The Tokyo Team had only one player left: Daigo Umehara.
"Hahaha! The Tokyo Team is done for!"
"They're cornered! Only a kid left!"
The Osaka Team's fan section erupted in shrill jeers.
The "Demon of the West" stood up arrogantly, once again gesturing a thumbs-down in Daigo Umehara's direction.
The commentator's voice was tense: "The situation is extremely unfavorable for the Tokyo Team! With Nagai and Shirano having fallen, all the pressure is now on eleven-year-old Umehara Daigo! Can he hold up?"
In the audience, Boss Sato's forehead was drenched in sweat. He clenched his fists tightly, muttering something under his breath.
Mrs. Umehara was so nervous she hardly dared to breathe.
Daigo Umehara silently stepped onto the combat stage, his foot landing on the familiar beer crate.
Kusanagi Kyo had arrived.
The match began.
Everyone expected a heart-pounding struggle.
But the scene on the screen plunged the Budokan into deathly silence.
Daigo Umehara's Kyo Kusanagi abandoned all previous probing and stances, transforming into a raging inferno that consumed everything in its path.
Having previously observed Nagai Kenta's match against the opponent, Daigo Umehara already had a good understanding of his opponent's style.
His offense was even more ferocious than the Osaka Team's mad dogs, yet it carried Shirano-style precision.
His pressure was even tighter than Nagai Kenta's defense, yet it was riddled with lethal traps.
That arrogant "Demon of the West" was reduced to a toddling infant before Daigo Umehara.
Every jump was met with a precise Demon Burn, sending him crashing down.
Every defense was shredded by unstoppable combo attacks.
Every attempt at counterattack crashed against the impenetrable wall that was "Daigo Umehara."
Five minutes.
Just five minutes.
On the screen, the Osaka Team's captain fell.
Daigo Umehara's Kyo Kusanagi had only a third of his health bar remaining.
"Tokyo Team wins!" The commentator's voice had completely changed pitch as he stared at the massive "K.O.!" on the screen, stammering, "Umehara-san... has utterly crushed the Osaka Team's captain with overwhelming force! The Demon of the West had no chance to retaliate!"
"A triple kill! My God! He used just one Kusanagi Kyo and took down the entire Osaka team!"
"A monster! This fucking guy is a monster!"
In the athletes' seats, Shirano's notebook clattered to the floor with a clack.
Nagai Kenta let out a long sigh, a helpless expression on his face.
"It looks like the two of us... are just here to warm up the crowd for him."
In the stands...
"Uncle! Aunt! Did you see that?! Did you see that?!" Boss Sato shouted, wild with excitement. He grabbed Masao Umehara's arm and shook him violently. "A triple kill! He took down their whole team by himself! That's our Daigo! He's not even human!"
Mrs. Umehara covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face—tears of joy and pride.
Masao Umehara remained silent.
His face remained impassive, but the hand resting on his knee had clenched into a fist so tight that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
He couldn't understand the flashy techniques on the screen, but he understood this: his son had single-handedly turned the tide.
Under the spotlight, Daigo Umehara silently stepped down from the beer crate and returned to his seat.
It was as if the demonic figure that had just wreaked havoc on the screen had nothing to do with him.
The Budokan arena blazed like daylight under the final match's spotlight.
On the central big screen, the final match-up list flashed boldly:
Tokyo vs. Hyogo Prefecture.
When Nagai Kenta saw the name in the Hyogo Prefecture team captain's seat, his expression froze.
Kitachen Genichiro.
A name as fossilized as the era it represented—the pinnacle of the Kansai fighting game scene.
"It's him..." Nagai Kenta murmured to himself.
Beside him, Shirano quickly flipped through his notebook. "Hyogo Prefecture representative, runner-up at the first Sega Tournament. His final match opponent back then was—"
He trailed off, glancing at Nagai Kenta beside him.
Six years ago, Nagai Kenta had defeated this very opponent to claim the throne as the first-ever champion.
It was a clash destined by fate.
Yet the match began as a nightmare for the Tokyo Team.
Their pioneer, Shirano, faced off against a Hyogo Prefecture fighter known for his unorthodox and cunning style.
Every move his opponent made seemed like a shadow of Kitachen Genichiro's: steady, precise, yet tinged with a youthful slyness.
Shirano's meticulously crafted system was repeatedly dismantled by his opponent's unconventional tactics.
After a grueling battle, Shirano lost.
The Tokyo Team found themselves at a disadvantage from the very start.
"I'm sorry," Shirano said, his face pale as he stepped off the ring.
"It's alright. Leave it to me," Nagai Kenta stepped forward, his gaze passing over his opponent to lock eyes with Kitachen Genichiro in the distance.
A silent dialogue, spanning six years, seemed to unfold between them.
Nagai Kenta lived up to expectations, relying on his seasoned experience to swiftly and decisively dispatch Hyogo Prefecture's pioneer.
But then Hyogo Prefecture's middleweight entered, leading to another brutal war of attrition.
In the end, Nagai Kenta gave his all, only to perish alongside his opponent in mutual destruction.
A draw.
But everyone knew what this meant.
The Tokyo Team had only one player left: their final general, Daigo Umehara.
And Hyogo Prefecture had only one trump card remaining: their final ace, Kitachen Genichiro.
The match had been forced into its final stage: the Great General Battle!
"It's here! The ultimate Great General Battle!" The commentator's voice was hoarse but exhilarated. "Is this a generational torch-passing between the first champion and the new beast, or a fateful rematch between old rivals separated by six years?"
Daigo Umehara stood atop a beer crate, his expression calm.
Across from him, Kitachen Genichiro bowed slightly in a martial artist's salute, his eyes devoid of contempt, filled only with respect for a worthy opponent.
Final character selection.
Umehara Daigo's selection box lit up.
Everyone assumed he would choose Choi Bounge, the character that had made him famous.
However, the cursor swept past the monkey and settled on a sleek, military-uniformed female character.
Eri Kasamoto, the explosive assassination expert from Metal Slug, was a character Takuya Nakayama had developed based on Leona.
"Eri Kasamoto?!" The commentator's voice shot up. "Umehara... he actually had a hidden ace up his sleeve! This is the first time he's used this character in the entire tournament!"
In the players' seats, Shirano and Nagai Kenta exchanged glances, both seeing the amusement in each other's eyes.
This was the secret weapon they had prepared for Daigo over the past half-month.
For the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed Kitachen Genichiro's face.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 30+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon