KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

Main character information updated.

Name: Yan Yue;

Sex: Male;

Title: None (currently);

Nationality: Chinese;

Birthday: Unknown;

Age: 18-20 years old (age frozen, the same age as Kyo Kusanagi);

Height: 179cm;

Weight: 69kg;

Fighting styles: Nen-Chi Mind Technique, Flowing Water Rock-Smashing Fist;

Occupation: Chef, musician;

Personality: Gentle, meticulous, usually introverted and quiet, but becomes very talkative with people she knows well.

Favorite food: Traditional Chinese cuisine;

Hobbies: Music, cooking;

Things I dislike: Hypocrisy;

Favorite sport: Running;

Special abilities: Extremely powerful mental strength, the golden eye of the ancient Yan Emperor.

Relationships: He gets along fairly well with most of the fighters.

My closest friends: Xiaolong, Maizhuo, ?

……

A month later.

In the mountains and forests of Osaka Castle.

Yan Yue and Zhen Wu are embarking on a brand new combat training exercise.

At this moment, their fists and feet clashed, producing a crisp sound. Yan Yue's movements were as natural and fluid as flowing water, while Zhen Wu fought with all his might. Although he was struggling a bit, he still gritted his teeth and refused to give up easily.

However, the gap in strength gradually became apparent.

Before long, Shingo began to fall behind. His breathing became rapid, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his clothes.

Finally, Shingo braced himself on his knees with both hands, bent over, and his whole body trembled slightly.

Shenwu, who was watching from the sidelines, seemed much more relaxed. He stretched leisurely and said, "Shingo, that's enough. Today is the last match before the competition."

Upon hearing this, Shingo nodded with difficulty and replied, "Yes, Shinbu-san..."

Before he could finish speaking, he could no longer support his body and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Yan Yue withdrew her hand and stared quietly at Zhen Wu lying on the ground.

This month, Shingo Yabuki experienced the training methods of the fighters in South Town.

Although Shingo was initially subjected to various inhumane and rigorous training by Engetsu and Shinmu, such as being thrown off a cliff from a great height, climbing a cliff with his bare hands, dodging Engetsu's Nen waves, and withstanding Shinmu's heavy punches, etc.

However, as time went on, Shingo's body barely adapted to this arduous training method, and unknowingly, his strength gradually increased significantly.

Yan Yue mentally assessed Shingo's progress, then straightened her clothes and solemnly said, "Let's all get some rest these next few days."

I've already bought the train tickets. We'll be heading to Tokyo in three days.

After saying that, Yan Yue walked to the side, took out the secret phone that Whip had given her from her backpack, and contacted the Ikari Team.

……

Tokyo, Japan.

The World King of Fighters Championship was held as scheduled.

At this moment, fighters from all over the world have gathered in Tokyo's largest sports plaza.

Although it was just a preliminary round, the stands were still packed with people, their shouts and cheers mingling together.

With a lavish half-hour opening ceremony, a host dressed in a splendid suit arrived at the main arena in the sports plaza.

Nearly fifty teams of fighters stood in different areas.

The audience erupted in cheers and applause.

"Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Welcome to the King of Fighters tournament qualifiers..."

After giving a formal opening speech, the host began to announce the competition rules for the King of Fighters tournament preliminaries.

"Fellow fighters, I will now explain the rules of this qualifier," the host announced in a loud voice.

"First, more than a dozen different preliminary venues with different environments were set up throughout the city of Tokyo. The selection of venues and the matches between teams were arranged by relevant staff."

Each fighter in each team must engage in at least one fight so that the referees can assess their strength.

The final winners of each preliminary round will receive an invitation to the official King of Fighters tournament and a 20 yen prize for winning the preliminary round. They will also be able to use the invitation as a token to participate in the official tournament the day after tomorrow.

All fighters, please prepare yourselves and proceed to the qualifier venue. Good luck!

After the host finished speaking, the surrounding audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers, and the fighters below the stage were eager to try their skills.

As the music broadcast from the competition venue began, staff started directing the fighters to different competition areas.

Hundreds of fighters gathered at the sports plaza, creating a huge crowd. Yan Yue and her two companions hurriedly left the plaza and headed towards the designated preliminary round location.

At this moment, Shingo asked with some doubt, "Senior Yan Yue, isn't it a bit too frivolous to arrange the matches in the preliminary rounds by having the home team play them? Wouldn't it be fairer to make it random?"

