Legend Of The Strongest Delinquent 21

Hey everyone, and welcome to this chapter. This chapter won't be what most of you were expecting, but I'm hoping you'll still like the direction I've decided to go in.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi is owned by Funimation and Syun Matsuena. Please support the official release.

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"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

SEIKUKEN Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

[Shirou] Words said in unison.

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Training In The Mountains

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—…

It was sunset, and everyone had returned to Ryozanpaku. Shirou had just had his battle with Hermit on top of a moving bus just an hour ago, and right now, Miu was using a first-aid kit to help patch up the wounds he got from fighting Hermit, along with the reopened wounds he got from Kisara who he fought on the same day.

While he was being looked over, Kenichi and Haruto sat beside them, Akisame and Hideki were playing Shogi, Akisame and Shigure had coloring books, Kensei was reading a girly magazine, and Sakaki was drinking a can of alcohol. As the adults were all sitting around, the youths talked about the events of the day.

"But still, I can't believe that Tanimoto was really Hermit from Ragnarok." Miu stated as she finished and put away the first-aid kit. "Not only that, but he arranged for the Drama Club to be attacked and then half-killed those Delinquents himself before framing Shirou. I can't believe he would do all that."

"Yeah, I was really surprised too…" Kenichi added as he passed out cups of tea.

"Really, 'cause what I'm surprised about is the fact that Niijima was right about him being a fake." Haruto chimed in.

"Not me; you had to admit he was taking that Mr. Perfect persona a little too far." Shirou shrugged. "When something's that unnaturally good, it just comes across as fake."

"Well, what surprised me was the way he fought." Kensei joined the conversation. "His style of fighting on top of a moving bus was something to see."

"Hahaha!" Akisame let out a hearty laugh. "Nowadays, such a high-spirited young man is a rare sight, is it not?"

"Maybe here in Japan." Hideki retorted. "But they aren't that rare if you know where to look."

"I'm just glad it's over, and I'll have to worry about doing something crazy like fighting on top of a moving bus." Kenichi said while gazing downward.

"Really, you jumped off a cliff into shark-infested waters, but fighting on top of a bus is where you draw the line?" Shirou retorted. "Be realistic; what evidence have you seen that makes you think our lives will get any safer going forward?"

"He has a point." Haruto agreed before a thought popped into his head. "Oh, you know what would be cool? If someday you fought on top of a train, like in the movies."

"True, I wouldn't mind crossing that off my bucket list." Shirou pictured it.

"I fought on top of a train once." Hideki admitted, reminiscent. "Man, I was crazy back then."

"I wouldn't say crazy, to be honest. I've done that once myself." Akisame admitted.

"What a coincidence, so have I." Kensei joined in.

"What is with you people?!" Kenichi cried out before he started to panic. "I'm getting scared of the life and death battles it sounds like I'll be getting involved in someday!"

"Oh, Kenichi's scared, who hasn't heard that before." Shirou rolled his eyes.

"But you have to admit, it was a good experience." Akisame pointed out.

"How'd you figure that?!" Kenichi snapped before he calmed down. "That fight was the first of its kind. He was really trying to kill you."

"Yeah, I noticed." Shirou thought back to the killing intent he felt from Hermit. "I've fought plenty of guys who threatened to kill me, but he was the first who was actually willing to go through with it. That's what made him so tough."

"Not only that, the way he ambushed you like that." Kenichi complained and crossed his arms. "Doesn't he understand the concept of a fair fight?"

"Hmm?" Shirou raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"You know, he attacked you while you were still injured from your fight with Kisara." Kenichi explained. "Starting a fight when you were in no condition to fight wasn't fair."

"Fair?" Shirou repeated incredulously. "Were you not matching the same fight as everybody else? He came there to kill me. He pushed me off of a bridge over a highway and tried to knock me off of a bus. Honestly, if he hadn't attacked me while I was injured, I'd have wondered if he was serious."

"Wait, you mean you don't mind that he did that?" Kenichi asked, surprised.

Shirou sighed. "Okay, for clarity, what do you see as unfair in a fight?"

"Well, say we were in a fight where we both only used punches; if I started losing and then decided to use kicks as well, that would be unfair." Kenichi gave an example.

"That wouldn't bother me at all." Shirou responded without having to think about it. "If you think you need kicks to beat me, then go ahead and use them."

"What?" Kenichi clearly didn't expect that response.

"Personally, I think you're the one who doesn't get it. We're not talking about sanctioned fights or tournament matches here. These are battles against enemies who actively want to kill me—You can't expect them to follow your definition of a fair fight when a fair fight was never promised in the first place. The only rule is when you have to fight, you fight. If you're complaining about a lack of fairness during a street fight, then you don't know how street fighting works."

"But, what about you?" Kenichi pointed out an inconsistency in his logic. "When you fought Takeda, you only used one arm because you knew he could only use one more. And when you confronted Kisara that first time, you chose not to fight her because you knew she was wounded from fighting Tsuji. How can you not believe in fairness when you only wanted to fight them when the conditions were fair?"

The others, especially the Masters, were listening to the conversation as well. All of them were interested to see how he would answer this one.

"That was different." Shirou answered right away. "I only did those things because I wanted to enjoy my fights to the fullest. Because they were put at a disadvantage, I disadvantaged myself; if I hadn't, those battles would have been over in an instant, and I didn't want that at all. But just because I want to fight someone at their best doesn't mean I expect them to show me the same courtesy. I'm the leader of an enemy gang, and they want to beat me more than fight, and they don't care about enjoying the fight. I've known that from the beginning. That's why I don't fault them for these tactics. I won't judge them just because it's not something I would do. We're different people." Shirou finished with a serious expression.

All of them had different reactions to his answer. Among them, Akisame had a small smile on his face after hearing him, as though Shirou had grasped something important in the eyes of a Martial.

"But, that's…" Kenichi didn't seem to know what to say.

It was at that moment the sliding door to the dojo opened, and someone walked in to join the others. As everyone turned to see who had arrived, he let out a bellowing yell.

