Not a detective

Page 230

This guy is really experienced; he even calculated the gap during the reload...

He wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. With a roar, he exerted his strength, his calf muscles forcibly solidifying the quicksand, and using the recoil to leap high into the air.

The weapons designed by Hayato Morita all require conversion on the ground, making high altitudes their weakness.

Conversely, Riku Asakawa would be unable to dodge bullets at high altitude, making it an extremely dangerous adventure, or rather, a high-stakes gamble.

"Has the dog become desperate and resorted to violence...?"

Seeing this, Morita Hayato sneered. His plan had succeeded. He stopped reloading and instantly melted and reshaped the M134 machine gun, causing its support to rise from the ground.

But this time, Asakawa Riku didn't dodge. He fell headlong into the gun barrel, suddenly throwing a prepared pebble from his chest—

"what!"

Morita Hayato was startled. His finger was on the trigger, and he only had time to protect himself by dissolving the rock that was aimed at him.

The stones around him kept falling to the ground, making a deafening roar. It was a mystery how this guy managed to make such a noise by throwing stones, and even the ground was dented.

Before the smoke had cleared, machine gun fire burst forth, but it was all blocked by the ground... This was the trajectory that Asakawa Riku had calculated.

He took advantage of Morita Hayato's inspiration in manipulating the ground and actually achieved a similar effect with brute force. Morita Hayato thought he had blocked a fatal attack, but that was not the case.

The truly deadly attack was just around the corner.

As the last spent cartridge case hit the ground, the black bird of punishment also descended.

He has already exceeded the radius of death.

His right hand pressed against Morita Hayato's chest, and his inch-force pierced through the armor formed from sand and gravel, piercing through, piercing through!

Hunting cattle across the mountain!

"puff……!"

The air itself seemed to vibrate and tremble, roaring behind him.

Blood gushed out, and Morita Hayato coughed up blood and tried to raise his hand, only to find that Asakawa Riku had grabbed his right wrist, which was being reshaped into a weapon—

"Uh ah ah!"

Even with all his might, the excruciating pain of his meridians being precisely severed rendered his superpowers instantly ineffective.

Do you know why you lost?

Asakawa Riku's breath brushed against Morita Hayato's ear, sweat mixed with blood dripping onto the other's shoulder: "You're too reliant on these toys."

After saying that, he released his grip, letting Morita Hayato fall backward.

Logically speaking, this was supposed to be a friendly sparring match, and the two weren't mortal enemies who were going to fight each other to the death. However, some of the provocative words just now, especially the pulling out of the gun, did indeed provoke Asakawa Riku's anger.

Hayato Morita is a talented and capable person, as can be seen from his mastery of so many weapons, but he is too undisciplined and unable to concentrate.

It's not that relying on weapons is bad, and Asakawa Riku is not a blind worshipper of the physical body. He knows that specializing in a particular weapon can indeed lead to the pinnacle.

However, Morita Hayato can only be said to have dabbled in everything but was unable to specialize in anything. Perhaps, just like his appointment as minister, he was destined not to be able to focus on his martial arts skills.

If he relies on superpowers, or even resorts to unorthodox methods like using firearms, he may only be able to reach this point in his life.

"The purity is too low."

"As expected of a young man... I've lost."

Morita Hayato, stained with blood, slowly disappeared from the ground.

Orochi's Autumn: Chapter Twenty-One - An Unexpected Enemy

With the broken ground repaired, Asakawa Riku breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his best condition.

The training method of the Inspection Department is indeed good. After high-intensity continuous combat, there is no need to worry about physical fatigue and injury, and you can fight freely.

Unfortunately, this virtual space cannot truly train the physical body; it can only increase experience and improve combat awareness.

Asakawa Riku was thinking that if he went outside, he could rely on the [Nirvana One] of the End of the Moon to imitate this endless training method.

Just then, a tremor and humming sound suddenly came from the ground.

...Is the next opponent here?

Asakawa Riku didn't know who his next opponent would be. After the trials of the previous rounds, he was even more excited for the Orochi Trial in the fifth round.

