Kinnikuman 372

At the instruction of Neptuneman, Suguru has burned the Prophecy page of his Samurai identity, revealing his true self to everyone...including his pursuer Omegaman! But did the Perfect Choujin just make things worse for himself?

Volume 35: Aim for Osaka Castle!!
Chapter 372: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (99): Musashi and Kojirou!

7.
KINNIKUMAN FAMOUS MATCHES SERIES (2)
KINNIKUMAN VS. ROBIN MASK

O KINNIKUMAN (44M 44S – MEXICAN ROLLING CLUTCH HOLD) ROBIN MASK X

MATCH DATA
’79 CHOUJIN OLYMPICS FINALS
LOCATION: TOKYO KOKURITSU STADIUM
SPECTATORS: 99,000 (SUPER-FULL HOUSE)

This battle is the historic battle where Kinnikuman, who was smoldered in Japan as a clumsy, no-good Choujin, emerged into a first-class Choujin of the universe…Robin Mask, who had drawn out the sleeping Kinnikuman, surely is a master Choujin-building professional!!

8.
Bibimba: Sa…Samurai’s…body was annihilated…
Phoenix: An…and from within, ne…newly……
Suguru: Appears Neptuneman’s body----!!
Announcer: The Perfect Choujin Neptuneman, who had swallowed an explosive and was scattered into the western skies after losing the Finals of the Space Choujin Tag Tournament, has…

9.
Announcer: Been revived with the destruction of his shell of the body of The Samurai, like a butterfly that has slipped out from its chrysalis and been reborn----!!
Announcer: And from within the cinders of the Prophecy of Samurai, which Kinnikuman had burned with the flame-thrower of the Anoalo Staff, a new Neptuneman Prophecy has appeared---!!
Page: NEPTUNEMAN
Phoenix: Ho…how: how could from the cast-off skin of The Samurai, who should have been annihilated from this world along with the burned-out Prophecy, there be Neptuneman…?
Suguru: That’s right—the part about The Samurai in the Muscle Prophecy written by the ancestors of Planet Kinniku to the end was a thing that supposed and was written just for the individual Choujin called Samurai; it wasn’t supposed and written for Neptuneman!!

10.
Suguru: Therefore the existence of the Choujin called Samurai may have been annihilated from this world by burning out Samurai’s Prophecy, but it didn’t erase the actual body of Neptuneman, who was disguised as Samurai!!
Mayumi: Ye~~~s; thus the actual body of Neptuneman has appeared from the cast-off shell of The Samurai-----!!
Suguru: ……N!?
Suguru: But if that’s it then, Neptuneman, why hadn’t you disclose the secret of your trick to me---!? Did you think of those painful thoughts I had for burning the Prophecy of Samurai using the Anoalo Staff---!?
Mayumi: Now you mention it, Suguru’s burning of Samurai’s Prophecy was to annihilate him from this world so Samurai himself could escape the pain he was suffering from Omegaman’s transformation attack and it was due to him asking Suguru to execute it…

11.
Suguru: Neptuneman, being hindered by excess pride and not being frank about it is from your Perfect Choujin days…
Neptune: Ki…Kinnikuman!!
Suguru: Perhaps you didn’t have a motive and you joined Team Kinnikuman and cooperated with us wholeheartedly not wanting to return to the Choujin Graveyard, but unfortunately I don’t want to take the Throne of Planet Kinniku to the point of cooperating with a sly-thinking Choujin!
Bibimba: You’re cruel—Suguru-sama— even though you understand the trick, through the important task incinerating the Prophecy, which had the danger of annihilating his body, you should have felt the pressure of Neptuneman-san not speaking his true feelings and the fear of the situation of not pulling the trigger on the Anoalo Staff!!

