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

"We had a really great conversation about fitness!"

"There are handsome guys who like boxing!"

"It's good to have common topics."

However, the tone quickly changed when Kanon asked about further developments.

"Unexpected tension..."

"I can't speak up when it comes to the crucial moment, so I can't get their contact information."

"If there's any opportunity..."

In response, Hanon could only start complaining: "You guys are surprisingly girly. If you knew you were this shy, you shouldn't have tried to flirt with guys like others."

Speaking of the opportunity, there was one next. The indoor lights dimmed and then focused on the stage. Coach Jie Xiong, whom we haven't seen in a long time, appeared on stage in a suit and still looked quite handsome.

"Everyone, the party is now up to the lucky draw," said Jie Xiong. "Please take your entry numbers and get ready for the draw~ By the way, this year's grand prize is a pair of tickets to Oakwood Disneyland!"

"Huh? Oakwood Disney, isn't that a top-ranked company in the Kengan Association?" Kanon remembered: "Their fighter was the tall delinquent who fought Adam, what was his name again... Ah, Nezu!"

At this point, Jie Xiong had already started handing out the prizes. Every time a number was called out, he would deliberately rip off a piece of his clothes, which was an upgraded version of his usual clothes-ripping stunt. However, upon closer inspection, the scene looked just like a male striptease.

Finally, as the shirt covering her chest muscles burst open, the grand prize was awarded to—Satomi-sensei! Then, Rimi, excitedly going on stage for a photo, was caught up in some strange scene…

"Wow, that was so scary!" The terrible scene remained etched in the minds of every fitness girl on the way back: "Turns out all the handsome guys who came to that party were muscle enthusiasts."

"And they're either already in relationships or married; muscular guys are all successful and popular..."

"This is what we're like after 'From Dusk Till Dawn'..."

The only one who seemed to be in a normal state was Zhu Mei, who was even in a great mood: "Thank you so much, Rimi-sensei, for giving me the double tickets for the grand prize."

"Oh, it's okay, I have a lot of things to do at the end of the year." Rimi didn't care; she just wanted to get over the trauma of tonight as soon as possible.

"By the way, Zhu Mei, who do you want to invite to the amusement park?"

"Um... I do have someone in mind. This is a rare opportunity, and I'd like to try inviting them." Zhu Mei hesitated for a moment before shyly saying, "It's Coach Jie Xiong..."

"Eh—" the fitness girls exclaimed in surprise, glancing at each other and seeing the intense fire of gossip burning in each other's eyes.

"Hey, Kanon, shall we go to the amusement park to scout things out...? Where's Kanon?" Hibiki only then realized that Kanon had somehow broken away from the group and wasn't with them.

"I just came out of the gym and Kanon left." Because of Dacrov's interference, Gina didn't participate in the flirting segment, so she didn't feel as disillusioned. She was the only one who noticed Kanon leaving: "She was in a hurry. She said she had another event to attend."

Indeed, although Mr. Shirogane's gym party was the "main course" of Christmas Eve, Kanon's journey through the night was not over. After the "main course" came the "dessert," and there was one last destination. And, quite unusually, this was not an invitation from anyone else, but Kanon's own choice.

"Ah, it's Kanon!"

"Young Miss, you've arrived!"

In the light snow beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department building, two groups of people greeted Kanon from different directions.

They were both stunned after speaking. One thought, "What? This fierce-looking big foreign guy is also looking for Hana?" The other wondered, "Did the young lady invite another group of people? What is she up to? Is it some kind of girls' get-together? But that doesn't make sense. She even made me postpone my flight back to America because of it..."

Needless to say, the fierce-looking foreign giant was Adam. As for the other group, they were three women. Kanon waved to them: "Grandma, Kumi, Mayumi, it's been a long time! Thank you for helping me make the contact this time."

Author's Note: It's still a bit late~ My last stop on Christmas Eve was the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Section 359, Chapter 353: The Martial Saint Crosses the River

The Metropolitan Police Department is the guardian of the nation's public power, and it has access to a wealth of resources from all over the country. Due to the nature of its work, the police often use hand-to-hand combat in addition to firearms, so they have never slacked off in learning fighting skills.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the most important component of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, was the first organization to recognize and introduce modern judo. After its establishment in 1874, it began teaching swordsmanship and judo within ten years. A large number of masters from the Kodokan were recruited into the police department. Due to the special nature of their work, their training was far more rigorous than that of ordinary people. Over the years, many talented people have emerged, and many "monsters" and "heroes" have hidden in the police force. The public security organs can be described as a place where hidden talents abound.

Nearly a century after the transmission of judo, the martial arts instructors within the modern Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have become more diverse and specialized. For example, the "arrest technique" used by Kiyoaki Aguya, although it imitates the suppressive posture of holding a shield in one hand and a baton in the other, has absorbed a great deal of the essence of judo in its technical details. Therefore, when Kanon first met him, she had seen him at the Metropolitan Police Department's dojo.

As for the most advanced combat skills instructors in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department at present, they are not kendo, judo, or arrest techniques, but aikido.