Kazamatsuri Akihisa and Morita Hayato are both at the level of "demon-slaying experts," so the next one should be similar... Could it be Kirisame Aoi?

The apprentice is actually more powerful than his master? More powerful than that weirdo who can pull out a machine gun at any time? Unbelievable.

However, when he looked at it from the side, he found that it was completely different from what he had expected.

Riku Asakawa's face changed in shock:

"How... could it be you?"

He watched as his own shadow stood up.

That person had the exact same face, the exact same features, the exact same body, and the exact same structure as me.

He was also Asakawa Riku, even taller and stronger, like a small mountain, with bulging muscles that were terrifying and horrifying, scars and cracks, a death god more terrifying than a demon.

No wonder some people think he's a monster...

That Asakawa Riku was dressed in all black, which seemed to be stained dark red with blood, and a mask hung on his head, representing the "Faceless Man".

That was me three years ago, at sixteen, the me who was still called "Nue".

...The Orochi Trial actually managed to summon "itself" as an enemy?

Nue's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, the sixteen-year-old's knuckles scabbed with blood. He glared angrily at Asakawa Riku: "You've even forgotten the taste of blood!"

Asakawa Riku didn't know where his anger came from. Just as he was about to say something, his body was forced back half a step, and the airflow brought by the jab brushing past his throat stung painfully.

Before they could even exchange pleasantries, the fight had already begun.

The bird of death arrives in an instant; that's definitely the style of the nue.

Nue's Bajiquan strikes came one after another, his fists transforming into a rain of pear blossoms, each strike accompanied by the sound of breaking bones.

For the first time, Asakawa Riku realized just how much pressure his opponents felt when facing him.

But ultimately, you know yourself best.

Seeing that he couldn't communicate, Asakawa Riku became solemn. His sleeves billowed like sails, and he slapped his right palm in a circular motion on the side of his elbow joint.

Pushing the clouds with his hands.

"You're going to hold back?"

The nue staggered from the soft force, turned its head, its pupils contracted into wild beast-like vertical lines, and spun around to kick out the "Meteor Chasing the Moon" from the Tan leg technique.

The moment the sole of his shoe pierced Asakawa Riku's left arm, he was surprised to find that the other man was actively meeting the impact.

With a loud bang, although it was just a simple collision of muscles, the muffled thud reverberated across the arena, and the surrounding floor tiles shattered one after another.

"I just know."

Asakawa Riku's fingertips bent, and a drop of blood flicked towards Nue's face: "For me, communicating with fists might be more effective."

This is a new move that I only learned in recent years: the air cannon. The blood droplets suddenly dispersed into mist in mid-air. Nue was unaware of this move and instinctively closed his eyes and leaned back.

The next second, he was seemingly pushed away by Asakawa Riku, flying more than ten meters away before crashing heavily to the ground.

"You guy!!"

Nue stood up, gritting his teeth. He not only wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but also smashed the mask to pieces, his joints making a roaring sound like a tiger's roar.

It is clear that his frame and outline are a size larger than the current Asakawa Riku, which is the original height of this body, about two meters.

In contrast, Asakawa Riku appeared thinner and weaker.

In Nue's eyes, it was already a betrayal:

"You don't even dare to expose your own body... What do you have left! A weak heart!"

Nue charged over, unleashing the powerful "Seven Mountain-Crushing Combos," with seven fist shadows transforming into bloody afterimages.

Asakawa Riku's pupils reflected a familiar yet unfamiliar trajectory. This move was supposed to shatter the opponent's internal organs in the third strike, but what he saw at this moment was seven layers of fist shadows locking the Tanzhong acupoint.

He suddenly stopped dodging, and his right hand, shaped like a crane's beak, pecked into the net. With a dull thud of flesh colliding, he actually managed to pin down Nue's wrist pulse with his thumb and forefinger!

Nue's elbow made a dislocating sound as he watched in disbelief as his opponent transformed his killing move into a pushing hand stance.

"I see."

Asakawa Riku flipped his fingers, and the residual force from their clash further cracked the ground in a spiderweb pattern. "So the reason you're angry is because you feel I betrayed you."

