Baki headed to the hideout with me.
It was strange.
It was a residential area,
but it was full of graffiti like a public restroom in the city.
And if you looked closely
most were smears against Baki.
BAKI, YOU BASTARD
There's so much graffiti.
They don't stand a chance against me,
so they fight through graffiti.
The strongest high schooler in the world.
Graffiti even on your house.
Baki began to stretch in his room.
His body was unbelievably flexible.
Um, about what you said earlier.
About your shadow-boxing opponent.
Yeah.
That Iron Michael was only a warm up.
You're going to fight your father, right?
My old man and I don't really see eye to eye.
Your father is strong, isn't he?
The unequivocal champion over all life on Earth, bar none.
Lions, tigers, elephants, orcas…
even cancer cells are no match for him.
His father was supposed to be an enemy, but when he spoke of his strength,
he sounded a little proud for some reason.
So, to prepare to fight your father
you're going to meet this strong opponent now?
A man who surpasses even Iron.
What kind of monster is he?
Hey.
He's in here.
Is that a basement?
It's empty and dark.
A barren room with only the table over there.
Um…
My old man acknowledged me as an opponent.
He apparently fought against a dino-sized African Elephant.
Stronger than a lion, tiger or brown bear,
the strongest, biggest African Elephant on Earth.
In that case, who should I fight?
It's coming!
Rumina,
the opponent stronger than an elephant is already here.
It's been here on that desk.
Huh? What?
Stronger than an elephant?
This guy?
Um, this…
That's right, a praying mantis.
This?
When it comes strictly to fighting one-on-one,
insects are the pros among pros.
Beasts don't compare.
No way.
I'm not pulling your chain.
First, their power is on another level.
Power?
Tigers and lions barely manage to drag an approximately 800 kg prey.
Even if they weigh 200 kg, that's three to four times their weight.
Then how about insects?
They carry prey seven to eight times
their weight and easily transport them long-distance, nonstop to their lair.
Let's say you weigh 30 kg, Rumina.
Imagine carrying a 200 kg man from school to home.
Yeah, that's impossible.
A deer that can jump ten meters isn't uncommon,
but it's child's play compared to a flea or grasshopper.
If they were human-sized,
they could easily jump over a ten-story building.
You feel it when you hold them.
They weigh a few thousand times less than us,
yet your fingertips feel their power.
If you weighed the same, you'd never beat them.
If you were kicked by that leg,
or held by those front legs and pinned…
If you were caught in those tusks,
you wouldn't walk away in one piece.
And that praying mantis.
He is the consummate pro fighter.
It's a well-known fact the ancient Chinese martial art of Mantis Boxing
was created in the style of the praying mantis.
Their blow,
their grind, their bite,
their violent nature.
They're top-notch in all they do.
They have no weakness,
a complete martial artist.
If they weighed over 100 kg,
they would definitely prey on the African Elephant.
But, it's small…
I'm going to make it big.
To a hundred kilograms?
With this and this.
He's from faraway America.
In fact he no longer even exists.
But I brought the champion Iron Michael from the heyday
to the Tama River riverbank.
Michael doesn't exist in this world, but he appeared.
I can create it.
I can create a match with a 100 kg praying mantis.
He moved!
It's the kick that beat Iron Michael!
Baki is nervous.
He's nervous of an invisible, imaginary praying mantis
created in his mind.
The angle of his face changed.
He's looking up.
What sort of monster does he see?
It's just like Baki said.
A 100 kg praying mantis
is far stronger than a 200 kg tiger or lion.
Th-This is…
No way!
Could it be?
He's caught by the praying mantis!
He hit his mark!
It's dead!
A clean hit!
He should just turn the praying mantis weak and easily beatable.
He should just crush it.
He's so tough on himself.
Normal martial arts won't work against a real mantis.
Baki's moves were slowly becoming something else.
Baki is moving in a dim room.
He's attacking empty air.
He's blocking attacks from empty air.
I watched him,
trying not to miss a thing.
I kept following Baki's dizzying moves.
I kept watching…
And then…
Just as if you see a case,
you could picture the shape of what goes in it.
Or if you see a cover, you could picture the size of the book.
Or with a pendant like this,
you could picture another similar pendant.
You begin to see
within the empty space,
slowly…
The form of something that doesn't exist. Slowly…
Slowly, but surely…
you begin to see!
What Baki created,
was just a bug, but it was over 100 kg.
When you're actually faced with it,
it almost makes you laugh,
you feel so hopeless.
