The arc is the eighteenth arc in the series and the seventh story arc in the Yami/YOMI Saga.
Story[]
Invited to a Tournament[]
The arc begins in Ryōzanpaku with the dojo receiving a letter to a Southern Island. Kenichi and Miu are excited at the idea of a luxury vacation until The Elder reveals that the invitation was sent by Yami, and that they plan on excepting despite knowing it is a trap and having no strategy. The letter explained that a martial art competition is being held called Desperate Fight of Disciples with fighters under the age of 20 that have skills from novice to expert can enter. At school, Kenichi waters his plants to take his mind off his fears until Izumi talks to him (hoping to invite him somewhere over the holidays) and asks about what happened on the ski trip. Kenichi hides the dangerous details about what happened and what he is facing ahead, but he assures Izumi that he won't run from his problems anymore. In Gymnastic Club, Ikki asks Miu Fūrinji to tell Kenichi to stop showing off at the Underground Duel Arena, since James Shiba intensified his training to keep him from losing to Akisame's disciple, making Takeda wear a training device. Back at the dojo, Shio Sakaki is worried about having Kenichi fight in the tournament, but the elder wants Kenichi to feel desperation in the tournament to gain more courage. Akisame notes that this year's D of D will be huge and there is a rumor it will be hosted by a member of Yami. Suddenly, Shigure Kōsaka sensed someone was around which was Haruo Niijima spying about the tournament. He gathers the Shinpaku Alliance and tells them to prepare for a trip to the Southern Island for the D of D Tournament to present the alliance on a worldwide stage.
as Nijima informs Kaname Kugatachi and Kisara Nanjō while they were sparring with the Valkyries. Next, he informs Takeda heard about while he was training with Shiba in his shack, then Yūma Chiaki while the latter was pushing boulders up a hill, and Kōzō Ukita while is training at his old master’s dojo. Finally, Niijima plays a flute at the ocean to signal someone. At Tibet, Hibiki Kugenin is spinning on a wheel (which he planned to do for 40 days) until he somehow hears Nijima’s flute and puts his training on hold to depart back to Japan. Back at Kenichi’s house, Kenichi tells his family that he is going on the trip to Southern Islands (to Honoka's frustration that she can't go but Miu can) but lies about why. Kenichi's father gives some private advice to encourage him. However, Kenichi’s mother found out her husband was hiding things when he is unable to sleep (indicating that he was lying). At the ocean, Ryouzanpaku was about to leave until the Shinpaku Alliance (minus Natsu Tanimoto and Siegfried) came to attend the tournament as well Niijima explains the tournament is also a battle between Yomi and the Shinpaku Alliance and a way to make the world learn about the Shinpaku Alliance.
The other members of the alliance stomp of Niijima and explain that they want to catch up to Kenichi's level. Takeda explains about his fights in the underground ring and Kisara reveals about her and Freya fighting loads of armed opponents (both surprising Ukita realizes he was the only one doing normal training). However, the elder takes Kenichi and leaves with everyone else from Ryouzanpaku on the Sekitoba to the tournament. The Elder cuts a line on the dock and explains that the masters may not protect them all at the tournament before jumping on the Sekitoba. Suddenly, Hermit arrives on a boat telling everyone that the line made by the Elder was a sign that for those who are willing to cross the line are ready to risk their lives. The Shinpaku Alliance gets on Hermit’s boat and chases after Ryouzanpaku. At a training facility, Shō Kanō was showing his skills off to sport scientists. Ogata told the scientists that Yami needed the data for Sport Science to progress. Akira Hongō argues with them that martial artists’ abilities can only be measured when they are in a fight to the death. Hongō asks Ogata about the Stanley Siblings (Castor and Pollux) fighting in the D of D Tournament, since Castor’s masters didn’t want them to hold back. Shō wants to join the tournament as well to fight Kenichi, but his master forbids it and has him continue training while dodging rubber bullets and electric shocks with less air. While Shō dodge everything, the scientists wonder if he has been altered with drugs, and the Yami masters explain to the scientists that Shō is awakening a body for someone at master level. Kenichi, Miu, and the Ryōzanpaku masters finally arrived at Despair Island for the tournament.
Welcome to Despair Island[]
as The Shinpaku Alliance members are enjoying themselves on the boat while following Kenichi. Freya warns Ukita that the D of D tournament is a complete unknown and tells him he doesn't have to force himself to join. Despite not being at the same level as the others, Ukita refuses to back out and Kisara tells Freya that everyone has the right to fight for what they believe. At Despair Island, Fortuna (the tournament’s owner) has one of the Nine Fists host it. The fist running it is the Laughing Fist, Diego Carlo, also the master of the Castor Siblings. Diego tells Fortuna that he’d invited Ryouzanpaku to participate in the tournament. Ryouzanpaku arrives at the only entrance and found out the island is essentially a fortress. Kenichi's conviction is crushed by the fear from the tournament, but the masters drag him in. Surprisingly, the inside appears to be a paradise with a pool, some maids, beautiful women (to Kensei Ma's joy) and a feast. Kenichi’s afraid that Yami will kill them on plain sight, but the masters tell him to relax, since they sensed no danger. A woman named Jennifer, whom Sakaki seems to recognize gives Ryouzanpaku a tour of Despair Island and explains that the only way out is the gate, and any trespassing will most likely be deadly. Suddenly, the group hears an explosion of from outside the island and Jennifer guess that somebody trying to trespass on the island and was sunk. What Kenichi doesn’t know is that the boat was the ship the Shinpaku Alliance seemingly all that is left if the alliance's flag and Matsui's hat floating in the water.
Before the start of the tournament, Jennifer leads a salvage team to recover the sunk Shinpaku Alliance ship and decides not to investigate further before despite no bodies being found. At the entry hall, Kenichi realizes there was a masked theme Akisame explaining they are drug cartel leaders, mafia bosses, and weapon dealers that were going to see the fight. Kenichi worries that the masters aren't the situation serious and Miu tries to explain that they haven't let their guard down despite appearances but loses confidence in her argument the more she sees them indulging in the island's luxuries. Diego jumps onto the stage to explain the D of D Tournament: the fighters have to be 20 years old or younger and it’ll be like a Roman Coliseum. Suddenly, someone hacks into the island’s camera to talk about why they’re not invited as well. A big Shinpaku Alliance logo showed up on the screen meaning that Kenichi’s friends somehow got on the island. Nijima and the underlings (with their faces hidden with the logo) demanded to be entered in the tournament as well. Diego finds them behind the monitor forcing the Alliance (Niijima, Takeda, Ukita, Kisara, Thor, and Freya) to come out of hiding. Sakaki punched them all (an extra hard one for Takeda who tried to dodge it) in the head for not listening to the Elder. Diego approaches the group and is apparently furious at them for having his show hijacked.
Instead of angry, Diego admits he's amused by the Shinpaku Alliance for putting on a great show and allows them to enter the tournament. They are greeted by the Pankration Team and the leader warns the alliance they could have been killed if they made the wrong move. The leader shake's Kenichi's hand and though the rest of his team aren't don't think he's anything special, the leader explains that the handshake was to gauge Kenichi's strength and confirms he is History's Strongest Disciple. He tells his team to crush everyone standing in the way until they’re free. Then, Kensei Ma was recognized by the Three Headed Dragon Team: known for the 3 biggest Chinese Martial Arts. The leader insults Kenichi and the Shinpaku Alliance by calling them a joke. Kensei reveals to Kenichi that the Three Headed Dragon and his ancestors have a long history of fighting with and the Dragon Team vow to fulfil their clan's grudge by beating Kenichi. In Kenichi’s hotel room, the Shinpaku Alliance are also there enjoying themselves (despite getting their own rooms) until Kenichi asks about Hermit. Matsui explains that Hermit sacrificed himself by acting as a decoy when they were spotted to save the Alliance. However, Kenichi and Nijima believe that Hermit is still alive and hiding somewhere. Outside, Ukita admits to Kenichi that he is scared and because everyone else has improved far beyond him. Kenichi calms him down by showing is terrified as well, to a far greater degree. Ukita renews his resolve and also asks to keep it a secret from Kisara (though Kisara and Freya were eavesdropping). Freya asks Kisara what she thinks about Ukita risking himself for her and Kisara denies having a crush on him, but Freya surprisingly admits she likes Ukita. At the masters’ room, Sakaki reported that the island is filled with defenses and Elder believes the island is hiding something very important. They make a plan to act in two days. In the morning, Kenichi put on his fighting uniform and went to the coliseum with Miu and the Shinpaku Alliance.
Shinpaku Alliance vs. Black Force Team[]
On the way into the arena, Takeda notices Kenichi is nervous and explains that the Coliseum isn’t much different from the Underground Duel Arena, until most of them have their spirits crushed upon seeing the massive size of the arena. Nijima has Matsui wave a new flag what the former was wearing as a cape to show the world who the Shinpaku is, with some help from the Elder who breaks a fence so they can use a piece of it as a pole for the flag. Diego announces the start of D of D and announces the rules: up to five people per team are allowed to fight per match and any number of those five can compete together or separately. Teams win by defeating all their opposing team's members. When all the teams got to the stage, Diego announced the first match: Shinpaku Alliance vs. Black Force Team, a military group of unknown origin. The Shinpaku Alliance argues who should fight in what order, but Mizunuma volunteers to go first despite everyone else wanting him not to (even Niijima). Mizunuma is up against Member J, which is a one-side fight until the former used Backward Rapid Punches to injure the latter.
Everyone is surprised Mizunuma was able to land a serious blow and Mizunuma explains that he’s fighting to avenge his master, Alan Subishi, when one of the Yomi members defeated all but Mizunuma at the dojo and put Alan in a coma. However, Member J crushes Mizunuma’s windpipe and tortures him in front of everyone. Diego suddenly presses a button to transform the coliseum with a moat surrounding the ring and reveals the arena is rigged with various gimmicks to keep the fights interesting. Takeda throws a towel up to surrender, but Diego continues the match when he sees that Mizunuma still has the will to keep fightings. Mizunuma kicks J in the groin only to be knocked down shortly when Member J powers through the pain. Sasaki warns Niijima there are people in the world tougher than he can believe. When Mizunuma tries to will himself to get back up, Member J stomps on him and then insults him by spitting on him. Mizunuma gets carried to the infirmary for medical treatment, while Member J stays to fight for another round. Takeda then steps up to fight Member J and avenge Mizunuma.
As Mizunuma is taken to the infirmary, Akisame and Kensei go with him to help with his treatment. Back in the ring, Takeda vows to get revenge for Mizunuma, but Member J mocks him by pretending not to understand his language. As the fight is about to start, Niijima thinks to himself that Mizunuma's loss was actually a greater contribution to the team than if he won. He has rallied his teammate's spirits, which will amplify their strength. The Elder (somehow peeking into Niijima's internal monologue), commends his skill for strategy. Takeda points to the sky and the announcer wonders if he is declaring a one round KO, or a one-minute KO, but Takeda corrects him by declaring he will win with a one hit KO. The round starts and Takeda begins with quick footwork but gets hit by some of J’s boxing punches. Takeda calls a time out to take off his shirt and reveals he was with the retainer on. He admits that he underestimated J and kept the retainer on since he was afraid of being unable to restrain himself, but in the tournament that won't be a problem. J punches Takeda again, but Takeda leans back to avoid it and prepares for his one-hit KO attack. He knocks J unconscious and into the water with his Big Cat Eye Frog Punch and wins the match.
