Yuzuru looked down at Kuro with a crooked grin, standing a few meters away.
"C'mon," he said lightly. "They've all left. What are you waiting for? You scared?"
He gestured lazily with his hand. "Get up, Kuro."
On the other side, Kuro let out a slow sigh, his hands reaching for the bamboo sword.
Yuzuru noticed. His eyes lit up with interest, the smirk on his face widening.
"You're really going to use a weapon?" he scoffed. "Did your senile ass not hear me? I said my Banryuukai against your Banryuukai ,not my Banryuukai against your cheap ass wooden sword."
Kuro's lips twitched slightly.
The hand that reached for the bamboo sword. In one smooth motion, he hurled it straight at Yuzuru.
Yuzuru sidestepped effortlessly.
He turned back to look at Kuro—only to find him already mid-air, closing the distance. Kuro's left hand shot forward, two fingers extended, aiming straight for Yuzuru's eyes.
Yuzuru grabbed his wrist
"You sly fox."
"Hmph."
Kuro's left leg shot upward toward Yuzuru's chin.
Yuzuru leaned his head back, barely avoiding the kick—yet Kuro's heel still hit his chin slightly
But the strike had never been the point.
In the same motion, Kuro twisted his body, using the momentum to hook Yuzuru's arm and drag it down, snapping him into a tight arm-bar lock.
"It's over," Yang thought.
'The master already has pinned him an arm lock. The only way out is to let him break it… and keep fighting with one hand '
That was the kind of thinking amateurs relied on.
Before Kuro could apply any pressure to the lock, Yuzuru pressed his trapped hand downward, pressing kuro back slightly to the ground. In the next second
—Yuzuru launched himself upward.
His body twisted midair.
A clean flip.
He landed lightly on his feet.
Kuro was still clinging to Yuzuru's arm.
But the situation had completely reversed.
Instead of pinning Yuzuru to the floor, Kuro now dangled awkwardly from his arm—his grip stretched, his body hanging at an unnatural angle, like a monkey clutching a tree branch it was about to lose.
Still, one fact remained unchanged.
Despite the reversal, Yuzuru was still caught in the arm lock.
But this time Yuzuru could fight back
From Kuro's position on his right, it was the perfect opening to use Seikun Tsuki.
He snapped his left hand back to the level of his ribs, coiling his body for an instant—then fired it forward in a straight line toward Kuro's face.
Crack!
The blow smashed into Kuro's nose with brutal force, sending him flying backward as if he'd been hit by a speeding truck.
Kuro's back and head slammed into the wall. Before his face could hit the floor, he threw out his right hand to brace himself.
Splaaash.
Blood poured from his nose like a river.
Kuro tried to get up, but his legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees again.
Yang rushed to his side.
"Master… are you good?"
It was a stupid question.
Of course he wasn't.
Someone else answered the question.
"Yes, he's good now. Step aside."
It was Yuzuru.
He tore his own shirt open, the fabric ripping apart as he revealed an X-shaped scar carved deep across his chest.
"We're just getting started."
After his nose was crushed and his head slammed hard against the wall, the impact disrupted his cerebrospinal fluid.
Neurotransmitters surged violently, shaking his mental state and flooding his brain with confusion. To restore balance, his brain shut down all voluntary functions temporarily—an emergency reset to stabilize its internal chemistry.
In simpler terms: he blacked out.
Kuro's brain had shut down for a moment, stripping him of all bodily control. His vision blurred, and blood streamed steadily from his nose.
Slowly, his senses began to return. His gaze shifted toward Yang as nerve signals reestablished themselves
proper stimulation brought his awareness back online.
His expression remained calm, unreadable as ever.
After a brief pause, he tapped Yang on the shoulder.
"Yes, Yang. I'm fine now" he said evenly.
"do as he said."
_____________
Magnificent
absolutely magnificent.
The sight in front of Yang left his mouth hanging open.
Kuro and Yuzuru moved as if they were dancing. Every shift of the legs flowed into the next; every strike was evaded, countered, then evaded again. The exchange never stopped.
Beneath them, the foamy mats had been torn apart into a rough circle, like an improvised fighting ring, exposing the ceramic tiles underneath.
Yang couldn't help but wonder what kind of idiot thought it was a good idea to put ceramic tiles beneath gym mats.
But that hardly mattered now.
The two fighters finally created some distance between them. Kuro was panting heavily, his chest rising and falling, while Yuzuru simply stared back at him—calm, composed, barely even sweating.
