Chapter 148: Undercurrents

The organizers had originally expected the preliminary fights to last until sunrise the next day.

But in reality, everything was over within half an hour.

The entire arena was littered with bloodied and unconscious fighters. Only five people remained standing—including Takamine Rinji.

Along with him were Tokita Ohma, a massive fat man, a flamboyantly made-up man, and a muscular blond guy.

"Exactly five left. Looks like the match is over."

Takamine pulled a napkin from his pocket and calmly wiped the blood off his face. At that moment, the tightly sealed doors began to slowly open.

"Tokita Ohma! I'm coming for you in the main event!!"

The blond guy widened his eyes and approached Ohma with a grin.

"Hmph. I'll be waiting."

Takamine looked at the blond and recalled something—he seemed familiar. If memory served, he was Ohma's first opponent in the Kengan matches.

"Ichiro Nakata from SF Cold Storage?"

"Don't call me by my real name! It's Lihito! Just Lihito!"

Once known as Ichiro Nakata, now self-styled as Lihito. Because the power in his ten fingers was so strong that he could shred coins and flay flesh, he was called "The Superman" Lihito.

Lihito turned around and locked eyes with Takamine for a moment, completely stunned.

Takamine didn't bother acknowledging him. He simply walked up to Tokita Ohma and said, "The prelims are over. Time to get back to the Kengan ship."

"Let's go."

"Hold on."

Lihito suddenly called out to them.

He pointed at Takamine, then looked to Ohma and asked, "Is he your friend?"

"Sort of."

Without hesitation, Lihito turned to Takamine with a dead-serious face.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Do you believe I won't kill you right now?"

It was clear Lihito had entirely misunderstood Takamine's gender.

"What nonsense are you spouting? I can't stand this anymore, Lihito."

The overly made-up man, who wore a mushroom-shaped hairstyle that looked like a traditional straw hat, scoffed and gave Lihito a look of disgust.

"That's obviously a handsome guy. Hey, handsome—want to have a meal together later?"

Takamine: "…"

Why were so many freaks among the survivors of this preliminary?

---

While Takamine and the others made their way toward the Kengan ship's deck, Kengan Association chairman Katahara Metsudo watched the live feed with a hand stroking his beard, chuckling to himself.

"Young Rinji really is something. To be able to suppress his power to this extent—it's truly eye-opening."

"Indeed, that kid named Takamine Rinji is quite the anomaly."

Next to Katahara stood not just his usual black-suited bodyguards, but also an elderly man whose sclera were pitch black and whose wrinkled skin looked over ninety years old.

"Oh? You know him?"

"Four years ago, the Shinomiya family hired us to assassinate a twelve-year-old boy. We didn't want to take the job at first, but the money was too tempting. That is… until you ordered us to stop," said the old man.

"Hohoho. Trying to assassinate that man's child… you people are bold."

"We didn't know the truth at the time. The Shinomiya family never told us he was affiliated with IW, and they never mentioned that man at all." The old man's face twisted into a grim smile. "If we had known, the amount they paid wouldn't have been enough—not unless they bought all of Japan."

"And what happened in the end?"

"We failed. Fortunately, none of my clansmen died, or else the Shigō family would've been my next target."

This elderly man was Kure Erioh, head of the Kure Clan—an infamous assassination clan in the underworld.

Many edgy wannabes believe "the most famous assassin is the worst one," but in truth, fame drives brand, brand builds reputation, and reputation determines how much business you get. Assassins fall under the service industry.

A famous assassin might not be the best—but one who starves from lack of clients definitely isn't.

Even if their real names aren't known, they have to be at least respected in the field.

Kure Erioh stared at the screen, watching Rinji walking alongside the other four survivors. He frowned slightly.

"Realistically, a guy of his level should've wrapped up this hundred-man slaughter in five minutes—same as four years ago. Yet this time it took thirty minutes. He's clearly holding back."

"Because he still has his 'performance' to come."

It wasn't just Katahara Metsudo and Ku Erioh—other corporate leaders and fighters were also discussing Takamine.

"Hey, Imai. That guy looks about your age, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, finally found a fighter around my age."

A cute-looking boy with well-defined muscles said this while watching the big screen.

"So strong… I really want to fight him."

His name was Imai Cosmo, a jiu-jitsu specialist fighter. With a record of 21 wins and 0 losses, he started fighting in underground matches at the age of 14 and was nicknamed the "The King of Strangles."

"I actually know this guy."

"Huh?"

The person beside Imai was the pro wrestler Sekibayashi Jun, known as the "Hell's Angel."

"When Tokita Ohma broke a few of my fingers, he was the one who treated me."

"He's a doctor too?"

…

Boom!!

In a dimly lit room, a strong man with spiked hair glared at the small screen. The sight of Takamine Rinji's face caused veins to bulge on his forehead. He threw a punch at the wall.

A hole exploded in the wall from his strike.

"What's wrong?"

A short-haired woman lying on the bed looked at him worriedly.

"So he's here..."

"What?"

"That man… The one who killed 75 people four years ago and escaped judgment. He's here!"

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the smiling Takamine on screen, his patience stretched to the limit.

"That evil man dares show his face again. It's time to bring him to justice."

…

"Hey, Kizanga!"

A woman with jagged teeth shouted toward a tattooed, muscular Black man lying in bed surrounded by half-naked women.

"A monster showed up in the prelims. Took down over a hundred people solo."

"Oh? What does he look like?"

The man's tattooed face broke into a terrifying grin.

"A boy. Pretty cute. Blond, maybe sixteen or seventeen years old. Really young."

"Blond, around sixteen or seventeen, huh…"

The man chuckled, his expression slightly wistful.

"If it's Lieutenant Takamine, he'd be that age by now too."