Sasaki and the Elder observe that Takeda put his entire body's strength into his legs to propel himself and combined that with a spinning punch to amplify the strength of his attack. Akisame returns to inform everyone that Mizunuma will be okay and explains that Takeda’s attack was named after one of Shiba’s pets. When J gets back up to his team, he is ordered by the Team Captain to commit suicide with a gun as punishment, but Kenichi knocks the gun out of the J’s hand and yells at him that losing is no reason to end his life. Another one of the soldiers is about to shoot J until Thor comes from behind and smashes the gun. Three of the Black Force Soldiers attack with Diego announcing the match will continue outside the ring. However, Thor voices his hatred of military types since they have no comradery and defeats all three with his Thunder Smashing Technique. Thor charges to finish off the leader, Captain K, until Freya knocks him back when she notices an invisible steel wire trap that would’ve beheaded Thor. Diego announces that Captain K uses steel wires to fight and Freya choses to fight him as a fellow weapon user. Diego changes the arena again to make it more fight for a fight between weapon users, causing pillars to rise up.
Before the round starts, Takeda warns Freya the blade wire is a weapon for killing. Freya counters that the staff is for not killing and that staff users have face killing weapons without ever killing their opponents, making wires pale in comparison. The round starts and K begins setting up wire traps, with the new pillars giving him an advantage, causing Freya to get cut on the arm and legs and obstructing Freya's staff techniques. Sakaki leaves the coliseum for Ryouzanpaku's plan and tells Kenichi that he's not staying because the outcome of the fight is obvious. Back in the ring, Freya continues to get cut by the wires, but Kisara points out that Freya actual has the advantage and K discovers that only the first two cuts actually hurt Freya, with the rest just cutting her clothes. Freya unleashes her ultimate staff techniques, using the first, Rei Mei, to flip over the wires and attack K with a kit. When K tries to counterattack with his wires, Freya used the second technique, O Ken, to deflect them. K tries to take Freya's staff when she attacks, but discovers it was a feint and lands a seemingly heavy blow with the third technique, Yamizuki. However, K dodges the Yamizuki at the last second and when he tries to retreat to get some distance and set new traps, he's cut by one of his own wires. Freya reveals he was overconfident in setting too many wires and she directed him into being surrounded by his own traps. Meanwhile, Sasaki is scouting the island when he is found by Jennifer, who claims he is her fiance and holds at gunpoint.
Sasaki believes Jennifer is bluffing, only to be proven wrong when she actually shoots at him. He dodges the shots and restrains who tells Sasaki they were supposed to marry, but Sasaki reminds her that a joke promise he made while drunk when she was a child. Sasaki asks Jennifer why she's become a bodyguard for criminals, something her father wouldn't be able to stand, but Jennifer doesn't answer. Back at the ring, Freya has K pinned between her staff and his own wire traps. K refuses to surrender and uses his claw gloves to have the wires fling him in the air and land on top of the pillars. Using the high ground to his advantage, K uses his wires to directly attack instead of setting traps and boasts that he can penetrate any kind of defense with his wires. However, Freya reminds K that her style has five ultimate moves and uses the fourth, Toufu, to vault into the air and crash her staff down on K, defeating him. K asks Freya why she didn't kill him and demands she does so, but she refuses. After the fight is declared over with the Shinapku alliance winning, K decides to commit suicide with his wires only for Freya to grab them to stop him. An angered Diego throws his microphone a K and tells him that the loser obeys the winner and Freya tells him to live on.
A Mysterious Teenager?[]
Akisame offers to help Freya treat the few wounds she recieved (while Kensei is tried up to prevent him trying anything lecherous). As the Shinpaku Alliance celebrates their victory, Ukita worries that their team will be set up to fight. Takeda responds that if that happens, they will fight with all they have and the winner will be the best team to deal with Yomi. Niijima celebrates that his alliance will win no matter what and tells everyone to fight for him, leading Kisara to jump off his head (and promptly land in between Ukita and Freya to separate them). Ukita then realizes Kenichi is nowhere to be found. Kenichi is shown to be outside, even more terrified of competing after seeing the matches himself. The Elder appears and assures Kenichi he is actually braver than the other martial artists, he simply needs to learn how to control that courage. To help Kenichi, the Elder offers a way for him to gain control and whispers something into his ear. Ukita searches for Kenichi and finds him filled with drastically newfound confidence. Kenichi reveals what the Elder told him to stoke his courage: if he becomes the champion of D of D, the Elder will allow him to date Miu. With that as motivation, Kenichi declares that not even death scares him anymore. Kenichi returns to filled with confidence, only to have his hopes shattered when he discovers that the Elder entered the tournament under the guise of Mysterious Teenager Garyu X. Despite seeing through the Elder's obvious disguise, Diego allows him to compete. Garyu X is pitted against the Kick Boxing Hurricanes Team with Gaien Osugi as the first fighter.
Osugi attacks but trips before making the first step and keeps falling when trying to get back up. After 11 seconds, Garyu X offers Osugi back up only for the latter run away when seeing the former’s mask. Diego shows everyone footage that caught Garyu X’s leg moving faster than 1/1000 of a second to make Osugi stumble. Garyu X then points at the Kick Boxing Hurricanes real leader, Rofusagi Gorobee, who is a 51-year-old master class fighter disguised as one of the underlings of the Muay Thai fighters. Rofusagi knocks out the rest of his team for failing to hide his real identity and with his chance of winning the tournament prize money ruined, Rofusagi attacks Garyu X knowing Hayato Furinji’s head is worth 100 times more than the tournament prize money, only to be knocked away in one hit as Garyu X corrects him and states he is worth a million times more. Kenichi thought that the Elder participated Garyu X to defeat the Master and keep him from interfering with the tournament. After the Elder returns the stands out of disguise, Niijima asks if "Garyu X" would retire now that the master is defeated, but the Elder answers that Garyu X is aiming to become the tournament champion (terrifying both Niijima and Kenichi in the process). Kensei tells Kenichi that he and Miu will be fighting next and that the match pairings have been posted. Niijima realizes Diego waited until they fought so they could see what they were capable of and altered the matchups in response. Kenichi and Miu are paired against the Three-Headed Dragon Team.
Ryouzanpaku vs. Three Headed Dragon[]
Outside the arena, Sasaki asks Jennifer how she could work Fortuna, something that would sadden her father, a famous gunman named Grey Lancelord. Jennifer reveals her father died 3 years ago and that she knows there is an operation to capture all the criminals who've come to the island to watch the D of D. She summon some more guards to escort Sakaki to the Command Center and Sasaki agrees to go since he can't bring himself to hurt Grey's daughter; however, Shigure is following closely behind. Kenichi and Miu are now up against the Three-Headed Dragon Team, who are eager to settle their grudge. Kensei explains to Kenichi that the three greatest martials arts in China are Taichi, Bagua, and Shin Yi, though Shaolin Kungfu is technically the fourth, but the Black Tiger White Dragon alliance removed it from the list. He warns Kenichi that he is up against strong opponents and Kenichi assures that he is not afraid thanks to the Elder's deal. Akisame praises for the Elder for being able to motivate Kenichi and the Elder tells Kenichi that if he wants to marry Miu, he has to defeat him, terrifying Kenichi and making him realize that he is not afraid of fighting because nothing is scarrier than the Elder. Diego turns the ring into an old peasant’s home from China and makes the rules for a 2 vs. 3 Battle Royale. Kenichi gets angry that the round has been set in his opponent's favor, but Miu points out it actually helps them since Kenichi won't be paired up alone again the female member of the Three Draon team due to his refusal to hit women. The match begins with Chou Yin Lin using Bagua Steps to surround Kenichi and Miu. Despite trying to dodge, Kenichi gets attacked by Chou’s High-Speed Kick and both he and Miu get attacked by all of the three at the same time using some invisible force that even Miu can’t see.
As Saskai is being escorted by Fortuna's guards, Jennifer uses the codeword "angel, a code her father used to start a fight, which alerts him to hostages being held in a nearby cell. He smashes through the cell and then defeats the guards with Shigure's help. The freed hostages introduce themselves as American Marines who were captured while investigating the island and Jennifer reveals that she is an infiltration agent from the FBI sent to rescue them as part of an international plan to destroy the D of D once and for all. In the arena, Kenichi and even Miu don't know what kind of attack they were hit with as the Three Dragon Team circles them. The team unleashes their attack, Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin, and Kenichi takes a heavy hit, but Miu’s voice is all it takes to get him to spring back up like nothing happened. Miu thinks that even she can't follow their movements and almost goes on the defense but decides to calm herself and enters a stance that leaves her open.
The Three Dragon Team use their combination technique again, but this time Mui is able to dodge it by jumping over, but Kenichi still gets run over by the attack. While jumping into the air, Miu sees the Three Dragon team's movements and discovers the secret behind the Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin, which she declares it is a circle, straight line, and a spiral. The Elder and Akisame praise Miu's decision to abandon defense and focus her concentration to analyze her opponent's movements. Kenichi props himself back up again when he hea's Miu's voice and the latter tell him they are going to counterattack. Kaku responds that even if they know the secret behind their combination, they won't be able to break it and the Three Dragon team unleash another Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin. As Kenichi and Miu try to defend themselves, Miu thinks that Kaku is right because she can't react to Yinlin's Bagua movements (the circle attacks), Yo's Shin Yi Ken's rush (the straight line), and Kaku's Taichi attacks (the spiral) all at once; the three attacks together create the Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin. Kensei Ma notes that even though Miu's been trained to reflexively dodge attacks, that skill is now putting her at a disadvantage since there is no defense against the Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin combination. Things get worse when the Three Dragon team reveals they can freely change the order of Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin to make their combination even harder to dodge and Miu is put into position for Kaku to land a Spiral Low Kick. Before Kaku can deal a finishing punch, Kenichi blocks the attack with his body, giving Miu the chance to kick Kaku back. Kenichi tells Miu they she can't handle them on her own and that the Three Dragon team is separating them every time they attack making it 3 vs. 1 instead of 2 vs. 3, so they should attack simultaneously as well. Miu is impressed by Kenichi's resolve and whispers a dangerous plan to him. The two link arms and when the Three Dragon team attacks again, they are able to counter it with their combination attacks which the Elder reveals is possible because all the training the two have had together. The Three Dragon team uses Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin again, believing that even together Kenichi and Miu won't be able to stop it. At the last second, Miu separates from Kenich (who gets hit yet again) and is revealed to have used her combo attacks with Kenichi with her eyes shut. Kenichi shouts that now is the time to strike and Miu gets in front of Yo and opens her eyes to pummel him with a series of attacks. She defeats Yo with her ultimate move: Furinji Kouhou Yoku.
Kaku is shocked Yo was defeat and admits Kenichi and Miu are stronger than he thought. Yinlin attacks with Bagua Steps, but is no match for Miu. Kaku doesn't help her and instead throws his fan at her mid-fight, causing her to leave herself open to be defeated by Miu, so he can gauge Miu's strength. He elaborates that Santouryuu Roku Gou Jin can't be used with only 2 people, so he opted to sacrifice Yinlin to gain an advantage by knowing his opponent's strength. Kaku knocked Kenichi down again and prepared to fight Miu, but Kenichi rises back up to fight Kaku. Despite being alone, Kaku is still confident in his victory until Kenichi attacks him in anger for betraying his own comrades. Kaku dismisses Kenichi as a weak opponent, catches his next kickK, and tries to slam his head into the ground. However, Kenichi is able break free and graze Kaku's cheek in the process (but he still ends up falling on his head). Infuriated by getting grazed by Kenichi, Kaku denounces the idea of friendship in martial arts and declares that people must dominate each other to get stronger. Kenichi rejects Kaku's ideology and responds that his friends are the reason he is able to fight in tournament and vows to prove himself right by fighting Kaku one on one. Kaku just laughs at Kenichi's challenge, angering the latter to attack but he is easily repelled by the former and coughs up blood. Miu is angers by Kaku's mocking and almost fights Kaku, but Kenichi gets back up to finish his one-on-one fight. The Shinpaku Alliance recognizes Kenchi's has called upon his true strength.
