Chapter 206: How Disgraceful!
Zip!
Retsu Kaioh lunged forward with a sliding high kick, his foot connecting flush
with Yanagi Ryuko's face.
BANG!
The impact sent Yanagi reeling backward. He clutched his nose, bright crimson
blood leaking through the gaps of his fingers, dripping onto the pavement.
"..."
Tap!
Retsu landed gracefully, standing his ground. He faced Yanagi, positioning
himself like a shield in front of Ren Shiroki, Lihito, and a trembling Kazuo
Yamashita.
If this had been a duel Ren had asked for, Retsu would have honored it by not
interfering. But if Ren was in danger of being murdered while already wounded?
Retsu didn't know what he would have chosen—but fortunately, Ren had called out
for help, identifying this as a "Slaying" rather than a match.
Retsu knew one thing for certain: if a wounded friend was caught in an
involuntary life-or-death struggle, he would never sit idly by!
"..."
Ren's back was still screaming in pain, blood soaking deeper into his bandages.
He glanced at Retsu, noticing the two bottles of Oolong tea tucked under the
Fist Master's arm.
He couldn't help but let out a dry, amused chuckle. "Retsu-san... you actually
went and bought tea!"
Retsu looked slightly embarrassed, offering a stiff explanation. "The air in the
hospital was too stuffy. I wanted to go for a stroll."
Ren flicked the blood off his hand and gestured toward the bottles. "I'm dying
here. Is it cold? Give me a sip before I pass out!"
Retsu paused, then tossed both bottles of Oolong tea to Kazuo Yamashita,
signaling for him to open them.
Ren gave a nod of thanks, but Retsu emphasized once more: "I was merely passing
through."
"...Then why buy two bottles?"
"I'm thirsty enough for two!!"
While they spoke, Retsu's eyes scanned the battlefield. He noted the discarded
chain and tiger-claws on the ground before finally settling on the unconscious
Ohma Tokita.
"..."
What kind of technique was that? Retsu wondered. It wasn't a standard chin-shot
KO, nor was it a trauma-induced blackout. It was an application of a
palm-generated vacuum—a concept entirely alien to conventional martial arts.
"...It is a specialty of the Underworld."
Yanagi wiped the blood from his nose, his gaze sharpening as he studied Retsu's
stance. "Kenpo? To reach such a level of refinement... you truly are worthy of
the title 'Kaioh'."
Yanagi dropped his arms low, his voice a sinister whisper. "...So, do you wish
to play?"
Retsu's brow furrowed. "I do not mind!"
ZIP—!
Before the words had fully left Retsu's lips, Yanagi was already in motion. His
figure moved like a ghost, his right palm snapping forward to press against
Retsu's face.
In a heartbeat, Retsu raised his own left palm to meet it.
SLAP!
A crisp sound echoed as their palms met. There was no impact of force; instead,
their hands became perfectly sealed together. The Way of the Void—the vacuum
suction—locked their palms in an airtight grip!
Yanagi grinned, his eyes wide as he used his left hand to press down on Retsu's
upper arm. Using his core and hips, he yanked his right arm backward with a
violent jerk.
"―HAA!"
The pull was intended to drag Retsu off-balance, snapping his arm forward and
leaving him wide open.
BOOM!
Instead, Retsu drove his feet into the ground and leaped. Using Yanagi's
anchored arm as a pivot point, he performed a fluid, mid-air front flip,
vaulting over Yanagi's head to land steadily behind him.
The maneuver didn't just break the momentum of Yanagi's pull; it utilized the
vacuum suction to wrench Yanagi's own arm into a painful lock behind his back.
"Hah—!!"
Retsu tightened his right fist and unleashed a devastating blow from his hip,
aiming straight for Yanagi's spine.
Sensing the danger, Yanagi instinctively released the vacuum seal, throwing
himself into a forward roll. He sprang off his hands, performing a mid-air twist
to land several paces away.
Tap!
"..."
Yanagi's expression darkened. He had tasted Retsu's level of mastery and was now
operating at 120% alertness. Simultaneously, Retsu noticed Yanagi's palms.
The skin of those hands—made eerie and supple by the Way of the Void—bore a
faint, sickly reddish hue. An unnatural, necrotic color.
Seeing Retsu's focused gaze, Yanagi gave a low chuckle. "Oh? Even with only the
faint traces remaining... you can still tell?"
