Baki sped down the road, music blasting through his earbuds. He spotted a gas station called 'Yea Oil' up ahead. Since he hadn't filled up his bike after returning from Incheon, now seemed like a good time. Nearby, a heavily tattooed guy was washing a car.
"Hmm... Should I get my bike washed? Well, since I'm already here, might as well."
As he started moving his bike forward, several motorcycles suddenly surrounded the entire station. "Interesting... A fight's about to break out? I wonder if there's anyone strong or interesting here..."
The bikers dismounted and slowly encircled the tattooed kid. Some began harassing customers and other workers. Unfortunately for the bikers, one of their members was also approaching Baki.
Baki watched the situation unfold with interest. The thug sauntered up to him, threw an arm around Baki's shoulder, and said, "Hey dumbass, got some money? Lend me some."
Baki mused to himself, "Normally, people avoid me. It's been a while since anyone's approached me like this."
The thug smacked the back of Baki's head. "Dumbfuck, are you deaf?"
Johan had just arrived at Vasco's workplace. Seeing the tattooed man, he asked, "Are you Va—"
"AAAARRGGH!!!"
Before he could finish, a gut-wrenching scream cut through the air. Everyone whipped around to see one of the gang members rolling on the ground, his arm bent at an unnatural angle.
The others immediately rushed toward their fallen comrade. But Johan's eyes weren't on the God Dog members—they were fixed on the attacker. "Th-that's him!!! Why is he here?! Does he live around here?!"
Johan's mind flashed back to the cult incident. He'd finally found the man who had saved them that day—the same person who had inspired Johan to get stronger.
Back then, Baki had returned after training to take revenge on the cult. That day, Johan understood a fundamental truth: the one with the strongest fist has the loudest voice. So he decided to become stronger—stronger than anyone else.
After all, if you're born male, at least once in your life you'll dream of becoming the strongest man alive.
Johan called out to his crew. "Stop. We're no match for him." The God Dog members looked both shocked and dissatisfied. Johan Seong slowly turned to leave, but his members clearly weren't going to follow their leader this time.
The members muttered among themselves: "Man, I thought he'd never leave."
"That fucker."
They all approached Baki again. "Hey bastard, do you think you're some kind of hero? Why are you meddling in our business?"
Baki dismounted from his bike, a devilish grin spreading across his face. "It's been a long time—a very long time—since I've met anyone as rude as you guys. So today, I'm going to teach you some manners."
Suddenly, Vasco appeared between them, standing protectively in front of Baki.
"You can't hurt the others. Burn Knuckles... If we can't protect people, we're not Burn Knuckles!!!"
The first-year students gathered behind Vasco. "So if we protect someone, does that make us Burn Knuckles?"
Suddenly Jin Jang's phone rang. He answered, then extended it toward Vasco on loudspeaker.
Jace's voice crackled through. "Hehe, Vasco... I'm a mess... I need a car wash."
Vasco's expression turned serious. "Ah... Understood." He sent Jin Jang flying with an uppercut to the chin, then grabbed the phone.
Baki observed the scene with amusement. "Those hefty kids from that day, and now this tattooed kid... Is Seoul a breeding ground for monsters or something? I guess I understand why Taesoo Ma said monsters were sprouting up everywhere."
Within minutes, Vasco had beaten down all the God Dog members single-handedly. When he looked back to check on Baki, the red-haired stranger was already gone.
Vasco asked around, "Did the red-haired customer leave?"
Only then did everyone realize Baki had vanished.
---
Meanwhile, Vin Jin was at an arcade with Sujin.
A buzz-cut kid suddenly approached him. "Are you friends with Vasco of Burn Knuckles?"
Vin Jin was attempting to win the game for the tenth time. If he didn't win now, he wouldn't be able to gift the prize to Sujin. He was completely focused, so he answered without looking up, "Go away, kid. I'm busy."
The guy seemed annoyed by Vin Jin's dismissive tone. He directly tackled Vin Jin just as he was on the verge of winning. Vin Jin's face twisted from despair into fury.
