Chapter 225: The Underground Fighting Arena
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 225: The Underground Fighting Arena
Exactly one week from the day I received Ivan's invitation.
Using a late-night workout as an excuse, I slipped out of the house and headed for the address written on the invitation he had given me.
I took the subway to Kabukicho in Shinjuku, a district that was one massive entertainment hub.
Commonly known by the nickname "the adults' street," it was a dense cluster of adult-oriented businesses like bars, cabaret clubs, host bars, cross-dressing bars, pachinko parlors, and adult entertainment establishments. It was one of the streets where foreign gangs and yakuza fought over influence.
Japan's largest Koreatown, Shin-Okubo, was nearby, so I'd visited often during the day, but this was my first time here at night.
"Hey, buddy! I'll give you a good deal, come on in!"
Drunk salarymen staggering around, yakuza emerging from pachinko parlors with cigarettes in their mouths, Black employees on the street trying to attract customers, and touts handing out flyers.
For a current high school student, the Kabukicho nightscape was a truly unfamiliar world.
Bump!
"Huh? Watch where you're go— I'm sorry!"
I'd been distracted while walking and accidentally bumped shoulders with a yakuza. He shot me a glare before scrambling away in a hurry.
The hand I had raised to apologize was left hanging awkwardly in the air, and for a moment, the gazes of the people passing by focused on me.
"..."
An uncomfortable silence.
Unless I was mistaken, the pedestrians quickened their pace, and the nearby touts began to discreetly disperse, avoiding me.
Having unintentionally drawn attention, I hastily pulled the hood of my tracksuit over my head.
It wouldn't make the stares go away, but it offered some peace of mind.
Before I could get into any more trouble, I quickly left the spot.
*
My final destination was a club within Kabukicho.
The club was called 'Paradise,' and its trademark was a standing sign with flashy neon lights that, perhaps due to its age, gave off a strangely tacky vibe.
"This area is for authorized personnel only."
As I tried to head down to the basement-level establishment, a guard in a suit who was standing in front of the entrance blocked my path.
After a brief pause, I took out the invitation Ivan had given me from my pocket and showed it to him.
Upon confirming it, the guard's previously stiff attitude vanished. He bowed low, his demeanor becoming extremely polite.
"Please head down this way."
Accepting his greeting, I carefully descended the steel staircase and soon saw a thick iron door.
When I opened it and stepped inside, the lavishly decorated interior of the club came into view, a stark contrast to its shabby exterior.
A dizzying mirror ball spun overhead, and a few people danced to the loud club music.
A man in a bartender's uniform who was weaving through the crowd approached me with a tray of champagne.
"Would you care for a glass?"
"Ah, I'm fine, thank you."
After politely declining his offer, I looked around to find a familiar face.
Then, I spotted a familiar head of red hair.
"Hello!"
As I approached and called out in a loud voice, Karen's father, Mr. Naoto, who was in the middle of a conversation, recognized me and waved cheerfully.
"Welcome, Yoo-Sung!"
The person who had arranged this venue today was none other than Karen's father, Mr. Naoto.
He said he had personally secured a place for the fight at the request of the Russian big shot, Ivan. Perhaps because of that, there were quite a few people inside the club who appeared to be Mr. Naoto's acquaintances.
When an older man sitting next to Mr. Naoto looked at me with a curious expression, Mr. Naoto laughed heartily and introduced me.
"This here is my daughter's friend, Yoo-Sung! He's gotten famous recently for taking down Hattori Hanzo in Kyoto!"
"Oh! So you're the 'Japan's Strongest' I've only heard rumors about!"
"You look just as dependable as they say."
In truth, Karen's father and I weren't particularly close.
At most, we had seen each other two or three times when I visited Karen's house, but for some reason, he was perfectly up-to-date on my recent activities.
"Haha! I'm looking forward to the match today!"
Pat! Pat!
As Mr. Naoto laughed heartily and clapped my shoulder in encouragement, I gave a vague "haha" and nodded.
After making my presence known to Mr. Naoto, one of the event's organizers, everything went smoothly from there.
As the man who provided a place where Ivan and I could fight to our hearts' content without worrying about public eyes, Mr. Naoto kindly told me the location of the participant waiting room and where we would be fighting.
In the center of the club was a massive battle cage, about a hundred square meters in size.
Apparently, it was an arena where illegal fighting tournaments with prize money were held every night, but for today, it had been cleared out just for my fight with Ivan.
The fact that such a place existed in what was supposed to be a rom-com world felt surreal, but I felt I had come too far to be surprised by it now.
I headed to the participant waiting room to compose myself before the match began, only to find some unexpected guests waiting for me.
"Kim Yoo-Sung!"
"Welcome."
It was Fuma-senpai and Sasha.
"What are you two doing here?"
As I stared at them with a surprised expression, they glanced at each other, then shrugged and spoke.
"I came with my father."
"Same here."
I looked back and forth between the two, who felt strangely similar.
It was an unfamiliar combination, yet it felt somehow friendly.
"Did you two know each other before?"
