Kinnikuman 332

In a match that has unknowingly been sabotaged by the Evil Gods, Ataru has been saved again by Buffaloman, who wants the Kinniku Clan to fix their problem lest they end like his family! But will the Kinniku warriors abide by his request?

Chapter 332: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (59): The Red Headband of Friendship!

107.
Phoenix: What’s that, Buffaloman is…
Suguru: A survivor of the Buffalo Family that prided their prosperity long ago---!?

108.
Buffalo: I…if that ugly war didn’t occur that disputed the throne within the family back then, then with the scale of the Buffalo Family, I would have grown up in a Choujin family who would have equally lined up with the Kinniku Clan…and…and then I wouldn’t have fallen into the Devil Choujin…
(TN: The “equally lined up” part is in Japanese “kata wo naraberu”, which translates into “line up our shoulders”, which shows an equality between Buffalo Family and Kinniku Clan, thus leading to my translation)
Suguru: …………
Buffalo: This time, with sorrow, the Kinniku Clan is also holding a war that is disputing the throne, just like the Buffalo Family! However, trio of Kinnikuman, Phoenix and Soldier, all of you should stop this war that’s swallowing in people that are just in a dirty battle where they can’t choose the way!

109.
Buffalo: Hold a contest that’s fair with just techniques that you send out from your own mutual bodies in one-on-one in the ring to the end. If you do this, then the one who wins through in the end will be accepted as the true Great King of Planet Kinniku without complaint by anyone.
Buffalo: Geho!!
Suguru: Understood, Buffaloman: this Scramble for the Kinniku Throne will be concluded in a clean form without anyone complaining. So, Buffaloman, don’t speak of that anymore!
Ataru: I fully know of this as well……
Ataru: Buffaloman!
Buffalo: Soldier…

110.
Suguru: Hey, Phoenix, how about you!?
Phoenix: Hmm: if just you two aren’t using dirty means, then I’ll be fighting fair too!
Buffalo: Gu…Guuu…
Suguru: Buffaloman!!
Announcer: Buffaloman is coming to gradually not be able to withstand the weight of the cube ring---!!
Buffalo: Uuh…I’m now feeling the damage of the piercing wounds from Mammothman earlier…

111.
Announcer: Buffaloman is now running out of strength and the cube ring that he is supporting is breaking through the roof of the Fighting Castle, which could lead Soldier in the ring to fall to his death! Kinnikuman and the spectators in the castle will become crushed beneath it!!
Buffalo: Th…this sort of thing won’t defeat the 10 Million Power Buffaloman-sama!!

112.
Buffalo: When I come to become crushed, this headband will protect me!
Robin: Hey, don’t you remember something looking at that red headband that Buffaloman’s winding around?
Suguru: Aah! That’s!!
Suguru: Truly the red headband created as a proof of friendship of the Idol Choujin when we completed the Gold Mask series 3 years ago!!
(TN: Wait…SINCE WHEN!?)
Caption: 3 YEARS AGO—JAPAN ALPS: AFTER THE END OF KINNIKUMAN VS. AKUMA SHOGUN—
(TN: Yeah, this essentially and once again is based on “real time” and not “series time”: this chapter came out in 1986, which means the Gold Mask arc had ended three years earlier with it’s ending in 1983)

113.
Suguru: And now, thanks to everyone’s friendship, we’ve defeated Akuma Shogun and, as such, we’ve regained the Gold Mask and it has become the Perfect Mask by combining with the Silver Mask.
Suguru: So we can strengthen the union of we Idol Choujin even more from here on
Suguru: I want to give all of you a red headband as proof of friendship.
Suguru: It was from that day: we defined the Idol Choujin Corp
Suguru: From within the Justice Choujin
Suguru: And it was a commemorative day where the Devil Choujin Buffaloman had become a Justice Choujin.

114.
Suguru: Th…that Buffaloman: even though he joined Team Solider and became our enemy, he held on to that headband all along.
Robin: Is…isn’t it obvious: though he had become our enemy, a Justice Choujin shouldn’t throw away their Friendship Power…
Buffalo: Goho goho goho!!
Buffalo: Fufufu…it seems I’ve been accepted as well.
Ataru: Buffaloman, since I do not care, throw away this cube ring to the side of the Fighting Castle: this is captain’s order!!
Buffalo: I…understand, Captain Soldier…I was born not really being useful to people in this way…thus, in the end…I want to leave behind a thing as some proof in this world as the last survivor of the Buffalo Family.

