A muscular girl is presented to the passionate world of crossover anime.

No, strictly speaking, it should be a hidden character from a niche game, but it's so niche that nobody knows him. All they know is that his outfit is revealing and violent, with a low-cut leather jacket that exposes his thighs, a butterfly-shaped mask, and a small leather whip in his hand. The sense of déjà vu is just too strong.

Is Rimi-sensei that kind of person?

Well, that's just how she is now, she doesn't see anything wrong with this uniform at all: "Alright, go flirt with all the guys you want!"

Author's Note: The next chapter might be around 9 PM, please forgive me.

Section 356, Chapter 350: Attending a party always means meeting acquaintances.

"Flirting with guys..." Hana wiped her sweat. Did she really have to be so blunt?

However, the other fitness enthusiasts strongly agreed: "Go for it!"

"Hey, you guys... are you serious...?" Before Hanon could finish speaking, Akemi, Hibiki, and Ayaka followed in Satomi's footsteps and rushed into the group of men: "Let's split up and do our own thing! Don't let any good men slip away!"

Before she could stop everyone, Kanon could only rub her forehead and say, "Satomi-sensei is almost thirty, so I can understand if she's anxious. But what are you three, who didn't even graduate high school, doing here to join in the fun!"

"Oh well, this is probably what youth is all about." Hanon shook her head and accepted the premise.

Just then, footsteps approached from behind, and someone called out Kanon's name: "Miss Kanon?"

Hanon turned around and saw two familiar faces—the "unpredictable" Murobuchi Gozo and the "brave and wise general" Ozu Toshio.

"A familiar face from the Kengan Association..." Kanon forced a smile and greeted them, "Good evening. It's quite a strange combination that you two are here! I didn't even know you were good friends in private."

"No, actually we're not that close. We just bumped into each other." Uncle Murobuchi, who had a very good personality, struck up a conversation first: "I am, after all, an Olympic hero. They invited a lot of famous athletes to this party, and I happened to have some free time, so I came to check it out."

“I’ve always had a good relationship with the owner of Mr. Shirogane’s gym, and since Ms. Akemi is also attending the party, I came along to check it out,” said Toshio Ozu.

Hanon nodded. Both of their reasons were quite reasonable. They were both accomplished individuals in the sports field in the outer world. One was an Olympic champion, and the other was a prolific sports scholar. In comparison, Hanon was much stronger in terms of both ability and family background, but she had always been very low-key in the outer world... She said quietly, "I see. It's because I got a membership card here."

In short, since Kanon didn't flirt with any guys, and happened to run into an acquaintance, the three of them chatted and laughed, making the party less boring.

"I never expected that Miss Hanon would be such a top-notch expert." Ozu Toshio clicked his tongue in amazement. Back when Hanon and the other fitness girls borrowed Shion's private plane to go to the United States, Ozu was also on the plane. He accompanied Shion to inspect the candidates for fighters in other countries. The two met once, but at the time they did not know each other's identities, and they never expected that so many things would happen later.

"Later, Kiryu snapped my neck and I almost died." Ozu Toshio touched his neck: "It was a close call! I barely survived and only had the cast removed a few days ago."

"Yes, that's a move that utilizes super-strong rotational force—the Rakshasa Palm." Hana nodded; she knew that move too.

Ozu Toshio laughed: "Even the Rakshasa Palm, with its power, was defeated by you. When facing Kiryu, I felt he was a demon crawling out of hell, both strong and terrifying, yet Miss Kanon defeated him so easily. Truly remarkable! If we had known that Miss Akemi's friend was such a powerful martial artist, why would we have bothered to go to such lengths to examine other fighters?"

Hanon humbly replied, "Not at all, Kiryu Setsuna is also a terrifying opponent to me."

"Hehe, just like Wakatsuki-kun thinks I'm a formidable opponent?" Uncle Murobuchi was quite self-deprecating: "Strong is strong, weak is weak. Even humility won't make the loser feel better, especially since Kiryu Setsuna isn't here. Speaking of which, Wakatsuki-kun was also eliminated by you, Kanon-san. Really... hehe, impressive, impressive, I admire you."

That's really true. The two fighters who severely injured Murobuchi and Ozu before and after the final match were ultimately defeated by Kanon. In a sense, it was avenging the two of them.

