THIRTEEN YEARS AGO
Sen Hatsumi, 28 years old.
Whoa.
This mansion's freaking huge.
Glad to see you've arrived. Thank you for coming all this way.
From the looks of this place,
I'm gonna take a guess that your boss must be loaded as hell.
Hatsumi had been scouted.
He was asked to be a private bodyguard in Metsudo Katahara's army.
At their core,
a bodyguard primarily serves as a shield to protect.
New recruits go through basic training
and experience each milestone as a group.
Normally, that's how the process starts.
The recruits that pass this basic course
go on to continue their training individually.
From amongst this talented class of recruits,
an elite few who showed the most promise
are selected to be considered as candidates
to become the next Fang of Metsudo.
Oh. So if I'm understanding you correctly,
I was chosen to be one of the candidates?
This is such a pain in the ass.
I'm close to 30, you know?
I don't wanna be screaming "Hah!"
at a bunch of young punks anymore.
It seems our boss has taken a very particular interest
in how your skills have developed.
Ever since he became aware of the fact
that you've been traveling around the world
to participate in different underground fight clubs.
Oh, really?
Wow, I guess he does like me, huh?
He's extending an invitation to you to join his army of bodyguards
as a candidate to become the next Fang.
We already have several other candidates as well.
When the current Fang decides that it is time to step down,
we will decide on the next Fang from among that pool of candidates.
All right. I got it.
I guess I was thinking about settling down and getting a steady job anyway.
I'm gonna become the next Fang.
If I recall correctly, he lasted for about a week.
Once he got past most of the basics, he dropped out fairly quickly.
He told us he was getting bored.
I never would've imagined he'd end up here in the tournament fighting anyway.
I must say, I'm surprised.
I never knew that the two of you had a past before.
If you ask me, you're lucky he didn't stick with trying to become the Fang.
He's such a fickle man. He's more trouble than he's worth.
Trust me. I've had my fair share.
Who's to say if the way it played out was good or bad?
Ultimately, it wasn't my choice,
but it is my firm belief that he would've become the Fang
had he bothered to stay long enough to try.
♪ Now it's been a while ♪
♪ And your kisses, they got even better ♪
♪ You think I don't know You're flaunting smiles ♪
♪ My love is what counts ♪
♪ But your face just clouds my honest feelings ♪
♪ I can only look at you with doubt ♪
♪ Don't forget, no connect ♪
♪ Maybe no because you're in my head ♪
♪ The love in me went away ♪
♪ I see the beauty ♪
♪ Beauty ♪
♪ Nothing can be in vain ♪
♪ You are the only ♪
♪ Only ♪
♪ You feel my pain ♪
♪ I can't wait ♪
♪ Don't be too late ♪
♪ Feel my pain out loud! ♪
THE FLOATING CLOUD
All right! All right! All right!
The fickle tides of war have begun to turn!
Kanoh has found himself locked in one hell of a pinch!
LIHITO, GENSAI KUROKI
SHION SORYUIN
MINORU TAKAYAMA MASAMICHI OHMORI
OHMA TOKITA KAZUO YAMASHITA
Whoa.
Is the match already about to end?
It's only a matter of time before Kanoh's joints get destroyed.
If Kanoh tries to escape,
then Hatsumi can nail him on the way out.
Is it like Ohma's move, Indestructible?
I think that only hardens his muscles.
So the Fang's move might work the same way.
If Kanoh gets hit in a stance that doesn't let him deflect the attack
or in an area he can't harden,
not even the Fang can make it through that unscathed.
He did a roundhouse kick from that position?!
He let go of his right hand!
Sorry there, Kanoh.
You did exactly what I was hoping you would do.
In this move,
Hatsumi repeatedly strikes
the three critical points on his opponent's face.
HATSUMI-STYLE AIKIDO
GATHERING CLOUDS: TRIPLE STRIKE
How did…
Was that move from an ancient style of martial arts
known as Finger Break?
His counterattack worked.
Hatsumi is backing off after that blow.
Being up close was too dangerous for him!
-Oh! -Oh! Whoa
Looks like he can't!
Kanoh won't let him!
What?!
His elbow?!
That attack's from Muay Thai.
I recognize it because I use it too.
Whoa!
This time, it's his middle kick!
Hmm.
He led with an elbow, then transitioned to a kick.
This is a new Kanoh.