"A PERSON WHO SEEKS THE LIFE OF A MARTIAL ARTIST MAKE HIM…!" Hayato screamed with his eyes bursting with aura as he entered the room. "AN ADULT!"

Everyone who didn't live here was startled by his loud and abrupt entrance, while those who did live here barely reacted as they were used to this behavior from the Elder. Kenichi, on the other hand, was so startled that he shrieked and cowered behind Sakaki's back.

"Old man?" Shirou took in his appearance. "When did you get back?"

"Haha! Just now." Hayato answered cheerfully. "I was out on a little trip. I seem to be going on a lot of those lately."

"Was it really necessary to shout at the top of your lungs as you walked through the door?" Haruto complained.

"Sorry, force of habit." Hayato didn't look apologetic at all.

"He really startled me." Kenichi breathed out.

"Would you get off of me?" Sakaki frowned at Kenichi, who was clinging to his back.

"Grandfather." Miu got up and welcomed him. "Welcome back."

"Glad you're back, Elder." Akisame greeted him as well.

"Did you bring back any souvenirs?" Apachai asked.

"Why did you come back from your trip just now?" Kensei asked curiously.

"Hm." Hayato didn't answer them as he sat down and made himself comfortable as Miu helped him.

"So, how was the south?" Miu asked him.

"Hahahaha!" Hayato laughed as he loosened the upper part of his kimono. "It was extremely difficult."

"Difficult?" Kenichi thought, noticing how nonchalant he was being. "I wonder what he was doing?"

After he had settled in and everyone went back to what they were doing, Miu decided to inform Hayato of everything he had missed while he was away on his trip. She mainly informed him of all the things involving Hermit and ended on Shirou's third and latest confrontation with him on top of the bus.

"Hahahaha!" Hayato laughed once again after hearing everything while Miu handed him a teacup. "Right, right! So, basically, young Shirou has gotten himself a rival."

"That's the gist of it." Hideki chimed in.

"Rivals are good!" Hayato proclaimed while drinking his tea. "Yes… Rivals enhance you! Rivals are the thorns that break you out of your shell! Rivals are suitable for a Martial Artist!"

"The tension is high just from him talking…" Kenichi whispered to Miu.

"He's always like that right after returning from a trip…" Miu whispered back.

"Well, I get what you're saying, but he's my rival, then Hermit isn't my first rival, nor is he my only one." Shirou informed him. "Takeda's also my rival, and so are Kisara and Tsuji. They all pushed me and helped me reach greater heights, and I plan on fighting them all again at some point."

Kenichi looked taken aback by that statement. "Is he serious?! I'd never want to those guys more than once, or at all, honestly."

"Hahaha! That's good. Having as many rivals as you can is a great thing for a Martial Artist!" Hayato let out another hearty laugh.

"Master Sakaki, do you have any rivals aiming for your life?" Kenichi asked nervously.

Sakaki paused for a moment before he started counting with his fingers as if he had trouble remembering all of his rivals. "23, 24, 25… No, wait, that guy died."

Kenichi paled in horror at what he was hearing, which only got worse as the other Masters started to join in.

"I count about 50." Kensei admitted.

Apachai was counting with his fingers until he ran out of fingers but still kept counting. "Shigure, lend Apachai fingers." He requested as Shigure was using her fingers to count all of her rivals.

"Well, I suppose there are a few." Akisame sighed as he also confessed. "I have tried to do well for myself without causing resentment…"

"Well, I haven't. It doesn't bother me if I'm hated. That's why I have around 100." Hideki joined in casually.

"I'm starting to feel envious, considering I don't have any rivals." Haruto admitted.

"Don't worry, if you're anything like the rest of us, your time will come." Kensei assured him.

"I hate this kind of world!" Kenichi inwardly cried out. "I hate it!"

At that point, Akisame spoke out. "But, if your life is threatened, the training must be done more strictly… Because defeating an opponent who seeks to kill you without killing them is difficult…" He reasoned as he looked at Kenichi. "Speaking of that, Kenichi. I believe your summer vacation starts soon."

Kenichi shrieked when Akisame looked at him.

Akisame had a terrifying smile on his face as he continued. "First of all… Shall I take you to a nice place?"

"Why are you looking at me?!" Kenichi cried out in terror. "Shirou's the one with the rivals!"

"That's true, and make no mistake, he'll be coming as well." Akisame assured him while still smiling. "But lately, you haven't been doing anything but stay on the sidelines, so this training will be used to compensate for the fights you haven't had."

"A training camp?" Shirou sounded interested. "Well, 'could be useful, and I didn't really have plans anyway."

"Don't go along with it!" Kenichi snapped, terrified of training with Akisame in what he considers "more strictly" training. "Summer vacation was canceled this year!" He attempted a feeble excuse. "Right, Miu?!"

Miu just shook her head and advised him. "Just accept it because they're just going to take you, even if they have to use force."

With that, the matter was settled—They were going on a training camp.

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On the following day, Akisame took Shirou and Kenichi with him to the vast woodlin area of the mountains far away from civilization. They weren't alone, though; Apachai, Miu, Hideki, and Haruto accompanied them as they traversed through the wilderness.

The location they traveled through was one filled with lush green forests with tall, sturdy trees that covered a vast amount of land, high mountains in the distance that reached for the clouds, and tall waterfalls that could be heard streaming through across clear, watery, streaming rivers and plunge pools.

As they made their way through, Kenichi sweated a lot as he started a conversation. "Well, well, first it was the seaside, now it's deep in the mountains. You all at Ryozanpaku sure love secluded locations, don't you?"

"You have too many complaints, Kenichi." Akisame scolded him. "If you want to arrive sometime today, be quiet and climb."

"BUT WHY A CLIFF!" Kenichi shouted in frustration and dismay.

