almost relieved smile.
"You must be Mr. Ryuji. I've heard so much about you, it's an honor to finally meet."
Ryuji immediately understood what kind of man this was and what he wanted. He exchanged a few polite words, agreed to discuss business later, and that was enough to make the councilman beam with satisfaction.
But as he turned to leave, his gaze lingered on his daughter. A sigh escaped him.
"Mr. Ryuji, I'll be entrusting my daughter to you. It pains me deeply to see her attacked by these inexplicable monsters while I can do nothing to protect her…"
He truly loved his daughter. But with what was happening to her, things that couldn't be publicly explained... he couldn't rely on anyone else. He knew that, with his own power, he couldn't possibly keep her safe.
So he had no choice but to trust Ryuji.
Still… the rumors about this man, about his ambiguous relationships with two women lingered in the father's mind, and he could only sigh again.
But what could he do? As a parent, love and duty often demanded painful choices. Better his daughter live under Ryuji's protection than die because of pride or propriety.
"Please don't worry. I'll make sure Rei receives proper training," Ryuji said firmly.
He understood the man's situation all too well. In Japan, politics often left people trapped by obligations and weakness. He could sympathize with Rei's father's helplessness.
"Thank you… truly," Rei's father murmured before climbing back into his car and heading off to his next meeting.
Rei watched the car disappear into the distance, her expression complicated. She knew her father didn't hate her, he simply had no other choice. The secret she carried was far too dangerous, far too important. Her father couldn't protect her; at best, he could only hide the truth from the public.
The rest was up to her.
And by entrusting her to Ryuji was almost like offering his daughter up in exchange... he would likely have to make certain concessions in his royal dealings, ensuring that Ryuji had no reason to mistreat or abandon her.
That was the best he could do as a father.
Still…
"I guess no one's going to bother setting me up on blind dates anymore," Rei sighed softly, then leaned against Ryuji's arm.
For her, this wasn't the worst outcome. Marrying Ryuji meant securing her family's position and protecting her friends. And besides, Ryuji was powerful, capable, and reliable. Having his child wouldn't be such a bad thing.
It was just… her heart, as a young girl, couldn't help but ache a little.
Her open, almost possessive gesture immediately drew Makoto's ire. In Makoto's eyes, Rei was inexplicably asserting her dominance.
But Ryuji didn't give them time to overthink and opened the door without hesitation.
"Since everyone's here, come on in. We're about to start training."
~~~~~~~~~~
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