Kinnikuman 315

A cryptic prophecy made millions of years ago has started to come true, as the battlegrounds of Nagoya and Himeji Castles have collided into one! But as it's meaning continues to unravel, what does it mean for the Throne tournament!?

Chapter 315: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (42): Burn, Fighting Castle!

107.
Buffalo, Soldier & Brocken: Th…this is…!?
Announcer: And now, after the fusion of Nagoya Castle and Himeji Castle, now they’re starting to unite into one castle bit by bit!!
Suguru: What’s going on---!!

108.
Everyone: THE SHACHI HAS THE SHIRASAGI IN ITS MOUTH---!!

109.
Audience: Kya--!! Look at the wall in the castle!!
Suguru: Ooh, the wall is getting squashed like something is pushing from the other side!!
Audience: Uwa!!
Announcer: There’s a huge split in the solid wood wall within Himeji Castle---!!
Robin: Ooh!!

110.-111.
Brocken & Buffalo: Kinnikuman, Robin Mask!!
Robin: Buffaloman, Brocken Jr!!
Zebra: It’s Phoenix with Soldier: as expected, both teams have eminent personnel.
Phoenix: Zebra, it doesn’t seem like your team is in a more-than-even fight with your opponents of Team Kinnikuman.
Announcer: The four teams of Kinnikuman, Zebra, Soldier and Phoenix, that have been fighting in separate castles of Himeji and Nagoya until now have assembled in one huge Fighting Castle due to the fusion of the two great castles----!!

112.
Mayumi: …………
Mayumi: Was the Shachi having the Shirasagi in its mouth in the Muscle Prophecy the fusion of Nagoya Castle and Himeji Castle?
Sayuri: It has come to pass again, the evil prediction of the Muscle Prophecy…
Mayumi: N…no, there’s still a prediction left.
Mayumi: “When the Shachi has the Shirasagi in its mouth, the strong warriors will meet at the plain’s gate”…we still haven’t solved yet where exactly the plain’s gate is.
Announcer: The huge Fighting Castle that is roaming through the sky has suddenly stopped----!!
Announcer: From what we can inspect, the position where the Fighting Castle has stopped we think is around the south-western area of Gifu Prefecture!!

113.
Suguru: Hohou, have we flown from Himeji to Gifu? Somehow we’re gone this far again.
Robin: South-west Gifu Prefecture…su…suppose it’s!!
Voice: Ooh, the castle is starting to move again!!
Brocken: It’s…descending: the castle is descending!!
Announcer: The Fighting Castle, after flying through the air for a long time, has finally landed in a certain site----!!

114.
Voice: Wh…what is this rambling lot!?
Robin: If this is accurate to Japanese history, I think I know…
Robin: In September 1600 (Keichou 5), 385 years ago from today, this place where we’re at is where “the great divide” unfolded between the Eastern Army lead by Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army lead by Ishida Mitsunari.
Brocken: The…Battle of Sekigahara--!!
(TN: A slight note regarding the last couple of comments: while it is obvious that they are now talking about the Battle of Sekigahara which ultimately lead to the final victory of Tokugawa and the eventual set-up of his shogunate which would rule Japan for over the next two and a half centuries, Robin initially refers to it by the Japanese term of “Tenkawakeme no Daikassen”; while literally translates as “a fateful great battle”, it also goes by the term of “The Great Divide”, another name or a nickname for the Battle of Sekigahara, therefore I quoted it so it sort of sets it up by both contexts. Another really crucial note: the kanji of “Sekigahara” include the kanji of “seki”, or “gate” and “hara” which is “plain”, therefore leading potentially to solving the “plain’s gate” part of the prophecy)

115.
Voice: And yet around us are only mountains!!
Brocken: So then, that’s the reason why it’s called Sekigahara!!
Phoenix: Indeed.
Phoenix: Isn’t it interesting that we’re holding the battle where we will dispute the hegemony of the Throne Succession of Planet Kinniku 385 years later at the famous Sekigahara where the ultimate battle occurred within Japanese history.
Zebra: It is due to Ieyasu dominating the Battle of Sekigahara that he came to become the ruler of Japan.
Zebra: We of Team Zebra will seize the throne of Planet Kinniku by winning this decisive battle of Sekigahara---!!
Soldier: No, the Throne of Planet Kinniku is that of Team Soldier.
Suguru: It’s becoming a terrible matter again…

116.
Caption: OSAKA CASTLE—
Mayumi: The…riddle is solved. The “plain’s gate” of “the strong warriors will meet at the plain’s gate” is Sekigahara!!
Mayumi: So then, the coherency of “When the Shachi has the Shirasagi in its mouth, the strong warriors will meet at the plain’s gate” as written in the Prophecy finally matches.
Mayumi: However except for Suguru, by those three Throne Succession Candidates standing on the land of Sekigahara, it’s as if they’re burning with fighting like they’ve been possessed by the souls of the military commanders of long ago. Just the burning of their fighting spirit is certain…

117.
Mayumi: My ancestor who wrote this prophecy: I curse you for just now.
Announcer: From here at the Fighting Castle, which has suddenly arrived at the ancient battleground of Sekigahara, we will be holding the second-half battles of the semifinals of the “Scramble for the Kinniku Throne Survival Match”!!
Announcer: First we shall be holding the battle of Team Kinnikuman vs. Team Zebra in the ring.
Announcer: And thus, this match will be watched in the next ring by Team Soldier and Team Phoenix!!
Announcer: Well, looking at the match progress of Team Kinnikuman and Team Zebra on the electric scoreboard

