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TL: ALT
Chapter 12 – A Martial Artist Who Steps on a Tiger’s Tail
There is a way to heal the injury cleanly.
When Tanaka heard this incredible information from his friend, professional baseball player Endo, he was unsure whether or not to accept it.
There are special treatments for the rich in this world.
Even though it is an urban legend or a hoax, the desire to believe that it might actually exist helped Tanaka make his decision.
The performance of Iida, with whom he is associated, has a great impact on the overall sales of the gym.
The sum of 5 million yen was not expensive at all, considering the payback.
However, the other condition he was told about made him doubt his ears.
It was that they wanted to have an unofficial match with Iida.
The opponent was a woman, and at first, Tanaka thought it was like a memorial showdown.
She had a very cute appearance, and the way she wore a shirt and sweatpants made her body line stand out, making her look more like a print idol than a fighter.
As part of the fan service, it’s fine to be gentle with her and just have some fun.
But what’s going on here?
The fight between Iida and Aire was surprisingly well done.
(She’s fast. Like Iida said, she’s no amateur.)
Strong athletes have their own characteristics.
One of them is that they have an overwhelmingly high level of physical activity.
In the overall competition, the fighters fight for five minutes per round, but there are very few people who can move at full capacity for five minutes in a state of tension.
Excessive tension and nervousness cause shallow breathing and force anaerobic exercise.
High cardiorespiratory capacity and the ability to relax appropriately in the presence of an opponent are essential.
And Aire’s posture was definitely that of someone used to fighting.
The power flowed smoothly from her shoulders, and she swayed her upper body slightly to prevent her opponent from concentrating on a single target.
Most importantly, she had the courage of a man and was relaxed enough to smile slightly in front of Iida.
(I guess she’s just seeing how things go since this is her first MMA fight, but if she really got into it, how far could she go?)
Iida throws a series of light jabs.
It’s hard to tell where they’re coming from, and when you do, they’re already there, jabs stripped of all excess.
The speed of the jabs exceeds the limits of human reaction time.
So, if you move after seeing them, you’ll definitely get hit.
To avoid it, you must disperse the target, limit the path of the jab with a block, and catch the preliminary movement.
Aire did this with ease.
(Her reflexes are really good! I thought some of them would hit, but she dodged them all by a hair’s breadth.)
Tanaka had no doubt that Iida would win.
However, he found Aire’s performance interesting.
(This girl is interesting! She’d be a good fighter if she trained with me!)
(I’d even let her make her debut right now if I had to!)
Tanaka, who didn’t know that Aire was the undefeated champion in another world, could imagine her rising from her debut to become the overall women’s champion.
Iida closed the gap, and Aire moved away.
Aire’s speed was like that of a lightweight, and she flew around the ring in all directions.
That speed was something Iida didn’t have.
However, he calmly moved around the ring one step at a time, trying to push Aire toward the ropes.
Aire, who had never fought in the ring before, was having a hard time in the small space separated by the ropes.
“Ma-Master, Aire is getting pushed back!”
“Yes, that’s right. But so far, she hasn’t taken a single blow.”
“But that Iida guy looks like he’s got everything under control!”
“Calm down. The first round is almost over.”
Mariel looks nervously at the ring.
Mariel, who is watching the fight, probably only sees Aire being pushed around.
If you’re constantly being attacked, your opponent won’t feel threatened and will become more aggressive.
Aire also imitates the jab she learned from watching.
At that moment, Iida’s expression changed.
It was a sharp blow that only someone with experience could have landed.
Although it wasn’t a direct hit, Iida panicked and took a step back to regain his distance.
(Wow, even the punches are real? She said she’d never done mixed martial arts before, but did she learn boxing or something?)
Just as Tanaka was becoming more and more determined to recruit Aire, the bell rang to signal the end of the fight.
“How was it? In my opinion, she looked like she had the skills to be a professional.”
“No, I let my guard down because she looked like a pretty girl, and I got in trouble. She’s the real deal. She’s really fast. Next time, I think I’ll try to get a little closer and trade punches.”
“Don’t get hurt.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“And how’s your back? How is the medicine working?”
“It’s great. It doesn’t hurt at all, and I feel like the axis of my previously broken body has been properly restored.”
