Kinnikuman 337

With three days before the final battle in Kyoto, Suguru have decided to get in a bit of extra-training to figure out how to defeat Team Phoenix. And for Suguru, his main challenge: figuring a way to perfect his Muscle Spark!

Chapter 337: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (64): Extra-Hard Training in the Ancient City!!

27.
Narrator: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne Semi-Finals, 2nd Match: within the continuing of the even match in the battle of Team Phoenix vs. Team Soldier, the results ended with Soldier being defeated in the face of Phoenix’s special technique, the Muscle Revenger, in the final battle of fellow generals.
Narrator: Finally the final battle of the century at Osaka Castle, which is wagered the Throne of Planet Kinniku, has become a competition between Team Kinnikuman and Team Phoenix.
Narrator: With the Final Battle at Osaka Castle to be held in three days, Team Kinnikuman has commenced extra-hard training on the grounds of Nara so they can polish each of their techniques which should accomplish the defeat of Team Phoenix.

28.-29.
(TN: This is sort of like a map, I’ll try to get to all the captions but they’ll be sort of out of order, they’ll be done from right to left on the first page and will attempt to follow the map on the second)
Sign 1: Start
Sign 2. AIDZUWAKAMATSU CASTLE
Sign 3: NAGOYA CASTLE
Bubble 1: Phoenix and Mammothman easily did away with Team Big Body
Bubble 2: Enter Team Soldier!
Sign 4: Start
Sign 5: KUMAMOTO CASTLE
Sign 6: HIMEJI CASTLE
Sign 7: FIGHTING CASTLE
Sign 8: OSAKA CASTLE
Bubble 3: Team Kinnikuman crushed Team Mariposa!
Bubble 4: Ramenman and Warsman joined up with Team Kinnikuman
Bubble 5: Team Zebra is waiting at Himeji Castle!
Bubble 6: Fusion!
Bubble 7: At Fighting Castle, Phoenix and Soldier finally cut at it and Kinnikuman and Zebra had a tag showdown!
Bubble 8: The finals at Osaka Castle will be a showdown of Team Phoenix and Team Kinnikuman!

30.
Caption: NARA: SARUSAWA POND—
Meat: Ramenman, I’ve made the preparations: this is a life-sized doll of Team Phoenix’s Prisman, made by freezing Sarusawa Pond.
Ramen: I…had slaughtered Brocken Jr.s father Brockenman with my Camel Clutch in the Choujin Olympics 7 years ago…as atonement, I was determined to see with my own eyes in place of his father Brockenman that Brocken Jr. became an adult Choujin...and then recently, though Brocken Jr. had finally accomplished his growth, in by no means inferior to his father Brockenman mentally and physically…
Ramen: He was killed in sport by the members of Team Phoenix, starting with you Prisman!!

31.
Ramen: Prisman!!
Ramen: In the final battle at Osaka Castle, I must attack the enemy of Brocken Jr. and defeat you---!!
Ramen: Uwa!!
Meat: Ramenman!!
Ramen: Uuh…wh…what is that: the light now that did this to my body…?

32.
Meat: Ramenman, we know that Prisman’s body is created out of a special prism that fires a light that’s harmful to the Choujin body called the Seven Capillaria Rays which is by the rays of the sun passing through his body!
Ramen: Aah…I also know that’s why Brocken Jr. had reached death, because of those rays!
Meat: This Prisman doll for special training has a bundle of ice for a body, but it was made without being a bit different by the real Prisman. Therefore, the light of the sun will be inferior in power to the Seven Capillaria Rays that will emerge from the real Prisman when they pass through this Prisman doll, but we can fire a similar light with this.
Meat: You’ll be unprepared thinking of this as merely a doll for special-training, so have a good eye to that.
Ramen: I’m well informed now, Meat-kun.

