Chapter Twenty-Six: Analysis Complete
The deranged mind no longer heeded Byakudo Kagami’s warnings.
From the moment the body, meant to be offered to that deity, was harmed, this was no longer an examination—it had become the slaughter of a blasphemer!
Fox Shadow Style: Instant.
Kiryu Setsuna, standing nearly 180 centimeters tall, his build lean yet by no means slight, vanished with an uncanny flicker of his steps.
“Oh?”
Byakudo Kagami’s pupils widened fractionally. For the first time in his martial training, he witnessed a truly high-level classical martial art. There was indeed a unique subtlety and mystique inherent to the East.
But would a master martial artist fall simply because his opponent’s techniques were novel?
—Absolutely not!
With the lightest sway of his body, Byakudo Kagami’s footwork, agile and unpredictable as a butterfly among blossoms, shifted. “This isn’t invisibility, and he can’t possibly teleport. That leaves only... an attack from the blind spot.”
“Ah!”
An involuntary cry escaped the lips of several onlookers. Amidst the cacophony, a faint but vicious sound of air splitting was concealed, driving straight for his left side.
Instantly, Byakudo Kagami made his decision.
His will surged into his left hand, bringing his elbow up and back, colliding squarely with the whirling palm that swept toward him.
A cold, contemptuous smile played at the corners of Kiryu Setsuna’s lips. These hands, honed by the cruel specialization of the ancient assassination fist, paired with the technique that could twist Ozutsu Toshio’s bulging arms into a bundle—
Fox Shadow Style: Rakshasa Palm.
Not to mention flesh and blood—even steel-reinforced concrete would be shattered with ease! An elbow joint was nothing...
“Crack!”
In the explosive collision of bodies, Byakudo Kagami’s gaze met the wild and murderous eyes of Kiryu Setsuna. Yet in the blink of an eye, that ferocity gave way to a look of incredulous pain.
“How... how can it be this hard?!”
Though Kiryu Setsuna had caught many experts off guard with the suddenness and bizarreness of his Fox Shadow Style: Instant, there were those who could defend in the chaos.
Byakudo Kagami, with techniques even Kiryu could not comprehend, had once severely wounded him—he had prepared himself for his first strike to fail.
But he had never imagined that a defensive, deflecting elbow would feel so unyielding when struck by his attacking palm! His palm, capable of splitting stones, struck the elbow and not only failed to shatter it, but the pain in his hand was as if it would be crippled!
Even striking steel plates in practice had never felt like this!
Byakudo Kagami had no intention of explaining the effect of “Nen” in the midst of battle. For instance, wrapping Nen around an attack could slice through granite as though it were pudding...
Instead, after deflecting the Rakshasa Palm with his left elbow, he immediately twisted his left hand upward, slicing toward Kiryu Setsuna’s throat.
“His elbow isn’t even injured?!”
The shock was so profound that it momentarily eclipsed his fanatical devotion. Kiryu threw his body backward with all his might, narrowly evading that hand blade, which radiated an inexplicable sense of danger.
Fox Shadow Style: Instant.
No hesitation now—Kiryu Setsuna prepared to use his footwork again, if only to disengage.
But—
Smack.
“Did you really think I’d let you use that technique again?” Byakudo Kagami smiled, his foot planted firmly atop Kiryu Setsuna’s, pinning him in place.
In that split second, the hand that had swept past his throat shifted to a grappling grip, seizing his opponent’s shoulder. Fingers bored into the scapula, restricting the entire upper arm’s movement.
Projected onto Byakudo Kagami’s retina, the intelligent system displayed information visible only to himself—
“Muscle analysis complete!
Movement patterns as follows:
Hip rotation: 11%
Pelvic twist: 10%
…”
Data flowed like a stream.
After just a few exchanges, the combination of the system and his own sharp eyes had laid bare the essence of Kiryu Setsuna’s devastating palm technique. The analysis revealed a series of joint rotations, culminating in the palm, unleashing a dreadful spiraling force.
