Chapter Summaries

After being struck by yakuza and facing an overwhelming debt, Shiraki Uke regained memories of his past life and learned that his illness had left him in a desperate situation. As his perception of time slowed, he saw Ryu and other Street Fighter fighters appearing in the mirror.

• Shiraki Uke's sister, Sakurai Arisa, left for school and reminded him not to wander off.
• Shiraki Uke washed his injured head and recalled his diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the debt Sakurai Arisa had incurred for his treatment.
• Shiraki Uke remembered refusing to transfer the dojo land to the local yakuza and being struck from behind in retaliation.
• Shiraki Uke saw Ryu and other fighters from Street Fighter appearing in the mirror as time seemed to slow around him.

Shiraki Uke realized the punch from Ryu had seemingly cured his punch-drunk symptoms, then learned that Arisa’s debt had grown to thirty million yen. After recognizing the Teiai Group and Kengan matches from stories he remembered, he agreed to fight a Kengan combatant.

• Shiraki Uke tested his balance and movements and found that his punch-drunk symptoms had disappeared.
• A Sanjigumi minor boss arrived with Teiai Group debt collectors and pressured Shiraki Uke to settle Arisa’s loan by signing over their land or fighting.
• Shiraki Uke recognized the Teiai Group and Kengan matches from memories of stories set in the same world.
• Shiraki Uke agreed to fight a Kengan combatant, surprising the minor boss and the debt collectors.

After agreeing to fight for the Teiai Group, Shiraki Uke trained to face Ryu’s devastating punch and explored the strange underground world around him. He ended the day meeting his sister Sakurai Arisa’s classmates, whose names confirmed his suspicions about the world he had entered.

• Shiraki Uke signed the Teiai Group’s contract to fight in a Kengan match in three nights, while the Sanjigumi underboss warned him not to try anything clever.
• Ryu’s illusion struck Shiraki Uke again, and Shiraki Uke laughed with excitement as he embraced his new lease on life and resolved to live more freely.
• Shiraki Uke practiced evading Ryu’s punch, lost his balance, and hit a powerful uppercut that sent his punching bag over a wall.
• Shiraki Uke searched online and found rumors about the man of the divine realm, Kakerou, the Army of God, and the Tokyo Dome underground arena.
• Sakurai Arisa returned home with Kozue Matsumoto and Karla Wu, and Shiraki Uke recognized their names and stopped himself from speculating further.

Shiraki Uke found his chronic brain damage improving after he exercised, and his sister Arisa and her friends learned that he was pursuing strength. Kure Fusui tested his reflexes before taking Karura away, leaving Karura to question her cousin’s manners.

• Shiraki Uke recognized Arisa’s friends Matsumoto Kozue and Kure Karura, and Karura noticed his unusually vigorous physique despite his illness.
• Kozue compared Shiraki Uke’s pursuit of strength to Hanma Baki’s and left after explaining Baki’s ambition to become the strongest creature on earth.
• Arisa noticed that Shiraki Uke’s hand had stopped shaking and learned he had exercised; Karura suggested his body might be recovering efficiently after his head injury.
• Kure Fusui arrived to pick up Karura and sized up Shiraki Uke before pretending to shoot at him.
• Shiraki Uke reacted to Fusui’s third feigned shot with an explosive advance, impressing her despite his uncoordinated body.
• Karura left with Fusui and complained that her cousin had rudely tested Shiraki Uke during their first meeting.

Shiraki Uke trained for his underground fight while Wu Fengshui and Karura investigated the damage he had caused. As he left for the match, his strange practice with a patched punching bag left the Sanjigumi and Teiai men baffled.

• Wu Fengshui showed Karura a destroyed punching bag that had flown from Shiraki Uke's property, and offered to investigate him.
• Shiraki Uke thanked Sakurai Arisa for caring for him, but she questioned his plans to fight in three days.
• Three days later, Inoue Sugaya and two Teiai debt collectors arrived to take Shiraki Uke to an underground fight against a Kengan fighter.
• Shiraki Uke practiced Ryu's fighting stance and unveiled his swift footwork, Fighting Spirit Burst, but the punching bag sent him flying into a wall.
• Shiraki Uke got ready to leave and stopped Sakurai Arisa from coming with him to the fight.
• A Teiai man noticed Shiraki Uke's bruises and asked if he had sparred, but Uke said he had only done simulated practice.

Shiraki Uke explained his shadowboxing injuries to the Sanjigumi’s men while they drove him to the underground match. Wu Fengshui and Karla picked up Arisa and brought her to the venue, where she searched for her brother and encountered someone blocking her way.

