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

That's a wake-up call! Yes, who hasn't imagined themselves as invincible?

Of course, Mr. Tokugawa's next remarks were somewhat sexist: "Every man wants to be the best in the world. There is no man who doesn't care about the title of the strongest! This is an undeniable fact! Some people are born weak, some succumb to authority, and some are bullied from a young age. So, they give up their dream of being the best in the world as they grow up and take other paths in life, becoming doctors, politicians, businessmen, salarymen, manga artists, coders... But tonight, there are two men who haven't given up hope... cough, two men here! They both yearn to become the strongest in the world!"

It seems that Tokugawa Mitsunari memorized this speech in advance... And this speech is actually the opening remarks for the final. The battle of the strongest is naturally of a higher standard, and this difference begins from the entrance.

In an instant, the lights came on, illuminating the arena. A brief, melodious tune even rang out, like the drums and horns of the ancient Roman Colosseum before battle, or the bugle call of warriors charging into the enemy lines.

"Contestants enter!" After Tokugawa announced the start of the finals, the commentator took over the broadcasting duties: "On one side is Joaquin, a young gangster from China. He is not only the strongest in the world's underworld, but now he will also compete for the title of the world's number one martial artist! Although young, he is the strongest man among men!"

"On the other side is Ye Huayin, also from China, but a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life! But don't be fooled by her cute appearance, everyone witnessed the formidable strength of this fighting queen tonight! Already a force to be reckoned with in the underground boxing world, can she take another step forward and achieve victory tonight? We shall wait and see..."

As the introductions drew to a close, Ye Huayin still hadn't appeared; only Joaquin remained, standing alone in the White Tiger position, calmly awaiting his opponent...

"What's wrong with Ms. Hana-on?" The commentator panicked, whispering among himself and his staff... then he panicked even more: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an unexpected situation. Ms. Hana-on hasn't appeared yet, and we can't find her backstage... We can wait another five minutes, but if she doesn't show up, then the result of this final..."

"What is Miss Ye doing?!" Before the audience could react, Tokugawa Mitsunari was already furious in the stands. He had planned this tournament for a long time and spent a lot of effort to find the strongest players to participate. He was finally going to see a dream match like Joaquin vs. Ye Hanane, but one of them suddenly disappeared.

Sigh, if Joaquin could really fight Ye Huayin, that would truly be a dream come true.

Tokugawa Mitsunari roared for a full five minutes, his eyes unfocused, drool dripping from his mouth, almost as if he were entering a state of dementia... but it was all in vain. As time ran out, the commentator could only announce the result amidst the murmurs of the audience.

"The outcome is decided—Hua Jin wins because Ye Huayin failed to enter the arena before the time limit."

Author's Note: Sorry I'm late again... I saw a super funny post this morning, that new gem in the Baki forum, an illustrated explanation of the Hong Kong comic "If I Were the Emperor," it cracked me up, it was so hilarious, so I'm a little late. Tonight's update won't be affected! Probably...

The "Dream Showdown" in this chapter is a showdown that "only happens in dreams"!

Now that Joaquin has won, what will happen in the next chapter?

Section 582, Chapter 576: Yujiro, the King of Bargains in the Giant Debris Constellation

"Sigh, that girl is such a handful." Takakaze Kirito sighed helplessly. Kanon's antics had finally come to an unmanageable end. The worst part was that Miho and Garuda were joining in her antics. After Kanon defeated Jack, the two girls cheered "We won! We won!" and ran backstage.

Kiri had thought that Garuda would pretend to be "Joaquin," symbolically exchange a few blows with Kanon, and then admit defeat, thus smoothing things over. However, after a while, Miho and Garuda returned, leaving only Kanon to compete.

Garuda said somewhat aggrievedly, "Well, I also made this suggestion, but Kanon and Mieko both disagreed..."

Miho shrugged: "Who told Kanon to say she was tired and didn't want to change? She couldn't bring herself to do it to you." But Miho's real thought was: "I don't want you going on stage and getting intimate with Kanon!"

Ah, women.

However, since "Ye Huayin" did not participate, the tournament is now over...

The audience did not applaud or cheer; instead, they booed.

It's not that they dislike Joaquin; in fact, Joaquin's composed ring style and easily recognizable appearance make him quite popular.

But it's like going to a restaurant, ordering a set meal, and the appetizer is delicious, but the main course is just a glass of water. They tell you to rinse your mouth and go home... Who can stand that?!

The audience then began to discuss it.

"Why isn't Ye Hana playing? Was she injured by Retsu Kaioh when she went on stage?"

"No, that way she wouldn't have left without saying goodbye..."

"I understand. It must be the Chinese virtue of humility! Joaquin is also Chinese, and Miss Ye couldn't bear to see her fellow countrymen turn against each other!"

