Path to Strength

The news that a former Toman member was now leading Valhalla, ever since Hanma was hospitalized in serious condition, flowed through the gang world like water in a stream. His name was Kazutora, and knowing this gave an idea of where Yuji was in the Tokyo Revengers storyline, but he didn't care about that. Toman's territory and Valhalla belonged to Yggdrasil, and Yuji just wasn't making a move to take them because the boy thought the idea was a waste of time. His academy was doing well, and soon he would have enough income to buy a building in the central area of the city, thus expanding his business. Osanai, who was the oldest member of the gang, was responsible for the business, of course, with the support of Akira and Yuji himself, since the blond was not the smartest person.

Osanai didn't like to deal with business, but doing so earned him private boxing lessons with Yuji, and training with the teenager couldn't be more beneficial. His technique was light years away from him before he met Yuji, and as told by the teenager himself, he would soon be ready to participate in amateur boxing tournaments. This was cheering the blond man up, which was ultimately making him work hard.

The other 120 members of Yggdrasil worked part-time at the academy, now earning an easy and honest form of income. This left them in Yuji's debt, and so they dare not question his orders.

Although Yuji did not know everyone, he got along well with all of them. Although he had authority, the boy did not lead in an authoritarian way; instead, he treated everyone in a friendly manner, giving them a comfortable environment to have fun and work in.

It wasn't paradise, but it was better than any drug dealer's life could offer.

"Uh, even after all these years, I still find it amazing that you cook so well, Auntie."

At Yuji's house, sitting at the table while eating scrambled eggs, the teenager was suddenly hit hard on the top of his head.

"Why is that?" Yuji asked indignantly.

"Because I felt that you were somehow offending me." Shisumi spoke with a smile, this causing a vein to pop out on Yuji's forehead.

"Brux-" About to curse in a whisper, another blow hit him hard, this time knocking him off his chair and causing him to fall face first onto the floor.

"Oh, my dear nephew was so cute and quiet, now he's nothing but a delinquent who offends his own aunt!" A tear ran down the woman's face, but knowing her, Yuji immediately realized that she was faking it.

The boy not wanting to receive another blow, slowly crawled out of the kitchen, leaving his aunt rambling on about how he was so adorable before he became a teenager.

'That woman! One of these days those punches will still kill me.' Thought the boy as he got up and left the house.

Today Togo would pick him up to take him to one of the Kengan matches, and the boy was really excited for that. If he could meet one of the main figures there, that would be worth his trip. But while waiting, the boy was thinking about some matters.

Shiki was still in the hospital, but he would live, the doctor had said that there would be no sequelae, only a scar on his chest. Kisaki was on the run, and although the police were looking for him, Yuji couldn't just stand by, so he ordered his gang members to patrol Shinjuku constantly, he wanted to find the bastard and beat him up himself. With no contact with Takemichi since the war, Yuji couldn't know if everything was settled for the blond, since it was easy to spot when the Takemichi of the future took over the body of his past self. He could only assume that it was all settled. The B1, taking advantage of the end of the war, had placed themselves in the gang world as the newest Brahman gang, and thanks to Senju and Yuji's partnership, they were able to obtain the territory previously belonging to Valhalla.

All was quiet, and it seemed like the perfect time for the teenager to use his time to strengthen himself. He needed to increase his arsenal and improve his physique as quickly as possible. If he became the official fighter of Togo, he would soon be on his way to the annihilation tournament, and with his current level, he couldn't expect to beat much of the heavyweights.

'If I couldn't do anything against Ohma, fighting the majors like Raian or Agito is out of the question, I'll probably lose before I can blink.'

As he rambled on, a car suddenly stopped in front of the boy's house, this pulling him out of his thoughts and causing him to turn his attention to the vehicle. The rear window opened, revealing a Togo Tomari with her messy hair staring at him. "If you're done wasting time, get in soon."

Yuji not wanting to argue with the woman, just nodded and got into the car. In the morning, his aunt spent her time watching documentaries on TV, so he didn't have to worry about her watching him leave.

On the way to the fight site, Tomari began to explain how the Kengan association worked, and Yuji was not impressed when everything was as he had seen it in the anime. To resolve conflicts or disputes between companies, they send their fighters in a fight to the death to solve their problems. This practice has been going on for 300 years, and has revealed several rough diamonds to the fighting world. Togo explained about hierarchy, but Yuji was not interested as he looked out the car window.

In the end, hierarchy doesn't matter when you are strong enough to subdue even the president of an entire nation. 'Damn Yujiro.' Yuji snorted.

"Kid, are you ignoring me?" Togo asked with annoyance.

"Uh? Ah, association president, members, peons, I've got it." Yuji waved his hand as he looked down the street.

Togo felt a vein jump on her forehead, but did nothing and just ignored the teenager. She was old enough not to have to deal with teenagers, but in the end, she chose that for herself. With a defeated sigh, the woman just turned her attention back to the window.

The trip was quiet, and soon they reached a building under construction.

Getting out of the car, Yuji stared at the building for a few seconds before following Togo, who quickly entered without waiting for the boy.

The two passed through a long corridor, both in complete silence as the sound of cheering approached closer and closer. Yuji, who was a considerably experienced fighter, knew what a professional ring felt like, but the place he was in felt completely different. He was heading to a place where fighters fought without restrictions; low blows, bites, eye attacks, all of this was allowed, and if one of the fighters died, it was just a fluke.