• Shiraki Uke used an imagined lemon to explain how vivid shadowboxing could produce realistic sensations, then advised the men in black to exercise more when stressed.
• Wu Fengshui and Karla arrived to take Arisa to watch her brother’s fight, and Arisa eagerly climbed into their car.
• Arisa explained that she considered herself lucky because help had repeatedly appeared when she and Shiraki Uke needed it.
• Wu Fengshui, Karla, and Arisa reached an underground casino in an abandoned resort, where Karla explained that the coming fight was not a real Kengan match.
• Arisa looked around for Shiraki Uke but ran into someone who deliberately blocked her and her companions.

Shiraki Uke protected Arisa and Wu Fengshui from a threatening thug at the Sanjigumi casino, then prepared for his fight against Nio Komada. Wu Fengshui offered Shiraki information about himself on credit, revealing that she wanted an excuse to investigate his unusual technique.

• A scar-faced thug threatened Arisa, but Wu Fengshui drew a dagger and Shiraki Uke knocked him unconscious when he attacked.
• Shiraki Uke reassured Arisa that the fight caused no trouble and casually told the Sanjigumi underboss that he had helped them avoid problems.
• Wu Fengshui revealed that her dagger was real, unsettling the underboss, before Nio Komada arrived to cheers from the casino crowd.
• The underboss left to arrange the match, and Karura took Arisa to get drinks, leaving Wu Fengshui alone with Shiraki Uke.
• Wu Fengshui offered Shiraki Uke information about himself for five hundred thousand yen, but he declined because he had no money.
• Wu Fengshui admitted she had planned to let Shiraki Uke owe her so she could investigate his interesting technique.

Wu Fengshui warned Shiraki Uke that his bout against Komada Shigeru might involve hidden sponsors and dirty tactics, while the two fighters met before the match. At the casino, Wu Fengshui and Karla encountered Katahara Metsudo and mahjong legend Akagi Shigeru, and Metsudo questioned Arisa’s composure after hearing about her brother’s danger.

• Wu Fengshui told Shiraki Uke that the Teiai Group, the Nogi Group, and possibly an overseas organization were involved in arranging the bout, and warned him that Komada Shigeru might bring a weapon.
• Shiraki Uke faced Komada Shigeru before the audience, and Komada mocked his lack of experience and threatened to leave him bedridden.
• Wu Fengshui and Karla spotted Katahara Metsudo playing mahjong with Akagi Shigeru, whom they recognized as the undefeated Man of the Divine Realm.
• Wu Fengshui explained Shiraki Uke’s situation to Metsudo, who warned Arisa that her brother might die and unleashed his intimidating presence.
• Arisa remained unfazed by Metsudo’s aura, surprising his bodyguards, and Metsudo praised her temperament before asking whether she was worried about her brother.

Shiraki Uke fought Komada the Deva in an underground casino match, struggling to evade the professional fighter’s powerful attacks while trying to understand a flaw in his own movements. Komada gained the advantage and told Shiraki Uke that his mistake was underestimating their difference in weight class.

• Arisa explained to Metsudo that her brother had taught her not to be led by other people’s emotions, and Metsudo praised her composure.
• Wu Feng Shui offered Metsudo the information she had gathered, and he agreed to bargain for it over drinks.
• Shiraki Uke opened the match by striking Komada in the face, but Komada straightened his broken nose and counterattacked.
• Komada’s punch struck Shiraki Uke, who spat blood and demanded that Komada show him what he was doing wrong.
• Komada tore off his shirt, used it to obscure Shiraki Uke’s vision, then landed a heavy left hook and blamed Shiraki Uke’s mistake on underestimating the weight-class difference.

Shiraki Uke struggled against Komada and Ryu while trying to understand the error in his fighting, and Shigeru Akagi urged him to pursue victory rather than merely evade defeat. After Shiraki Uke missed a chance to counterattack, Komada demanded that he stop dodging and face him.

• Komada used a dirt-flinging kick and an iron-plated boot to attack Shiraki Uke, who narrowly avoided the blows and was driven back.
• Shigeru Akagi told Metsudo that the crowd’s excitement came from expecting a fixed outcome, but Metsudo pointed out Shiraki Uke’s fighting spirit.
• Akagi told Shiraki Uke that he was focused only on dodging and that winning outright was better than winning by evasion.
• Arisa’s shout alerted Shiraki Uke to Komada’s roundhouse kick, which he dodged, but he failed to seize the opening to counterattack.
• The spectators and referee urged the fighters to continue, and Komada challenged Shiraki Uke to stop hiding and face his punch.