Kenichi grabs Kaku and uses Jujitsu to throw him into the air and attacks him with an aerial Kao Loi, Yamazuki, and Gekiousui. Kaku distances himself and realizes the rumors about Kenichi being taught by multiple masters are true. When Kenichi coughs up blood again from his previous injuries, Miu warns him that he is overdoing it, but Kenichi explains that despite being barely able to stand, he's used to it; ever since he joined Ryzoanpaku, he's never had an easy fight. The Ryozanpaku Masters are proud of Kenichi's growth and Akisame thinks that he assumed Kenichi wouldn't have the courage to enter such a battle and that it is hard to get a read of his character, but that is exactly what makes him interesting. Despite holding his own, Kenichi struggles to land a solid his which Kensei Ma explains is due to Taichi's specialist Kakei, using spinning motions to deflect and neutralize the strength of attacks. He also explains that while Taichi is commonly known for being used for health exercise and not fights, it is actually one of the most dangerous martials arts, which is why he hasn't taught Kenichi more of it. Kenichi tries to use Jujitsu again, but Kaku counters and nearly scratches his eye and nose with Cross hand. Kaku nearly kills Kenichi three times in a row by trying to bash his skull in with Kon Gou Toutai, which Kenichi is able to dodge, give him a brain concussion with Sou Fuu Kan Ji, which Kenichi blocks, and twist his neck with Ban Ran, which Kenichi manages to survive by spinning his body along with his head. After Kenichi escapes Kaku's reach, the latter shouts at Kensei Ma that his dsciple is weak and he will kill him to make the master suffer. Kenichi asks Kaku what grudge he as against Kensei Ma and the master reveals that he tried to take Kaku in as his disciple.
Kaku doesn't care about the past and continues attacking Kenichi while insulting Kensei Ma as someone who lowers reputation of Chinese Martial Arts to use psychological warfare against Kenichi. However, Kenichi doesn't care and actually agrees with Kaku's opinion for all the tricks Kensei's played on him, but finishes by stating for all Kensei's faults, they are compared to his greatness and that is why he's never doubted his teachings. Kensei deduces Kenichi is unable to move his arms and signals him to use that "move" before Kaku attacked again. Kaku lands a direct hit and seemingly defeats Kenichi, but Kenichi rises to his feet while Kaku collapses. The Elder explains to the Shinpaku Alliance that Kenichi followed the energy flow of Kaku's attack, leading his body to automatically bow down and land a direct headbutt on Kaku. Fortuna recognizes the technique as a Taichi move called Sha Gi Shou Jin, called "Flowing Water" in Japanese Martial Arts, which Diego renames as Flowing Water Headbutt. Kaku raises up again, refusing to lose to a Disciple of Kensei Ma. Meanwhile, Sasaki and Shigure are defeating Fortuna's guards at the island's main control system while Jennifer keeps the alert system from activating and takes control to deactivate the island's defense system. Sasaki explains to the freed soldiers that the allied forces will be attacking despair island tomorrow and they need to deactivate its missile defense system, so the allied forces won't suffer any loses, which is the real reason Ryozanpaku came to the island. Back at the arena, Diego notices Shō Kanō i watching Kenichi’s fight hoping to take back Miu with him.
A flashback shows Kaku and other members of the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance spying on the Phoenix Alliance in Shangahi. Despite being forbidden to confront members of the Phoenix Alliance, Kaku decides to attack with the other members of his alliance when he sees Kensei Ma apparently goofing off while leading a training exercise, believing them to be weak. In the present, Kaku struggles to stay on his feet after taking the Flowing Water Headbutt but maintains his position that Kensei's methods can't create a strong disciple and attacks while shouting that hatred, fear and fury are real Kung Fu. Another flashback shows Kaku being punished by the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance for disobeying orders by attacking, losing the battle, and worst of all, returning unharmed, something the alliance considers disgraceful because they see receiving pity from their enemy as a sign of weakness. Kaku was given a death sentence, but before he could be killed, Kensei arrived to save him. Kensei challenged the Alliance to attack him 3 times in any way and after he repelled all three attacks at once, he won the right to Kaku's life and demanded he be spared. However, Kaku was demoted to the lowest rank and forbidden to commit suicide, which he felt was worse than death because now he was forced to live ashamed, and he vowed vengeance on Kensei. However, Kensei surprisingly offered to make Kaku his disciple, but Kaku rejected the offer because he believed Kensei treated martial arts as a joke and that masters and disciples are supposed to be use each other with emotions getting in the way. Back in the present, Kenichi tells Kaku that Kensei never took his training as a joke and that Kaku actually wanted to become Kensei's disciple, but he is afraid of changing, striking a nerve with Kaku and angering him. Kaku announces his will use his strongest move to finish the fight and the Master's in the stands realize Kenichi doesn't have any strength left in his arms. Akisame reveals he knows a technique that can slam the opponent into the ground without touching them, but he hasn't taught it to Kenichi. Kaku rushes in with Raisei, a technique that uses breathing to create vibrations in the body that makes attacks stronger and lethal and lands a direct hit on Kenichi.
As Kenichi is seemingly struck with Raisei, he remembers a night of training with Kensei where he had to break an urn (which had picture of Miu inside). He was exhausted to the point he unable to lift his arms and Kensei explains there will be times he'll want to give up and he must struggle through when that happens. He tells Kenichi even when he's lost all his power, there's a technique that he can still us. Kenichi uses, Taiho Shouha, the same technique he used to destroy the urn, to counter Kaku's Raisei and strike a winning blow. Kenichi is declared the winner and Ryouzanpaku moves onto the next round. Freya asks Kensei what technique Kenichi used and in exchange for a few suggestive poses (which Freya surprisingly agrees to without complaint), Kensei explains that Taihou Shouha amplifies an opponent's power and turns it against them by taking a step back and placing their palm forward; it was equivalent of Kaku running full force into a steal pole jutting from the ground. As Laku lies on the ground, he sees that even though Kenichi is stronger, he has a lot of friends, which was opposite of what he thought it took to get strong. Before passing out, he wonders he could’ve been friends with Kenichi if he joined Kensei Ma. In the infirmary, Kaku woke up with his friends beside him and told them they would be punished by the Black Tiger Leader. As the leader, Kaku offers to take the blame, but his teammates refuse to let him face the Alliance's wrath alone. At that moment Kensei Ma comes in and tells then that him that they can’t go back to the Black Tiger White Dragon Council anymore unless they want to die. He gives them his seal as the leader of the Phoenix Alliance, which will give them his Alliance's aid so they can escape the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance. Kaku is upset about receiving help from his enemy, but Kensei tells him to survive, get stronger. Yo tells Kaku that they are comrades and will go with him, something Kaku lightheartedly passes off as one of his bad jokes.
Darkness at Night[]
Kenichi wake up in his room from a nightmare about Niijima dragging him back to life for his plans and finds the real Niijima in his room and hits him in a fearful reflex. After waking up, Kenichi discovers it is night and Akisame and Ma come in to treat his wounds. The explain that most of the other matches for the first round have finished and the second round will start tomorrow. Thanks to all his training, Kenichi is recovering remarkably fast, (though he isn't happy about having to take Kensei Ma's Chinese medicine to speed up the recovery or his master's plan for their disciple remodeling plan). Nijima tells Kenichi the Rest of the Shinpaku Alliance is training (or in Ukita's case dreading) for the next round after seeing the other matches. The Capoeira Team moved to the next round with the female fighter defeating all five of the New York Street Fighters at once. The Mongolian Bufu Team (a Sumo team from Mongolia that Thor cheered for) easily plowed through the Karate Team. Niijima warns that despite the complete victories of the previous teams, the following one worried him the most. Tenchi Mushin Ryuu: a team with only a single member, Tsutomu Tanaka, was more focused on call to his wife than before defeating one of the Body Builder Five with one finger from his Ancient Martial Arts Technique. He then defeated the other four bodybuilders and moved onto the next round. Nijima shows Kenichi the matchups for tomorrow and that his team would face against Garyu X AKA the Elder. Outside on the balcony, Kenichi tells Ukita that he wanted to settle things with YOMI without involving anyone, but Kenichi blames himself for having the Three Headed Dragon Team get chased by the Chinese Mafia. Ukita points out that it wasn't Kenichi's fault and that Kaku will reform himself just like he did after being defeated by Kenichi. He advises Kenichi he should keep get stronger to turn his beliefs into reality, cheering Kenichi up. Suddenly, Kenichi sees Miu and Shō Kanō standing on the rooftops.
Miu and Shō trade their stuff back from the time they were at the Botanical Gardens and Kenichi (remembering last time Miu was with Shō, he kissed her) tries to go after them. Shō promises Miu that if he she joins Yomi; she’ll get info about her father, Saiga Fūrinji, but Miu refuses by thrusting kicks at him thinking she wouldn’t get the information she wanted. However, Shō refuses to take now for an answer and strangles her from behind into unconsciousness with one hand. Kenichi jumps to the next balcony to save Miu but fails to grab ahold on the ledge and seemingly falls. Shō mocks Kenichi's efforts, only for Kenichi to crawl up on the balcony, having grabbed onto strong ivy growing from it, prompting Shō to try and flee with the unconscious Miu. Kenichi swings after them on vines and lands next to Shō, but the latter orders his bodyguards Kōya Seta and Nauma Hayami to push him off the building. Luckily, Kenichi's fall is broken by a tree and lands safely on a bush. Seta and Hayami attack him again at the same time, but Kenichi counters them both and tells them to get out of the way so he can go after Miu.
Ukita tries to get the Ryozanpaku masters to help, but discovers they aren't in their room and decides to go the Shinpaku Alliance instead. Meanwhile, the masters meet with Jennifer after setting plastic explosives she acquired across the island. Kensei tells the others he senses a massive ki and that it feels familiar as Sogetsu Ma is show drinking somewhere on Despair Island. Kenichi battles Seta and Hayami to a standstill, but his injuries from the tournament kick in and leave him open to an attack. Suddenly, someone is wheelchair appears and uses Seikuken and Gungnir to easily repel both bodyguards. Kenichi discovers his rescuer is Ryuto, now crippled after his previous fight with him.
Ryuto tells Kenichi to hurry up and go save Miu. Meanwhile, Ukita reaches the Shinpaku Alliance's room, but discovers most of the members are gone training and the only fighter still there is Kisara. While trying to take Miu away, Shō encounters Thor, Freya, and Takeda in the middle of training and the three discover his kidnapping attempt. They try to stop Shō, but he defeats them all in an instant. Thanks to his training, Takeda is the only one who is still able to stand, but Shō threatens to kill him if he tries to fight him again. To repay the debt he owes to Ryozanpaku for fixing his arm, Takeda ignores Shō's threat and rises to fight. As he dodges Takeda's punches, Shō claims that Miu can only be truly happy with him in Yami because her father is the One Shadow the leader of Yami. Shō strikes Takeda's stomach, lifting him into the air with his fist, and tells him to him die.
