Path to Strength

Having been able to take over an entire territory behind the scenes, Kisaki is one of the most strategic people of his time. As the real leader of Moebius, using Osanai as his puppet, he made the teenagers in his command commit various atrocities, from drug dealing, rape, and even murder. With his brilliant mind, even with these crimes, he was able to cover up his part. Even the police could only suspect the gang, since there was no evidence leading to the real culprit.

But as smart as he was, he could not expect what was happening.

How the hell was he supposed to foresee Yggdrasil entering Valhalla's war against Toman? He had no strategies to go against it. Knowing Hanma's strength, he knew he wouldn't lose easily to Mikey, but now that Yuji was between them, Kisaki was no longer sure what would happen.

'That bastard is always complicating my plans.' Kisaki thought, his glasses glowing in the darkness of the night. In an alley near the fight site, he watched the battle with a frown.

The blond man knew he could not remain there. The outcome of the battle was already uncertain. He could use someone else to continue his plans later. Mastering the underworld needed time, and he wouldn't mind waiting a little longer.

Turning to leave, Kisaki was caught by surprise by a flash of light that blinded him momentarily. "What the fuck?" He asked aloud, his eyes getting used to the light enough for him to see the one responsible for blinding him.

"Oh... Looks like it's you." With a flashlight in hand, the figure approached, revealing itself to be a teenager of short stature. "I thought you'd be hard to find, but it looks like you're just a rat wandering the alleys."

Kisaki felt his blood run cold at the words of the approaching person. He realized at once that the figure had an aversion against him, and at this moment, dealing with it was not something favorable.

"My name is Shiki Makunouchi. Perhaps you know me, but that doesn't matter. I am here to get you." With the moonlight illuminating the alley, the figure's face was fully revealed.

Shiki, who was normally seen as a boy with a lively and childlike expression, showed traces of fury on his face never seen before. When given the mission to capture Kisaki, Shiki couldn't help but wonder how someone like him could be behind it all. Yuji didn't hold back on details as he told how Kisaki was responsible for all sorts of atrocities.

This made Shiki furious, which surprised even Yuji. The boy was an extremely empathetic person with others.

"D-What are you talking about?" Sweat poured down Kisaki's forehead, him taking a few steps back as he felt the hostility coming from the boy.

"Don't play dumb." Whether it was just something in his head or not, the fact was that as Shiki said such words, Kisaki was able to see as if his eyes glowed red, it startled him and made him feel like he was looking at a fierce wolf. "Trafficking, murder and... Rape. You commanded all that kind of shit, don't try to play dumb, you bastard!"

Kisaki froze. How the hell could this kid know that? The only ones who knew about it were the very delinquents he commanded, who by the way were already dead, and Osanai himself, who being a complete coward, would never reveal this.

'Don't tell me... He revealed everything?' Kisaki gritted his teeth, his lips trembling as he stared at Shiki. "V-You have no proof of that!"

Kisaki pointed out, but that didn't seem to stop Shiki's advance in any way.

"..." Shiki said nothing and just reached for Kisaki, standing in front of him with his face slightly lowered, just enough so that a shadow hovered over the upper area of his face.

The blond man, seeing this, tried to take a step back, but he didn't expect that as he did so, Shiki would advance toward him, a punch to his nose throwing his head back and causing him to stumble.

Falling on his own buttocks, Kisaki clutched his nose as he felt something wet go down his nostrils. Shiki, who was responsible for attacking him, hovered over the boy, his figure dark due to the moon lighting on his back.

"M-M-Miss!" Kisaki looked up, facing Shiki, who scorned him with his gaze.

Shiki , who was in no mood to continue looking at the blond's face on the ground, raised his fist, ready to do as he was told. Kisaki who saw this, felt desperation invade his system, his hand flying to his waist and revealing a pistol on his belt.

Shiki seeing this, felt the adrenaline rush through him, his fist coming down towards Kisaki's face like a sledgehammer, an attempt to stop him from pulling out the gun in his belt.

But his movement proved to be too slow.

'If I were fast like him...'