His words were true. To get to their undisclosed location, they were all climbing up the face of a stony cliff. Kenichi was struggling the most while the Masters were climbing the cliff with so much ease that they were practically walking. Miu and the Tsukiharu brothers weren't having that much difficulty either. All of them wore backpacks that carried the bare necessities they felt they needed for this trip, except Akisame, who only carried a carry-on stick with a sheet wrapped around the end that had a few items inside, and Kenichi, who carried an extra-large rucksack that was a large as his body.

After they arrived at the top of the cliff, everyone stretched their legs and relaxed while Kenichi was gasping for air, being the most exhausted by that climb. "We…huff…Finally made it…"

"Can you keep going, Kenichi?" Miu asked as she stood beside him.

"I think so; I'll just need a second." Kenichi reassured her as he laid his large backpack on the ground. "I can't believe none of you are tired after all that climbing."

"Moron, it's that oversized bag weighing you down that wore you out so much." Shirou informed him as he approached him. "What's in there anyways?"

"Books." Kenichi answered as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

.

.

.

No one could say anything to what Kenichi had just told them as they all had blank expressions. Instead of speaking, Shirou approached Kenichi's backpack—

POW!

—And kicked the backpack so hard that it was lifted in the air before being knocked over the edge of the cliff.

"Gaaaaahhhh!" Kenichi wailed in horror as he saw his backpack filled with all of his books plummet down the cliff as everyone else just walked away, acting as though this whole conversation never happened. "Whyyyyyyyyyy?!"

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As the group of Masters and Disciples continued traveling through the woods, the sun started to set, and they seemed no closer to their destination than they had been since the day began.

They all kept walking while Kenichi was dragging his feet across the ground in fatigue. "W…When in the world are we going to arrive? Wherever it is, we're going?"

"Real soon now." Akisame promised. "Real soon."

"Not to be "that" guy, but you've been saying that since this morning." Haruto pointed out. "Be honest, are we lost?"

In that moment, Akisame stopped, placed a hand under his chin, and looked away with a stony expression. "…Couldn't be."

"Huh? I don't believe you?!" Kenichi started to freak out.

"Real talk, you better say we're just taking a really long route because if you're telling me we came all this way just for you to get us lost, then someone is paying for it." Shirou told him, not amused.

"Akisame, the kids are starting to feel on edge; maybe you should explain where exactly it is you're leading us." Hideki calmly suggested.

"I want you all to meet someone." Akisame answered, referring mostly to Kenichi and Shirou.

"Who?" Kenichi demanded more information. "Does someone actually live on these mountains?"

"This person carries on the nearly lost art of old-school Judo." Akisame continued his answer.

"Lost art?" Shirou sounded intrigued.

"Old-school Judo?" Kenichi sounded curious.

Akisame then explained in detail. "When it originally developed in ancient Japan, it was an unarmed grappling style. However, for hand-to-hand combat, there are many techniques that use small weapons, like short Swords. It was developed during the warring state Era but disappeared along with that time."

"Is that you're style, Master Koetsuji?" Kenichi asked.

Akisame shook his head. "No. My style has taken every kind of Judo and Jiu-Jitsu and boiled them down into one. You would have to call it Koetsuji style."

"I get it now. You're talking about the Yamamoto style, aren't you?" Hideki guessed.

"I am." Now Akisame seemed intrigued. "I didn't think you'd be familiar with this style."

"I've heard about it through stories, but I haven't met any practitioners yet." Hideki confessed.

"Well, you will now." Akisame assured him.

"Yamamoto?" Shirou repeated as he heard their conversation. "So, is that the name of the guy you want us to meet?"

Before he could answer, something happened that caught Akisame's attention. Suddenly, a small projectile shot out from the top of a nearby tree. It flew toward Akisame at an alarming speed, but the Jit-Jitsu Master caught it with his two front fingers and minimal effort. However, the rest of them were surprised when they became aware of what was happening.

"A throwing knife?!" Miu identified the object in Akisame's hand.

"Above us!" Shirou looked in the direction the knife had come from.

This time, the thing that came out from the tree top was a man—A man who appeared to be around Akisame's age leaped into the air before he came down and aimed a flying kick at Akisame's head. Akisame held his ground and waited for the kick to arrive before he caught it with an open palm and then redirected the attack to the side.

Akisame shifted the assailant's body down so that his kick collided with the ground and created a cloud of dirt. Apachai decided to strike back against their attacker and moved in to unleash a barrage of punches at him. Surprisingly, the man was fast enough to evade Apachai and somersaulted away before he took out another throwing knife and threw it at Hideki's head.

Hideki simply tilted his neck to the side and allowed the knife to harmlessly sail by. With his back turned, Akisame saw that his attacker was vulnerable and closed in as he brought down a chop upon his head. The attacker reacted in time to turn his body to face Akisame and raise his own hand to counterattack.

However, contrary to what they were all expecting, Akisame and the assailant merely clasped their hands together as though they were shaking hands. After that, they both stood up straight and gave each other a friendly expression. Now that they had a good look at him, he was a Japanese man who was as tall as Akisame, with wavy black hair that reached down to his shoulders, steely black eyes, and a scar that lined vertically over his left eye. He wore the top half of a traditional Japanese gi that was white and trimmed with black, along with a black belt. He also wore metal gauntlets over his wrists and a metal plate over his right shoulder. He wore baggy black pants and sandal shoes that went up to his ankles with shoes beneath them. He also wore a tight bandage wrapped around his forehead.

"Welcome." The man greeted Akisame.

"Long time no see." Akisame greeted him back.

"Wha?!" Kenichi face-faulted, completely taken aback as the rest of them looked at Akisame with confusion and surprise.

Shirou merely facepalmed. "Are you kidding me?"

"Everyone, this is an old friend of mine." Akisame gestured to the man he was shaking hands with. "He's the person I brought us here to meet."

"Don't confuse us like that!" Kenichi snapped at him, infuriated. "I thought he was some rival seeking your life!"

"Eh? We always greet each other like that." Akisame explained, not thinking it was a problem.