33.
Caption: A CERTAIN BAMBOO THICKET IN NARA—
Wars: My fighting spirit always rapidly boils when I come across an opponent larger than me…
Wars: The opponent I have my eye on is just one: Mammothman of Team Phoenix. Mammothman’s #1 counter-measure is his Nose Fencing and Big Tusks, which he sends out from his huge nose and both his tusks.
Wars: Around me, I’ve set up a countless number of bamboo-arrow firing devices. When I cut this rope, they’ll come to rain down on me simultaneously.

34.
Wars: There!!
Wars: By avoiding these bamboo arrows, I can cultivate the keenness to dodge Mammothman’s Nose Fencing and Big Tusks---!!

35.
Wars: Uh!!
Wars: I’m…still soft…
Caption: TOUDAI-JI DAIBUTSUDEN—
Terry: What’s wrong, Kinnikuman!!
Terry: Haven’t you discovered a clue to the Perfect Muscle Spark from here with you being attacked by me and Robin in the appearance of Satan Cross---!?

36.
Robin: You’ll end up going down by taking too much of our attacks so you can find a clue for the Muscle Spark!!
Suguru: Hehehe…its useless worrying: even though I’m unilaterally taking this sort of attack, I’ll pro—perly discover a plan to defeat Satan Cross.
Suguru: In truth, Satan Cross is a being that fused the main body of Samson Teacher, who was Ashuraman’s home tutor, and the parasite Choujin Satan Cross, becoming one being.
Suguru: With that, somehow Satan Cross, that has become one, is best to split them in two once again and smash up Samson Teacher, who is the brains as the real form!!
Terry: That’s…right: if we can defeat only Samson Teacher, then the parasite Satan Cross will lose the body it is the parasiting off and will end up naturally be annihilated!!

37.
Suguru: It…should be somewhere: the part that’s the key in splitting up Samson Teacher and the parasite.
Suguru: ……N!?
Suguru: There—the part that is the key to splitting up Samson Teacher and the parasite---!!

38.
Suguru: There, I’m successful at splitting up Satan Cross! What’s left is just to demolish the main body of Samson Teacher that is soaring in the sky---!!
Suguru: I don’t know if I can do it or not, but here we go---!!

39.
Suguru: Perfect Muscle Spark!!
Suguru: First I firmly bind the opponent’s body so they don’t move…
Robin: N…no: that hasn’t changed from the Incomplete Suguru-Edition Muscle Spark until now at all!!
Suguru: …And then if we fall as such, we complete the Perfect Muscle Spa—rk!!
Robin: With that, the technique will conversely be returned, Kinnikuman!!
Terry: An opening!!

40.
Suguru: Ge!!
Suguru: Owa---!!

41.
Caption: KOUBE
Team Phoenix: HA—HAHAHA
Phoenix: Look at all of them: that’s their new weapon to defeat our Team Phoenix: the Perfect Muscle Spark!
S. Teacher: The Perfect Muscle Spark can’t knock around an opponent’s body.
S. Teacher: It seems the technique’s aim is to knock around their own body!!
Suguru: N…no: that’s all I have to my ability: it’s completely impossible to complete the Muscle Spark, the super special secret held in the many hundreds of millions year history of the Kinniku Royal Family……

42.
Terry: A paper airplane!!
Suguru: ……?
Suguru: What is this!?
Letter:
GO TO YAKUSHIMARU TEMPLE
I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU
AT NORTH TOWER
AND SOUTH TOWER
(TN: Yakushimaru Tower is actually a tower that doesn't technically exist in real life. There probably is a parallel in Nara tied to this, but these two towers aren't really real from what we know of at this time)
Neptune: Fufufu……

43.
Caption: YAKUSHIMARU TEMPLE—
Robin: The right side is South Tower, the left side is North Tower.
Suguru: What is this: I thought there would be some hint to the Perfect Muscle Spark by coming here, yet aren’t there just these two three-level towers!!
Suguru: Chi!!
Robin: Well, were we being deceived by the paper airplane letter?
Suguru: N…!?
Robin: What’s wrong, Kinnikuman?
Suguru: Th…this is!?