Iida’s back was, to put it bluntly, completely broken.
He had suffered severe pain and numbness in his lower back and legs on numerous occasions due to a condition called lumbar spondylolisthesis, in which the vertebrae of the spine shift out of place and come into contact with the nerves.
He often continued to work while receiving painkilling injections from the doctor.
The sensation of the bone snapping back into place.
Iida said he felt a sense of relief as if the pieces of a puzzle had fallen into place and everything was where it should be.
(I’m so glad… Now we can schedule matches for the next three years, and we’ll be able to make a profit…)
There was a part of him that was just happy to see the recovery of the fighters he had taken care of and another part that was calculating the profits as a business owner.
Because he rented and operated so many gyms and spent so much time running them, Tanaka had to be sensitive to the product life of his popular fighters.
Aire, who had returned to the opposite corner, was talking calmly with Wataru and the others, showing no signs of distress despite having been on the move for five minutes.
“Are you okay, Aire?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“How’s it going? How does it feel?”
“I have a lot of energy. I can see everything clearly. But it’s so sophisticated, there were some dangerous parts.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? That’s all I need to know. Go out there and do your best in the next round.”
“Yeah, watch me. I’ll show you I’m the best.”
After a one-minute break, the second round began.
This time, both fighters started to land punches.
This was because Aire had stopped using her strategy of keeping a very large distance between herself and her opponent.
(Hey, hey, she’s blocking while watching Iida, the strongest fighter in the business, throw straight punches!)
Tanaka opened his eyes wide and began to stare at the fight.
Iida became the champion after winning two weight classes in the middleweight division thanks to his powerful punches that could be used even in the heavyweight division.
If they hit properly, even trained fighters would go down with a single blow.
Aire parried such powerful blows precisely, blow after blow.
The amazing thing is that she has the power to parry them all.
If you block badly, you’ll often get hit directly.
“Hahaha, are you serious? How about this?”
“Nyahaha, I can still do it!”
“Oraa!”
“Kyaaa, Aire, are you okay?!”
“Nngh! Nothing hits me. The cool breeze feels good~.”
Iida’s speed gradually increases.
He mixes jabs, straight punches and hooks and sometimes throws a high kick from an unexpected angle.
But Aire catches parries, and dodges them all with ease.
In the ring, Iida smiles, showing his teeth, and says that he has seen something strange. He increases his speed even more.
(Iida is getting serious. Who is this girl who can keep up with him?!)
(Wow, she dodged that! Iida is definitely in his prime!)
The constant surprises are too much.
Iida shows his full power for the first time, and it’s incredibly fast.
And Aire’s speed and reactions are up to the task.
(Ah, damn it. I was going to broadcast this. This is a match where you can make money. Damn it)
(I really want to scout her.)
The bell rang, and the second round ended.
Iida returned to his corner, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
Even though it was only the third round, his pace was all over the place.
He looked quite exhausted.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Hehehe, I felt really light, so I went pretty fast.”
“But your full power is also quite intense. What’s wrong with that girl?”
“No, she’s a genius. Maybe I’ll ask her to be my sparring partner from now on.”
Even though he was talking happily, he looked very tired.
(She can make even the endurance monster Iida so tired…)
Tanaka swallowed his saliva and looked to the other corner.
Wataru looked relaxed.
The girl Mariel, who had been so nervous earlier, also looked calmer than before.
“How’s that? Have you got the hang of it?”
“Yes, I’m much stronger than him. Fuh, fuh! Hehe!”
“Looks like you’re doing well. Now for the final round. Remember, don’t go too crazy.”
“Nfufu, I’m looking forward to it!”
When Aire came out of the corner with a fierce smile, for some reason, Tanaka suddenly felt a sense of fear, as if he were in the presence of a wild animal.
It was as if he was in the presence of a wild tiger that had killed many big game animals before, and he felt intimidated.
(…Haha, no way)
Nevertheless, Iida’s victory was unshakable.
Tanaka dismissed the unpleasant thought.
The bell rings.
The last three rounds.
This time, Aire came out strong and attacked vigorously.
“Whoa, no way, whoa, shit!”
“Nfufu, how about that!”
“Kuh, a-are you serious?”
She came in like an arrow, with the same nimble movements of a lightweight.
