As the legendary karate master lay on the ground motionless, everyone was silent for a while before they shouted in excitement.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!"
While many were happy with their bets, some were depressed thinking that Kuroki would lose!
Many fighters were also confused and wondered whether this old master would lose so easily.
"Huh? Is he losing? Just like that?"
"What did you say, Bastard?! Old Man won't lose so easily!"
Rihito, who was Kuroki's first opponent, was angry when the others badmouthed Kuroki.
"No, your thinking is too simple."
"Kaneda?"
Among all of them, if someone was the smartest, it would be Kaneda Suekichi, who was the strongest in shogi, the sport where the brightest minds became the strongest. While others might not have noticed, he noticed it and knew that Kuroki had a similar ability to his.
Foresight.
This was the ability that he had attained by working tirelessly on the shogi board, to predict his opponent's movement, which was the reason why he could stand among all the other fighters.
Yet, while this ability was impressive, Kuroki had something similar. No, he had an even better version, which was known as the "Motionless."
Still, as if the two could predict the future, Kaneda understood the reason why Kuroki lay motionless on the ground instead of launching a counterattack was that he knew if Kuroki made a move, Shinra would catch him and slam him again.
In a single exchange, Shinra was able to break Kuroki's nose and impact Kuroki's head with a powerful impact.
Fortunately, Kuroki was durable, a defensive type of fighter who could resist a lot of damage. Even if his nose was quite bloody, it was nothing for him, but the problem was the slam attack that was given by Shinra.
Kuroki's exterior was highly tough as he had conditioned his body to perfection, but his inside, his brain, organs, everything inside his body except the bones, was the same. They were all fragile, soft, and easily damaged.
When Shinra smashed Kuroki's head to the ground with a throwing slam, it also affected Kuroki's brain.
One was fine, but what about twice, three, and more?
"Uchiha Shinra is a prodigy in Aikido. As long as Kuroki made his moves, all of his attacks would be redirected, and then he would be hit by Uchiha's counter, which would hurt as it combined the force of the redirected attack and also Uchiha's power." Kaneda felt conflicted, amazed, yet also distortedly jealous as Shinra's ability was something that he definitely couldn't achieve in his life. "So, Kuroki lay there, stayed motionless, since if he stopped moving, Shinra wouldn't be able to counter him."
Unexpectedly, the act of lying on the ground was also a perfect defensive posture, as Shinra would be unable to attack Kuroki's back.
If Shinra wanted to make a move, he could only attack from the front area, but as long as he made his move, he would be hit by the Devil Lance, which had been waiting to be unleashed by Kuroki.
Just once, as long as Kuroki's Devil Lance hit, everything would be over.
Yet, the problem was whether Kuroki's Devil Lance could hit his opponent.
If Shinra was as simple and stupid as Rihito, it would be simple.
"Oi!" Rihito was angry, but he couldn't refute it.
Unfortunately, Shinra wasn't that kind of opponent, and whether it was Kuroki or Shinra, the two of them were a similar type of martial artist, as they were highly defensive and counter-type.
Leading their opponents before they struck them down!
If a difference existed, it was their weapons to end their enemy.
If Kuroki had the dangerous Devil Lance that could even puncture steel, Shinra had his Aiki, which could redirect any attacks and the enemies' attacks to strike them down!
If it were a pure counter, without a doubt, Shinra was above Kuroki, as his style was versatile, and his reaction time was faster due to his kinetic vision ability being better than anyone's, but this only worked if his opponent made a move.
Before, he could succeed in making Kuroki move by provoking Kuroki, mocking him as a coward, but as Kuroki learned his lesson, would he make his move?
Impossible!
It was still impossible to determine the victor of this fight, and it was too early to say that Shinra would become the victor!
As Kaneda continued to talk, expressing his idea, everyone realized how deep Kuroki's action was, yet even so, they knew that Shinra would remain in silence, and he definitely would make his move.
As someone who could even say that Kuroki was a coward, Shinra definitely wouldn't stay low and would do something.
Nevertheless, for those familiar with it, Kuroki's position was akin to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu's (BJJ) lying back open guard stance, which allowed him to counter Shinra's attacks despite being on the ground with his back exposed.
As long as Shinra made his attack, Kuroki would deliver his Devil Lance, yet would it be so easy?
Kuroki had learned his lesson, and he wouldn't make the first move, but would Shinra make his move?
Whether it was Shinra or Kuroki, once again, the two of them were counter-type fighters, and instead of making the first move, they let their enemies make their move, and after they learned everything about their opponents and saw an opening, they would finish their opponent in a swift attack.