12.
Suguru: So then, how do you intend to explain letting Geronimo die without helping him? During the fight of Omegaman and Geronimo, Geronimo wouldn’t have become prey to the Catastrophe Drop had you given your name as Neptuneman!!
Neptune: You’re wrong; there was a reason!!
Announcer: We had thought that Kinnikuman and Neptuneman’s tag team of fellow former enemies was surely the formation of the Ganryuu Island Combo of Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojirou, but it seems it wasn’t successful----!!
(TN: “Ganryuu Island” also known as “Ganryuujima” or “Funajima”, is an island between Honshu and Kyuushuu most notable for the legendary duel between the samurai Miyamoto Musashi and the swordsman/teacher Sasaki Kojirou. The duel was notable for many key factors that have gone into legend, including taking place in such a distance location to prevent members of Kojirou’s school from killing Musashi should their master lose or die, Musashi’s late arrival for the duel which many claims was either a lack of honor by the Kojirou supports on the former or a clever tactic to unnerve the opponent by Musashi fans, and Musashi ultimately killing Kojirou with merely a wooden bokken carved to the island and used against Kojirou who used a nodachi)

13.
Omega: Fuo—fuofuofuo: even if we just understood that Samurai’s true identity is Neptuneman, I’m happy coming to imagine the large reward from Choujin Enma, and yet, on top of that, I greatly congratulate the ally-split of Kinnikuman and Neptuneman---!!
Omega: Well, Kinnikuman: how about cooperate with me and together we can inflict punishment to Neptuneman!?
Suguru: Sorry, but…
Suguru: I alone will give punishment to Neptuneman!!

14.
Suguru: Neptuneman, watching Geronimo get killed is unforgi—vable to me!!
Announcer: Kinnikuman has vetoed a united front with Omegaman----!!
Omega: Fufu…Kinnikuman, if that’s how you feel, then I’ll deliver you to the hands of Choujin Enma together with Neptuneman.

15.
Omega: Fuofuofuo: that’s the just ideal object for killing everyone on Team Kinnikuman! My next transformation target is that!!
Suguru: Prepare yourself, Neptuneman!!
Neptune: Ho…hold on, Kinnikuman!!
Announcer: Is Kinnikuman confused---!? He’s finally baring his fangs to even his teammate Neptuneman---!!
Neptune: Lo…look out!!

16.
Announcer: But Neptuneman too is baring his fangs to Kinnikuman, like he’s acting in concert! Team Kinnikuman has completely disintegrated!!
Announcer: Neptuneman has inserted Kinnikuman’s head between his legs and tossed him to above the ring in what feels like a Flying Head Scissors---!!

17.
Announcer: Kinnikuman has barely opened his big mouth and put the rope in it, preventing him from falling outside the ring---!!
Suguru: Agu!!
Suguru: You finally have shown your true evil character, Neptu…!!
Omega: A bit more and I would have brought down Kinnikuman with this iron ball, and yet he hindered it!!
Announcer: Somehow Omegaman, who had transformed into a wrecking ball crane, had gotten close to Kinnikuman’s back---!
Bibimba: Suguru-sama, was that a chance incident!? Neptuneman-san dared to do that Head Scissors so he could save you from Omegaman, who was closing in on your back!!

18.
Bibimba: Suguru-sama—Neptuneman-san isn’t the cruel and callous Neptuneman-san of the Hell Missionaries days anymore! He’s a True Friendship Power Choujin who awoke to justice by fighting Suguru-sama in the finals of the tag battle----!!
Suguru: Uh…uh--…
Omega: Neptuneman, a man to your extent has truly sold his soul to this thing called justice!!
Suguru: Neptuneman…
Suguru: Watch out, Neptuneman!!

19.
Announcer: Omegaman’s building-destroying iron ball has exploded into Neptuneman’s stomach pit----!!
Neptune: Co…compared to annihilating Geronimo’s body…th…this much pain is nothing…with this I can do it: apologize to him…
Suguru: Neptuneman, don’t take Omegaman’s iron ball on purpose!!