As Kenichi rushes to find Miu, Takeda catches Shō off guard with his Illusionary Left while still in his grip. However, Shō still blocks the attack and brutally injures him. Suddenly, Miu wakes up to find that Takeda, Freya, and Thor unconscious and enters a bloodthirsty rage. She attacks Shō, who marvels at this hidden side to her and believes it is proof she belongs with him in Yami. The elder senses the battle, but reluctantly refuses to interfere. Kenichi finally catches up got there and discovers everyone's wounds but realizes they're still alive and begins treating their wounds. He also discovers Miu is in a berserk state and Shō warns him that if he gets any closer, Miu will kill him because she's already fallen into darkness.
Shō tells Kenichi Miu can no longer hear his voice and that this is her original self; her true violent nature was awakened from her anger at seeing her friends hurt. He claims that Miu will be grateful for having her real self-freed from restriction and that she and Kenichi live in different worlds. Kenichi ignores Shō's words and climbs up to get to Miu but gets attacked by her in her rampage. Shō tells Kenichi that while he can handle Miu's power, anyone else will be killed. However, Kenichi doesn't care and instead furious at what Shō has done to Miu. He grabs Miu and tries to reach her, but she still attacks him. Shō believes Kenichi is going to get himself killed, only to Kenichi to endure Miu's attack and use Kensei's Shock Remedy (AKA groping her chest), which snaps Miu back to her senses. Shocked and angered that Kenichi knows a side Miu he didn't and was able to bring her back from her rage, Shō realizes the reason he can't stand Kenichi. He vows to kill him in one attack and Miu warns Kenichi Shō is not bluffing and that even she might not be able to beat him at full strength. Despite knowing all this, Kenichi still decides to fight Shō for all the harm he's done and voices his hatred of him. Shō returns the sentiment and throws a punch to kill Kenichi, only for Kenichi to catch his attack with Shinken Shirahama Dori.
Using his experience from training with his master's to anticipate Shō's speed, and deducing he would attack the same way he defeated Takeda; Kenichi was able to catch his attack. Shō lifts Kenichi up to attack again, but stops when Kenichi reminds him, he failed to kill him in one attack. Frustrated, Shō throws Kenichi aside and his frustration only grows when Miu rushes to his side. He vows to finish his feud with Kenichi tomorrow at the tournament and leaves by diving into the water surrounding the island after warning that Miu will have more trials waiting for her and that he won't be able to protect him. While gathering the injured to get them treatment, Kenichi thinks that despite Shō's skill, he was able to block one of his attacks and resolves to land a hit on him tomorrow. In the infirmary, Akisame reveals that if the injured came 10 minutes later, they would have died, and they won't be able to fight in the tournament tomorrow (while Kenichi get stuck taking even stronger medicine from Kensei). While resting, Kenichi wonders what Ryuto was doing at the island and realizes that since his master Ogata is a member of Yami, that makes him a member of Yomi, shocking him to the point he gets up and Sasaki has to knock him out. Meanwhile, Niijima worries what they'll do for tomorrow's match with their strongest fighters out of commission.
Stanley Siblings vs. Nanken Team[]
The next morning, the second day of D of D starts and neither Kenichi's nor the Shinpaku Alliance are in good shape. Kenichi is still battered from last night despite treatment and the Shinpaku Alliance's only remaining fighters are Ukita and Kisara. The first match of the day is the Nanken Team against the Diego’s own team of Rachel Stanley and Ethan Stanley: Gemini Team. After the Gemini Team makes a flashy entrance with Mexican music and dancers, Diego changes the ring into a pro wrestling ring to best suit his disciple. Kenichi recognizes Castor as the masked lady from the Underground Duel Arena. Dou Kokyoku is unfazed by Diego's bias starts the match with a flurry of punches at Castor, but Castor jumps out of her cloak and sombrero on the high edge and left a rose on Dou’s hair. Kenichi recognizes Rachel as the girl from the underground arena.
Kenichi is surprised that Yami has so many different types of martial artists and Akisme explains that each of the One Shadow Nine Fists has a disciple, meaning that Kenichi will face more than 10 different styles when fighting Yomi. Akisame doesn't have much more information of Yami due to its secrecy, but he reveals that are rumors that it has the wealth and military strength of an entire nation and that Yomi members are chosen from the best young martial artists across the word. He also tells Kenichi is lucky, because someone like him who used to be bullied is now their archnemesis (frighting Kenichi even more). Kenichi wonders that if Ryuto was already a member of Yomi, then why did he create Ragnarök. Unable to figure out what Ryuto was up to, Kenichi decides to focus on watching the match. The match officially starts as a tag team match without a knockdown count; the teams will fight until one can no longer fight. Dou grabs Castor’s hands and the latter she reveals that she purposefully let her grab her. Castor flips over Dou and throws her against the ropes, which Dou thinks won't work as normal ring ropes don't have much bounce. However, the pro wrestling ropes are far more elastic than she considered, which Diego points out is the purpose of the ring, and Dou is thrown back at Castor who hits her with a lariat and a backdrop. Dou gets back up only for Castor to catch her by surprise with a diving press. Castor pulls Dou up by her shirt and when later pushes her away with a punch, her shirt gets ripped off and her bare breasts are exposed to various reactions in the audience (including Kisara kicking Ukita in the face, Mui poking Kenichi's eyes, Jenny pointing a gun at Sasaki to keep them from staring, and Kensei's joy). Dou isn't fazed at her indecency, claiming she gave up being a woman a long time ago, but she is barely able to stand. Infuriated the Dou drew attention away from her, Castor piledrives Dou from the high edge and wins, purposefully ripping her clothes in process to attract attention. Kin Dou Chou jumps into the ring only to be brutally attacked continuously by Pollux, winning the match instantly.
Pollux keeps beating Kin until Caster kicks him the back of the head, for not being more "Lucha" and following her plan where she was supposed to pretend lose to increase the entertainment. Pollux apologizes, explaining his master taught him to defeat opponent's immediately, causing Kenichi to realize Diego is only Castor's master. To warm up the audience again, Castors lies to the audience about Kenichi ruining her life and taking everything from her and her brother, turning the crowd against Kenichi and making him flee the coliseum in tears. Kenichi runs to a church where he finds the Pankration Team Leader, Spartacus, praying for him and his siblings for protection. When he meets Kenichi, he is friendly and shares his distaste for the tournament. Spartacus reveals doesn't want to fight, but his father, Fortuna, is forcing him and his siblings to fight leaving Kenichi shocked. Spartacus, he leaves with his team to begin their match.
Pankration Team vs. Jiu-jitsu Team[]
Somewhere else outside the arena, Hermit attacks two guards while searching for Sogetsu Ma. A third guard appears and attacks him with a trident and as Hermit fights, he hears his master giving instructions on how to counter his opponent. Following his master's advice, Hermit defeats the guards and finally finds Sougetsu watching nearby. The two talked in private where Hermit explains he knew Sogetsu wouldn't be killed in the fire and figured he would be at Despair Island where many masters had gathered because he always shows up wherever there is sake and chaos. Hermit reminds Sougetsu about the promise about teaching him true Chinese Kempo for 34 cases of wine and 2 extra bottles when the former was just a kid. Sogetsu sees Hermit has improved and decides to train Hermit to move on the next level. As they head outside, Sogetsu reveals that he isn't interested in the tournament and that something bigger is about to start. Hermit asks about the martial artists, including Sogetsu, who were hired by Fortuna, but despite already being paid, Sogetsu declares he will do whatever he wants and asks Hermit what he plans to do now that he's found him. Hermit ponders that question as he sees Kenichi heading back to the arena and the terrible master and undiscipline disciple plan on causing havoc.
Facing the Brazilian Jiujitsu Team, the Pankration Team take a defensive formation. Andrew of the Jiu-jitsu Team rushes in first but gets slammed down by one of the Pankrations, who start brutally beating the opposing team. Akisame explains that even though Brazilian Jujitsu style has evolved by incorporating research from other martial arts, the Pankration Team has the advantage because their brutal style is most fit for the life-or-death matches of D of D. Kenichi returns and see the Pankrations brutally beating the other team with one of them sent to the infirmary. The Pankration Team obtains a complete victory, but Spartacus wants the doctors to fix a small wound on one of his sisters, refusing to ignore the smallest injuries until they day they acquire their freedom. Kenichi realizes there was something strange with the strategy of the Pankrations, like it was their only way to survive, but he doesn't get to think about it for long as the next match is Kenichi and Miu fighting against Garyu X.
Secret Training and Withdrawals[]
Diego changes the ring into a jungle for Kenichi and Miu's match against Garyu X. Niijima believes that the Elder disguised himself to eliminate the master who had infiltrated the Muy Tai team and that he'll forfeit now that he's done that. The others think the same thing, to Kenichi's relief, until Garyu X punches both him and Miu. The two are almost knocked out of the ring in a single attack and Akisame realizes the Elder is using the 0.0002% Combination Technique to train Kenichi and Miu. The two masters deduce that the elder is using the match as a form of training, but even holding back he is still the most powerful being on the planet. Miu also realizes that the Elder is testing them and Kenichi decides to face the challenge (though he is heartbroken that the Elder is interfering with his bargain that he can date Miu if he wins D of D). Kenichi and Miu stand together to fight Garyu X while Akisame realizes the Elder is using this opportunity to train the two and teach them new techniques.
Kenichi and Miu are overpowered by Garyu X and the Shinpaku Alliance worries the Elder is going too far. Garyu X separates Kenichi and Miu for train them separately. The Elder uses a special ability "Bi-Vocal", which allows him to speak two different ways at once, to simultaneously tell Kenichi he needs to learn more fighting techniques and Miu should improve her techniques. The Master explain the Elder has create an axis in the middle of his body that allows him to control either side freely and separately, letting the elder act like two people in one. Kenichi and Miu attack Garyu X from opposite directions, but all they hit is an after image and Garyu X hits them both with counterattacks. Both Kenichi and Miu are nearly defeat and the Garyu X tells them that even if he spares them, Yomi will just kill them anyway at their current level, so he tells them he will kill them personally.
Garyu X unleashes ki so powerful that even the other Ryouzanpaku masters feel it pushing them (and Apachai’s shirt ripped apart). Kenichi almost crawls out of the ring in terror, but Miu withstands the ki and tells Kenichi to keep fighting and that this is part of the training. Miu faces Garyu X, and her courage reignites Kenichi's resolve. He attacks Garyu X with Meotode, but he gets countered by Garyu X's single hand Meotode (which Sasaki points out isn't actually Meotode). Despite getting beaten further and only hitting after Images, Kenichi continues the fight and realizes that because he is injured and surrounded by enemies on the island, this fight really can be called training. Kenichi attacks with Myuboshi, which Garyu X counters with Seikuken. The Elder reveals to Kenichi that he only learned half of Seikuken before his training was cut short to face Odin and shows its complete form: Ryuusui Seikuken.
Kenichi realizes the Elder's goal from the beginning was to finish his Seikuken training and resolves to do so even if he has to put his life on the line. Miu attacks Garyu X to give Kenchi an openning to strike, but their attacks go through him, and they suddenly lose all the strength in their bodies. After getting hit by Garyu X again, the two regain the ability to move and Miu reveals that the invincible superman Hayato Furinji has 108 different techniques he created himself. Garyu X then uses "Obstrutive Lung Voice", a technique that allows him to narrow the path of his voice so only the person it's aimed at hears him, to remind Kenichi that the staying calm in the essence of Seikukun and tell Miu that she need to improve her control over her own ki, evidenced by her loss of control last night. He tells the two the next attack will be the last and to show him what they've learned. As they clash, Garyu X tells Kenichi that the strength left his body before because he merged the flow of his movements with him, got a step ahead, and disrupted it; that is the secret of Ryuusui Seikukun. He also tells Miu her ki is unstable, like standing on the verge of a cliff, and she will fall off it if she can't properly control it. Using what they've learned in the fight, the two rapidly improve and Miu puts herself into a sacrificial position that will allow Kenichi strike Garyu X, but she would also get hit in the process. Kenichi throws a punch and seemingly hits both Miu and Garyu X.
