Connie Boakeno’s body slammed Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo to the far side of the room.
“You two all right?!” Penguin called out at once.
“No problem!” said Shachi.
“I’m all right!” Bepo followed.
None of the three had been hurt too badly. But that didn’t mean that their opponent was weak. In fact, it was just the opposite: he had the strength to knock all three of them across the room just by charging at them. He had been blessed with a tremendously large body. He was well over six feet tall, and by the looks of him, likely weighed over six hundred pounds.
But the most alarming thing of all was the speed with which he moved. Despite the volume of fat that surrounded his physique, Boakeno was able to charge fast enough that his three opponents couldn’t dodge out of the way.
“He’s not just some fatty!” wondered Shachi.
“Nope. He’s heavy but fast,” Penguin affirmed.
“He’s taking on all three of us at once. He’s gotta be confident in his strength,” said Bepo. All three of them were now quite certain of the threat Boakeno posed.
“Bya ha ha! You boys got split off real easily. Should be a snap to polish off three little weaklings like you!” Boakeno taunted, then leaned forward, lowering his center of gravity.
“Look out! Here he comes!”
“Hakkeyoi!” Boakeno proclaimed as he charged at the trio, performing the same body blow as before.
That was all it was—a body blow. There was no polished technique, no special ability at play, just a pure charge of muscle and fat. But given the nature of Boakeno’s body, that alone was a lethal menace.
“We gotta keep him down together!” Penguin shouted. The three of them tried to stand their ground and stop the Hakkeyoi attack. Unlike before, they were ready for it and could brace themselves. But they couldn’t stop it. All three of them together were still no match for Boakeno’s physical power.
“Gah!” one of them screamed, and once again, they were tossed back against the far wall.
“Bya ha! Bya ha! Such scrawny children you three are!” roared Boakeno.
“Bepo! Shachi! We can’t be clumped up!” instructed Penguin. “We gotta split up to attack!”
“You got it!” the other two called out.
They split up in three directions before Boakeno’s next attack, surrounding him. Although they hadn’t communicated any specific plans, over the last three years they’d learned some combat basics from Wolf and Law: how to take down an opponent when you were in a group, the most efficient motions in a fight, and what you could do to give yourself an advantage.
Bepo would go first and unleash a martial arts move. Next, Penguin would attack with a spear from a blind angle. Lastly came Shachi, ready to perform the finisher with his hand axe. They understood that combinations like these were the best way to win, and they didn’t need to speak to pull one off.
“Whatever silly fisticuff lessons you’ve taken won’t help you beat the likes of me! So, which one of you should I kill first?” Boakeno taunted.
“Aye aye! I’ll take you on first! Let’s go, you eight-hundred-pound fatty!” Bepo responded.
Boakeno froze. “Hey, polar bear…did you just call me fat? That is the greatest insult you can give a sumo wrestler! I’ll start by ripping you to shreds!”
His entire body was red with rage, and his nostrils flared as he snorted and attacked Bepo.
“Achaaaa!” Bepo launched a roundhouse kick into Boakeno’s gut. In terms of power and speed, it was a first-class attack. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have any effect on Boakeno whatsoever. Bepo realized this at once. The thick layer of fat was completely absorbing the force of the kick.
Nothing seemed able to slow Boakeno down. He rushed straight at Bepo.
“Eat this… Doskoi!” he screamed, slapping Bepo powerfully on the head.
“Whoa…” Bepo was dazed—the hit was enough to give him a light concussion. Penguin and Shachi instantly realized their plan would fail and stopped in their tracks, but it was too late. Boakeno nimbly turned and slapped them, too.
“Doskoi! Doskoi! Doskoi!”
Boakeno’s hands flew like a powerful storm. They pounded everything they touched, including the marble pillars and nearby walls, as well as Penguin and Shachi, who were once again sent flying.
The damage to the pillars and the temple itself caused the ceiling to collapse. Thankfully, no one was trapped under the rubble, but the three of them were all alarmed. Their opponent was strong enough to destroy an entire building with his bare hands.
“You okay, Shachi?” asked Penguin.
“I’m alive, I guess,” he replied.
They’d taken the sumo slaps directly to the head and weren’t able to stand up.
“This isn’t lookin’ good. If Bepo’s kenpo techniques don’t work, then you or I will have to take care of this guy on our own,” Penguin said.
“True. How can we stop his charge, though? My spear and your axe can’t cut through all that flesh in one go,” replied Shachi.
“And if we get caught flat-footed by another attack, we’re done for.”
“But we can’t just give up!”
“Of course not,” Penguin rallied. “We’re gonna look real bad to the old man and Law if we get beat over here!”
They rose to their feet unsteadily.
“Bya ha ha! This is pathetic,” Boakeno said mockingly. “That’s the problem with letting Wolf lead you on and think you’re so great—you’ll end up dying in pain and defeat. Bya ha! What a miserable old man and his miserable brats. It’s quite hilarious!”
He held his sides and rocked with laughter. Penguin and Shachi gave him icy stares.
“…of him,” Penguin was muttering something that his opponent couldn’t quite hear.
“Hmm? Did you say something?” Boakeno asked.
“Don’t make fun of him! Wolf took us in and raised us after our parents died… He treated us like his own sons. You’re not even worthy of joking around about him!” Penguin shouted.
“Bya ha ha! So you’re orphans, huh? Byo ho ho! That’s even sadder! This is really funny! Treated you like his own sons? Don’t be so stupid! Wolf was just using you as free labor! No one’s ever loved you miserable snots!”
Penguin and Shachi were silent. They weren’t shaken. Nothing Boakeno could say to them would change the truth they’d felt and experienced: Wolf loves us.
Their knowledge of this couldn’t be shaken by cheap taunts and mockery. Instead, it awakened in them a quiet fury. They felt burning rage at this enemy who dared to belittle Wolf, hurt their friends, and take the lives of the innocent townspeople just to satisfy their own greed.
“Shachi.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m pissed.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I’m gonna knock him out, if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Without a signal, Shachi and Penguin leapt at Boakeno. They had learned never to let the enemy close the gap—they had to use their weapons on him before he could start thrusting more palm strikes at them.
“Raaaah!” Penguin roared and swung his spear, rotating it rapidly and adding centrifugal force before jamming it into Boakeno’s shoulder.
“Yaaaaa!” Shachi yelled—it was his turn to strike. His axe dug deep into Boakeno’s right arm.
The attacks struck home, but they didn’t slow Boakeno down.
Penguin’s and Shachi’s attacks couldn’t penetrate deep enough into the wall of flesh and fat to finish off their target.
“You brats!” Boakeno howled. “Your punishment for harming my beautiful body will be very severe indeed!”
The two of them tried to flee out of his range, but he grabbed them both.