KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

"Greetings, Senior Yan Yue and Senior Shen Wu!"

"My name is Shingo Yabuki, and I am the chief disciple of Master Kyo Kusanagi! It is truly an honor to meet you two seniors today!" Shingo greeted Engetsu Kamu with great enthusiasm.

After a brief introduction, Yan Yue Shenwu and his companion met Yabuki Shingo.

At the same time, after Shingo gave the fast food box to Kyo Kusanagi, he pulled out a bunch of snacks of various sizes from his pocket and stuffed them into Engetsu and Shinmu's hands. Engetsu could tell that these snacks weren't cheap.

"I just bought these at the supermarket, please don't be shy, enjoy them!" Shingo Yabuki said warmly as he handed out the snacks. His bright eyes shone with sincerity.

"Thank you, then we won't be polite." Yan Yue and Shen Wu were also infected by Zhen Wu's sunny and enthusiastic personality, and hurriedly accepted the various snacks that Zhen Wu gave them.

Shenwu immediately teased, "Hey, Kusanagi kid, how come you suddenly took on a senior disciple? I remember your family's martial arts are related to bloodlines, right?"

Kyo Kusanagi remained silent, only enthusiastically showing off the lunch Shingo had brought him.

Yan Yue was also curious as to why Kusanagi Kyo had taken on a disciple the same age as herself. Although Yan Yue remembered that Yabuki Shingo was Kusanagi Kyo's disciple.

While eating, Kyo Kusanagi instructed, "Shingo, go practice [Wild Bite] and [Poison Bite] first. Once you've mastered them, I'll teach you [Hundred Style - Oni-Yaki]!"

"Yes, Master!" Upon hearing this, Zhenwu nodded earnestly and then excitedly said to Yan Yue Shenwu, "Yan Yue, Senior Shenwu, I'll go practice now and won't disturb you any longer."

"Okay, do as you please..." Yan Yue smiled and waved her hand.

After saying that, Shingo stood up and walked toward the seemingly simple wooden stake not far away.

Upon reaching the wooden stake, Shingo took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his posture and state. He focused intently on recalling the "Wild Bite" technique taught by Kyo Kusanagi, his master's movements flashing through his mind.

Once ready, Shingo immediately adopted the standard fighting stance of Kyo Kusanagi.

Suddenly, Shingo roared, "Hah!" With this roar, he swung his right arm and smashed it down on the wooden stake.

[Wild Bite - Incomplete]!

A muffled thud was heard, and a shallow dent appeared on the wooden stake.

At the same time, due to the reaction force, Shingo himself felt a pain in his fist, but he only frowned and did not stop what he was doing.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and continued his attack...

"His movements are quite similar to Kyo Kusanagi's, except there are no flames..."

Yan Yue stared with great interest at Shingo, who was practicing diligently. Although Shingo's fighting moves looked very rough, he was quite powerful. Yan Yue guessed that Shingo must have a good fighting talent, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to enter the King of Fighters tournament using the Kusanagi style.

However, Yan Yue still had some doubts and couldn't help but ask:

"Kyo, why did you suddenly decide to take on a disciple? The school uniform he's wearing makes me think Shingo was your classmate, right?"

Shenwu, unable to contain his curiosity, chimed in with a comment: "And another thing, with his fighting techniques, how powerful can they really be without the Kusanagi clan's flame enhancement?"

Kyo Kusanagi devoured the bread and grilled fish in his hands with lightning speed.

Then, seemingly calm but actually a little guilty, he replied, "Just kidding! Even without the help of flames, these moves are powerful enough on their own..."

However, the perceptive Yan Yue instantly caught Kusanagi Kyo's emotions. She deliberately teased him in a malicious tone:

"That's just because Shingo himself is stronger, right?"

"And also, Jing, you wouldn't have reluctantly accepted this apprentice just because you were after the benefits they offered, would you?"

Upon hearing this, Kyo Kusanagi trembled violently, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he stammered, "N-no way! How could I... how could I be that kind of person!"

"Oh! I see..." Shenwu suddenly realized, and said with a wicked smile, "So you're pretty savvy, Kusanagi. This is basically like taking on a lackey so you can freeload, right..."

Looking at Kusanagi Kyo's guilty and lying appearance, Yan Yue thought to herself, "It seems so... Moreover, as a master, he takes advantage of his disciple with a clear conscience. Kusanagi Kyo seems to have the potential to be a delinquent."

……

three months ago.

Because of a phone call from Kusanagi Shizuru, Kusanagi Kyo went home once. It was during that time that Kusanagi Kyo accidentally encountered a biker gang from Osaka Castle bullying Yabuki Shingo, who had just left school.

Shingo Yabuki unintentionally got into trouble with a few members of a biker gang. Kyo Kusanagi, out of a sense of justice, stepped in to save him, driving away all the biker gang members in Osaka Castle.

This led Shingo to witness Kyo Kusanagi's immense strength, which filled him with admiration and longing, inspiring him to dream of becoming a fighter. From that day on, Shingo Yabuki searched for Kyo Kusanagi every day, using various methods to beg him to take him on as his apprentice.

