"You came."
He looked at Cloud and spoke flatly, as if he'd known all along that Cloud would show up.
"Yeah, I'm here." Cloud nodded, his expression like an "old Chinese medicine doctor" making a house call.
"Ahem!" Ryo cleared his throat, forcing an "I totally didn't call you here on purpose" expression. He pointed at the two "useless" fighters on the ground—his friend and his sister. "Good timing."
"Yuri and Robert have both hit bottlenecks in their training recently."
"As the King of Fighters, you've seen a lot. You could... give them some pointers."
His words were "perfectly justified," but the tsundere energy was practically radiating off him.
Robert and Yuri, standing nearby, wore matching deadpan expressions.
Bottleneck?
YOU'RE the one with the bottleneck!
Using us as an excuse?!
Bro, isn't your skin a bit... thick?
Watching Ryo's "stubborn denial" act, Cloud almost burst out laughing on the spot.
But he held it in.
He knew that with this type of tsundere, you couldn't push head-on. You had to... stroke his ego.
"Sure."
Cloud nodded, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
"Since it's Ryo's request, I can hardly refuse."
And so, a "martial arts exchange session" full of "ulterior motives" and "technical charity" officially began.
...
"Robert, your Flying Dragon Kick is flashy, but your wind-up is too obvious. In a fight between real masters, victory is decided in 0.1 seconds. With a wind-up that big, experts see it like slow-motion replay—nothing but openings."
"Yuri, your Haoh Shoukou Ken packs decent power, but your energy concentration is too scattered. You need to learn to compress all your strength into a single point, then release it instantly! Like... this."
As Cloud spoke, he personally demonstrated.
He didn't use his overpowered Chaos Divine Flame. Instead, he used...
The purest, most authentic Kyokugenryu Karate!
[Ding! System "Deep Analysis" function activated! Performing source-code-level analysis of "Kyokugenryu Karate Secrets"...]
Every move, every stance he executed seemed to have been calculated with absolute precision—perfect without a single flaw!
His manipulation of "qi" had reached a transcendent level!
Robert and Yuri watched, utterly mesmerized. Cloud had opened a door to an entirely new world for them!
And Ryo, "eavesdropping" from the side, was... shaken to his core!
He was horrified to discover that Cloud's understanding of Kyokugenryu was even deeper... than his own, the "Invincible Dragon"!
As if Cloud were the one who had practiced Kyokugenryu for decades, a true grandmaster of the generation!
"...So that's how it is."
"...I've been wrong all along."
Listening to Cloud's dimensional-crushing explanations, the confusion in Ryo's tiger eyes gradually gave way to renewed light!
His martial heart, shaken by witnessing "battles among gods," miraculously stabilized once more!
"I understand now..."
He murmured to himself, then bowed deeply to Cloud.
"Thank you."
With that, he turned and strode into the dojo's inner chambers without another word.
"From this day forward, I, Ryo Sakazaki, enter seclusion!"
That voice, full of determination and fighting spirit, echoed through the dojo for a long time.
...
After sending off the enlightened "tsundere brother-in-law," Cloud shifted his "teaching" focus to Yuri Sakazaki.
He had to admit—this girl's talent was genuinely impressive.
Under Cloud's "human cheat code" level of "private tutoring" and "intensive cramming," her understanding of the Absolute Domain was skyrocketing at rocket speed!
Finally, on one sunny afternoon—
During yet another "friendly spar" with Robert—
"HYAAA——!!!"
Yuri cried out, channeling all the power in her body into her palms!
"Kyokugenryu Ultimate: Haoh Shoukou Ken!"
BOOOOOOM——!!!!!!
A surge of domain power—more concentrated, more violent, and more full of youthful vitality than ever before—erupted from her petite frame!
That power instantly broke through the 20% bottleneck, soaring upward until it stabilized firmly at...
Absolute Domain 30%!!!
An enormous orange energy sphere, comparable to a Spirit Bomb, carried world-destroying power as it sent poor "Strongest Tiger" Robert—along with his recently purchased luxury sports car—rocketing into the sky, becoming a brilliant shooting star.
"I... I did it?"
Yuri stared blankly at her small hands, still smoking slightly, her face filled with disbelief.
"Of course."
Cloud's voice came from behind her, full of satisfaction and a hint of indulgence.
"You're my student, after all."
Hearing this, Yuri whipped around. Those bright eyes had already misted over.
Looking at this man before her—who had saved her life, taught her how to become stronger, and had unknowingly occupied all of her thoughts—
She could no longer contain the feelings that had long since overflowed from her heart.
With a cry of "Waaah!", she threw herself into Cloud's arms, hugging him tightly.
"Cloud... thank you..."
Her voice carried a sobbing tone, full of emotion and devotion.
"I... I like you the most!"
[Ding! Detected that Bond Character "Yuri Sakazaki's" emotional fluctuation has reached its peak!]
[Current Affection: 100/100 (Maximum)!]
[Status: Completely fallen, devoted heart and soul, will marry no other!]
[System Friendly Reminder: Congratulations, Host. You have successfully conquered Kyokugenryu's little princess. Please note: The overprotective big-bro-in-law is currently in seclusion. The perfect opportunity is right before you. Please... make good use of it.]
...
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