Life

[Kuzan POV]

The minutes crawled by, each second stretching out like the agonizing moments before a storm.

You could always feel it coming, sometimes by the sight of storm clouds, sometimes by the oppressive humidity, and sometimes, just by a gut feeling. It hit you moments before it arrived.

'It's here.'

The deafening roar of a demon.

"Splut!"

The sound was muffled through your bursting eardrums.

"Swish!"

A gust of wind generated by the demon halting his punch, falling for the old man's trickery, just like in every good fairytale.

"You..."

"You absolute idiot!"

His screams of agony echoed through the arena.

"YOU BASTARD!"

'[Flash]'

My charge was like a galloping warhorse, charging nobly into battle, its strength unwavering even amidst the chaos. It was the tensest moment of my life, like a musician about to perform their solo piece in an orchestra, or a soccer player about to take the final penalty kick that would decide their World Cup victory.

'[Hand Pocket]' I plunged my fists into the bloodied concrete, piercing it like spears, scooping up a large piece of debris as if it were water. My arms became whips, flowing as if underwater, turning into ropes tied to a catapult launching them forward.

They flew through the air with the momentum of bullets, aimed at the demon to pierce its hide. But as they say, no human can defy the gods. The man mocked this feeble attempt, catching the pieces of debris like baseballs.

I was certain he would have continued this little game of catch if not for my next move. I turned in my charge to save my master from his battle rather than charging at the beast in revenge, safely 'rescuing' him from martyrdom.

There we stood, back at the entrance tunnels, a man and a 'body'. I spoke my 'final' words to my master, acknowledging his bravery.

"Stop pretending, or I'll start performing CPR."

"Bapdumph." His eyes regained their luster as his heart finally started beating again.

"Hello," the man spoke with a smile, seemingly thrilled with the success of his new trick.

"You know, boy," he said, his smile widening as he watched me prepare for my final foray, "you didn't have to come 'save' me."

The man seemed slightly offended, believing his disciple didn't trust his skills in deception.

'Don't worry, old man, I would never underestimate your shamelessness.'

"I know..." I spoke my last words to the man before entering the now empty arena. "I just couldn't wait any longer."

"Yuj-Kaiou Kuzan has entered the arena!" the announcer caught himself, correcting my introduction as I walked to the center of the arena, wearing the same style of clothes as the man I so admired.

'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or so they say.'

"Yujiro Hanma has entered the arena!" The announcer stopped speaking, knowing full well there was no need to introduce the two fighters who now faced each other, waiting for the moment to begin.

"I'm very sorry, Mister Hanma, I just couldn't wait any longer..."

"Boy," the man cut off my words of explanation as I waved my hands around in an attempt to explain myself.

"STAND UP STRAIGHT!"

It was instinctive, my body wanting to tense up in response to his command. Still, my blood boiled, preventing me from completely submitting, staying in my ready stance.

"No," I let out a quiet whisper, like a child disobeying his parents despite knowing the consequences.

Instead of lashing out as I expected, the man burst out in laughter, as if shocked at the mortal's blasphemy of refusing his command.

"HAHAHAHA," the man continued, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, "you really crack me up, boy. You're the best circus clown I've ever seen."

"So, boy," he asked, placing one hand on my shoulder, leaning in closer, "are you my son?"

I was speechless, stunned by his question. It was nowhere near what I expected.

'I thought he would either confirm his guess about Master Kaku's condition or fly into a rage after realizing he'd been tricked. But to ask something like this?'

"No sir," I spoke to the man while bowing my head in respect, ignoring the second hand as it was being placed, holding comfortably onto my shoulders while not quite gripping them just yet.

"But I do consider you as one of my teachers."

"Oh?" His face turned into a smile, as if not believing my statements of truth, labeling me as the boy who cried wolf.

The man smiled devilishly at my refusal, as his brain made its next decision, confusing to me as it did so.

"Why don't I give you your final exam, boy?!" He screamed while cackling, wanting to drive my body into the concrete that I had just used a moment ago to try and 'challenge' the beast.

Fortunately, my skill in [Ultra Instinct] had never shown greater use, allowing me to 'back out' and escape from his 'grasp.'

I evaded back before looking into his eyes, informing him of my next decision.

'[Flash]'

As I had expected, the man simply brushed away my body with a simple wave of his hand, like how a single leaf of a houseplant could change the direction of a bullet if hit from the side.

The stronger and larger a linear force is, the weaker it is from the side.

'Sorry teacher, you've already taught me that before.'

Instead of flying off into the wall as the path of my trajectory dictated, I utilized my mastery of Chinese martial arts to the fullest, using Xiaoli in its truest form.

