Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Before Sonoko could finish speaking, Kogoro Mouri stepped forward and interrupted the conversation.

Sonoko then realized that everyone was still standing there. She scratched her head sheepishly and led everyone into the car, preparing to head directly to Universal Studios.

Knowing in advance that there would be a large number of people, the garden prepared two vehicles.

Ryuno, Ran, and Sonoko got into one of the cars, while Kogoro Mouri, Conan, and the Detective Boys got into the other car.

After the vehicle reached the riverbank, Sonoko seemed to see something through the car window and immediately told the driver to stop.

"What's wrong, Garden?" Xiaolan asked, puzzled.

Instead of answering directly, Sonoko opened the car door and pulled Ran and Tatsuno out of the car: "Come with me quickly!"

Although they had some doubts, Ryuno and Ran did not refuse and let Sonoko pull them along.

A few seconds later, the three of them ran to a T-junction.

Sonoko quickly turned her head and looked around. "That's strange, they were just running in this direction! Ah... found them!"

The next second, Sonoko excitedly pointed to a spot not far away.

Ryūno and Ran looked in the direction Sonoko was pointing, and a wooden sign appeared before them.

"Tenjin-ryu Karate?"

Chapter 429 Piccolo the Demon King and the Story of Victory Without a Fight

“That’s right! They must have run into here!” Sonoko nodded.

"Wait, Sonoko, who are you talking about?" Xiaolan blinked.

Sonoko led the two towards the 'Tenjin-ryu Karate Dojo', saying, "It's a group of kids practicing karate~ The guy who challenged Ryūno is in there too!"

"Huh? But Sonoko, aren't we going to..."

"It's alright, it's alright~ Let Uncle take those kids to play first, we'll go later~"

"Okay... I'll call Dad then."

Longye looked at the wooden sign in front of him, somewhat puzzled.

He understood what Sonoko meant; it meant that... Makoto Kyogoku was currently inside this dojo?

According to his memory, Kyogoku Makoto should be a member of the Kyokushin Karate school, right?

What on earth is this 'Heavenly God Style' in front of me?

In just a few short years, has Makoto Kyogoku already begun training with Piccolo?!

Could this dojo be hiding the legendary 'Time Spirit House'?

While Ryūno was lost in thought, Sonoko walked up to the dojo gate and called out loudly, "Hello! Is anyone home?"

A few seconds later, a middle-aged man with long hair and wearing a white martial arts uniform came out.

Upon seeing Longye and his two companions, the middle-aged man paused in surprise. "May I ask who you are?"

Before Sonoko could answer, a young man with a wheatish complexion came out of the dojo. "What's wrong, Takami-sensei? Someone... Hmm? It's you, Sonoko-san... Wait?! Takeda Tatsuno?!"

Upon seeing Sonoko and Tatsuno, the young man's eyes widened in shock.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man looked at Longye and the other two, then turned to look at the young man, "Kyogoku, do you know each other?"

……

Soon after, Longye and his two companions entered the dojo, led by the middle-aged man.

The children who were training inside stopped what they were doing when they saw the three unfamiliar people, Longye and his companions, and stared at them in confusion.

"Continue training!" the middle-aged man said.

Although the middle-aged man's voice wasn't loud, the children in the room immediately returned to their training after hearing his words.

Longye and his two companions glanced at the middle-aged man in surprise, not expecting that these children would listen to him so obediently.

Led by the middle-aged man and Kyogoku Makoto, Ryuno and the others sat down on one side of the dojo by the window.

Seeing Kyogoku Makoto's burning gaze, Ryūno twitched his lips helplessly and quickly said, "Kyogoku, I remember you should be a member of the Kyokushin school, right?"

Upon hearing this, Makoto Kyogoku recalled, "Yes, that's right! Actually, when I was in elementary school, I came to Osaka with my family. At that time, I hit a bottleneck in karate and couldn't move forward no matter what I did."

“It was around that time that I happened to meet Mr. Takami. He once gave me guidance, and after that practice, I re-examined myself and gained the strength to keep moving forward!”