Retsu lowered his voice, a growl vibrating in his chest. "The Poison Hand!"
"Correct," Yanagi sneered, about to explain the secret of the Dokute, but Retsu
cut him off.
"Do not presume to explain Kenpo to me!"
Retsu's gaze was cold. "In the year 1540, a branch of the 'Evil Fist'—the
Dokute—was brought to these shores by travelers. Across seven secret scrolls,
the formula for creating lethal toxins and the training methods of the Poison
Hand were recorded. It was adopted by the ninja of the era and passed down
through the shadows for generations."
"Using venomous insects and plants to create toxic sand, the hand is soaked
within it, neutralized by medicinal baths, and eventually, the poison is forged
into the very flesh of the palm. A single strike from such a hand sends the
toxin into the marrow, rotting the bone and muscle until life is extinguished."
"—That is the Poison Hand!"
"..."
Yanagi blinked, laughing helplessly. "As expected of a Kaioh. There are secrets
in that history that even I wasn't fully aware of..."
He held up his hands. "But do not be so tense. I arrived in a hurry today; my
palms have not been 'primed' with poison."
The words were met with a chilling whisper.
"...It does not matter."
"Hm?" Yanagi froze.
Retsu roared: "Whether your hands are poisoned or not... it matters not to me!!"
"Oh...?"
Yanagi's smile vanished, his face becoming a mask of stone. He glided forward,
his footwork so airy he felt like a sinister wind blowing through the night.
Schwing...
Yanagi closed the distance instantly, his voice a low hiss. "Perhaps I
misremembered. What if I did prime them?"
His left palm shot forward, aiming for Retsu's throat. The angle was perfect,
designed to pursue the target no matter how they dodged.
But the next second—
CLACK!
Retsu's palm slammed upward, parrying Yanagi's wrist. Without a heartbeat of
delay, Retsu unleashed a torrent of strikes.
Bang-bang-bang-bang!
Yanagi was hit by a frontal barrage so intense he was launched backward,
stumbling several steps before he could stabilize. Blood poured from his nose
and mouth.
"—!?"
He couldn't believe it. Retsu, knowing the lethality of the Poison Hand, had met
his palm head-on without a shred of hesitation! What kind of absolute confidence
in his own technique did this man possess?!
"..."
Yanagi looked up to see Retsu settled into a deep horse-stance, his arms crossed
in front of his chest, fingers curled into half-claws. The posture was the
pinnacle of refined Kenpo—Pure Mastery in its physical form!
"Whether you have poison or not is irrelevant. But for a practitioner of the
martial arts to rely on nothing but lies and psychological parlor tricks? How
disgraceful!"
"HYAH—!"
Retsu's roar rattled Yanagi's eardrums. Before the convict could recover his
senses, Retsu lunged. A wave of strikes—fists and feet moving like an incoming
tide—crashed into him.
CRACK-BOOM-BANG!!
"TAKE THIS!!"
Retsu delivered a final, heavy punch to Yanagi's abdomen. The force lifted the
small man off his feet, launching him like a ragdoll against the brick wall
behind him.
Zip—!
Retsu pursued instantly, reaching the wall in a flash, only to find the impact
point empty.
"Hm?"
Yanagi had vanished. Retsu looked up and saw the truth.
Several meters above the ground, Yanagi was clinging to the vertical wall. He
was facing the bricks, his palms pressed flat against the surface using the
"Void" vacuum seal. Supporting his entire weight with the suction of his palms,
he hung there like a massive, predatory spider.
"Hah... hah..."
Yanagi panted. His nose was crushed, and several teeth had been shattered. His
face was a mask of blood that dripped along his wrinkles, making him look truly
demonic.
"As expected of a Kaioh. A deciding blow won't come easily. Let us meet
again..."
Slap!
Yanagi shifted his weight, turning his body to face the wall completely. Using
his palms for suction and his feet to kick off the brick, he began scurrying up
the skyscraper like an insect.
Zip-zip-zip...
He flipped over the roof's edge and vanished into the night.
"..."
Retsu didn't pursue. He turned back to check on the wounded: Ren Shiroki, Ohma
Tokita, and Lihito.
"His palms were not poisoned," Retsu said, letting out a breath of relief. He
knelt to support the unconscious Ohma and nodded to Kazuo Yamashita.
"If it is not too much trouble, please assist me. We must get them to the
hospital immediately."
"..."
(End of Chapter)
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