Calculated Chaos

I took Mr. Lander at his word and decided to deal with the matter later. Right now, my full attention was set on analyzing my fellow 'competitors'.

I waved him goodbye before making my way to one of the entrance tunnels of the arena to watch the next fight, choosing to ignore the small father and son spat that was taking place in another portion of the stadium.

'Ah, looks like I'm a bit late again.' I continued to reprimand myself for having missed my fellow disciple's match with Kaiou Son.

I looked on in trepidation as the announcer called for the next fighters to enter the arena.

"I can't even imagine what's in store for us next!"

"Alright, onto the 6th match of the first round, the only Kaiou from Japan, Kuken-Do Master Kaiou Jyaku vs. Kaiou Chin, an expert in Fujian Sango-Ken!"

"Now, let the match begin!"

The match started as I had expected, with Kaiou Jyaku supposedly getting his ass handed to him while his opponent continued to babble on.

"...you're smart as a Kaiou should be, even though you're a foreigner!"

I waited patiently for the man's act to finish, as he was still trying to 'recruit' his fellow Kaiou. Finally, the man got a bit serious and easily dislocated his opponent's arm, thus finishing the match.

'Ohhh, that's gotta hurt, doesn't it Master Kaku? Another foreigner winning against the locals?'

I sent a small smile to the man from across the stadium, sure he was deliberating breaking his 'promise' to me before the tournament had even begun.

'I told you this would happen, old man, and you didn't believe me. Now you're just going to take out your anger on the poor ministers of martial arts who had the audacity to grant the title to such a weakling.' I rolled my eyes at the old man's act, predicting his next moves perfectly in sync, even without the help of [Ultra Instinct].

'It's fine,' I digressed at the selfish actions of the old man, 'not only will I earn a few favors from those Chinese ministers by having Doctor Umezawa reattach their limbs, but I'll also be able to control the flow of the matches even better once it becomes a 'war of nationality' and everything.'

'Hehe, everything is falling into place...'

I was broken out of my reverie, however, by the winner approaching ever closer after his recent match.

"Kaiou Jyaku, I don't believe we've met." I put forward a friendly front as I had a neutral opinion of the man, not really considering him a 'true' martial artist, but respecting his dedication to his students.

"Ah! Master Kuzan, I'm so happy that you're here," the man returned my handshake with jubilation at my attitude to his presence, my 'humbleness' obviously catching the man off-guard despite his attempts to hide it.

"Oh?" I acted confused to his words, despite knowing exactly how this conversation would continue, still I maintained my facade, "Did you need me for something?"

"Yes, I was actually going to see when you'd be free to join me in Japan," the man spoke, leaving no room for negation in his 'offer', "I'm sure my apprentices would be happy to learn from someone with your level of expertise..."

I acted like a shy schoolgirl at the man's offer, wanting to play with him a bit further, "Master Jyaku, I hope that you're not calling me young, thinking it'll be easier for me to get along with them considering my closer age to them."

"I can be quite a handful, you know." I doused my last few words with suggestiveness, hiding the veiled threat in plain sight.

The man seemed shocked at my behavior, not knowing how to proceed further with the conversation, but he wouldn't be the shameless man that I so 'admired' if that was enough to set him completely off his rails.

"So you'll consider it—Perf—" Before the man could start booking my next 'date' with him, I decided that I had had enough fun and turned around to walk away.

'Damn he's stubborn.' Still, the man continued in his attempts to 'convince' me further, even trying to lunge at me multiple times in order to stop my advance. It was quite easy to avoid the man's grabs by predicting his next moves, but it felt kind of disrespectful to use such a great 'skill' in such a manner.

I was finally able to escape the man's attempts after 'running away' and hiding among the audience stands, blending in with them with the help of Master Shikai Bun's disguise techniques.

'Looks like the next match is starting...'

"Just two matches left in the first round!" the announcer began once again with his introductions of the fighters as they made their way to the center of the arena.

"And here comes Kaiou Son, radiating quiet power, he's the master of Ketsukendo from Jingling!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is what you've been waiting for..."

"From the prestigious school of Byaku-Rinji, his martial arts abilities praised as the best in all of China,..."

"Yes, it's Kaiou Retsu in the flesh!"

"WOO-HOO!!!" I screamed in loud support of my fellow disciple's entrance into the arena, my voice dousing over even the cheers coming from the rest of the arena. 'It's fine Kuzan, it's shameful, but it works.'

