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

The man who stepped forward this time was a foreigner with a buzz cut, probably in his thirties or forties, in his prime. Similar to Huashan, he was also burly, with a resolute face, wearing an elegant suit and smoking a cigar, exuding the aura of a modern mafia member.

“Ah, that’s Charlie Faith, a big name in the New York mafia.” Harada also noticed the man: “He’s been a thug in a bar run by the Irish mafia for over ten years, dealing with drunk customers every night. He’s won over two thousand fights without a single loss. Legend has it that even the iron fists of heavyweight boxing champions can’t hurt him! This competition is indeed full of hidden talents.”

Charlie Firth, who had been scrambling for the rubber bottle, had just gotten his hands on it. He punched down several opponents who were close behind, and roared loudly, momentarily stunning everyone present: "The Easterners have scored two points in a row, how can we Western gangsters fall behind? What they can do, we can do too!"

Then Charlie Firth actually picked up a person who had fainted from the ground, carried him on his shoulder, and resolutely strode backstage.

Along the way, everyone tried to stop him, but no one could stop him. Following Kaoru Hanayama, Charlie Firth really accomplished the same feat!

"Bravo!" "Nice!" "You're fvcking amazing!" The Westerners in the second-floor audience all stood up and applauded, praising their own heroes.

"Amazing, amazing." Kanon clapped for Fes a few times. "Very tough, and very impressive. I'd like to try that if possible~" However, Kanon sighed after saying that, "Unfortunately... I can't find a wine bottle."

Well, actually, the best way to find the rubber bottle is not to look for it yourself, but to see where there are many people gathered. Most likely, someone has found the rubber bottle. As long as you rush over and overpower the crowd, you will naturally get the qualification to advance.

However, Kanon was required to use only the energy dissipation technique to fight. She was not yet proficient in using this technique. It was easy in one-on-one situations, but she didn't have a good way to deal with a crowd of people packed together...

Feeling a bit of a headache, Hana decided to take a break, so she turned around and found Long Shuwen.

To Huayin's surprise, amidst such a noisy and chaotic scene, Long Shuwen stood quietly in a corner with his hands in his pockets, not rushing into the crowd to fight, as if he was indifferent to the matter of advancing.

"Uncle Long, what's wrong with you... Oh." Hua Yin approached and realized that it wasn't that Long Shuwen didn't want to move, but rather that the person standing opposite him was radiating a rather dangerous aura, locking onto Long Shuwen and forcing him to remain still.

"He's a master." Hanon quickly made her judgment: "That sense of pressure is incredible."

He was also Asian, and looked to be quite old. He had long, dyed white hair and a very muscular build, about the same size as Long Shuwen.

The two heroes faced off like this for who knows how long... Well, it's only been less than five minutes since the match started, but both of them were very tense until Hanon came and broke the balance.

“Heh, ‘The Fierce Man’ Long Shuwen…” The white-haired uncle spoke, and surprisingly, he spoke in Japanese. Needless to say, he was another powerful figure from the Japanese mafia: “You are forty-five years old this year, and I am forty-six years old. We are both old bones in this competition.”

Long Shuwen nodded. He spoke Japanese: "I know you, Daimon Miyako of the Japanese Martial Cloud Group, known as the 'White-Haired Roaring Master.' I heard you've been nearing retirement in recent years. What brings you here all of a sudden?"

The gatekeepers laughed loudly, "You, Long Shuwen, wouldn't normally participate in a competition for such empty fame, would you?" Before Long Shuwen could respond, the gatekeepers concluded, "Whether it's you, me, Huashan, or Feis, aren't we all here for the same thing—to meet some strong people and see if there are any real men left in the world!"

Long Shuwen rolled his eyes; he wasn't the type to get carried away with such enthusiasm. "No, I didn't initially intend to participate, but a powerful figure asked me to..."

Uh, only then did Hua Yin realize that Long Shuwen was someone Guo Haihuang had specifically invited out of seclusion for her.

Actually, this was a chain reaction. Because Guo Haihuang wanted Huayin to participate in the competition, he found Long Shuwen, and Long Shuwen's presence attracted even more gangsters... If it weren't for Huayin, the butterfly effect, Charlie Firth would probably have won the championship this year.

But now Long Shuwen has arrived, the gatekeeper has arrived, and Huashan Xun has already qualified for the knockout stage, waiting for other strong contenders.