Aikido's main techniques are grappling and grappling, while striking techniques are considered secondary. Compared to Judo, Aikido places more emphasis on self-defense rather than attacking the enemy, stressing the principle of "no moves are better than moves" and defensive counterattacks. However, the two also have many similarities. For example, they both originated from ancient Japanese jujutsu, and both only truly formed a modern theory in the 20th century. They also went through the efforts of several generations before officially stepping onto the stage of actual combat and competition.

In this new world, the one who integrated, and even created, Aikido was a martial arts master named Mikoto Shiba Kihei. He devoted his entire life to developing a complete theory of Aikido, officially launching this martial art, establishing his own school, and becoming famous for a time.

However, Mikoto Shibakihira was a senior who passed away decades ago. In the new world, the person who truly promoted and put Aikido into practice was Mikoto Shibakihira's most outstanding disciple, named Shibukawa Goki.

Like many legendary tales, Shibukawa practiced judo in his youth, becoming one of Japan's top masters by the age of fifteen or sixteen. The rebellious young man denounced Mikoto Shiba Kihei's martial arts as mere performance and a charade, angrily challenging him to a duel. He was severely reprimanded by the old man, leading to a profound awakening. He then became a disciple, abandoning his past martial arts philosophies and beginning to practice Aikido. At the age of thirty-nine, Shibukawa excelled in his master's examination, even surpassing his teacher, thus breaking away from the school to establish his own school, the Shibukawa-ryu Aikijutsu.

More than thirty years have passed since then. Through countless battles and rigorous training, Shibukawa Goki has gradually become the embodiment of martial arts in people's hearts. Titles such as "Martial Saint," "the pinnacle of modern martial arts," and "a treasure of Japanese martial arts" have been bestowed upon him, making him a grandmaster and a titan of martial arts. In addition to his disciples at his own dojo, Shibukawa accepted an invitation from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to serve as an arrest technique instructor in Tokyo, teaching aikido to a large number of police officers.

At this very moment, Mr. Shibukawa had just changed into his martial arts uniform and was standing in the corridor outside the changing room on the top floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department... getting hot water.

"Christmas is here, and the new year will be here in the blink of an eye!" Looking at the snow falling outside the window, downstairs is Tokyo on Christmas Eve, bustling with traffic and brightly lit, which makes people feel a lot of emotions, even the "Martial Saint" is no exception.

"Next year I'll be a 75-year-old man. As people age, they can't rely on their physical strength anymore. Coming to the temple in the middle of the night, isn't that a bit too much?"

The passage of time always leaves its mark. Although Mr. Shechuan is strong and healthy, he may live another twenty or thirty years. However, he cannot avoid some of the ailments that are unique to the elderly. At the very least, necessary maintenance is indispensable. Soaking tea or medicinal herbs in hot water is a routine practice. At this time, Mr. Shechuan's thermos cup has a few red dates and goji berries floating in it, which is very health-preserving.

On Christmas Eve, the officers on the lower floors were as busy as ever, but the officials on the upper floors were mostly on vacation. The building was dimly lit and silent. Given Shibukawa's age, position, and responsibilities, there was absolutely no need for him to come to the Metropolitan Police Department's dojo. The reason he was here at this time was because he was asked to do so by someone else.

"It's Senior Superintendent Watarai's request..." Shibukawa took a sip of hot tea, then suddenly chuckled, "That brat is a generation younger than me, I have no reason to take orders from him!" Then he changed the subject, "But I have no choice but to go on the date with Mifune, after all, she's an acquaintance from the dojo back then."

However, after only a second of silence, Shibukawa Takeo denied his earlier self-talk: "Yeah, right. I've always been a bad boy who makes women cry, hehehe."

Shibukawa Takeo turned his gaze away from the window and took another big gulp of tea. "Whether it's Watari or Mifune, what really interests me is the person they mentioned..."

A few days ago, Grandma Mifune, a red belt in judo, first greeted Shibukawa, and then Watari Mayumi's father, a senior police superintendent, arranged a meeting place for Kanon to greet Shibukawa Gōki, hoping to visit him on Christmas Eve. The purpose was twofold: first, to see the top martial artist that Headquarters Izō had previously introduced, and second, Shibukawa Aikido was one of Adam's favorite dojos, so Kanon was accompanying Adam to check it out.

However, in Shibukawa Takeki's view, although he heard that the other party wanted to make connections, visit the dojo, and that someone might want to become his student, and that it was just a courtesy visit, he hardly considered anything else due to the habits of a martial artist, and directly regarded it as a challenge and sparring match.

Or rather, regardless of whether Kanon had this idea or not, Shibukawa Takeki wanted to have a match.

"Hehehe, Ye Huayin, the new king of Kengan, the supernova of the underground fighting world, I've heard so much about it in the last two or three months that I'm sick of it."

Most martial artists in the real world may not know Kanon, but Shibukawa Goki is definitely an exception. He has always been an active fighter, often engages in private fights, pays close attention to news in the fighting world, and is also an advisor to the Metropolitan Police Department. He has access to much more information than the average person. Kengan Association, Deadly Match, and Kanon are not unfamiliar terms to him.

