Super Fighting Tokyo

Chapter 43 Life Can't Let Us Go

An abandoned warehouse, inside a fighting ring.

boom!boom!boom……

Li Youba exhausted his last bit of strength and threw a final punch, slamming it into the face of the unconscious Tojo Ran.

"Huh...huh..."

She was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. Only after the referee announced her victory did she slowly get up from the riding position.

"Whoa—oh oh oh!!!"

Upholding the professionalism of an underground fighter, even when he was exhausted, Li Youba still unleashed his signature low growl, announcing his victory to the audience.

The next steps are the same as before: treat the injuries briefly, and then collect the appearance fee and victory bonus.

"That was close! If I had really lost because I was hungry, my reputation would have been ruined..."

Li Youba clutched her stomach, her eyes searching around for the man who had spoken up to her earlier, but she found nothing.

"That guy who just spoke... he must be a 'professional,' right? I should thank him properly sometime..."

Anyway, let's go eat first!

Li Youba went to the locker room to change into his casual clothes and left in a daze.

……

……

Meanwhile, two streets away, there's an oden (Japanese stew) roadside stall.

Shiraki Cheng and the woman named "Tianma Xiwang" sat side by side at the stall, casually eating a few bites of late-night snack and chatting idly.

"Hey buddy, you must have accidentally wandered into the competition arena, right? Are you interested in underground women's combat sports?"

Pegasus, chewing on a fish ball, introduced it as follows:

"The venue we just saw was organized by a group called 'Loser Fighting,' which is at the very bottom of the underground fighting scene and doesn't have any high-quality matches."

"Hey, I don't know what kind of luck they had, that stingy boss actually managed to get 'Li Youba' and 'Tojo Ran'—maybe it has something to do with the recent turmoil in the yakuza world?"

"But I'm not involved in the underworld, and I don't know the details very well..."

"Hey buddy, what do you do for a living?"

As they chatted, they started talking non-stop.

After Shiraki briefly introduced himself, Tenma sighed, looking like he understood.

"Huh? You really are an underground fighter, but you don't belong to a group yet? That's tough... You're not going to make much money like this."

"Me? Haha... My situation isn't much better..."

Tianma hoped that when the conversation got lively, he would order a pitcher of beer for each of them.

"I'm fairly good at fighting. I originally wanted to make a name for myself in the legitimate industry, but I was diagnosed with retinal detachment and can only compete in the 'underground'."

"After moving between several groups, I came to Loser Fighting and achieved a 'good result' of three wins out of three fights."

"...I originally thought that the audience would definitely like me."

"But the stingy boss of Loser Fighting said that my fighting style was neither bloody nor erotic, and the audience didn't buy it at all, so he told me to pack my bags and get out!"

"What's going on? Winning through grappling is still winning. If you want to see a show, go watch professional wrestling..."

"..."

Pegasus hopes to tilt his head back, gulp down a whole jug of beer, then burp, his face flushed with drunkenness, and give up entirely.

"Uh~ So—Pegasus Hope, at twenty-six, has become a beautiful unemployed bum! Cheers to freedom!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The other party was an industry insider after all, and he could understand everything the other party said. Tianma also wanted to find someone to complain to, so he talked a lot and had already regarded Bai Mucheng as a drinking buddy.

"Hey bro, you're a few years younger than me, right? But just call me 'Xiao Xi,' it makes me sound younger!"

Xiao Xi raised her glass and put her arm around Bai Mucheng's shoulder.

"By the way, buddy—why are you out wandering around alone so late at night...are you looking for a brothel? I know someone there..."

"..."

After a few rounds of drinks, the food lost its flavor.

The two chatted about a bunch of random things, even occasionally exchanging a few ring techniques. During this time, Shiramu Cheng kept thinking about that "key point" from before.

—Disrupt the opponent's rhythm.

The so-called "nimble" moves are often not meant to defeat the enemy in one strike, but rather to disrupt the opponent's rhythm and give one's own "melody" the upper hand.

The principles are interconnected.

That feeling is somewhat similar to the "performance" of women's combat sports.

When facing an opponent who is physically stronger than you, making your "performance" more dominant and forcibly dragging the opponent into your rhythm is also a way to win!
"..."

I drank a few more pitchers of beer.

Suddenly, Tianma received a phone call. He chatted for a few moments with a laugh and then hung up.

"Boss, check out!"

Tenma paid for the oden and then grabbed Shiraki, preventing him from leaving.

"Hey bro, it's rare that we hit it off so well. It's still early tonight, let's move on to another location!"

Upon further inquiry, it turned out that Tianma wanted two friends to know that she had lost her job and received a large severance package, so they insisted that she treat them to a meal.

Hoping to get into a good mood after drinking, Tianma simply dragged Bai Mucheng along.

Unable to refuse, and also since he was a little hungry, Shiraki followed along.

……

……

A commercial street with Chinese restaurants.

Shiraki Sei, Tenma Nozomi, and two other women sat around a table, ordered beer and food, and the atmosphere was quite casual.

Shiraki Cheng actually quite likes this feeling.

When three or five close friends get together, drink beer, chat, complain about their lives, and then comfort each other, there's a real sense of connection.

"..."

Tianma hoped to recount his experience of unemployment again, getting extremely drunk and becoming even more reckless, so everyone could only raise their glasses to comfort him.

Taking this opportunity, Pegasus wanted to introduce everyone to each other.

"That guy with a single tuft of hair on his head and shark teeth is called 'Iori Kazuka.' He's been my best friend since childhood. He's a cop and has a terrible temper."

"She was originally a detective in the Organized Crime Countermeasures Division, but because she beat up her incompetent superior, she was transferred to the Juvenile Division. To put it bluntly, she was sidelined! Now she can only do some shady work to make a little money..."

"..."

Pegasus looked at another person.

The woman in the kimono with long black hair introduced herself: "Miya Hana - Head of the Jinguji Group."

Tenma wanted to add, "He's the leader of the yakuza organization."

Hana waved her hands repeatedly, telling Shiraki not to worry too much. "The Jinguji Group is very small. It can only rely on other large groups. These days, even yakuza can't make money. They can't make ends meet and life is tough!"

"..."

That's all.

Tenma shrugged and looked at Shiraki, "Poor yakuza, derelict police officer, plus me, an unemployed bum, tonight is the time for 'stray dogs' to relax!"

Upon hearing this, Hana couldn't help but facepalm and remind her, "Nozomi, you can't say that, Mr. Shiraki will be unhappy..."

Bai Mucheng shook his head and sighed, "No, to be honest, I've been having trouble with this lately too."

"Right? Right? Who doesn't have their troubles these days! Life just won't let us off the hook..."

Tianma hoped this was already expected, and pressed for gossip, "Brother Shiraki, tell us quickly! Worries only feel better when you talk about them!"

"Ah."

Bai Mucheng thought it made sense, leaned back in his chair, and answered seriously, "I have ten million in cash, but I don't know how to spend it."

The three casually joked, "Haha, sure enough, you've had it tough... huh?"

All six eyes widened at the same time.

(End of this chapter)