I needed to continue my act, continue my set-up for the big reveal. 'I really hope Baki doesn't ruin the moment for me, but I have a feeling he has much more 'important' things to discuss with his father than my existence.'

It was truly amazing to see the degradation of the Kaiou title in full effect. It was as if I could feel the angry glares I was receiving from my 'old' master, despite my warnings to the man about how the matches would proceed. 'Looks like I win our bet, old man, you better not skimp out.'

'I mean just look at him down there, turning this prestigious every-100-years tournament into a child's game, forcing Kaiou Son to call him 'Uncle,' and you call me 'childish'.'

'Chee,' I clicked my tongue at the unfairness of the whole situation, being treated with such unfairness despite being such a good student.

"We have a winner! Wow, what a completely one-sided bout."

'Yes, yes, old man, I can see you,' I acknowledged Master Kaku's presence with a wave of my hand before making my way towards him, noting how he had already gathered the other Chinese Kaious.

'Told you so,' I thought, suppressing the urge to rub it in his face. His biased treatment towards me compared to how he acted with Retsu was infuriating, but I knew gloating would only make things worse.

"I'm sorry to make you rush over so soon after your match, Retsu..."

'Never mind, old man. Next time I'll make sure to have my revenge.'

"Uh, it's fine." Retsu's composed response was predictable, as always.

'Yeah, yeah, continue being the teacher's pet.' I turned my head with a small pout, maintaining my act so well that even I started to believe in it a little.

"What did you feel? What were you feeling after your match ended?" Master Kaku asked Retsu, clearly directing the question at his favorite student. I was about to answer, but the old man's sharp gaze silenced me.

"Hmm..." Retsu thought for a moment before giving a textbook answer, "Well, to be completely honest with you, I was extremely disappointed."

Master Kaku seemed pleased with his response. Typical.

"These fighters calling themselves Kaiou are surprisingly weak. Did that give you pause?" Kaku continued his questioning.

"You're right, that's what happened," Retsu answered perfectly again.

"There have been 7 matches in the first round, and after all of that, only 2 Chinese fighters remain in the entire tournament," Master Kaku lamented.

'What a sly old man you are, teacher, considering me one of your own only when it suits you. I'm honestly a bit hurt.'

"Now, ministers, please hold out your hands." Master Kaku addressed the three ministers, rising from his wheelchair.

"What's that? Our hands? Like this?" they responded, confused.

'Here it goes...'

"Hoho, such beautiful hands, so soft and feminine. Now put them on top of each other."

"Shick, swish..." Master Kaku severed their hands with a swift motion, causing all three ministers to collapse to the floor. "Plack!"

The other fighters were visibly shocked by the sudden act of cruelty.

"The ministry you useless bastards run is responsible for this wretched tournament. This is your punishment."

Although I respected the old man's choice, I wasn't about to let him have his way, especially after he had just broken his promise to let me decide the matches.

I had made a bet with him that by the end of the first round, he would be furious at the outcome of the matches. If I won, I would get the first pick on whom to fight next. If I lost... well, let's just say I'm glad I won.

Thus, I strode forth, upholding the Hippocratic oath to a T, despite never having taken it. I quickly and carefully removed the metal spike 'joining' their hands, under the increasingly shocked gazes of my fellow Kaious.

Master Kaku continued to frown at me as I placed their hands into bags filled with ice. He knew I wouldn't budge in this situation unless he did something about it.

I administered some drugs I had brought for this occasion, alleviating their pain before directing them to follow my next instructions if they wanted to save their hands.

"Yes, just take a left, and there will be a doctor waiting for you there. Don't worry, everything will be alright."

Although the ministers were unable to verbally express their thanks, afraid of angering Master Kaku further, I could see deep gratitude in their eyes—gratitude I would eventually utilize to its full potential.

"Sorry for that. It's just that I'm bound under oath to take care of my patients." I defended my actions to the rest of the Kaious, waiting for Master Kaku to finish his statements.

"I forbid more foreigners being given the title of Kaiou, you hear me?" Master Kaku declared, facing me directly, showing his contempt for my previous actions.

'Really, old man? I only stood up for the weak and defenseless. Any other time you'd be praising my good heart.'

"Clap, clap..." As if on cue, the two men who had been waiting outside finally entered the room.

'Finally, he's here.'

"This is my son Shunsei, born when I was 120, and my friend Shobun Ron. These two will join us to form the Chinese coalition force."

He was so hard to track, so I had to wait until now to get my 'revenge'.

'This might be more fun than I was expecting.'