Thus, I let the impact of my own speed simply pass through my legs, resulting in a small crater forming in the arena's walls.

'At least I don't have to pay for destroying that.'

My feet again touched the arena floor, as I looked back, gazing deep into the man's eyes as he did my own.

'I can see it...'

'His boredom.'

He had every right to be bored, at the repeated use of my old tricks, wondering if this fight would really be as fun as he anticipated.

'Don't worry old man, I have prepared a lot of moves just for this special occasion.'

I wanted to express to him my gratitude for being with me through it all, his mere existence proving me strength in my most dire of needs.

"Thank you," I spoke my last words to the man, before giving him my present in return, wanting to show him just how much fun he would be having with me tonight.

[Narrator POV]

Shadowboxing, an advanced martial arts talent and skill that can be gained and trained through sheer practice alone.

It is a skill, as shown by its name, that is often used by boxers in preparation or even after a fight to simulate their response to their opponent to train themselves.

However, this skill isn't just used by boxers alone!

Even the majority of martial artists, when preparing for their battles, will try their utmost to 'think' of a response to their opponents' possible movements before the match has even started. It is such an important aspect of combat that, in the long history of Chinese martial arts, fighters have been able to derive many uses out of this train of thought, becoming the very beasts they hope to survive against.

From this idea, of emulating the movements of beasts they are able to visualize, effectively fighting fire with fire!

It is so important in fact that "Xingyiquan" (形意拳), also known as the "Form-Intention Fist", has been utilized for this purpose by countless marital arts before, as one of the three primary internal styles alongside Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and Baguazhang.

[Kuzan POV]

It was time. 

Time to face my greatest foe to date. 

Time to see an old friend.

Time to see how he would react to its presence.

 'Time to have some fun!'

I stared into the man's eyes, my entire body emulating its strain, crying out under the familiar pain it had to endure.

It was another one of the many "skills" I had attained after gaining some practice with my "new" body after my "evolution." Pickle's body had been a true test in its truest sense, enabling me to learn skills that were, despite my best practice, previously unattainable.

Although I had grown much stronger due to my body's development, it had merely been the start of my transformation. After getting used to this newfound strength within my body, I had been able to train it to a new level.

It was another interesting aspect of the system that I had learned after going through the process for the first time. The system truly lived up to its name and usefulness, being able to integrate the "power" of my target into myself directly.

I had assumed that I would need to enter a long period of training in "seclusion" again to become familiar with controlling the newfound strength within my body. From balancing plates to learning how to hold a glass cup without breaking it, I had gathered all the necessary equipment to help in my "re-training."

However, it was all for naught, as the assimilation process of the gene sequence had already taken care of my concerns.

Thus, I had been able to spend the time instead, mastering new skills, being able to make full use of the potential within this new body of mine.

[Narrator POV]

However, still, fighters in recent years have been able to take this idea one step further, their every strike, block, and counter executed as if a tangible enemy were present right in front of them. As a result, this style of martial arts has moved a step further as well, into a new age…

[Kuzan POV]

'[Phantom's Embrace]'

The man halted in his tracks, his eyes now filled with sharpness that I had never seen before, his infectious smile spreading onto his face.

It was as if he had sapped the joy out of every other member of the arena, as they were now filled with a feeling of utter dread.

[Kaiou Retsu POV]

'What will you do now, Kuzan?'

I had always hated that, being unable to grasp that boy's full nature, knowing full well that neither his jovial front nor his strutted demeanor when in front of Master Kaku were his true face.

'I am sure Baki had made his own conclusions about the boy's nature, but I'm sure it wasn't close to this.'

I was unsure how many members of the audience were able to see it, to pick up on his nonverbal communication despite not being fighters themselves.

'Master Kaku had always called that boy a talent, but this, it can't be reached by sheer genius alone.'

The image that was emanating from that body, his now visible body, shaking with every step, unsure whether it would be its last.

'It's like watching the work of death itself, its conquest over that boy's strength.'

His body, reminiscent of that of a skeleton, with no meat on his bones and draining its last resource of life by the second.

His every small step seemingly depleted the last ounce of strength that he carried, leaving a footprint in his wake, his bloody steps trailing behind him.

Still, despite every time threatening to be his last, he would not stop.

I could almost not bear to see the sight when I was stopped by Master Kaku's words, who was standing next to me watching as well.

"That's wrong, Retsu, you shouldn't look away."

I turned my head to him in confusion over his statements.

"Don't fault yourself Retsu, it has more to do with my age and experience than skill," he continued explaining while gesturing for me to keep watching with his head.

"He's not walking towards death."

"He's walking towards life."