57 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Gunfire ripped through the dark the night, creating sparks as bullets struck the buildings.

Kiri narrowed his eyes and charged towards the shooter.

The shooter quickly reached to his side, grabbing a new clip of ammo. But before he could, Kiri reached him.

"ORA!"

A sign advertising a store nearby. Grabbing that, Kiri swung it at the man.

The sign shattered, and the man went falling to the ground, his gun clattering into the snow.

Someone shouted. "G-Get him already!"

At the same time, a dozen men charged at Kiri. Four wielding knives, two with bats, and the rest unarmed.

An encirclement.

Kiri glanced around his surroundings and frowned.

They were surprisingly persistent. It seemed that the kids these days had some spirit... No.

As Kiri gazed at the approaching men, illuminated by the moonlight, he noticed it.

A hint of desperation in their eyes and not just bravado. That was what he saw as the men edged forward.

"Tch."

It left a bad taste in his mouth. He thought it might be the case, but that person didn't seem to have been taken out yet.

Kiri cracked his knuckles as he waited for the Seiryuu to reach him.

At the same time, he felt a force descend on the area as well as a presence that seemed to be directing him.

"Hmph. So it's like that, Boss?" A faint smile crossed his face before vanishing.

He had been worried about accidently killing them, but it seemed like Boss was considerate enough to handle that for him.

It was different from how Kiri remembered it in his memories. But the man whose skills were enhancing his own, that Dragon of Dojima, seemed used to the situation.

Kiri cracked his neck and then nodded. Seeing the men still hesitating, he raised his fists and said, "Come at me!"

"It's just one guy! Hurry up!"

Somebody shouted in response, and then the men encircling Kiri charged.

A man stepped forward, swinging a bat at Kiri's head.

He didn't bother dodging.

A loud *thwack*. The sound of the bat colliding with Kiri's skull. But...

"H-Huh? H-How-?!"

At the man was confused, Kiri grabbed the man's shirt and then spun him around as an impromptu weapon.

"W-Whoa!?"

Half of the men were bowled over by the swing, and then Kiri let the man fly into the rest of the crowd, knocking more down.

"H-Haaaa!" A braver Seiryuu member charged forward with a knife, slashing it at Kiri's back.

A burst of red mist flew into the air. But that was all.

"E-Eh?" The Seiryuu member froze, staring in shock.

Kiri spun around with a roundhouse kick and sent the man flying through the air, crashing against a wall.

"M-Monster!"

Kiri lowered his leg and glanced around.

The streets were still dark, and the buildings were blacked out. A few lights could be seen through the windows, people using their phones as illumination, but the area was still under a power outage.

But it wasn't complete darkness. The moon shone, lighting up the streets and reflecting off the snow.

And speaking of snow, it seemed to be starting up again. Faint snowflakes drifted down from above, accompanied by a chilly breeze.

Kiri glanced at the remaining Seiryuu members.

He had taken care of most of them between the time Boss brought that young woman back and wrapped the area in his powers. Now, after the recent skirmish, only ten or so remained standing, the rest lying on the ground and moaning in pain.

This should be enough.

Seeing the other members slowly backing off in fear, Kiri lowered his fists.

It seemed like Boss was satisfied too, since Kiri felt the power wrapping the area fade away.

Kiri swept his gaze around the area and then nodded, turning to walk back towards Kamurocho to meet up with Maji and Saji.

But then-

"Hm?"

-A faint breeze as well as another presence that appeared out of nowhere. One that Kiri couldn't detect.

A fist aimed towards the back of his head, carrying overwhelming pressure. And one that Kiri picked up on too late to dodge.

But not one that Boss failed to see.

Kiri felt his body move on its own, instantly turning. At the same time, he pivoted on his left foot and lashed out with a roundhouse kick towards the attacker's ribs.

An impact. One that would have sent normal men flying.

But not the attacker.

Kiri quickly backed off, shaking his leg that felt like he just kicked a steel wall. At the same time, he narrowed his eyes.

"Hm." A low and chillingly calm voice. "I thought I felt a disturbance. To think that the dead really came back to life."

Cracking sounds. The attacker wrapping his hands into fists, cracking his finger joints.

Kiri raised his fists in response, but sweat formed on his brow as he stared at the new opponent.

