Chapter 198: You Really Can Eat Anything When Hungry! The Crowd Cheers for the KOF96 Champion, Renij!
Goenitz had arrived at the KOF96 venue early, participating as a spectator to observe the entire tournament.
From the stands, he witnessed the potential of the Three Sacred Treasures and realized that if they continued to grow unchecked, they would inevitably become obstacles to his plans.
The once easily defeated Kusanagi Kyo had grown to this level, and now there was even a fighter capable of defeating two of the Three Sacred Treasures in succession.
This made Goenitz aware that it was time for him to act.
His target, however, was not Renij, but the recently defeated Kusanagi Kyo, Yagami Iori, and Renij's teammate, Kagura Chizuru.
To ensure nothing hindered Orochi's resurrection, he needed to eliminate the Three Sacred Treasures entirely.
He had intended to strike moments earlier, but Renij had unexpectedly defeated Kyo and Iori before he could act. Still, they hadn't suffered serious injuries.
"You possess Orochi's blood."
Goenitz stepped onto the stage, staring intently at Renij. He could sense the aura of Orochi's blood within him, though he had no recollection of ever granting it.
That bloodline could only be inherited or bestowed—and Renij fit neither category. This puzzled him greatly.
"Orochi's blood?"
Kagura Chizuru's gaze toward Renij changed slightly.
He had never mentioned anything about this before. Could it be that he, too, was one of the Eight Servants?
"So what?"
Renij had already known this would happen. Ever since obtaining Orochi's blood through the system's reward, he understood that concealing it would be impossible.
Perhaps others couldn't perceive it, and he showed no signs of berserk rage or unique powers—it merely enhanced his physical abilities across the board.
Before Goenitz, however, such concealment was meaningless.
"Would you like to join forces? I can see you haven't awakened any special abilities yet."
Goenitz's tone was laced with temptation. Judging by Renij's performance, he deemed him a talent worth recruiting.
If Renij joined him, Goenitz would gladly help him awaken fully.
"Renij, don't listen to him!"
Kagura Chizuru shouted, stepping between them. She clearly didn't want Renij to choose Goenitz's side.
Even if Renij was strong enough not to fear him, who could say what the outcome might be?
After all, the Yasakani clan had once accepted Orochi's blood to defeat the Kusanagi—and in the end, they were cursed for it.
Renij could easily fall into the same trap. Orochi's power was something few could refuse.
"You're strong. I know ordinary power doesn't interest you. But if you join the Orochi clan, you will gain eternal life."
Even if the Eight Servants died, they could always return to life—as long as Orochi existed, so would they.
Eternal life.
Few could ever refuse such a gift.
Renij was strong now, but a century from today, he would still turn to dust. The condition Goenitz offered was one he was sure Renij would accept.
Kagura Chizuru's heart sank.
She had thought Renij would refuse easily, believing his strength was enough.
But eternal life… that was something almost no one could reject.
"As tempting as that sounds, I refuse."
"Refuse?"
Goenitz had found Renij's initial reaction normal—who wouldn't accept eternal life?
Yet his final words made it clear that Renij had truly refused.
Why? How could anyone turn down immortality?
"This guy again," Jotaro muttered, flipping open his notebook and tugging his hat brim lower.
He hadn't known Renij for long, but long enough to understand him better than most.
Renij didn't care about eternal life.
If he did, he would have sided with Dio long ago.
"You really do worry me sometimes," Kagura Chizuru sighed, turning to face Renij. For a moment, she had almost believed he would accept, her heart lodged in her throat.
"Do you really have that little faith in me?"
Renij shook his head helplessly. It seemed she truly doubted him too much.
Hearing him, Kagura Chizuru's heart stirred with strange emotions.
They hadn't even known each other that long, had they?
"Sorry, my mistake."
"Why are you apologizing?"
What the hell—?
Why was she apologizing?
Renij froze. He hadn't asked for that. What was she thinking?
It left Kagura Chizuru feeling equally confused. Why had she apologized? Her behavior seemed oddly misplaced, even to herself.
"That's truly a pity," said Goenitz coldly. "Since you've made your choice, I'll have to eliminate all of you here and now."
He seized the moment while the fighters were still exhausted from their earlier battles.
His goal was to wipe them out—especially Renij and the Three Sacred Treasures.
The Three Sacred Treasures were his primary target.
Once they were gone, no one could stop Orochi's resurrection.
And when Orochi returned, nothing in the world could stand in their way.
Renij, too, had to die—his body carried Orochi's blood, yet he had chosen to oppose them. To Goenitz, that was betrayal.
Mature and Vice were traitors as well. Though they hid it well, Goenitz could sense their loyalty had shifted toward Yagami Iori.
They too would pay the price in time.
A cold smirk flashed in Goenitz's eyes. How pathetic—to forget one's divine mission.
"You're the mysterious man who defeated me before!"
Kusanagi Kyo stepped back into the ring. This time, his opponent wasn't Renij, but Goenitz—the very same man who had beaten him once before.
He had trained his ultimate move for this very moment.
"The Kusanagi Sword, huh. You've grown fast," Goenitz said calmly. "I should've finished you back then."
He admitted it without hesitation—he was indeed the mysterious man who had once defeated Kyo.
And truthfully, Goenitz had long regretted not killing him when he had the chance.
Originally, when Goenitz first faced Kusanagi Kyo, his intention had been to kill him. But after defeating Kyo with ease, he lost interest.
Kyo had seemed too weak to bother with.
However, now Kyo's growth was astonishing—so fast that even Goenitz recognized him as a real threat.