The gatekeeper was disappointed with Long Shuwen's answer, but he still extended an invitation to Long Shuwen: "Hey, Long, whatever your purpose is, you've come here anyway, how about we have a match?"

Long Shuwen raised an eyebrow, finally showing interest: "How do we compete?"

"That's easy. Let's rush out together now. Whoever advances first wins. As for the real winner, we'll decide that in the knockout stage."

The two men exchanged a glance, both seeing the fighting spirit in each other's eyes. The next second, Long Shuwen sprang forward, rushing towards the distant battle zone, while the gatekeeper strode forward and engaged in combat with the people nearby.

"Ah, they've all left..." As soon as Hana arrived, the two uncles ran away, leaving her alone in the corner, speechless.

Author's Note: The qualifiers will probably be finished in the next chapter.

The story of the gatekeeper is from the prequel to Kengan Ashura, "Kyuudou no Ken," which is about ten years before the final elimination tournament.

Also, the title of this chapter is from *Gintama*, I hope I'm not mistaken.

Section 431, Chapter 425: The King of Bargains, Hanon?

Hanon, who had moved to the edge, did not rejoin the battle for the time being. Here, she found a rare moment of peace and was able to observe the battle between Ryu Shuwen and Daimon Heito.

Long Shuwen was truly a master! His fist, tucked into his pocket, appeared arrogant, but it actually concealed deadly intent. Before anyone could even see how he struck, the gangsters around him collapsed to the ground, most of them unconscious, clearly struck by a heavy blow. But looking back, Long Shuwen's hands were still in his pockets.

"Oh, what's the principle behind this?" Hana watched with great interest, while also speculating about Long Shuwen's technique. Why was his fist thrown so fast? Or... did he actually not use a fist, but instead launched a kick at a speed that Hana couldn't even see?

Sigh, there were just too many people fighting in the nightclub, the lighting was bad, and it was noisy. When she was far away, Hana could not see Long Shuwen's movements at all.

However, the way Daimon Heito fought, who was closer to Kanon, was very clear to Kanon – because he didn't have any fighting techniques.

Don't let this uncle's age fool you; he's over forty, even older than Long Shuwen. He has absolutely no fighting skills, just straightforward and incredibly tough attacks. He takes all the attacks, and when he strikes, he throws a wide, sweeping punch, and if one punch isn't enough, he throws two... Well, after watching for almost a minute, it seems like no one really needs him to throw a second punch.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a grand prix of underworld fighting; the fighting styles of people like Hanayama, Feis, and Daimon represent the fighting styles of the vast majority of people in the underworld.

Conversely, the gatekeeper could do what Kaoru Hanayama and Charlie Firth just did!

Sure enough, the gatekeepers charged left and right, and within a little over a minute, they had successfully taken down a large group of people and seized the rubber bottles. Because they didn't need to use any extra skills, their speed was even faster than Long Shuwen's.

"I'll take the spot in the finals." Glancing at Long Shuwen, seeing that although he was formidable, there were still a few rebellious gangsters around him launching desperate attacks, the gatekeeper couldn't help but let out a long laugh: "Aha, I won!"

The gatekeeper also reached out and scooped up an unconscious person from the ground, completely imitating Huashan and Fei Si, and strode towards the backstage. However, because he was far from the backstage and was carrying the person step by step, he suddenly sensed the sound of wind and the exclamations of the crowd behind him when he was almost there. He turned around quickly and saw Long Shuwen holding a rubber bottle, running after him.

"Damn it, you're cheating!" In the world of martial arts, carrying someone into the backstage area is a tacit rule among the strong, but Long Shuwen doesn't put on airs like the others. More than a gangster, he's a martial artist, emphasizing skill and efficiency. After getting the rubber bottle, he won't bother carrying anyone; he'll just run straight to the backstage area.

Now even the gatekeepers were in a hurry. They couldn't care less about showing "manly spirit." With one hand, they secured the unconscious person on their shoulder, and with the other hand, they threw a heavy punch, knocking away an afro-haired guy who rushed over to block them. They then started to speed up their pace, running while carrying the person... Now, his style was not as elegant and domineering as Huashan and Feis before him. Instead, his appearance was a bit comical.

Finally, Da Men and Long Shuwen stepped into the backstage area almost simultaneously.