“There’s no room for child’s play; this is actually better.” Yan Yue had changed into her white Chinese fighting uniform, still covering the upper half of her face with a black cloth.

"Huh? Why?"

Yan Yue patiently explained: "If it's a random match, it might cause most of the strong to crowd into one place, which is called involution."

If most of the top fighters are eliminated in the qualifiers, the official tournament will be uninteresting, severely impacting viewership and the reputation of the King of Fighters tournament. This would cause significant losses for the entire Japanese conglomerate.

Therefore, the team matches are arranged by the staff, who can assess the strength of each fighter team in the first round, eliminating the weaker ones and selecting all the strong fighter teams to enter the finals.

"Oh! I see, it's for the sake of entertainment and fairness to the strong." Shingo suddenly realized.

Shenwu listened carefully and replied, "So, the purpose of the preliminary rounds is to eliminate as many troublemakers as possible, right?"

Yan Yue nodded in affirmation, "That's right, that's exactly it."

Upon hearing this, Shenwu's eyes lit up instantly. He eagerly moved closer to the two of them, rubbing his hands together and grinning mischievously.

"Haha, in that case, the first match will be Shingo's! And the second match will be Yan's. As for the rest, don't interfere, I'll take care of them all!"

Shingo was shocked by Shinmu's arrogant words. After a moment, he recovered and stammered, "Senior Shinmu, are you sure you can handle so many battles by yourself?"

Yan Yue, standing to the side, shook her head helplessly, patted Shingo on the shoulder, and replied with a wry smile, "Ignore this guy, he's just always so outspoken. Since you've teamed up with us, Shingo, just relax."

Yan Yue didn't say it explicitly, after all, Shingo's strength was simply not enough in the King of Fighters tournament.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly. If it weren't for the fact that Duolong hadn't been missing for a long time, and Alba hadn't even run off to where he was, Yan Yue and Shen Wu wouldn't have asked Zhen Wu to come and make up the numbers.

Upon hearing Yan Yue's words, Shenwu not only did not restrain himself at all, but laughed even louder.

"That's right, that's right, hahaha... I'm going to take on ten today!"

……

At a preliminary round venue near the sea.

The three members of the legendary team were arranged to compete here.

"Next, the first match is between Team Legends and Team Beastmaster. The match will begin in three minutes. Please get ready."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

As the referee's authoritative voice rang out, the atmosphere on the scene instantly became tense and exciting.

"Shingo, are you ready? The first round is yours..." Engetsu turned and urged.

"Hey! Shingo, stop looking..." Shenwu hurriedly patted the distracted Shingo.

"Ouch, ouch..." Shingo, who was reviewing his moves in his notebook, was so flustered by the slaps that he almost dropped the notebook.

The scene before them left Yan Yue and Shen Wu speechless.

Shingo hurriedly and awkwardly put away his notebook, turned around and bowed to Yan Yue and Shen Wu, giving an embarrassed smile.

"Senior Yan Yue, Senior Shen Wu, then I'll go first!"

Shenwu nodded with a wicked grin, "Go on, go on, those beasts over there are pretty arrogant, take them down!"

"Go, Shingo!"

Shingo had changed into a blue high school uniform, rolled up his sleeves like Kyo Kusanagi, and tied a white headscarf around his head.

Perhaps because it was his first time stepping onto the competition stage, Shingo Yabuki was inevitably a little nervous.

So he took a few deep breaths, trying his best to calm his nerves. Then, he hurriedly ran onto the ring.

Opposite him stood a muscular adult. His body and face were covered in animal tattoos, along with a full set of brass knuckles on his hands. He didn't look like a friendly shrew.

Shingo looked at his opponent and, though somewhat afraid, got into position and clenched his fists.

At the same time, Yan Yue activated her [Perception Domain], clearly capturing all the sounds and movements around her.

Suddenly, someone in the audience shouted excitedly, "Look! That's Peacock Claw from the Beast King Team! They say he's a top underground fighter in Japan with a win rate of 80%!"

Another person chimed in, "I see. Just by looking at his face, you can tell this guy is pretty fierce. And those brass knuckles... I think his opponent's in for a rough time..."

Then came another surprised exclamation: "Wait, Peacock Claw's opponent is just a high school student?"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd, with everyone whispering amongst themselves. Someone exclaimed incredulously, "What? Really? Are you seeing things?"

After taking a closer look, someone remarked, "Holy crap, it really is a high school student in a school uniform! Is he here to die?"

Immediately, various doubts and concerns arose one after another, and the whole scene became unusually lively.

