God! Thank You

Kenichi led the two of them to the backyard, where they saw a dark-skinned, muscular man let out a strange cry and kick a stone pillar apart with a thunderous crash!

"This is Apachai Hopachai. He teaches me Muay Thai sometimes. He's a gentle person, though he doesn't always know his own strength..."

Hearing Kenichi's voice, Apachai turned around with a blank, innocent look. He was a hulking, muscular man, but his expression really was quite innocent.

"Ah... Kenichi, did you bring friends over to play? I'm Apachai Hopachai! Please... please what was it again...? Anyway, hello!"

Then his cheeks turned slightly red, and he went on a spree of destruction among the surrounding buildings.

"Uh... Apachai gets like that whenever he's excited."

Cold sweat covered Inoue Ryushi's face. None of the guys here were human, were they? How could a normal person kick a stone pillar apart...? But Miss Miu was so cute!

Kenichi then led the two of them through the courtyard to a clearing filled with wooden stakes. A middle-aged man stood atop one on a single leg, holding a dirty magazine.

"This is Master Ma Kensei, a Huaxian martial arts master!"

Then he whispered to the two of them.

"But he's very, very, very perverted..."

Ma Kensei noticed Shinnosuke and the others, flipped down from his perch, and landed steadily.

"Hey, Kenichi, did you bring friends? Nice to meet you. Let me share some good stuff with you..."

The four men then squatted in a circle and spent quite a while discussing it...

A little later, Kenichi and the other two took their leave of Ma Kensei.

As they left the clearing, Inoue Ryushi spoke with a look of admiration and a sigh.

"Mr. Ma really is a good person..."

Kenichi nodded in agreement.

"Master Ma Kensei sure knows a lot!"

He then led them past a hot spring pool on the mountain behind the dojo. He stopped, pointed at it, and said to the two of them,

"Apachai found this hot spring. Taking a dip after training is really relaxing..."

Just then, Shinnosuke noticed what looked like a figure in the hot spring. He moved a little closer and saw a completely naked woman with a shapely figure reclining in the pool. She looked every bit an ice-cold beauty, her brows slightly furrowed by the heat of the spring and a hint of red on her cheeks...

The sight went straight to his head, and blood slowly trickled from his nose. The other two noticed something was off and followed Shinnosuke's gaze.

Inoue Ryushi's brain immediately shut down. His eyes filled with tears as he gazed at the hazy scene before him... Was this heaven...?

Kenichi covered his eyes in a panic, but his fingers parted to leave a gap against his will.

At that moment, Kōsaka Shigure's eyes sharpened, and she suddenly looked toward the three of them! A volley of kunai and shuriken flew at them!

The three quickly covered their heads and dropped to the ground, narrowly escaping. But Kōsaka Shigure had somehow appeared behind them, holding a sickle...

"Oh, it's Kenichi. What is it?"

The three turned around to find a shapely, snowy-white naked body standing before them. Inoue Ryushi fell to his knees and shouted!

"God!!! Thank you!!!!"

Shinnosuke's mouth twitched, and he went back to admiring her with a hand on his chin.

Kōsaka Shigure noticed nothing amiss (only Ma Kensei). She put away her sickle, nodded to them, and then disappeared.

Kenichi wiped away his drool and spoke to the two of them.

"That was Miss Kōsaka Shigure, a weapons expert! She's also an incredibly powerful master!"

Shinnosuke nodded. In a sense, she really was incredibly powerful, and very fair-skinned too...

At that moment, Inoue Ryushi came to his senses and put Kenichi in a headlock.

"Bastard!!! What kind of paradise are you living in every day?!!! How come I've never even had a girlfriend!!"

Inoue Ryushi spoke in a hoarse voice, his face expressionless.

"Should I hang you... or put you in a cement barrel and throw you into the sea...? Or maybe cremation would be better..."

"Don't... Shinnosuke... hurry... help me!"

Shinnosuke hurriedly stopped Inoue Ryushi. Jealousy really could make a person unrecognizable...

Inoue Ryushi finally managed to calm down, and a frightened Kenichi kept his distance, afraid he might suddenly go crazy again.

Just then, a series of thuds came from the bamboo grove. The three followed the sound inside and found Sakaki Shio striking the bamboo.

Sakaki Shio noticed the three of them and stopped.

"Oh! Aren't you the kid from last time? When did you get here...?"

Shinnosuke spoke to him politely.

"Hello, Mr. Sakaki. The two of us wanted to look around, so we came without letting anyone know."

Sakaki Shio laughed heartily.

"You really are an interesting kid. I'm not the dojo master anyway, and he wouldn't care about something like this either. Come whenever you want from now on!"

He then pointed to a patch of exceptionally thick bamboo in front of them and told Shinnosuke to try punching it.

Shinnosuke nodded and stepped forward. The bamboo in front of him was actually half as thick as his waist. He had never seen bamboo so thick!

He took a deep breath and planted his feet. Power traveled from his waist to his arm, making its muscles bulge as he punched the bamboo!

A burst of water erupted, soaking him from head to toe! He stared blankly at the broken bamboo in front of him. This thing has more water in it than a woman...

Sakaki Shio laughed heartily and prepared to demonstrate for Shinnosuke. He then stood in front of a bamboo stalk.

"Listen up. There's technique to using power, too. If you try to focus your power on one point, then spread it out at the moment of impact..."

He struck the bamboo with a punch that seemed to use little force. Suddenly, the back of the bamboo burst open with a bang! The spot he had struck, however, was completely intact!

Kenichi took it fairly well. He was used to seeing his teachers' flashy moves and was only a little surprised.

But Shinnosuke and Inoue Ryushi were utterly shocked. Inoue Ryushi looked the bamboo over from every angle, thinking it was some kind of magic prop. Sakaki Shio then demonstrated again, and only when Inoue Ryushi was soaked through like Shinnosuke did he finally believe it!

Sakaki Shio picked up his wine gourd, took a swig, and spoke to them.

"Right now, all you're doing is releasing your power on instinct. You have no control over it whatsoever."

"Anyway, it's still too early for you to learn this... All right, go play somewhere else."

Kenichi led the two of them out of the bamboo grove. Sakaki Shio's words kept echoing in Shinnosuke's mind: all he was doing was releasing his power on instinct...

Kenichi and the others then came across Kōetsuji Akisame strolling around the courtyard.

"You're that kid from before?"

A light flashed in Kōetsuji Akisame's eyes. He strode forward and squeezed Shinnosuke's muscles.

Shinnosuke's mouth twitched. Why did this man have to harass him every time?