The one that made the first move would lose and would be at a disadvantage, they thought, and without a doubt, their battle was several levels higher than everyone else, which made all of the fighters unable to keep their eyes away, hoping to learn everything, and gain a chance to defeat those super human!
However, even though it was clear that the one who made the first move would be at a disadvantage, unexpectedly, Shinra made a move, raised his leg, and lowered his heel against Kuroki's face like an ax that was about to chop timber down in half!
Watching this opening, Kuroki's eyes turned fierce and wouldn't let this chance to escape!
Facing Shirna's kick, Kuroki delivered his Devil Lance, stabbing his fingers in the form of a spear, which would pierce anything apart!
Only, as expected, Shinra's kick was nothing but a feint, as his kick seemed to twist and move into a different direction, firming his position on the ground, dodging Kuroki's Devil's Lance.
Kuroki's eyes widened, surprised by the method of Shinra's twisting foot as if reminding him of a technique of his dearest friend, who had passed away. Yet, he had no way to ask or focus on something else, and as his mind was distracted for a moment, his arm was caught by Shinra, and—
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Crack!
All the joints on Kuroki's arm were dislocated, and his ulna and radius bones were broken by Shinra.
Still, this wasn't the end, as Shinra started his submission technique on Kuroki, but he got away, trying to escape with one limping hand, but Shinra continued to chase and started to unleash boxer jabs one after another, which made Kuroki unable to run away, and pushed toward the edge of the arena.
"Boxing, too?!"
Yet, for everyone who saw Shinra's relentless techniques, they could only stare in a daze.
Aikido, Judo, BJJ, Chinese martial arts, Boxing, and everything else were combined and used together, seamlessly connected, like mortise-and-tenon joints.
Shinra continued to use one technique after another, pushing Kuroki further until Kuroki could no longer run, as his back was against the wall.
At that moment, Shinra also released his new technique, which came from the Koei Style that he gained from Kiryu!
His shoulders twisted and rotated, then he launched merciless punches that hammered down Kuroki like a machine gun!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kuroki felt his entire body being broken, and even if Shinra's punch might appear reckless, it also contained a Fa Jin, which was hurt as it attacked his inside!
Yet, Kuroki was resolute, the flame in his eyes never died, burned like a blazing volcano before he saw a chance, and swept his feet against Shinra!
Shinra dodged by jumping, and Kuroki mercilessly delivered the Devil Lance with his other arm!
'Now, it's over!'
Kuroki saw victory before his eyes, but Shinra dodged again!
Yet, instead of trying to give Kuroki an armbar, Shinra smashed his knee into Kuroki's cheek!
Crack!
"Shining Wizard?!"
Sekibayashi Jun, the only pro-wrestler among the fighters, widened his eyes as he saw Shinra's technique!
One of the most popular pro-wrestling techniques involves stepping on one's target and then smashing their knee against the target's face.
The Shining Wizard!
Shinra used it so skillfully in a real battle before he snapped Kuroki's arm, yet—
"AARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!"
Like a lion that showed its last struggle before its defeat, Kuroki was like a furious beast, ready to tear Shinra's neck apart with his teeth!
Kuroki opened his mouth, like a beast, ready to snap Shinra's neck, but Shinra was so slippery that he dodged and moved behind Kuroki, grabbed him from behind, lifted him, and fell backwards while bridging his back and legs, slamming Kuroki to the ground!
"German Suplex?!"
This time, everyone was familiar with this pro-wrestler technique, as they never thought Shinra would use it on Kuroki.
Kuroki's head was dizzy, completely bloody, but he still had his last power until his neck was choked!
Shinra wrapped his hands under Kuroki's armpit and his legs around Kuroki's legs, before finishing Kuroki with a rear-naked chokehold, the simplest yet deadly submission technique.
Still, Kuroki tried to fight and escape despite being locked in the technique, even if he lost his two arms.
However, Shinra never underestimated Kuroki, and in the end, he mimicked a certain animal's deathly technique, Crocodile's Death Roll!
Their bodies kept rolling, twisting, and spinning around the arena as Shinra patiently tried to take down his large prey.
Everyone held their breath, no one closed their eyes, as they waited for the moment of the last exchange!
Finally, Shinra stopped, then let go of Kuroki, who passed out as Kuroki's eyes were still widened, staring at the bright ceiling with a limp body.
The CEO of the Moto Heads, Takakaze Kirimi, closed his eyes as he covered his face with his cowboy hat.
Meanwhile, Mikoto, Shion, Tomoko, and everyone else stood up along with the announcement of the referee.
"T-THE WINNER IS UCHIHA SHINRA!!!!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!"