115.
Ataru: ………
Ataru: His Buffalo Supporters…
Buffalo: I…want to give those to you.
Ataru: !!
Ataru: Buffaloman, you plan to die.
Buffalo: Uoo~~~!!
Announcer: Buffaloman is using up all of the power that he has and is doing something---!!

116.
Announcer: What—Buffaloman is rejecting away the huge cube ring, said to be 20 times himself---!!
Ataru: Buffaloman, whatever happens, I must speak with you!!
Ataru: I’ve already told you that I’ve defeated the real Team Solider, made you and Brocken Jr. teammates and formed this “Team Fake Soldier” for participating in this Scramble for the Throne so I could rescue the friendship of the Justice Choujin, but…
Ataru: I will confess to you here and now my true identity, which I hadn’t revealed until the end…I will…

117.
Buffalo: I’m fine with whoever your true identity is: because I and Brocken Jr. participated in Team Soldier charmed by the personality of the Choujin called Kinnikuman Soldier!!
Buffalo: Hurricane Mixer---!!
Announcer: Somehow, Buffaloman’s Hurricane Mixer is whirling up the cube ring to it’s former position 350m in the sky--!!

118.
“Evil Gods”: Uwa---!!
Phoenix: The four Evil Gods that were suspending the aerial flotation ability of the floatation device within the cube ring are being sprung out!!
Ataru: The…cube ring isn’t falling!!
Ataru: It’s…a miracle: the floatation device that should be destroyed has started to activate once again by taking the power of Buffaloman’s Hurricane Mixer!!

119.
Announcer: However, that Buffaloman who has floated the cube ring again, has used up all of his power on his Hurricane Mixer and is falling down like a worn-out dust cloth!!
Ataru: Buffaloman, my confession hasn’t ended yet!!
Buffalo: Soldier…no, Kinniku Ataru, you have brotherly love to Kinnikuman…
Ataru: Y…you shouldn’t know it at all!
Buffalo: Th…though I think it’s bad, I looked at the contents of the Prophecy by accident when I scrambled for the Prophecy page with Mammothman earlier……
Buffalo: We of the Buffalo Family wish for the peace and prosperity of the Kinniku Clan.

120.
Suguru: Buffaloma~~~n!!
Announcer: Following along of Brocken Jr., Buffaloman of Team Soldier has also been sucked into the ravine of Mt. Ibuki!!
Ataru: Be at peace, Buffaloman: your death will never be futile!

121.
Announcer: With that, both Team Phoenix and Team Soldier have had the quartet from Advance-Guard to Second-in-Command all defeated; making the sides even!! This point of the match will be decided by the result of a one-on-one of fellow generals Phoenix and Soldier, who are left in the ring!!
Phoenix: The one still alive facing these crisis and crossing over them again and again just like this is Soldier, as I expected.
Phoenix: What makes this as expected? Even though I’m alive as such, this is because my ultimate teammates of The Ninja, Ashuraman, Brocken Jr. and Buffaloman have become my shields, protecting me.
Phoenix: Te…tears…
Ataru: And all of them have cooperated so I could resuscitate the friendship of the Idol Choujin, starting with my little brother Suguru, which had been in conspiracy recently…having this cooperation, the Friendship Power of Suguru’s group has splendidly been reborn.

122.
Ataru: Teammates who have thrown away their lives so we can revive the Friendship Power of Suguru’s Idol Choujin: now it’s my turn to throw my life away for all of you!!
Phoenix: Embrace the memories of Brocken and Buffaloman, Soldier: you’re falling down with them too to the depths of hell---!!
Announcer: Phoenix is pushing up Soldier’s body like a ball with consecutive head butts: this is, surely, the prelude of the Muscle Revenger!!

123.
Ataru: Can you go do that---!!
Announcer: Somehow in an instant, Phoenix who was performing the technique is conversely taking the Muscle Revenger from Soldier---!!
Ramen: Isn’t…that…The Ninja’s Loyalty-and-Betrayl-at-Will Jutsu?
Announcer: Now Soldier is riding both of his knees on the bottom of the reversed Phoenix’s feet, falling with the added body weight---!!

