Chapter 247: Ohma's Niko Style
With the emergence of Gaia, the entire tenth-floor lounge was plunged into a
distorted, suffocating atmosphere. There was no active gunfire, yet the scent of
gunpowder drifted through the air like invisible smoke, triggering a primal,
biological alarm in everyone present.
Kazuo Yamashita was drenched in cold sweat, huddling in a corner and trying his
best to hide behind Ren Shiroki. He didn't understand titles like "Deity of the
Earth" or "Super Soldier," but he knew that Gaia's aura was heavy enough to warp
the very air.
When Gaia barked the command to "Stand at Attention," Kazuo's legs nearly gave
out.
"Nomura? Gaia? They're the same person, but the names are different, and the
vibe is completely... what is happening?!" Kazuo stared at the soldier's
youthful face, unable to comprehend the shift.
Ren Shiroki looked back at Kazuo, offering a calm explanation. "The answer is
Dissociative Identity Disorder."
Kazuo: "..." Kazuo: "...Huh?"
The fifty-six-year-old salaryman blinked, looking lost. Ren continued his
impromptu lecture:
"October 27, 1977. Ohio, USA. A man was arrested—Billy Milligan, twenty-two
years old. His crimes were straightforward, but as the investigation deepened,
the police made a shocking discovery."
"Milligan was a 'Multiple Personality.' Within one body lived several souls,
each with their own age, personality, gender, and even different skill sets."
"Experts eventually identified twenty-four distinct personalities. The courts
ruled him not guilty by reason of insanity—the first case of its kind in US
history. It shocked the worlds of psychology, biology, and law. There's a famous
book about it called The Minds of Billy Milligan."
Ren looked at Gaia. "Nomura and Gaia are two separate souls inhabiting the same
vessel."
As Kazuo struggled to digest this psychological bombshell—Zip!
Ren suddenly snapped a kick out. His foot whistled past Kazuo's eyes, the wind
pressure ruffling the old man's sparse hair and causing his pupils to contract
in shock.
Ren wasn't aiming at Kazuo. His foot was hovering an inch from Sikorsky's face.
The Russian convict had been trying to use the confusion to slip down the
hallway toward a different window. He had been intercepted before he could even
take a third step.
Gulp—
Sikorsky swallowed hard, staring at the sole of Ren's boot. A bead of sweat
rolled down his blood-streaked face.
He had been pummeled by Ren, slashed by the Knife Expert, kicked by one of the
Twins, upended by Gaia's carpet-pull, and liver-shot by Ohma. If Ren added one
more "Bonus Kick" to the tally, Sikorsky was fairly certain he'd just stay on
the floor and take a permanent nap.
Forget it...
Sikorsky looked at Ren, then at the soldiers and the red-lining Ohma. He threw
his hands up in a gesture of total resignation.
"I give up! I'm staying right here!" he shouted, leaning his back against the
wall with a huff of annoyance. "I'm not running! I'll just wait for you freaks
to finish killing each other! Is that okay with you?!"
"Nice—"
Ren retracted his leg, satisfied. He turned his full attention back to the
brewing storm between Ohma and the Gaia Squad. He didn't want to miss a single
frame of this. Specifically, the way Ohma's strikes seemed to "pass through"
Gaia earlier had fascinated him.
"Nice. That's perfect!"
Ohma Tokita was currently fuming. Gaia's implication was insulting: that a
direct fight would end Ohma's "body and life" before he could even process the
defeat.
"You really enjoy looking down on people, don't you?" Ohma rasped.
He had been using the [Advance] for too long. His vision was beginning to blur,
and a rhythmic drumming echoed in his ears, but he didn't care.
"My body feels like lead... this is bad," Ohma whispered to himself, clenching
his fists. "But I feel like I'm on the verge of remembering something important.
This pain... it feels right."
Kuraishi looked at his Captain. "Gaia-san, if we keep going, the kid is going to
die."
"Is that so?" Gaia tilted his head, pointing to his own nose. "You boys better
be careful. I smell Killing Intent. Respond with caution."
Kuraishi froze.
Then Gaia barked: "ENGAGE!"
With professional discipline, the squad snapped into action. They coordinated
their positions, focusing entirely on the Ashura.
Zip!
The Knife Expert led the charge. His blade was a silver blur, carving the air in
a series of lethal arcs. Ohma sidestepped, the steel grazing his skin with
enough proximity to draw heat.
"Great vision!" the soldier barked with a shark-like grin. "But the warm-up is
over, Seaweed-kun! Toss in the towel before I start taking fingers!"
Zip-zip-zip!
The expert pressed the assault, opening a dozen shallow lacerations across
Ohma's torso. Under the high-pressure circulation of the [Advance], Ohma began
to leak blood at an accelerated rate.
"Tch—"
Ohma hopped back to reset, but a massive shadow loomed behind him. Kuraishi had
circled around, his massive arms wide for a rear-naked choke. Ohma dropped into
a crouch and threw a back-kick into Kuraishi's shin, but the giant didn't budge.
He tanked the hit and kept coming.
So sturdy!
Ohma leaped into the air, driving both heels into Kuraishi's face.
BANG!
The impact finally forced the giant's head back, breaking his grapple frames.