"I heard you're a very young child... well, let me test your strength, little girl~"

After finishing his cup of hot tea, and estimating that Hanon and her group should have arrived, Mr. Shibukawa strode towards the dojo.

However, after taking only two steps, Shibukawa Takeki suddenly collapsed onto the cold floor tiles with a "plop".

"Huh?" Shibukawa was confused: "I actually fell down?"

Author's Note: Uh, it's still quite late, and the next chapter might be even later... The interaction with Mr. Shibukawa can be considered a prelude to the Baki storyline, right? Does this chapter feel a bit like a semi-circular ending? At least it feels a bit like a hot dog, right? 2333

Section 360, Chapter 354: The True Self-Protection Technique

Despite being 75 years old, Shibukawa Goki is still a vigorous and active fighter. He has spent his life manipulating gravity and inertia like a sorcerer. It is hard to imagine that such a person would actually trip and fall flat on his face while just walking.

"Ha, how lucky I am, no one I know saw me looking so embarrassed." Mr. Shibukawa chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I knew going out in the middle of the night was a real test for an old man!"

However, when Shibukawa took another step, he lost his balance once again and fell forward. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and braced himself with his hands, thus avoiding a head-first fall and saving his front teeth.

“This…” This time, Shibukawa Takeki did not get up immediately, but instead sat cross-legged on the cold floor tiles and began to think.

He thought about many things, from the possibility of a stroke in his old age, to whether he had been hit on the head in a recent fight, to whether old injuries could cause hemiplegia, and even further back in time.

Finally, when recalling the year he turned thirty-six, Shibukawa Goki remembered a conversation he had with Mikoto Shibakihira.

"Aikido is supposed to be a martial art for self-defense, but all I've practiced for so long has been fighting techniques for combating enemies... Teacher, please tell me, what is true martial arts, and what is the true self-defense of Aikido! Please enlighten me!"

"...This is a difficult question for me to answer. Shibukawa, if we compare perfect self-defense to Mount Fuji, then I am only at the foot of the mountain now, while with your extraordinary talent and a lifetime of training, you might be able to climb halfway up. Dodge or block when the opponent attacks; even a child knows such trivial skills. But when you truly master self-defense, you will be able to defeat the opponent without using any moves!"

"No moves are the best moves! What kind of realm would that be?"

"When the true protection is complete, even if you haven't come into contact with danger or even noticed it, your body will react, and the protection will be completed naturally."

Shibukawa stood up abruptly, and then... fell backward again, but his mind was no longer confused.

"To think that I could achieve true self-protection before entering my seventy-fifth year..." Lying on the ground, Shibukawa Takeki felt a mix of emotions, unable to say whether he was happy or sad.

After a good four or five minutes of recovery, Mr. Shibukawa was able to stand up again with the help of the wall. By then, he had regained his balance and would not fall again.

But as he took his first step, the scene before him changed. The corridor of the Metropolitan Police Department building, which he had walked through thousands of times over the years, transformed into the permafrost of Siberia, filled with ice, snow, and frost, exuding a chilling cold.

"Oh dear, this is a headache." Shibukawa Takeki did not back down, but took a second step forward: "Kengan Association is famous, and their new king is indeed extraordinary. I did not expect him to be such a powerful person."

Before they had even met, Shibukawa Goki had already evolved under the inexplicable pressure from Kanon, but the result foreshadowed a bleak and dangerous future.

This didn't scare Shechuan away; the "Martial Saint" continued his journey: "It's so cold, so cold! Every cell in my body is screaming 'Don't go over there,' but I just love it!"

In Shechuan's eyes, with each step he took, many bright and beautiful flowers would bloom on the "glacial permafrost," in all colors of red, white, yellow, and blue, and the initial icy cold gradually disappeared.

"Hehe, isn't this scene beautiful!" Old Mr. Shibukawa even began to appreciate his own illusion: "Those flowers are so lovely! Isn't this calling me to step into that sacred place?"

However, the change in the illusion did not mean the danger was over. On the contrary, the closer one got to the dojo, the deeper the unsettling sense of crisis became—Shibukawa Goki understood this better than anyone. These flowers blooming on the ice field—oleander, datura, aconite, gelsemium, poinsettia, daffodil, poppy, belladonna… each one was a world-renowned beautiful flower, and also a world-renowned poison!

When Shibukawa arrived at the entrance of the dojo, his illusion had transformed into an extraordinary world—a vast flower field planted on solid ice that had never melted for millennia.

"The real protection has just been completed, and I've already seen such an intense scene~" Shibukawa laughed heartily: "But I'm getting senile, and I'm not afraid of the danger ahead at all. On the contrary, I'm really looking forward to what kind of scene it will be."

After saying this, the old man pushed open the door of the temple.

Behind the door were five people. The first one that caught my eye was a very tall and muscular young white man, followed by four women.

Among them was a tall and beautiful girl, the daughter of Superintendent Watarai. A few years ago, Shibukawa Goki had seen her visiting her father at the Metropolitan Police Department dojo. In the blink of an eye, she had grown into a young woman.

There were also two "twins" who looked almost identical, both short women with delicate features. Shibukawa Takeki recognized the face: "Oh, Funa-kun, you actually have a twin sister?"