Kinnikuman 362

On the third floor of Osaka Castle, the final battleground has been set-up, with pages of the Muscle Prophecy set to burn if knocked into a hanging torch! Now it's a matter of time before the final battle for Planet Kinniku can begin...

Chapter 362: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (89): Who Will Disappear!?

168.
Suguru: I understand—everything of the trick for this odd ring---!!
Suguru: First the numberless strings stretched towards the ceiling
Suguru: That are tied to the rope of the ring
Suguru: Are tied in a bundle to the top and are dangling down as five ropes.

169.
Suguru: …Phoenix, this death match you’ve devised is that first we prepare before the match
Suguru: By connecting one each of the pages of the five people in the Choujin Prophecy: Kinnikuman and Robin Mask as well as Phoenix, Omegaman and Mammothman
Suguru: To each of the five thick ropes that are dangling from the center.
Suguru: With all preparations arranged, the gong would come for the Army-Corp Showdown of Team Kinnikuman vs. Team Phoenix…before long, the great heated battle in the ring will unfold……in response to the intense techniques of kicks being thrown and flying by the five Choujin of both camps, the ring ropes will shake and the canvas will creak…

170.
Suguru: With that, the thing strings connected to the ropes will start to be severed one after another without standing this shock…
Suguru: Five of these numberless strings that are cut one after another are what we call the “Strings of Fate”; just these five strings are connected to the ropes that dangle with the Prophecy page in the center…

171.
Suguru: Unluckily, the owner of the page of the Prophecy that falls into the torch will at that moment have their bodies annihilated from this world, the same as my big brother Kinniku Ataru.
Suguru: The Choujin of both sides by way of doing this over and over
Suguru: Will disappear one after another.
Suguru: At last, the team with the player that has one remaining the ring will be the champion team of this Scramble for the Throne.
Suguru: Well, Phoenix, that’s the full story of the match method we’re using in this odd ring.
Phoenix: Of course…this battle is dyed with the tinge of an Eraser Elimination Match from the multiple Choujin who will unfold in this great fierce fight being erased from the ring one after another.

172.
Phoenix: Again, with this way of fighting while thinking of selecting these strings of hell that control our fates from within these numberless strings that we sever and what we can’t sever……made me remember Russian Roulette, where just one bullet is put into the magazine of a gun and several men in turn shoot it into the temple of their heads! We have given the name of this showdown method as the “Elimination Roulette Match”!!
Suguru: Elimination Roulette Match!?
Mayumi & Sayuri: How terrible!

173.
Mammoth: No matter how much you chat, this isn’t starting: the audience that is here rather have evidence of your discourse over an explanation of the rules from your mouth. Now they should pay attention to the ring, since an experiment will be occurring.
Mammoth: Since this is an experiment that will be occurring now with just one of the five Ropes of Fate that is dangling from the center of the ceiling above the ring…we have dangling just one Prophecy page written with some Choujin who is in this assembly hall.
Mayumi & Sayuri: It’s…true: just one page of the Prophecy is dangling!
Robin & Suguru: Bu…but, who is it written on there? I can’t read it well with it too far away!!

174.
Mammoth: Well, when the gong rings and the fierce battle progresses, the shock of the ring’s vibrations and the swaying of the ropes…we think will sever the strings connected to the rope which is connected to the Prophecy in the center of the ceiling.
Announcer: The how that was thrown by Mammothman has cut the rope which dangles the Prophecy---! Which Choujin will disappear---!?

175.
Suguru: N…nothing is happening to us…
Mayumi: We…we’re fine too.
Geronimo: Uwaa---!!
Suguru: Ge…Geronimo is disappearing---!!
Meat: That’s right—the owner of that Prophecy page was Geronimo!!
Robin: Geronimo---!!

176.
Omega: Everyone in the audience: have you caught on? To the hell rule of the Elimination Roulette Match!!
Suguru: Omegaman, you do understand how Geronimo, who you yourself defeated once and was hurt is being lead to that place once again---!!
Robin: Kinnikuman, it’s better to go and pick out Geronimo’s Prophecy page from within the torch over that---!!
Suguru: I’ll turn my back punishing all of you---!! Hold on—Geronimo---!!
Phoenix: Ha—hahaha: will you be in time even if you run now---!!

177.
Suguru: Wa!!
Geronimo: Gl…glory to Kinniku Suguru---!!
Robin: Ge…Gero~~!!
Robin: ………!!
Suguru: ……………
Suguru: I really understand the rules of the Elimination Roulette Match.

178.
Suguru: Now I’ll annihilate from this world the existence of you three, just like big bro Ataru and Geronimo---!!
Robin: Usually I have the role of soothing Kinnikuman with calm and composure but!
Robin: Just this time!!
Robin: I’ll be knocking down all of you villain Choujin with a heated spirit----!!
Mammoth: What—we’re villains!?

179.
Phoenix: Robin Mask, if it’s always justice winning and evil destroyed in this world, then this battle will decide which is evil: us or you.
Phoenix: So now I have the five Prophecy pages written with the five of Team Phoenix and Team Kinnikuman that are participating in this army-corp showdown!!
Announcer: The army-corp showdown is finally rising up---!!
Announcer: Well, the officials in the ring are there connecting to the ropes the Prophecy which is written the members of both teams!!