The boy clearly felt this difference. 'In this place, people fight to win at any cost.' He thought, his eyes seeing the light at the end of the hall getting closer and closer. Yuji was a sportsman, a fighter who fought for sport, but every effort put into each of his punches, kicks, elbows, knees, were done as if his life was at risk. In Baki, it was a common understanding that martial artists who fought for sport could never stand up to the main characters, and that to survive in their world, they had to change their mindsets. Muhammad Alai Jr. was a way to make that clear to the viewers.

"We're here." Togo's voice caught Yuji's attention.

Arriving at the end of the hallway, the two of them reached into a crowd of men and women in suits, all huddled around what looked like a small organized arena.

The arrival of the two immediately caught the attention of the businessmen, causing a serious of whispering to begin. This should be normal, after all, it was common knowledge that the Togo fighter Tomari was hospitalized, for they had seen the beating the man had taken from the Fangs of Metsudo. Tomari suddenly appearing with a boy who looked no older than 18 immediately brought strangeness to the arena.

While the businessmen gossiped among themselves, their fighters had their attention on Yuji. Hiding in the shadows, some of them noticed the teenager's strength, but despite this, the strongest in the places didn't pay much attention to the boy. After all, Yuji was strong, but compared to people like Kanoh Agito, Yuji looked like just a small pawn.

The boy noticed the stares, but didn't pay much attention to them, and only turned his gaze to the fight taking place in the arena.

The fight was between a pharmaceutical company and a construction company. The two fighters were exchanging strong blows, but other than that, there was nothing else that caught his attention. Yuji saw no danger in their auras, and could classify them at most as above average.

What really caught his attention was a large man with blond hair who was watching the fight standing only a few meters away from where he was standing. His aura was monstrous, and dense enough that Yuji could discern even the smallest details. The boy realized that the man was strong, and had an unshakable determination. It was impossible not to turn his gaze to the figure, Yuji completely fascinated by his aura.

The man had long blond hair and blue eyes. The expression on his face was serene, but what brought curiosity to Yuji was that he wore clothes similar to those of priests, or as he remembered, cassocks. The boy was tempted to approach just so he could talk to this man.

His aura, as well as powerful as he had never seen it before, was bright and serene. The feeling the man had was comforting, and Yuji could only describe his aura as: Purity.

Not purity in the sense of being completely innocent, naive of the world, but purity in his intentions. Yuji couldn't explain how exactly these intentions were characterized, since the man was probably a fighter, and he hurt his opponents of his own free will, but what he could feel, strangely, was that the man emanated a sense of protection, not him, not the people around him, but...

Definitely that protection was aimed at someone.

"His name is Mokichi Robinson."

Tomari's voice suddenly snapped Yuji out of his trance, making him realize that he was staring too hard. For a moment, the boy was embarrassed, especially when he realized that the man had turned his gaze to him and nodded in a friendly manner, but putting that aside, he turned to Tomari with curiosity, who revealed the identity of that man

"189 centimeters tall, 32 years old. He is undefeated with 37 wins, without a single defeat. His nickname around here is 'The Vicar Exterminator', and little is known about his fighting style, after all, everyone he's fought has never made him go that far." Tomari spoke as he crossed his arms, his eyes staring at a small man beside Mokichi with intensity.

Yuji nodded in agreement as he placed a hand on his chin, his expression thoughtful. The name Mokichi Robinson brought back memories for him, and the boy was sure he had heard it before. 'Mokichi Robinson... Kengan Tournament... Raian Kure...' Slowly the boy was remembering, coming to the point where a scene came to his mind.

. . .

Flashback.

Raised in the air by his neck, Mokichi struggled to breathe as he faced the man who squeezed his neck hard enough to crush a rock with ease. He had used everything he had, but was still unable to affect a Raian Kure using what looked like a transformation that amplified his physical attributes. In that situation, Mokichi could only apologize to his sister, while with his last strength, he raised his hand in an attempt to pierce his fingers into Raian's neck.

"You mean that's all you have to show me?" Raian asked with a wide grin, a murderous expression on his face as veins jumped all over his body. "Did you really think someone like you would win?"

Mokichi raged at the man's words, saying as he was about to attack him, "Go to hell." The pressure on his neck increased monstrously, Mokichi no longer being able to resist, when suddenly the sound of his neck breaking reverberated through the stadium.

Yuji, who was watching the scene from his laptop screen, opened his mouth in disbelief as he watched Mokichi's neck fall back and looked at his sister, who was watching the fight, with her eyes devoid of life.

. . .

Present.

Yuji blinked a few times, his eyes slowly turning to Mokichi, the man watching the fight still with serenity on his face.

'That's a pretty bad future.... Fortunately, the association doctor saved him and fixed his neck.'

"And he is rightly your opponent in two weeks." Spoke Tomari with a usual tone.

"..."

Only the sound of cheering sounded between the two for several seconds, Yuji slowly turning his head to face Togo with sweat beading down his forehead.

"What's it like?"

...

[Status]

Name: Mokichi Robinson

Age: 32

Strength: SS+

Durability: SS

Stamina: SS

Speed: SS++

intelligence: S+++

Potential: S

. . .

"I'm screwed."