Chapter 418: Water Form
In the empty lot behind the hospital, the two warriors stood their ground.
"Do you want to fight me?" [THE ASHURA] Ohma Tokita asked again.
Alai Jr. straightened his posture, his expression shifting as he appraised the
man in the hooded jacket.
"A few days ago, I fought [THE FANG] Kanoh Agito. The result was... regrettable.
I'm sure the news has already spread through the Kengan Association."
Alai Jr. sighed, his tone turning heavy. "During my recovery, I've had time to
reflect. If you think that because I was injured, I've let my guard down, you
are dead wrong."
"Furthermore, I have no desire to fight a complete stranger—even if I know your
name. It's meaningless. My martial art wasn't designed to show off against
random 'passersby.' I don't want to hurt you without cause."
Hearing this, Ohma pulled back his hood and cracked his neck.
"Hmph. You've got two things wrong, Jr."
Ohma offered a thin, mocking smile. "First: I've heard about your duel with the
Fang. I don't care. It doesn't interest me."
"I'm here because you're healed, and I can tell you're worth the effort of a
scrap. That's all the reason I need."
"And the second thing is—"
Ohma's mouth suddenly stretched into a wide, wild grin. His eyes widened,
radiating a manic, feral energy.
"Hah! You think you're stronger than me?"
"Quit dreaming and bring it on, Jr.! Show me what you've got, you shiny little
boxer!"
Alai Jr.'s face darkened instantly. He let out a long, cold sigh, tossing his
hospital discharge papers to the side as his feet began their weightless,
rhythmic skip.
"Now, you've made a mistake..."
"You've given me a reason to hurt you."
Alai Jr. raised his fists to shoulder height, his body swaying in the fluid,
elusive cadence of the [BUTTERFLY STEP].
At the entrance to the alleyway, Ren Shiroki was leaning against a wall, wearing
his dark sunglasses and enjoying an ice cream cone. He handed one to Kazuo
Yamashita.
The two of them stood in the shadows, watching the clearing. Seeing Alai Jr.
drop into his stance made Kazuo's scalp tingle with anxiety.
"Whoa... they're really going to do it!"
Kazuo was well aware of the name Mohammad Alai. Seeing the son of the "God of
Boxing" about to clash with his own fighter made his knees shake.
"Shiroki-kun... won't a duel with Alai Jr. turn into some kind of international
diplomatic incident?"
Ren took a bite of his ice cream and shrugged. "The hospital is right next door.
They'll be fine."
Kazuo's tremors intensified. "Wait, why are we assuming someone is going into
the ER as a 'given' factor?!"
Ren ignored the panic, focusing his one good eye on Ohma's silhouette.
"Ohma-kun... he's gotten much stronger since the last time I saw him."
Kazuo calmed down slightly, nodding. "Yes. Even though he's still working
himself to death, I can feel a change in him too."
"But Alai Jr..." Kazuo scratched his head, looking worried. "I don't mean to
sound like an expert, but if Ohma-san underestimates him, he's going to pay for
it."
Alai Jr. skipped forward, his focus locked on Ohma.
He was 190cm and 100kg. The man before him wasn't a giant like Kanoh Agito. Ohma
Tokita stood at 182cm and weighed roughly 85kg. While Ohma was built for combat,
there was a significant gap in reach and mass.
Alai Jr. held the advantage.
Ohma... I'll teach you the price of a street provocation!
Tap!
Alai Jr. pushed off his toes, performing a sudden lateral shuffle to bait a
reaction.
Ohma's body remained still, but his eyes tracked the skip perfectly. He timed
the transition, retreating half a step before executing a lightning-fast pivot.
[NIKO STYLE: FIRE KATA - PHANTOM PACE]!
Zip!
It was a footwork pattern designed to flicker in and out of the opponent's line
of sight, creating an illusion of displacement. Ohma used it perfectly to stay
glued to Alai Jr.'s rhythm.
Alai Jr. didn't flinch. Having faced the Fang, he had already tasted the horror
of "Underground" monsters. He accepted that simple tricks wouldn't work here.
Since the flanking maneuver failed—he would wait.
Alai Jr. absorbed the experience. He stopped his advance, intentionally creating
an opening. As expected, Ohma took the bait. He exploded forward with a
high-torque lunge, swinging a heavy right.
Zip!