"Bullshit, why didn't she give way to Retsukai? If you ask me, it's because Ye Huayin chickened out. She realized she couldn't beat Joaquin, so she simply avoided the fight and let others guess. Anyway, she still maintains her undefeated record."

"Hmph, you're all wrong. Maybe Joaquin is the coward~"

"What do you mean by that, brother?"

"Let me show you the way—don't you even know what kind of background Joaquin has!"

"Ah, you mean the yakuza... What's the background of that 'NESTS'? How did they manage to pull such a stunt at Mr. Tokugawa's conference and kidnap Miss Ye?"

"Just listen to his hype; conspiracy theorists will never lack a market."

"Then tell me, why isn't Ye Huayin fighting?"

"This……"

The stadium erupted in a cacophony of noise and shouts.

In the empty arena, staff carried in a small table with a gleaming golden lion head belt on it. This was the prize for the tournament champion, a championship belt from the ancient Roman Colosseum that Tokugawa Mitsunari had painstakingly acquired, with a history of over two thousand years.

According to the procedure, the belt will be given to "Joaquin" as a symbol of the strongest.

If Lie Haiwang's previous statement is true, then the handover of this belt is very meaningful: after two or three thousand years, another Chinese powerhouse has finally worn the golden belt of ancient Rome, continuing the legend of the "Way of the Dragon" in the new century of mankind!

This is a victory for Chinese martial arts.

Unfortunately, Tokugawa Mitsunari, who was presenting the award, was filled with a sense of defeat. He didn't mind handing the belt to anyone, as long as that person was strong enough. His ideal scenario was that after a fierce battle of exceptional skill, he would hand the belt to the stronger party, instead of handing it over amidst the criticism and boos of the audience, feeling ashamed as a thief, and feeling empty inside.

Ultimately, Tokugawa was just a fanatical fan of fighting games. His mentality was that of an ordinary spectator who was ten times more aggressive. It's not that Joaquin's performance along the way wasn't good enough. Yuu Tennen, Doppo Guji, Goki Shibukawa, and Jack Hanma were all top-tier fighters in the world. Joaquin's strength was well-deserved, and his skill level was arguably the highest in the entire competition!

However, Ye Huayin also defeated Jinlongshan, Zhushou Kanji, Hanma Baki and Retsu Kaioh all the way, and performed a feat of fighting ten people at once and brutally killing a giant python!

Tokugawa was just feeling terrible inside...

"Waaah!" Holding the golden belt, Tokugawa Mitsunari stood before "Hua Jin" and handed it over. The moment he did, he suddenly howled and cried.

"Oh dear, why bother?" Hana panicked and quickly pushed the gold belt back. "Since you like it so much, then take it. I don't need another belt..."

Sigh, is Tokugawa Mitsunari really that short of a belt? But Kanon can't solve his problem. She can only watch as the old man's tears flow like a never-ending river, or like the Yellow River overflowing its banks.

As Tokugawa was crying, someone suddenly spoke. The voice was exceptionally loud, completely drowning out all other sounds, including the audience's chatter and Tokugawa's sobs. From the moment that person spoke, only one sound remained in the Tokyo Dome's underground arena.

"Old man Guang, what are you crying about? I know, you're just reluctant to part with the gold belt! You feel it was given to the wrong person, it was clearly meant for the 'strongest'..."

"Yū...Yūjirō?!" Tokugawa's sobs stopped. He looked towards the stands but couldn't find Yūjirō anywhere. "Where are you? What do you want?"

"What do you want? Of course, I want to help you!"

Hanon suddenly looked up—it was up there!

Just like Taishan Douyu leaping down to smash a car, there are steel bars on the roof of the arena that one can stand on, and Hanma Yujiro leaps down from there, like a world-destroying meteor or a demon god from another world, descending into the arena.

"Bang!" A cloud of dust rose up, and Yujiro Hanma landed right on the small table, crushing it into dust.

The location wasn't far from Kanon and Tokugawa. As the dust settled, Hanma Yujiro's eyes met Kanon's. The "fierce" man grinned and said, "Hey kid, wanna have a fight?"

Yujiro Hanma has long held a liking for "Joaquin"!

“Yujiro…” Tokugawa Mitsunari was a little stunned. He mechanically turned his head and asked “Joaquin,” “Joaquin, look at this…”

"I don't care"—that's what Kanon really wanted to say in the face of provocation, but reason told her that now was not a good time to challenge Yujiro Hanma.

"Hey, Uncle Fanma, don't you feel like you're taking advantage of the situation when you jump out and challenge me to a duel after I've been fighting all night?"

Well, although he was actually doing something like picking up bargains, Yujiro had the pride of a strongman and would never admit that he was doing it.