The moment Iida stepped forward to throw a straight punch, a sharp, low kick rang out, hitting Iida in the thigh.
It was possible to estimate the damage from the angle and place of impact.
This was no half-hearted attack.
Iida’s movement stopped for a moment.
(Even for a girl, the power of the kick is strong, but… )
Instead of being surprised, he was stunned.
At the same time, he remembered his job as a second and realized that he couldn’t be beaten.
“Iida! Don’t just focus on hitting; take her down as well!”
“Osu!”
Iida didn’t want to fight on the ground because his opponent was a girl.
If he could finish the fight with strikes, he didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
However, Tanaka instructed him to take the opponent down without holding back.
As expected, it would be bad for Iida’s reputation if he ended up being pushed around in a private training session.
Once he got the mount, his weight and height difference would give him a huge advantage.
Especially for Aire, who had no experience in mixed martial arts, this would be a deadly position.
A super-fast attack with a feinted show jab.
One of Iida’s signature moves is where he holds both legs and flips his opponent backwards.
Perhaps because he had only shown his striking so far, Aire was easily taken down.
(As I thought, this girl is a specialist in striking!)
(If he keeps it up from the mount position and aims for a takedown, Iida will win!)
The idea of a memorial match had completely slipped Tanaka’s mind.
But Iida had probably switched to a serious mindset much earlier.
He could strike from the mount, using his knees or elbows, or he could connect with a pinning technique from there.
He must have thought of several different ways to win.
At that moment, something completely unexpected happened.
Iida’s foot accidentally stepped on Aire’s tail, which had lost its escape route by lying down.
Of course, this was not what Iida was aiming for, as he could not see it.
The ‘transformation’ accessories that made Aire look like a normal person might be hidden, but that didn’t mean that the real thing was gone.
An excruciating pain attacked Aire.
“I-it hurts…”
“Gwaahhhh!!!!”
“Aire!!!!”
“I-Iida!!!!”
“Cough, cough…”
Aire let out a loud cry and pushed him away with all her strength, forgetting to be gentle.
Iida was shot to the edge of the ring like a bullet, and after bending the ropes to their limit, he bounced back and hit the ring.
“Wha… what a power. What was that feeling…?”
“I-it hurts-nyaa… my proud tail…”
“Ma-Master! A-Aire!”
“A-are you okay? Tanaka-san, please stop the match!”
“Y-yes!”
Aire, with tears in her eyes, rubbed her invisible tail.
Iida, who had been blown away, didn’t seem to be seriously injured, but he was surprised by the sudden, incredible power and feeling of the tail.
And so the match between Iida and Aire ended without a winner.
In a fight where your life’s on the line, you should use all the tricks you can.
For Aire, who had such a mindset, it was her own fault that her tail was stepped on, and Iida was not at fault at all.
Even though her tail was temporarily sore, there were no lingering effects.
There were no lingering problems, and they quickly made peace.
When it was all over, there were no serious injuries, and it was probably a match where both sides gained a lot.
Both Aire and Iida had bright, refreshed expressions on their faces.
“I’m surprised to see a girl as strong as you. Let’s do it again.”
“Fufun, I’ve figured out Iida’s techniques! I’ll definitely win next time.”
“You said it!”
I think they recognized each other’s abilities.
The sight of the two of them exchanging a firm handshake was very picturesque.
Wataru, who was watching the scene, was overcome by an indescribable feeling.
“I’m stronger in night wrestling…”
“Master, it’s a bit uncool to bring up nighttime topics…”
“Hehe, Master is jealous! Shall I train you?”
“If you like, would you like to join the gym? Or how about making your debut at my place, Aire-san?”
“That sounds great! I’ll train you with all my might!”
“No thanks! Aire, Mariel, let’s go home!”
“Okay! Let’s do it again!”
“Well then, thank you very much, Tanaka-sama and Iida-sama. Excuse me.”
Wataru leaves the gym.
Aire and Mariel follow him in a hurry.
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So this was recorded, I wonder if they will suspect something with Aire
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And not a word about Aire “rubbing her invisible tail.” Are they blind or stupid there? That would have intrigued me. After all, it was a strange pantomime.
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Thanks for the treat. 👍
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