Kisaki pointed the gun at Shiki's chest, his finger desperately squeezing the trigger.

'That wouldn't happen.'

The fist smashed into Kisaki's face the instant the trigger was pulled.

Bang!

.

.

.

Yuji, Hanma, and Mikey stared at each other with intensity. The three watched each other's movements with caution, whether it was just a change of stance with their foot, or a sudden movement with their shoulders, it could trigger an intense exchange of blows between the three.

Hanma was far away from the two, while Yuji and Mikey were close by. It was clear that both would face each other, but they would not attack each other in a nonchalant manner. For the two, who were martial artists, the world around them was like a game of chess. All it took was one wrong move and checkmate.

"..!"

Yuji was the one who initiated the attack. With a swift advance, he tried a low kick on the blond, but Mikey just stepped back and raised his front leg, evading the attack with ease. Yuji, who didn't give up the attack, invested with a wave of fast punches and kicks, attacks that were blocked or avoided by Mikey with difficulty.

As Yuji tried to hit him, Hanma seized the opportunity and ran towards the two. Mikey seeing the approach of the third, was distracted for a second, this causing a straight kick from Yuji to break through his defense and hit him directly in the stomach. The blow pushed him backwards, and Mikey saw that the force behind the blow was able to hurt him significantly.

'If I didn't stiffen my abdomen, I'd probably be on my knees right now.' Mikey reflected for a moment, his inexpressive eyes lifting to face Yuji, who was dealing with Hanma.

After hitting Mikey, Hanma caught up to him and began a sequence of powerful blows that were difficult to predict. His style was versatile, using punches, kicks and knees in unorthodox positions.

'A real street fighter.' Yuji thought as he blocked Hanma's attacks. 'But despite versatility, a street fighter has a natural enemy.'

Yuji blocked two of Hanma's punches, and the moment the bigger one tried to break through his defense with a powerful direct, Yuji in an instant grabbed his fist and rotated his body, using Hanma's own weight to throw him to the ground.

"?!" Hanma's eyes widened, his face crashing into the concrete floor with force, almost making him lose consciousness.

Stunned, he tried to get up, but Yuji was quick to catch him with a technique well known in the fighting world.

'The Lion-killer!'

Hanma choked, his hands gripping Yuji's arm in an attempt to escape the grip. The Yggdrasil leader, seeing this, only increased the strength of the grip. He knew that if Hanma were standing, he might have some chance of getting free, but sitting on the ground the way he was, that would be impossible for a street fighter like him.

Hanma, seeing that forcing wasn't helping, tried to pierce Yuji's eyes with his fingers, but the boy just moved his head, escaping the offender's nails.

"You can sleep~..." Yuji whispered, those words causing a vein to pop out on Hanma's forehead, the delinquent clenching his teeth as he searched for oxygen.

"..!"

With the hairs on his body shivering, Yuji let go of Hanma and rolled to the side, evading an attack so fast and strong, it was capable of causing a pop in the air. Yuji seeing this, felt cold sweat go down his forehead, this was because the person responsible for this attack was none other than Mikey.

'That attack... For something to make a sound like that... It is necessary for the sound barrier to break.' Yuji thought, his heart racing at the thought. 'Kengan Ashura, Hajime no ippo... I know there are people capable of doing this with their blows in these works, but to see this live, and directed at me... It's scary.'

Yuji's fingers began to tremble, but he quickly held up his hand as he cautiously lifted it.

"Oh, you dodged it." It was Mikey who spoke. His voice, for a reason that Yuji was unaware of, did not show a single emotion. The gleam that was in his eyes could no longer be seen, and Yuji, who was staring at the boy, felt like he was looking at a demon, this not only because of his expression, but also because of his aura.

Before the present moment, Mikey had a gigantic, but not very dense aura. But now, the ordinary aura that Yuji saw in most people no longer existed, replaced by a huge black cloud that hovered over Mikey like an evil spirit.

But now, the ordinary aura Yuji saw in most people no longer existed, replaced by a huge black cloud that hovered over Mikey like an evil spirit

Yuji's eyes widened at that, the killing intent exploding from the blond's body, directed completely at him. Yuji felt as if dozens of firearms were aimed in his direction, inches from his body.

