I was recently reminded of these chapters, I had completely forgotten that I had released them on Patreon. The story has not returned, it is still on hiatus (I'll add that to the title), but you can enjoy these 3 final chapters. Maybe I'll finish this story during the end-of-year holidays.
___
The tension among the spectators was palpable. Pickle, who had already been an unrivaled beast, had somehow become even more terrifying.
His increase in power was evident to the fighters from the punch he had delivered against Yuji. Even Kanoh admitted that if he were struck directly by an attack of such magnitude, he would not survive.
This prehistoric man was, indeed, a calamity of nature.
Could Yuji Shinakawa truly withstand this?
They asked themselves this question, their eyes fixed on the rubble where the young fighter lay buried.
Yuji was the king of the Kengan matches, the young man with the greatest potential to have ever set foot in the Kengan arenas. Most of the spectators were avid fight enthusiasts, but none of them wanted to see a prodigy like him lose.
They didn't want to see him defeated, and, as a consequence, devoured.
"Get up, Yuji…" In the stands, Karura murmured as she leaned forward in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her beloved, her lips pressed tight in nervousness.
She and the other girls believed in Yuji's strength, but Karura knew more than anyone that Pickle was an opponent unlike any other. Even her grandfather had told her that the prehistoric man was on an entirely different level.
The thought of seeing the man she loved being devoured right before her eyes frightened her in a way she had never felt before.
She knew she couldn't let that happen.
But…
"Get up, Yuji!"
She also knew that Yuji would never allow such a thing to happen in front of the women he loved.
!
Pickle's furious expression wavered as he saw the rubble being pushed aside, and the battered body of his target rising with relative ease, taking a deep breath before exhaling with exasperation.
"I was just resting…" Yuji said with a smile. Spitting a bit of blood, he turned to Pickle with newfound focus. "Sorry for the delay, Pickle."
Pickle blinked in confusion.
He had used all his strength in that punch, and yet his opponent was still standing firmly. How could this be possible? What kind of magic did these small creatures possess? Why was he, who was superior in every way, being pushed to the edge?
It left him bewildered, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find an answer to his question.
Fortunately, someone was willing to provide him with answers, even if Pickle couldn't understand the words.
"We humans are determined. That's why we've progressed and surpassed all other species. We always strive to improve, even if it takes millennia to achieve."
Yuji closed his eyes with a calm expression, raising his hands as he slowly adopted a simple combat stance.
"So, Pickle, I'll be the one to show you how much we modern humans have improved over thousands of years of progress."
Opening his dark eyes with a dangerous glint, Yuji gestured for Pickle to come at him, a provocation that quickly brought the prehistoric beast's fury back to his face.
"I won't abandon anything."
!
Pickle's irritation peaked as Yuji finished speaking, and his body exploded toward his opponent, his arms raised in anticipation.
'He's gotten much faster,' Yuji noted with a smile. Spreading his legs, he raised his arms.
Boom!
As soon as the distance between them closed, Pickle brought both fists down, aiming for Yuji's head. The young fighter blocked the attack with his arms, only to have his feet driven firmly into the ground.
'And much stronger!' Yuji gritted his teeth as he struggled against the monstrous force. 'Is this guy really my ancestor?!'
Pickle growled, adding even more strength to his attack, only to be surprised when Yuji threw himself to the side, causing Pickle's fists to crash into the ground.
The prehistoric man bared his teeth, but before he could adjust his position, a powerful punch struck his face with such force that a shockwave rippled through the arena.
'But even so…'
Yuji narrowed his eyes as he pulled back his steaming fist.
'I have a chance.'
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Pickle, slightly dazed from the previous attack, gritted his teeth as a barrage of punches ferociously hit his face, driving his massive body backward and causing him to fall onto the ground.
But the attacks didn't stop. Pickle felt it increasingly difficult to maintain his composure as the powerful blows kept coming.
!
Frustrated, he rose with a sudden surge of strength and swung his fist in retaliation.
Boom!
But when his attack missed its target, his jaw was struck by an uppercut so strong it nearly lifted him off his feet—a perfectly executed counter.
"..."
Strength, speed, endurance—Pickle was superior in all these aspects. He had lived in an era where nothing more was needed to dominate his prey. His body was all he required to take down any foe, with no need for shortcuts.
But as he was struck by this punch, he finally understood how different the era he had awakened into was.
The ages had collided in a fierce battle between the greatest of their times, and Pickle realized:
This overwhelming power, this blinding speed, this definitive strength—it didn't come from the body of this small creature alone.
It came from sheer effort. These creatures had honed their bodies in such a way that even without the size, they could stand toe-to-toe with the monstrous beasts of his time.
'Martial arts.' Pickle repeated in his mind, a term he didn't understand but had heard countless times since awakening in this strange world.
Was this what these creatures called their skills?
These martial arts that had made these small creatures so formidable? That had turned this small man before him into an opponent surpassing all his past enemies?
Were martial arts truly this formidable?
Bam!
Pickle's vision wavered as a powerful kick struck his jaw, his legs trembling before they gave out beneath him.
Yes, from his experience facing these formidable adversaries, Pickle could nod in agreement.
Martial arts were, indeed, formidable.
Boom!
Pickle couldn't react as a heavy punch smashed into his face with such force that it broke his nose, his massive body flying like a bullet toward the edge of the arena.
"..."
Yuji gritted his teeth as he felt the muscles in his arm tear, countless cuts appearing on his skin as he fell to his knees.
Silence reigned in the stands. The spectators, watching the young fighter on his knees in awe, couldn't even comprehend what had just happened.
And Yuji, letting out a laugh at this realization, raised his head with weary eyes and lifted his arm in victory, even though he remained on his knees.
"You can congratulate me now."
!
As if this was the signal they had been waiting for, the stands erupted, a victorious roar that seemed to come from all of modern humanity, declaring their triumph over the man from the Cretaceous period.
"That was intense," Kanoh said with a proud smile.
Kaolan, standing beside him, observed in amazement but chose to let the former Fangs of Metsudo savor the moment, keeping his thoughts to himself.
"Yuji!" Karura shouted her beloved's name in delight, while Elena and Senju struggled to keep her from jumping into the arena to embrace Yuji.
"We'll see him in the infirmary! Wait!"
"..."
Yuji, turning his gaze to Pickle's defeated body, could only sigh as his vision blurred and his eyes returned to normal.
He may have defeated Pickle, but that didn't mean he was the strongest.
There was still one last mountain to climb—the one he had avoided confronting for some time.
The strongest creature alive, the ogre, and possibly, the descendant of the red demon that decimated the Yamashita clan.
Yujiro Hanma, the sole being seated at the top of the world.
But…
Yuji shifted his focus to the stands, taking a moment to spot Baki Hanma clapping with a fierce glint in his eyes.
There was someone who would undoubtedly stand in his way to that mountain.