Ryunosuke, who had just saved Koenji, was about to negotiate a way to deal with Yujiro when he heard Ichika's voice calling his name from below.
Ryunosuke felt something was wrong and immediately looked down, where he saw a look of complete mockery on Yujiro's face.
Ryunosuke shouted to Ichika below, "Run!"
Ichika felt confused by Ryunosuke's shout; she stroked her soft, burgundy twintails, clearly not listening to the warning.
Ryunosuke shouted again, "At a time like this, don't argue with me! Run, fast!"
Ichika only then realized something was amiss, but it was too late because Yujiro leaped down from the large hole above and landed right in front of her.
Ichika recognized the person; it was impossible not to know him, after all, he was the Strongest Creature on Earth, and someone she had met before.
Ichika remembered when she was still in the White Room, she had encountered this man. This was the man who had knocked everyone in the White Room to the ground and told them they were incredibly weak.
And Ichika had been one of them.
Since Ayanokouji had already escaped from the White Room at that time, he was unaware of the incident.
Instinctively, Ichika's body trembled; she even forgot to flee.
"Damn it!" Ryunosuke already knew what Yujiro intended to do. He immediately leaped down through the hole to stop him.
Because Ryunosuke was too agile to be caught and consumed too much energy to chase, Yujiro intended to capture Ichika to threaten him into surrendering.
The effect was very potent!
Ryunosuke came close without Yujiro needing to bother chasing him anymore.
Yujiro displayed a cruel smirk.
His fist, the size of a sandbag, was raised high; its target was none other than Ichika in front of him.
Mainly because Ichika had greeted Ryunosuke earlier, proving that the two of them knew each other. Otherwise, Yujiro would not have made her a target.
Ichika was still frozen there, while Ryunosuke performed a sliding motion through the gap of Yujiro's legs and arrived in front of Ichika. He wanted to pull her away, but it was too late.
That giant fist lunged straight toward them.
If this fist hit squarely, Ryunosuke would either die or be severely injured.
Ryunosuke didn't have time for long thoughts; unconsciously, the image of Zhang Sanfeng (the Tai Chi Master) appeared in his mind. He instinctively "Cosplayed" and caught Yujiro's arm, performing a push-and-pull motion three times—using softness to conquer hardness, borrowing the opponent's strength to counterattack, concentrating three times the force at a single point. This was the Tai Chi technique: The Massaging Hand.
Ryunosuke exerted sudden force, pushing Yujiro and his entire body until he was thrown through three layers of walls.
Ryunosuke's figure staggered slightly; he felt his stamina drain drastically in an instant.
Yujiro crawled out of the ruins with a face full of surprise.
"Xiao Li (Strength Relaxation)?!"
"No, it's slightly different. This isn't Xiao Li; it seems he used my own strength to throw me."
To prove his theory, Yujiro threw another fist toward Ryunosuke.
This time, Ryunosuke did not dodge. Ever since the blood clot in his brain disappeared, he had never tested the maximum limit of his "Chuunibyou Mode." This was the perfect opportunity to try it.
He turned to attack, both hands forming claws. This was one of the 72 ultimate techniques of the Shaolin Temple: Shaolin Dragon Claw.
Ryunosuke grabbed Yujiro's Adam's apple, while his other hand did not stay idle, clawing toward the Shanzhong nerve point located right in the center of the chest.
If this point were hit, at best it would cause internal energy flow disruption and blood agitation; at worst it could cause heart palpitations leading to loss of consciousness.
However, facing Yujiro's skin which was as hard as steel, Ryunosuke's Shaolin Dragon Claw failed to penetrate the skin to grip the Shanzhong point on his chest.
*BOOM!*
Ryunosuke pressed Yujiro into the corner of the wall until the wall cracked instantly, as if it would collapse at any moment. One could imagine the magnitude of that force.
Yujiro actually looked very excited.
"Boy! It turns out you hadn't brought out all your strength earlier! Hahaha!!"
Yujiro thought the other party had been hiding his power because previously Ryunosuke had only been busy fleeing and never counterattacked. He didn't expect this boy to have some skill too.
Yujiro jerked free from the grip of the Dragon Claw.
Ryunosuke immediately pulled back, staring at his palms which felt a little numb.
(Even though it can be used, my physical condition can't keep up with the technique, can it?)
Ryunosuke clenched his palms; his heart had found the answer: he couldn't stall for time any longer. His body could not withstand the strength he exerted himself; he had to finish it quickly.
(Since the outer defense cannot be penetrated, then I will attack the inside.)
Thick internal energy was concentrated in his right fist.
Seven different types of internal energy gathered in the fist, carrying a deadly aura, striking toward Yujiro.
This was the ultimate technique of the Kongtong sect—The Seven Injuries Fist.
The strength of this technique lay in its attack that destroyed the inside, rather than damaging from the outside. It shattered the internal structure and injured vital organs.
Yujiro had not yet realized the gravity of this situation; he took the punch raw. His body kept sliding backward across the floor, creating two long trenches on the surface of the ground.
In his estimation, receiving this punch was no big deal, so he didn't dodge—not because he couldn't dodge.
Seeing Yujiro seemingly unresponsive, Ryunosuke momentarily doubted his own power.
However, a moment later, Yujiro spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and knelt on one knee on the floor. He stared at his own body in disbelief.
"My internal organs are injured? How is it possible? When did this happen?"
Yujiro realized that the punch which had previously felt "soft" had destroyed the inside of his body.
Seeing this, Ryunosuke thought to himself: (Now, this is more like it. If this technique didn't work, I would be forced to bring out the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms, though I don't know if my current body strength is capable of bringing it out or not.)
Yujiro no longer dared to receive the opponent's fist directly. He wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Boy, you're quite something. The people who can injure Hanma Yujiro in this world are no more than 10 people. You have the talent to become the strongest."
Facing that praise, Ryunosuke did not feel happy at all. He knew very well his opponent had not exerted full power, because Yujiro had not even opened his Demon Back.
Yujiro himself had no intention of opening it. If facing a mere boy required opening the Demon Back, where would he put his face?
Yujiro walked step by step toward Ryunosuke.
Ryunosuke also walked toward Yujiro.
The two of them stopped their steps and stared at the enemy before them.
Yujiro attacked first; very unsportingly, he kicked toward his opponent's crotch.
Ryunosuke wouldn't dare to clash head-on. Besides not being certain his body was strong enough to withstand the load of a high-level martial arts technique, just being hit by that kick would surely turn his bones to dust.
So he utilized the opponent's leg; his two feet clamped and stepped on the bridge of Yujiro's foot, leaped into the air, spun, and landed behind Yujiro. As his heels touched the ground, both his hands formed the Tiger seal and he shouted loudly:
"Konoha Secret Taijutsu: Sennen Goroshi (One Thousand Years of Death)!!!"