With his body trembling, Yuji swallowed dryly, his nails digging into his skin as he closed his fists tightly.

"What? Didn't you say you were going to claim the rank of strongest gang?" Mikey said, his tone startling Yuji's ears. Hanma, who was catching his breath, didn't even have time to react when a kick hit him directly in the rib, the sound of something breaking reaching Yuji's ears as if the universe was telling him to back off.

"Ugh!" Hanma choked, his body landing backwards on the ground, this making the situation in his ribs even worse. With blood filling his throat, Hanma coughed intensely, the offender not even being able to speak due to the blood.

'What the fuck is this?! I know Mikey killed one of his old friends, but that was because that friend was responsible for killing his older brother. Hanma or I had nothing to do with it! Then why is he acting like this?!' Yuji wondered, his eyes staring at Hanma, who was struggling with the blood in his throat.

Mikey, who walked over until he was beside Hanma, stared at him for a few seconds. "You said you would kill me tonight..." Mikey lifted his foot, his frown frowning in an angry expression, before he smashed his foot into the offender's other ribs, this causing him to scream in pain.

Yuji, seeing this, widened his eyes and exploded in a burst of speed towards Mikey, catching up with a punch aimed at his face.

Boom!

The collision caused a shrill sound, and believing he had hit Mikey, Yuji's eyes widened when he saw the blond's forearm blocking his fist, his inexpressive eyes staring at him with intensity, this giving him chills and causing him to jump backwards.

'This kid... He's a psychopath.' Yuji thought, his fist trembling. He used enough force to destroy the trunk of a tree, and yet Mikey was able to block him with ease.

'The distance between me and him is still huge... It's like I'm at Rank S, and he's at Rank SSS+. Before he changed completely, I could say we were evenly matched, but now...' Yuji frowned. 'Shit, thinking about it now won't help. If I hadn't stopped him, Hanma would probably be dead now. Considering that he didn't spare even him, who was helpless on the ground, running away probably isn't an option.'

Yuji took a deep breath, his body calming down as he rearranged the thoughts in his mind.

'Considering the killing intent exploding from his body, this kid doesn't seem to be taking this as just a fight anymore. It's as if we're enemies in a battle to the death now. If I falter, he won't stop himself from beating me to death.'

Yuji took a deep breath and slowly returned to his fighting stance. 'A battle to the death.... The difference of this kind of battle and a friendly fight was shown to Mohammad Alai Jr in Baki. I am experiencing the feeling of this for the first time in my life.... The feeling of having someone actively wanting to kill you is scary to say the least, but...'

'It makes me a little angry...' Yuji raised his fists, preparing for combat. 'Many people in this damn world have tried to kill me since I got here. It's not going to be some blond dwarf who's going to make me back down.'

Yuji smiled, this causing Mikey to raise an eyebrow at this gesture.

Boom!

The concrete below Yuji's feet shattered, his body disappearing in the blink of an eye. Mikey, who had been following the boy's movements, watched as he stood in front of him and threw a punch aimed at his chest. The blond, who saw Yuji as nothing more than a fly ready to be swatted, dodged the punch by rotating his body and countered with a punch to the side of his jaw.

A pop echoed and Yuji's head was pushed to the side, but despite the force of the blow, he didn't flinch, and Mikey was taken aback when Yuji grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a knee strike, the blond man blocking a blow to his stomach with difficulty.

'What a nuisance.' Mikey thought, his hand advancing towards Yuji's neck and gripping it tightly. Increasing the force in his fingers and pressing down on the spot hard enough to crush a rock, Mikey faced Yuji with a frown.

'I barely saw your arm!' Yuji's mind was working intensely, and the moment he was grabbed by the neck, he immediately devised a countermeasure for it.

Yuji's foot advanced towards Mikey's face, hitting him squarely. This caused the blond man to let go as he put his hand to his face. Although Yuji was weaker, his blows still hurt, strong enough to do considerable damage.

