Beneath a waterfall sat an eleven-year-old boy, legs crossed.
The water crashed violently against his naked body, yet he remained motionless, like a rock.
"It seems the last time I managed to feel ki was pure luck."
That was the name he had decided to give that strange energy. He couldn't call it mana; after all, this was a world of martial arts, not magic.
And apparently, meditating under a waterfall like Chinese protagonists did didn't work either.
...
After defeating the T. Rex that murdered my mother, I feasted on its flesh.
I must admit, it was incredibly satisfying. I don't know if it was because it was the first time I had eaten T. Rex meat… or because I had finally avenged her.
Probably both.
I am much stronger now.
I no longer hunt only T. Rexes; I even hunt them alongside spinosauruses.
Hahaha… jokes aside.
Some time later, I hunted another T. Rex, and this time it was a double kill: a T. Rex and a spinosaurus.
Of course, both were severely injured after a brutal fight between them, and they were also young.
But hey… scavenging counts too.
A win is a win.
...
"Well… I already miss pizza and the internet."
"I think my moment has arrived."
"And if it goes wrong… then my moment really will have arrived."
If my idiot brother's trick worked for him, it should work for me too.
It even worked for a certain shield-wielding hero.
Well then, it's time to say goodbye, age of dinosaurs.
I won't miss you.
Goodbye, brother. We'll see each other in millions of years.
...
This…
I'm sure this is not the modern era.
Huh?
What I saw left me completely dumbfounded.
In the distance, a mammoth and a giant sloth were being attacked by a saber-toothed tiger.
"Manny… Sid… Diego… is that you?"
At my shout, all three turned their attention toward me.
The saber-toothed tiger was the first to attack.
I suppose that, seeing me smaller, it thought I would be easy prey.
...
Well, they weren't Manny or his gang.
But they were delicious.
Tsk… looks like I thawed out too early.
I ended up in the Ice Age.
At least now I know freezing works. If it weren't for a reaction of my ki, I'd probably still be frozen.
...
As I walked toward what looked like a frozen river, I saw a figure in the distance staggering, clearly affected by the cold.
I ran toward her just as she was about to fall into the water.
I caught her at the last second.
Now that I had her in my arms, I could see her better.
She was a demi-human girl with badger-like features.
"Wait… is this girl Hitomi Uzaki?"
"How did a Killing Bites character end up in the world of Baki?"
As I asked myself that question, I noticed her body beginning to tremble.
"Well, whatever. First, let's find shelter."
..
Inside a cave, I sat down to wait for her to wake up.
After a few minutes, she began to move.
The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was not panic.
She adopted a defensive stance.
"Tsk… interesting. Looks like you're not afraid of me, little one."
She didn't answer.
She just stared at me with a confused expression.
...
In the middle of the snow, two shadows could be seen clashing violently.
They were two people fighting each other.
One of them was a young man of about fifteen. He didn't resemble any Neanderthal or modern human. His body was incredibly well-developed, his jet-black hair fell to his shoulders, and his exaggerated canines gave him the appearance of fangs. His nails looked like claws.
The other was a girl of about eleven with animal traits. White fur covered parts of her body: the sides beneath her armpits, her shoulders, biceps, forearms, and her legs up to the upper thighs.
A short tail sprouted from her coccyx, and two small ears adorned her head. Her nails had been replaced by short but sharp claws, and she also had visible fangs.
..
Both fought naked in the open air, completely ignoring the cold.
"This time I'm going to beat you!" Hitomi shouted as she attacked.
"Kid, you're decades away from defeating me. In my era, they called me the king of the dinosaurs. No one dared to challenge me," I replied as I blocked her attack.
...
After several rounds, Hitomi collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
"This time you beat me… but next time I'll win," she said between gasps.
"Hehehe, sure, sure. I know you'll manage it someday," I replied sarcastically.
"Don't laugh! You'll see. Someday I'll beat you," she said, clearly annoyed.
Thinking about these four years, I can say they were good.
Although I delayed my journey to the modern era, I gained a lot.
The first—and most difficult—thing was teaching Japanese to Hitomi. To my surprise, she learned quickly. It only took her a year to speak fluently.
I was no longer alone.
At last, I had someone to talk to.
I remembered when I tried to teach my brother… it was a complete failure.
I was also able to refine my fighting style. Before, I only trained against beasts or with my brother. Although I still don't know martial arts, I'll now be able to defend myself better when the time comes.
Hitomi is a natural fighter: strong, talented, and with an absurd learning ability.
Sometimes she's impulsive and hot-blooded, but she behaves well with me. She only becomes aggressive when we train.
"Well, it's time to head back to the shelter," I said as I lifted her up and carried her like a princess.
"Put me down, I can walk on my own," she complained while trying to break free.
I held her firmly.
She struggled for a few seconds before giving up.
When we reached the cave, we ate the mammoth we had stored. Then we curled up in a corner to sleep.
As I closed my eyes, I thought about what the future held for me.
Hitomi's arrival meant that this world was far more complex than I had imagined.
Maybe it wasn't just Baki.
Maybe it was a fusion with Killing Bites… or something even stranger.
At first, I believed that after defeating Yujiro Hanma, I could call myself the strongest creature on Earth.
But now…
Who knows what other things might appear.
Maybe there are beings even stronger than "the Ogre."
The thought excited me.
Besides, in Baki, no energy like this existed.
So that ki must come from somewhere else.
It seems the future will be interesting.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face, hugging Hitomi.