Meanwhile, Shingo somehow found the recording of the King of Fighters tournament featuring Black Noah, which made him even more enamored with Kyo Kusanagi.

Even when Kyo Kusanagi goes on a date with Yuki Kusanagi, Shingo sometimes follows behind like a third wheel.

Kyo Kusanagi initially refused, but after Shingo Yabuki's persistent pleading, he eventually joined the Kusanagi school after Shingo offered to provide all three meals a day.

In the first lesson of the Kusanagi style, Kyo Kusanagi stood lazily in the center of the field, a hint of weariness on his handsome and unruly face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and said casually to Shingo, "Watch closely, I'm only going to show you this once."

"Drink!"

Kyo Kusanagi suddenly exerted force with his right arm, and instantly a burst of scorching heat erupted from his hand.

Ultimate move: Wild Bite!

Immediately afterwards, crimson flames rose up and enveloped his entire fist.

The next moment, Kyo Kusanagi unleashed a powerful attack forward without hesitation.

Wherever the fist passed, a torrent of crimson flames swept forward.

"Wow!" Shingo's eyes widened at the sight, his face filled with disbelief and extreme envy.

At the same time, Shingo hurriedly pulled out his notebook and quickly jotted down every detail he had just seen and his thoughts.

However, after throwing that punch, Kyo Kusanagi casually flicked his hand and, without turning around, tossed out a sentence: "Shingo, the rest is up to you to practice... Remember to prepare lunch..."

"Ah?...Yes!" Although he still had doubts about whether he could truly master this move, Shingo still dared not disobey his master's orders.

So he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and began to imitate Kyo Kusanagi's movements, practicing each move seriously and meticulously.

……

Yan Yue glanced at Kusanagi Kyo with some disdain. Good heavens, he really just took in a disciple who delivers meals!

Yan Yue complained irritably, "You two are really something, one daring to teach and the other daring to learn... If my grandfather knew I was teaching others like this, he would have scolded me to death long ago..."

"Hmph!" Kyo Kusanagi replied matter-of-factly, "My eldest disciple is doing this willingly and diligently. Besides, I learned it from just one glance..."

Shenwu was speechless, not expecting Kusanagi Kyo to have such a low character. "I think you're just too lazy to teach him and just want to give him a perfunctory attitude..."

Yan Yue didn't want to talk to this annoying person anymore, and shook her head helplessly, "Alright, alright, stop bragging. We know you're a genius, okay..."

Then, Yan Yue asked, "Jing, have you decided? Want to team up?"

Shenwu also realized what was happening and asked, "Yeah, Kusanagi, are you going to team up with us or not...?"

"I'm still more inclined to say yes..."

Kyo Kusanagi smiled wryly, "But I'm sorry, just a few days ago, Benimaru had already registered me and Daimon."

Upon hearing this, Yan Yue and Shen Wu's eyes widened in surprise. "What?!"

Then, Kyo Kusanagi crossed his arms and continued with a hint of helplessness, "Benimaru, as you all know, is a model and has always stayed in Tokyo, so he naturally gets all sorts of information much faster."

Yan Yue frowned, pondering what to do next.

Shenwu stood quietly to the side, feeling very unhappy, but he didn't show it.

Soon, Yan Yue asked again, "Does that mean that any team that passes the preliminaries is qualified to participate in the King of Fighters tournament?"

"Well... that's roughly the situation... anyone can sign up..." Kyo Kusanagi nodded slightly, indicating his approval.

Yan Yue stood there, her brows furrowed, lost in thought. "So that's how it is. If just three random people can participate in the competition..."

Suddenly, Yan Yue raised her head sharply and said with a firm gaze, "In that case, Jing, could you lend me Shingo? I plan to take him with me to the King of Fighters tournament this time!"

Upon hearing this, Kyo Kusanagi was taken aback at first, then showed a surprised expression, and couldn't help but widen his eyes in disbelief, "Huh? You've really made up your mind? You know, considering Shingo's current level of strength..."

Engetsu was on the verge of tears, and said with a bitter smile, "We really have no teammates left, otherwise we wouldn't have come to you... We were originally planning to have you tell Benimaru Daimon..."

Shenwu seemed to understand Yan Yue's words and sighed helplessly, "Yes, there's no other way right now. If we don't form a team to register soon, the registration period will end in a few days..."

Yan Yue naturally knew that Shingo had only just started learning about fighting and was not even a beginner fighter yet.

But now Yan Yue really has no teammates.

"Although there is only about a month left before the official competition begins, if we give Shingo some high-intensity special training in this month, it will be very beneficial."

"It will definitely greatly improve his strength! At least getting into the preliminaries won't be a problem!" Yan Yue replied confidently.

Yan Yue could tell that although Shingo's strength wasn't great, his physical attributes were excellent and his potential was quite high. For now, she could only bring Shingo along to make up the numbers.

"If we really get into the King of Fighters tournament and encounter danger, we'll just have to stop Shingo from fighting."