KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

Giss stared coldly at Rugal before him, his resolute face showing not a trace of shock or panic. Instead, he simply said, "How unexpected, Rugal."

Upon hearing this, Rugal snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with hatred as he replied, "Hmph, likewise. I also didn't expect that you were still alive."

Billy looked at Rugal in front of him, his face becoming serious and his nerves tense. He gripped the long stick tightly in front of Geese.

At this moment, Krauser and his two men, who were standing to the side, were already filled with extreme grief and indignation.

Lawrence roared through gritted teeth, "The soldiers guarding outside the castle look like they've already..."

Axel immediately exclaimed in surprise, "What?!"

Krauser was even more enraged. His eyes widened, veins bulging on his forehead, and he roared at Rugal, "Rugal! Today is your death day!"

Before he finished speaking, Krauser suddenly leaped up from his throne, as if carrying immense power in both hands, and pounced straight at Rugal.

Seeing this, Mature and Vice immediately dodged and retreated to the corner, giving Rugal and Krauser space to fight.

Facing the menacing Krauser, Rugal's lips curled into a slight, disdainful smile as he scoffed, "Hmph! You? You're good for nothing except Caesarbo!"

Having said that, Rugal met Krauser's punch head-on, gathering dark red energy in one hand and swinging it directly at Krauser's fist.

"Boom!" A loud noise was heard.

The two incredibly powerful forces collided violently, instantly unleashing an extremely terrifying impact energy. This energy swept outwards like a surging wave, shaking everything in its path.

The entire hall began to tremble violently, plaster fell from the walls, and deep cracks appeared on the floor. Tables and chairs overturned, and the once neatly arranged decorations were now scattered in disarray.

"Drink!" Although Krauser blocked Rugal's attack, it was extremely difficult, and he was knocked back several meters.

"Such powerful strength!" Lawrence and Axel were shocked upon seeing this, their eyes revealing an unprecedented solemnity. They stared intently at Krauser, their hearts filled with worry and concern.

Meanwhile, Billy was doing his best to hold onto Geese's wheelchair, afraid that he might fall to the ground if he wasn't careful.

Seated in his wheelchair, Geese was also astonished. He stared incredulously at Rugal's suddenly increased power, wondering to himself, "How could Rugal have suddenly become so strong?"

Deep in Geese's memory, Rugal's strength had always been considered to be on par with his own and Krauser's.

This Rugal possesses an extraordinary talent for learning. After each encounter, he can quickly grasp and master the techniques and moves his opponent has used.

Previously, Rugal had briefly sparred with Geese and Krauser. Therefore, Rugal had successfully mastered Geese's prized "Gale Fist" and Krauser's formidable "Kaiser Wave." Even so, Rugal still posed no real threat to Geese and Krauser.

But at this moment, Rugal, who appeared before them, exuded a completely different aura. His skin had darkened, and a layer of eerie, dark red energy surrounded him, giving off a chilling feeling, filled with endless evil and powerful oppression.

"The power of Orochi?" As this thought crossed Geese's mind, his unease grew stronger.

Gis looked down at his bandages again, a bitter feeling welling up inside him. His already gloomy face looked even more unpleasant now.

“Sigh, if I had put aside my prejudices and chosen to join forces with Krauser to deal with that guy, perhaps we would have had a better chance of winning. But now…” Geese gritted his teeth, thinking resentfully. He raised his head, his gaze fixed on Rugal and Krauser, who were engaged in fierce combat not far away.

Rugal's movements were ferocious and savage, his attacks swift and ruthless; while Krauser appeared to be struggling, fighting back fiercely but clearly falling behind. Geese knew very well that if the situation continued this way, Krauser would inevitably be defeated soon.

After a brief moment of thought, Geese seemed to have made a difficult decision. He suddenly turned his head, looked at Billy standing beside him, and shouted, "Billy!"

Upon hearing Geese's call, Billy quickly turned around and respectfully replied, "Yes, Lord Geese!"

"No matter what happens later, you need to stay calm and follow my instructions! Absolutely no impulsive actions!" Gis instructed with a serious expression.

"Yes!" Billy nodded quickly, indicating that he understood and would unconditionally obey Geese's orders. However, his heart was filled with doubt and unease, unsure of what situation he would face next.

……

Southtown, USA.

Inside the Limit Flow dome.

Yan Yue introduced the girl who had stood up to the Sakazaki siblings: "This girl seems to have come to see you."

Ryo Sakazaki stood rooted to the spot, his gaze fixed on Kasumi Todo, who was dressed in distinctive attire, not far away. Her appearance evoked a sense of familiarity in Ryo, but he couldn't immediately recall where he had seen her before.

Ryo Sakazaki then stepped forward and stopped a few steps away from Kasumi Todo, politely asking, "Hello, I am Ryo Sakazaki, the head of the Kyokugenryu Dojo."

Upon hearing Ryo Sakazaki's voice, Kasumi Todo abruptly looked up, her eyes gleaming with excitement mixed with a barely concealed anger. She strode towards Ryo and exclaimed, "Ryo Sakazaki, I've finally found you! I've been looking for you for so long!"

This sudden reaction left everyone else present bewildered, and they all showed expressions of surprise and confusion.