Mikey, his eyes irritated, opened them slightly to face Yuji, but what he saw was a fist advancing towards his face.

Bam!

The attack hit him full in the nose, causing blood to gush out.

'It's not over yet!' Yuji shouted in his mind.

With a barrage of punches, Mikey was forced to retreat as he blocked a few and barely dodged due to his compromised vision. When a fist advanced toward his face, Mikey was quick to grab it, but he didn't know that's what Yuji wanted.

'Now!'

Yuji kicked Mikey in the stomach with full force, this causing the blond's body to buckle from the pain. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, Yuji prepared to finish the fight with a powerful punch.

But he didn't expect Mikey to be able to recover so quickly, even after being punished by dozens of punches and a perfect kick to his esophagus.

Boom!

Mikey's fist smashed into Yuji's stomach, a mark of his fingers on his skin as he pulled his arm back and Yuji staggered backward.

"Shit!" Yuji spat out saliva as he bent over, his hands gripping his stomach due to the intense pain.

Mikey, standing in front of the boy, towered over him as if a mountain suddenly appeared in front of him. With a bored look on his face, it was clear that the blond was about to finish the fight. Everyone who knew Mikey the Invincible knew what was coming. His fastest and most powerful kick.

"Looks like things didn't go the way I thought they would." Yuji smiled and raised his head, facing Mikey with a tired look on his face.

Yuji knew that at this point, there was nothing more to be done. Victory was Toman's leader's, and whatever fate the blond had in store for him, there was no escape. Future knowledge extended back to the first season of the anime, he couldn't expect the boy to suddenly become several times stronger due to some psychopathic disorder.

'Shit.' Yuji cursed in his mind, his eyes staring at Mikey, who seemed to be preparing to attack him. 'In the state I'm in, just moving a muscle would be a problem. The adrenaline has already made me use my maximum.'

'I'm sorry, Auntie. I may not be back for dinner.'

Mikey's leg exploded toward Yuji with extreme speed, a loud pop echoing throughout the place, indicating the breaking of the sound barrier. Yuji braced himself for the impact, his eyes wide, watching the approaching attack.

As the attack approached, Yuji suddenly felt a sting of pain in his eyes, and in an instant, his spatial awareness seemed to change completely. The world around him seemed slow, somehow in slowmotion. Startled by the sudden change, Yuji turned his gaze to Mikey's leg, which was two palms away from his head.

'What?'

Ducking his head, suddenly the world around him returned to normal, Mikey's foot passing over his head, this surprising the blond, who was sure he aimed correctly.

'What the fuck was that?!'

Yuji was completely confused and shocked. Why the hell did he see everything in slow motion just now? Has he become some kind of speedster?

'No, that's not the case. I felt a little lighter, but I didn't feel like I could move freely. It's as if my perception suddenly sped up. ' Yuji concluded quickly, his eyes returning to Mikey, who seemed to shake off the initial shock. 'I still need to deal with this guy.'

Mikey, this time being sure he would hit Yuji, sent his kick once more. The boy, seeing the blow advancing towards him, suddenly found himself in that world again as a sting of pain hit his eyes. The surrounding world slowed down and Yuji felt lighter. His conclusion seemed correct, since he didn't feel as if he could move freely, still moving slowly.

'It seems that my perception accelerates to extraordinary levels, but my body remains at the same speed. Shit, that's amazing!' Yuji looked at Mikey's leg, which had just come off the ground to reach him. 'I can easily anticipate attacks with that!'

Yuji slowly took a step back, stepping out of kicking distance. At that moment, the world was back to normal and Mikey's blow hit only the wind.

'How does he keep dodging-' Mikey didn't have time to wonder when a punch hit him on the tip of his jaw, this rocking his brain and making him stagger.

"I finally hit you! You were protecting this place very well!" Yuji declared.

With a low kick, Yuji hit the side of Mikey's knee hard enough to cause the blond man to buckle, bringing him to his knees.

"This is the end, Mikey!"

