"Fight!"
At the referee's command, Dhalsim moved.
He didn't stand up, maintaining his floating lotus position.
"Yoga Fire!"
He inhaled deeply, then blew forward!
WHOOSH—
A massive fireball materialized from thin air, carrying intense heat as it roared toward Cloud!
"Another fire user?" Cloud was speechless. "Does everyone in the Street Fighter world have some special obsession with the fire element?"
Facing this scorching fireball, Cloud stuck to his usual routine.
He raised his right hand, and a cluster of purple flames—cold and ominous—ignited at his fingertip.
"Here—let me show you what premium flames look like."
"Style 108: Yami Barai."
The purple fire serpent slithered along the ground, weaving toward the massive fireball.
But this time, the expected "beam struggle" explosion didn't occur.
The "Yoga Fire," the instant it touched Iori Yagami's azure flames, reacted like a mouse meeting a cat, ice hitting a hot iron—effortlessly devoured and annihilated by the seemingly weaker purple fire!
"What?!"
For the first time, surprise crossed Dhalsim's usually tranquil face.
He could sense that his opponent's purple flames were qualitatively far superior to his "Yoga Fire"! Those weren't mortal flames—they were hellfire!
"Not done yet!"
Cloud's figure, simultaneously with releasing the Yami Barai, was already shooting toward the still-floating Dhalsim like a launched arrow!
He was going in close!
However, Dhalsim's response completely defied logic.
"Yoga Tower!"
His cross-legged body suddenly stretched upward like a spring! He instantly rose over a dozen meters, easily evading Cloud's charge!
Then something even more bizarre happened.
"Yoga Spear!"
His withered arms and legs suddenly extended seven or eight meters like rubber! They transformed into four deadly "spears" stabbing at Cloud from four different angles in ways that violated all human anatomy!
The visual was basically "Indian Luffy"!
"Damn! He really can stretch!" Cloud had never seen such a bizarre attack style.
His feet tapped rapidly as his form wove ghost-like through the storm of "long arms and legs" raining down.
"Kagura-Style Ancient Martial Arts—Divine Speed Blessing!"
His speed reached its peak!
Though Dhalsim's attacks were bizarre, they couldn't even touch Cloud's sleeve!
"Interesting." Cloud dodged while rapidly analyzing in his mind. "This body extension ability isn't magic or psychic powers. It's more like extreme control over one's own cells and bones. By instantly changing how cells connect, he achieves free stretching. This... this is practically a miracle of human biology!"
[System: Ding! Special technique "Body Extension" detected. This technique is based on extreme development of bodily potential and has extremely high research value. Initiate deep analysis and attempt plunder?]
"Absolutely!"
While the system began its "background download," Cloud found his opening for counterattack!
He caught the instant Dhalsim's "Yoga Heavy Punch" missed, then pushed off explosively!
"Fatal Fury—Burn Knuckle!"
His entire body transformed into a blazing meteor, surging upward against the current, ignoring all the defensive "long limbs," charging with unstoppable momentum straight at Dhalsim's main body floating in the air!
Dhalsim was shocked—he hadn't expected that under such dense attacks, his opponent could still find a gap to counter!
He tried to teleport away, but it was too late!
BOOM!
The flame-wreathed fist connected solidly with Dhalsim's chest!
"Pwah!"
Dhalsim spat blood, his entire body falling from the air like a kite with cut strings.
"Is the fight... over?" The audience watched tensely.
It wasn't.
Dhalsim struggled back into a sitting position on the ground. He wiped the blood from his lips and looked at Cloud. Those deep eyes held not anger but appreciation and understanding.
"...I see now." He spoke slowly. "Your flames are hellfire. Your martial arts are the techniques of the Way. And your body... has transcended mortal limits."
"But..." His tone shifted. "You still haven't seen through to the truth."
As he spoke, his body that had fallen to the ground actually... melted like boneless mud, then reconstituted several meters away, restoring his human form!
Completely unharmed!
"An afterimage?" Cloud's brow raised slightly.
"No." Dhalsim shook his head. "It is Emptiness."
"All things are empty—form, sensation, perception, volition, consciousness are likewise. What you struck just now was merely my attachment, not my true body. Young man, can you find the real me?"
As he spoke, his body blurred again. One became three, three became nine—suddenly dozens of identical Dhalsims filled the ring!
Each radiated the same presence, making it impossible to distinguish real from fake!
This was an attack on the level of "spirit" and "illusion"!
"Playing with psychic attacks?" Cloud looked at the ring full of "Indian uncles" and smiled.
"Master, I admit—your yoga has something to it. Through extreme ascetic practice, you've freed your spirit from your flesh, achieving things beyond comprehension. To ordinary people, this is indeed indistinguishable from divinity."
"However..."
Cloud slowly closed his eyes.
He didn't use his eyes to look. Instead, he swept his vast spiritual power across the entire ring like radar!
"Before me—a materialist player with cheats—all your idealistic superpowers are nothing but... paper tigers!"
His eyes snapped open, blazing with intensity!
His figure vanished from where he stood!
When he reappeared, he was in the ring's most inconspicuous corner.
...
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