A towering man with bulging muscles. However, they were muscles that carried no excess, in perfect harmony rather than simply there for looks or brute force.

His shoulder-length black hair was frazzled and ragged, like that of a wild man. However, his attractive face that seemed ageless and his steely gray eyes contrasted with it, making him look more like a shogun or warlord from the Warring States period. Paired with the fact that he wore an expensive suit, he radiated cold charisma.

"P-Patriarch Shin!" One of the men who had backed off earlier quickly knelt to the ground. "W-We apologize! Take our lives as compensation!"

The man, Shin, glanced over at the speaker with his steely eyes. "I will allow it this time." He shifted his gaze to Kiri and said, "I cannot expect ordinary men to handle vengeful spirits. Though I wonder." He walked forward, the snow on the ground scattering as he did, almost like it was running away. "I clearly recall tearing off your head, as well as with the other two 'ghosts' roaming around tonight."

'What?'

A voice in Kiri's head. The Boss's.

'Wait. So this guy managed to take out this world's three yakuza legends?'

Kiri didn't respond. But he didn't need to, since he knew that the Boss was listening.

Shin Seiryuu. The madman who was a demon in human form. The person who singlehandedly united the forces in Eastern Japan under an iron-grip and did whatever he wanted. A man who killed his own wife out of the blue, indulged in whatever he wished, and crushed those who stood against him.

A man who even he, Maji, and Saji failed to take out when they attacked together with the other major officers.

Kiri heard a groan in his head.

'Is this my fault? No, he was here before. Then is this world that crazy? First a guy who reached the peak in cooking, now a guy who reached the peak in martial prowess... Goddammit.'

A faint smirk crossed Kiri's face at hearing his Boss's complaints.

"Hoh?" Shin stopped walking and said, "To smirk at me despite dying by my hands once before. Could death have made you stronger?"

Kiri didn't respond.

He didn't have the time to.

In an instant, Shin vanished, reappearing in front of Kiri, his massive fist surging towards Kiri's head.

'I'll handle this. Let me probe him a bit.'

Hearing that, Kiri nodded and relinquished control. The moment he did-

"Hm?!"

-His body suddenly crouched, falling like a tiger, and then he struck Shin's gut with a punch that cracked the air.

It was an attack that should have at least staggered him. But-

'The hell? He dodged the tiger drop?'

Right. Although Kiri's counter was fast, Shin's evasion was faster.

Kiri's fist connected, but instead of a solid impact, it was like he struck water- No, like he struck a cloud of mist.

"So you have become stronger. No, I suppose this should be expected." Shin nodded and a faint smile crossed his cold face. "Excellent. This must mean that my tribulation is approaching. Attempting to kill my daughter truly did have an effect upon my karma."

'What? Hm... Now that I look at him, he does have a decent amount of negative karma and resentment cloaking him... but this world doesn't have divine tribulation. He can't become an immortal here through martial arts.'

Kiri didn't understand what his Boss was saying. But he did understand that Shin appeared to be as insane as ever.

'Right. That guy's seriously delusional. But I guess his strength is the real deal... Dammit- Oh crap!'

Shin vanished again and reappeared in front of Kiri. No, it wasn't that he vanished, but that he slid forward in such a smooth motion that it looked like he teleported.

Once more, Kiri felt himself crouch down to jab at Shin's gut.

But Shin was ready for it and raised his knee up to hit Kiri's face.

A move that Kiri himself wouldn't have been able to react to.

But his Boss could.

Before Kiri's fist connected, he twisted his torso and pulled it back in a claw instead of a strike, attacking Shin's inner thigh and parrying the blow.

Or that was what he tried to do.

Like how Kiri dodged his attack, Shin twisted his torso as well, turning his knee into a kick.

'What the heck is this guy's combat awareness?!'

Kiri heard Boss complaining. But even so, he still felt Boss directing his body.

Parry, block, twist. Jab, hook, roundhouse.

The two men went back and forth, neither gaining an edge.

And then Shin slid back.

Kiri straightened. Since Boss was managing the combat, Kiri took a look at the surroundings.

The Seiryuu men he knocked down had all gotten up again. However, instead of being impressed by the fight, all of them looked horrified, like staring at monsters.

