Meeting Your Heroes

[Unknown POV]

"Plink, plink, plink." The room had fallen into an eerie silence, broken only by the intermittent sound reminiscent of a dripping tap left unattended. It was a deceptively mundane noise, masking the grim reality from which it emanated.

"Sir, I believe there is another individual who might possess the necessary information," I spoke with careful precision, aware that each word was a tightrope walk between life and the fate that had befallen the others around us.

The man turned towards me with a smile that held no warmth, his eyes betraying a deep annoyance at having come all this way, only to find his efforts seemingly in vain. His patience was running out...

"Plink, plink, plink." The intervals between the sounds grew longer, each one a chilling reminder of the source: the blood dripping from a lifeless body hanging from the ceiling after its play session with the man.

'She certainly is hard to catch, despite the large web she's spun.'

I continued to placate the man, my mind racing to find a way to keep my head firmly attached to my shoulders. "I'll bring him to you right away, sir. I've been informed he's hiding in another part of the arena."

"No, sweetie," he murmured, his voice a sweet poison to those around him. "I'll go myself."

[Kuzan POV]

'Well, he's certainly got the 'crazed' part down to a T,' I mused as I pondered my next move while using my free hand to 'slap' some sense into him. 'Should I do it or not?'

I continued to deliberate while the little 'Tarzan' struggled in my hand, wiggling furiously to break free. 'Really, charging in like that without any thought behind your next move? I can see why Master Kaku's so disappointed in you.'

It had been too easy, scooping him up mid-charge by his neck, utilizing my experience in Aiki to 'lock' him in place before smashing him against the wall with pure strength alone.

"Hey, quit your yapping." Seeing him growing increasingly agitated while being held up against the wall, I decided to continue the 'lesson' further and finally made the decision to slam him into the wall.

"Heavy..." I pulled back, like a boxer about to perform the perfect jab.

"Ho!" I struck forth with my 'boxing gloves', breaking through the wall of the room despite my hesitation to cause such damage to the arena.

'Poor guy, now he's gonna have so much more work to do.' I shook my head, feeling sorry for the receptionist who had checked me in before.

"So, Master Kaku? How was my lesson?" I asked the elder, waiting for his guidance while throwing the now unconscious man out of the new 'doorway'.

"You certainly have grown, young man," the elder continued to think, as if deliberating whether to be upset by my 'change'.

'That was always a thing we could never agree on, your pure insistence on the 'supremacy' of martial arts.'

"Come on, Master Kaku. I showed him the best of both worlds, the benefits of technique as well as those of pure strength."

"Hmmm..." I seemed to have struck a nerve, both with the 'boldness' of my words in front of the old man, as they conflicted heavily with his own.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry if you didn't like it, but hey, you asked me first." I let out my final 'defense', still trying my best to remain respectful of the old man, despite his attitude since meeting me here.

'No hi, no hello, just straight requests. Really, old man, there's a limit to shamelessness, you know.'

"Oh! By the way," I turned around again, remembering the original reason for my visit in the first place. "I wanted to ask if the matches are 'set' as we decided?"

I took his silence as a 'yes', as I was sure that despite his age, he was far from senile.

"Excuse me, is everything alright here, sirs?"

'Ah, I knew I'd get in trouble.' The same clerk who had checked me in came forth, trying to determine the 'cause' of the disturbance, as well as the damage that had been caused, doing his best to de-escalate the situation.

"Oh, no worries at all. We were just playing a little here and caused some minor damage." I spoke to the man while handing him my business card like a true 'young master'. "You can just put it on my tab—"

I was cut off again by the 'growl' of an angry beast who had 'come back from the dead' for revenge, charging at me once more, having learned nothing from our previous encounter.

'So stupid.' I rolled my eyes at his immaturity, despite him technically being my 'elder', and hit him with a 'sucker punch', seemingly caught 'unaware' by his lunge forward from the ground.

"Thuck!" I literally smashed in his face, causing his body to perform a perfect arc backward as the back of his head planted into the now broken 'ground'. It was a sorry sight—his teeth broken and shattered, his nose a misshapen mess of blood and bone. His once sharp eyes were now swollen shut, blood pooling around him, oozing out from his split lips.

'There you go.'

I prayed for both his sake and the floor's that he would remain peacefully in rest this time, at least.

"Don't worry," I spoke to the now pale and wide-eyed receptionist, who, like many other onlookers, was frozen in shock at the sight before him.

"I'll pay for that too."

[20 minutes later]

The lights of the arena stage lit up under the numerous cheers of the crowd. This was a moment that could never be missed by any of the audience members fortunate enough to attend it in their lifetime. Like a solar eclipse, once it was gone, who knew whether they'd be alive to attend the next one?

"Ladies and gentlemen, after 100 years, it's that time again! There are 12 signs in the zodiac, 12 months in a year, 12 guardian deities of heaven, earth, the sun, the moon, and the 8 directions, 12 heavenly generals who protect Yakushi! The 12 apostles of Christ, and here today, the 12 warriors who protect our motherland!"

"Kaiou Ryuu - master of Bailin Temple Chinese Kung-Fu!"

"Kaiou Retsu - also a Bailin Temple Kung-Fu Master!"