He drew a Tai Chi arc with his feet, and the pebbles on the ground floated into the air. The Ye was pushed away again, and the attack was neutralized invisibly.

Riku Asakawa understood why Nue was angry and hateful, and why she attacked him right away.

When the Faceless Man first made the decision to wear the mask and patrol at night, he was driven by a strong will and ambition to protect the weak, punish the wicked, and do what only heroes could do. He believed that since he possessed martial arts skills, he should not take them lightly or waste them, but rather become a "knight-errant" and do what he could.

The young people of that time were full of passion, unwavering in their loyalty, and hated evil as if it were their enemy. If they saw a target who had committed an unforgivable crime, they would take their life no matter how many security guards the target had.

Nue is such a pure individual.

The Asakawa Riku he sees now, his future self, is gentle and calm, without any anger or hatred, looking just like an ordinary high school student.

Is this what my future self will be like? Has he actually given up being a "Faceless Man"? Has he given up punishing evildoers?

So, was this shared dream simply abandoned?

Nue was furious with his choice. He couldn't understand why he had done it and why he had ended up with such a boring and weak future.

"Useless trash... As long as I erase your future, I can decide my own future!"

He roared and unleashed a powerful back whip punch, the force of which sent floating rocks flying in all directions.

"I'm sorry, this is not a machine that can change the future; you are just a phantom of the past."

Asakawa Riku strolled leisurely through the rain of stones, occasionally flicking a stray stone with his finger, which would alter the trajectory of the entire turbulent current.

"Pretend to be a ghost!"

The Ye ignored it and continued to charge forward like a tiger, its legs transforming into "Eighteen Rolling Thunder Flips," rushing forward wildly amidst the sandstorm and rubble.

Asakawa Riku's footsteps touched the ground, his figure suddenly blurred, and when he became clear again, he was already pressed against Nue's back.

His right hand locked onto the boy's Jianjing acupoint as he threw a punch, his voice low and hoarse:

“You and I are the same. You may make the same choice as me, but I also hope that you can make your own choice.”

The Autumn of Orochi: Chapter Twenty-Two - I Have Not Forgotten

Nue turned around and kicked empty air with its tail. Asakawa Riku had retreated three steps away without anyone noticing.

"You think you can hide your cowardice by holding back your strength?"

He sneered, tearing his clothes to reveal his body covered in bruises. He fondly remembered those old wounds, each one a story he could recount, and now fine beads of blood were seeping from them.

Knowing the consequences, Asakawa Riku still forced his body to its limit, further increasing his speed.

"How long are you going to back down! Come on, prove you're right, defeat me!"

Nue's half-step collapsing fist was accompanied by a bloody wind, leaving a bloody mist afterimage in the air with each strike. Asakawa Riku's blocking arm gradually turned purplish-blue, but he never retaliated.

Logically speaking, Nue and Asakawa Riku are three years apart in strength, speed, physique, and skills. This should have been a one-sided crushing defeat for Nue.

Given Asakawa Riku's progress over the past three years, he could at least suppress him, if not easily defeat him, and wouldn't be relentlessly attacked like this, completely powerless to fight back.

But in reality, the conversion isn't that simple.

Nue's punches are quite different from those of Asakawa Riku now; unless you're a master, you can hardly tell they come from the same source.

He was even more swift and fierce, and the killing intent he exuded was real, forged in bloodshed and ruthless battles, a sharp spear honed on the edge of danger.

After three years of reflection, Asakawa Riku has become more reserved and subtle. He has shed his bloodthirsty aura and has become more like Tai Chi, which is evident in his unwavering defense.

This is the opposition between "spear" and "shield".

Although they are different, they come from the same source. The two are very familiar with each other's moves and routines, and they know the variations and transitions of the next move in the heart.

Even if Asakawa Riku uses the new tricks he has learned over the past three years, Nue can grasp them in just one move. That's his learning ability; he can't gain any advantage at all.

Only when Riku Asakawa truly faced himself as an opponent did he realize how terrifying Nue was.

"Answer me! What are you thinking! Why did things have to turn out like this?!"