"Huff, huff, huff..." Suddenly, carrying someone, he sped up and ran. He was a little out of breath. When he saw the organizer's staff, his first words were: "Announce my name first, I'm faster!"

"Well..." The host glanced at Long Shuwen. The competition was being held in Hong Kong, and the Chinese underworld had a home-field advantage, so Long Shuwen's words would obviously carry more weight.

Long Shuwen gestured to the gate with a gentlemanly air: "The gatekeeper is carrying someone, so I did get a little advantage."

Chinese culture values ​​humility and courtesy, and Long Shuwen doesn't have the same competitive spirit as Da Men in this harmless matter of order.

"Alright." The host nodded and extended his hand toward the door: "Please, Mr. Doorman, hand over the token to me."

"Hmm, here...? Eh?" The doorman reached out and handed it over, but his hand was empty. He, the host, and Long Shuwen were all stunned.

"Hey! Where did it go?" The gatekeeper started searching his body, but he couldn't find it anywhere! He held the person on his shoulder with one hand, the rubber bottle clearly in his other hand...

"Ah!" Da Men suddenly remembered that after he saw Long Shuwen catch up, he charged forward and knocked away an afro-haired thug who rushed to block him. Could it be that he fell at that time?

"Hello, sir, did you drop something?" A young and unfamiliar voice rang out, and another person strolled into the backstage area. However, the newcomer was petite and inconspicuous, and no one noticed him when he came in. He was the most relaxed of all the people who came backstage: "Sir, you'd better look carefully~ Here, Mr. Host, this is my rubber wine bottle."

The gate guards all turned around immediately, and sure enough, the newcomer was the one with the afro!

"Damn it, you picked up my bottle!" Da Men was furious and swung his fist at the man with the afro. But as he looked like he was about to hit the man with the afro, Da Men didn't feel the familiar impact. Instead, the man with the afro simply stepped back a few steps, completely unaffected.

"He dodged it?" The doorman calmed down a bit, but his eyes were still unfriendly as he looked at the man with the afro—more than unfriendly, he looked like he wanted to eat him alive!

But regardless, it was this guy with the afro who brought the rubber bottle backstage; he was the newcomer.

The host took the bottle, confirmed it was a token from the conference, and nodded: "Congratulations, sir. May I ask your name...?"

"Uh, my name is Joaquin, and I'm from China."

Well, "Huajin" is of course Hana-on.

After discovering that she was bad at team battles when she only used her strength to eliminate enemies, Hanon was very worried about how to qualify for the preliminaries. However, seeing the competition between Daimon and Ryu Shuwen, she suddenly had an idea - to get the rubber bottle, it is indeed better to fight in places with many people, but there is another way, which is to take it from the strong people who have already obtained the bottle!

So, when Damen wasn't paying attention, Hanon pounced on him to block him, using her soft strength to snatch the rubber bottle while dodging. Then, taking advantage of Damen and Long Shuwen's race drawing everyone's attention, she quietly followed them backstage. It was incredibly easy; she encountered no obstacles whatsoever. The plan worked perfectly!

As for the pseudonym "Hua Jin", she originally wanted to use the homonym "Hua Yin", but it sounded like the Henan dialect version of "Hua Yin", which felt a bit strange... Anyway, in any case, Hua Yin successfully advanced to the finals.

Then the host asked, "Mr. Hua, which organization do you belong to?"

Hanon thought for a moment and said, "Nest, my club is called Nest."

"NESTS? Never heard of it."

"Oh, well, we're a small club, we usually play heavy metal music..."

NESTS? .jpg

Author's Note: So, following the wishes of most of the members, Hanon's club was named Sound Nest. The next chapter will also feature a short story based on this name.

And today it's still four updates.

Section 432, Chapter 426: Are you from the underworld or a talent agency?

In short, Hanon experienced a brief period of confusion amidst the chaos, then easily secured a spot in the next round by taking the blame from even the gatekeepers. How wonderful!

"Drink!" The gatekeeper was furious. He had always believed that he had accidentally dropped the bottle, which "Joaquin" had picked up and then used as a cover to draw fire, thus securing a spot. This was an utter disgrace! He had been close to retirement for the past few years. Were all the new gangsters these days such cunning fellows?

Although the punch hadn't hurt Joaquin, Da Men thought it was just bad luck that he dodged it. Now he was going to strike again and teach this rude kid a lesson.

