Shinmyung pointed at the zero generation Fist Gang members and shouted, "I've spent all my money on you three. I'm ordering you to capture Mujin Jin's son!"
Seeing that the ex-Fist Gang members weren't following Shinmyung's order, Shigeaki stepped in.
"Go and get Vin Jin."
"Are you ordering us?" Jaesu Noh asked as he looked at Shigeaki.
Gwang Yu grabbed Jaesu's shoulder. "Let's go. We might not like them, but they still employed us. We just need to capture that brat. Let's leave the 1st gen king to them."
---
Baki whistled as he carried a bundle of wood toward their hut. Suddenly, he noticed smoke rising from the hut's location.
"Shit! Did those bastards set our place on fire?!"
Baki dropped the wooden logs and sprinted toward the base. After a while, he reached it to find it engulfed in flames. He looked around for any potential threats. Instead, he found Sujin Kim standing in a corner. He walked over to her.
"Hey, newbie, who did this to the base?" Baki asked as he pointed at the burning hut.
Sujin, who had calmed down, replied, "T-teacher set it on fire. He said he wants to end an ill-fated relationship."
"Dammit! If you want to end your ill-fated relationship, why would you burn down the hut?! Fuck! I can't rebuild this piece of shit again! Maybe I'll just kill the shaman and take over his house!" Baki pulled his hair in frustration.
"Baki-hyung!" Jewoo called out from the distance.
Baki looked in their direction to find them running toward him. Seeing the battered Vin Jin over Mary's shoulder, Baki asked, "Damn, who kicked his ass this time?"
Mary dropped the already battered Vin Jin on the ground.
"Ouch! Why would you do that, you crazy elephant?!"
Just as Mary was about to beat up Vin Jin, Jewoo exclaimed, "Fuck! Why is the hut on fire?!"
The others also noticed the flames. Baki rubbed his forehead and said, "That bastard Seongji set it on fire! Go put it out!"
Jewoo and the others muttered, "Why would teacher do that...?"
The sound of footsteps approached.
"Yo! Why is this place burned down even before we took action?" Beolgu asked Jaesu as he pointed at the burning hut.
"Maybe they had an accident?" Jaesu replied.
"Oi! Who are you guys?" Baki asked the newcomers.
Gwang came forward. "Are you The Ogre?"
Baki squinted his eyes. "So what if I am?"
Beolgu laughed. "Damnit! Whoever came up with your nickname was on point! Hahaha!"
Baki's face darkened. Vin Jin, who recognized Beolgu, shouted, "Baki-hyung! This is the one who beat me up!"
Beolgu looked at Vin Jin before grinning. "It seems we've found both targets in one place."
Jaesu replied, "Better for us. Less searching and more fighting, then!"
"Three versus one?" Baki cracked his knuckles, his ogre-like features twisting into a predatory grin. "I hope you bastards brought more than attitude."
"Don't underestimate them, Baki-hyung!" Vin Jin warned, clutching his ribs. "That bastard Beolgu hits like a freight train!"
Gwang Yu moved first, his shoes kicking up dust as he closed the distance with surprising speed for his stocky frame. His opening strike was a textbook MMA combination—a low kick aimed at Baki's lead leg followed by a hooking punch. Baki shifted his weight, absorbing the leg kick with minimal damage, but Gwang's fist grazed his jaw.
"Not bad!" Baki grunted.
Before he could counter, Jaesu appeared on his left flank, driving a powerful overhand right toward Baki's temple. The coordinated assault forced Baki backward. He slipped Jaesu's punch by mere inches, but Beolgu was already there, capitalizing on the opening with a devastating body shot that connected with Baki's ribs.
*THUD*
The impact echoed across the clearing. Baki's eyes widened momentarily—the punch had power, real power. He stumbled back, and the three former Fist Gang members pressed their advantage.
"This is the difference between you and us, kid!" Gwang declared, immediately transitioning into a grappling attempt, shooting for Baki's legs.
Baki sprawled instinctively, stuffing the takedown, but Jaesu capitalized with a soccer kick to his shoulder. The coordination was seamless—decades of experience showed in how they moved as a single unit, covering each other's blind spots and chaining attacks with practiced efficiency.
Beolgu laughed, landing another heavy shot to Baki's midsection. "Your nickname's perfect! You look like an ogre, and now you're about to get slayed like one!"