"Oh, is that kid the Kenichi I've been hearing about?" He asked before gazing at the others. "And the one with the white hair must be Shirou, then—You're the ones who are Ryozanpaku's Disciples." He offered his hand to Kenichi. "My son is eagerly awaiting your arrival."

"Huh? Your son?" Kenichi wasn't sure what he meant but shook his hand nonetheless. As he grasped his hand, Kenichi felt a crushing power from his grip that almost overwhelmed him. "Ouch! Such strength!"

"This is the man who preserves the knowledge of the Yamamoto school of Judo—Taiki Yamamoto." Akisame introduced him. "Truly, in my opinion, his only son—Naoki Yamamoto, is closely matched in power to Kenichi."

"Yes, I saw that too." Taiki agreed as he turned around.

"Just from a handshake?" Kenichi thought in confusion.

"Well, our house is just over there. Let's go before the sun fully sets." Taiki began to lead them.

"Sorry for the inconvenience." Akisame apologized as they followed him.

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Before long, after traveling further into the woods, they arrived at a clearing where a house was in the middle of it. It was a one-floor, old-Japanese-style house made from wood that looked pretty roomy for two people but not as much for the whole group. The house didn't look like it was in good shape from the outside; it wasn't run down, but it definitely looked pretty shabby.

"Naoki, I'm back!" Taiki called out as they approached the house.

While they were walking, Miu decided to ask a question that was on her mind. "But why match Kenichi against this man's son? If it's a sparring partner he needs, can't we already do that?"

"Kenichi needs to face someone who is his equal. Currently, Shirou far surpasses him, so that won't work." Akisame pointed out as Kenichi felt his self-esteem take a blow. "And while you and Kenichi are about the same in terms of power, the main issue is that you're a girl. For some reason, Kenichi cannot bring himself to fight you seriously. Moreover, he has many wicked thoughts."

Kenichi thought about his explanation, mainly the last part, and while it was exactly flattering, Kenichi couldn't find any flaws in his logic. "Well, he's right."

"So, this whole trip was just for finding a sparring partner for Kenichi?" Shirou asked while raising a brow.

"Naturally, you'll receive training as well, but right now, Kenichi is in need of a specific lesson." Akisame informed him. "Odds are, Kenichi could find himself in a deathmatch before long. Therefore, before that happens, at least once, I wanted to have him study hard with someone at his own level."

"Master…" Kenichi gazed at him with an emotional expression. "I am grateful for your forethought." He then stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Say, did you say something about me dying in the next battle?"

"It's fine. A man doesn't die so easily." Akisame placated him.

"Anyway, for my Master's sake, I can't shy away from battles." Kenichi thought with determination.

With that, Taiki opened the front door, and they all entered the house. Once they were inside, they began to remove their shoes before stepping on the floorboards.

"Sorry to intrude." Akisame said with curtisy.

"No problem, let me introduce you." Taiki replied as someone approached them. "This is my son, Naoki."

His son appeared in front of them. Whatever they were expecting was obviously different from what they saw. Naoki appeared before them wearing a gi similar to his father's, only his pants were white, and so was his belt. The real surprise was his age—He was a child, a half-grown boy who was shorter and smaller than even Haruto. He looked like a child version of his father, with his hair pointing straight up. He didn't even look like he had gone through puberty yet.

Kenichi gasped in disbelief when he saw him before he thought. "This is the one whose power is equal to mine?"

Both Kenichi and Naoki stared at each other for a moment as they both took in the other's appearance before they reacted.

[Ahahahahaha!] Both Kenichi and Naoki burst out laughing at the sight of the other, as though they were looking at a joke. Right after, they both realized they were being laughed at and stopped as they glared at each other. [What are you laughing at!?]

Haruto blinked. "Brother, that's a kid?"

Shirou just looked fed up at this point. "I see that—What I'd like to know is why."

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Later, as they all went inside and got settled in the house, Taiki showed them all into the living room, where they all gathered around as Akisame and Taiki once again introduced his son.

"Ah, shall we introduce you?" Akisame said with a smile. "This is Naoki Yamamoto, 12 years old and legitimate successor to the Yamamoto school of Judo."

"And these are Shirou Tsukiharu and Kenichi Shirahama, Disciples of Ryozanpaku." Taiki introduced them to his son. "Kenichi, here, is the one I told you about."

[This guy has the same level of power as me?] Once again, as they both took in the appearance of the other, they couldn't hold back their laughter. [Ahahahaha!]

"That's a hard-edged joke, Akisame-sensei!" Kenichi said through his laughter.

"Father, you mean this frail teenager!?" Naoki said through his laughter.

And once again, they both stopped when they realized they were being laughed at and glared at each other. [What's so funny!?]

"You did this bit already." Shirou reminded them with annoyance. "…Idiots."

"They already good friends!" Apachai innocently pointed out.

Miu held back a chuckle. "…It's true; they really are the same."

Haruto looked at them with half-lidded eyes. "Dealing with Kenichi did sometimes feel like dealing with a child, to some degree, but this takes it to a new level."

Kenichi looked at Akisame with doubt. "Master, under no circumstances—"

"Father!" Kenichi was cut off by Naoki's objection.

"What is it?" Taiki asked him.

"For as far back as I can remember, I've done nothing but immerse myself in Judo." Naoki calmly stated before he angrily pointed at Kenichi. "And if my first Inter-Disciple opponent is going to be this weak-looking teenager, I can't approve of it!"

"Yeesh, brutal." Haruto commented.

Shirou seemed annoyed by his attitude. "This kid is too full of himself."

"That is pity. Should Apachai go in your place?" Apachai offered.

Kenichi tried his hardest to hold back his frustration. "Don't concern yourself."

"Naoki!" Taiki was clearly not amused by his outburst. "What kind of attitude is that to take to our special guests!?"

"Yes!" Naoki immediately fell in line and apologized to his father before he turned around and bowed apologetically to Akisame but not Kenichi. "Sorry for my rudeness!"

