Kinnikuman 344

When facing a giant board-weapon, you are supposed to use giant scissors...but in Satan Cross' case, the giant scissors aren't for fighting Suguru...but for completing his Defend Suit! Does Suguru have any hope in matching this feat?

Chapter 344: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (71): A 50/50 Fight!!

167.
Announcer: The White Sheet, which has been cut into the form of Satan Cross by way of the Magic Scissors, has been breathed to life and are transforming one by one into living Satan Cross---!!

168.-169.
Announcer: All of the Satan Cross clones have all fallen down on the windows of the white sections of the Magic-Square ring that haven’t been opened yet----!!
Robin: Satan Cross has thought of such a terrible thing.
Robin: If this were typical, Satan Cross, who would have taken Kinnikuman’s Izuna Drop Return and crashed into the Magic-Square ring.
Robin: And would have opened only one white window which sleeps the 8 remaining Defend Suit parts………
Robin: However, with the remaining seven with his same body as himself taking the impact of Kinnikuman’s Izuna Drop Return…
Robin: The eight Satan Cross, including himself, would collide with the Magic-Square ring once and can open all of the remaining eight white windows which sleep his Defend Suit parts…
Geronimo: R…right: Satan Cross’ aim of suddenly multiplying was to have them there---!!

170.
Announcer: Somehow all of the white window sections where the seven Satan Cross have landed are shining except the C section---!!
S. Teacher: Ke—kekeke: you’ve done well, clones. You’ve made a good performance in leaving behind the C of “Champion” as the last solo window.
Announcer: With that, Satan Cross has taken all of the white windows, which are hidden his own Defend Suit parts----!!
Suguru: By…doing that…

171.
S. Teacher: Return, clones!
S. Teacher: Phoenix-sama, please open the windows of the Magic-Square ring.
Phoenix: I’ve seen many Choujin who have fought in the Magic-Ring Death Match until now, but Satan Cross, you’re the first Choujin that has perfectly equipped the entire Defend Suit---!!

172.
Announcer: Well, Satan Cross is equipping his Defend Suit parts one after another! Surely this scene is can be spoken with the word of “spectacle”!!

173.
S. Teacher: Ke—kekeke: slowly it will be ready: an practically invulnerable body that can deal with all techniques.
Suguru: Awawa…
Board Kanji: DEFEND SUIT COMPLETE
Announcer: Now the back plate, 13th and final part of the Defend Suit, has been equipped to Satan Cross’ body---!!
Suguru: I…I still have only taken 4 Defend Suit parts and yet~~~no matter what I think, I don’t have a chance in this fight.
S. Teacher: Kekeke—Kinnikuman, you can never run from my Defend Suit!!

174.
S. Teacher: Well, Kinnikuman, if you don’t want to get killed by me, then fight.
Suguru: …………
Suguru: Uwaa---!!
Announcer: Kinnikuman has taken decisive action with a risky Flying Body attack against Satan Cross---!!
Robin: …No, that Kinnikuman is so filled with terror; it ended up breaking his calm.
Announcer: Satan Cross is returning fire with a Jumping Double Knee Pat against Kinnikuman’s Body attack---!!

175.
S. Teacher: Defend Knee Pat Coil!!
Announcer: N…no: it’s not a Knee Pat! Springs have appeared from both of Satan Cross’ knee guards and has repelled off Kinnikuman’s body which had come with his Body Attack---!!
S. Teacher: If I ask, can’t you go with the 48 Killer Techniques you have? Well, steadily show those off to me.
Suguru: That s**t---!!

176.
Suguru: This is Choujin Hanging, one of the 48 Killer Techniques! With this, you won’t even be able to take off your Defend Suit!!
Suguru: Ge!! Buzzsaws from Satan Cross’ back guard…
S. Teacher: Your Choujin Hanging is a technique that uses the elasticity of a ring rope.
S. Teacher: So then, if you don’t have these ring ropes…
S. Teacher: This technique is defeated!!
Suguru: Owa!!
Announcer: Somehow the rope has been severed by Satan Cross’ Buzzsaw Cut—destroying Kinnikuman’s balance!!

177.
Announcer: Kinnikuman is at his wit’s end facing Satan Cross’ Defend Suit!!
Phoenix: It’s forbidden to be unprepared even going outside the ring.

178.
Suguru: Ugya!!
Announcer: Suddenly numberless spikes have jumped out from the concrete floor outside the ring, piercing Kinnikuman---!!
Meat: Hey, you’re a coward to have these tricks not just in the Magic-Square ring but even outside the ring which is the only escape zone for wounded Choujin, Satan Cross!!
Audience: Right: fight fair and square---!!
S. Teacher: Hold on, I knew nothing about that thing.
S. Teacher: …What if?
Phoenix: Well, Satan Cross: with this, we can economize the time in bringing an end to Kinnikuman.

179.
S. Teacher: No…matter how much Phoenix-sama says that, it’s unforgivable that you’re intruding on my fight!!
Mammoth: Let go, Satan Cross: what are you doing towards Phoenix-sama!!
S. Teacher: I merit a battle which is concluded just in the ring, fair and square---!!
Voice: It’s been many years since I’ve met these refreshing eyes which seem to be of a wrestler like you.
S. Teacher: A…Ashuraman!!

