Chapter 147: The True Essence of Martial Arts
The reason why a spiked club is even more terrifying...
lies in the spikes covering it.
Blunt force damage stacks with piercing damage.
Achieving an effect akin to true damage.
Aokiji compressed the size of the spikes but increased their quantity.
There was also a spiral structure to increase blunt force damage.
God-level disasters frequently suffer defeat!
"I'm heading out. Yesterday's leftovers are in the fridge; heat them up yourself when you wake up."
Aokiji finished dressing simply.
He gave a few instructions to the energetic Tatsumaki.
He then swung by Fubuki's room to check on her condition.
Only then did he head to the backyard, preparing to fly to the Dojo.
Aokiji's movements suddenly stopped. He remembered something he had forgotten for several days: Psykos was still with Mosquito Girl... How many days had passed? Mosquito Girl wouldn't have turned her into an idiot, right?
A Dragon Level Monster shouldn't be reduced to that... probably.
He would go take a look when he returned.
Aokiji's figure flickered and vanished into thin air... "So you also joined the Hero Association yesterday? Is that guy with the sword on his back one too?"
Suiryu, who had been arranged by his grandfather to help Move the debris, was making bored conversation.
Garou had absolutely no desire to pay him any attention.
He went back and forth, carrying piles of debris taller than a man by himself.
"Let's chat. Master Bang said the collapse of the Dojo was caused by you and Aokiji sparring. You can actually compete with him? Did he go easy on you?"
Garou continued to ignore him, walking right past him.
Suiryu didn't plan to give up. With his restless nature, being forced into the boring work of moving debris was unbearable without someone to talk to.
"Speaking of which, based on what my grandfather said, that Move Aokiji used to defeat me yesterday wasn't a Psychic Power? The Peak of martial arts... can someone really achieve that? And he's about the same age as me."
He kept muttering beside Garou for a long time.
Finally, he got an impatient response from Garou.
"Shut up, you trash who got knocked out in one Move."
He used to get defeated by Aokiji in one Move frequently, but he never stayed unconscious for that long.
From that alone, it was enough for him to despise this self-important trash.
"I don't know why Aokiji brought you along to join, but he clearly misjudged you. You're not qualified to be a hero."
"And don't think joining together means we're friends. There's a fundamental difference between me and a piece of trash like you."
Aokiji had explained the massive future crisis to him.
Did he explain it to that skinny ninja?
Did he explain it to this long-haired idiot?
Although he didn't care, it proved that in Aokiji's eyes, his potential was different from those other two guys.
He was someone who could bear the truth of the massive future crisis!
absolute evil... given the current situation, it could only be postponed.
No matter how the plan changed, accumulating strength remained the top priority.
There was no need to communicate with this unreliable, lazy fellow.
Suiryu scratched the back of his head, not particularly caring.
"Fundamental difference or whatever, you're still at that chuunibyou age, aren't you?"
Setting aside the strict teachings of Suicho since childhood...
After entering society, Suiryu had caused plenty of trouble because of his personality. The people who argued with him cursed much more viciously than Garou.
"Want to have a match? I also want to try out the Moves of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist."
"Don't annoy me."
A white light flashed through the air and descended upon the mountain Peak.
The resulting dust and shockwave exploded dozens of meters into the air.
Garou looked over and let out a slightly wicked smile: "Go try and find that guy instead. He definitely mastered the Old Man's fist techniques long ago."
Suiryu's gaze also locked onto the figure walking out of the dust.
His final memory from yesterday was exactly like this.
He had only seen Aokiji's calm and lazy figure, and after that, he had no recollection whatsoever.
When he watched the recorded replay later, he couldn't see any movement at all before he was smashed into the arena floor.
Suiryu's expression stiffened: "Later... let's talk about it later."
An inexplicable dread filled his heart.
The fear of being crushed? The awe brought by an incomprehensible power?
Suiryu didn't know; he just silently became well-behaved.
"Cough, cough. Aokiji, you're here."
Bang waved his hand to disperse the dust.
Aokiji found a random chair and sat down.
"It's rare for you to actively ask for my help, Bang. What's the matter?"
To the side, Suicho continuously observed Aokiji's every Move.
Lazy and casual—Suiryu's unreliability was faintly similar to his, and he didn't have the demeanor of a martial artist in his words or actions... Suiko secretly thought things were looking bad.
He had heard online that Aokiji's personality was quite lazy, but he had actually forgotten to give his grandfather a heads-up!
His grandfather was such a stubborn man; seeing a lazy young person, he definitely wouldn't be able to resist lecturing him!
What if their relationship soured right at the first meeting?!
A look of anticipation also flashed in Suiryu's eyes.
It wasn't schadenfreude; he wanted his stubborn grandfather to see clearly that S-Class Rank 1 was just like him, not that serious of a personality.
That way, he won't have so many reasons to nag me in the future.
"So this is..." Suicho's expression was serious.
Yes, yes! Recognize the attitude of today's youth, Old Man! Suiryu thought excitedly.
Suicho lamented: "Is this the state of Returning to Basics?"
Suiryu: "...?!!"
That's not what you said when you were scolding me!!
On what basis?!
Suiko was also stunned.
His grandfather was actually being so kind.
It was simply unbelievable.
"This must be Grandmaster Suicho of the Void Fist," Aokiji said, looking at him.
In the manga, he only appeared briefly in a few flashback panels, but it was still very easy to recognize him.
He had the same brown skin as Suiryu and Suiko, with white short hair and a beard, and a meticulous expression and attire.
He remembered that in the original work, he seemed to have passed away two years before the story began, which meant... Aokiji looked at the spirited Old Man Suicho.
This Grandmaster of the martial arts world, second only to Bang, didn't have much time left.
"Young man Aokiji—no, Master Aokiji, this Old Man thanks you for your help with Suiryu. If not for you, I don't know when this boy would have found something proper to do."
Suicho stood up and bowed to him.
Beside him, Suiko also quickly stood up and bowed, not forgetting to peek up and size up Aokiji... The gap between him and his older brother was quite large.
Setting aside being taller and more handsome, Aokiji had a quality that was hard to describe—a temperament more convincing than his brother's blind self-confidence.
Or perhaps, the composure of the strong?
Suicho continued:
"When this Old Man was watching the match at the Dojo, I was shocked to find that such an outstanding young man had appeared in the martial arts world. It makes me feel as if I've lived these decades in vain."
Keep talking, I like hearing this.
Aokiji helped him up. This Old Man wasn't as stubborn and heartless as the original work said.
"This Old Man has a request. I must ask Master Aokiji to agree!" Suicho's eyes were bright.
"Spar with this Old Man and experience the height of the Peak of martial arts!"
The Peak of martial arts?
Aokiji felt that he hadn't reached that level yet.
He didn't spend much time on martial arts; most of his training was on pure power control, which was true for both the fist techniques he developed and his Energy dissipation.
What truly improved his technique was the template stacking.
"It's fine to say my power control has reached the Peak, but 'Peak of martial arts' is a bit of an overstatement."
Hearing Aokiji's reply,
Suicho shook his head.
"The essence of martial arts has never been about those Moves and actions."
"The true essence of martial arts is the mastery of force."