The fight itself had been a mess of mismatches.
Kuro was at a clear disadvantage because of his height. It was the very reason Yuzuru had been able to lift him and drive that punch straight into his nose.
If Kuro had been just ten centimeters taller, he might have won the first exhange
At least… that was what Yang thought.
"I'm very disappointed, Kurokawa. I came all the way to this place just for you, and this is the performance you show me," Yuzuru said.
The grin he'd worn earlier was gone, replaced by an annoyed frown.
Kuro didn't respond. Instead, he slipped into a stance—both fists raised, palms facing Yuzuru. His left leg stepped forward, right leg set back, knees slightly bent. His hands were positioned to deflect incoming strikes, while his lower body made his intent clear: he would attack with his right leg.
Yuzuru, however, remained still
That atleast what looked like to yang
His feet were shoulder-width apart, knees relaxed. His shoulders were loose, Both arms hung downward at roughly a forty-five-degree angle, elbows slightly bent and tucked close to his body.
It didn't look aggressive.
It didn't look defensive.
Yang had never seen a stance like it before
Both remained there motionless ,time rolls on passing them by
Sweat started dripping from yang clenched fists
Yang has already understood the meaning of this stillness , so now he trembles in anticipation of the exchange to come
The intent of those two fighter was clear
Kuro will deliver a kick with his right leg toward Yuzuru his raised hands is to deflect any attacks ,and there was Yuzuru.. while yang didnt understand his stance he knew he would deliver a kick too , any hand attacks would only extend the fight for too long
Each of them had already chosen their attacks, so why hadn't anyone moved yet? You might ask. Yang didn't know either.
He was wondering the same thing.
Its because both were aware of their counters. Take Kuro, for example—if Yuzuru's leg connected with his, he planned to wrap himself around it and lock him in a leg hold.
And for Yuzuru, if Kuro's leg met his, he would wrap his arm around it and then deliver another strike to the other leg
The two fighters had reached a stalemate, in this situations the fight becomes a contest of endurance, physical and mental
For this stalemate to continue both Yuzuru and kuro must hold their stances perfectly steady ,while at the same time maintaining the intense focus needed to react to their enemy
This effort exacts a big toll on both fighters ,its like walking a tightrope across a chasm . sooner or later one will falter , the other if he still has the strength will seize the chance and strike
"...." Yuzuru eyes remained locked into kuro who was breathing heavily
" ...ngh .."
Both Age and previous injuries has began telling the tale
Yuzuru was still on his physical prime and was unscathed
Kuro however has lost so much blood from Yuzuru previous punch and he's old enough to feel age creeping up to him, the difference was clear as crystal
If this continues kuro will eventually succumb to exhaustion and become a fodder for Yuzuru attacks , should he wish to avoid that he has no choice but to attack first and stake his remaining strength on the hope of victory
Failure if he strikes first and failure if he waits that the reality of kuro situation
Victory and glory are already tipping in one side favor
So
__________
Disappointing
What a waste of time
Those were the thoughts in Yuzuru brain
while he was staring at kuro whose eyes turned white still in his stance .
instead of admitting defeat or fighting to the end like a man he knocked himself unconscious
If he had asked to restart the fight, I would've agreed without hesitation.
I genuinely wanted to see the full extent of his techniques " haaafff " I really had high expectations for his karate.
But none of them lived up to that.
His style was bland.
Nowhere near the refinement of Matsuo Shozan's or Doppo Orochi's techniques.
And it wasn't even lethal in the way Juumei Kuga's karate was.
Just… disappointing.
Speaking of Juumei Kuga…
The only reason he came here was because he claimed that this bald fuck's technique was superior to his. That lying bastard…
When I see him again, I'll—
…
I'll insult him in my head.
Yuzuru flinched at the thought. The image of that long-haired demon, grinning with that wide, empty smile, flashed in his mind.
Nah… scratch that. I'm not insulting him at all.
long hair…
Yuzuru turned his gaze toward Yang, who was staring back, his arms wrapped around his legs.
Yang tilted his head slightly
Like he's asking
" why look at me when your opponent is right in front of you ? "
is he still oblivious that Kuro has gone unconscious?
Yuzuru shook his head, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, and casually walked toward the gym's exit.
One of the officer Yuzuru knocked out during his entrance lifted his head, "H…huh, what happ—"
Before he could finish, Yuzuru's boot slammed into his face once more knocking him again