Yagami Iori's situation in this tournament was somewhat special.
He was participating as an individual.
Well, mainly because Yagami Iori was too hard on his teammates.
In the previous two tournaments, those who teamed up with him were either beaten half to death or killed outright.
This guy is a true teammate killer.
Now that Kusanagi Kyo had been defeated, Yagami Iori's expression turned extremely ugly.
This way, his plan to defeat Kyo in the King of Fighters Tournament in front of the whole world, no, the entire universe, was also ruined.
On the other side, the Fatal Fury trio was also discussing.
"Three-on-one? Feels like an unfair victory."
Higashi Joe rubbed his chin somewhat conflicted.
Although he knew deep down that he wasn't Yagami Iori's match in a one-on-one, but the three of them together had a decent chance of wearing him down.
However, neither he nor Terry wanted to win that way.
"I'll go. If I lose, we'll voluntarily forfeit."
Terry came up with a compromise.
After speaking, Terry glanced over to consult Joe and his brother.
Joe nodded in agreement, but when Terry looked at Andy, he found the other had already stepped onto the ring.
Terry's eyes widened in shock.
'Wh-What? Since when was Andy this brave?'
"Coming or not? Or are you forfeiting directly?"
'Andy' stood on the ring, looking down condescendingly at Yagami Iori seated in the players' area, coldly demanding.
"I'm in a very bad mood right now. If you want to die, I can oblige."
Yagami Iori had been considering whether to just settle things with Kyo privately.
But being provoked by 'Andy' like this completely set him off.
With a loud shout, azure blue flames emitting immense heat surged wildly from Yagami Iori's palms.
Accompanied by his own spin, they transformed into a purple-smoke, blue dragon tornado.
[Hundred Style: Ogre Blaze!]
Opposite him, 'Andy' gathered his ki into a hand blade and slashed upwards.
Rising Dragon Bullet!
Seeing the two collide, not to mention the viewers in the chat group-
Even the locals on the Planet King of Fighters didn't think Andy could win.
He was simply not on Yagami Iori's level.
But the next second...
'Andy's' hand blade descended, forcibly splitting apart the blue flames and chopping down onto Yagami Iori's chest.
The struck Iori grunted and plummeted heavily towards the ground.
The moment his feet hit the ring, they created two deep pits, and he slid backward, nearly falling off the ring.
"No way!?"
The Fatal Fury Team, who were quite familiar with Andy, the Women Fighters Team, and his teammates Terry and Joe all jumped up from their seats with a start.
'Andy Bogard overpowered Yagami Iori!?'
"Did Mr. Andy take some kind of drug?"
Sakazaki Yuri asked with her small mouth agape in disbelief.
"What drug is that effective? Can you introduce it to me..."
Sakazaki Ryo retorted dryly.
…
A short while later, Yagami Iori lay collapsed on all fours on the ring.
After the referee announced in a stammering tone, "Th-The winner is... Andy Bogard,"
The on-site spectators, and all the gossipers in the group, were utterly bewildered.
'Andy Bogard... defeated Yagami Iori?'
In just the first round, the two top favorites, Kyo and Yagami Iori, were defeated one after the other.
Wh-Who could have predicted this development?
Kagura Chizuru, also a member of the Three Sacred Treasures Families, was equally stunned.
Well... this was completely different from what she had anticipated!
And due to the Universe Chat Room, Shiranui Mai, who had made little progress with her fellow disciple over the years, was also greatly shocked.
'Could it be that he had been biding his time all these years?'
"This guy... there's something wrong..."
At the Nakano Sisters' home, Lott observed the expressionless 'Andy', his eyes narrowing slightly.
Andy's status on the Planet King of Fighters was like that of Tomoya Aki in a harem series.
He could defeat Yagami Iori?
If there wasn't something wrong with that, Lott would rather believe that Makoto Ito could control his... urges.
…
The King of Fighters Tournament continued.
The Art of Fighting Team led by Sakazaki Ryo clashed with the Ikari Team.
This was also a match with little suspense.
Although the Ikari Team had participated many times, they had always been at the mid-to-lower tier.
Lott's only impression of this group was that Leona wore less and less in later King of Fighters Tournaments.
This team was naturally no match for the Art of Fighting Team and was directly eliminated).
The subsequent Women Fighters Team vs Kim Team was a case of noobs pecking at each other.