180.
Suguru: I don’t have patience anymore!!
Announcer: The leaders of both teams are already clashing---!!
Announcer: We were notified at the start, but the Roulette Strings of Fate surrounding the ring are red for Team Kinnikuman…
Announcer: And white for Team Phoenix…
Announcer: With color coding in the left-and-right, if a red string is severed, then it’s a crisis for Team Kinnikuman; when a white string is cut, someone on Team Phoenix will be in a crisis!!

181.
Phoenix: Fufufu…Kinnikuman, you’ve gotten the better in power with many Choujin in the past, but I’m afraid to say that just this is what’s called “a limit”.
Suguru: What!?
Phoenix: I’ll teach you: in a battle where you really don’t need power!!
Suguru: Wa!!
Announcer: Phoenix easily used an overhead throw on Kinnikuman---!!
(TN: “Overhead throw” is in reference to “tomoenage”, an overhead throw in judo)

182.
Announcer: Phoenix has nimbly hardened into a Key Lock to one arm of the falling Kinnikuman---!!
Robin: Wh…what a magnificent technique!!
Announcer: As expected, the power of Kinnikuman is lifting up Phoenix---!!
Suguru: What is that novice technique---!!
Suguru: Next will be this---!!
Announcer: And Kinnikuman has removed from the lock and taken Phoenix into a bold Argentine Back Breaker---!!
Mayumi: Are you amazed, Phoenix: at the greatness of Suguru’s power wrestling---!!

183.
Phoenix: This thing called power is quite useless in a battle: I’ll teach you now.
Suguru: UWAA---!!
Announcer: So…somehow Phoenix conversely is doing a submission to Kinnikuman’s arms---!!

184.
Robin: HE’S UTILIZING THE POWER…!! A good throw from the four-hand stance earlier, a good submission countering the backbreaker now…Whenever Kinnikuman wages a technique, Phoenix is always…in other words: he’s striking back with a reversal technique when power is fully released…in short: Phoenix’s reversal techniques are all things that utilize Kinnikuman’s power!!
Suguru: You s**t---!!
Robin: Therefore by escaping Kinnikuman, Phoenix conversely comes to a hard retaliation when he releases to the release of his power.
Phoenix: Torya!!
Announcer: Phoenix now has rolled his body and thrown Kinnikuman to Team Kinnikuman’s red Roulette String side---!!
Suguru: N…no!!

185.
Announcer: Kinnikuman is severing his own team’s Roulette Strings one after another! Can Robin Mask hold him back by risking his life----!?
Anouncer: Somehow Kinnikuman has done a connection to Robin Mask’s Prophecy among the Roulette Strings he severed in error---!!
(End of Vol. 33)

TN: And now for some appropriate music for this chapter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAAiYMgFcbw (I really need to see this movie but the music is just way too appropriate for what's beginning)

If you forget about the utter stupidity of using the Muscle Prophecy means we found out about last chapter (and the utter logistics), there is yet another matter that came into my mind thinking about it a bit more regarding the whole set-up for the final battle. Think about the set-up a bit: you have five pages of the Muscle Prophecy hanging over the torch and the team that wins is the last one standing in the ring after the last member of the other team has faded away. Now think: two of the Choujin fighting are Suguru and Phoenix, the two potential Prince candidates, and they both have their pages above the torch. Now, consider this: what would happen, say, if both Suguru and Phoenix both had their Muscle Prophecy pages burn up before the match is over. If that happens, both candidates would be eliminated from history...and thus, with no further Prince candidates, who would become King when it's all over? Would it be canceled for "no further Princes in existence?" (yeah, everyone else is dead about now) And what about the winning team: if Team Kinnikuman won and Suguru no longer existed...would Mayumi keep the throne? Would it go to Robin!? Yeah...it's obvious Suguru and Phoenix would be around to the end but it is something to think about in the utter stupidity of literally throwing your life to the wind by usage of a wrestling match with such a risky means. Alright, I don't mind a "Russian Roulette"-style fight and in some ways I don't mind the whole "string-setup" where there is penalty...but for the sake of essentially the kingship of a Planet (and the supposed leadership of all Choujin), they really shouldn't be acting with so much risk like this and should have...well, another type of match that could still be risky...but not involving elimination of all potential candidates for the ultimate prize...from all existence!

Meanwhile, I do find it interesting that they actually tried to give a bit more setup to Phoenix's style here, but somehow it does feel a tad weird that he is finally set-up for the most part as a responder and a "technician"-style wrestler. Somehow I sort of wished I did have some sort of complaint or comment about it...but the weird thing thinking about it is that Suguru never really did face any of those types who prefer techniques over power and who use so many counter-attacks. Yeah there is also a major clue for a later technicality regarding submission holds here, but we'll get more as the fight goes along about both. Oh...and somehow, Mammothman gets funnier with each appearance: it's amazing how someone I once called "dull" had such a funny moment to criticize how everyone talks too much with his "Blah blah blah, shut up and let's show it off by killing someone". It does feel like a lot of characters do like hearing themselves talk these days, huh?