Beware of Diamond

Whoosh!

Komada slid forward and feinted with a straight left, the wind from his punch brushing Shiraki Uke's face.

But Shiraki Uke simply let his arms hang at his sides and opened his eyes wearily, a look of relief on his face.

"...I get it now."

Blood stained the corner of his mouth as he suddenly smiled. "That's right. What Ryu wanted to teach me, and what Akagi said—I know where I went wrong."

"I forgot a 'feeling I was supposed to have.'"

"Whenever you're in a fight, you're supposed to have that feeling, but I kept trying to avoid it. That was where I went wrong. Even if I gained the upper hand at the start, I couldn't win. I'd only keep losing ground."

"How could a fighting style that requires you to 'dodge before winning' compare to one that lets you 'win directly'?"

"..."

Hearing Shiraki Uke mutter to himself, Komada felt an inexplicable pang of unease and decided not to waste any more words.

He planted his feet and unleashed a heavy straight right, intent on finally crushing the madman before him.

The next instant—

Crack!

A grating crunch rang out, and blood spattered onto the ring.

Every spectator stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, unable to believe or understand what had happened.

Komada was still holding the pose of his straight right. His punch hadn't missed; it had struck Shiraki Uke squarely on the forehead.

But both bones in Komada's right forearm—the ulna and radius—had snapped. Jagged fragments had pierced his skin and were plainly visible, leaving his forearm half its original length!

"—Hngh?!"

Agony shot through Komada's forearm. His pupils trembled uncontrollably, and a cold sweat broke out across his body.

Shiraki Uke's forehead had also split open. The heavy blow to his head had even drawn blood from the corners of his eyes, where it mingled with the blood from his forehead and traced ghastly red lines down his face.

"Komada, buddy, does it hurt?"

"I almost forgot what this... pain felt like."

Shiraki Uke grinned, blood staining the corners of his mouth. "I always wanted to 'dodge'—dodge Ryu's punches, dodge your attacks, dodge the feeling of pain. Even when I couldn't dodge, I still wanted to, and that made me miss my chance to win."

"When you get down to it, how could someone who can't even take a little pain ever have a chance of winning?"

The bloody scene left Arisa staring in shock from outside the ring. For a moment, she struggled to understand. "What did my brother... do?"

"It was a 'counterpunch.'"

Kure Karura answered, "There's a boxing technique where you anticipate your opponent's move and start punching just as they throw theirs. The difference in timing lets a punch thrown later land first."

"The force of both punches combines. Besides the force of your own punch, you can send your opponent's punching force back at them, amplifying the impact even further."

"..."

Nearby, veins bulged around Kure Fusui's eyes. Using the Kure Clan's special technique, Removal, she had greatly enhanced her eyesight.

She added, "In boxing matches, there's also a style that uses the forehead to take an opponent's punches."

"Bai Mu combined the two techniques. The instant Komada punched with all his strength, he accelerated into a charge and slammed his forehead into Komada's fist."

"Their combined force produced a tremendous impact that ultimately broke Komada's forearm."

At this point, Kure Fusui couldn't help growing excited. She licked her lips. "Speaking of which, whether it's his fighting stance or his sprinting footwork, Bai Mu's technique is quite interesting..."

"..."

The three girls chatted animatedly.

Meanwhile, the two adults beside them—Katahara Metsudo and Akagi Shigeru—were discussing the fight from another angle.

"Ho, ho, ho, wasn't I right?"

"Mm, it really was beautiful." Akagi smiled faintly, a cigarette between his lips. "I think I'm starting to understand what makes these so-called Kengan matches enjoyable to watch."

Metsudo quickly pressed him. "What is it?"

"...The flavor."

Akagi gave the strange answer, then asked Metsudo a question of his own. "What would you say is the most delicious thing?"

Metsudo chuckled. "If you ask me, it's meat, of course. And sweets."

"Heh, quite right."

Akagi held the cigarette between his lips. "But there's another flavor I like even more."

"Take mahjong, for example. There are madmen in this world who become so obsessed with the game that they stake everything they own, even their lives, on the table..."