Akisame graciously waived his hand. "Oh, I don't mind. You were just speaking your thoughts."

"You'd think a Master would object when his Disciple is insulted like that." Haruto noted his attitude.

"Sadly, Ryozanpaku Masters don't seem to value Kenichi's esteem very much." Hideki pointed out with a sigh. "Sometimes I feel bad for Kenichi."

After that, Miu spoke up. "It seems to me that having a quick sparring match would quickly clear things up between them."

"Sounds reasonable; that is the main point of our visit." Akisame was on board with the idea. "What do you both say?"

Kenichi and Naoki gazed at each other with determination.

"I won't go easy on you." Naoki warned him with a fiery disposition.

"I'll make you cry." Kenichi warned him, looking ready to explode.

"Very well, there is still some sun left." Akisame accepted the suggestion. "In order to get acquainted, let's have a 'bout first, eh."

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As the sun set over the mountains, everyone who cleared out of the Yamamoto house now stood in the middle of a clearing in the woods, and Kenichi and Naoki stood in front of each other and prepared to start their match.

Kenichi changed into his training gi, and he and Naoki now wore fighter gloves.

"The rules are simple: any strike, any throw, wins the match." Taiki told them as they prepared themselves. "We shall leave the individual evaluations later."

As Naoki was walking away from Kenichi until he was far enough for them to begin, he swiftly kicked the at ground, fast enough so Kenichi wouldn't notice but hard enough where there was now a small hole in the ground. Once he was far enough, he looked up at the sky to catch the position of the sun. Lastly, he kicked a nearby rock back positioned beneath the heel of his shoe.

While Kenichi wasn't aware of anything, Shirou noticed all of the prefight preparations Naoki was making and looked to his brother. "You saw that, right?"

Haruto nodded. "He's using the environment as an advantage."

Before the match could begin, Akisame approached Kenichi and gave him a last bit of advice. "Kenichi, about going easy, my advice is…"

"I understand." Kenichi gave him a calm smile. "Going easy on girls and kids, that's me."

Akisame shook his head. "No, you should not do that." He advised him with a serious expression. "Take this seriously."

"Huh?" Kenichi was surprised to hear him say that.

Naoki then got in his stance and presented himself. "I am the Disciple of the Yamamoto school of Judo—Naoki Yamamoto!"

Kenichi quickly did the same. "I am a Disciple of Ryozanpaku dojo—Kenichi Shirahama!"

Miu lightly applauded while Apachai cheered and waved his fist. "Go for it!"

Akisame swung his arm. "Begin!"

The one to strike first was Naoki. He charged forward like an arrow and was right in front of Kenichi at a speed faster than he had expected. "Fast!?" He thought as he tried to counter, but Naoki easily swatted his arm away before he hit Kenichi with a heavy bow to his stomach.

"Ugh…" Kenichi felt the weight behind that blow right away and fell to one knee.

"Match." Akisame declared Naoki's victory.

"Lame!" Haruto called out, unimpressed.

"You got beat by a kid. You ought to be ashamed." Shirou called out with a frown.

"I…I wasn't ready!" Kenichi argued with a hand over his stomach. "That was some charge…" He thought before turning to Akisame. "O…One more match, please!"

Akisame looked to Taiki. "It won't be a problem, will it?"

"I see no issue." Taiki answered.

Since both sides had accepted, the two prepared to go again.

Naoki huffed. "I don't care how many times."

Kenichi was royally pissed this time. "I was embarrassed in front of Miu. This time, for real!"

Akisame swung his arm. "Begin!"

Once again, Naoki charged forward with a great amount of speed. This time, Kenichi was prepared and blocked his first strike. But when he took a step back, his foot landed in the small hole in the ground Naoki had made earlier, and he found himself off balance. "My footing?"

"Ahh!" In the brief moment that Kenichi had lost focus, Naoki jumped and wrapped his body around Kenichi's extended arm.

ARMLOCK TWIST TAKEDOWN!

Using the power of his entire body, Naoki twisted Kenichi's arm and knocked him further off balance until he fell backward. Naoki then used his technique to slam Kenichi into the ground headfirst. The force of hitting the ground had knocked him out completely, and now Kenichi lay on the ground unconscious.

"Kenichi!" Miu and Apachai went over and kneeled in front of his body to see if he was okay.

While he was lying there, Apachai saw Kenichi's ghost fly out of his body and panicked. "Kenichi! You must not go there!"

While they were doing that, Naoki ran over to his father. "Father! Is that truly someone at the same level as me?!"

"Yes." Taiki assured him, though Naoki still looked unsure.

"He lost twice in a row on the same day, as if he needed another blow to his dignity." Shirou facepalmed.

"Well, at least he's out cold. If he were awake, he might have gone for three." Haruto pointed out.

Seeing that they were done with Kenichi for now, Hideki went up to Taiki. "Since we still have time, why not have the others participate in a match?"

"Oh?" Taiki seemed intrigued. "Do you mean to have my son go against yours?"

"The point of this is training, isn't it?" Hideki reasoned. "What's the harm?"

"I'm not sure. The point of having him face Kenichi was the fact that they were equals in terms of strength." Akisame pointed out. "That isn't the case with Shirou."

"Ultimately, it's the Disciple's choice." Taiki decided before facing his son. "Naoki, do you accept this challenge?"

"I do!" Naoki answered with enthusiasm.

"And I'm guessing you have no objections?" Hideki asked his son.

"Fine by me." Shirou stepped forward. "This won't take long."

Now, it was Shirou who was facing off against Naoki. While Naoki entered his stance, Shirou merely stood there with his hands in his pockets with a look of complete disinterest in his opponent.

"I am the Disciple of the Yamamoto school of Judo—Naoki Yamamoto!"

"Tch…" Shirou clicked his tongue in annoyance but introduced himself all the same. "I'm the Assault Commander of the Shinzaki Alliance and the man who's going to kick your ass—Shirou Tsukiharu."

"The Shinzaki Alliance?" Taiki looked to Akisame, aware of that name.