Mentioning the samurai Wakatsuki, Kanon asked again, "Is Mr. Murobuchi alright with his injuries?" She remembered that Murobuchi had been hit by two punches from Wakatsuki, especially the decisive blow, which was really heavy. As someone who had experienced Wakatsuki's attack power, Kanon felt a lot of pain just thinking about it.

"How could it not have an impact?" Murobuchi said, "Don't be fooled by the fact that I'm not in a cast. The doctor actually told me not to do any strenuous exercise for a year! Hehe, of course I didn't follow the doctor's orders. I've been secretly exercising lately. It's just that my next challenge to Wakatsuki will be greatly postponed."

He glanced at Kanon and winked, "I'll challenge you, Miss Kanon, once I've defeated Wakatsuki~"

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you then." Kanon responded enthusiastically, but then Murobuchi's flirtatious glance made her suddenly realize that she was wearing a very revealing cosplay outfit. Her face flushed, and she pulled down her skirt as much as possible: "Sigh, with me dressed like this, it doesn't seem very convincing to say such things..."

"Hehe, not at all, the strength of a strong person is not changed by their clothes." Uncle Murobuchi was very understanding and immediately comforted Kanon. He gestured to the distance with his chin: "Look, like that guy, he runs around wearing just a pair of underwear, but no one ever finds it strange."

Following the direction pointed out by Murobuchi, Kanon was stunned to see a familiar face standing in a corner in the distance—Julius Reinhardt, known as the strongest muscle man in history.

Julius is indeed a familiar face, and he always wears shorts everywhere he goes because his muscles are so incredibly strong that people subconsciously regard them as his outer garment and armor. Very few people actually think of him as an exhibitionist.

"What... is he doing here?"

Uncle Murobuchi explained, "Julius had a falling out with Toyo Electric Power after the final match and couldn't find a new job for a while. As you know, maintaining a huge amount of muscle mass not only requires long-term training, but also necessary nutritional supplements, which consumes a lot of resources. Even a powerful fighter with a lot of money can't just sit around and do nothing. So he's going to find a job to help offset the depletion of his savings."

Hanon asked curiously, "Uh, looking for a job at Mr. Shirogane's gym?"

“Yes.” This time, Ozu answered Hanon’s question: “I heard that Julius is planning to take on some protein powder advertisements. It doesn’t require any hard work, and the pay is quite generous.”

It seems Julius hasn't had a smooth time since the final match... In fact, he's not exactly popular either. Having participated in Tokyo Electric Power Company's secret operations, essentially aiding and abetting wrongdoing, even fighters like Gozo Murobuchi keep their distance. As for the Kengan Association's companies, while quite a few are interested in Julius, he suffered injuries in the final match and won't be able to compete in the short term. He also harbors a deep aversion to the Kengan matches, which treat people like tools. All this has led to his current predicament.

Kanon didn't have any prejudice against Julius, and since they were acquaintances, she figured she might as well go over and chat with him. But before Kanon could leave, a commotion broke out at the party; it seemed like someone was arguing?

It was Gina!

Author's Note: Phew, that wasn't easy, but I finally finished it.

Section 357, Chapter 351: Conflict, the Strongest Force?

Mr. Silver's gym is a large space, and it's very noisy during parties, so this incident in one corner didn't affect too many people, and the situation itself wasn't out of control. When Hanon and the others arrived and separated the crowd, they saw Gina being held by the arm by a burly white man in a small circle. The two were speaking Russian and arguing about something. Gina looked a little aggrieved, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

After a while, the burly white man seemed to be in the wrong and couldn't argue with Gina. He impatiently raised his hand to shove her. Seeing his enormous hand, he was about to accidentally touch Gina's cheek, turning it into a slap. At this moment, Hana intervened in time and stopped him.

"What do you want to do?" Hana's voice wasn't loud, but her attitude was firm: "Let's talk this out, no violence allowed!"

The burly white man's arm was gripped by Hana, and he couldn't pull it back at all. This was a strange thing he had never encountered before. The person in front of him was just another delicate girl, yet she was as immovable as a mountain. No, she was practically as solid as the permafrost of Siberia.