"Whether they're clever or foolish, their desire to win is equally intense."

"And so, when it comes to the crucial play that decides victory or defeat, some will fight for their lives, rack their brains for everything they can use to make a decision, then hesitate and waver before finally thinking, This is the one..."

"Playing that tile is like playing their own soul."

"—It's like eating a person's heart."

"Perhaps a punch in the arena can give off that same 'flavor' the moment it's thrown..."

Akagi Shigeru finished his cigarette and looked back at the ring, murmuring softly, "It's already over."

Komada's right arm was completely ruined. Driven by pain and rage, veins bulging on his forehead, he swung his left fist forward with all his might, seized by the urge to beat Shiraki Uke to death.

But indeed—it was already over.

Komada's movement was badly distorted and off-balance. Shiraki Uke, on the other hand, had little strength left and his face was covered in streaks of blood, yet his stance and breathing remained steady.

In Shiraki Uke's eyes, Ryu's and Komada's fists came at him together once again!

After "properly facing" the punches Ryu had fed him, Shiraki Uke naturally changed his movements so he could "respond properly" again, and a new move took shape in his mind.

"Phew..."

He crouched slightly to gather strength, his legs in a bow stance, his left hand extended for balance and his right fist held at his waist.

The instant Komada and Ryu stepped into striking range—

Shiraki Uke drove his legs against the ground, his body springing straight as he leaped and threw a powerful right uppercut.

[Ryu's Shoryuken]!

His fist slipped past Komada's arm and smashed into his chest with a dull impact.

Thud!

Chapter 10: Beware of Diamond

Shiraki Uke drove his tightly clenched fist upward, twisting as he struck.

His knuckles sank into Komada's chest, tearing through his pectoral muscle and tracing a dark red streak of blood through the air.

Whoosh!

The punch lifted Komada off his feet and sent him crashing heavily onto his back. The wound in his chest ran diagonally upward to his shoulder blade, its edges peeling back to expose dark red muscle fibers as blood flowed freely.

"?!"

For a moment, the entire venue fell dead silent. Even the referee froze for half a second before stepping forward to check on Komada, then hurriedly raised his hand to signal the result.

"Th-the match is decided! The winner is—Shiraki Uke!"

"..."

His face covered in blood, Shiraki Uke raised his clenched right fist high, but the silence remained unbroken. A strange atmosphere hung over the entire underground casino.

Just as Akagi Shigeru had said, these spectators had not come to appreciate a fistfight. So when the contest produced a true winner, these dull people naturally didn't know how to react.

Suddenly, someone broke the silence—

"Woo-hoo!"

Arisa raised her hands and shouted, cheering for her brother in the ring as she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But her abrupt outburst instantly drew plenty of attention. Embarrassed, Arisa shrank back to Kure Karura's side.

"Heh, pay no attention to their stares."

With a cigarette between his lips, Akagi Shigeru comforted Arisa. "Ultimately, all that talk about what you should do and when is just a con. There's nothing wrong with being out of step with everyone else. When you feel like cheering, just cheer."

"Ho, ho, Akagi's right. This is the time to cheer!"

Metsudo nodded beside him and clapped repeatedly for the outcome, looking almost ready to dance. He was so full of energy that he hardly seemed like a withered old man.

Amid the cheers of Metsudo, Kure Fusui, and the others, the stagnant atmosphere gradually began to shift.

A doctor entered the ring and treated the unconscious Komada's wounds, then had him placed on a stretcher and taken to a hospital with ties to the yakuza.

After all, with the Anti-Violence Law in place, even a yakuza establishment wouldn't dare let someone die so casually.

As for Shiraki Uke, though he looked terrible, his injuries were actually much lighter than Komada's, so there was no need to carry him out on a stretcher.

Even so, the constant dodging and bursts of fighting spirit, followed by the final match-deciding Shoryuken, had left him nearly exhausted. He could barely stand now.

"..."

As he swayed unsteadily, Arisa and Kure Fusui came forward and supported Shiraki Uke, one on either side, taking him to a stool by the ring to sit and rest.