Shiraki Uke overcame Komada by embracing pain and countering his punch, then defeated him with a Shoryuken. After the referee declared him the winner, Arisa, Akagi, Metsudo, and the others cheered as Arisa and Wu Fengshui helped the exhausted Shiraki sit down.

• Shiraki Uke realized that avoiding pain had kept him from winning, and Komada broke his own forearm when Shiraki countered his straight punch with his forehead.
• Karla and Wu Fengshui explained how Shiraki combined a counterpunch with a forehead-blocking technique, while Akagi and Metsudo discussed the appeal of the fight.
• Shiraki used a Shoryuken to tear through Komada's chest and knock him onto his back.
• The referee declared Shiraki the winner, and Arisa cheered for her brother as Akagi and Metsudo encouraged her.
• Doctors took Komada to the hospital, while Arisa and Wu Fengshui supported the exhausted Shiraki to a stool.

After Shiraki Uke’s fight, the group learned that a criminal organization was targeting the Kengan Association and that the code name IDEAL might be important. Shiraki Uke left the underground casino with Arisa and the Kure sisters, while Kure Fusui gave him her business card.

• Kure Fusui praised Shiraki Uke’s techniques and asked him to meet again so she could see more.
• Katahara Metsudo told Kure Fusui to warn Kure Erioh that an ambitious criminal organization was targeting the Kengan Association, and cautioned her to watch for diamonds, especially IDEAL.
• The Sanjigumi underboss learned that the Jinwa Group would not take responsibility for the failed match and left in a daze.
• A Guardian treated Shiraki Uke, and Teiai Group debt collectors said they would report the situation and contact him about his debt reduction.
• Kure Fusui drove Shiraki Uke, Arisa, and Kure Karura back to the city; Shiraki Uke fell asleep and murmured happily about the fight.
• Kure Fusui handed Shiraki Uke her business card as they parted near the Shiraki home.

Shiraki Uke trained with Ryu’s phantom while considering his debts and the strength he would need for the future. That evening, Yukio Tonegawa arrived on behalf of the Teiai Group, and the two men silently sized each other up.

• Kure Fusui gave Shiraki Uke her card and offered him a discount if he needed someone killed.
• Shiraki Uke considered his debts and future plans, then began training and sparring with Ryu’s phantom the next morning.
• Arisa, Kure Karura, and Kure Fusui watched Shiraki Uke train, and Kure Fusui explained why some people never abandon their dream of becoming the strongest.
• Yukio Tonegawa arrived with two Teiai Group employees and Inoue Sugaya, and Shiraki Uke told Arisa to return to her room before greeting them.
• Shiraki Uke recognized Yukio Tonegawa as the Teiai Group’s second-in-command, then calmly shook his hand as they silently sized each other up.

After settling the Sanjigumi’s commission-related debt, Shiraki Uke began recovering and training, while Tonegawa resolved to investigate who had arranged the scheme. The chapter left Shiraki preparing to rebuild his strength and considering how to obtain proper training equipment.

• Tonegawa apologized to Shiraki Uke and explained that the Sanjigumi had accepted a suspicious commission to rig an unofficial Kengan match.
• Tonegawa offered to reduce Shiraki Uke’s family debt to twenty million yen, stop further interest, and have the Sanjigumi cover the fight’s costs.
• The Sanjigumi underboss objected to the settlement and proposed tracking down the client, but Shiraki Uke signed the contract.
• Tonegawa ordered his men to abandon plans to develop the Shiraki family’s land and said Shiraki would find a way to repay the debt.
• Tonegawa told his men to investigate the unknown client who had schemed against the Teiai Group.
• Three days after the match, Shiraki Uke removed his bandages and began strength training with equipment from the warehouse.

After completing an exhausting workout, Shiraki Uke was approached by Akiyama Kaede of the Nogi Group, who offered him a dangerous assignment as a test before he could enter the Kengan matches. He accepted the opportunity to investigate a missing employee and a real estate mogul.

• Shiraki Uke finished his training and saw a towering phantom cheer him on, though he could not yet make out its features.
• Akiyama Kaede arrived at the vacant lot and introduced herself as a representative of the Nogi Group.
• Shiraki Uke admitted that he wanted to enter the Kengan matches, but Akiyama Kaede said there were no suitable matches soon.
• Akiyama Kaede offered Shiraki Uke a dangerous job investigating a real estate mogul after a Nogi Group employee disappeared while collecting a debt.
• Arisa warned that the assignment went beyond fighting, and Akiyama Kaede cautioned that the underworld was perilous.
• Shiraki Uke grinned and agreed to take the assignment.

