On the raised platform, the contest of strength continued. This time, the professor decisively abandoned his attempt to overpower Tetsuhiro and launched a barrage of punches instead.
What he hadn't expected was that every one of his high-speed strikes would be stopped cold by a single index finger!
"Damn it, damn it! Damn it!" The professor kept going, cursing furiously as he attacked with both fists.
Within five minutes, he had thrown nearly a hundred punches, putting his full strength into every blow. Yet Tetsuhiro remained utterly relaxed, without the slightest change in his expression.
After five minutes, the professor's punches began to lose their force.
Another five minutes passed. The professor's face turned bright red, sweat covered his forehead, and even the wind from his punches weakened...
Three minutes later, his ragged panting echoed through the night sky. His punches grew weaker and slower, and everyone could see that Professor Cobra was almost spent.
Only when the professor was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion did Tetsuhiro casually move away.
Thud!
His punch struck empty air, and the professor crashed heavily to the ground. He lay there like a heap of sludge, utterly unresponsive, no longer talking tough.
In truth, Tetsuhiro hadn't hit him hard. He had used only as much force as he would when playing with a child. He merely wanted to teach the man a lesson and put on a small show of strength to intimidate the card behind him.
He wasn't about to get angry with the professor. Anyone familiar with the original story knew that the man was a tragic figure too. His mind was probably being controlled by that thing right now, driving him to test Tetsuhiro.
At the thought of the original story, Tetsuhiro let out a loud "Oh!" Everyone instantly