Fuma-senpai shook his head.
"We met for the first time today."
Sasha added.
"It's only natural for the strong to quickly become friends."
That was an incredibly macho response.
Then again, that was just like Sasha.
"So, Kim Yoo-Sung, how did the training for Nagi go?"
"Ah, about that."
I avoided Fuma-senpai's gaze with a faint smile.
"I failed..."
It seemed that learning a new technique in just one week was impossible after all.
I had barely managed to feel the 'wind' inside my body, but I failed to develop it further and complete Nagi, which was said to be the ultimate secret art of Hayate.
Given the extremely short time I had, it couldn't be helped.
"Haa... That's just like my father. It's not much of a substitute, but take this."
Fuma-senpai handed me a red pill.
"It's the latest version of the Ghost Pill. I've reduced the side effects as much as possible for you."
"Reduced the side effects?"
"It means you won't immediately collapse once the pill's effects wear off like before."
"Ah, thank you."
I had certainly benefited from this pill's effects in crisis situations, so I bowed a full ninety degrees to express my gratitude. Then I turned to Sasha, who was staring at the Ghost Pill with a strange expression.
"Why are you looking at it like that?"
"Kim Yoo-Sung, doping is cheating."
"..."
It was such a valid point, I had nothing to say.
As I awkwardly glanced back and forth between the Ghost Pill and her face, Sasha finally let out a smirk.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter, since Papa will also use any means necessary to win."
"Whoa, you scared me for a second."
"Hehe, opportunities to tease you are rare."
Sasha patted my shoulder with a playful smile, then turned to Fuma-senpai beside her.
"So, Fuma-senpai? The match is about to start. Will you be joining me in the VIP section?"
"...I suppose so."
"Then you're in for a treat. Papa invited some special guests from various countries for this match."
"Special guests?"
"I'm sure you'll understand if I say... the Seven Fist Masters?"
"...!"
Both Fuma-senpai and I were stunned to hear that.
The Seven Fist Masters.
They were the seven fighters known as the strongest in the underworld.
Of course, with the God of Destruction, Ivan, and the Black Yaksha, Fuma Kotaro, in one place, it wasn't strange for another of the Seven Fist Masters to appear. But to think they would be invited as guests for an exhibition match was beyond imagination.
"Isn't this getting a little too big?"
Sasha shrugged nonchalantly at Fuma-senpai's question, which mirrored my own thoughts.
"You underestimate yourself, Kim Yoo-Sung. For a long time now, you've been a rising star drawing the attention of every fighter in the underworld. There's no way a rematch between a man like you and the God of Destruction, Ivan, wouldn't draw attention. The Japanese government probably sent someone too."
I didn't recall ever becoming famous, but rumors often spread without the subject's involvement, so I couldn't say for sure that she was wrong.
"...This is insane."
As I finally grasped the situation and covered my forehead with my palm, Sasha patted my shoulder and said.
"It's easier if you just accept it."
*
The exhibition match with Ivan was set to begin at exactly midnight.
While I was in the participant waiting room, the club had become packed with invited guests.
Whereas before it was mostly Japanese people, now there was no room to move, with foreigners of various races and nationalities filling the space.
'I should've brought a calming pill.'
With belated regret, I rubbed my churning stomach and followed the employee who came to get me, telling me it was time.
A massive steel cage, reminiscent of an animal enclosure at a zoo.
The circular stands surrounding it were packed so tightly with people there wasn't an inch to spare.
I walked through the noisy club, looking around.
Countless eyes watched me, practically licking me over as I headed to the stage to fight Ivan.
'Hattori Hanzo.'
Among them, I saw a familiar face.
It was Hattori Hanzo, the Iga ninja I had defeated in Kyoto.
His daughter, Ayame, stood beside him. When our eyes met, she gave me a slight wink, making her presence known.
My gaze naturally drifted upward to the elevated area known as the VIP room.
There sat not only Fuma-senpai and Sasha, but also the legends of the underworld known as the Seven Fist Masters.
Their faces were obscured by shadows from the lighting, but judging by the smaller number of people, it seemed not all of them were in attendance.
"We've arrived."
"Ah, right."
I nodded reflexively and slowly stepped through the steel gate the staff member held open for me.
WAAAAAAAAAH!!
At the same moment, a roar erupted from all sides.
The intense heat, reminiscent of a UFC match, was enough to make my skin tingle.
"So you've finally arrived."
Ivan, who had entered the arena from the opposite entrance just as I had, cracked his neck from side to side and grinned.
He had an aura as ferocious as a wild beast's.
Despite being well past forty, the world's strongest man, still performing at his peak, threw off the leopard-print coat draped over his shoulders.
Beneath it was a physique trained to its absolute limit, so perfect that even Director Yujiro, a former bodybuilder, would have forgotten his manners upon first seeing it.
In contrast, I was dressed in my usual black tracksuit.
Thud— Thud—
With the dull thud of combat boots, Ivan walked to the center of the battle cage. He beckoned to me with his palm and said.
"I'll take this chance to show you what true strength is. Youngster."