The burly white man became even more agitated and blurted out a few more sentences in Russian, which Huayin couldn't understand at all. So she simply ignored him and turned to Gina, asking, "What's wrong?"

Gina wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and composed herself before saying, "He is Sergei Dakrov, the newly crowned champion of the Russian Sambo competition. He just accused my cosplay of being disrespectful to his country..."

So that's how it is... Kanon then noticed Gina's outfit. This highly competitive girl was provoked by Kanon's Chun-Li outfit, so she went back and changed into a Street Fighter game character's uniform as well—not Zangief, of course, as it would be too difficult for a teenage girl to cosplay that. Gina cosplayed Nanakawa Mika, a not-so-famous character, a young female wrestler who admired Zangief. Her hair was styled in twin ponytails, her revealing bodysuit had a sunroof, and she was also wearing an eye patch.

Anime character.jpg

Real-life cosplay.jpg

"Back in Russia, Dakrov belonged to another sambo group, unlike me and Tokudo. Their faction was very rigid, believing that Japanese game characters were tarnishing Russia's image, and that the characters' moves weren't proper sambo. They called me a traitor..."

Sher Dakrov, a formidable Sambo champion from Russia and a world-renowned martial artist, recently visited Japan and, like Gozo Murobuchi, was invited to a party. Unexpectedly, the overly rigid Dakrov disliked the game character's appearance and swore at it. Since Gina was also Russian, and they could understand each other, they started arguing.

Not every sports master in the real world is as easy to talk to as Uncle Murobuchi; this Dacroft is a total spoilsport. After figuring out the cause and effect, Kanon shook her head and let him go: "Hey, having opinions about a character is one thing, but you can't swear or even hit people."

However, Dakrov didn't think so. He had been restrained by Kanon for a long time and was in a state of irritability and frustration. Suddenly, his arm loosened and he was freed. He subconsciously jumped up and launched an attack on Kanon!

Dacroft leaped up, raised one leg and climbed onto Hanon's arm, pressing down—this was… a wrist brace armbar!

Kanon never expected her opponent to "repay kindness with enmity" by suddenly launching such a powerful grappling technique. Caught off guard, she was about to lose her balance! But just as Kanon was about to be knocked to the ground by Darkrov, she felt a lightness in her hand. Darkrov in front of her was lifted up out of thin air and pulled away from her.

The enormous figure blocked out the light, and a silent sense of oppression spread around them. Hanon immediately recognized the person who had come to her aid—Julius Reinhardt.

Julius, true to his reputation as having "the strongest muscles in human history," effortlessly lifted the 187cm, 115kg Dacrov from behind, as if he were a child. Dacrov struggled fiercely, only to have Julius tighten his grip until Dacrov's ribs felt like they were about to break and he could barely breathe, at which point he finally calmed down.

When Julius put Dakrov down, the hot-tempered and impulsive Russian Sambo champion had been completely drained of his strength and was almost collapsing to the ground, struggling to even stand.

Hanon clasped her hands in thanks to Julius, saying, "Thank you." Because Hanon was dressed as Chun-Li, her clasped-hand gesture caused a stir among the onlookers: "Oh, it's a clasped-hand gesture! This girl is so much like Chun-Li!"

Before Julius could answer, Dakrov, having caught his breath, turned and cursed, "Sukya balat (Russian swear word)! Julius Reinhardt, you dared to ambush me from behind! That's an unfair victory!"

So Dacroft can speak Japanese...

Julius, with his remarkably calm demeanor, was unaffected by Dacrov's emotions and slowly said, "How could you lay a hand on that girl? And besides, do you know me?"

Dacroft realized he had done something very ungentlemanly, so he turned around and bowed deeply to Hanon and Gina: "I'm sorry, ladies, I really shouldn't have hit you. I hope I didn't hurt you."

"No, not at all." Kanon scratched her cheek, letting the matter drop. She exchanged a glance with Julius, while Ozu Toshio and Murobuchi Gozo behind her also smiled at each other. Although Dacrov's sudden attack had almost made Kanon lose her balance, if that move had actually gone through, Dacrov would have been the one to fall in the end...

Unaware that he had just narrowly escaped death, Dakolov was currently focused solely on Julius. Pointing his finger at Julius, he shouted, "Of course I know you, Julius Reinhardt of Germany! You secretly call yourself 'the strongest man in the world,' desecrating this noble title. Our great Russian nation will surely take it back from you!"