"I was this close! Literally THIS close to winning, you dumbfuck!!!"
The buzz-cut kid smirked mockingly. "You're fucking ugly. So tell me where Vasco is before I make your face even uglier."
"Now that you've done it, I can't hold back, can I?" Vin Jin said through gritted teeth. From the side, Sujin said softly, "Vin... don't destroy anything here."
Vin Jin nodded and turned toward the kid. The kid tackled him again, but this time he couldn't budge Vin Jin a single inch. Suddenly, he found his feet leaving the ground. Vin Jin wrapped his hand around the back of the kid's head, lifted him up, then slammed him face-first into the ground.
The kid couldn't even process what had just happened. Vin Jin picked him up again and slammed him back-first onto the ground. He did it twice, three times, and kept going until the floor cracked beneath them. Then he tossed the kid aside like garbage. The kid had been unconscious for several slams now.
Vin Jin cracked his knuckles and turned toward the other God Dog members. "You guys are his friends, right?"
The God Dog members were terrified. They shook their heads frantically. "N-No, sir! We d-don't know him!"
---
A few hours later, Burn Knuckles and God Dog stood face to face.
Vin Jin looked at Johan with surprise. "H-He attacked hostel at that time!"
Johan sat on top of Daniel. "Without power, you can't protect shit. I'll teach you that now." Suddenly Jin Jang appeared behind him and attacked the back of Johan's head.
But Johan stopped the attack with his palm. He slowly stood up and laughed maniacally. "AHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHA—HAHAHAA! I KNEW THIS DAY WOULD COME SOONER OR LATER. I DIDN'T KNOW IT'D BE TODAY. SO YOU GUYS HAVE DECIDED TO BITE YOUR OWN MASTER TOO?"
The God Dog members backed away at the sound of Johan's unhinged laughter. He pointed his fist at both crews. "Today... God Dog will be destroyed."
Jin Jang rushed at Johan, but Johan sent him flying with an uppercut and charged into the God Dog ranks.
Screams of pain and agony echoed through the park. God Dog members were sent flying left and right. Blood splattered across the grass, but the rain washed it all away.
Vasco said to Jace as he watched Johan's solitary figure, "Jace... What should I do? I know I shouldn't be thinking this. I know they're all bad guys. But the bad guy I see in front of me... looks so lonely."
Daniel was shocked at how the situation had spiraled. He stepped forward to help Johan, but Vasco stopped him. "He's only getting what he deserves, Daniel. He's reaping what he sowed. Since he knew this day would come eventually, he's the one who should handle it."
Johan walked toward the fallen Jin Jang. "Back when you were the leader of a no-name gang, it was raining like this too."
Jin Jang crawled backward in fear. "Hic! Stay away from me!"
Suddenly a voice cut through the chaos. "Yeah, it rained that day too." Gun Park walked into the park. Everyone stared in shock. Gun sat on a bench and lit a cigarette. "That day I sent Jake Kim off... It was raining too."
Johan covered his face with his hands and laughed maniacally. "Heh... hehehe... HAAHAHAHAHAA! AAHAAHAA—AAHHAHA! Gun Park! Did you come to disqualify me too? I guess today is full of surprises."
With that, Johan threw a jab at Gun. Gun blocked it with his palm. Johan quickly followed with a knee aimed at Gun's face. Gun crossed his arms and blocked it. Johan threw a straight punch. Gun blocked it with his forearm.
Johan unleashed a flurry of punches, but it did no damage whatsoever. Gun muttered, "You copied this too? I'll give you credit—you've got talent." Then he gripped Johan's wrist and flipped him to the ground. "But your body... can't keep up."
With that, he threw a punch at Johan's face, smashing him into the ground.
"Clap... clap... clap..." A red-haired figure appeared behind Vin Jin. It was Baki. He casually draped his hand over Vin Jin's shoulder. "Were you enjoying the show? Sujin called me saying you were in trouble."