"It's the name of a group that he and his school friends started up." Akisame explained in simple terms.

"Ah, how nice; I never got to have anything like that." Taiki said wistfully.

Naoki seemed a little insulted by Shirou's disregard for him. "You shouldn't underestimate me, or you'll suffer the same fate as your friend."

"I'm the one being underestimated here by anyone who believes you stand a chance in hell against me." Shirou told him brutally.

Naoki didn't let his irritation show as he prepared himself. "To tell the truth, I've been wary of this one from the moment I saw him. He's not like the other one; I can tell right away that he'll be a dangerous opponent. I'll need to keep my guard up and finish this quickly."

Akisame swung his arm. "Begin!"

Like with Kenichi, Naoki attempted to strike first before his opponent knew what hit him. Unfortunately, he had made two mistakes: The first was trying that trick on Shirou after he had already seen it, and the second….… Was assuming that Kenichi and Shirou were remotely the same.

Before Naoki could close in and surprise Shirou, Shirou closed in and surprised Naoki as he demonstrated a speed superior to Naoki's and appeared right in front of him before he could even react. As Naoki looked up in shock that Shirou had closed the distance so quickly, Shirou brought down his fist and, like a hammer, struck down on the top of Naoki's skull, smashing him into the dirt and ending the match before it began.

"You're head is too high…" Shirou told him as he struck him.

Taiki was taken aback at what he had witnessed. "Impressive. I didn't expect him to outclass Naoki to this extent."

"Well, even by our standard, Shirou has always been a fast learner." Akisame said as he stroked his mustache.

"It's not just that." Hideki pointed out. "No doubt, my son is exceptional, but there's a bigger issue in the case of your son."

"An issue?" Taiki asked before he looked at Naoki. "Yes, I think I know what you mean."

After a few seconds, Naoki rose up from the ground. Shirou's blow was fast, but he didn't put much weight behind it, so the damage faded pretty fast, and he picked himself up with little effort. Despite that, Shirou turned away. "I'm done."

"Wait!" Naoki called out before turning to the Masters. "Once more, please, let me try again!"

"You just saw someone suffer the humiliation of being defeated twice in a row. Now, you want to suffer that same humiliation?" Shirou stated, referring to Kenichi, who was still unconscious.

"I can't accept defeat in such a manner. It would bring shame upon the Yamamoto school if I surrendered before having accomplished anything." Naoki said with determination. "Please, accept my challenge."

"I'll tell you what, why don't you face him instead?" Shirou pointed to Haruto. "That is my brother. His abilities are second to none, and I can personally say that he's the fighter who is closest to being my equal. If you can win a match against him, I'll accept your challenge."

"Oh? How interesting." Once again, Akisame was intrigued by this turn of events. "Now that I think about it, I've never actually seen Haruto fight before. How good is he?"

"As good as you just heard." Hideki answered without any doubt. "He trained along with Shirou for years. You'd be a fool to underestimate him."

Naoki turned his gaze toward Haruto. "Fine, I'll start with him."

"And Haruto? Do you accept the challenge?" Taiki asked.

Haruto smiled and shrugged. "Well, I can't refuse now, not after all the praise." He stepped forward as Shirou stepped back. "Just so you know, my brother doesn't brag. He just states the facts." He told him with a smirk.

Now Haruto and Naoki were the ones facing off as they both got into a stance. Neither of them announced themselves, as that was gratuitous at this point. Miu stayed beside Kenichi and thought about what Shirou had said. "Shirou said that Haruto was closest to being his equal, but he couldn't be including the members of Ragnarok, could he? Because he's fought some of their top members, including two of the Deadly Fists. Could Haruto truly be as good or better than them?"

Akisame swung his arm. "Begin!"

Sticking with his strategy, Naoki struck first and used the rock beneath his shoe and a booster to increase his charging speed as he rocketed toward Haruto. Unlike Shirou, Haruto let him strike first and for him to get in close. Once Naoki closed the distance, he swayed to the side and let Naoki sail right by.

Naoki was carried before his forward momentum but stopped himself and planted his feet on the ground and stopped him. He turned around and saw Haruto smirking at him while he held up his hand and did the "Bring it on" hand gesture at him.

Naoki became even more frustrated and charged forward before he let loose a barrage of striking moves at Haruto, which the older boy responded to by easily blocking or deflecting his strike while moving backward. Naoki's plan was to lead him to the hole in the ground he used to trap Kenichi with earlier, and soon enough, they reached it.

Like Kenichi, when he stepped on it, Haruto lost his footing and was caught off balanced. Naoki capitalized on this opportunity once again and prepared to use his signature technique on Haruto as he jumped and wrapped his body around Haruto's outstretched arm.

"Naive." Shirou thought, knowing what would happen next.

Naoki immediately knew something was wrong. He tried to use his technique, but unlike Kenichi, he couldn't twist Haruto's body or even move, for that matter. It shouldn't have been a problem to knock down someone who was off balance, but now, it was like Haruto's balance was unhindered.

"You know, every parlor trick is the same. Once you know how the trick works, it's virtually impossible to fall for it again." Haruto stoically informed him before glaring. "Do you take me so much of a fool that you thought I'd fall for the same tricks I saw you do literally minutes ago?"

It was true. After seeing the way Naoki had defeated Kenichi, Haruto had already figured out the trick behind each of his victories, and so he set his own trap. Haruto knew that Naoki would try to lure him toward the hole in the ground and pretended to lose his footing in order to bait Naoki into using a technique he had already seen, and since his opponent wasn't off balance, Naoki couldn't use his takedown and was now just wrapped around Haruto's arm.

Now Haruto countered as he reached out and grabbed Naoki by his neck. He pulled Naoki's limbs off of his arm and held him up like a ragdoll while choking him. "It couldn't be more obvious. You go to that much trouble to make your opponent lose their footing because your skill in Judo isn't high enough that you can take down or throw heavier opponents unless they're off balance."