But as Ohma descended, the Twins were already there. One attacked from a low
slide while the other leaped for a high strike. Ohma was forced to defend both
simultaneously, his lead arm taking a heavy hit while he jerked his leg back to
evade the slide.
Zip!
Kuraishi lunged again. Like a professional rugby player, he put his entire
weight into a shoulder-check.
BOOM!
Ohma was launched into the wall. He hit the bricks with a heavy thud, coughing
up a mouthful of blood.
"GUUGH!"
Outside the Hotel.
Erio Kure was cheering at the monitor. "Yes! That's it! Break his ribs! Put him
in the dirt!"
Reiichi and Fusui shared a look. "Grandpa is being a bit petty, isn't he?"
Erio ignored them, his black eyes wide with glee. He hated Ohma for catching
Karura's eye. Seeing him get dismantled by the soldiers was the highlight of his
night.
However, Erio's expert eyes soon caught something. "The kid... his 'Expression'
is changing."
Despite the blood and the damage, Ohma's frantic, glazed look was vanishing. He
was tuning his focus.
Inside the Hotel.
Ohma lay on the carpet, his consciousness drifting. The extreme load on his
heart was creating a sense of suffocating weight. The [Advance] flickered and
deactivated.
I'm losing it...
Through the haze, he heard a voice. It was the phantom of Niko Tokita.
"So, you used the [Advance] again, huh?"
"But thanks to these soldiers, you're finally starting to remember, aren't you?
The memories you buried..."
"You forgot the day I died. You forgot so much. But you're getting a lead now.
It's all coming back."
Ohma grunted, blood leaking from his lip. He knew his master's ghost was right.
His fragmented past was stitching itself back together. But the reality
remained: in his current state, he couldn't beat four elite special-forces
operators. And he certainly couldn't hit the "Deity" Gaia.
"They are a formidable group," Niko's phantom mused. "Which is why... you have
to use 'Martial Arts'!"
"The very concept of 'Technique' was born so that the weak could overcome the
strong. That is why I gave you the Niko Style."
"Your reason for fighting wasn't revenge. It was because you 'refused to allow
anyone to be stronger than you,' right?"
"Then fight for yourself. Use your Niko Style. It won't be a sudden leap to the
peak, but it's the first step. Create the style that belongs to Ohma Tokita!"
Niko's hand gave Ohma a ghostly pat on the shoulder. "These guys are good
teachers. Thank them."
Ohma stood up. His consciousness was blurred, but his body felt incredibly
light. He looked at the four soldiers, then at Gaia, and finally at Ren Shiroki.
The essence of the Niko Style began to flow through him, replacing the raw,
suicidal power of the [Advance] with refined, technical efficiency.
Drip... drip...
Zip!
Ohma lunged at Kuraishi. As the giant moved to intercept, Ohma performed a fluid
pivot, using Kuraishi's own momentum to guide him aside.
[NIKO STYLE: REDIRECTION KATA - WILLOW]!
Kuraishi stumbled into the wall.
One of the Twins leaped at him, but Ohma's footwork became flickering and
ethereal, moving like a wildfire through a forest. He entered the Twin's blind
spot.
[NIKO STYLE: FLAME KATA - FLASHFIRE]!
BANG! BANG!
Two rapid kicks sent the Twins reeling. Simultaneously, the Knife Expert closed
in, his blade aiming for Ohma's throat.
Ohma raised his forearm to meet the blade.
SHINK!
The steel cut into his skin, but it stopped dead, caught in a layer of muscle as
hard as industrial diamonds. The soldier's movement jammed.
What the—?!
[NIKO STYLE: ADAMANTINE KATA - INDESTRUCTIBLE]!
Ohma yanked his arm back, tearing the blade free and leaving the expert wide
open.
"HYAH!"
Ohma delivered a concentrated straight punch that shattered the expert's nose,
launching him backward.
"Heh..."
Ohma was barely conscious now. Every bone in his body ached, but his "Flow" was
perfect. He moved toward Gaia, throwing one final, heavy punch.
THUD.
The fist landed on Gaia's stomach. It had zero power behind it—Ohma had spent
his last drop of energy.
"Hmph... told you... I could... hit you..."
Crash.
Ohma slumped forward. He didn't hit the floor; Gaia reached out and caught him,
supporting the youth's weight.
"In a state of near-death, you integrated your techniques into your biology. You
moved with unconscious 'Waza'. That's how you touched me."
Gaia smiled with genuine warmth. "To achieve that in a warzone... you've
officially graduated from being a 'Recruit', kid."
"—Well done. Good fight."
Ohma's eyes fluttered open. In his daze, he realized the soldiers were clapping.
Kuraishi, the Twins, and the Knife Expert were all nodding in respect. Ren
Shiroki was grinning at him.
"Ending it like this... I'm not... satisfied..." Ohma wheezed.
Ren Shiroki stepped forward and slapped a Soul Combat Hub business card onto
Ohma's back.
"It's not a tournament, kid! If you had fun, that's a win!" Ren laughed. "If you
want a rematch, you know where to find me. Anytime, anywhere!"
"By the way... do you still remember the Hub?"
(End of Chapter)
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