Faced with Kasumi Todo's intense emotional outburst, Ryo and Yuri Sakazaki frowned, their faces full of confusion.

Kasumi Toudou continued, "My name is Kasumi Toudou. Wasn't my father, Ryuhaku Toudou, defeated by you?"

"Huh?" Yan Yue and Bai He looked at each other in bewilderment.

When Ryo Sakazaki heard Kasumi Todo mention the name Ryuhaku Todo, his memories were instantly awakened. He recalled that he had indeed fought Ryuhaku Todo in the King of Fighters tournament held in South Town and had successfully defeated him.

Ryo Sakazaki nodded slowly and replied softly, "Yes..."

Seeing Ryo Sakazaki admit to it, Engetsu and Yuri, standing to the side, looked on in confusion. They both turned to Ryo and asked:

"when did it happen?"

"Brother, I've never heard of it either..."

Ryo Sakazaki took a deep breath, composed himself, and replied, "It was when I went to rescue Yuri. I was participating in the King of Fighters tournament and happened to run into Ryuhaku Todo."

Just then, Yuri Sakazaki suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed in astonishment, "Brother! Could it be... that you actually crippled him?! What are we going to do?!"

Hearing Yuri Sakazaki spout such nonsense, Kasumi was so angry that her eyebrows shot up, and she retorted furiously, "You bastard, stop talking nonsense here!"

Ryo Sakazaki shook his head helplessly and said with a wry smile, "At the time, I was only focused on winning the match, I didn't care about anything else! I really don't remember very clearly." His tone revealed a hint of confusion.

At this moment, Yan Yue, who had been silent all along, slowly turned around and turned her gaze to Toudou Kasumi, who was standing to the side, and asked softly, "Kasumi, why don't you say it yourself?"

As Yan Yue finished speaking, all eyes turned to Toudou Kasumi. She lowered her head slightly, a bitter expression on her face, and began to slowly recall the cause of the events:

Ten years ago, the Todo Ryuhaku family originally lived in Japan, but when they heard that their rival, Sakazaki Takuma, had opened a dojo in Nanchen, they followed him there.

Since his defeat to the new successor of Kyokugenryu, Ryo Sakazaki, in the King of Fighters tournament held in Geese, Ryuhaku Todo has been in a slump.

Afterwards, Ryuhaku Toudou informed his family that he was leaving home to resume his training, and promptly ran away from home, where he has not been heard from since. This has resulted in all the pressure of the Toudou-style martial arts falling on Kasumi Toudou's shoulders.

Kasumi Todo, the daughter and a successor of the Todo-ryu ancient martial arts, traveled all the way from Japan to Southtown, USA after learning about the incident. While looking for her father, she also wanted to challenge Ryosuke Sakazaki to a duel.

At this point, Kasumi Todo's face showed sadness. She had come from Japan to America and had suffered countless grievances along the way. It was only after meeting Engetsu that she finally arrived at the Kyokugenryu Dojo.

Hearing this, Yan Yue didn't know how to respond. In this world, regardless of good or bad, none of the fathers are easy to deal with; they all like to disappear, either passively or intentionally. Dragon from the Flying Thief Sect is like that, Takuma Sakazaki is like that, Shizuru Kusanagi is like that, and now there's Toudou Ryuhaku.

The Sakazaki siblings listened to Kasumi's story in silence. Although Sakazaki Ryo was not wrong, Toudou Kasumi was indeed wronged and suffered a lot of pain for nothing.

"Ah!" Just as Yan Yue was racking her brains trying to figure out how to comfort Xiang Cheng, Locke suddenly let out a scream, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Everyone looked closely and saw Locke suddenly dart out from some corner and rush in front of Yan Yue.

Locke's eyes gleamed with excitement as he stared intently at Ryo Sakazaki, shouting, "Ryo, since her dad wasn't crippled, you don't need to pay compensation! Hahahaha..."

Hearing this, Kasumi Toudou, whose mood was already terrible, could no longer contain her anger and roared at Locke, "Kid! You better stop!"

"Ah! How terrifying!" Locke was startled.

Seeing the situation turning sour, Yan Yue quickly stepped forward, gently patted Xiang Cheng's shoulder, and softly advised, "Xiang Cheng, calm down, calm down, it's not worth arguing with him..."

Yan Yue knew that Locke was sometimes a bit slow on the uptake and would often say things that made people both laugh and cry.

After saying that, Yan Yue smiled bitterly and pushed Locke aside with both hands, while simultaneously slapping him hard on the head.

Duang! (with spark effects)

"Oh! It hurts!"

Immediately afterward, Yan Yue turned to Kasumi and said earnestly, "Kasumi, this really isn't Ryo's fault..."

Sakazaki Yuri explained somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, it was because of me..."

"Hmph! I don't care!"

Kasumi Todo suddenly raised her head, her eyes becoming incredibly resolute. She stared directly at Ryo Sakazaki without flinching, and declared firmly, "I challenge you to a duel! This duel will represent a clash between our new generation of Todo-ryu and Kyokugenryu!"

Faced with Kasumi's resolute challenge, Ryo Sakazaki nodded solemnly and replied earnestly, "Alright, I accept your duel request!"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Yan Yue, however, could see the difference in skill between Toudou Kasumi and Sakazaki Ryo, and remained silent.