"No wonder so many martial artists think they're invincible. This world's basically one giant fishpond."
Ryuji's complaint left Mai rather helpless.
From her perspective, those martial artists were actually fairly skilled.
They couldn't compare to Ryuji, of course, but not everyone was as powerful as Ryuji or Akuma, capable of fighting until the heavens and earth themselves changed color.
Most of them were still strong enough to exchange blows with her.
While they probably couldn't defeat her, if two or three of them fought her one after another in succession, she would eventually run out of stamina.
She certainly couldn't knock people down in just a few moves the way Ryuji could.
"Well, that's just how things are now, isn't it? It's the modern era. Aside from wealthy people, hardly anyone is willing to devote themselves to martial arts anymore. Sure, a lot of schools have made their fundamental techniques public in hopes of discovering talented disciples who can carry on their traditions, but the reality is that very few people can actually make a living through fighting."
Mai let out a quiet sigh.
To be honest, if Ryuji hadn't completely reworked the Shiranui-ryu's training methods and if he hadn't willingly declared himself a practitioner of the Shiranui-ryu, she didn't even know if she could have revived the school.
Because it was simply too difficult.
There were plenty of fighting tournaments these days, but most of them were little more than exhibitions. Real fights were far too likely to end in serious injury or death.
And who could possibly offer enough rewards to convince true martial artists to risk everything?
A tournament with a prize of only a few tens of thousands of yen wasn't worth entering. Not only was the money insignificant, it could even diminish the prestige of one's school.
Events offering hundreds of thousands of dollars were usually fixed from the very beginning.
The winners were often decided in advance, with restrictions placed on who could participate and even what fighting styles they were allowed to use.
As for tournaments with multi-million-dollar prize pools, those were major international events.
Anyone with common sense knew they were filled with shady dealings. Without the backing of a powerful organization, there was a good chance you'd earn the prize money only to die before you could spend it.
There was a very good chance that all kinds of martial artists and organizations would come after you, resorting to any means necessary just to challenge you.
That was why Mai's original goal had been much more modest.
She had simply wanted to reopen the Shiranui-ryu and start accepting disciples again.
In reality, Ryuji had already fulfilled that dream.
In just three days, he had made the entire Japanese martial arts community acknowledge that the Shiranui-ryu had officially returned.
"Yeah. In the end, everyone has to make a living. Teaching ordinary people how to strengthen their bodies is already more than enough. Not everyone is like us. Most people either don't have some special mission to fulfill or the courage to climb to the very peak."
Mai sighed softly as well.
"So, in reality, the number of truly powerful martial artists is indeed decreasing. Give it another few decades, once the world becomes more peaceful, even fewer people will bother learning martial arts. That's why what you said before was right, Ryuji. Only by making martial arts accessible to ordinary people can it truly be passed down..."
As she spoke, she looked up and noticed a beautiful blonde woman with two braided pigtails standing in front of the Shiranui Dojo.
The moment the woman spotted them, she immediately hurried over.
Mai instinctively glanced at Ryuji and quietly tugged on his hand.
"Is she a friend of yours?"
After Tifa, Chun-Li and Shiranui Kasumi, Mai couldn't help but suspect that this was yet another beautiful girl Ryuji had somehow picked up while she wasn't paying attention.
Probably another one who wanted to have his children.
Ryuji was equally puzzled.
Although he had to admit the blonde beauty was incredibly attractive, he had absolutely no memory of ever meeting her.
"I don't know her. She's probably here to see you."
But the moment those words left his mouth, Cammy's face lit up with an oddly enthusiastic smile. She looked at Ryuji with an almost exaggerated expression of admiration.
"Mr. Ryuji! Ever since I saw you defeat that master so cleanly and decisively, I've become your biggest fan! I want to join the Shiranui-ryu and learn the same martial arts that you use!"
Is that really true?
Mai was somewhat surprised, so she stepped forward.
"For now, the Shiranui-ryu isn't accepting any disciples. We'll officially begin recruiting students after the World Martial Arts Tournament."
As soon as she finished speaking, her noticed the definition of Cammy's muscles.
Her pupils contracted instantly. She immediately realized that this cute-looking woman was anything but ordinary. She was a highly skilled fighter.
Ryuji rested a hand on Mai's shoulder and looked at the blonde woman with curiosity.
He quietly expanded his perception.
Almost immediately, he detected the dangerous aura surrounding her, along with a strange sense of mental disharmony.
There was no helping it. If he kept his perception operating at maximum capacity all the time, the endless stream of information would eventually drive him crazy. Most of the time, he deliberately limited his perception to roughly the level of an ordinary person.
It wasn't the same as blocking them off completely.
He still received everything his senses picked up; he had simply put them into a sort of "Do Not Disturb" mode. Anything he considered important would still immediately catch his attention.
Since the woman before him wasn't emitting any killing intent, however, he hadn't noticed just how strong she was.
"That's right," Ryuji said calmly. "So if you want to become a disciple, you'll have to wait a little while."
Ryuji looked at Cammy and was certain that he had never met her before. Which meant she was lying.
And a woman whose strength was roughly on the same level as Mai's, yet who was lying about something like this, was obviously not someone who had come with friendly intentions.
She was probably hired by one of those dojos he'd humiliated after exposing the little tricks they had resorted to.
Those people are really shameless...
Ryuji quietly prepared himself for the possibility that she might launch a sudden attack.
But at that moment, his gaze shifted toward another direction.
"Chun-Li? What are you doing here?"
~~~~~~~~~~
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