Hobin heads to the entrance but is stopped by Tamar Dadiani. She puts her fist out.
- "Good luck out there, bro!"
She says, with a big smile on her face.
- "Thanks, cheer me on."
He says as he bumps her fist. He walks out to the center of the arena.
- "I remember when I first met him, he was an older kid that was travelling the world with his master. His master and my master were friends, so we frequently saw each other and eventually he became my sparring partner. I know just how strong he is. He'll show that Waldemar what for!"
She thinks to herself.
- "Go Hobin!!!"
Her cheers blend in with the crowd, but Hobin can hear her anyway. In the infirmary, Jack and Leonardo, who just woke up, are observing the next match.
- "Hey, Mr. Jack, just how strong is that old man?"
Leonardo asks. Jack pauses for a moment.
- "Despite not being born with the Super Muscle Density gene, he is stronger than those with it."
Leonardo leans back.
- "SMD gene, eh?"
- "You know about it?"
- "Yeah, I fought a person who had it back when I was hired muscle. He was one of the few fighters I remember from those days. It seemed like he was unstoppable, able to go through concrete walls like they were butter."
Leonardo realizes what Jack said.
- "And you're telling me that old man is stronger than those with it?"
- "I can only think of three people who rival him in terms of physical strength alone. Two of them are in this tournament, Makoto Genryuuzan and Yuichiro Matsumoto."
- "Who's the third?"
- "A Filipino professional wrestler. I think he goes by "Mount Apo.""
Leonardo chuckles.
- "Nice name. I would like to meet him some day."
He says, before focusing on the match.
- "Now it's time for round 1, match 8! Hobin "The Grappling Demon" Choi versus Waldemar "The Jackass" Forrestville!!!"
Hobin gets into a Kudo stance. Waldemar just smiles, cracks his knuckles, and shrugs his arms.
[https://imgur.com/WxsaGUb] - Illustration of their staredown.
- "Fighters are you ready!?"
- "Of course!"
- "Bring it."
- "Then…BEGIN!!!"
The fight begins explosively, with Hobin immediately charging in and grabbing Waldemar's hips to throw him. He smiles, thinking the fight is over. Tamar is near the entrance, shouting.
- "Heh, I can hear Tammy cheering me on, no way I can lose this!"
Tamar wasn't cheering. She was telling him to back off. Hobin realizes too late, and looks up at Waldemar, still smiling and still with his arms crossed. He is too shocked to pull back.
- "Sorry kid, but you should throw out all reason and common sense when you fight me."
He says, as he slams his fist straight into Hobin's temple, sending him flying across the arena, with blood gushing out of both his nose and mouth.
- "A MASSIVE HIT FROM WALDEMAR STRAIGHT TO HOBIN'S HEAD! IS THE FIGHT OVER!?"
The crowd cheers, thinking the match is over, but Hobin gets up. Despite his legs shaking, despite the concussion, he still stands up.
- "Hobin gets up! What a powerful show of tenacity!"
He clears his nose and spits out blood.
- "One hit…Just one hit and I already want to lie down and sleep."
He looks up at the lights.
- "I wish I could go home and have a nice cup of tea right now."
He gets back into his Kudo stance.
- "But now is the time to fight!"
Waldemar keeps his guard open as an act of intimidation.
- "Come on boy! The fight has just started!"
Hobin smiles, with blood dripping out of his mouth.
- "Sorry for the weak start, but I'm going to start winning now."
Waldemar lets out a mighty laugh.
- "I welcome the challenge, show me what you're really made of!"
The two walk towards each other. The exchange begins with Waldemar throwing a wide swing. Hobin ducks under, and hits him with an elbow uppercut, followed up by a nasty headbutt. Waldemar tries to counter, but the force of his punch is used against him as Hobin shoulder throws him, sending him to the ground.
- "Hobin is now taking charge of the match! Waldemar may be strong, but what's the point of strength if it can't hit!?"
Hobin goes for an armbar, but Waldemar gets up with ease. He lifts his arm with Hobin still on it. Punyawit, watching in the infirmary, is shocked at what's going on.
- "How is he lifting him up so easily? It took all I had to lift my opponent up, but this old man is lifting a 95kg man up like it's nothing!"
He thinks to himself.
Hobin disengages the armbar but grabs Waldemar's hips once again. This time he successfully grabs and throws him. Waldemar crashes to the ground. Hobin looks at his opponent, thinking he had finally won, but Waldemar was just lying down there smiling.
