Super Fighting Tokyo.

Tonegawa retreated towards the exit while searching around.

He quickly noticed something was wrong.

Inside the hall, a dozen or so men in black remained, disobeying Tonegawa's orders to evacuate back to the upper levels.

"you……"

Just as Tonegawa was about to greet them, he suddenly noticed that although the group of men in black were all wearing black suits and sunglasses, their faces were not familiar to him.

You see, in order to distinguish those "men in black" dressed the same way, Tonegawa had already read through the entire team's roster. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any men in black that he didn't recognize, at least on this ship.

So who exactly are those "unfamiliar men in black"...?

shhhhhh...

While Tonegawa hesitated, the strangers in black suddenly lifted their suits, took out portable submachine guns from under their clothes, and aimed them at the mercenaries on the scene.

"...?!"

In an instant, Tonegawa realized what was happening.

Those unfamiliar men in black were not employees of the Teiai Group, but another group of "mercenaries," most likely sent by Hyoudou Kazutaka to infiltrate the cruise ship!

The chairman of the Teiai Group, Hyoudou Kazutaka, probably anticipated this scene tonight and made preparations in advance on his own territory.

And so—

Mercenaries against mercenaries, guns pointed at guns, neither dared to make the first move, nor could either fire first, and the chaotic scene came to a standstill.

The "force" is currently at a standstill.

As a result, orderly "rules" have returned...

Chapter Seventy-Four Notary Public No. Ten

On the upper deck of the cruise ship, the gambling match in the lounge continued.

The rest of the people gathered in another hall on the upper floor, where there were surveillance monitors on the walls.

The screen displays not only the lounge area but also the interior of the entire cruise ship, including the lower decks that have been invaded by mercenaries.

At this time, there were still guests in the monitoring hall, such as Akiyama Kaede from the Nogi Group, Suedo Atsushi from the Shinshinkai, and referees from the Kengankai.

Although Hyoudou Kazutaka is known as the "tyrant" of the Teiai Group, he doesn't disrespect these people.

"Hehehe, don't worry, everyone."

Hyoudou Kazutaka chuckled twice and reassured her, "They're just 'smugglers.' As long as we have the appropriate force ready, they won't dare to act rashly."

As soon as he finished speaking, the "unfamiliar men in black" on the lower level began to move, each of them pulling out submachine guns and confronting the mercenaries.

This, in turn, calmed the situation down.

"Hehehe, that's it. No matter how many tricks you try, you'll never be able to shake me, the 'Emperor in the Fortress.' I'll just quietly enjoy the show..."

Hyoudou Kazutaka's eyes darted around, looking at the gambling scene in the reception room, his gaze settling on Sada Kuni.

"So, Brother Sada, what will you do when you can no longer take it by force?"

"..."

……

Inside the reception room.

Because the game revolves around a special card located on the lower level—a limited rock-paper-scissors card—which allows communication with people outside the game, Sada Kuni is wearing headphones.

He learned about what was happening at the lower levels through internal communications.

"That Hyoudou guy actually hired mercenaries too..."

Sada Kuni's expression was as hard as iron, completely unmoved. "But it doesn't matter. All I'm interested in is money and Kengan-kai membership."

"The money—I'll win that, and the Kengan membership..."

He hissed, "Mupu!"

"Yes."

Behind Sada Kuni—the gambler notary with a sinister expression—he nodded in response.

Sada Kuni gave the order, "The Kengan Association membership is yours."

"Yes."

Mu Pu nodded again, then turned and left.

Seeing this, the second notary, "Yoruko-hime Koichi," who was behind Akagi Shigeru, was slightly surprised.

The old gentleman asked curiously, "Hmm, as Lord Sada's personal notary, are you actually leaving?"

"This bet doesn't stipulate that a notary must be present, or are you too old to perform the notarization work independently?"

Mupu had long disliked the old man who walked at night, and he didn't speak kindly to him, "From now on, I will act as someone 'employed' by Lord Sada, so don't bother me!"

Having said all that, there was no reason to stop Ye Xing, so he let Mu Pu leave.

……

……

Lower level, the ship's main hall.

