At this moment, the first member of the Fatal Fury Team had already stepped onto the ring, and of course, it was Andy.
Seeing Aiden slowly walking up the steps beside the ring, Andy sneered, "This is the kind of strength that can beat me with just one move?"
Aiden couldn't be bothered to answer him. After finding a place to stand, he started waving toward Mai's side, and immediately saw Mai and the other girls enthusiastically responding to him. At the same time, he also noticed the sign Mai was holding up.
His eyesight was excellent. Once he clearly saw the words written on the sign, a wave of embarrassment surged over him, and he quickly put his hand down.
His skin was indeed thicker than before, but the social-anxiety attributes from his childhood hadn't fully disappeared… Back in high school, even when a female classmate cheered for him, he'd blush.
"Seriously… this is too embarrassing. Just write 'good luck'; why do you have to put my name on it?"
Muttering that, he looked toward Andy, stretching his wrists and ankles while asking, "Did you already reserve a room at the hospital? If you didn't, I can have Wangu help you book one. Don't worry, for your brother's sake, I won't charge you."
Talking trash at the start of a KOF match is practically tradition. It's just a pity Iori didn't come; otherwise there would have definitely been some back-and-forth verbal sparring with Kyo, which would've been quite entertaining.
Hearing Aiden's trash talk, Andy naturally erupted with anger. He immediately pointed a finger at Aiden and shot back, "You're just some guy who only got this far because of women, what right do you have to brag? If you ask me, you should let your women go up instead, and you go down there to cheer for them."
Aiden shrugged casually, "I'm sure they'd love that… But honestly, I wasn't even that interested in this kind of tournament, because to me, none of you are much of a challenge… Don't rush to argue, I'm telling the truth. You'll understand in a minute."
There were audio receivers on the ring, though they break often during fights, the wealthy organizers didn't care about that small loss. With the help of the audio equipment, Aiden's words spread clearly through the stadium and into the homes of viewers watching on TV.
"This guy is way too arrogant, isn't he?"
In the fighters' rest area, Benimaru angrily said, "Kyo, even you wouldn't dare say something like that, right?"
Kyo didn't speak. He didn't know where Aiden got that confidence from, but one thing was clear, Aiden definitely wasn't lying. His tone made that obvious. He meant every word.
"This kid… wasn't he pretty polite a few days ago? How did he become like this the moment he ran into Andy?"
On the Psychic Team's side, Chin Gentsai frowned. He felt they should at least maintain a humble attitude.
"Maybe… maybe little junior brother is actually really strong," Athena said dazedly, staring at Aiden in the ring.
Not only the fighters were talking; the spectators were buzzing even louder. But at that moment, Aiden's voice came again.
"I'll give you the chance to make the first move, otherwise beating you in one hit would be kind of boring, and it'd be a waste of the audience's enthusiasm, they came all this way, after all."
"You bastard…"
After being taunted repeatedly, Andy finally couldn't endure it anymore. Since the announcer had long declared the match started, he immediately launched Straight Shadow Punch and charged at Aiden.
Aiden had already activated his Sanda mode, but with all of his aura restrained, he looked no different from usual. Facing Andy's furious attack, he simply shifted his step, and in an instant, appeared behind Andy.
And at the same time he taunted, "Too slow, Mr. Andy. My grandma in a wheelchair moves faster than you."
Hearing this completely unfamiliar but deeply insulting trash talk behind him, Andy's face flushed with rage. He immediately powered up and spun around with a Uncha, Palm of Fortune.
A fierce burst of energy shot from his palm, and this time it actually hit Aiden. But before Andy could show any sign of triumph, he saw Aiden's body suddenly dissolve into mist and disappear.
"Huh…" Andy froze, even lowering his head to look at his own hand. His mind suddenly couldn't process it. He thought he really vaporized Aiden with one move.
But he only wanted to teach Aiden a lesson; he hadn't intended to kill him. And besides, he wasn't strong enough to do that… right?
Just as he was confused, Joe Higashi, clinging to the edge of the ring, shouted up at him, "Andy! He's behind you!"
'Behind?'
Andy froze again, then quickly turned around, and immediately saw a grinning face baring its teeth.
"What kind of technique is this?"
Andy was baffled, but seeing Aiden's smiling face only irritated him even more. He once again used Straight Shadow Punch.
And once again, he hit Aiden, only for Aiden's body to vanish into thin air.
The technique Aiden used was the basic fighter skill, Clone Technique.
This strange ability shocked not only his opponent Andy but also many spectators.
"Ninjutsu?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"It's different from Miss Chizuru Kagura's ability."
"It doesn't seem to have any offensive power, looks like it only confuses the opponent."
"Probably some trick meant for messing around? Yikes, that's kind of cheap."
But… does this move really have no offensive power?
Aiden still wanted to give Andy a somewhat dignified defeat.
"You… you only know how to dodge?"
After dozens of strikes hitting nothing but clones, Andy gasped as he spoke. Of course, mostly from being angry.
"Fight back! Face me properly in a real match!" he shouted again.
Aiden stood a dozen meters away, but in his thoughts popped up a line from a drama he once watched, one that seemed perfect for the moment.
"I'm afraid that if I make a move, you'll go down immediately."
And sure enough, in a time when the internet wasn't developed and many expressions hadn't been invented yet, this line had enormous impact.
Andy's chest heaved violently with anger, "Don't underestimate me!"
"Since that's how you want it, I'll grant your wish. Besides… I've played around enough."
But just as Aiden finished speaking, the entire stadium felt a crushing pressure. Then the spectators saw a massive, almost solid aura swirling around Aiden.
The ground beneath his feet began to crack inch by inch, with winding fractures spreading all the way to Andy's feet.
The entire stadium fell silent. It was as if their voices were crushed by the overwhelming force he released.
"S-such terrifying aura…"
Standing directly opposite Aiden, Andy felt it the strongest. A feeling called fear quietly rose in his heart.
But as a fighter, even with fear, he still swung his fist toward Aiden.
For that, Aiden nodded in approval. To strike forward against someone stronger, worthy of praise.
Unfortunately, because of a certain woman, the two of them were now opponents.
Watching Andy, pushing through the pressure step by step, Aiden also raised his fist. When Andy was still seven or eight meters away, Aiden suddenly punched.
With a dull boom, Andy was blasted off the ring from a distance.
One punch.
KO!