Kiri didn't blame them. Shifting his gaze back to Shin, Kiri frowned.

Shin frowned as well. "That is not your fighting style. And you are not reacting to my attacks, but acting a step ahead..." A faint smirk. "Interesting. How far can you go?" Saying that, he reached to his suit and grabbed his shoulder. Then, in a smooth motion, he ripped off his suit, tossing it to the ground.

A bare torso riddled in scars. Not only that, but more than a few of those scars were from wounds that should have been fatal.

One over his heart with an exit wound on the other side. Slashes on his neck, pierce wounds to his lungs and various vital organs.

And on his back, an azure flood dragon, like the legendary Shenlong with five claws reaching towards the sky.

Snow continued to fall. But where it fell in Shin's vicinity, it instantly dissolved. The air also seemed to ripple. Not from an unseen force, but from pure heat.

'...Alright. I've seen enough. We're leaving.'

Kiri agreed.

Even as empowered as he was by Boss, his body was still mostly that of a normal human's.

Shin... especially in that state didn't seem to be human anymore.

'No. He still is. The guy's just done the incredible feat of being able to consciously control his endorphins, optimize his nervous system to reduce reaction lag to the physical limit, and hone his senses to the point it might as well be precognition from how well they perceive the world.'

Shin charged forward, a manic grin on his face. The air snapped, breaking apart as he moved beyond the sound barrier by flinging his body forward in a completely elastic motion. Then, a fist at mach speed shot towards Kiri's face, enough force to splatter it to the building behind him.

But before the attack connected...

'Well, since he thinks you guys are ghosts after all... Return.'

A word rippling with power.

With it, Kiri dissolved, turning into dark mist.

Elsewhere, Maji and Saji vanished as well.

-----AI|IA-----

Shin lowered his fist, staring at the spot where the former Dragon of Kamurocho vanished.

"Was it truly a vengeful spirit?" He muttered.

Shin was a man of science. While he studied the martial arts and ancient manuscripts, his current achievements were stacked upon meticulous experimentation and implementation.

While he had spoken those words to the man who seemed like Kiri Kazuya, he was expecting the man to just be a body double. One who took on the appearance and name to stir up trouble.

But...

"He was real."

That was what Shin realized.

His trained senses told him that he had just been fighting a powerful opponent. Not only that, but there had been an even more intimidating presence hovering beyond that person. An unfathomable being that Shin couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"P-Patriarch?"

Shin glanced over to the speaker.

It was one of the worthless recruits that clung to the Seiryuu Alliance for a sense of meaning. A young man who thought it would give him purpose and power.

"W-W-What was that? A-A-And what should we do?"

Shin turned around and swept his gaze across the men.

All of them were wounded. None with mortal wounds, but enough to be debilitating.

A flicker of irritation.

If they were not in public, he would have torn their heads off for the failure.

But the mistake couldn't be blamed on them this time.

After all, who could expect that such a ridiculous thing like the dead coming back to life and karmic retribution truly could happen?

"Hmph." Shin walked over and picked up his discarded shirt and suit.

Both were shredded, but he tossed them on around his shoulders anyway, like a cape.

That done, he looked at the young man who had the courage to speak up and said, "Prepare a car."

"A... car?"

Shin nodded and then turned his gaze to Mt. Fuji in the distance.

"I had spoken in jest, but it appears that I truly am facing a tribulation."

It was an idle experiment that he began on a whim: accumulate enough negative karma through slaughter, sin, and forcing tragedies.

His latest action towards that experiment had been to kill his daughter and betray the promise to his wife that she made with her dying breath.

Of course, considering that he had been unpunished for every other evil act he performed, he thought nothing would come of it.

But it seemed that the world truly had enough of his actions.

"P-Patriarch?"

Shin stared at the young man, idly pondering if it would be worth doing more evil deeds.

The young man froze, instinctively realizing Shin's thoughts.

But Shin decided against it.

Something told him that it would pass the 'limit' of what was allowed.

Instead, he nodded and said, "I am waiting."

"Y-Yes Patriarch!"

As if an unspoken cue, the young man and the others scattered, hurrying to obey their patriarch's orders.

And then he was alone.

Shin stood there, staring at the hazy mountain in the distance with a thoughtful expression on his face.

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