"Tsk!" With a dismissive click of his tongue, the man with the Peacock Claw Tattoo glanced sideways at Shingo Yabuki and said mockingly:

"Kid, this kind of fighting arena isn't a place for students like you. Hurry up and get back to school to do your homework, don't embarrass yourself here!"

However, Shingo Yabuki responded with a serious and confident expression, "Please rest assured, I have perfectly finished my studies and exams! Today, I stand here to fully dedicate myself to the battle and show my true strength!"

Peacock Claw's face instantly darkened, and he glared fiercely at Shingo, threateningly saying:

"Hmph! You ignorant brat, if I beat you until your arms and legs are broken and you're crying for your parents, don't come begging for mercy on your knees, hahahahaha..."

Then, a chilling, sinister laugh echoed through the air.

Just then, the referee hurriedly stepped forward and loudly announced the competition rules: "Attention all contestants, this preliminary round will use a 3V3 elimination format. Each match will be limited to 6 minutes. Please be sure to abide by the rules..."

After explaining the rules, the referee paused briefly, looked at both competitors, and shouted, "Ready... Go!"

Shingo Yabuki and Peacock Claw charged at each other almost simultaneously. Their figures quickly intersected, and the sounds of fierce fighting filled the air.

Shingo launched the first attack, using the starting stance of the Kusanagi-ryu ancient martial arts, raising his leg to attack the Peacock Claw.

【Exterior Design - Axe-shaped】!

Peacock Claw easily dodged to the side, then retaliated with a fist adorned with brass knuckles.

"bump!"

Shingo couldn't dodge in time and was grazed on the cheek by a punch, instantly leaving a row of bloody marks on his face.

"Damn it, so fast!"

But Shingo didn't back down and immediately kicked out again.

[One Hundred and One Style - Oboroguruma - Incomplete]!

The peacock quickly blocked with its claws.

"Bang!" Another muffled sound.

But this time, Peacock Claw found that Shingo's strength had increased significantly, and his hands, which had been used to block, were now in pain...

Sensing the exchange between the two, Yan Yue turned to Shen Wu and asked, "Shen, have you heard of these underground boxing fighters?"

Shenwu stared intently at the ring, shaking his head with a wicked grin. "Those third-rate underground boxing fighters are utterly meaningless. I hope Shingo can beat him soon..."

Yan Yue nodded, withdrew her senses, and carefully observed Shingo's battle.

Although Shingo is highly talented and hardworking, he has not trained for long enough to be considered a level below Peacock Claw, who frequently participates in underground boxing matches.

However, Yan Yue and Shen Wu showed no concern for Zhen Wu and simply waited silently.

As the match progressed, Peacock Claw never expected that this kid in front of him had some skills.

"Why? Why is this kid so strong?"

Although Peacock Claw successfully struck Shingo several times with its knuckle duster, causing bruises and bloodstains on Shingo's body, its stamina remained undiminished, and it continued to launch fierce attacks against Peacock Claw.

Shingo unleashed a powerful elbow strike.

Ultimate move: [My Style - Moon Elbow]!

"Ugh!"

The peacock claws were in pain for a moment, and it was knocked back several steps.

He then roared, his attack speed and power suddenly increased, and he launched another fierce attack on Shingo.

After taking a few hits, Shingo was able to block the opponent's attacks.

Peacock Claw's face was filled with disbelief, as were his teammates. The audience below the stage was even more shocked and fell silent for a moment.

Soon, Shingo spotted an opening in the Peacock Claw and unleashed a full-force attack.

Super Special Move [External Style - Drive the Phoenix]!

With a roar from Shingo, he charged headlong into the peacock claws.

Shingo suddenly flashed forward, using all his strength to slam his broad, sturdy shoulder into the peacock claw.

With a deafening "boom," the powerful impact sent the peacock claw flying dozens of meters away, directly off the stage.

A critical hit!?

Yan Yue exclaimed inwardly, "Such good luck? It even hit a vital spot?!"

The peacock's claws fell to the ground, blood flowed from its mouth, and its body convulsed continuously. It had clearly suffered a severe injury and had temporarily lost consciousness.

The referee then raised his arm high and loudly announced, "Shingo Yabuki wins!"

"Great!"

"Well done, Shingo!"

Upon hearing the result, Yan Yue and Shen Wu quickly clapped and cheered.

Shingo let out a long sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat and blood from his face, and dragged his somewhat tired body slowly off the stage.