He never would've thought of that.
And yet I feel like he's still gonna win this round.
It's no wonder too.
Hatsumi used to significantly outrank Kanoh.
But Hatsumi's getting hit from above.
Hatsumi's blocking, but it's not helping much.
Each of Kanoh's attacks are overflowing with raw power!
Painful!
Yeah! This is turning into a pretty one-sided fight!
I thought Hatsumi was in his best condition.
Kanoh's pushing him around like a dog!
This is what I wanted to see.
Until now, your fighting style felt lacking,
like it was still incomplete… a work in progress.
Time to slither out of your cocoon
and start thriving.
Not yet.
I mustn't forget Sen's ace in the hole.
Give me a break.
I'm getting sick of this.
This asshole broke my dam finger.
And he keeps putting an uncomfortable amount of distance
between myself and him.
This is pathetic.
I hate myself.
You're going on a journey?
Yeah.
And this time, I think I'm gonna be gone for quite a while.
And you're leaving now? Huh.
In order to qualify for the Kengan Life-or-Death Tournament,
you've got to participate in the matches leading up to it.
You understand that, right?
Just use Komada, you're little Guardian King.
Or I don't know. Maybe it's time for you to hire a new fighter.
Sen…
You must have a reason for doing this.
You know me so well by now, old man.
It's just how I am.
I'm the type that gets restless.
Frankly, I've been this way since the day I was born.
There ain't nothing I can do to change it.
The way I'm feeling now
is just gonna keep snowballing, getting worse.
At the rate I'm going, I have no chance of winning any tournament,
no matter how bad you want it.
Hmm. So, an adjustment?
You're overreacting just like always.
I'm gonna go find somewhere to relax a bit.
I was thinking I might try going to the mountains.
But I'm telling you now, I'm not going there to train.
I'll have three meals a day, lots of naps.
I'm gonna enjoy the easy life for a bit.
I've had my sights set on this for a long time.
I've been working my ass off real hard.
I had no choice.
I would do whatever it takes to defeat that guy.
I made that decision long ago.
Exactly.
The two reasons I'm competing
are to beat this guy and to win the tournament.
In that case, it's time for me to finish part one.
-What?! -He stopped running away?
No.
He just reached the moment he was waiting for.
What do you know?!
It looks like he finally outsmarted the Fang.
Yes!
I won't let you break your fall.
HATSUMI-STYLE AIKIDO
STARDROP
He blocked it.
But I thought that was supposed to be Sen Hatsumi's ultimate move!
Wha… What did he do?!
A strike?! He couldn't have done that much damage so close up.
I know that attack.
Could it be?
Hatsumi goes to block Kanoh in a hold after that blow!
Ouch!
He might be coughing up blood. Not good!
No! What on earth just happened out there?!
I'd like to know the same thing.
It felt like I was getting stabbed straight through the chest with a spear!
What the hell did he do to me?!
Sen Hatsumi, I should thank you.
The sacrifices you made contributed to my evolution.
I hope you understand.
The Formless fighting style you use,
it may give you flexibility against any opponent.
However, that approach to combat carries risks as well.
Having more options available to you is not always better.
If your list of potential attacks is too long,
you delay deciding which of them to use.
Even a minor hesitation in the arena can be fatal,
especially against opponents who specialize in a single technique.
You have to narrow down your choices for each opponent.
Keep your move list nice and short.
The biggest advantage to using Formless is the flexibility it gives you
to handle any situation.
But choosing a style lets you act quicker.
In a tournament,
your body takes more damage the further you progress.
As you become more exhausted,
the delay in your reaction speed only grows.
So I would not recommend Formless for back-to-back fights.
If you use this style,
you can use
that signature more effectively than ever before.
For the boss
and for yourself,
swallow your pride.
A signature?
I should thank you.
The sacrifices you made contributed to my evolution.
You did well in playing the part you were meant to.
Ah!
Can't be!
How could he?!
This is just…
How could anyone survive Stardrop?!
This can't be real!
Hmm.
Did the two of them strike at the same time?
No, I don't think it's a matter of who struck first.
But then that would mean…
Come on, man.
It's not cool for me to act like this,
hanging on and looking all sorts of desperate.
Oh! Hatsumi got Kanoh to give up on the elbow.
Sen Hatsumi, you're quite the shrewd man.