The unfamiliar men in black pulled out submachine guns and confronted the invading mercenaries. Neither side would give way, and the situation came to a standstill, with a deathly silence all around.

Gradually, the thick smoke from the smoke bombs dissipated.

Bai Mucheng's figure appeared, his left arm still wrapped around the neck of the leading mercenary. The man had a large dent in his temple, caused by a knee strike, and was currently spitting blood and twitching.

With the chaos subsiding, there was no longer a need for hostages to act as shields.

With the other party coughing up blood and foam, making himself all dirty, Bai Mucheng was too lazy to hold him and simply laid him against the wall.

...Thump!

The lead mercenary couldn't stand and collapsed against the wall, the sound clearly audible in the quiet hall.

The man in black and the mercenary stared at each other, neither daring to look away.

"..."

Bai Mucheng felt a little embarrassed, so he squatted down and helped the leading mercenary up, letting him sit with his back against the wall.

The leader of the mercenaries had his head tilted to one side, but Bai Mucheng straightened it again.

"..."

After doing all this, Shiraki returned to Tonegawa, seemingly waiting quietly for something.

Tonegawa was puzzled.

Shiraki Cheng analyzed with a smile, "Sada Kuni wants my Kengan Association membership, but now that forceful seizure is no longer an option, he can only rely on the 'rules'."

Tonegawa blinked.

He could certainly understand this principle. After all, the so-called chaos was only due to the overwhelming military strength of one side, and once the military strength of both sides returned to equilibrium, the "rules" would be restored.

But the key question is, what kind of "rules" will Sada Kuni rely on?

"..."

Suddenly, a jolt of electricity ran through Tonegawa's mind, and he realized, "The Kengan Arena Challenge!"

"Not bad!"

The one who responded to Tonegawa was not Shiraki, but another figure who walked out of the passage.

He was dressed in an elegant black suit betting magistrate, with shoulder-length straight blond hair, a thin face, and a gloomy and ferocious expression.

"We meet again."

The man, carrying a briefcase, introduced himself, "I am Notary Public No. 10, named 'Mupu Guilang'."

"But now, as a fighter of Lord Sada Kuni, I will challenge you—Shiraki Sho of the Fighting Spirit Martial Arts Hall—to a Kengan Tournament. The winner will gain membership in the Kengan Association."

"Coincidentally, the referee from the Kengan Association is also on this ship. Our conversation can be transmitted, and he can make a judgment using the monitoring and broadcast. It shouldn't be too difficult to have an extra match."

As his name suggests, Mupu Guilang stared intently at Bai Mucheng with a sinister smile, saying, "Moreover, I advise you not to refuse, because—"

Before he could finish speaking, Bai Mucheng started twisting his shoulders, "Not bad, fantastic!"

Mepo: "...?"

He hadn't even finished his threat when he was caught off guard.

Bai Mucheng, however, felt it was perfectly reasonable. "I can't convince you to give up the plan, and you can't convince me to give up my membership. Since that's the case, why bother explaining too much?"

He flexed his ten fingers, slowly clenched them into a fist, and grinned at the same time.

"On the one hand, as a newly joined member of the Kengan Association, I'll inevitably have to participate in challenge matches;"

"On the other hand, the gambler's notary—I haven't beaten him yet, so I don't know how he feels?"

"..."

Mupu Guilang stared at Shiraki Cheng not far away, and seeing his cheerful smiling face, he suddenly shivered for no reason.

Unlike the notaries who "desire to witness," the man named Shiraki Cheng is simply "seeking strength," and therefore he welcomes any challenge!

"—That's it."

While Mu Pu was still in a daze, Bai Mucheng waved to the monitor above his head and asked, "Referee, can you hear me?"

"...Ah! Oh...Yes, it's possible!"

The broadcast was connected, and after a brief sound check, the voice of the Kengan Association referee came through.

He hadn't quite grasped what was going on, but he managed to understand the situation and asked in surprise, "Really? A tiebreaker? The challenged party can refuse..."

Mu Pu was furious upon hearing this, fearing that Bai Mucheng would change his mind. "Enough with the nonsense! Let's begin!"

Bai Mucheng nodded casually.