- "Despite the deadly combo Hobin has performed, Waldemar still keeps smiling!"
Waldemar gets up, wiping off the little blood that dripped from his nose.
- "You're strong, kid!"
- "Thanks, but save it for when I win."
Waldemar goes in for another wide swing, Hobin once again ducks under but it was a feint. Waldemar throws another wide swing to Hobin's torso, but he blocks just in time. Despite blocking, he is sent flying back.
- "Waldemar gets a hit in! Look at that monstrous strength, sending a light heavyweight like that into the air!"
Hobin looks at his arms. He winces in pain. His forearm bones have been cracked.
- "So, blocking isn't an option, huh?"
Hobin smiles through the pain.
- "What a monster you are."
Tamar is still cheering Hobin on. He calms himself down, cutting off every sound that isn't coming from the arena. Right now, all he can feel is the taste of blood in his mouth, and the sound of his heart in his ear, and the only thing he can see is his fists, his monstrous opponent, and the ground. He takes a deep breath.
- "Let's do this."
He slowly closes in. Waldemar, still with his guard open, smiles once more.
- "Now that's more like it!"
Hobin charges at him. He launches a barrage of straight punches. Waldemar stands there taking it like a champ. He tries to counter with a large swing, but Hobin goes for an elbow to Waldemar's temple.
- "Oh! An elbow strike to the temple! We sure are seeing a lot of those today!"
This is his chance. He launches a flurry of straight punches to the head and the body.
- "An unrelenting barrage of strikes from Hobin, yet Waldemar is still standing in his way! Will the young Kudo master power his way through this or will the muscle-brained old man get his way!?"
Waldemar, still with his arm open, starts smiling.
- "Yes, that's it! Hit me until you're satisfied!"
He throws another wide swing. Hobin counters with a shoulder throw, Waldemar is sent tumbling to the ground. Hobin starts stomping on him.
- "Stomp, stomp, and stomp! Looks like Hobin's raining hell on Waldemar's face!"
Hobin starts getting tired. He stops stomping on him. The dust clears, and Waldemar's face is bruised, battered, and bloody, but he's still smiling. He gets up.
- "You did well."
He pats Hobin on the shoulder.
- "Mock my pride, will you?"
He says with bated breath.
- "Sorry, but I'm a bit of an asshole."
Waldemar says as he goes for another wide swing.
- "I wanna go home and sleep on some thighs…"
Hobin thinks to himself as the fist gets closer to his head.
- "No, not like this!"
He ducks under the swing once again, and this time grabs Waldemar's shirt. He rolls back and throws him. A Circular Throw! Waldemar is sent flying through the air and lands headfirst into the ground.
- "Hobin lands a Circular Throw! Waldemar is sent across the arena!"
Hobin gets into position for a ground-and-pound.
- "I could've taken the hit. I wanted to, but…"
He starts showering Waldemar with hammer fists.
- "I'm not going to lose without giving it my all!!!"
Waldemar is still taking all these hits. Even after Hobin's countless combinations, even after the stomps, he is still taking all of it.
- "That's the spirit."
Waldemar starts rising from the ground with Hobin still pummeling him.
- "And Waldemar is getting up with Hobin still attached! Does his monstrous strength and endurance know no bounds!?"
Waldemar grabs Hobin and lifts him up.
- "Let's put you to sleep, shall we?"
Hobin scoffs, throwing one last punch and hitting Waldemar in the nose. He then flips him off.
- "Good answer."
Waldemar slams him into the ground, knocking him out. He then poses, with his hands on his hips. The referee calls the match.
- "And the winner is…WALDEMAR "THE JACKASS" FORRESTVILLE!!!"
Waldemar looks at his downed opponent.
- "You were better than most, you were just unlucky that you had to face me in the first round."
He says before walking away.
Jack leans forward in his chair.
- "That Kudo kid did really well all things considered."
Leonardo looks fired up.
- "What's up?"
- "I can't believe I get to face a monster like that!"
Jack chuckles.
- "You're confident that you can beat Punyawit I see."
- "Well, he's strong, but I got this."
Hobin was brought to his private fighter room, after he was bandaged up, at his request. He's lying down on Tamar's legs.
- "This sucks…"
His arms are numb, and he has a massive headache.
- "Oh well, you win some you lose some. Looks like now's not my time."
She covers his eyes with a towel.
- "Go rest bro, I'll win this tournament for you."
She says. He smiles.
- "Thanks for the gesture, but don't win it for me. Win it for yourself. It's your strength after all."
He says before going to sleep.