Shiraki Uke went to a Shinjuku underground casino to investigate a real estate tycoon and unexpectedly met Akagi Shigeru. When casino yakuza tried to intimidate Akagi over his winning streak, Shiraki subdued them, and the two men stayed together afterward.

• Shiraki Uke left Arisa at home and promised to return for rice, tamagoyaki, and miso soup the next morning.
• Shiraki Uke followed the Nogi Group's lead to an underground casino in Shinjuku, where the real estate tycoon was a regular.
• Shiraki Uke found Akagi Shigeru winning repeatedly at an odd-or-even dice table, and the dealers tried to persuade him to lose a round.
• The lead dealer summoned yakuza to threaten Akagi, but Shiraki Uke incapacitated the men who approached them.
• A casino security guard knocked out the lead dealer, apologized, and offered compensation, while Shiraki Uke and Akagi dismissed the offer and prepared to get drinks.

Shiraki Uke found the real estate tycoon Q Dalang, who invited him and Akagi Shigeru to his building for a private gambling game. Madarame Baku intervened and joined them, and the group left the casino with Q Dalang as night fell in Shinjuku.

• Q Dalang introduced himself to Akagi Shigeru and invited him and Shiraki Uke to gamble at his nearby building.
• Shiraki Uke recognized Q Dalang as the man the Nogi Group had sent him to find and remembered that he lured gamblers to his building to kill them.
• Akagi Shigeru agreed to play a one-on-one game at Q Dalang's building.
• Madarame Baku, accompanied by Kaji, approached the group and insisted on joining a gambling game.
• Q Dalang led the group away from the casino, and a gambler noted that the people he took never returned.

Baku Madarame led Shiraki Uke, Shigeru Akagi, Q Dalang, and Takaomi Kaji to Q Dalang’s Ninefold Tower, where Q Dalang started a mahjong game as a prelude to his real plan. After several rounds, Akagi led by a wide margin while Baku kept losing, and the others grew bored.

• Baku Madarame targeted Q Dalang and tried to draw Shigeru Akagi into gambling, but Akagi called out his act.
• Shiraki Uke made a cryptic phone call to arrange a job for a relative of his sister’s classmate.
• The group reached the Ninefold Tower, and Q Dalang proposed playing mahjong before his preferred game.
• Kaji lost rock-paper-scissors and watched as Shiraki Uke, Shigeru Akagi, Baku Madarame, and Q Dalang played mahjong.
• Akagi took a commanding lead, Shiraki placed second, Q Dalang came third, and Baku lost most of his change as the game bored the group.

Q Dalang proposed a deadly wager in which the group had to take ten million yen and escape the building while his masked enforcer tried to stop them. After Shiraki Uke connected the wager to a missing Nogi Group salesman, Hikoichi Yakou arrived as a Kakerou Club referee, leaving Takaomi Kaji confronted with the brutal world of gambling.

• Q Dalang offered ten million yen to anyone who could take the cash and leave the building, while Takaomi Kaji fixated on the prize.
• Baku Madarame rejected the wager as unappealing and identified Q Dalang as an executioner.
• Q Dalang summoned the masked Abandoned Building Demon and explained that the enforcer would try to stop the gamblers from escaping.
• Shiraki Uke showed Q Dalang a photograph of the missing Nogi Group salesman, and Q Dalang admitted he had offered him the same wager.
• Baku Madarame questioned the small prize, and Q Dalang called a referee from the Kakerou Club.
• Hikoichi Yakou arrived and introduced himself as referee number two of the Kakerou Club, shocking Takaomi Kaji with the reality of the world around him.

Higashi Kōichi explained Kakerou’s role and history before setting Q-tarō’s stakes as his membership and all his assets. Q-tarō’s anger grew as Madarame Baku taunted him and suggested Shiraki Uke stop him from gambling.

• Higashi Kōichi arrived and announced that Kakerou would officiate the gamble.
• Higashi explained Kakerou’s history and its responsibility for collecting gambling stakes, including lives.
• Madarame Baku proposed wagering Q-tarō’s Kakerou membership, and Higashi set the stakes as the membership and all Q-tarō’s assets.
• Higashi asked whether the other gamblers found Q-tarō’s assets sufficient, and Madarame Baku accepted the stakes.
• Q-tarō grew furious as Madarame Baku mocked him and urged Shiraki Uke to keep him from gambling.