Chapter 86: Orochi Katsumi
On the observation deck, everyone looked up.
The helicopter door opened, revealing the man's appearance.
He had neat, short black hair, a rugged and resolute face, and sharp, handsome features—almost the standard of classical beauty.
He could definitely be called a "pretty boy."
He wore a white karate gi with a wide black belt, sleeves rolled up high.
Although he was crouching, his physique was clearly visible.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist—a perfect inverted triangle. His muscles were sculpted like a statue, his arms streamlined with power, his legs long and explosive.
...
Equally eye-catching was his chest.
Embroidered on the left side of his gi were the characters: "Headquarters — Shinshinkai."
Undoubtedly, this man was from the same school as Suedo Atsushi, a member of the Shinshinkai Headquarters!
"Shinshinkai's... Second Generation?"
Akimiya Kaede frowned.
Leadership changes in large martial arts organizations were also a form of business intelligence, so Akimiya had heard rumors.
It was said that the founder and first director of the Shinshinkai, Orochi Doppo, had recently retired for some reason, handing the position of director to his adopted son—the twenty-one-year-old Orochi Katsumi.
Akimiya looked at the helicopter. "Is that man... him?"
Suedo Atsushi crossed his arms. "That's him!"
But he hadn't expected to run into his own "Second Director" here tonight. What a coincidence.
Turning his head, seeing Kei eager to try his luck, Suedo couldn't help but warn him.
"Hey, Shiraki, don't underestimate Shinshinkai Karate just because you beat me!"
Compared to gamblers, relationships between martial artists were often much simpler. It was easy to become friends after a fight.
Although Suedo found Kei a bit too familiar, he didn't dislike him.
"The Director's adopted son—Orochi Katsumi—was carefully groomed as the ace to compete in world tournaments. Later, the Director sent him to the Underground Arena."
Suedo was a man who rarely admitted defeat, but he genuinely admired his Second Director.
"That Orochi Katsumi—our ace—his karate is on a different level from mine!"
"He is the Ultimate Karateka, the Final Weapon of Karate!"
...
"Gulp..."
Hearing this, Akimiya swallowed hard.
Actually, no explanation was needed. Just thinking about it made sense. The Shinshinkai was a massive martial arts organization with over a million members.
A guy who could sit firmly in the Director's seat... how could he be mediocre?
The helicopter slowly descended.
The group on the observation deck took the stairs to the main deck.
When the helicopter was still a few meters from the ground, Orochi Katsumi stood up and jumped, landing steadily on the helipad with a soft thud.
"Haha! I heard there was a fight, so I got lazy and wore my gi directly."
Katsumi saw Suedo early on and waved. "Hey, Suedo, don't spread that around, or I'll lose face!"
Suedo laughed dryly, about to ask a question, but Katsumi suddenly walked up, slung an arm around Suedo's shoulder, and teased him.
"I say, you actually came to a place like this to train yourself? Working hard, aren't you! But I heard you lost? Kato's definitely gonna laugh at you! Haha!"
Suedo felt helpless. After Katsumi finished teasing him, he finally got a chance to speak. "Boss, why are you here?"
Katsumi let go. "My old man introduced me."
Suedo paused. "Director Orochi Doppo?"
"Yeah."
Katsumi smiled and explained, "After that tournament in the Tokyo Dome underground, I couldn't sit still. I wanted to find some masters to test my new insights on karate. So I told my old man."
"He has wide connections. Seems he's old friends with the former leader of some 'Kakerou Organization,' so he pulled some strings."
"See? It's a big world. Tokugawa isn't the only old man running underground fights."
As he spoke, Katsumi scanned the surroundings.
He noticed Maruko, Kyara, the two elderly gentlemen, and Shiraki Kei. He smiled with satisfaction. "And, looking at it now... there really are masters outside of that tournament..."
...
Akimiya Kaede sized up Orochi Katsumi.
Up close, his physique was even more impressive!
Not exaggeratedly bulky, but possessing nearly perfect muscle groups. It was as if every single muscle had been fully trained, combining into a naturally perfect martial artist's body!
...
Katsumi noticed Akimiya and recalled Suedo talking to her earlier.
"What, does this beautiful lady want an autograph?"
Katsumi patted Suedo's back. "Since she's Suedo's friend, of course it's no problem!"
Seeing this, Suedo was exasperated.
His Boss had this flippant personality. Although he had restrained himself a lot after losing to a Kung Fu master that night, he still liked to run his mouth occasionally.
But this man, once he stepped into the ring, was undoubtedly the "Final Weapon of Karate"!
"Alright!"
Katsumi put his hands on his hips, looking at the Kakerou Leader. "You're the son of my old man's friend, right? I've seen your photo. So, who's my opponent?"
"—" The Leader tilted his head, gesturing.
Katsumi turned, his gaze passing over Akimiya and landing on Kei nearby, noticing his bleeding arms.
He's the guy who beat Suedo?
Their eyes met.
No words were needed. With just one look, Katsumi could judge his opponent's strength—that man absolutely had the ability to participate in the Tokyo Dome underground tournament that night!
Not just because he could defeat Suedo, but because of that unique scent of an underground fighter—even injured, his personal will chose to keep fighting!
"..."
The two continued to stare at each other in silence.
Gradually, Akimiya, caught in the crossfire of their gazes, couldn't handle the silence. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
She moved, stepping to the railing to take a breath.
But just as she caught her breath and looked up, she realized Kei and Katsumi's gazes hadn't moved from her.
What is this—
Akimiya was confused. In the next instant, both Kei and Katsumi shouted simultaneously.
"Don't move!"
?!
Akimiya didn't understand, but her body froze instinctively.
At the same time, Kei and Katsumi slid forward, aiming a high kick at Akimiya's head.
BANG!
They didn't hit Akimiya. They hit two hands reaching out from the darkness behind her.
Those hands were about to strangle Akimiya, but Kei and Katsumi kicked the elbows, one left and one right.
With a scream of "Wah!", the attacker was kicked overboard into the sea without even showing his face.
Akimiya turned back, realizing she had almost been taken hostage. Her pupils contracted slightly, shocked by Kei and Katsumi's reaction speed.
Katsumi was puzzled. "Scary. What was that?"
Kei craned his neck to look. "A mercenary from the smuggling ship?"
Baku speculated, "Probably jumped overboard to escape, but since Kakerou's men are on the shore, they could only hide in the water for now."
"The water's too cold at night. If they don't come up, they'll lose strength or die of hypothermia. So they tried to take a hostage to escape?"
Everyone looked around. More than a dozen mercenaries were climbing onto the cruise ship from all sides, flipping over the railing onto the deck.
These mercenaries were soaked to the bone, desperate, planning a last-ditch effort to take a hostage and escape.
Kyara scoffed. "Hmph. Fish that slipped through the net. Loser dogs!"
That said, they were still a dozen armed soldiers, well-trained and fighting with their backs to the wall.
The fighters present—including Kei—prepared to deal with these uninvited guests first.
But just as everyone was about to move, Orochi Katsumi reached out to stop them, stepping to the front.
He recalled something.
"You know 'Alexander Gallen,' right?"
"In the consecutive battles of the underground tournament, he entered halfway through, unharmed. Because he didn't want an unfair advantage, he chose to fight an extra match, wrestling a man-eating giant python weighing 270kg and nearly fifteen meters long to death with his bare hands."
"That victory was so cool!"
"And I'm not someone who likes taking small advantages either..."
Katsumi faced the approaching mercenaries, suddenly looking back and winking at the group behind him, smiling.
"So now... I'll give it a try too~!"