20.
Neptune: At that moment, I threw off the costume of Samurai so I could rescue Geronimo…bu…but over his powerless self surviving, Geronimo ch…challenged and rejected the Miracle Ash I threw and…became prey to the Omega Catastrophe Drop so I with superior power would be left for Team Kinnikuman …
Suguru: Te…tears…there are tears in the eyes of the cruel and callous Perfect Choujin Neptuneman, who should have thrown away all emotions like love, anger, hatred and sadness!
Omega: Metamorphoses Cancel!
Omega: Well, Ghost Choujin of the Choujin Graveyard, please welcome your new ally in entering the Choujin Graveyard!

21.
Announcer: The Ghost Choujin have appeared and opened their large mouths, biting into Neptuneman’s body---!!
Neptune: Uo!!
N. King: Neptuneman…
Neptune: Ge—Former Boss of the Perfect Choujin Neptune King-sama!!
N. King: The Choujin Graveyard is a nice place…
N. King: You too should come soon---!!
Neptune: Guo!!
Suguru: Neptuneman, present your left arm to the horizon---!!
Neptune: Ki…Kinnikuman, are…you granting a…a plan to…me…

22.
Suguru: Al—right, that’s fine. Shouldn’t we go with this first announcement of Kinnikuman and Neptuneman’s combination play now!!
Phoenix: How…stupid: it’s a magnetism wave of friendship between the left arms that Kinnikuman and Neptuneman have raised to the horizon---!!
Mayumi: Th…this is the stance of the Cross Bomber, the finishing hold of Neptuneman and Neptune King in the Hell Missionaries period----!!

23.
Suguru & Neptune: CROSS BOMBER---!!

24.-25.
Announcer: This is the first alliance of the Ganryuu Island combination of Kinnikuman Musashi and Neptuneman Kojirou, who shouldn’t be teamed up at all----!!
Audience: AAH
Omega: Hmph!!
Announcer: Kinnikuman has thrown Omegaman into a Shoulder Through and is dropping fortifying both arms---!!
Neptune: Kinnikuman, I’m joining in too---!!
Suguru & Neptune: GANRYUU ISLAND DROP-----!!

26.
(SCRAMBLE FOR THE KINNIKU THRONE ARC)
SPECIAL VTR LXXXVII (XXXXXXXXVII)
NEPTUNEMAN VS. OMEGAMAN

TN: So then, let's just ask this one more time: what the heck is this "True Friendship Power" they keep throwing down our throats over and over in this arc? And...why the heck does the meaning and concept of Friendship just keep getting stupider the closer we get to the end? Let's give ourselves a bit of a reminder: the whole nonsense of "True Friendship Power" was merely given out originally by Ataru as "the ability of fighting on ones own and in coordination with others no matter how things got". In other words: when Buffaloman became a whiny brat even though he did everything in his power to fight Mammothman, Ataru just yelled at him to keep trying over and over until he handled him enough to help him out. Now let's think over what happened here: while we did see Neptuneman give his all before, everything from the moment Omegaman started with the Omega Metamorphoses has been one crisis after another where he can't do a thing. According to Ataru's meaning, Neptuneman has to stay in there and get suffocated until he does a move to prove his "friendship", even if he did things before (see Buffaloman doing that initial Hurricane Mixer after getting his horns back...before the stupid "True Friendship Power" lesson)

So then...did we learn anything? Whether it was in regards to this chapter or just the true final meaning of "True Friendship Power"? Well here's what I figured after this chapter:
1. Friendship Power is way too situational to even matter: without everything known, you can't say whether it was cruel and selfish or actually just friendship.
2. Bibimba knows more about understanding friendship and allies than Suguru...sort of like way back when she sympathized with Warsman before the finals when he was still evil. Thus...why she really shouldn't have been shoved aside and forgotten or ignored for all those years during all those other arcs before now.
3. What happened with Geronimo was just a stupid misunderstanding that seemed like him and Neptuneman were in a secret club that Suguru had no idea about and just ruined everything.
4. Friendship shouldn't create magic magnetism regardless of what this series says.
5. Considering how Sneagator actually killed Suguru at one point, replacing him with Neptune King's ghost was not a good idea.
6. All those Musashi and Kojirou references in this chapter just gave me a Team Rocket vibe that shouldn't be.

I...guess it all didn't have to do with True Friendship Power after all.