Mildred fired an arrow, but Shiranui neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the shaft to pierce straight through his chest, leaving a gaping hole.
Yet in the next second, that hole was filled with roaring flames.
Shiranui advanced toward Mildred at a leisurely pace.
Mildred loosed arrow after arrow, each one wrapped in ki, piercing Shiranui's body time and again.
But Shiranui remained unfazed.
Every time a hole was shot through him, flames would surge to fill it.
In the blink of an eye, his riddled body was restored to perfection.
How the hell were they supposed to fight this?
Mildred cursed in fury, but ultimately let out a reluctant roar. "I surrender."
If she didn't concede now, Shiranui would turn her into a charred corpse.
After Mildred left the arena, the other members of Hachiō Executioner Blade found themselves in a bind.
Shiranui was just too unfair.
Since Mildred's physical attacks had no effect, it was likely they couldn't harm Shiranui either, yet he could easily injure them.
How could they possibly compete?
"I'll handle this."
At that moment, the leader of Hachiō Executioner Blade, Ōganosuke Yogi, spoke up.
The other martial arts experts immediately bowed their heads in silence, aware that their inadequacy had disappointed their leader.
Ōganosuke Yogi stepped into the arena and slowly drew his twin blades.
In an instant, a surging and intense wave of "ki" erupted forth.
Vast, terrifying, ferocious, explosive, domineering... like a volcanic eruption, this ki instantly suppressed Shiranui in the arena.
Before Shiranui could react, the twin blades wreathed in flames sliced through his body.
Shiranui paused, attempting to use flames to mend the severed parts, but no matter how he tried, the wounds refused to heal.
A white flame was burning his form.
Shiranui trembled in fear, howling in agony, until finally, he was consumed entirely by that white blaze.
Vanishing without a trace.
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
They could all see that the flames Ōganosuke Yogi had unleashed weren't true fire, but... ki.
Ki was a force mastered by martial artists.
It was generally formless and invisible to the naked eye.
That was the understanding of many martial artists.
But now, Ōganosuke Yogi had given everyone present a lesson: it wasn't that ki was invisible, but that theirs was simply too weak.
A truly powerful martial artist possessed vast quantities of ki, which, when compressed, formed what was known as ki flames.
Making it visible to the eye.
Martial artists without ki flames and those who possessed them were not on the same level.
It seemed like a mere hair's breadth difference, but in reality, it was the gap between heaven and earth.
The martial artists in attendance watched Ōganosuke Yogi's display and fell into contemplative silence.
Was this guy really human?
After Shiranui was instantly defeated, Hachiō Executioner Blade's opponents collectively conceded, withdrawing from the match.
Ōganosuke Yogi had fully revealed his strength, powerful enough to inspire despair.
They were no match for such a monster.
Continuing to fight when victory was impossible wasn't bravery—it was foolishness.
From the stands overlooking the arena, Raikou observed Ōganosuke Yogi's performance and couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "Another rare hero. This era truly doesn't disappoint."
Karna remained silent, but a spark of battle intent flickered in his eyes.
Ōganosuke Yogi might not be his equal, but that pinnacle of martial prowess had piqued his interest.
Only those who had reached such heights understood just how terrifying—and rare—individuals in this realm were.
Throughout history, those who entered this domain were exceedingly few.
Ōganosuke Yogi was undoubtedly one of them.
Now, he looked forward to facing this team in the Dark Tournament.
He hoped it would come to pass.
After Ōganosuke Yogi's fleeting brilliance, the subsequent matches were exciting but lacked the same shocking impact.
As time passed, night soon fell.
The matches paused for the day.
Out of the sixty-four teams, twelve had already completed their bouts.
The remaining forty-two teams would finish over the next two days.
After today's matches, the organizers once again prepared a lavish dinner for all, to reward the participants of the Dark Tournament.
On the second day, the competition resumed.
The teams Morpheus had his eye on emerged victorious, living up to his expectations.
In particular, teams like One Shadow Nine Fists and Ryōzanpaku performed outstandingly.
With overwhelming dominance, they thoroughly defeated their opponents and advanced smoothly to the top thirty-two.
Additionally, Yusuke Urameshi's team advanced without issue.
In that match, Yusuke didn't even take the field; instead, Hiei stepped in, overwhelming their opponents and securing the win.
The third day arrived.
Morpheus's Team Extraterrestrial was finally set to appear.
Their opponents were a familiar group: the Team Hanma.
Its members were Yujiro Hanma, Baki Hanma, Jack Hanma, Doppo Orochi, and Biscuit Oliva.
These individuals were all characters from another fighting series, Baki.
The protagonist among them was, of course, Baki Hanma.
The inheritor of the Hanma bloodline, champion of the Tokyo Dome Underground Arena, a prodigious fighting youth. From a young age, he underwent training to become a fighter, all to defeat his father—the strongest creature on Earth, Yujiro Hanma.
And the ceiling of that series was naturally Yujiro Hanma, hailed as the strongest creature on Earth.
A former mercenary, he had turned his body into a weapon from his youth, battling across global warzones and forging devilish, terrifying muscles.
He had defeated multiple U.S. special forces units, numerous armed criminal organizations, and wild beasts like yasha apes, mutated African elephants, and polar bears, leaving behind legendary feats.
Meticulously studying martial arts, he mastered all styles under the sun, shattering every fighter with sheer, domineering violence—the epitome of ultimate force.
Through daily life-or-death battles as routine as eating or sleeping, he evolved bones as tough as metal, impervious even to lightning strikes.
He once demolished heavy-duty security doors barehanded and shattered bulletproof glass.
An anesthetic potent enough to kill dozens of elephants merely put Yujiro to sleep for a nap.
Leaders of major powers like the United States signed peace treaties with him and monitored his movements with high-tech surveillance.
He bore the title of the strongest creature on Earth.
And that was Yujiro Hanma's portrayal in the main story.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
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