"Kaiou Son - master of Chinese Kenpo!"

"Kaiou You - expert in Shandong Kogo-Ken Chinese Kenpo!"

"Kaiou Chin - a Fujian Sango-Ken Kenpo adept!"

"Kaiou Jo - master of Jiangsu Ryou-Ken style!"

"Kaiou Mou - expert in Hebei Juuju-Ken Chinese Kenpo!"

"Kaiou Kuzan - another prodigy in Chinese Kenpo from Bailin Temple!"

"Kaiou Ri - master of Yakkou-Ken Chinese Kung-Fu!"

"Kaiou Han - also a Kongo-Ken Keno-Do master!"

"Kaiou Dorian - American Bayaku-Rinji style adept!"

"Kaiou Jyaku - expert in Japanese Kuken-Do!"

"Twelve fighters gathered to put themselves through the ultimate test of skill. But that's not all, folks—this is unbelievable..." the announcer continued hyping up the crowd.

"Yes, it's really him!"

"After 100 years, he's returned!"

At 146 years old, the previous Grand Raitai Tournament Champion, everyone please stand and give a big welcome to the Kaiou of all Kaious, Supreme Grand Master Kaku!!!

"Clap, clap, clap"

'Huh...' I was confused by the weird stares I was receiving from the other fighters standing in the arena.

"What? He said to give him a welcome." I defended my actions while the rest of the fighters continued to look stone-faced at my antics.

'You really can't win with these people.' I sighed to myself while waiting for the rest of the fighters to be introduced.

"We'll, to be fair, I am feeling a little jumpy right now, but can you blame me?"

I was finally here, standing within this stadium, achieving my right to be here on the basis of my strength. Still, the pleasure gained from my 'honor' at participating in such a legendary event could only pale in comparison to the true reason I felt so 'excited'.

'He's about to come, he's about to enter the arena...' It was a dream come true.

"And these have been joined by three more that the Ministry of Martial Arts approved at the last minute..."

"From America - Mohammad Ali Jr!"

"From Japan - Yujiro Hanma—"

After his introduction, it was as if I was unable to register anything else. Despite my enhanced senses, it was as if someone had taken away my ability to hear. Neither the continuous cheers of the audience nor the announcer's introduction of Baki could break me out of my state.

The man had his trademark bored look on his face while analyzing the arena, seemingly unconcerned about 'inspecting' his opponents.

'Don't do it, Kuzan. Remember your promise to Master Kaku. Just wait a little bit more...'

It took every strand of willpower and critical thinking I possessed to convince myself not to look into the man's eyes in fear of 'revealing' myself to him. Eyes are the windows to the soul, as they say.

'It seems to be working, at least...'

Yujiro Hanma was a man with no fewer cheats than my own. For one, his ability to 'observe' his fighters was one of his many strong qualities.

'Even Gaia was unable to deceive the man of his presence. That's just how sharp his senses are.'

His eyes, as if able to perform an 'X-ray' on his enemies to determine their weaknesses, exhibited a level of insight that even I was currently unable to match with my [All-Seeing Eye] skill.

But even the strongest of foes can be 'tricked' under the right circumstances. All it needs is careful planning and a little bit of creative thinking fueled by imagination.

I continued to act natural, knowing full well that any attempts to 'hide' or lower my presence would only draw more attention from the man and perhaps even the other fighters.

Thus, I continued my charade, acting as if I was just a young participant, looking in amazement at the strongest man alive.

I could feel it, his eyes washing over me. However, I quickly looked away, continuing my act of being 'shy' at having been recognized by my 'idol'.

"Now, the matchups!" Thankfully, the man's attention was drawn away from me due to the announcer's next words.

I could hear some disgruntled and confused voices from the audience stands,

"Matchups?"

"But there's just one."

"It's Kaiou Ryuu vs Yu-ji-ro Hanma? What? Who the hell is that?"

'Don't do it, Kuzan. Don't laugh at them. As they say, ignorance is bliss...'

"Who cares? We get to see the great Kaiou Ryuu fight! That Japanese guy is going down."

"Pfft—" I quickly hid away my snicker, doing a wonderful job of disguising it as a cough, "Ahem."

I could see it, Master Ryuu's eyes staring at me from the side in reprimand for my behavior, as if sending out a final 'warning' to not interfere in his match.

'Really, old man, do you think I like what's about to happen?' Despite my many attempts to convince the man to not go through with his idea, he just would not hear it. I even pleaded to Master Kaku to save my poor master from his fate. However, he would hear none of it as well.

'These stupid old geezers, not taking a helping hand even when offered, and they call me stubborn.' Still, I had already accounted for the damage my master would sustain as a result of his hardheadedness.

"Now, the first two fighters stay exactly where you are. All others exit the arena." I didn't have to be told twice. I exited the arena under the glares of both the audience and Master Ryuu, not acknowledging the small father-son spat taking place beside me.

"Hey, Dad?" the shriveled young man attempted the conversation, obviously surprised by his dad's first participation in a public tournament.

"Just hurry up and get out of here..." the man spoke in a low voice, finally breaking his silence since entering the arena.

"You're breaking the rules, you know."

"Pfft—"