The Shinpaku Alliance is shocked Kenichi would hurt Miu, but Akisame shows them that Miu dodged the punch which only hit Garyu X. However, Kenichi only ended up hitting another after image, but he grazed his mask enough to break it, forcing Garyu X to forfeit the match letting Ryouzanpaku move onto the semifinals. Garyu X tries to make a dramatic exit, but it's ruined when Matsu points out that if Garyu X was 20 as he claimed, then he was actually ineligible from the start since 20 was actually the cutoff age instead of the maximum. The Elder secretly tells Kenichi he's passed the test and jumps out of sight after throwing his mask at Diego with a message that he'll remember the trickery he's pulled. At the back, Pollux finds Tsutomu spying on them and the latter asks the former who is master is. After learning that Pollux's master isn't who he thought he was, Tsutomu explains he participated in the tournament hoping to find Isshinsai Ogata at the island. He tells the siblings to pass a message to Ogata that he’ll pay for his crimes before forfeiting his match against them and running off after getting a phone call from work. Castor tries to go after him, but Tsutomu has already gotten out of sight. At Kenichi’s home, the Shirihama's get a visitor who asks where Kenichi is. Honoka gives him a copied map to Despair Island she drew, and the visitor turns out to be none other than Siegfried.
Shinpaku Alliance vs. Capoeira Team[]
Back at Fortuna’s coliseum, Nijima is sulking about only having Kisara left to fight (forgetting about Ukita since he didn't undergo any abnormal training). He reflects that he brought the Shinapku Alliance to gain publicity for the organization and fighting any further when they can't win is pointless. He tells Takeda, Freya, and Thor that he plans on forfeiting, but the three object and tell Nijima that they will still fight the Capoeira Team in spirit to support Ukita and Kisara. When Niijima leaves the infirmary frustrated that no one is being reasonable, he is confronted by Ukita who tells him the Shinpaku Alliance is no longer just his and that everyone will keep fighting no matter what. In the ring, the Capoeira Team dances while waiting for the Shinpaku Alliance and Miu takes notice of ruthless look in their eyes. Nijima, Ukita, and Kisara arrive, and Diego asks if they forfeit with most of their members injured, but Niijima answers that they will fight. Furthmore, Nijima he will jjoin in the fight himself to win with his strategic planning (though he is completely bluffing and doesn't have an actual plan). The arena is changed into the remains of destroyed building and the fight is about to begin when suddenly, the island’s defense systems destroy an incoming aircraft. Jenny realizes the aircraft wasn't a part of her mission since it won't go down until tomorrow. Someone jumps from the aircraft just before it's blown up and it is revealed to be Siegfried who shouts he is coming to help his friends.
Jennifer contacts her agents in the control room who confirm that the aircraft was a private jet with only one person on it. As Siegfried falls towards the island missiles and guns are fired at him, but he is too small a target to hit. After passing the defenses, Siegfried opens a parachute and lands safely in the ring, earning the praise of the crowd for his daring feat (and Castor's ire for upstaging her). Siegfried quickly deduces the situation and Niijima officially declares him a part of his team. Miu notices Siegfried has bulked up, a sign he's improved greatly. Niijima starts the match by using his Niijima Scan to evaluate the Capoeira Team for info and deduces not only who the leader of the team is, but that one of the members, Silvio, has a crush on a female team member named Aisha. With his info gathering complete, Niijima created the "SFI Plan" and gives Ukita an important task: to die for him.
Kisara and Ukita object to Niijima's plan and the group begins arguing amongst themselves. Kenichi recognizes they are fighting because of Niijima's plans but recognizes that even though Niijima is a twisted and evil individual, his talent for manipulating people is real. Niijima whispers the details of his SFI to Ukita, who agrees to go through with the plan. The fight starts and the Shipaku Alliance makes a direct charge. Silvio, shook up from Niijiima's probing and jealous of Aisha's feelings for their captain, decides to prove himself to get Aisha's affection. However, the Shinpaku Alliance scatters in different directions except for Ukita who heads straight for the captain and tries to push him out of the arena. Silvio realizes that Niijima's plan is to sacrifice the weakest member of his team to take out the enemy's strongest fighter. Unfortunately, the entire Capoeira Team all kick Ukita at the same time and severely injure him. Nijima announces that the SFI Plan has failed thanks to Ukita and tells the rest of his team to fight however they want. As the Capoeria Team minus their captain fight Kisara and Siegfreid, Niijima taunts Silvio that all his efforts are wasted because Aisha only loves the captain and even if he wins he won't get what he really wants. Provoked, Silvio ignores his captain's orders and chases after Niijima, corning him at the arena's edge. He tries to kick out of the arena, only for Ukita to surprise him and throw him out instead. The capoeira captain realizes this was the true purpose of the SFI plan and Nijima explains the SFI Plan means Shinda (Death) Furishite (Pretend) Ikkiteru (Return).
Everyone reacts to the effectiveness of Niijima's plan and even the Ryozanpaku masters agree that Niijima has skill in tactics, but Ukita has been left in rough condition. Niijima realizes that Ukita likely has broken ribs, but contiues to bluff and boast sthat the Capoeira Team has lost their numbers advantage. The captain isn't rattled by Niijima's bragging and the latter thinks that only Kisara, who is stuck fighting Aisha and Siegfried are the only ones capable of still fighting. Siegfried seemingly gets pummeled by the Capoeira Team, actually appearing weaker than before he left for training. The captain attempts to ambush Niijima, but he escapes so the captain foes after the injured Ukita instead. Niijima shouts for someone to save Ukita and Siegfried blocks the captain's kick Chapeau De Couro with his body and counterattacks. Siegfried reveals he was just waiting for an order from Niijima to act and declares that during his training in Tibet, he has removed all weak spots, not even a leaf (a reference to the weakness of the Mythological Siegfried). Two members of the Capoeira team try to double team Siegfried, but he uses Nirvana no Canon to smash the two at each other and through a wall. The Ryozanpaku master's praise Siegfried's counter abilities as nearing master class level and that Siegfried himself will become a master one day. Sigefried defeats one of Capoeria with his Da Capo of Whirlwind Kicks and the other member, Eliot, manages to catch Siegfried in full body hold so he wouldn’t counter, and tell Siegfried his overconfidence was his weakness. However, Siegfried somehow turns his head around completely and declares he has no more weaknesses before unleashing the newest technique he learned in Tibeth: Whispering of the Angel.
Elliot (startled along with almost everyone else at Siegfried turning his entire head behind his body), maintains his hold to try and strangle Siegfried while keeping him from countering. Siegfried takes a deep breath, causing his body's muscles to swell and making his own allies wonder if he's even human anymore, before using Whispering of the Angel (essentially just shouting in a deafening voice so loud it's too much for the people in the stand) in Elliot's ear to knock him out. Siegfried explains that he learned from the Mani ‘Khor Lo (a spinning wheel in Tibet) which became his master (despite being a lifeless object) for his training. After his win, Siegfried feel inspiration to compose a new melody he came up with but finds his note paper is full, so he writes on Elliot's unconscious chest, leaving him open for the captain to get an attack in. However, Siegfried just counters is with Nirvana No Canon Vertical and becomes infuriated his inspiration was interrupted. The captain and Siegfried's clash ends in a stalemate and the captain realizes that Siegfried is using his body's inner strength to strain his muscles and adding a spinning motional to deflect any attack back like the principles of a weighted Dreidel. Siegfries responds that even if the secret of his technique is known, he can't be defeated and claims he could have defeated the entire Capoeira Team by himself from the start. Niijima is overjoyed that with Siegfried supporting him, his team can actually win the D of D, but just as he starts gloating, Siegfried admits he's exhuasted because he's been searching for the island for 3 days without rest and falls asleep.
Niijiima frantically tries to wake up Siegfried, while the Shinpaku Alliance is shocked and the Ryozanpaku masters are amused by the turn of events. The Capoeira captain tries to attack Niijima, forcing the latter uses Siegfried as a human shield to protect himself. Kisara and Ukita are angered by Niijima's cowardice, but Niijima argues that Siegfried would have still protected him if he was awake, something the half-conscious Siegfried confirms. The captain begrudging admits Niijima is good at running away, but points out that he'll eventually tire, and Kisara will be the only one left to fight. In Kisara’s fight against Aisha, the former iss having a hard time hitting the latter since they both specialize in kicks. Aisha gets a hit in thanks to having a longer reach, (or as Niijima puts it Kisara is both flat chested and has short legs, striking a nerve the latter's insecurities). Miu's attempt to encourage Kisara only makes her flustered due to her larger figure and Aisha chuckles at her embarrassment as she throws another kick. Infuriated by Aisha's mocking, Kisara blocks her kick, vows to defeat the rest of the capoeira team by herself and tells Niijima to keep the captain busy for five minutes. In the stands, Miu notices Shō Kanō is watching the fight and sneaks off to find him. Kenichi doesn't notice her leaving, but the Ryozanpaku masters do notice, and the Elder tells the others to leave her be. As she races to confront Shō, Miu thinks that it was her fault, Takeda and the others were hurt so she has to be the one to fight him. However, before she can find Shō, she is stopped by Ryuto.
Ryuto's interruption stops Miu from confronting Shō before he leaves after deciding the current fight isn't worth watching since Miu wasn't in it. When Miu tries to go after Shō, Ryuto grabs her hand and the former's habit of throwing people when they get behind her kicks in, but Ryuto lands safely despite being in a wheelchair. Ryuto warns Miu she can't get close to Shō and reveals he knows him as a fellow member of Yomi. He reiterates that Miu shouldn't face Shō alone and fights her when she refuses to leave him be. Back in the arena, Nijima manages to create a trap using the rubble in the arena to use against the captain only for it to be kicked away. The Capoeira captain realizes Niijima’s plan is to stall and decides to defeat Kisara first then deal with Niijima with Aisha's help. Just before he can attack Kisara, Ukita blocks the attack and shields her to buy time. The captain pummels Ukita, who tries to break the captain's arm before being knocked out, but he only manages to break a finger which the captain easily fixes. Miu continues to fight Ryuto, who proves to be formed even confined to wheelchair. Ryuto explains he doesn't want to fight and reluctantly reveals that when he was invited by Ogata to join Yomi, he realized how dangerous it was, so he gathered information on the organization and that lead to him coming across the secret of Shō: the Kuremisago. Meanwhile, Kenichi realizes Miu is missing.