Against stone or steel, the effect was hard to discern—but against the pliant tissues of the human body, its destructive power was nothing short of a meat grinder’s.
To counter such a technique was like handling a whip: restrict its range of motion.
The moment Kiryu Setsuna’s shoulder was seized, he understood Byakudo Kagami’s intent. He was astonished by how swiftly his opponent had penetrated the core of his art—especially as the youth was several years his junior.
Such insight and perception were not the fruits of experience, but a gift—pure, innate discernment.
A terrifying child.
The thought flashed through Kiryu Setsuna’s mind.
But to stop now? His fanatical devotion to his god would never allow it!
“Blasphemer! Repent!”
His free arm, unrestrained, swept up in a shrieking arc, slicing the air with a thunderous whip. With his body pinned, he abandoned the subtle, sinister routes of assassination fist and met force with force!
No longer seeking silent strikes or the abrupt power of the Rakshasa Palm, he unleashed the full might of his technique. Dozens of joints spun and twisted, and the wind from his swing caused a splash of nearly coagulated blood ten meters away to fly into the air.
The air exploded with the sound of a detonation.
“…”
Zeynaga Taijie and Matsuda Tomoko, unused to such spectacles, were struck speechless with awe.
The battles they had witnessed today—from Ozutsu Toshio crushing dozens at the start, to the almost cinematic clash between Byakudo Kagami and Kiryu Setsuna now—had far surpassed the imagination of ordinary people.
“This level of power isn’t weak even among those monsters! What a find! But… will Saeko’s junior be all right?” Kanoryuin Shion nodded in satisfaction. She had seen with her own eyes just how terrifying the top-ranked fighters of the Kengan Association could be.
With his assassination footwork and that flesh-rending palm technique, Kiryu Setsuna was already qualified to stand among them!
With the Kengan Association about to enter the fiercest of death matches, he was undoubtedly a trump card.
Yet her gaze soon passed over the protective bulk of Ozutsu Toshio, falling with concern on Saeko. That Byakudo Kagami looked so slight—if he took a direct hit, he’d be finished!
But Saeko merely smiled at her. Not only did she appear utterly untroubled, but even the fleeting, intimidating red gleam in her eyes was concealed.
“Don’t worry, Shion. I trust Kagami completely. And look… it’s almost over.”
What?!
Kanoryuin Shion quickly looked toward the distant pair.
Byakudo Kagami’s eyes shone with a sharp gleam.
“Muscle analysis visualization complete!
As follows:…”
Along the edge of his retina appeared a figure, its muscles and bones laid bare, moving in perfect synchrony with Kiryu Setsuna—down to the precise flow of force.
A confident arc rose on Byakudo Kagami’s lips.
“It’s over.”
His foot pressed down on Kiryu Setsuna’s, his hand clamped onto the shoulder, twisting ever so slightly to exert calculated force upon certain muscles and bones.
The external pressure was like debris forced into precision machinery. The subtle, intricate power-transmission of the ancient style was utterly disrupted!
“Impossible?!”
In Kiryu Setsuna’s ghost-stricken expression, his technique—refined over decades—was so distorted and weakened that it wasn’t even as strong as a simple straight punch!
And as that palm strike landed at Byakudo Kagami’s ear—
Smack!
The exact same sound that had rung out during his bout with Ozutsu Toshio echoed through the gymnasium.
“That’s… no way!”
Even Zeynaga Taijie, thick-skinned after countless beatings, could only gasp in disbelief.
Beside him, Kanoryuin Shion glanced with a complicated expression at Saeko, as beautiful and stately as a peony, her tone tinged with reluctant admiration.
“In the end, Saeko, you’re the one who really found a gem!”
On the distant battlefield, Byakudo Kagami’s hand rested atop Kiryu Setsuna’s attacking shoulder.
Beneath his palm—a ghastly wound, like a whirling vortex of flesh and blood!
“Well, my apologies,” Byakudo Kagami stepped back, smiling. “I just happened to learn it, and couldn’t help but use it.”