Hua Yin was naturally not afraid of him, but she didn't need to make a move because Long Shuwen had already stood between the two of them.

Long Shuwen didn't even need to make a move; the fist at the gate was intercepted halfway—by Huashan Xun!

"Huashan?" Damen raised an eyebrow. "Were you attracted by the noise? Are you going to stop me too?"

“Senior, don’t cause trouble backstage.” Hua Shan has a rough appearance, but like his refined glasses, he speaks surprisingly gently: “Besides, this young man’s actions are completely lawful; it’s just that you were too careless.”

"Damn it, mind your own business." Daimon had actually been convinced by Hanayama. Whatever method Hanon used to obtain the rubber bottle, it was all done on the battlefield of the nightclub; it was simply that Daimon was careless and had his token stolen. However, facing Hanayama, a much younger man, he wasn't about to back down: "Hanayama Kaoru, huh? I heard you've been the most powerful yakuza in all of Japan these past few years, quite the young man... Hmph, I've fought those so-called 'strongest fighting experts' before. Remember Hanagata Hoshi of the Manto Group over a decade ago? He was my defeated foe!"

The gatekeeper pulled his arm away, and even with Huashan's divine strength, he couldn't hold it back! Then the gatekeeper gently tapped Huashan's chest with his fist: "What the hell is this elite? I'm going to take down the elite."

"Ahem, Uncle." In the tense atmosphere, Hanon finally spoke, after all, this matter was caused by her!

However, Kanon's words were quite provocative: "We understand your desire to settle scores, but first you need to have the token and make it to the finals, right? There's still time, let's start over~"

"Hmph, you don't need to tell me." The gatekeeper knew this was the right path, and turned to run back to the battlefield. Before leaving, he threatened everyone present: "Long Shuwen, Hua Jin, Hua Shanxun, wait until I return, none of you will escape!"

The "White-Haired Roarer" roared off again, while Hanon and Long Shuwen officially entered the final round and began waiting backstage for all the contestants to be confirmed.

The atmosphere backstage was completely different from the battlefield in front. While the battlefield was filled with deafening battle cries and rivers of blood, there were only a handful of people backstage, all of whom were influential figures in the underworld with deep and reserved personalities. Apart from the gate guards causing a ruckus earlier, the area remained quiet afterward.

Kaoru Hanayama and Charlie Firth each had a bottle of strong liquor in front of them, drinking silently and in perfect unison. Long Shuwen remained with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall, silent and upright. Hanon, however, was rather bored. Fortunately, Iwamura Taro, the first member of the Inugami Group to appear, also seemed preoccupied. Seeing that Hanon seemed more approachable, he struck up a conversation.

"Hey, this guy's lucky too, finding a bottle," Iwamura remarked. "Me too..."

Well, this guy was definitely lucky to get a spot in the next round, and he also considers Kanon to be a lucky person who found a wine bottle.

Then Iwamura sighed, "When I got the rubber bottle, I rushed backstage in a moment of impulsiveness. A lot of people didn't react in time, so I didn't get beaten up. Sigh, actually, thinking about it, there's no benefit to making it to the finals. Hanayama, Feis, Long Shuwen, and that guy from just now, Damen, are all notorious monsters in the underworld. Just thinking about facing them makes me tremble with fear... We seem to be lucky, but we've actually boarded a pirate ship."

Hanon scratched her head, not bothering to explain that she wasn't just a lucky player, but instead comforted Iwamura: "Don't worry, making it to the finals is a great achievement. At worst, we can just forfeit later."

Iwamura shook his head vigorously: "No, no, my team leader is a devil! Although making it to the finals is prestigious, if I lose without a fight in front of everyone, I'll be sent to Thailand for surgery when I get back..."

Recalling his boss's hellish methods and the tragic fates of his younger colleagues, Iwamura trembled, making Kanon beside him shudder: "Thai surgery? What kind of bizarre punishment methods do these Japanese yakuza use?"

Having finally overcome his psychological barrier, Iwamura, with a carefree expression, patted Kanon on the shoulder: "Sigh, let's not talk about these upsetting things. By the way, is your club involved in music? Our Inugane-gumi has always been quite knowledgeable in this area and manages several excellent idols. How about we collaborate sometime? Maybe you can even debut..."