Ryuto reveals the Kuremisago are a ninja clan who bred children with incredible physical prowess and have continued to influence the world in the modern era; it is said that a single member of the clan was worth the same in battle as several army divisions. Shō originated from the clan and was sold to Yami who trained him to become a master under the guidance of Akira Hongo, one of the One Shadow Nine Fists, to inherit all the techniques on the OSNF. Miu realizes how dangerous Shō really is and Ryuto confirms that Shō will stop at nothing to bring her to Yami, having lived his life controlled by them, because she was the first light he's seen in his life of darkness. From everything Miu has learned, the thing that bothers her the most is that the Kuremisago clan sounds familiar. In the arena, Kisara is trapped between Aisha and the captain with Niijima warning his manipulations won't work anymore. Aisha goes in to finish Kisara with a kick and Kisara rushes in with her own kick, which Aisha believes she will be able to beat thanks to her longer reach. Before they reach each other, Kisara begins copying Miu's movements and dodges Aisha's kick. Kisara thinks she's becoming like an actual Valkyrie (her former alias in Ragnarök) and overcomes Aisha's next kick to defeat her with an attack from above. However, now she has to face the captain, who lands several hits on her, causing Kisara to realize copying Miu's movements won't work on him. Suddenly, Freya arrives in the stands despite still being injured and reminds Kisara that she vowed to walk her own path and should focus on her own movements than someone else's. As she dodges the captain's attacks, Kisara reflects on what the basis of her movements. Her movements suddenly change, allowing her to dodge the captain's attacks, and when she lands, she meows.
Kisara begins acting like a cat, to the confusion of everyone watching. When the captain attacks again, Kisara dodges it with her new movement and Freya realizes Kisara has found the source of her movements: cats. Kisara uses several strange moves such as kick up sand and scratching with her nails before grazing the captain with her newest technique: Cat Kick. As he fights Kisara, the captain realizes that despite appearances, Kisara's kicks are still taekwondo based and Kisara lands her first direct hit with Double Tornado Nyagi. The Ryozanpaku masters explain that for Kisara to combine a cat's movements with her own required great observation of them (something Freya confirms is true because of Kisara adoration for cats) and that many martial arts imitate the movements of animals. They also note that people like her and Siegfried are quite talented compared to Kenichi (who gets frustrated by the comparison). Niijima dubs Kisara's new style as Nyakwondo and the captain eagerly resumes the fight. As he watches the fight Fortuna tells Diego he wants Kisara and Siegfried to become his. Outside the arena, Miu discovers Ryuto has vanished and decides to put her questions aside for another time and return to the stands. While jumping from rooftops to get back, she sees the Pankration Team discussing escaping Fortuna, but Kenichi inadvertently reveals her when he comes to bring her back. Spartacus jumps into the roof to confront Miu and prevent her from revealing their plans.
Want to be Free[]
Kenichi sees Miu fighting on the rooftop and rushes inside the building to get to her. He tries to break into the room where the Pankration Team is with Haigeki, but the Pankration Team opens to the door just as he is about to crash into it to prevent the impact from creating noise that would attract guards. Kenichi's momentum causes him to keep going and break through a window. Octavia tries to catch him before he falls, but nearly falls out with him until Miu and Spartacus put their fight aside to save them. After both are pulled to safety, Miu asks Spartacus why he saved Kenichi when he was just trying to kill her, and Kenichi reveals Spartacus is Fortuna's son. Spartacus admits that they don't have the heart to kill them, but they can't just let them go after overhearing their plan to escape the island, only to realize Miu really didn't overhear anything about their plan when she shows genuine surprise at the news. The rest of the Pankration Team explain they are also Fortuna's children, but not by blood; they were bought with money and essentially made slaves to satisfy Fortuna's twisted obsession with martial arts. He forced them to battle armed soldiers and wild beasts and as the oldest Spartacus tried to protect his siblings, but that only pushed Fortuna's curiosity and only the five of them survived out the original thirty. Now they have a chance to escape Fortuna by fleeing the island while he's busy with the tournament. After hearing their story, Kenichi is furious, and he and Miu offer to get help if they allowed to leave. The Pankration Team don't trust them since all who come to the island pay to see them fight to the death, but Spartacus changes his mind when he realizes Kenichi's sincere desire to help despite his lack of talent. Miu advises them to wait as long as possible to escape, because the Ryozanpaku masters are planning something big (to Kenichi's shock as he was never told about their plan and fears the island won't survive) and that the chaos they create could give their escape plan a better chance of working. Kenichi and Miu leave to see the end of Kisara's match and Spartacus explains to his team he believed them because the look in their eyes were like a ray of hope. Suddenly, Shō arrives and introduces himself as the "darkness of despair."
Ride of the Valkyrie[]
Kenichi and Miu return to the arena where they see Kisara fighting the Capoeira captain with her new Nyakwando (to Miu's excitement). As the two keep fighting, Kisara gets a feral look in her eyes and Freya reveals that Kisara’s animal instincts have finally awakened. She explains that when Kisara first joined her team of Valkyrie's in Ragnarök, the team was ambushed by a group of delinquents, and she sacrificed herself to hold them off. When the Valkyries brought Freya to save her, they discovered Kisara had already defeated them and had entered a feral state which cause her to attack them before snapping back to normal. The Ryozanpaku masters deduce that Kisara is showing signs that she possesses the Dou Ki which is being drawn out by her opponent's strength. The leader used Jogo to do more damage to Kisara but got back up after remembering Noir and her vows to be stronger. Kisara lands another effective hit with Double Chagi and the Capoeira captain grows excited at fighting such a powerful opponent. He reveals he was waiting for a chance to strike and lands a brutal counterattack with Jogo. The captain's blows nearly knock Kisara out, but she remembers being inspired to become strong by her late cat Noir's sacrifice and pushes herself to keep fighting. As she fights, the captain's finger Ukita broke throws off his movements and gives Kisara the opportunity to land a winning kick that defeats the captain and moves her team to the next round.
Replacements and Forfeits[]
In the last match of the second round, the Mongolian Bufu Team is set to face the Pankration Team, but the latter team doesn't show and Kenichi and Miu wonder if they already tried to escape. Suddenly, Shō Kanō enters the ring and reveals he killed the Pankration team, bringing a piece of Spartacus's hair as proof. He declares he has come to fight Kenichi by taking the Pankration Team's place and mocks Kenichi by passing on Spartacus's last words thanking him for giving him hope. Kenichi jumps into the ring and almost fights Shō until the Elder intervenes, reminding them both they are still in a tournament. The Elder asks Diego and Fortuna if Shō will be allowed to compete and Fortuna allows it, wanting to see the skill of someone who could defeat all his children. Before having Kenichi return to the stand, the Elder gives him advice in the form a clue: remembering the rock in the river and tells him that he can defeat Shō because of who he is. Shō is set to fight the Mongolian Bufu team who want to know the rules to make it a fair fight only for Shō to attack all of them at once when Diego told them the match has already begun. Shō easily dominates the team even with Diego revealing that Shō's basic moves are based on Karate and advising them to make the match last longer, but the entire team are quickly defeated before the can even hear the advice. Niijima realizes that means his team will Shō next and panics along with most of his team except for Kisara and Siegfried (the latter whom is still sleeping). Kenichi turns to his masters for advice on how to fight Shō but discovers that all of them except Shigure are gone. The masters minus Shigure meet with Jennifer, who reveals the operation to destroy Despair Island as started as warplanes are shown to be approaching.
The semifinal matches start with Shō set to fight the Shinpaku Alliance while Kenichi and Miu are paired against Castor and Pollux. Niijima enters the arena...only to announce his team's forfeit. Kisara is outraged by his decision, but Niijima explains that reaching the top four will earn them enough publicity and further fighting would only result in more damage to the alliance with no gain. Kenichi promises to defeat Shō and avenge the harm he's done to Takeda and the others and Shigure agrees that retreating in a no-win situation is the best idea. Shō Kanō moves onto the finals. Unbeknownst to anyone, Niijima attempted to scan Shō while announcing his forfeit, but his attempts rejected and Niijima has no choice but to let Kenchi fight. Match is moved on Team Ryouzanpaku versus Team Gemini and Castor is eager to defeat Kenichi. However, Shō suddenly declares Kenichi is his to fight and demands as the leader of Yomi that Team Gemini forfeit so he can fight him. Diego is furious at Shō hubris and gives his disciples permission to fight Shō. Just before the fight between Yomi members can commence, the U.S. Military raids the islands to capture Fortuna and the criminals who came to watch the D of D with the Ryozanpaku masters and Jenny destroying the island's defenses from the ground.
Invading Despair Island[]
As the invading forces bombard the island, the mafia groups present try to escape with help from Fortuna's guards, but they are caught and arrested by the military with help from Agent Grey and Sasaki. Realizing what is happening, Niijima decides to gather the alliance's injured members from the infirmary and escape. Diego calls off Castor and Pollux's fight with Shō before it starts, believing there is no point if there isn't an audience to watch it. Kenichi resolves to stay and fight Shō to stop him from hurting or killing anyone else. Miu promises not to interfere with Kenichi's battle while Sigure escorts the Shinpaku Alliance to safety. Fortuna announces the start of the final match and the two finalists clash.
Shō gets in the first hit with his Spinning Hand technique and knocks Kenichi across the arena, seemingly killing him. He then insults Kenicih that he can't protect Miu if he dies and then tells Miu that he will protect her without being killed, he kill for her, and it's for her own sake that he plans on taking her with him to Yami. He continues and explains that even if she doesn't understand his intentions and hates him, he still loves her. Fortuna is disappointed that the fight seemingly ended so soon and decides to leave and make the Shinpaku Alliance his children until Agent Grey arrives and points a gun at his head to shoot him. Sakaki tries to stop her until Jenny reveals out that Fortuna killed her father. She reveals Fortuna was holding hostages from a school bus and shot Lancelord with his own gun. Fortuna reveals he did it wanted to see the greatness of a gunman without his gun and actives a defense system from his throne only for Sakaki to catch the bullets and Agent Grey to shoot back with her Colorado Shot. Sasaki chastises Jenny for trying to kill Fortuna, reminding her that her father never killed anyone with his gun, and points out that the person she shot was a dummy robot. After seeing what is happening in the arena Sakaki takes Jenny to find the real Fortuna knowing he’s not supposed to interfere in Kenichi’s battles. Down in the arena, Miu admits that this was the first time someone confessed their love to her but tells Shō someone else has already promised to protect her. She tearfully yells at Kenichi to get up and Kenichi stands up, furious at Shō for making Miu cry. Shō is surprise Kenichi survived and the latter reveals that the chain mail under his clothes saved him from Shō's attack. Kenichi then removes the chain mail, the only thing that protected him, in order to make his body lighter and finally land a hit on Shō.
Shō declares Kenichi won't even be able to lay a finger on him. Kenichi takes a stance Shō recognizes as karate's Maeba no Kamae but tells him he is the worst person to use it on as his master is the God Hand Hongo Akira, and that he is the disciple of the strongest karate master. When Shō attacks, Kenichi is able to a cross guard to parry his attack and he declares the strongest karate master is Shio Sakaki. Kenichi is able to block the worst of Shō's following attack and reveals Sasaki told him the essence of karate is defense and not mean for killing people. He then blocks Shō's kick with a Mui Thai shoulder guard and thinks that mastering it was the only way he could survive training with Apachai. Despite guarding against Shō's kick, Kenichi is still pushed to the ground, but he avoids landing on his head with Ushiro Ukemi, something he reveals he has used over 60,000 times since entering Ryozanpaku and uses at a level Akisame praises. As he rushes Shō, Kenichi tells him that his masters have always been direct with him and that the was the only way he could survive their hellish training as he attacks with Soutenshu. However, Shō instead sends Kenichi flying and tells him that the strong kill the weak, so it is suicide for a weakling like him to walk the path of martial arts. He asks Miu if she still has faith in Kenichi even after he's pummeled, which Miu answers she does as Kenichi gets up again and attacks with Yamazuki. Kenichi finally grazes Shō's head, the first blow he's landed the entire fight, and declares his real talent is endurance, something he is better at than anyone else. Angered that an "ant" like Kenichi could hit him, Shō vows to kill him while Kenichi vows his next punch will land right in Shō. Meanwhile, Shigure leads the Shinpaku Alliance (with most of the fighters in rolling beds) to the safest exit not knowing they are being watched by Fortuna himself, who plans to make the alliance his children.