If the Women Fighters Team still had the classic trio of King + Mai Shiranui + Sakazaki Yuri-
Then the Kim Team might have had a chance to sneak a win and advance.
But with Kagura Chizuru replacing Sakazaki Yuri, they had no chance at all.
Finally, the New Faces Team defeated the Outlaw Team composed of Yamazaki Ryuji, Blue Mary, and Billy Kane.
The two top favorites, Kyo and Iori, losing in the first round caused this year's King of Fighters Tournament to develop in an unpredictable direction.
...
The first round ended, and the tournament entered a temporary intermission.
"Are you two alright?"
Acting as the dedicated mediator for Kyo and Yagami Iori, Kagura Chizuru called them together and arranged for the best healers from the Kagura Family to treat them.
"To be honest, not great..."
Glancing at his right arm wrapped in thick bandages, Kyo smiled wryly and shook his head.
'Even after healing, who knows how ugly this arm will look in the future.'
'I hope Yuki won't mind.'
Yagami Iori kept his head down, silent.
To be honest, until participating in this tournament, he didn't even remember who 'Andy Bogard' was.
Yet he was actually defeated by such a nobody.
This completely shattered Yagami Iori's self-esteem!
"Andy... that man has a problem..."
Kagura Chizuru also sensed something was wrong, turning to look at 'Andy' sitting silently diagonally across from them.
Although she didn't participate in the last tournament, she witnessed all the matches.
Andy hadn't left much of an impression on her back then.
But now he could defeat Yagami Iori in just one year... Did he think he was a Saiyan?
Just then, Kagura Chizuru noticed 'Andy' suddenly stand up, walk over to the New Faces Team, and say something to them.
This action further confused Kagura Chizuru and some of Andy's acquaintances.
'What was he doing with the New Faces Team?'
But before Terry could step forward to ask, Andy had already returned to his seat.
"Andy, do you know those people?"
Terry couldn't help but ask.
'Andy' replied offhandedly:
"I was hitting on that woman."
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere around the Fatal Fury Team, the nearby Art of Fighting Team, and the Women Fighters Team became somewhat subtle.
After all, that reason... was flawless!
Joe slapped 'Andy's' shoulder, "Good taste, brother! I also think that red-haired woman is great! So big! Feels like her clothes are about to burst at any moment!"
"Uh... Bro, th-that's not really good, is it?"
Terry adjusted his cap, sweating nervously.
He discreetly glanced at Shiranui Mai, whose face was gradually turning green.
'Even though your relationship never reached that stage, hitting on another woman in front of your fiancée... isn't very decent, right?'
'Even Lott probably wouldn't dare do something like that.'
"Mai..."
King wanted to comfort Shiranui Mai.
"Let him go die!"
Shiranui Mai sat down grumpily in a seat further away.
Originally, seeing Andy become stronger, she had started to view her good-for-nothing fiancé a bit more favorably and wanted to talk to him.
But she never expected this asshole would actually flirt with another woman right in front of her.
'Men are truly no good!'
At that moment, the first match-up for the second round appeared on the electronic screen-
Fatal Fury Team vs Lott Team!
[Zenitsu: The organizers are openly rigging this!]
[Kakashi: This is like the finals happening early, right? Speaking of which, Obito, are you watching the match? If you are, answer me. Let's talk properly.]
[Chun-Li: I just watched some videos from last year's KOF Tournament. This Andy improved way too fast, right?]
[Master Roshi: @Chun-Li, Miss Chun-Li, I'm a fan of your legs!]
Seeing this match-up, the gossiping group members were shocked again.
'Are the organizers deliberately stirring things up? Shouldn't this combination be saved for the finals?'
Amidst everyone's shock, 'Andy' had already stepped onto the ring again, just like when he provoked Yagami Iori earlier, his gaze fixed directly on Ishigami Yu.
"Come on. Didn't you want to challenge the strong?"
His teammates, Asamiya Athena and Kensou Sie, instinctively swallowed hard and moved slightly further away to avoid getting caught up in it.
"You've got it wrong. You're the challenger."
Ishigami Yu, who had already changed into new clothes, abruptly stood up and tore off the bandages covering his eyes.
Instantly, the entire Planet King of Fighters, and over half of the group members, turned their attention to the battle between the two biggest dark horses of this KOF Tournament.
However, just as everyone on-site focused their attention on Ishigami and 'Andy'-
No one noticed that the New Faces Team's members had quietly left the venue.
...