"What, are you scared?" Yujiro laughed. "With this level of exertion and fighting, you should have just warmed up..."

Damn, it's confirmed! Yujiro Hanma is a total scumbag who picks up bargains!

Before he could finish speaking, Yujiro saw that Joaquin's eyes clearly held a "Are you kidding me?" look of skepticism, so he changed his tune and said, "In that case, I can have a fight first—all you martial arts guys backstage, come out here!"

This roar, like that of a lion, resounded throughout the stadium.

"Huh? Yujiro... is he calling us?" All the participating martial artists had gathered backstage, waiting in unison at the entrance to celebrate the champion, but they never expected to encounter Yujiro's antics.

"Damn it, you looked down on us earlier, and now you want to take on all of us one-on-one!" Chai Qianchun, the most hot-tempered of the group, even though he was one of the most seriously injured, still struggled to run towards the arena. With him leading the way, the other contestants couldn't afford to fall behind or look cowardly, and they all rushed into the arena in a flurry.

"A bunch of useless trash." Facing the surging crowd, Yujiro said nonchalantly, "Come on!"

"Wait a minute!" Joaquin stopped Yujiro.

Kanon's gaze swept over the martial artists, each bearing serious injuries, some of which Kanon herself had inflicted... Now, this group of "former strongmen," who could be described as a "rabble," wanted to challenge Yujiro. The sight was too beautiful to bear, making one's heart ache just thinking about it...

"Stop messing with everyone..." Hanon said helplessly, "I'll fight you."

"Alright!" Yujiro was a "fierce" man, not a "scumbag" who was determined to bully the wounded. Since "Joaquin" agreed, he had achieved his goal.

“I won’t take advantage of you.” Yujiro walked up to Joaquin with his hands in his pockets: “I just want you to take three punches from me.”

Author's Note: Phew, this chapter is quite late... The next chapter is the Three Punches Pact.

Chapter 583 Chapter 577: Yujiro’s punch

"Then it's settled. Yujiro and Joaquin will exchange three punches as the final battle of this tournament." Tokugawa Mitsunari said loudly into the microphone, addressing not only Kanon and Yujiro but also the entire audience.

"Neither of you have any objections, right?"

"Okay." ×2, both Yujiro and Kanon answered decisively.

"Then, once everyone else has left the ring, the two of you can begin at any time." Tokugawa Mitsunari said calmly, then waved for the other fighters to leave the ring. At the same time, he stopped the referee, who was about to check whether Yujiro and "Joaquin" were carrying weapons, with a look—was he kidding? Those were Yujiro and Joaquin! Checking their weapons would be an insult.

Having dealt with everything, Tokugawa himself turned and walked towards the sidelines. The moment he turned back, this martial arts-obsessed old man finally couldn't hold back anymore. His hands clenched into fists near his chin, his whole body trembled slightly, and the expression on his face was unbearable to look at, making him look like a stalker or a pervert...

Yujiro's arrival not only filled the void left by Hanako's absence in the finals of the tournament, but also turned the tournament into a true battle for the title of the world's strongest. Tokugawa Mitsunari's emotions went through a rollercoaster of highs and lows, and if it were any other elderly person, their heart might not have been able to withstand the excitement.

Even though he didn't have a heart attack, Tokugawa was so moved that he shed new tears: "Waaah, this is wonderful, this is wonderful..."

With Tokugawa gone, only Kanon and Yujiro remained in the arena.

"Are you... ready?" Hanon asked first.

Yujiro saw right through Kanon's emotions: "Your heart is in turmoil, you're afraid."

"...I guess so." Kanon didn't hide anything. Facing a strong person like Yujiro Hanma, she would know about this little bit of emotion.

This long night had left Hanon exhausted and wounded. The physical strain was secondary; the real problem was that she, Miho, and Garuda had celebrated their victory so thoroughly, prematurely exhausting their joy. Now, she felt like an office worker suffering from "post-holiday syndrome"—a hollow emptiness and lethargy after the initial burst of passion. Even knowing she was facing the world's most formidable opponent, she couldn't adjust her mindset or muster the fighting spirit.

"You little brat, I had high hopes for you..." Facing an opponent who lacked fighting spirit, Yujiro Hanma unusually lectured him like an old man: "But are you going to be a useless piece of trash? A dignified warrior, and this is how you behave when facing a strong enemy?"

"Well, even though you speak very loudly... but fighting spirit is something..." Hanon shrugged, expressing her helplessness.

Actually, she herself is quite anxious and is trying her best to rouse her emotions and revitalize her body.

After being rebuked, Yujiro Hanma fell silent, and Kanon also remained silent. The two stood facing each other like this for one second, two seconds, three seconds...