"HYAAH!"
He suddenly opened his eyes, spiritual light exploding from within!
His hands came together at his waist, and a blue sphere of pure "ki" began forming in his palms—gathering, spinning, compressing!
"HA... DOU... KEN!" (Hadoken!)
With a low roar brimming with power, he thrust the energy sphere forward!
BOOM!
The blue Hadoken surged upstream, colliding head-on with the massive waterfall descending from above!
Water exploded everywhere! Ki waves roiled!
That savage waterfall was actually forced open by this single Hadoken, creating a momentary "vacuum"!
Yet Ryu's face showed no joy.
He shook his head, seemingly dissatisfied with that strike.
"Still not enough... still not pure enough..." he murmured to himself. "My wave still carries too many distractions. The 'state of nothingness' Master spoke of... what exactly is it?"
Just as he sank into contemplation—
A slightly playful, unfamiliar voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Your wave is indeed not pure enough."
"Because there's still victory and defeat in your heart."
Ryu's body tensed instantly! He whipped around!
A young man in a black casual jacket had appeared on a rock not far behind him, without Ryu knowing when.
He'd landed there like a falling leaf—silent, without disturbing even a ripple of energy.
If he hadn't spoken first, Ryu wouldn't have detected his presence at all!
An expert!
"Who might you be?" Ryu's tone was guarded.
"Name's Cloud. A passing fighting enthusiast." Cloud looked at Ryu, a friendly smile on his face. "Just saw you training here and got itchy hands—couldn't resist coming over for a look. Hope I'm not interrupting?"
Ryu shook his head, his pure eyes locked onto Cloud.
He could sense that while this man before him currently had an aura as calm as an ordinary person's, within his body, it was as if countless ancient beasts lay dormant.
That feeling was more terrifying than any opponent he'd ever faced!
The two stood about a dozen meters apart, eyes meeting.
Though they hadn't exchanged blows, the "momentum" belonging to the strong had already begun its silent collision and probing in the air.
Battle intent rose in Ryu's heart.
Cloud's heart, meanwhile, was filled with the appreciation one might have for "sampling fine cuisine."
Just as this "king versus king" moment was about to spark—
The extremely brash roar of a sports car engine, like a beast's howl, came from the distance, crudely shattering the forest's tranquility.
SCREEEEECH—!
With an ear-piercing screech of tires against asphalt, a flashy red Ferrari came to a stop in the clearing nearby with a gorgeous drift.
The door swung upward, and a young man wearing an equally flashy red training outfit, sporting a head of handsome golden hair, jumped out.
It was none other than Ryu's lifelong best friend, his equal in renown—the Red Lotus Fighting King, Ken Masters.
"Yo! Ryu! My dear buddy! Am I late?" Ken called out the moment he stepped out of the car, spotting Ryu beneath the waterfall and the unfamiliar Cloud standing across from him.
Seeing their tense standoff postures (or so it appeared to him) and the unfamiliar face with that "amused" smile—
Ken's passionate, somewhat protective heart instantly ignited.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?!" Ken pointed at Cloud, demanding loudly. "From the looks of it, you want to spar with my buddy? If you wanna fight him, you go through me first!"
Without even a proper greeting, he stomped hard and launched himself at Cloud like a cannonball!
"Take this!"
His right fist instantly erupted with blazing flames!
"FLAMING... SHORYUKEN!"
BOOM!
A dragon made of fire roared as it rose from the ground with unstoppable momentum, heading straight for Cloud's face!
"The hell? Another hothead?"
Cloud was actually speechless.
What was with everyone in this world wanting to throw hands without so much as a hello? They couldn't even spare time for greetings?
And fire again?
In the Samurai Shodown world, he'd just used azure flames to educate Rimururu.
Now in the Street Fighter world, someone was challenging him with fire—him, the "ancestor of playing with fire"?
This was like showing off woodworking in front of Lu Ban, brandishing a blade before Guan Yu, selling terracotta warriors to Qin Shi Huang—suicidal!
"Ken! Stop! He's not an—" Ryu saw what was happening and cried out in alarm, trying to intervene.
But it was too late.
Ken's Flaming Shoryuken was already upon Cloud!
"Bring it."
Cloud smiled.
He stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading, and raised his right hand as well.
A cluster of golden flame—majestic and commanding—ignited around his fist!
These flames were nothing like Ken's wild abandon.
They were more refined, more regal—like the "emperor" of all flames!
"Wanna play with fire? I'm a professional."
Cloud's body shot upward from where he stood, his right fist tracing a fierce arc from below!
"Kusanagi-Style—Oniyaki!"
BOOOOM—!!!!
The golden fire dragon collided with the red fire dragon in midair!
Two completely different flame powers clashed violently in the sky—tearing, colliding, devouring each other!
Violent shockwaves spread in all directions! Nearby trees were blown every which way! The waterfall's stream evaporated into thick white mist from the heat!
Finally, after nearly ten seconds of this "beam struggle"—
Both flames annihilated each other simultaneously.
A draw!
"What?!"
Ken executed a stylish midair flip and landed steadily.
He looked at his fist, slightly numb from the force exchange, then at Cloud across from him—completely unscathed, not even a hair out of place—and his face filled with disbelief!
His "Flaming Shoryuken" had been blocked head-on by a stranger using some fire technique he'd never seen before?!
And at the "qualitative" level, the opponent's flames seemed even superior to his own!
From the look of things, the other guy hadn't even used half his strength.
"You... what kind of flames were those?!" Ken asked in shock.
"Oh, family recipe. Nothing special." Cloud shrugged.
...
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