Alai Jr. timed the entry. Utilizing his superior reach, he leaned back to clear
the punch and countered with a straight right to Ohma's face.
BAM!
The punch caught Ohma flush. He performed a head-roll to bleed off the force,
but blood immediately erupted from his nose.
"Heh..."
The spray of blood hit the sand. Ohma retreated half a step, baring his teeth in
a grin. "Nice punch... B-O-X-E-R!"
He emphasized the last word with heavy irony. It was clear he was having a great
time.
The jab stung Alai Jr.'s pride. When Agito had beaten him, the King had called
him an "Excellent Boxer," a subtle way of saying he wasn't a "Warrior." Hearing
it from Ohma only fueled his cold fury.
"Boxer or Combatant... I'll let your body decide!"
Alai Jr.'s expression flattened. He had decided to end this. He didn't care
about "Points"; he was going to break Ohma's teeth and flatten his nose until
there was nothing left to mock.
Whish!
Alai Jr. lunged. He stayed low to guard against a takedown while firing a
lightning-fast left jab at Ohma's chin.
The next second—Shick!
Ohma didn't dodge. He fired his own left hand, but it wasn't a strike. He read
the trajectory of the jab, and at the micro-second of contact, he used the hard
bone of his own knuckles to parry the strike, forcing it off-course.
[NIKO STYLE: REDIRECTION KATA - FLOWING EDGE]!
Clap!
In a flash, Alai Jr.'s punch was swatted aside. The sudden loss of resistance
caused his upper body to overextend. Before he could recover, Ohma's hand snaked
out, snaring his left wrist.
"Hmph. My Master once used this to deflect bullets."
"I'm not interested in being a human shield, but against a straightforward punch
like yours? It's fun to play with his style every now and then."
Ohma exerted a downward pressure on Alai Jr.'s wrist. The pain forced the taller
man to stoop, his eye level dropping below Ohma's.
"Hey, Jr. You weren't thinking that because I'm smaller than the Fang, you had
the advantage, were you?"
Ohma didn't let go. His aura sharpened.
"Quit playing around. Let's have a Real Fight, Boxer!!"
Alai Jr. was desperate to engage. He tried to power out of the grip and stand
up, but he found he couldn't. He was stuck in a half-crouch, his wrist locked in
Ohma's iron grip.
The sensation wasn't that of a heavy physical suppression. To Alai Jr., it felt
as if Ohma had transformed into a "Man of Water." He couldn't find a solid point
to push against; his own power was being sucked into a void.
What the hell... what kind of martial art is this...?!
"Hah... hah..."
Ohma regulated his breathing. He was utilizing a synthesis of the [REDIRECTION
KATA] and the [WATER KATA]. His mastery was far deeper than it had been at the
start of the tournament.
This feels good...
Ohma was testing himself. He had learned these principles from the "Real" Tokita
Niko, but the side effects of [THE ADVANCE] had damaged his memory, causing him
to forget the finer details of the flow.
He had almost forgotten... the feeling of his "Secondary Energy" kicking in when
his stamina bottomed out.
Of course, Ohma was far from exhausted right now. But by adjusting his internal
flow, he could reach a similar state—making his limbs feel weightless and
purging the "Clutter" from his biology.
It was as if he had become liquid.
He wasn't using Kaku Kaioh's [SHAORI]—not yet. But he was developing a perfect
clarity of the "Flow of Power."
By simply "Holding" Alai Jr.'s wrist, he had neutralized the boxer's legs. The
Butterfly Step was gone. Alai Jr. was anchored to the dirt.
"Feels perfect..."
"Hey. Grit your teeth!"
Ohma barked the command.
[NIKO STYLE: REDIRECTION KATA - WEEPING WILLOW]!
Fwoosh!
He twisted the captured wrist. Alai Jr.'s entire frame was forced into a
precarious tilt, his face left wide open.
Ohma clenched his right fist and unleashed a savage barrage, returning the favor
for the opening jab.
THUD! THUD! BAM!
Alai Jr.'s nose exploded in blood, his pupils quivering from the shock.
Before he could even fall, Ohma executed a low sweep, spinning him in mid-air.
With a dull BOOM, he slammed the boxer's head into the dirt.
[NIKO STYLE: REDIRECTION & FIRE KATA - SHIRANUI]!!
BOOM!!!
☆☆☆
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