Below the ring, this time it was Terry and Andy who hurried forward to support Joe Higashi. Seeing Joe cough up several mouthfuls of blood and looking utterly miserable, Terry and Andy couldn't help becoming worried. They quickly called over the on-site medical staff and had them put Joe on a stretcher to take him for examination.
Withdrawing his gaze from Joe on the stretcher, Terry looked a bit serious, while Andy's face was full of anxiety. He looked at Terry with a complicated expression, his voice full of regret, "We really shouldn't have provoked him like that… So, Big Brother Terry… you should just admit defeat. He's too strong. You can't beat him."
Terry shook his head. Then the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile. He raised a hand to gently press Andy's shoulder, speaking firmly, "Andy, as fighters, we're supposed to challenge stronger opponents. Isn't that exactly why we came to participate in this tournament?"
"But you saw it yourself, Joe didn't even have a chance to make him move a single step, you..."
"Alright, Andy, say no more." Terry cut off his younger brother, lifted his hand, gave the brim of his cap a little push upward, then turned and leapt cleanly onto the ring.
Seeing Terry step onto the stage, Aiden couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh, "Terry, I'm really sorry…"
"Don't say that, Aiden." Terry raised a hand to stop him, a bright grin on his face.
"We came here to find stronger opponents. Now that wish has been granted. Aiden, show me the real thing, use your strongest move to defeat me. Let me clearly understand just how big the gap between us is."
His strongest move?
The God-of-War Power Kick?
But…
Aiden slowly shook his head, then glanced around to both sides, looking helpless, "The space here is really… too small, and there are too many people watching. If I use my strongest move, there probably won't be many people left alive."
Given the ridiculous destructive power of the God-of-War Power Kick, just the foot-stomp used to charge it would likely make the entire stadium collapse in an instant, with the crowd getting caught in it.
And once the charge was complete and he kicked with full force, the power would probably be no less than dozens of B-52 bombers dropping their payloads simultaneously, everything in the area would be reduced to ruins.
Of course, even without going full power, there would still be heavy casualties.
Hearing Aiden say this, Terry was speechless for a moment. After quite a while, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Uh… alright then, just do whatever you think is best. But don't go easy on purpose."
"It's just that…" Aiden hesitated. Deep down, he really didn't want the cheerful young man before him to lose too miserably. After all, Terry was genuinely a good person, someone easy to admire.
Terry seemed to see right through Aiden's thoughts. He let out a helpless smile and asked, "So even if you hold back, it'll still be just one move?"
Aiden shook his head. "It might take several moves."
Terry blinked, then nodded hard, "Alright, then I want to see how many moves I can withstand from you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Terry suddenly reached up and pressed his cap down tightly. Planting his feet solidly, he took a standard fighting stance.
In an instant, a powerful fighting spirit rose from his body.
Then the announcer's voice rang out, "Begin!"
Power Wave!
The moment the announcer finished, Terry seized the initiative. He slammed his fists into the ground several times in quick succession, and waves of energy visible to the naked eye surged out like ocean waves, rushing straight toward Aiden.
But Aiden simply stomped once, scattering all the energy waves with sheer force. Then, with a flicker of movement, he instantly appeared in front of Terry.
'So fast!'
Barely able to form that thought, Terry quickly retreated a full step, narrowly dodging Aiden's reaching hand. Then he slammed the ground with several more punches.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…
Energy waves erupted from the ground again, but this time they were far more powerful than before, no longer like ocean waves, but more like molten lava erupting from a volcano.
"Not bad… Terry, you're much stronger than your brother and that Joe guy."
Aiden said this, then also slammed his fist into the ground.
'A universal fighter technique, Iron Cracker!'
And with his current strength, even without using full power, that punch shattered the marble ground within ten-plus meters around him. The shockwave canceled out Terry's energy eruption and then spread beyond the ring, startling the spectators sitting closest, making them scream.
Right after unleashing that move, Aiden tapped the ground with his toes and instantly appeared in front of Terry again. A rapid chain of shadow-kicks struck Terry, sending him flying off the ring, earning Aiden an easy achievement of defeating three opponents in a row.
After the announcer declared the match over, Aiden stepped down from the ring. He first went to check on Terry, and after confirming he was fine, he turned and walked toward the Kagura sisters.
Taking the bottle of mineral water that Kagura Chizuru handed him, Aiden took a sip and said, "So? My performance wasn't too bad, right?"
But what answered him was Chizuru's jealous remark, "Since you're this strong, why did you go train at that woman's dojo back then? Did you already have your eye on her at the time?"
"Uh…" Aiden had been expecting praise from the sisters, so he was instantly left speechless. But… this really was exactly the kind of thing Chizuru would ask.
"Heh-heh…" He scratched his head awkwardly, didn't answer her question, and instead said, "Up next we'll be fighting the Japan Team. How about I go out first?"
"Hmph. Answer my question before we get to that." The tsundere big sister said unhappily.
What else could Aiden say?
He could only nod. "Yes!"
There was nothing embarrassing about admitting it. He was a man, liking women was perfectly normal.
"Hmph, you philanderer."
This was something Chizuru had known long ago, but she still said it again.
And Aiden only responded with the same silly chuckle.
The winners' bracket semifinals had ended, and next was the fight to determine first place in the winners' bracket.
But in reality, both the fighters and the audience had already guessed the result.
The three members of the Japan Team were discussing things with heavy expressions.
"Kyo, let's just admit defeat later. It's not shameful." Benimaru Nikaido didn't want to fight Aiden at all. Being defeated in one move would be even more humiliating than surrendering directly.
"Daimon, what do you think?" Kyo Kusanagi ignored Benimaru and looked straight at Goro Daimon.
Goro Daimon thought for a moment, then said, "I'm also thinking we should forfeit. There's absolutely no point in continuing the fight. It's better to save our strength for tomorrow's matches.
Second place, third place, they may not sound as good as champion, but they're still proper rankings, and we can still fight other strong competitors."
"Then let's surrender." Kyo smiled, though his eyes were full of fighting spirit. "But it's not because we're afraid. Once I master Mu-no-Kata, I'll challenge him again."
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