OHMA TOKITA - FIGHTER YAMASHITA CORPORATION
Ohma Tokita,
you are weak.
Raian Kure is strong.
No matter how hard you try, you don't stand a chance.
Damn it!
His phantom again!
It seems you're unable to hit me since I'm like a father figure to you.
NIKO TOKITA OHMA'S MASTER OF NIKO STYLE
What do you want?
You may not ask for it,
but as your master, I'll tell you why you're weak.
You don't trust your own martial art.
That's why you have doubt and lose your agility.
Do you really think you can be strong without trusting your techniques?
I wanted to be strong.
Stronger than anyone!
That's why I learned your Niko Style.
But you lost!
You lost and died!
How can I trust the techniques learned from someone weak like you?
Right.
With my Niko Style,
you might not be able to win against the son of Kure.
THE ABYSS
F. KURE KURE FAMILY, RAIAN'S YOUNGER SISTER
KENZO YAMASHITA- KAZUO'S OLDEST SON -
It's finally begun.
Thank you for waiting!
It's time to start the second stage of the Kengan Life-or-Death Tournament!
SAYAKA KATAHARA DAUGHTER OF METSUDO KATAHARA
ADAM DUDLEY (ELIMINATED)
-Don't lose to an effing cop! -Go, Cos!
AKIRA NISHIHONJI NISHIHONJI SECURITY SERVICES
COSMO IMAI, REP. FIGHTER
Thanks, guys.
I'm sure I'll win!
That kid grew up even stronger than I could have expected.
You accepted a pupil?
Yeah, a man like me happened to be a teacher.
He's still an amateur, but if I guide him well...
MITSUYO KUREISHI, MMA FIGHTER
...he could be an interesting martial arts fighter.
-Cosmo! -Yes!
This is Nishihonji,
a junior of mine at my previous gym.
Oh, yeah?
He's your junior?
I guess that means he's my senior, right?
Nice to meet you, Mr. Nishihonji.
The fighters of the first game are making their entrances!
KENGAN MATCH
Same as the opening match, his smile gives the second stage a sparkling beginning!
GAME 1
But be careful, for he isn't just good-looking.
In the match against Adam "the Emperor" Dudley, who has an outstanding body trunk,
he won by choking him despite a difference of 40 kg in body weight.
No one doubts his ground grappling techniques!
Standing at 171 cm and weighing 68 kg,
his kengan match record is 22 wins and no losses.
Total assets he acquired is 79 billion 212 million yen.
Representing Nishihonji Security Services,
also known as the King of Stranglers,
Cosmo Imai!
Good luck, Akoya.
Luck?
That word is only needed by weak people.
My victory is obvious.
Justice never fails.
VERSUS
This man was strong in a battle without support from the state.
In his first match, there was a 200 kg weight difference!
His opponent Haruo Kohno, also known as the Destroyer, was destroyed by him!
Is the key to his victory his invisibly fast reflexes?
Or his eccentric faith in justice?
Standing at 191 cm and weighing 114 kg,
his kengan match record is 40 wins and no losses.
Total assets he acquired is 191,115,000,000 yen.
Representing Wakasa Life Insurance Company,
also known as the Executioner,
Seishu Akoya!
SEISHU AKOYA - FIGHTER WAKASA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
In contrast to Imai, he's going to fight in his martial arts uniform.
I watched your first round.
You're an amazing kengan fighter.
I'm really excited about fighting a strong guy like you.
Let's see who will advance to the third stage.
The King of Stranglers?
Or the Executioner?
SHUNKA HIYAMA WAKASA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
Take your stance.
Wow! Remember that stance of Akoya's?
He took it to prevent Kohno's violent attack in his first game.
Cosmo Imai's choking techniques are what I have to keep an eye on the most.
Adam Dudley, whose body type is similar to mine,
was choked out in a second.
I should watch out.
I won't play by your rules.
My strikes will defeat you without fail.
Fight!
Look at that!
Huh?
What are you thinking, Cosmo Imai?
Imai shifted his stance into upright.