44.
Suguru: A…actually, though there are the duo of South Tower and North Tower standing in the rear……it only reflects one tower in this pond!!
Monk: Hohhohoho, you’re surprised by the mirror-surface pond…
Monk: Due to the subtle angle the South and North Towers were built with and the reflection and refraction of light as it hits the buildings, they overlap when reflected in the pond, appearing as one.

45.
Suguru: It’s true: by looking closer, you’ll understand that the image is caused by overlapping the figure of the two towers.
Suguru: …Two towers becoming overlapped, making one form…the Ataru-Edition and Suguru-Edition Muscle Spark can become one, perfecting it…
Suguru: I may have seen it! Using this mirror-surface pond, now we’ll have the form that will perfect the Muscle Spark!!
Terry: Tell us too!!
Suguru: At the top of South Tower, Robin will stand with a Choujin-Style doll, this doll will perform the Suguru-Edition Muscle Spark. And at the North Tower at the other side, Terryman will stand and the doll he’ll have will perform the Ataru-Edition Muscle Spark.
Robin: Right then—thus, the Suguru-Edition and Ataru-Edition Muscle Sparks will overlap and reflect in the mirror-surface pond, projecting the image of the Perfect Muscle Spark!!

46.
(SCRAMBLE FOR THE KINNIKU THRONE ARC)
SPECIAL VTR LIV (XXXXXIV)
KINNIKUMAN’S EXTRA-HARD TRAINING!!

TN: Well after all these chapters of nothing but angst, stupidity and emotional turmoil, we now get...essentially a giant training montage. Considering what they're up against with Team Phoenix, I guess it is sort of necessary and does slow things down. But I think it's finally time to get into the manner of...his return. Yeah, the worst-kept secret of the arc reappeared last time and will be remaining in the shadows...it's obvious Neptuneman is back somehow or another (after his...explosion at the end of the Tag arc), and while it really hasn't been explained why, it is strange he suddenly has such reverence towards Ataru and his way of thinking considering...how little about Ataru was supposed to be known before he re-emerged in this arc.

The training itself did actually bring back or bring in a few interesting aspects that I did like Yude retouching on after a long time. First of all: the fact that Ramenman wants to take down Prisman for killing Brocken Jr. finally brings back an important aspect to who he is that I mentioned felt lost before when Brocken died in the previous fight. We knew from the moment Brocken Jr. appeared through at least the Mr. Khamen fight in the Seven Devils arc that the duo had a crucial bond between one another. I did feel a bit strange it wasn't even touched upon when Brocken died, but now Ramenman remembers and wants to take vengeance, that can be forgiven. Secondly, I do like that Suguru is trying to use the "concept" of Satan Cross to figure out how to take him down and master the Muscle Spark, but there are a few crucial differences between mastering that and mastering the Kinniku Driver. Firstly: the Kinniku Driver originally "evolved" in the midst of battle from the Kinniku Buster against Ashuraman, mostly due to the Burning Inner Strength being active and Suguru's muscle memory creating a tombstone driver that he eventually forged into the Driver. I get Suguru no longer has the Burning Inner Strength but...fighting against Robin and Terry with their bodies on top of one another is not going to simulate Satan Cross very well. Suguru seems to do his best, whether with his Burning Inner Strength or not, when in the midst of a dangerous situation...and fighting two of his "friends" isn't helping that much and isn't going to give him "danger" anymore. (yeah they're former rivals but with the Friendship Power lovefest this series pulls...) Second: while the Kinniku Driver had form and mostly needed to be forged to become strong enough for Akuma Shogun, the Muscle Spark is literally a fusion of two different versions and couldn't just literally be realized so easily if Suguru really couldn't do the second version that Ataru had tried to teach. We'll see how this "duel tower" scenario goes the next couple chapters but at the same time I do have one weird thought: considering the overlapping of things, won't it just make the two Muscle Sparks turn into a complete mess instead of precisely showing the exact way of doing the real thing? I guess it's more intention...particularly when it's coming from Neptuneman.