Everyone frowned. This Dacrov was like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment. He had just finished arguing with Gina and Kanon, and now he was going after Julius. A fighting champion was behaving like a clown. Of course, it might all just be a coincidence...

Julius looked at Dacrov and shook his head: "There's no way you can do it."

“Of course I know.” Dakrov surprisingly admitted, “When I couldn’t break free from your embrace just now, I knew there was a huge gap in our strength. The one who will reclaim the title of strongest is not me, but the greatest athlete and fighter in Russia—Alexander Kare!”

Kanon didn't know much about this person, but the others obviously did. As soon as the name "Kare" was mentioned, Julius, Murobuchi Gozo, and Ozu Toshio all looked solemn, while Gina's eyes lit up, clearly having heard her idol's name. The other muscular men in the gym were in a similar state, obviously this "Kare" was a very remarkable person.

Julius looked around and slowly asked, "Care? I'm really looking forward to a match with him. Is he here?"

“No,” Dakrov said firmly. “Mr. Kare is still working in Siberia. I’m here at the Tokyo Dome in Japan to participate in a fighting competition. Once this trip is over, I will tell Mr. Kare about your situation in Japan, and then he will naturally take back what is rightfully his!”

This time, while the others didn't seem to notice anything, Kanon's eyes lit up: "Oh wow, it seems he's one of the contestants in the competition that the headmaster mentioned."

Author's Note: Sorry for the lateness. There were so many things to do during the Spring Festival; even places that were supposed to be fun were closed. Wishing everyone good health again. No need to compete for maximum physical strength; good health is wonderful enough.

Section 358, Chapter 352: The Final Destination on Christmas Eve

After all that talk, Alexander Carey ultimately didn't come to Japan. Although Dacroft was a fiery character, he wasn't a troublesome street thug. This argument was just a minor incident at the party, and as Dacroft walked away angrily, it quickly dissipated into the lively crowd.

Of course, Gina and Dacroft still didn't see eye to eye. The little girl rolled her eyes at Dacroft: "Hehehe, you rigid guy."

Gina's provocation was interrupted by Kanon: "Is that Kare really that good?"

"BOZE (Oh my God)!" Gina covered her mouth, seemingly very surprised that Kanon had never heard of Kare: "Kare is the pride of Russia, known as the strongest athlete, a great athlete who won all six hundred of his career matches!"

"Six hundred matches! That's amazing!" Kanon was also infected by Gina's enthusiasm, looking very interested—she was actually quite interested too. Kare's record was at least above Uncle Murobuchi's. As for whether it could compare to or even surpass Julius... Kanon looked at him: "What do you think?"

"There is no one who can surpass me in strength." Julius had said this before his duel with the samurai Wakatsuki, and he still held that confidence to this day. This world has many monsters with astonishing strength, but Julius has never been defeated in a pure contest of strength. He said nothing more, left the crowd after answering this question, and went back to a corner of the party to drink alone.

Watching Julius's retreating figure, Kanon remarked, "What a cool and aloof person," but secretly missed the Deadly Elimination Tournament. Back then, Julius, herself, and all the fighters—Wakatsuki Takeshi, Murobuchi Gozo, Tokita Ohma, and others—had all unleashed their best on the field, giving their all and shining brightly. But now, as time has passed, everyone has returned to their daily lives, starting new activities, Uncle Murobuchi has begun his peaceful recuperation, and Julius feels a sense of melancholy, as if his hero has no place to shine. It truly evokes the feeling of "On the Lantern Festival this year, the flowers and lanterns are still there. But the people of last year are gone, and tears wet my spring robe."

"Perhaps we could consider the tournament at the Tokyo Dome's underground arena?" Kanon thought to herself.

Of course, that's three months from now. There's the Christmas Bowl football game tomorrow, and right now it's a gym party on Christmas Eve.

Rimi, Akemi, Hibiki, and Ayaka, those girls who went out to flirt with guys have all come back.

"How did you... fare in the battle?"

"Hmm? I was just taking a walk." Zhu Mei maintained her refined demeanor, rejecting many attempts to strike up a conversation, while the other three girls were much more lively.