The trio worked in perfect sync. Gwang pressured with his MMA combinations, forcing Baki into defensive positions. Jaesu demonstrated exceptional timing with his power shots, catching Baki during transitions. And Beolgu—the snake oil salesman turned brawler—demonstrated surprising striking technique, his punches finding gaps in Baki's guard with frustrating consistency.
*CRACK*
A spinning backfist from Jaesu caught Baki across the cheek, snapping his head to the side. Blood trickled from his split lip.
"Baki-hyung!" Mary shouted, moving to help, but Jewoo held her back.
"Wait... look at his face."
Baki's expression had changed. The initial surprise was gone, replaced by something else entirely. His eyes gleamed with an unsettling intensity as he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I see... so this is the level of the 0th Generation's Fist Gang." Baki's voice dropped an octave, becoming almost animalistic. "Fuck! Why does it feel so addictive!"
He shifted his stance, lowering his center of gravity. His muscles began to ripple in an unnatural pattern, like water flowing beneath his skin. The air around him seemed to distort with raw energy.
"You know what?" Baki's grin widened, revealing blood-stained teeth. "I just fucking love fighting!"
Gwang rushed in again, attempting another takedown, but this time Baki was ready. He sprawled and immediately locked in a vicious guillotine choke, his arms moving with snake-like speed. Before Gwang could escape, Baki explosively threw him aside, literally launching him through the air. Gwang crashed into a tree with bone-jarring force.
"Gwang!" Jaesu shouted, momentarily distracted.
That moment was all Baki needed.
He exploded forward with terrifying speed, closing the distance to Jaesu in a heartbeat. His fist drove into Jaesu's solar plexus with surgical precision. Jaesu's eyes bulged, all air expelled from his lungs in one violent *whoosh*.
Beolgu attempted to intervene, throwing a haymaker at Baki's head, but Baki ducked under it with fluid grace. His counter was instantaneous—a rising knee strike that caught Beolgu square in the liver.
*THUMP*
The sound was sickening. Beolgu's face went pale as nerve pain shot through his entire body, momentarily paralyzing him.
"The difference between you and me," Baki said, his voice eerily calm as he grabbed Beolgu's collar, "isn't experience or technique."
He headbutted Beolgu with shocking force, the crack of skull meeting skull echoing across the clearing.
"It's just that I'm fucking better than you guys!" Baki released Beolgu, who crumpled to his knees, blood streaming from his broken nose. "Tch! Where did your pride go?"
Gwang had recovered and charged again, showing admirable determination. He unleashed a flurry of strikes—elbows, knees, punches—each one technically sound and potentially devastating. But Baki weaved through them like smoke.
Then Baki countered with a technique that made everyone watching freeze: the Goutaijutsu, a strike that combined the principles of several martial arts into one devastating blow. His fist connected with Gwang's jaw with such force that his feet literally left the ground. He spun in midair before collapsing in a heap.
Jaesu, recovered enough to fight but still gasping, came at Baki from behind with a rear naked choke attempt. For a moment, his arms began to close around Baki's neck.
"Got you!" Jaesu wheezed.
Baki's response was to flex his neck muscles—simple, yet effective. The muscles expanded, breaking Jaesu's grip like it was made of paper. Before Jaesu could react, Baki reached back, grabbed his arm, and executed a perfect judo throw, slamming Jaesu into the ground with enough force to crater the earth beneath him.
The fight had lasted less than five minutes total, but the tide had completely turned. Beolgu struggled to his feet, swaying, his earlier cockiness evaporated. Gwang was unconscious against the tree. Jaesu groaned in the crater, barely able to move.
"Lost already?" Baki said, rolling his shoulders as if the fight had been nothing more than a light workout. "I enjoyed it while it lasted." He looked at the three half-conscious men with something almost like pity. "But pride doesn't equal strength."
Beolgu spat blood, still trying to rise. "Damn... monster..."
"Monster?" Baki tilted his head. "Nah. I'm just better." He turned his back on them, walking toward his companions.
Vin Jin stared in awe. "Baki-hyung... that was insane."
"Tch." Baki rubbed his ribs where Beolgu's early shots had landed. "Where is Seongji?" He glanced at Vin Jin.
"Oh shit! Teacher is facing off against the shaman's guards alone."
Baki looked at the fallen Fist Gang members. "Were there any more like these three there?"
Vin Jin shook his head. "No. Only some guards and the Kojima brothers."
Baki cracked his neck. "That's good then. You guys stay here. I'll take a look."