Baki was openly facing such a thing!
It's the strongest in the world,
so Baki's father apparently beat a dino-sized African elephant.
But no matter how strong the African elephant may be,
it has that advantage because of its size.
If they were the size of an insect,
their strength would be that of a…
Caterpillar.
It happened suddenly…
Baki's specialty high-kick.
The speed, the timing,
everything was just right!
I expected a knockout.
I see.
My bad hunch was right.
The head of a praying mantis essentially has no brain.
Concussions don't happen like they always do in humans.
Attacks to the head don't work.
He did it!
Don't let it go!
What's this?
He's watching me.
I've got its back, but he can clearly see me!
Not only that,
it's frighteningly deft!
I'll be eaten!
It's so strong!
Crazy to have a strength contest against an insect!
No matter…
No matter who the opponent.
Human, beast, or insect,
it won't change what I do.
There's only one thing to do.
Fight…
like usual!
It's so hard!
It's like steel!
But I'll do it!
No matter what, I'll do it!
I'll do it even if nothing happens!
Sudden deaths and weaknesses can go to shit!
I'll do what I can!
He got it!
A human got ahold of a mantis's reverse joint!
Break it!
Martial arts doesn't work on it!
This isn't normal.
He doesn't have to go so far.
As effective as it may be to realistically imagine an opponent,
in reality, there's no one in front of him.
He's diligently using his imagination in this empty space
to create an illusion to fight it.
It's not a match or battle,
he doesn't need to take it this far.
Baki, no more!
You've done enough!
No need to go so far, Baki!
This is silly!
He's no longer listening.
My worries aside,
it became even more realistic.
You could almost feel its temperature.
Just as I thought.
With those eyes, it has no blind spot.
No matter what direction it's facing,
every corner of this room is within his field of vision.
There's no where to run.
To run?
Am I here to run away?
With him too?
Am I going to look for a place to run when I fight him too?
You've gotta be kidding.
Think!
A way to fight a praying mantis!
I felt it under its neck.
A soft spot.
The attack I used, was this.
This is Toroken!
I guess I'll give it a try.
Once upon a time, in China.
There was a priest named, Shu Amon.
Hm, what is that?
One day, he saw something extraordinary in the forest.
What?
A fight between a bird and insect?
A sparrow versus a praying mantis.
The sparrow will win no matter how you look at it.
Huh?
What?
Oh my, oh my!
To Amon's surprise,
the praying mantis was the victor.
I never expected the insect to win.
Like this?
Is it like this?
The praying mantis's strength struck Amon deeply,
and he began to diligently research their way of fighting.
Until finally,
he created a martial art.
The name of that martial art is of course,
Toroken!
Baki changed his stance.
That stance,
seemed a mimicry of the praying mantis rather than a fight pose.
The world of martial arts is savage.
There are ways of thinking unimaginable in other sports.
What exists in martial arts, but not in other sports?
That is…
"Which is stronger?"
There's no way baseball and basketball would fight.
But martial arts is different.
The same style fights, of course.
But they can fight other styles too.
They can even fight other species.
The inquiring human mind's pursuit for strength runs deep.
It's moved on from other species to imaginary giant insects.
And Baki has finally,
made a 360 from the world of other species,
and stepped into the world of same species martial arts.
It's getting closer.
Did you see, Rumina?
They don't have a natural enemy among insects.
The end is drawing near.
They've never received an attack.
Their attacks are strong and extraordinary,
but they're empty-handed in defense.
Move aside, Rumina.
Baki is gonna win.
This move…
I'm starting… I'm starting to see it now.
I thought this perfect all-around martial artist was impenetrable.
But within that figure here and there, I see room to take advantage of.
I see glimpses of a clear weak point in that movement.
Have I gotten used to it?
To this fight?
My body…
is adjusting!
My body is telling me how to deal with him.
Baki has changed somehow.
His expression is somehow relaxed.
His moves…
somehow,
aren't reckless.
It was already…
not mantis to mantis, but something else.
Yes.
It was like watching a bird versus the mantis.
The mantis that was so violent,
now just keeps running.
Baki seemed even more relaxed.
He used to keep looking up,
but the next thing I knew, his gaze was lower than level.
Rumina.
If you find its weak point,
it doesn't matter if it's 100 kg or life-sized.
It disappeared!
Now, where is the real one?
Aha, there you are.
Gotcha.
There's no denying it!
It's Baki's total victory!
Subtitle translation by: Harry Darkins