Kurosaki Rei froze for a moment, then quickly realized—Tokita Ohma was already dead.
The most awkward position wasn't actually his own.
It was Nogi's.
In the original story, Nogi only dared to initiate the Kengan Annihilation Tournament and challenge Chairman Katahara because he had acquired Ohma, a once-in-a-generation talent. But now, after issuing the challenge, his ace fighter was gone.
That was painfully awkward.
Because Tokita Ohma had died on Kurosaki Rei's very first night in this world, the Nogi Group still had a bit of time to react. With no opportunity to properly test and evaluate new fighters, choosing the Wu clan—renowned and undeniably powerful—was the most reasonable option.
But that raised another question.
If the Wu clan was hired by the Nogi Group, then who would fight on behalf of Yamashita Kazuo's son, Yamashita Kenzo's company?
Wait.
Kurosaki Rei suddenly remembered something.
Wasn't the organization that initially funded Yamashita Kenzo's computer research… the Worm!?
The Worm would absolutely want to investigate the cause of Ohma's death. At the same time, they also wanted to undermine the Kengan Association. And now that they had colluded with Vice Chairman Hayami Katsumasa of Toyo Electric Power, they would surely try to infiltrate as deeply as possible.
That made Kenzo's fighter slot a perfect opening.
"Karura, thanks. That's some very useful intel,"
Kurosaki Rei said, committing it to memory.
"I need to go check the draw results."
As soon as the words fell, Flash Step activated, and his figure vanished from the spot.
...
Inside the luxurious hall, titans of the business world gathered, their attention fixed on the lottery machine.
The method for deciding matchups was the same as in the original—drawing lots. The higher the number, the earlier you got to choose your position in the bracket.
After Chairman Katahara finished explaining the rules, no one raised any objections. Smiling, he stepped forward and was the first to choose an opening match position.
When he wielded his brush and boldly wrote the four characters "Metsudo's Fang" on the massive board, the crowd remained calm, each person merely thinking about how to avoid facing Metsudo's Fang in the first round.
But when Chairman Katahara continued writing, their expressions changed.
Because the name following the title wasn't the familiar Kanoh Agito.
It was an Eastern name.
Metsudo's Fang — Kurosaki Rei!
The hall erupted into an uproar.
No one had expected that Chairman Katahara—already in possession of an invincible gladiator—would actually replace Metsudo's Fang in a tournament that would decide his own position and fate.
Everyone had seen Kanoh Agito still standing at Chairman Katahara's side earlier that day. So this wasn't a case of Agito stepping down.
Which meant only one thing—
This new Metsudo's Fang, Kurosaki Rei, was being acknowledged as even stronger than the widely recognized monster, Kanoh Agito!?
The presidents and CEOs present all wore different expressions, but one thing was clear:
they could already sense that something was very wrong with this Kengan Annihilation Tournament.
If Katahara Metsudo truly had a fighter even stronger than Kanoh Agito…
what chance did the rest of them have of winning?
The one frowning the deepest was Hayami Katsumasa, president of Toyo Electric Power.
As Vice Chairman of the Kengan Association, and the leader of the internal faction known as the Hundred-Man Committee, he was the second most powerful figure in the organization—widely considered the man closest to seizing the chairman's seat.
This Annihilation Tournament felt like his opportunity.
To claim the position of chairman, he had gone all out: recruiting the muscle monster Julius Reinhold from Germany, secretly arranging assassins to strip other fighters of their qualifications, and even colluding with the Worm.
Given Hayami's status and influence, there was no way he didn't know what kind of organization the Worm was—the greatest enemy of the Kengan Association itself.
Yet for the sake of becoming chairman, he was willing to bargain with a tiger for its skin. And if, after paying such a price, he still failed to claim the seat…
Then destruction would be his only outcome.
"Kurosaki Rei…"
Hayami muttered the name, then turned to his subordinate.
"Investigate him. I want everything on this man. Five minutes."
Meanwhile, Yamashita Kazuo stood sweating profusely in the crowd.
Just a few weeks ago, he'd been nothing more than an ordinary middle-aged salaryman. Now he was participating in a competition that could decide the economic fate of Japan.
The change in Metsudo's Fang didn't shock him—he didn't even know how strong the previous one had been. What troubled him was how to choose a good bracket position.
He possessed the Fist Eye, granting him extraordinary dynamic vision, and had drawn an excellent number, earning priority in choosing his slot. But in his panic, he had no idea what to do.
"If I choose badly… Mr. Raian will definitely kill me…"
Under pressure from the crowd and his own nerves, Yamashita Kazuo selected the position farthest from Metsudo's Fang—meaning they wouldn't meet until the semifinals.
Soon, all the corporate representatives had chosen their slots, and the tournament bracket was finalized.
...
Elsewhere, Kurosaki Rei was inspecting the arena facilities on Kengan Island.
Along the way, he encountered several fighters doing the same, with familiar faces chatting casually in the corridors.
Bang—bang—bang—
At a corner of the hallway, Kurosaki Rei heard the sound of metal being pierced. Curious, he walked over—and saw a sight that made his blood boil.
A man in a black dōgi stood before a wall reinforced with metal partitions for safety. He was repeatedly striking it.
Among fighters, his stature wasn't particularly tall—around 185 centimeters—but his build was solid and compact, giving off a sense of absolute stability.
He stood in a horse stance, using a spear-hand strike. Stone fragments flew, and beneath the surface, a steel plate several centimeters thick was being pierced clean through—hence the sound.
The man appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, yet showed no signs of age. Every movement carried profound martial refinement.
His physique was powerful, but what pierced the steel wasn't brute force.
It was technique.
Devil Lance — Kuroki Gensai!
Perhaps sensing Kurosaki Rei's gaze—or his presence—Kuroki withdrew his hand and turned.
He studied Kurosaki Rei for a few seconds. Then, in his calm, ancient eyes, a sharp light flared. An invisible pressure surged outward, sending chills down the spines of fighters at both ends of the corridor.
But it lasted only an instant.
In the next moment, Kuroki's presence faded into nothingness.
"To think there would be a warrior like you here,"
he said calmly.
"Young people these days are truly formidable."
Kurosaki Rei met his gaze and grinned.
"Senior has reached the pinnacle of martial arts. I still have much to learn."
"I am merely a seeker of the path,"
Kuroki shook his head.
"In martial arts, there is no pinnacle."
With that, he stopped paying attention to Kurosaki Rei and resumed striking the wall.
Watching him, Kurosaki Rei felt a deep sense of awe.
Kuroki's strength wasn't born from talent alone—it was the result of talent and relentless effort. He possessed a heart that never ceased advancing along the martial path. That was why, even at his age, he continued to grow stronger.
With the Origin Seed now influencing this world, warriors like Kuroki stood to benefit the most. Even when there was no mountain left to climb, people like him would continue ascending into the void—seeking only to surpass their former selves.
That was why, in the second part of the original story, no matter how many monsters appeared, Kuroki's return reminded everyone that he was still among the absolute ceiling of power—one of the very few, aside from Long Yi eighty years ago, who had ever injured Shen Wulong.
Other experts began evolving only after encountering Shen Wulong.
But Kuroki's ascent had never stopped.
Now, under the influence of the Origin Seed, his physical capabilities had risen dramatically. As for the level his martial realm had reached—even Kurosaki Rei couldn't tell without crossing hands with him.
A truly formidable master.
It's been a long time since my blood felt this hot.
And if Kuroki was already this strong…
Then what about the ultimate boss of this world—
the "Immortal," Shen Wulong?
Just how far would he be able to push Kurosaki Rei?
It was truly something to look forward to.
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