"Interesting. This is very interesting."
Watching these old friends who seemed to have "activated cheats," Cloud's eyes also ignited with blazing fighting spirit.
But at that moment—
A cold gaze, full of seduction and challenge, shot toward him from nearby.
He looked up to see, in the Yagami Team's rest area, that stunning mature beauty in the tight purple skirt suit—Mature—giving him a "playful" smile.
She even extended her scarlet tongue and slowly licked her lips.
The gesture was filled with ultimate temptation.
Cloud smiled back and raised his wine glass in a distant toast.
But his heart was ice cold.
He knew that this pair of "mysterious beauties" who had suddenly appeared at Iori Yagami's side were definitely not good news.
And what truly pushed this "arms race storm" to its climax was the Kyokugenryu Dojo's appearance.
Their opponents were the "athletes" from the USA Team—a group of muscle-bound but simple-minded "meatheads."
First match: Robert, the suave and wealthy "Strongest Tiger," gave everyone a huge surprise the moment he stepped up!
His Absolute Domain had broken through the 30% bottleneck, reaching an astonishing 40%!
His signature Ryuko Ranbu, enhanced by domain power, transformed into a lifelike "flying fierce tiger" made of pure energy, blasting his opponent—along with his protective gear—into dust!
And in the second match—
When Kyokugenryu's second fighter slowly walked onto the arena, the entire venue fell into deathly silence.
Because it wasn't Yuri Sakazaki who stepped up, nor their father Takuma Sakazaki.
It was...
The man who had been in "seclusion" for nearly three months... the "Invincible Dragon"—Ryo Sakazaki!
The current Ryo Sakazaki was like a completely different person from a year ago.
He still wore that stoic "poker face," but those tiger eyes—usually full of sharp fighting spirit—now held a trace of returning-to-basics calm and depth.
Not a single wisp of "qi" emanated from his body.
He just stood there quietly.
Like a stone, a tree, an utterly ordinary person.
But in the eyes of top-tier fighters like Cloud, Kyo Kusanagi, and Iori Yagami—the current Ryo Sakazaki was more terrifying than ever!
He was like a volcano about to erupt!
"Please... go easy on me."
His opponent—a "football player" standing over two meters tall and weighing over 300 pounds—looked at this man who seemed like a stiff breeze could knock him over, swallowed hard, and felt somewhat intimidated.
"Mm."
Ryo Sakazaki only nodded faintly.
Then he moved.
No earth-shaking momentum, no flashy techniques.
He simply took one step forward.
Then simply threw one punch.
"Ko'ou Ken."
In that instant, the entire world seemed to lose all sound.
A concentrated, incredibly solid orange fist force—as if capable of punching through space itself—struck the "football player's" chest before he could even react!
Then...
The 300-plus-pound man didn't even have time to scream before he simply... vanished.
Yes, vanished.
Blasted away by that utterly pure fist force.
The entire venue fell into deathly silence.
Everyone was completely shocked by Ryo Sakazaki's unreasonable, philosophically profound, terrifying punch!
Only Cloud, watching the man slowly withdraw his fist, wore a smile of satisfaction.
He knew this proud "Invincible Dragon" had finally... found his own "Way."
When Kyokugenryu's "Invincible Dragon" Ryo Sakazaki shattered both his opponent and the audience's worldview with a single "ordinary punch" filled with the philosophy of "great simplicity," the atmosphere of the KOF '96 elimination round was pushed to an entirely new peak—one filled with "mysticism" and "the unbelievable."
The spectators present now clearly understood—
This year's KOF was completely different from last year's—on an entirely different "dimension"!
Last year's strongest fighters could at most "tank artillery shells with their bodies."
But this year's strongest fighters...
Holy crap, they could "shatter space" and "tear apart Gundams"!
This wasn't a fighting tournament anymore!
This was clearly the Wandering Earth film crew recruiting "human planetary engines" on site!
...
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