Chapter 19
It's always like this.
Since we're all gathered here fighting anyway, can't we at least follow the basic laws of physics?
That kick was powerful enough to launch someone like a cannonball, yet he didn't even cough up blood.
Wasn't that a little excessive?
---
Chapter 23
Far from the battlefield, two figures observed the fight from the shadows.
Takatsuki Sen and Tatara.
"Minato's combat ability has truly exceeded our expectations."
At this point in the battle, Minato clearly still had everything under control.
It almost looked as if he were toying with Yamori.
For a human to reach this level with nothing but his bare hands was something Tatara would never have believed had he not witnessed it personally.
If Minato were carrying a decent quinque, Yamori would likely have already been defeated.
No.
The only reason Yamori was still standing was because Minato was deliberately holding back.
"Minato has indeed exceeded our expectations, but..."
Takatsuki Sen slowly turned her head toward Tatara.
Her kakugan glowed ominously.
"I remember telling you not to disturb him."
Even Tatara felt a chill under that gaze.
The pressure radiating from her made it difficult to speak.
Clearly, Takatsuki Sen suspected that Yamori attacking Minato had been arranged by him.
Tatara took a deep breath.
"I didn't order it. None of our people were told to provoke him."
"Oh?"
Takatsuki Sen's smile became playful.
"So you're saying this was entirely his own idea?"
"Yes."
Tatara nodded immediately.
Without hesitation, he threw Yamori under the bus.
"What a troublesome subordinate."
Takatsuki Sen's expression instantly brightened again.
She looked like an adult talking about a naughty child.
Yet Tatara knew that smile was far more dangerous than her anger.
Turning her attention back to the battlefield, she watched silently.
After releasing his kagune, Yamori's fighting style became increasingly frenzied.
He looked completely insane.
"He's really just a rabid dog."
Minato moved with a bizarre rhythm, narrowly avoiding every attack.
"It feels like playing Touhou back in the day."
Even while dodging, he still had time to reminisce about old games.
Looking closely, the comparison wasn't entirely wrong.
Yamori's attacks came nonstop.
Yet Minato danced through them effortlessly, as if he were showing off perfect grazing techniques.
"Stop moving around!"
Yamori gritted his teeth.
"You're like a damn loach!"
"Oh? Getting impatient?"
Minato stopped a short distance away.
"Then let me give you a little surprise."
His movements suddenly changed.
Gone was the fluid footwork from before.
Now he resembled an arrow released from a bowstring.
Fast.
Explosive.
Yamori's pupils contracted.
His kagune immediately moved to defend.
"It's useless."
Minato's voice rang out sharply.
His right fist shot forward.
The strike resembled an arrow piercing through a target.
The force behind it was overwhelming.
"Five Elements Style: Crushing Fist!"
Crack!
A sound like a firecracker echoed through the night.
Minato's fist punched straight through Yamori's kagune.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Rinkaku kagune possessed exceptional regenerative abilities because RC cells bonded easily.
However, that same trait resulted in weaker structural durability.
Compared to other kagune types, they were much easier to damage.
Minato's fist tore directly through Yamori's defenses.
Rip!
A horrifying tearing sound followed.
One of Yamori's rinkaku appendages was ripped off entirely.
"AAAAAAAH!"
The pain caused him to scream.
After tearing away the kagune, Minato immediately retreated and assumed a defensive stance.
Not because he lacked confidence.
Experience had taught him that people in this world loved sudden power-ups.
He wasn't interested in getting blindsided.
Still, another issue bothered him more.
"My suit is ruined."
His right sleeve was covered in blood.
The suit was finished.
Editor Minato felt genuine regret.
Why had he used that technique?
"Kill you... I'll kill you..."
Yamori hunched over.
His eyes became bloodshot.
Not from his kakugan.
From pure rage.
"You'd need the ability to do that first."
Minato casually tossed the severed kagune aside.
His expression was full of disdain.
None of the people present truly posed a threat to him.
Then something unexpected happened.
Crunch.
Yamori suddenly bit into his own flesh.
Minato stared.
"That's... extreme."
Even he felt a chill.
These monsters were insane.
Not only did they eat humans.
They ate themselves too.
As Yamori devoured his own flesh, his body began to transform.
Purple kagune rapidly covered his head and right arm.
A Half-Kakuja.
"So in the end, you're just another ghoul who eats his own kind."
When Minato first arrived in this world, he had already encountered cannibalistic ghouls.
Those individuals were noticeably stronger than ordinary ghouls.
As the kagune spread over the body, it eventually formed armor-like coverings.
That state was known as a Kakuja.
Yamori's current condition was an incomplete version.
A Half-Kakuja.
"Now this is troublesome."
Minato's expression became serious.
Against something like this, he couldn't simply fool around.
If only he had brought a quinque.
As he thought about it, he considered asking Kureo Mado to make a few portable quinques for him.
The fact that he could still think about such things during combat demonstrated how little he feared Yamori.
---
Chapter 24
Just as Minato prepared to properly fight the Half-Kakuja Yamori, an unexpected third party entered the battlefield.
Boom!
A gigantic figure crashed into the area.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Through the cloud, Minato saw something resembling an urban legend.
A One-Eyed Ghoul.
Only a single crimson kakugan glowed on its face.
That solitary eye was terrifying.
Combined with the grotesquely long tongue hanging from its mouth, it resembled a demon straight out of folklore.
"Hey, hey, hey."
Cold sweat appeared on Minato's forehead.
"Isn't this cheating?"
We were having a perfectly normal hand-to-hand fight.
And suddenly someone shows up in a Gundam.
How was that fair?
The one-eyed monster turned toward him.
Then it laughed.
A harsh, distorted laugh.
Minato immediately felt a chill.
For some reason, he felt as though he were being stared at by an entire group of creepy men.
Even while making jokes internally, every muscle in his body tensed.
This creature was fundamentally different from Yamori.
Yamori was merely a Half-Kakuja.
This thing was a complete Kakuja.
Fortunately, the situation wasn't quite as bad as he first feared.
After glancing at Minato, the monster shifted its attention elsewhere.
Toward Yamori.
The Half-Kakuja had completely lost his sanity and was rampaging.
Even with a superior standing before him, he showed no intention of stopping.
Then again, even if he were conscious, Takatsuki Sen probably couldn't stop him from hunting.
Most of the ghouls serving under her were exactly this sort of rebellious troublemaker.
Likewise, Takatsuki Sen never truly regarded such unruly individuals as loyal subordinates.
Facing the berserk Yamori, the one-eyed monster raised a gigantic skeletal claw.
Then swung.
Bang!
Yamori was sent flying like a ragdoll.
The Half-Kakuja smashed through the Fueguchi family's warehouse.
"That's ridiculous."
Even Minato looked impressed.
A casual slap had launched Yamori that far.
But it wasn't over yet.