"Grr…" Naoki couldn't respond as he struggled to break free.

"How sad to believe so much in your abilities as a fighter only to realize you've never been in a real fight!" Haruto pulled back his arm before he threw Naoki. "You wanna play like a big boy! Fine!"

Haruto threw Naoki like a stone and tossed him toward the bamboo trees that were nearby. Naoki regained his strength while in midair and fixed his position as he planned a counterattack. Before he reached the bamboo trees, he shifted his body around so his feet were facing the bamboo, and when he reached them, he touched down on one of them, using the bamboo tree as a springboard that was pushed back by his weight before it slingshotted him back in the other direction.

Now, with greater speed than ever before, Naoki shot toward Haruto like a cannonball and challenged all of his speed and forward momentum into one great strike that would take Haruto out. But Haruto didn't move and, once again, waited for Naoki to arrive.

"You may be fast, but if all you can do is move in a straight line…" Haruto pulled back his right leg. "I CAN SEE YOU COMING WITH MY EYES CLOSED!"

POW!

Haruto swung his leg and timed it just right so that when Naoki closed the distance, his face crashed right into Haruto's kick. His forward momentum ended up being his downfall as it, along with his speed, made Haruto's kick feel like crashing into a brick wall as he was flung into the air before falling and hitting the ground with a thud. Now Naoki was just as unconscious as Kenichi, and everything could agree that it was over.

Shirou didn't say anything but merely smirked with a sense of pride greater than what he felt from his own victory. Haruto didn't spare Naoki a glance while he laid there at his feet and walked away. He retook his place by his brother's side as he held out his hand, and they high-fived as he walked by.

"I must say, your sons are quite something." Taiki gave honest praise. "It seems that Naoki wasn't ready to face them yet."

"There's no doubt that Naoki is an excellent Disciple, but there's a wall he was always going to come up against, and no amount of training was going to help him avoid it." Hideki informed him. "It's something every Disciple faces at a certain point."

"The same is true for Kenichi." Akisame added, agreeing with the sentiment. "I wanted to help him understand what he was lacking; that's why I brought him here. I believed that Naoki was the best opponent who could help him understand."

"I can see what you mean, but it appears that Naoki needed help as well, and both Shirou and his brother are the ones who can provide him with it." Taiki noted before he addressed the rest of them. "Well, anyways, let's go back to the house."

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

It was night, and the dark sky filled with bright stars shined down over the mountain clearing. Kenichi remained motionless on a futon for a period of time, and just when it seemed like he would never wake up, his body shook up, and he let out a scream.

"Mom! Did you throw out the books that were piled over there!?" Kenichi shouted with a frantic expression before he looked around in a daze. "…Where am I?"

"Better question, what the hell were you dreaming about?" Shirou asked.

Kenichi took in his surroundings after fully waking up and realized that he was back in Taiki's house and resting on a futon in the corner of the living room while the others were also in the living room. Shirou, Haruto, and Apachai were playing cards, Akisame and Taiki were playing shogi with Hideki sitting nearby, and Miu was serving tea.

"What happened?" Kenichi asked as he climbed out of the futon.

"You got your butt kicked, dumb-dumb." Haruto informed him.

"I'm surprised it took you all day to wake up. Seriously, how badly did that kid rattle your brain?" Shirou asked, focusing more on the game than Kenichi.

Kenichi looked frustrated by the way they were talking to him, but his main concern was elsewhere. "Speaking of the kid, where is he?"

"Over there." Shirou pointed to his side.

In a different corner of the room, Naoki was resting flat on his back with a wet towel over his brow and a pillow under his head. He was knocked out like Kenichi but hadn't regained consciousness yet. Kenichi was surprised to see him in that state.

"W-What happened?" Kenichi hesitated to ask.

"After you got knocked out, Shirou faced him in your place." Miu informed him.

"You did?" Kenichi clearly didn't expect that.

Shirou held up a fist. "All it takes is one—"

"Punch." Haruto finished his sentence.

"You're serious?" Kenichi exclaimed. "You knocked him out just like that?"

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous." Shirou scolded him before clarifying. "Haruto did."

"Also, with one shot." Haruto informed him.

Kenichi was unpackaging all this in his mind. Naoki beat him with one blow — Shirou beat Naoki with one blow — Haruto beat Naoki with one blow = Shirou and Haruto Kenichi.

"Gaaahhhhh!" Kenichi's self-esteem felt like it was crushed by a bolder as he fell to his knees. Feeling compelled to salvage his self-respect, he looked at Akisame and Taiki. "One… One more match!"

"Wait." Akisame quickly halted him. "The true power between you and Naoki is equal, and yet you lost. Why is that?"

"Why?" Kenichi paused and processed that question. "I give up, why?"

Akisame gave him the answer. "The difference between the two of you is… Tactics."

Kenichi blinked in confusion. "…Tactics?"

"Didn't you notice?" Akisame asked before informing him. "Before the match, he calculated your position and dug a hole at his feet."

"Huh?" Kenichi gasped in shock, honestly knowing nothing of this until right now. His shock increased as Akisame wasn't done.

"Moreover, he placed a stone at his feet like a starting block; pushing off against it increases your speed. Not only that, he set himself up with the evening sun to his back."

"Huh?!" Kenichi was frozen like a statue before he snapped. "That… That's cheating, isn't it!?"

"That is not cheating." Akisame immediately denied him.

"Given the conditions under which you are fighting, you work out how to improve them as much as possible. That is tactics." Taiki explained to him. "During Miyamoto Musashi's duel on Ganryujima, he was deliberately late to irritate Kojiro Sasaki. He concealed the length he had added to his special weapon at sea and finally maneuvered to fight with the sun at his back. This, too, is strategy."

"Besides, how can you call it cheating if he never actually broke any rules?" Hideki pointed out. "Remember, the rules of the match were simply—Whoever lands the first hit wins. No other rules were set, so you can't complain about them being broken."

Kenichi felt he heard those words before and immediately remembered what Shirou had told him back at the dojo.