118.
Announcer: Team Kinnikuman’s Second-Guard Ramenman, who has consecutively defeated Motorman and Bikeman of Team Zebra, will finally be competing with Team Zebra’s Second-in-Command Parthenon to go for his third-straight victory, but…
Announcer: Will Team Kinnikuman’s Ramenman be effective for what’s coming now with the damage he took in his fights with Motorman and Bikeman? He’s in a condition where he can’t even stand in the ring without borrowing a shoulder----!!
Ramen: HAA HAA
Suguru: Ramenman, fighting with Parthenon with your body is ultimately impossible.
Announcer: Seconds Out, Seconds Out
Ramen: Se…Seconds have to get out…

119.
Announcer: Now the gong has rung—
Ramen: Geho!!
Announcer: As it was worried, Ramenman is down quickly after the start of the match--!!
Announcer: Parthenon, taking advantage of the opening, first jumps, in the stance of a Guillotine Drop while aiming for the back of Ramenman’s neck----!!
Brocken: Watch out---!!
Suguru: ………!!

120.
Parthenon: Guwa!!
Announcer: Unable to let Ramenman’s crisis pass, Kinnikuman, who doesn’t have a right to fight now, has poured on a blow on Parthenon---!!
Ramen: Ki…Kinnikuman.
Suguru: Ramenman, this is an order by me now, not as your friend but as leader of Team Kinnikuman.
Suguru: Get out of the ring right now and rest your body. Leave the rest to us!!

121.
Ramen: I’m…sorry, Kinnikuman…
Parthenon: Ki…Kinnikuman, do you understand what happens when you trespass into the ring as a second without a right to fight?
Suguru: I know: naturally, the player who had the right to fight is eliminated. In other words: Ramenman has become eliminated.
Suguru: However, even if Ramenman is eliminated, my team still has two Choujin remaining, which are enough to take on both of you.
Robin: But of course!
Announcer: Kinnikuman has removed his bandages, changing into a new costume---!!

122.
Parthenon: Ununu~~~you~~
Zebra: Fufufu…I’ve thought of an interesting idea now: both Team Kinnikuman and we have two remaining fighters.
Zebra: How about this here: we bring this fight to a conclusion with a tag match…this way we can finish this quickly without wasting time and determine the team who will advance to the finals.
Parthenon: As opponents who are a combination of Choujin Olympic Champions, you shouldn’t have deficiency!
Suguru: As you wish.
Announcer: Well, this has become a terrifying matter! This General-and-Second-Match of Team Kinnikuman vs. Team Zebra is a tag match which will come to bring this to conclusion---!!
Sign:
Second-in-Command: PARTHENON – General: ZEBRA
TAG MATCH
Second-in-Command: ROBIN MASK – General: KINNIKUMAN

123.
Announcer: Well, the gong has rung for this destined Sekigahara playoff which is betted movement to the ring of Osaka Castle for the finals---!!
Announcer: First off come the Advance Guards of Zebra and Kinnikuman!!
Zebra: Take this—Saint Muscle Punch---!!

124.
Suguru: Th…this guy’s forte is punches…
Suguru: Guhe!!
Zebra: Fufufu…long ago, I was the Choujin Boxing Super-Heavyweight Champion.
Zebra: Sora, sora!!
Announcer: Kinnikuman is rapidly retreating from Zebra’s punch attacks---!!
Zebra: Here’s my prided Mephisto Punch!!

125.
Suguru: That…
Suguru: Uh…
Suguru: If that’s your prided punch, then do it to yourself---!!

126.
(SCRAMBLE FOR THE KINNIKU THRONE ARC)
SPECIAL VTR XXXV
KINNIKUMAN VS. KINNIKUMAN ZEBRA

TN: Was I the only one who thought of Suguru's kick to Zebra at the end of the chapter reminded me a bit of Togashi facing a boxer in Otokojuku by kicking him? While I know the Kinnikuman bit came first (but shockingly not too far ahead: this chapter was in issue 37 of Jump, the Otokojuku chapter of question was the same year [1985] in issue 40), the bit was affective in both cases. Well...for the most part I pretty much made all my complaints (so far) about the Muscle Prophecy in the last chapter so I really won't say any more about that disaster for the moment (aside from the utter stupidity that the castles would literally fuse for no apparent reason except "it was predicted to by the ancestors"), but I did notice a few other things to speak about in this chapter regardless. First, note how when the 4 remaining "princes" reunited that Soldier was still the most silent of them all. Suguru was yelling out about seeing Brocken Jr. and Buffaloman again under their new team while Zebra and Super Phoenix complimented each other (more likely it's the Gods of Technique and Intelligence doing that through their hosts), but Soldier didn't say anything except "we will win" in the midst of their landing. Second: I really don't mind actually a fight in the tournament being in Sekigahara and it's implications...it's just the circumstance of the Muscle Prophecy and the flying castles that turned me off from it. Third: is it just me or does the Zebra/Kinnikuman fight just seem to keep changing it's rules and it's members at will without any trouble? I mean, considering the big deal that was made to even make Robin and Terry join in the fight against Mariposa, seeing Warsman and Ramenman join them so easily and the sudden change of the final match into a tag battle just feels like they just don't care anymore. (and let's not get started on Soldier and Phoenix Teams stopping what they were doing to watch: that's just like the whole "everyone descends Tournament Mountain to watch the Muscle Brothers and it becomes one match at a time for the rest of the tournament" all over again...it really shows that Yude don't like doing multiple fights at once and they always find an excuse to get out of it...lest we have another "15 minutes...give or take an extra 30" like what happened with Ninja/Satan Cross) And finally...it's sort of strange to see this but you're going to essentially see a weird set-up in the next chapter. I'll explain it better next time but basically all the build-up and serious actions are going to be utterly thrown off when next you see Suguru and Zebra in the ring...