"This is what my teacher told me back then—'Victory without fighting.' It is because of my teacher's teachings that I am who I am today."

Hearing this, Sonoko asked in confusion, "Winning without fighting? What does that mean?"

"Haha, everyone has a different understanding of this sentence, there is more than one correct answer~" The middle-aged man, whom Kyogoku Makoto called Teacher Takami, heard Sonoko's question, walked over to Ryuno and the others with a smile, and sat down.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man arrive, Makoto Kyogoku smiled and said, "That's right, my understanding of that sentence is—no matter what kind of opponent you face, don't be discouraged, you must dare to challenge them!"

At this point, Makoto Kyogoku turned to Tatsuno and asked, "Takeda, what do you think of that statement?"

Longye lowered his head and thought for two seconds before speaking: "When I stand in front of my opponent, does my opponent already feel that I have lost?"

Kyogoku Makoto: "..."

Ran and Sonoko glanced at Ryūno in surprise, blinked, and remained silent.

If someone else had said that, they might have thought it was a bit of an exaggeration.

But if it's Ryūno...

It seems... um... somewhat reasonable?

The middle-aged man looked at Longye in surprise. For some reason, he felt that the young man in front of him seemed to be saying those words from the bottom of his heart.

After a two-second silence, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Alright, since you're friends of Kyogoku, why don't you take a good look around here?"

"Okay~"

Just then, Kyogoku Makoto respectfully bowed to the middle-aged man, his expression earnest, "Master, could Takeda train with us? I'd like to spar with him..."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man looked at Makoto Kyogoku in surprise, his gaze filled with astonishment.

Although he had heard Kyogoku Makoto say at the door that this young man named Takeda Tatsuno was his 'opponent', he hadn't paid any attention to it at the time.

After all, he knew Kyogoku Makoto's strength.

Although he had indeed taught Makoto Kyogoku once more than ten years ago, he never imagined at the time that he would actually produce such a 'little monster'...

Over the years, Makoto Kyogoku has occasionally kept in touch with him.

He never imagined that the children he taught back then would become so accomplished.

Not only did they win various youth karate competitions in China, but they also dominated national youth karate competitions abroad recently.

Recently, Makoto Kyogoku has also trained with them.

Although he did not practice matches with Makoto Kyogoku, he was able to quickly assess Kyogoku's skill level through just a few rounds of simple sparring.

—They have already surpassed themselves.

Whenever he thinks about this, he always feels a complex mix of emotions, like "the younger generation surpassing the older generation."

Therefore, a few days ago he even took the initiative to contact a nearby land dealer, preparing to sell the dojo, return the 'honorary black belt' passed down through generations, and then retire.

but now…

Kyogoku Makoto, whom he regarded as a rising star, actually took this young man who had only recently appeared very seriously, and even took the initiative to ask him to spar...

It seems that Makoto Kyogoku truly considers the young man before him a formidable opponent.

But... are there really any young people in this world as talented as Makoto Kyogoku at such a young age?!

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man stared intently at Longye, as if trying to find the answer to this question in Longye.

"Teacher Takami?"

Seeing that Takami-sensei was staring silently at Ryuno, seemingly lost in thought, Kyogoku Makoto couldn't help but remind him.

"Ah... yeah, I agree. Anyway, there's still some time before the junior group's training, so I'll just watch you guys spar!"

"Thank you, teacher!" Makoto Kyogoku bowed again.

Sonoko exclaimed excitedly, "Great! Ryūno! Start fighting already!"

"Yuanzi..." Xiaolan smiled helplessly.

Ryūno: "?"

Although Ryūno felt that something was amiss, a spark ignited within him as he looked at Kyogoku Makoto's battle-ready eyes.

The Kyogoku Makoto who has just returned from overseas training... should really be considered the 'strongest fighting force in the world of Detective Conan', right?

Although he had already fought Kyogoku Makoto a few years ago.

But at that time, Makoto Kyogoku was not in his 'final form'... so my experience was definitely lacking.

Thinking of this, Longye smiled and slowly stood up.

Hmph... Interesting!

It's been so long since I've felt this exhilarated!