(You can't expect them to follow your definition of a fair fight when a fair fight was never promised in the first place. The only rule is when you have to fight, you fight.)

Akisame saw the look on his face and could tell what he was thinking.

"Do you get it now? Your manner of fighting is honest, but you mustn't become an honest fool." He advised him. "Most opponents arrange themselves to your disadvantage and attack you from a direction that does not permit counterattacks; if this carried to the extremes…"

Akisame trailed off as Hideki finished his sentence. "It doesn't matter how much stronger you become physically. If you fall for every trap your opponents set for you, all that awaits you is defeat."

Kenichi lowered his head and let out a sigh. "…No matter how I try, when it comes to these types of things, I have no talent."

"These things, you mean using your head?" Shirou asked with annoyance. "Would you get a clue already? You don't need talent to not be an idiot. No matter how much you pump up your muscles, without the skill to go with them, you'll be a third-string for the rest of your life." He reminded him bluntly. "Have you forgotten Ragnarok is your enemy too, and how do you plan on surviving against them if you can't even outsmart a kid whose balls haven't dropped yet?"

Kenichi cringed a bit at his words but knew he had a point. By that point, Naoki sturred around a bit in his futon before he woke and shot up as though he snapped awake. Naoki let out a gasp before asking. "What happened?"

"You got your butt kicked, dumb-dumb." Haruto informed him.

"I'm surprised it took you all day to wake up. Seriously, how badly did Haruto rattle your brain?" Shirou asked.

"Wow, Deja Vu." Kenichi noticed.

Naoki rested his head for a bit before his father addressed him. "Tell me, Naoki, why did you think you were defeated today?"

"I…" Naoki thought about it, and like Kenichi, he couldn't find the answer. "I don't know."

"Your bouts with demonstrated that you are well trained, in terms of strength and skill, and there were no flaws in your style or execution, so what did you lack?" Akisame asked rhetorically before telling him. "Experience."

"Experience?" Naoki repeated with surprise.

"It's like Haruto said while you were fighting." Hideki reminded him. "You may have trained a lot and sharpened your skills, but you've lived your whole life up here on these mountains with no one but your father, and he's only faced you as a teacher and a parent, not a real opponent like the ones you've fought today, so before now, you've never actually been in a real fight." He explained in a way that Naoki understood. "It doesn't matter how much you work on something in theory. Without being able to do them in practice, you'll never know if they'll really work in a fight. That was one of your weaknesses."

Naoki looked down and gripped his fists in frustration. After that, he looked up and zoned in on that last part. "Wait, one of my weaknesses? What was the other one?"

"Underestimating us." Shirou answered him.

"And getting a swelled head." Haruto followed up.

Naoki looked at them angrily, but his father nodded at their words. "They're right. You thought too highly of yourself."

"But father…" Naoki wanted to protest.

"The moment they arrived, you laughed at Kenichi, then acted as though the idea of fighting him was beneath you, and when you fought Shirou and Haruto, you didn't face them with the expectation of a struggle; you fully believed that you would defeat them in an instant." Taiki listed with disapproval. "Naoki, you are strong for your age and filled with potential; I am proud of you, and you should be too, but above pride lies arrogance, which is a fatal flaw for a young Martial Artist." He advised him. "You must not forget that you are still a child; there will always be other Disciples who are older than you, who have trained for a longer time than you, and have reached higher levels than you. You still have much room to grow."

"Yes, understand…" Naoki reluctantly accepted before he lowered his head. "I'm sorry for my arrogance, father."

Taiki patted him on the head. "No, this was a good lesson. Use it to grow even more." Taiki then looked at Kenichi. "You as well, Kenichi. You both have things you'll need to improve on. And so, for the next three days, we will train you diligently in the Yamamoto school." He announced. "After you have learned our ways—On the final day, please try fighting Naoki again."

"Huh, three days?! Huh, training?!" Kenichi cried out in shock at both of those announcements. "I didn't ask for this! Weren't we going to leave after the sparring?!"

"Eh? Didn't I mention that?" Akisame feigned ignorance while scratching his head.

At that point, Akisame and Taiki had matching sinister smiles while their faces darkened, and they gazed at Kenichi and Naoki.

"Ha! After such a long time, I'm starting to feel excited again, Akisame." Taiki confessed with a questionable tone.

"Ah, it looks like this'll be fun, Taiki." Akisame added with the same tone.

Now Kenichi and Naoki were huddled together and trembling in terror at the sight of the two sinister-looking Masters.

"Th…They look alike, those two…Somehow." Kenichi noted fearfully.

"Fa…Father laughed…" Naoki noted fearfully.

"Hey." Shirou snapped them out of it by getting Akisame attention with an unamused expression. "Kenichi, I get, but you better not be telling me that the only reason I'm here was to be a "learning experience" for that kid. 'Cause if you are, I'm leaving."

"You don't have to worry; I have something planned for you as well." Akisame assured him while his face was still dark.

"Well, it better be worth the trip." Shirou responded, unintimidated, unlike Kenichi and Naoki.

And with that, their three-day training camp in the mountains would soon be underway.

—…

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And that's the chapter.

First of all, what do you all think about me doing a storyline that was never animated? I had considered skipping it and just going into the next anime arc, but I feel that there are some merits to adding this part of the story, and in the end, I decided to go with it.

Originally, it was supposed to be just Kenichi getting trashed by Naoki to teach him he needed to learn tactics, but I thought Naoki also needed to learn a lesson, considering as a kid who has never interacted with anyone aside from his father, I always thought that he would have problems of his own, but there was no one in the canon who could show him that, that's where the OCs come in.

And, like Miu, I'm sure some of you are curious as to whether or not Haruto is actually as good as Shirou described him. There may have been a hint of bias, but make no mistake, Haruto is a force to be reckoned with. One-shotting Naoki was just a taste. Later on, you'll see exactly where it is he stands compared to the rest of them.

Anyways, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you liked the story, click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.