Is it… his back?
Yeah, you got it.
It's for control. He's trying to keep hold of Kanoh's back.
It almost looks like a disadvantage, but it's a pretty good position.
It allows Hatsumi to shift his center of gravity instantaneously
anytime after an attempted attack.
The old guy's impressive, I gotta say.
It won't be easy for Kanoh to beat him.
Ah, I see.
I guess that makes sense.
The fight might be in a deadlock for a bit.
Kanoh was cautious,
and he can't slip up right now.
Now!
It's… it's that move.
One-Inch Punch.
ONE-INCH PUNCH
He's still pushing. Bring it on!
I can take whatever he wants to throw at me.
What the hell?!
How did he…
Hmm!
Hmm.
Not a big fan of this.
But I know that I will beat him one of these days.
Hatsu…
Hmm. What a specimen of a man.
I can't believe he has transcended into something else.
Finally, I've arrived.
Match over!
Winner, Agito Kanoh!
That's it! No more! What a match.
How wild!
-Nogi Group just used their secret weapon. -Fang!
But Hatsumi was not strong enough to make it through.
Who could've come in and predicted just how decisive that victory ended up being?!
The Fang of Metsudo, Agito Kanoh,
will be proceeding on to the semifinals!
That second One-Inch Punch was all it took for him to decide that battle.
There's nothing magical about fa jin.
It's an old method of transferring force.
This striking attack requires shifting all their momentum
the shortest distance with a small movement.
For someone as good as Kanoh,
they can launch a powerful attack even from a distance of almost zero.
It's usually so strong, that a single blow can kill your opponent.
Sen Hatsumi must have moved automatically to deflect the attack.
He's a master at his own craft as well.
But still, even with all his experience, he still lost.
Kanoh's a different breed.
His power is at a level that I have never seen.
Hatsumi…
Kanoh's gonna be more trouble than I expected.
It doesn't matter if it's short-range or long.
Every attack of his is powerful enough to kill.
He has no obvious blind spots.
He can chain one move into another freely.
What's more,
he has at least one more weapon he's hiding.
I find myself quite astonished.
I can't believe he's found a way to master that technique.
He counterattacks his opponent.
It's post-initiative.
He translates the tell of his opponent's movement
and starts attacking in order to hit them first.
Counter-initiative.
Or he reads his opponent's intention and gets in a strike before they can move,
also known as pre-initiative.
He abandoned the freedom of Formless
and increased his reaction speed in turn.
He changed the fighting style into something that's more practical.
I know different fighting styles don't interpret it the same way,
but there's one thing I can say for sure.
Agito Kanoh has put in the work to reach the very pinnacle of strength.
Sen Hatsumi was a good fighter.
He only lost because he was unlucky.
He just had the wrong opponent.
Stay with me, Sen.
Hatsumi! Hey!
Hold on! The doctor's on his way as we speak!
It doesn't matter.
Give me a cigarette, would you?
I'm not gonna die, in case you're worried.
Few minutes and I'll be up and around.
Oh, you just want a cigarette?
Uh…
What?!
I can't believe it!
How did this man survive that with no permanent damage?
I saw you get hit with a high kick.
I know that was strong enough to kill you.
Wait!
Does that mean that Kanoh…
This is so insulting.
If I'm still breathing, it means he held back on me.
If he hit me for real,
he could've split my head like a watermelon.
The fight was so simple for him that he had time to consider going easy on me.
Now that we've fought, I can see it so clearly,
how much his skill towers over mine.
I'm gonna give up.
Sorry to let you down, old man.
I couldn't get it done for you.
I guess you'll have to grab one of your other pawns
to give it a shot next time.
Good work out there.
Try and get some rest.
We need you to stay sharp.
I can say with certainty now that I deserve my title.
Only two left.
I'll be ruthless against anyone who stands against our boss.
After all,
I am the Fang of Metsudo.
♪ Like this, biatch… ♪
♪ Say what? ♪
♪ You say you running the city… ♪
♪ Say what? ♪
♪ Hey, when I snap ♪
♪ Put damage on your cap… ♪
♪ Say what? ♪
♪ You say you running the city… ♪
Setsuna Kiryu, you wretched and cursed angel,
you are no longer sane man.
His hatred of Niko Tokita is all that drives him forward.
Kazuo Yamashita?!
Next episode, "Predicament."