Chapter 153

The fourth round won't be long in coming. I feel like I've already prolonged this arc too much. I'll just try to resolve a few issues that I left out, but that won't take more than 3 chapters. Most likely, Kanoh and Yuji's fight will take place around chapter 156 - 157.

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____Narration____

"You seem to be fine. In fact, your injuries are recovering at a spectacular rate." Hanafusa, who was assessing Yuji's condition, praised the recovery with a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes, something the boy promptly noticed, and couldn't help but sigh in concern. "It would be amazing if I could study that recovery rate in depth-"

"Doctor!" When the doctor seemed about to lose himself in his own fantasies, the nurse was quick to reprimand him and snap him out of his trance.

Yuji thanked him in his mind.

"Oh, my apologies." Hanafusa immediately apologized, a small smile on his lips as he finished assessing Yuji's condition. "Anyway, I don't recommend that you fight the next match. Your muscles and bones are badly bruised, and it won't take much for any of them to break."

Yuji nodded in agreement at the doctor's words. Giving up wasn't in his plans, but he could appreciate the concern

"Of course, that's just a suggestion, but I know you fighters don't listen to reason when it comes to fighting."

"Doctor, don't be rude!"

Yuji laughed at the nurse and Hanafusa's interaction, a small smile appearing on his lips as he stood up and put on his shirt with some difficulty.

"I appreciate your concern, Doctor Hanafusa. But I've come so far, so why give up now?"

Moving to the infirmary door, he opened it and turned to Hanafusa one last time before leaving.

"Even if the chance of dying was 100%, I would still continue."

Closing the door behind him, Yuji let his words hang in the air as he began to walk down the corridor.

"..."

Yuji could tell: Hanafusa's warning hadn't been entirely sincere.

His muscles and bones were definitely on the verge of collapsing, but this wasn't the main problem with his body, and Yuji was sure that Hanafusa knew this well.

His heart, even with its abnormal regeneration, was on the verge of collapsing.

Of course, this could be solved if Yuji let his regeneration work, but that meant he couldn't use [Advance] under any circumstances.

After all, not even he was safe from death. If his heart stopped due to constant use of the technique, there was not much he, or anyone else, could do.

His regeneration would eventually make him brand new, but it would take time, time he didn't have at the moment.

Considering the updated information he received from the guards when he woke up, the fourth round was about to begin, since Setsuna had already been captured thanks to Ohma, who knocked him out.  He had at least an hour to try and recover as much as he could.

But Yuji could clearly tell the state of his body, and knew that one hour was enough to recover only 25% of his 100%; which meant that he would fight Kanoh without half the energy he had when fighting Kuroki.

What's more...

Turning to his right arm, Yuji gritted his teeth as he struggled to raise it and move his fingers slowly.

His right arm was practically unusable.

"Shit..."

In a situation like this, he couldn't help but feel discouraged. Fighting Kanoh unharmed was already a problem; with injuries, it was basically like kneeling down and asking to be beaten.

But fortunately, he had a way of partially solving this.

Stopping walking, Yuji suddenly took up a combat guard, his right arm moving as if it were intact as he threw a few punches into the air.

With sweat dripping from his forehead, he smiled with satisfaction as he let his injured arm fall back down, a sigh escaping his lips as he started walking again.

What had Yuji just done?

It was simple, but complex at the same time. 

In a layman's way, he had only manipulated his muscles to help him move his arm. An incredible technique, but one that requires meticulous control and concentration, something that fortunately Yuji has plenty of.

But it's still tiring. Because it's an entire arm, the boy has to work very hard to maintain the movement, which means that the technique ends up being unfeasible in a long-term battle.

But against Kanoh, it would serve as a stopgap.

After all, there was no point in using it during the whole fight.

"..."

As he approached the waiting room where the girls and Mokichi were waiting, Yuji couldn't help thinking about what had happened since he had woken up.

After making it clear to everyone that he was fine, Hanafusa began to examine him while he talked to the girls and Mokichi.

He felt great to see his master conscious, and couldn't help but devote much of his attention to him. After seeing him in such a bad state after their fight, it was a huge relief to see how well he was recovering.

This brought back some of his earlier anger, but he quickly put it aside. He would still kick Raian's ass, but unfortunately, it wouldn't happen right away.

In addition to the conversations he had, he also received visitors. His uncle and Ohma were the first, and Yuji appreciated their presence. 

While Kazuo was very worried about his nephew's situation, Ohma just wished him well so that the two of them could face each other in the finals.

Yuji found the contrast between the two amusing.

They both spent a long time in the infirmary, until they left so that Ohma could rest for the fourth round. Hanafusa seemed to want to make an assessment on the Niko-style master, but Ohma was quick to escape.

Other fighters also visited him to congratulate him on his victory and wish him well, which the boy appreciated, after all, he hadn't talked to many of them that much, but they had still taken time out just to visit him.

Well, that's how the fighting world worked. Most fighters wanted to prove themselves the best, but outside the ring, brotherhood and humility remained with their fellow fighters... At least that's how it was for most of them.

Yuji liked that. That was one of the many reasons he fell in love with fighting.

Yoshitake Yoshiro, the one Yuji was representing as a fighter in the tournament, also paid him a visit. The man seemed much more comfortable in the boy's presence, and Yuji soon understood why.

As it turned out, thanks to Yuji's victories in the tournament, the eyes of many businessmen turned to Yoshitake Real State, which led to many proposals for partnerships and investments. In the short term, this would cause a huge increase in the company's value, and in the long term, it would make it one of the best in the country.

Yoshitake thanked Yuji honestly, to which the boy nodded in appreciation. If the businessman was satisfied, then it meant that he wouldn't try to screw up his plans for when he won the tournament.

Yuji had promised to leverage the name of Yoshitake Real State when he won the tournament, as long as Yoshitake gave up the position of president of the association to someone of his choice. Yuji was already fulfilling this, and as long as the businessman didn't cause any trouble, he would leverage it even further;

Yoshitake just had to go through with the deal, and considering his aura that seemed honestly satisfied, Yuji didn't have to worry about any betrayal.

Arriving in the waiting room, Yuji put his hand on the doorknob and gave a small smile.

With everything that was happening, he was pleased to see how well his plan to win the tournament was going.

He just needed to be more careful and give it his all, so that he could finally make it all count.

After beating Kuroki Gensai himself, he didn't feel entitled to lose, even to his master.

As Kanoh always said: Metsudo's Fangs transcend everything.

He just needed to get over it.

"Yuji!"

Opening the door, he smiled as he was greeted by hugs, a grunt of pain escaping his lips as he felt his wounds being squeezed.

"Oh, what a pain."