Yuji roared, his eyes in an instant glowing blue, before returning to normal as he hit a powerful kick to Mikey's face, the attack causing the blond's body to be pushed to the ground as his eyes lost signs of consciousness.

Yuji bent over as he placed his hands on his knees, his breathing panting.

"The victory... It's Yggdrasil's!"

Yuji raised his head and declared with the loudest roar he could muster. This caught the attention of everyone who was fighting, causing the battle to stop.

Akira, who was being pinned to the ground by Baji and Chifuyu, was freed and stood up panting, with some bruises all over his face. Despite their lack of experience, Yggdrasil seemed to have come out on top, considering that out of 120, they were with about 50 members still standing, while Toman, with 100 members, had about 20, Valhalla, on the other hand, could be considered eliminated, even with the 180 members.

"Get your commanders and get lost! Yggdrasil is taking over as the most influential gang as of today! There are no objections, and anyone who tries to oppose it will suffer the worst!" Yuji declared, this cheering up the Yggdrasil members, who turned to their remaining opponents.

Toman, especially those closest to Mikey, seemed shocked at their commander's defeat. Knowing his strength, they could not believe that there was anyone their age capable of this feat.

"What are you waiting for?" Baji asked with a growl.

With a nod, some Toman members walked over to where Yuji was standing and carried Mikey. Yuji stared at them intensely, indicating that they should leave.

With that, the Toman members walked away to their motorcycles. Draken, who had woken up, was responsible for carrying an unconscious Mikey.

There was no talking, after all, it was the end of a war.

Yuji, feeling his body collapse, let his strength drain away as he sat on the ground. An intense pain hit his head, and that coupled with the fact that he thought his jaw was dislocated, made the situation even worse.

"Shit... I think screaming like that hurt my jaw even more."

Akira helped Osanai to his feet, the two walking together to Yuji and sitting down beside him.

"That was fucked up..." Osanai spoke as he ran his hand over his abdomen.

"They had some tough guys." Akira put his hand on his shoulder, and with a tug, a pop echoed. "Ugh! I think I put it in place."

"You think?" Osanai asked fearfully.

"The cost of victory was very alt-"

[Congratulations on completing the requirements!]

[Welcome to the "Path to Strength" system!]

Yuji stopped talking when two pop-ups appeared in his field of vision, his eyes staring at the small screens for long seconds.

'What the hell is going on in my head?'

[The system is releasing the hidden options].

[10%...]

[50%...]

[Loading complete!]

Yuji continued to watch the screens, and when nothing changed in his perspective, he began to question his own sanity.

'What did that Senju kick do to me?'

[Host, try saying "Status"]

'Uh? Is that fucking talking to me? What would status be?'

When Yuji thought of the word, suddenly all the pop-ups were replaced by a single pop-up. Yuji's eyes sparkled as he began to read the information in front of him.

. . .

Name: Yuji Shinakawa [Yamashita]

Age: 15

...

Statistics.

Strength: B++

Durability: A+

Stamina: A

Speed: A

Intelligence: S

Potential: ???

Abilities: Combat Mastery [Lvl 60], Boxing [Lvl 52], Jeet Kune Do [Lvl 45], MMA [Lvl 30], Watching [Lvl 1] [?]

Body: Divine Eyes [Lvl Max], Blessed Potential [Lvl Max], Combat Genius [Lvl Max], Enhanced Regeneration [Lvl Max], ????

. . .

Seeing all that information, Yuji closed his eyes and stared at the window in front of him for a few seconds, before sighing.

'Has this turned into an anime with those systems?'

Yuji, wanting to dissect every piece of information of the system that suddenly appeared in front of him, was about to fill his mind with questions, but...

Bang!

The dry sound of a gunshot rang through the place, Yuji immediately getting up as he looked around, confusion on his face.

'A gunshot?! Where did it come from?' Trying to find the source of the sound, his eyes landed on an alley in the distance, when with his hearing, he was able to hear what sounded like a fight. 'Shit!'

"You two, call an ambulance for Hanma, I'll take care of it!" He ordered Osanai and Akira, leaving the scene at full speed without waiting for a response.

'Fuck, Shiki!'