124.
Robin: Now it’s Ashuraman’s special technique: the Choujin Izuna Drop---!!
Phoenix: Guu…
Announcer: And now with Phoenix is standing up…
Announcer: Soldier in no time is using Brocken Jr.’s prided Red Rain of Berlin---!!

125.
Suguru: Right—Soldier is clearing away the regrets of his defeated teammates by sending out their best techniques!!
Announcer: Phoenix is already standing up but barely doing so facing the raging attacks of Soldier, who has become a fierce god of revenge---!!
Ataru: Phoenix, you can’t go down yet…there’s still one Choujin that has fallen leaving their resentment of you that remains.
Ataru: Take this: Buffalo Hammer!!

126.
(SCRAMBLE FOR THE KINNIKU THRONE ARC)
SPECIAL VTR L (XXXXX)
KINNIKUMAN SOLDIER VS. KINNIKUMAN SUPER PHOENIX

TN: Buffaloman, Buffaloman, Buffaloman...now he was a Choujin who was "it" in this series from beginning to end. Heck, you probably can say he is one of the few characters to change and go through a character arc through the entire series from start to finish! In the beginning he merely appeared like a bruiser character, possibly not even the intended leader of the Seven Devils that eventually ended up with him as the actual leader. (yeah, many did think Black Hole was the leader when they first showed up...and he had all that facial hair) But as the arc came about, we discovered his tale of making a literal deal with Satan, allowing him to gain his unstoppable 10 Million Power that...essentially gets shoved down our throats over and over through the rest of the series but...yeah, it is one of the main keys of Buffaloman in the first place. After his untimely defeat, the bull Choujin began his transformation from Devil to Justice, sacrificing his power and his body to Satan in the first incident that lead to Buffaloman taking on one of his most common nicknames in the fan community: Jesus. From then on for the rest of the series, from the Gold Mask arc on, Buffaloman became just as well known for having some of the coolest fights and coolest matches...and for killing himself over and over again for the sake of Suguru. Whether it was his "6-to-9" maneuver in the final battle of the Seven Devils with Suguru, his standing-up to Akuma Shogun in the Gold Mask arc, his tough match with Kendaman or his "earwig" moment against Neptuneman and Big the Budo...or even in this final match where he shows devotion to the end in fighting and defeating Mammothman while trying to appease Ataru, Buffaloman is probably one of the few bright spots that this series has had from first to last. Yeah, he had some moments that were really stupid (the lightning striking him when Neptuneman struck him down, anything to do with his horns and Dr...what's his name, that cowardly moment with Ataru earlier in this match) or downright bizarre (loaning Terry his arms...when he himself is nothing more than a headless body; revealing he's bald to Akuma Shogun, his...choice of outfits at the start of the Tag arc), but you can't deny this: Buffaloman rocked...and always will to the end!

With that out of the way, I really wish I could use this chapter as a final tribute to Buffaloman, but...yeah, the rest of the chapter. In particular, I really need to bring something up that I really should have a few chapters ago: the real reason why Ataru is taking part in this tournament. Yeah, I already griped over and over about the "for improving Friendship" nonsense, but...doesn't this remind you of something? Like...why Kamehame joined the Tag arc for the exact same reason!? Is this series so obsessed with Friendship that it is willing to take Suguru's big brother, a character foreshadowed since the start, and have him join a tournament not to check up on his family or help his brother to the Throne...but just for a Kamehame excuse of "protecting and improving Friendship"!? Heck, it even made more sense when Kamehame did it...even if it was ridiculous then too.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of Kamehame and the Tag arc, I have to mention this before I go: what was with that bandana story? I get it sort of finally reaffirms Buffaloman will always be an ally of Suguru regardless of being with Ataru but...doesn't Yude even remember their own story!? This "meeting" regarding the headband/bandana occurred the moment after Suguru defeated Akuma Shogun and the Perfect Mask was formed...which exactly places it around the first chapter of the Tag arc! (it just bled right in) And of course you do realize what happened a day or so later: "OH, SUGURU, WE HEARD THERE IS A NEW TAG TOURNAMENT...AND WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS ANYMORE BECAUSE WE'RE UNKNOWINGLY POSSESSED BY MAGIC DOLLS CONTROLLED BY TWO DEVIL CHOUJIN WHO JUST GOT AWAY"...I get the intention regarding Buffaloman but it just felt so wrong regarding the timing and means by which it was revealed. (but what else is new with this series)