Is he going to throw off the grappling and challenge with a battle of fists?
-What the... -Hey, seriously?
This game got started in an unexpected way.
Cosmo Imai, who has the best ground grappling technique in kengan matches,
is surprisingly challenging with a striking fight!
His opponent is Akoya...
JUN SEKIBAYASHI HARUO KOHNO (ELIMINATED)
...who perfectly defended against hits from the over-300 kg monster Kohno.
JERRY TYSON (ELIMINATED)
Cosmo, weighing less than 70 kg,
honestly has little chance of winning with just his fists.
A jab feint and a low kick in left!
Akoya doesn't lose balance at all!
Imai doesn't continue and take a distance.
He's so discreet for now.
A side rolling kick!
Though he missed, Imai showed us his brilliant bounce ability!
Does he really think he'll beat that effing cop only by hitting him?
Here it comes! The Ripper!
Akoya's ripping technique is to cut the skin by a glancing blow.
Now he used the technique which afflicted Kohno in his last game!
Look, Imai backs away from Akoya again.
What's wrong with him? We can't see the usual aggressiveness in him.
That tells us how cautious he is about Akoya.
Cosmo stopped Akoya's approach!
Now they are inside each other's range!
-He let Cosmo kick him. -What?
He's provoking Imai.
Unbelievable. Imai takes a distance once again!
An air of confusion is spreading through the venue.
This game could go on forever.
Kengan matches have no time limit.
And no penalty for a negative fight, either.
Besides, the field is far bigger than public combat sports.
You could keep escaping all day long if you wanted to.
Has this happened before?
No. The employers won't permit it.
The fighters embody each company's prestige.
If they did such a disgraceful act, it could hurt the company's reputation.
FIST
What's wrong, Cosmo?
Show us your more aggressive game!
Okay.
I completed analyzing Cosmo Imai.
Roger.
Let's do it, Hiyama.
Hmm? Akoya released himself from the present position.
Look at that stance!
It looks quite similar to the stance of the Fang of Metsudo, Agito Kanoh.
Of course!
We created this stance inspired by Agito Kanoh.
Collecting data from his previous games,
we refined it to match Akoya's build, character, and tactics.
It's like a custom-made stance for Akoya,
more attack-oriented than the original.
It's the fierce assault stance.
You can't escape anymore.
Cosmo Imai.
You can't escape anymore.
Cosmo Imai.
Cosmo Imai will evade left a second later.
Block him on his right side.
The painkiller doesn't work, huh?
He'll back up 2.2 meters straight. Keep close to him.
Avoid his straight left by ducking. Give a right uppercut.
He'll sway to evade it.
Left kick to his right leg.
Ouch!
Akoya.
Take your time to attack.
Cosmo Imai's physical ability is much poorer than yours.
Ruin his mobility. That'll end it.
Let's deprive him of his power slowly and steadily.
Damn!
It looks as if the effing cop can predict Imai's next move!
This man is... incredibly strong!
Kaneda evaded Kaolan's attacks by predicting his movements.
But this man is...
making his moves after me, but quicker than me!
He has outstanding reflexes!
I've never felt better!
I'm having so much fun fighting someone as strong as him!
That one hit him for sure.
Hiyama, adjustments need to be made.
Akira, it's as we thought...
But we still need proof.
Yo, mister!
You cheer Imai on, too!
Yeah, it seems he needs some support.
Akoya, this boy's amazing.
It's only by a little, but his response rate is increasing.
He has tremendous adaptability.
The Ripper is sparking!
He held out amazingly
against your reflexes, the best among fighters, and my special ability.
Relieve him of his agony now.
Understood!
He's...
He's going to finish!
For Cosmo,
there's no option but to guard like a turtle!
His center of gravity is low.
It's time.
Here we go, Akoya.
The finishing shot!
The awaited moment of victory!
Entering with no uniform,
a striking battle,
and a passive approach.
All of these were bluffing.
Everything was done just for this moment.
The triangle choke!
Does this mean that every move he made was...
Just for this?
Akoya was caught completely unaware!
