Hokkaido

— Stalemate

What?

Qing Tian Juuichirou and Aoki Mori Nozomi both looked horrified.

Izuhara Riko, an Ainu wrestling champion and fellow Hokkaido martial artist, had snapped Inoue Jin's Ghost Cry Spear in two.

Could a master of spear techniques still be called one without his spear?

The answer was obvious: no.

"Inoue, let me send you on your way!"

In the blink of an eye—

The Hokkaido wrestling champion, Izuhara Riko, dropped the broken Ghost Cry Spear and lunged at Inoue Jin, who had lost his weapon, locking him in a wrestling hold.

Strike while the iron was hot—just as Riko was about to crush his opponent's bones with a bear hug, a bone-chilling cold swept across his hands.

His two clasped hands were severed from his arms.

"Ah!"

The Hokkaido wrestling champion let out a disbelieving scream.

Inoue Jin, who had been on the verge of having his bones broken, slipped free with blood covering his body.

In his hand was a sharp knife, its mirror-bright blade completely free of blood.

Gasps erupted from the spectators.

Who could have guessed that Inoue Jin, having lost his weapon, had hidden a knife on him—and would use it to turn the tables?

Weren't they told he was a master of spear techniques?

How had he become a close-combat knife fighter?

The wrestling champion, Izuhara Riko, had no one to blame but himself for losing both hands.

"Huh? Th-this is..."

Qing Tian Juuichirou's eyes widened as he recognized the knife.

It was the fish knife Ruyi Qie, which he'd gone to great lengths to obtain. Just as its name suggested, whether cutting fish or hands, it did exactly what you wanted.

"Riko, you've lost!"

Standing five paces away, Inoue Jin remained calm in victory, neither arrogant nor smug. He didn't press the