180.
Audience: It certainly is Ashuraman, but his body doesn’t even have even one of his equipping outfit like his apron and such that should be covering his body.
(TN: I ended up using “apron and such” because the two words the audience uses here, “maekake” and “maedare”, are both words for “apron”; my guess is that it’s a combo of his “front cover apron” that he uses around his collar and his “lower apron” around his groin)
Ashura: You really haven’t lost your pride as a wrestler, Satan Cross…no, Samson Teacher.
Robin: Now that he mentioned it, Satan Cross was Ashuraman’s home tutor Samson before he joined Team Phoenix…
Ramen: …Samson, when he saved a drowning Ashuraman in the river, lost both his legs and since then the parasite Choujin Satan Cross had become the lower half of his body; as result of his sympathy towards Ashuraman, the Samson who lost his legs has since been transformed from the merciful Samson Teacher to the demon Satan Cross, coming to devote himself to fights where sympathy is useless…

181.
Announcer: The hospitalized Ashuraman, who already surrendered to Satan Cross in a match earlier and bore serious injuries from it, has appeared in the place of the battle of Team Kinnikuman vs. Team Phoenix for some reason----!!
Ashura: Samson Teacher, don’t just you alone fighting wearing a perfect Defend Suit contradict your position of fighting fair and square?
Ashura: If I now loan to Kinnikuman the nine pieces of equipping outfit that cover my body, he’ll come to put on the same 13 pieces of equipping outfit as you, making it 50/50…
Ashura: I ask of you: please permit the presenting of my equipping outfit to Kinnikuman, Samson Teacher.
Phoenix: Don’t forget, Satan Cross: you’ve lost your legs due to this thing called sympathy! Or is there a thing you want to lose still further!!

182.
S. Teacher: No—I don’t want to lose anymore---!!
Ramen: Aah! Ashuraman’s equipping outfit has---!!
Meat: Wha—even our last line of hope has been cut; it’s already the end for Prince—
Ashura: Kinnikuman really is a Choujin who calls forth miracles.
Meat: Huh!?
Ashura: Look on the Magic-Square ring!!

183.
Ashura: All of my eight equipment items has been dispersed to the black window sections where sleep Kinnikuman’s Defend Suit parts with good fortune!!
Meat: It’s…true---!!
Ashura: It was good that I took with just one of my equipping items for this moment.
Robin: Ooh, there’s still remains his one crown—
Ashura: Using the equipping items scattered in the ring and this crown, we still may be able to take out Kinnikuman’s Defend Suit parts which sleep in the Magic-Square ring.
Robin: What’s that---!?

184.
Ashura: This ring and the other equipping items are connected by a unique electromagnetic wave; the other equipping items can be manipulated at will by being sent down orders from this crown.
Ramen: Thus, opening the sections of the black windows which sleep Kinnikuman’s Defend Suit…
Ashura: To prove an argument, first you have to test it--!!
Ashura: This should be the brain of this Magic-Square ring so we can send the orders to the equipping items scattered in there.
Ashura: It’s best that I set my crown into the controller!!
Ashura: Well, my equipping items: open the black windows---!!

185.
Meat: THEY…OPENED---!!
(End of Vol. 31)

TN: Don't you just love Kinnikuman for the butt-pull explanations this series gives to things? I know I shouldn't be laughing about this and probably should be in rage mode, but the way the whole situation regarding the Defend Suit played out, particularly on Suguru's side, was just so crazy that it felt more hilarious than pathetic! I mean considering how it starts you know that Suguru is going to need to complete his Defend Suit to stand a chance...but it starts of course with the stupidity of the previous chapter, where we have the white Miracle Sheet being exactly the right size as Satan Cross and with the same weight to present a shock when dropped to open those windows. So with that improbable scenario, you'd think that Suguru needs one of his own to get his own Defend Suit completed. Of course when Ashruaman returns...yeah, it starts. It's ridiculous enough that when the opponent knocks away all of Ashruaman's costume and has it fall into the ring, it all magically are drawn to all the missing black windows where the Defend Suit was supposed to be. There could be someone who can argue "well maybe Samson Teacher stated out loud he didn't want an even fight but used his skills to magically somehow let the costume fly to the exact windows so he could fight evenly against Phoenix's wishes", but there really wasn't anything to indicate that. In a random fashion, where the minutest of minute chances exist for every costume piece to reach a black window, it exactly hit them all. And then there was...the controller bit. Now let me ask this and let me ask this honestly: why in the world would the Famicom controller suddenly have a hole that just coincidentally looks like Ashuraman's crown!? I get Phoenix or Satan Cross setting this up based on past scenarios, but not once I assume would they imagine they'd have to put Ashuraman's crown in the controller "in hopes that Ashuraman show up to pull the stunt he does to get Suguru's Defend Suit revealed". And of course there is the bizarre "crown sends out orders to the costume to present the exact power to open the windows"...but it's just so crazy by now that I can't stop laughing...though I'm probably crying on the inside.

A couple more strange thoughts of the chapter: first is more proof that having Samson Teacher revealed prior built a better story and gives him more compassion now than in the anime (when he was revealed about now). While it's obvious we've been hit over the head over and over by this point regarding Ashuraman and Samson Teacher's tragedy, the fact that we knew Satan Crtoss was Samson Teacher beforehand let the character build in our minds as the story went along. The revelation now as opposed to then would feel more shocking, but bear no impact because we didn't have Ashuraman and Samson Teacher's conversation and fight back in the semi-finals which set him up and showed his compassionate and "fair-and-square" nature that is now being exploited or used by him. And second: this fact of fair-and-square is built further with the revelation of Phoenix "installing the spikes around the ring"...which is weird because we had penalties before like the finals of the Tag arc, but at least just builds on his compassionate nature being put to the test by the cruelty that he's seeing around him...and that Samson Teacher got himself into thanks to his selfish feelings after saving Ashuraman. This is what makes a strong, interesting character...and the anime probably wouldn't have done it as well without the first Satan Cross/Ashuraman fight.