The tables have turned, and now Imai has the advantage!
No...
Akoya's scarcely preventing his being choked!
It can't be true!
My Zone is a counterattack for when the opponent is only focused on attacking.
No one ever could respond in less than 0.1 seconds.
This old man... How crazy are his reflexes?
However,
something unexpected was also happening to Akoya.
We investigated the first match and finished analyzing the mechanism of Zone.
To defeat his Zone, Hiyama sends a signal at the moment I make an attack.
Then, I instantly change my focus.
If the timing had been well synchronized, we could have completely broken the Zone.
Why was your signal delayed, Hiyama?
You must be thinking that...
it's impossible for me to be here because you hired skilled guards.
Am I right?
You employed many strong men to guard against attacks from other companies.
But I have good friends, too.
RYO INABA (ELIMINATED)
Be on your best behavior, okay?
However strong your guys may be, no one can react to his sneak attack...
because his main business is assassination.
The next thing you must be wondering is...
how your fraud was noticed.
That's quite a simple story.
We intercepted all of your radio transmission.
It seems your full attention was paid to eavesdropping.
But we have a professional.
We couldn't get decisive evidence, though.
When did you notice?
It was just a strange, little feeling at first.
The way Akoya fought, as if he had predicted his opponent's moves,
gave me an uncomfortable feeling.
Then, we made a thorough investigation of you.
You have an extraordinary ability, President Hiyama.
Your biological clock is quite accurate.
Only a few cases that reach a level as high as yours exist in the world.
His top-level reflexes, your unfailing biological clock,
and the discomfort I felt.
These three pieces made it easy to complete the puzzle.
President Hiyama.
Even if the truth comes to light, the Kengan Association won't punish you.
As long as the referee doesn't find out,
they'll treat the violation as if it never existed.
But the trust in Wakasa Life Insurance Company would be entirely lost.
Your future business would be affected.
Miss Hiyama.
Tell Akoya to retire.
That's my condition to overlook your injustice.
Despite being in a lock, Akoya is lifting Cosmo up!
Ridiculous!
Retire now, Miss Hiyama.
You have no other choice anymore.
Looks like Nishihonji is blowing his top.
But...
Cosmo gets behind Akoya!
Even without a condition like that,
Cosmo could win!
-Give it back! -Yo!
You crazy kimono girl!
Just give up.
You can't control your crazy machine anymore.
Still... I can do something.
Akoya.
So, please...
Hiyama.
Akoya?
Do you remember what I told you after our first match?
After our first match?
This will be the last time, Hiyama.
Shove off!
Oh, Cosmo!
Damn!
Cosmo can't withstand it and escaped!
The arm's still movable. No tendons damaged!
This jerk targeted my eye!
Cosmo's upper body got up.
Akoya's tackle comes instantly!
It's time to enforce justice.
What? Is he biting?
From Imai's thigh,
you can see serious bleeding!
Damn!
What is it with that bastard? Suddenly, he's even more violent!
What the heck is happening?
Akoya has...
Akoya has taken the law into his own hands and executed
people whom he regards as evil, calling it the enforcement of justice.
He does such things underground?
It's called Dirty Harry Syndrome, mister.
That's why I hate cops!
He's been doing it all to realize his ideal world where there's no evil.
His progress was going well.
But the process of fighting evil...
has gradually changed him.
He's been trapped...
in the temptation of murder.
Since then, he has asked me for directions in kengan matches...
to avoid getting caught up in the temptation of murder.
You mean you're his brakes?
"Beyond Good and Evil."
APHORISM NUMBER 146 FROM "BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL"
Aphorism number 146.
"He who fights monsters should beware
lest he become a monster in the process.
And when you look long into an abyss,
the abyss also looks back into you."
Oh, gosh!
Akoya is...
trapped in the abyss!
PREVIEW
Is it justice or torture?
Is fighting equal to killing?
Beyond redemption!
It's life-or-death.
Genius versus monster.
It will be settled.
Next episode: "Death Match"
Subtitle translation by Hinako Someno