Father Fortuna[]
As Shigure leads the Shinpaku Alliance to the gate of the harbor, Fortuna realizes he won't be able to make them his children with the master in the way. He calls out for his full forces, causing tanks and a secret force of soldiers armed with the U.S's newest rifles to join the battle. One of the tanks tries to capture the Shinpaku Alliance and Shigure tells Niijima to lead everyone to Ryozanpaku's boat while she handles Fortuna's forces. Meanwhile, inside an old fortress that acts as the island's real HQ, the leader of Fortuna's forces contemplates that after the invasion fails, the price for Fortuna's weapons will rise. He gets a report that the military forces are retreating, but the Ryozanpaku masters are still advancing, and the Elder is even using their soldiers as unwilling living shuriken.
Akisame saves two soldiers from Fortuna's men and adds them to a pile of soldiers he's already defeated. The masters easily make their way through Fortuna's forces, easily bypassing their gun proof body armor. The Elder single handedly destroys several tanks while Apachai takes out a helicopter. Back at the docks, Shigure cuts apart the tank's cannon with her sword, disables its treads, and forces the pilot to surrender. Jenny's soldiers are shocked that Ryozanpaku has been able to thwart Fortuna's weapons while Jenny leads them to find Fortuna with the intent of killing them. Meanwhile, the Shinpaku Alliance reaches the dock gate where they are ambushed by Fortuna.
Fortuna asks the Shinpaku Alliance what the only weapon that hasn't changed in the history of humanity and reveals the answer is the human body. He monologues that no matter the weapon or army, humans are the ones using them and that makes humans the most powerful weapon in the world. That is why he wants the alliance to become his children, because children with the potential to become masters are the valuable things in the world and everything valuable belongs to him. Matsui tries to swipe his flag at Fortuna only to be blown away by Fortuna’s breath. He declares he wants Kisara, Freya, Takeda, Thor, Siegfried, and Niijima as his children and plans to take them on away on his private ship while his soldiers are stalling Ryozanpaku. Kisara throws a kick when Fortuna tries to take her, but Fortuna easily catches her and begins shaking her by her leg to measure her strength, causing Kisara and Niijima realize that Fortuna himself is a master class martial artist. Meanwhile, the Ryozanpaku masters realize suppressing Fortuna's forces is taking longer than they anticipated and Sasaki decides to check on the Shinpaku Alliance while they rest continue attacking the fortress. Kensei Ma has Apachai kick him over the fortress wall, and he begins defeating all the forces inside. Fortuna continues experimenting with Kisara, but luckily, the injured fighters manage to bring themselves to fight despite their injuries and Siegfried rescues Kisara to fight in what Siegfried called a Concert of Friendship.
Niijima doesn't want them to fight fearing they’ll just replay the events of the battle against Tenmon Li, but they fight anyway. Siegfried starts off by preparing for a counterattack while the others back him up only for all of them to be knocked down by Fortuna’s Poppy Knuckle. Fortuna offers them a choice to live as his children or die, but they choose neither and get back up to fight. Niijima triea to think of a plan for everyone to escape but is unable to think of anything and panics. Fortuna discovers Sakaki is heading towards him to protect the Shinpaku Alliance, so he decides to call some Master Class Fighters he hired to stop him. However, he learns the master's hired were all defeated by Sougetsu Ma, who has betrayed him and reveals he was planning on dealing with Fortuna himself, but he's decided to let the disciples handle him. Suddenly, Hermit arrives to battle Fortuna after a few new moves from his master.
With Hermit's arrival, Niijima comes up with a plan to defeat Fortuna, but Hermit reveals he wants to fight alone because his master ordered him to fight a master class opponent for his training. Unfortunately, even with the unwanted help from the other fighters, Hermit fairs no better against Fortuna and it is clear they are no match for a master. Fortuna suddenly stops attacking when he realizes that there’s another fighter among them who threw tiny spear into his shoulder. The culprit is revealed to be Tōchūmaru who was left with them by Shigure. Niijima (climbing to the top of a wall for dramatic effect) shouts at the fix fighters that they must combine their strength instead of fighting separately. Hermit believes that the other will slow him down because of their injuries, but Nijima told him that they’ll still fight to the end. Niijima uses his strategic skill to position everyone Hermit tells them to give him opening so that he can use out his master’s ultimate move. Others all attack at once with Kisara’s Double Tornado Kick, Takeda’s Big Cat Eye Frog Punch, Thor’s Hammer, Freya’s Toufu, Siegfried’s Nirvana no Canon, but even though Fortuna repels them, he is left open to take Hermit's newest move: Kyousa.
Even after landing a direct hit with Kyousa's triple attack, Hermit is knocked away by Fortuna, who prepares to kill him to force the rest to be his children. Suddenly, Fortuna coughs up blood as the real effect of Kyousa kicks in, which Hermit explains is the same principal as a gamma knife. Niijima researches the gamma knife with his PDA and explains that it focuses power from multiple sources to target a specific area without damaging other cells which Siegfried equates to multiple ineffective attacks joining accumulating at one spot for massive damage. The other fighters attack Fortuna while he's weakened with Kisara using her Vandal Chagiri and Freya using her Sen Un (fifth and final staff technique) to attack Fortuna’s upper body. Then Takeda uses his Shot Gun Liver Blow, Thor with Sabaori, and Siegfried with his Waltz of Hades to finish Fortuna off. As Fortuna collapses in defeat, Nijima scolds him by telling him that the only judged their individual strength and Siegfried declares combined force of the Shinpaku Alliance is 10 or 100 times its’ sum of individual members. Fortuna wonders how Hermit could have learned Kyousa in a such a short amount of time and the latter reveals that after seeing Kenichi train, he has been focusing on his basics as well. To try and spite the alliance, Fortuna tells them that Kenichi had been killed by Shō Kanō and tries to use a monitor to show them, but instead it shows Kenichi is still alive and still fighting and Kisara kicks him into unconsciousness. Thor asks Hermit what Fortuna's ranking as a master was and Hermit answers that that Fortuna was only Master Class Garbage showing the way to being a master is long and hard. Siegfried asks if they should go help Kenichi, but everyone decides this is his battle to fight and that all they can do now is watch Kenichi fight against Shō.
Kenichi vs. Suparna[]
Unable to accept that some like Kenichi who doesn't understand the Darkness of Yami having Miu's heart, Shō unleashes his strongest technique: Nine Strikes One Kill, a ten move combo which combines one technique from each of the One Shadow Nine Fists. Kenichi is overwhelmed by the technique, but just before Shō can land the last hit, the coliseum begins to self-destruct because Fortuna’s Fortress was invaded, and the coliseum started collapsing. Miu worries Kenichi won't be able to escape the falling rubble, but just as he's about to be crushed, Kenichi remembers the Elder's clue about the rock in the river. Kenichi realizes that secret of the clue is that the rock does not fear or dodge the river, but it lets it flow around it, and uses that discovery to use a new technique: Ryusui Seikuken. After getting to safety, Shō sees Kenichi's entire body has become surrounded by a Seikuken and that he is perfectly dodging the rubble with complete calm; as if he were talking a casual stroll through the chaos. The damage to the arena cuts off the video feed at the docks, leaving the Shinpaku Alliance unable to keep watching the battle. One of Fortuna's tanks arrives at the docks, but Sasaki also arrives to handle it, only to discover it was being piloted by Shigure. Sasaki asks the Alliance if they are okay with Shigure confirming they were fine since they had Tochumaru was with them (thought Freya is surprising frightened of mice and clings to Thor in fear), but Siegfried warns them that Kenichi is in danger. Back in the destroyed arena, Fortuna's soldiers show up to kill everyone else, but Shō defeats them despite their armor and guns. Shō explains that he was trained on how to locate the direction of bullets from only the sound of the shot, but he has never seen a technique like Kenichi's Ryusui Seikuken.
When Shō sees the calm look Kenichi's eyes, he wonders if the latter has given up, but realizes his will to fight is still hidden in the depths. Miu thinks about how Ryusui Seikuken is one of 108 ultimate moves created by Hayato Furinji the invincible superman, a technique that cannot be used by those with Dou ki like her: the ultimate technique for Sei fighters. Shō believes Kenichi's new technique won't change anything and tries to attack, but Kenichi effortlessly dodges every one of his blows at the last second. As he dodges Shō 's attack Kenichi thicks back to when he was training with the Elder in the mountains. The Elder taught him Seikuken was striking back against anything that enters his territory, but Ryusui Seikuken was an even higher level of the technique that can be used when fighting against an opponent that is stronger than the user. Ryusui Seikuken is reducing a Seikuken's range to just around the user's skin, using it to anticipate the flow of an opponent's attack and dodge at the last second with minimal effort, thereby reducing one's movement and saving that time to dodge attacks. Kenichi couldn't fully understand the technique before since his training was cut short, but during his fight against Garyu X, he began to understand the secret to the technique. However, Kenichi's excitement at awakening the Ryusui Seikuken briefly causes it to weaken and allow Shō to land. Realizing that every change in his emotions affects the Ryusui Seikuken, Kenichi tries to calm himself and regains control over it. Shō is amused what Kenichi has managed to accomplish and admits that he forgot that even though Kenichi doesn't have talent, he was training by masters. He reveals the Ryusui Seikuken is similar to a technique a Jujitsu Master from the One Shadow Nine Fists uses and that he used a move he learned from his master to fight it that impressed her even though he couldn't land a hit. The battle moves on top of a pile of rubble at which Shō takes a cat stance to show the move he spoke of. Using the Ryusui Seikuken, Kenichi anticipates Shō will throw a kick with his right leg, but instead Shō uses his left and lands a direct hit. Shō pummels Kenichi with more attacks he can't read using Rysui Seikuken and is forced to roll off the rubble pile to escape Shō's assault. However, when Kenichi reachs the bottom, he tells Shō he's not the only one with multiple masters and that he has already figured out the secret to his attacks.
A flashback shows Sasaki trying to train Kenichi a technique called Gamaku, which uses normally unused torso muscles to switch which leg is carrying the center of gravity and fooling the opponent into defending against the wrong leg. Despite knowing Shō is using Gamaku to trick him into anticipating the wrong movements, Kenichi is still unable to block because knowing a technique and being able to defend against it are two different things (and the situation is made even more embarrassing since Kenichi was never able to learn Gamaku). Shō shouts at Kenichi that he hasn't mastered the Ryusui Seikuken and that he doesn't take martial arts seriously. Another flashback shows Shō spying on Akira Hongo having meeting with Yami elders, who have doubts about Shō being the one to inherit Yami, believing he lacks the ruthlessness needed to become a master. The elders tell Hongo that if Shō doesn't change then they will dispose of him and Hongo calls Shō in after realizing he is spying on the meeting. Hongo finds Shō had found a baby bird while gathering grapes in the mountains and orders him to kill it to prove he is capable of being ruthless. After Shō seemingly crushes the bird, with blood dripping from his hands, Hongo tells the Yami elders that quitting Shō's training halfway through would damage his reputation and that he will decide if he is worthy or not, warning them never to bother him again about the matter. Back in the present, Shō tells Kenichi that emotions only weaken the martial arts and the those in Yami have to fight to survive, with those who don't improve dying. He scorns the idea of Kenichi's master's treating with kindness and declares that the ways of Ryozanpaku cannot reach the ultimate level of mastery and that Yami's methods are the true way. However, Kenichi argues that he has fought many people that were forced to use martial arts to kill, and those people were always filled with sadness, as if they hated martial arts. He asks Shō how someone can master martial arts if they hate them and that despite his lack of talent, the reason he didn't become the say way and survived his training was because of his masters' kindness. Kenichi condemns using martial arts without emotions as pointless violence and tells Shō that he will never let him take Miu now that knows what Yami is truly like. When Kenichi declares that the power he uses to protect his loved ones is his martial art, Shō is provoked into using the Seidou Goitsu, the same move Odin used against Kenichi before being crippled.