"Kusanagi Kyo, Yagami Iori—we need to join forces now," said Kagura Chizuru as she looked at them both.
She knew about the deep hatred between Kusanagi and Yagami, but now was not the time for old grudges. Her mission was to reconcile the two families and seal away the Orochi lineage.
The man before her was the one who had killed her sister, Kagura Maki.
"The mission of the Three Sacred Treasures, is it?"
"So tell me, how are you any different from Orochi's clan? You, too, carry Orochi's blood," Goenitz said, still trying to sway Renij to his side.
"Sorry, but if you're trying to sow discord, you've picked the wrong target."
"Tch, you…"
Goenitz saw that things were not unfolding as he had hoped.
He spread his arms, summoning powerful gales that began to tear through everything around him.
The spectators who had stayed behind to watch were horrified and fled in panic.
What kind of joke was this? Why were ordinary people getting dragged into a fight between martial artists?
Their screams filled the air, but how could anyone outrun the wind itself?
"So you've decided to attack me?"
Renij was a little surprised. He wasn't one of the Three Sacred Treasures—why was Goenitz targeting him first?
"Because I hate traitors the most."
To Goenitz, Renij was a traitor.
"I see," Renij replied calmly. So that was why he was being targeted.
But on what basis did Goenitz think he could win?
Renij didn't control the power of wind, but as the air currents swirled toward him, the chill around his body began to thicken—until every gust froze solid the instant it touched him.
The Divine Frost God!
Goenitz, being closest to him, froze first. Within moments, everything around them—including Kagura Chizuru and the others—was encased in ice, their faces still locked in expressions of shock.
"You underestimated me, and I overestimated you."
Renij raised a hand and gently tapped the frozen Goenitz.
Crack… crack…
The ice sculpture shattered into countless pieces, scattering across the ground.
Even as he died, Goenitz's mind was still conscious. He could hardly believe it—defeated in a single strike by Renij.
Absolute zero.
Renij's words echoed in his fading thoughts—he had indeed underestimated him.
From watching earlier battles, Goenitz had concluded that Renij relied on close combat, lightning, and resistance to fire. His plan had been to use the speed and sharpness of wind to destroy him.
But the reality had far exceeded his expectations.
His intelligence on Renij had been laughably wrong.
Still, he told himself, he had not truly lost.
The eternal life he had spoken of was real—so long as Orochi existed, he would never die.
Next time, he would return and make Renij pay for his arrogance.
"What a shame—defeating Goenitz didn't even earn me a lottery reward," Renij muttered regretfully.
If defeating him could've triggered a system draw, that would've been wonderful.
Unfortunately, Goenitz's defeat had happened just as it did in the original KOF96—by the hands of Kagura Chizuru, Yagami Iori, and Kusanagi Kyo. Nothing had changed.
As the ice around them melted, Kagura Chizuru stared at Renij with a look that bordered on disbelief.
"Goenitz… was taken out that easily?"
She had seen it even while frozen, yet found it hard to accept.
That was far too simple.
"What else did you expect?" Renij said casually.
"You're strong. You're really strong," she murmured, still unsure what to say. But deep down, she realized she had to re-evaluate him.
He carried Orochi's blood yet stood as their ally—and he was terrifyingly powerful.
She feared what path Renij might take someday.
But there was nothing she could do to stop him.
"Hey, once I'm healed, I'm coming to fight you!" Yagami Iori said coldly, his crimson eyes burning with anticipation.
The thought of facing Renij again made his blood boil.
"Fine by me," Renij replied. He knew that even if he refused, Iori would come anyway, so he might as well agree.
Hearing this, Iori gave a satisfied nod before turning to leave—still playing the part of the aloof loner.
"What am I even training for?" Kusanagi Kyo muttered to himself.
He silently vowed to train harder once he returned. He had thought himself strong, but compared to Renij, he was nothing.
The other fighters felt the same. Especially those who had lost to Renij—they suddenly realized that losing to him wasn't something to be ashamed of.
"Renij, you were amazing!"
Shiranui Mai jumped onto the stage, throwing her arms around him, her cheeks flushed with admiration.
She had been watching the whole time. He was strong, fearless, and unbelievably cool.
"Remember, you promised to fight me again later," Kagura Chizuru said. She glanced at Mai clinging to Renij, opened her mouth as if to say something, then decided against it.
"Congratulations," Jotaro said softly. His voice was calm, but there was genuine warmth behind it. Though outwardly stoic, he was sincerely happy for Renij's victory.
"Renij, these flowers are for you! We love you!"
Renij turned, pleasantly surprised—only to nearly faint at what he saw.
It was JoJo, Kakyoin, and Polnareff—wearing dresses and holding bouquets.
The cross-dressing JoJo trio…
Of course!
JoJo had done this before—it had to be his idea.
Renij could already feel Shiranui Mai's stunned stare.
You're really that hungry, huh? You can even swallow this kind of sight?
"Get lost!!"
Renij kicked all three of them off the stage in one sweep. He needed the comfort of Mai's soft embrace to heal his traumatized eyes.
His vision had taken serious damage.
"BOSS, should we change our target from Kusanagi Kyo to Renij?"
At the headquarters of the NESTS organization, the question was raised after they observed the KOF96 results.
Renij seemed like a far more promising subject than Kyo.
The boss didn't reply immediately, his gaze fixed sharply on Renij's image on the monitor.
"Yashiro Nanakase," he said slowly, "it seems that fool Goenitz failed… and far too easily."
"Tch, that guy bragged so much about his power, and yet he got one-shotted," Yashiro sneered, grabbing his coat and walking out.
(End of Chapter)
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