Shō reaffirms his belief that true martial arts require an empty heart without emotions while Kenichi objects, stating that martial arts without a heart is the form pure evil. With the power from the Seidou Goitsu, Shō easily destroys Kenichi’s Ryusei Seikuken and pummels him, though Kenichi survive a lethal strike to the back by straining his muscles. Shō reveals that Ogata told him that if he used the Seidou Goitsu for too long, he would be crippled like the last test subject: Ryuto, who he reveals will never be able to walk again. He praises Ogata's experimentation on his own disciple to develop the technique as the truth of martial arts. Furious that Yami was the one who pushed Ryuto onto the path of darkness, Kenichi tries to punch Shō, only to be overpowered again and pushed into a wall. However, Kenichi uses the wall to reflect the brunt of Shō's strength and finally land a direct punch to his face like he promised. Shō tries to attack again, only to be countered and hit in the stomach by Kenichi, who is revealed to be unconscious.
Kenichi nearly hits Shō again with a Kao Loi and both the latter and Miu discover the former is fighting while unconscious. Shō remembers that highly trained martial artist can keep fighting even if they are unconscious, but in Kenichi's case he's actually stronger since all his unnecessary movements are gone. Without his consciousness hindering him, Kenichi full power is release through sheer muscle memory from all his training and he is able to match Shō's skill. Shō believes that this proves his belief in emotionless martial arts since Kenicih is stronger without his emotions, but Kenichi reveals he has regained consciousness and objects that his ability to fight while unconscious is different from Yami's practice of sacrificing disciples, because his masters actually care for him. Shō dismisses Kenichi's claims and believes his emotions will weaken him now that's he's conscious and Kenichi tells him that everyone he's fought has already said the same thing, but his masters think differently. A flashback shows the Ryozanpaku masters teaching Kenichi that emotions are the most important part of martial arts, for they let them understand their opponent's hearts and minds. Back in the present, Kenichi tells Shō that being able to understand the opponent's thinking is something the Satsujinken can never do, for they only want to kill their opponents. This also causes him to realize the last part of the Ryusui Seikuken; to match one's movements with their opponent's then surpass them. Shō decides to finish the fight and uses his Nine Strikes One Kill attack powered up by his Seidou Goui, but Kenichi goes on the offensive for the first time in the match and uses his Ryusui Seikuken to confront Shō's attack.
Shō begins hitting Kenichi with his combined techniques, believing he charged because he thought he could predict his attacks from the first Nine Strikes One Kill, but reveals he can change the order of the ten different martial arts combination. However, as Shō throws more attacks, he realizes Kenichi has been looking him in the eyes throughout the attack and discovers that he actually hasn't landed a single hit with his combination. Having completed the first step of synchronizing his thoughts and movements with Shō, Kenichi then uses the next part of Ryusui Seikuken to surpass Shō's movements and attacks with the Ryusui Seikuken Strongest Combo #3. Even after Taking Kenichi's combo, Shō keeps fighting and Kenichi’s new and old injuries cause him to reach his limits while Shō’s mind and body are starting to break from the Seidou Goitsu, but both still continue the fight. As the two rush in for the final clash, Shō remembers from his time in Yami that the loser gets disposed and the God Fist told him to keep winning while Kenichi remembers about being inspired by Sakaki to see more things in the martial arts world. Shō quickly hits Kenichi with an Issatsu, the last strike of the Nine Strikes One Kill, but Kenichi strikes back with a Mubyoshi, landing a critical blow.
As Kenichi strikes Shō with Mubyoshi, he looks into his eyes and finally understands Shō’s sadness. Shō admits that he couldn’t learn Ryusui Seikuken because he cannot read other's hearts before collapsing. However, Kenichi falls as well from his injuries, and it appears the match is a draw. As he loses consciousness, Kenichi hears someone cheering him on and wake up to see Nijima, Takeda, Kisara and Hermit shouting at him from a monitor Niijima reactivated to get up. Kenichi sees Shō got back up first and was about to attack him as the Alliance and his masters watch from the monitors across the island. Kenichi wills himself to stand and dodges Shō's punch, and the latter passes out from exhaustion. The Elder takes the mike in the fortress and announces that Kenichi has won the D of D Tournament, with everyone celebrating and Miu running up and hugging Kenichi. Despite Kenichi's victory, Sasaki and Kensei Ma rush to protect their disciple knowing that Fortuna still has soldiers remaining with orders to kill everyone on the island. Back at the arena, one of the remaining soldiers targets his gun at Kenichi and Miu, the latter who moves to protect Kenichi from getting shot. However, Shō blocks the bullets with his body instead.
Aftermath[]
At the docks, Shigures sees more soldiers trying to kill the Shinpaku Alliance and defeats them in an instant, but she worries that Kenichi and Miu might be in the same danger. The soldier who shot Shō tries to shoot him again and ends up only having Sho taking the bullets in his left arm and, using the last ounce of strength he can muster up, kick rock at the gunman and knocking him out. After stopping the soldier, Shō thinks to back after the meeting with the Yami elders where it is revealed he actually spared the bird and faked killing it by crushing the grapes he gathered instead. Hongo discovered his deception, but he didn't disapprove of his decision and Shō went on to raise the bird until it was an adult and could fly to freedom. The soldiers comes to and tries to kill everyone again, but Sakaki arrives with Kensei to save them and sends the soldier flying. Miu discovers Shō is dying from blood loss and starts crying. Sho asks if she's crying for him, and he takes out his fist for Kenichi to make him promise to protect Miu in his place now since he can't do it. Kenichi bumps fists with him and promises and Shō Kano, leader of Yomi, dies from his wounds. Meanwhile, the Pankration team is revealed to be alive and fleeing to freedom on a boat, their deaths having been faked so they could escape. They wonder why Shō helped them and Spartacus guesses that Shō did it because understood how it felt to live a prisoner.
Afterwards, Kenichi recovers out of the arena and Sasaki tells him the allied forces took Shō's body before he passes out from his injuries again. When he wakes up, he is being carried by the Elder who is with the other masters. The Elder assures Kenichi Shō's death wasn't his fault and brings him to his friends who congratulate him for winning stating it was a great fight, except for Hermit who leaves with Sougetsu. Jenny arrives to take Fortuna's life and avenge her father, but once she finds out he was beaten by kids, she just laughs uncontrollably and decides he's too pathetic to kill and spares him to be arrested. She says her goodbyes to her friends and Sakaki, and they all go home. As everyone returns home on Ryozanpaku's boat, Miu makes sure that Kenichi is safe, and Kenichi reflects on his promise to Shō and thinks that he has to become much stronger to protect Miu and for the challenges that await him in the future. At Yami Headquarters, the rest of Yomi learns that Shō died and most of them believed he had the most potential to become the strongest disciple. However, one of the Yomi members, Kajima Satomi, explains that Shō failed because success can only be achieved by experiencing failure while beating each of three of the other members in three different games at once.
Huge loss for Yami[]
Hongo bursts into a meeting of the One Shadow Nine Fists in a rage after learning of the death of his disciple. He accuses Diego of being responsible, but Diego points out his show was ruined because of the events on Despair Island. Ogata tells Hongo to calm down since they all know Shō's death is a huge loss. Meanwhile, Yomi discusses Shō's death and Boris asks Kaijima why they are fighting Ryozanpaku, believing a group of only six masters can easily be ignored. Kaijima explains that Ryozanpaku represents the Katsujinken and that no matter how powerful and influential Yami becomes, they cannot prove the Satsujinken is superior so long as it exists; it is their duty to destroy the Katsujinken. Castor is surprised Kenichi defeated Shō and Ryuto takes an interest that Kenichi survived. Back at the One Shadow Nine Fist's meeting, Ogata explains it will take time to recover Shō's body from the allied forces and until then, they will be unable to learn the cause of death, but reveals he's heard rumors that he died protecting someone from Ryozanpaku. Some of the Nine Fists argue that Shō wasn't suitable to inherit their techniques and when Alexander tries to have them stop fighting, Jenazad points out every member of the One Shadow Nine Fists believes their individual style is the strongest and their cooperation was just a solution to avoid fighting with none of them sharing a sense of comradery. The conversation is stopped by the One Shadow, who calls Kajima in and appoints him as the new leader of Yomi.
Major Fights[]
First round:
Shinpaku Alliance vs Black Force Team - Shinpaku Alliance wins.
Garyu X vs Kick Bocking Hurricanes Team - Garyu X wins.
Ryozanpaku Team vs Three Headed Dragon Team - Ryozanpaku Team win.
Night after first day:
Kenichi and Ryuto vs Nauma and Koya - Ryuto wins.
Freya, Thor, and Takeda vs Shō - Shō wins.
Miu (berserk) vs Shō vs Kenichi - undecided.
First round day two:
Castor and Pollux vs Nanken Team- Castor and Pollux win
Tsutomu Tanaka vs Builder Five Team - Tanaka wins.
Brazilian Jiujutsu team vs Pankration team - Pankration team wins.
Second Round:
Garyuu X vs Ryozanpaku team - Ryozanpaku wins.
Shinpaku vs Capoeira team - Shinpaku Alliance wins.
Shō vs Bufu team - Sho wins.
Final Round:
Kenichi vs Shō - Kenichi wins.
Fortuna vs Shinpaku Alliace - Shinpaku Alliance wins.
Story Notes[]
- This is the longest arc in the History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi manga series that consist of 71 chapters.
- The other captains of the Shinpaku Alliance (minus Ukita) have shown improvements by the following:
- Ikki Takeda knocked out Member J with his ultimate technique in one hit
- Yūma Chiaki smashed through three of the Black Force Members
- Kaname Kugatachi used four of five staff techniques to defeat Captain K
- Hibiki Kugenin counter style improves and claimed to be invincible
- Kisara Nanjō created Nyakwondo to defeat the Capoeira Team Leader
- Haruo Nijima identified master level fighters without his "scanner" breaking
- Natsu Tanimoto learned a new technique to damage his opponent with delayed timing at one point
- Miu is revealed to have an immensely powerful Dou Ki and loss of control over it pushes her into a violet feral state.
- Kenichi learned Ryusei Seikuken from Hayato Furinji and in his fight with Sho.
- Shō Kanō was the second member of Yomi to be defeated by Kenichi.
- Shō Kanō died protecting Miu from one of Fortuna's men.
- Kenichi vows to Shō that he will get stronger to protect Miu.
- Yami's goal was to eliminate Ryōzanpaku to show that the Satsujin-ken way was the true way of martial arts.
- Saiga Fūrinji appointed Kajima Satomi as the new leader of Yomi.
References[]
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| Bankruptcy Arc | DofD Tournament Arc | YOMI in School Arc |
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