Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 156

He's survived a blast from his past in order to get past Pharaoh Sphinx's illusion master. But Hien may have made an even greater enemy by his victory...one who will not let him get out of the next fight alive!

Chp. 156: Neskhons of Khnum

109.
Toramaru: I…don’t get it: what exactly has happened to Hien’s body?
Togashi: ……………
Toramaru: Well, at any rate, it was certainly a good victory however it happened!!
Togashi: You did it, Hien!! Now get up quickly and treat your wounds~~~!
Hien: Fu……I had felt a strange anxiety before the start of the match but……it seems I can go back safely.
Hien: !!

110.
Hien: ………!!
Toramaru: Wh…what’s that: th…that tremor-like sound we’re hearing from the battlefield……!?

111.
Hien: Wh…what exactly is this…………!? The entire battleground is rapidly sinking………!!
Togashi & Toramaru: Wh…what~~~!! The…battlefield has sunk~~~!
Momotarou: Hi…Hien---!!

112.
Togashi: Aah---!! L…look, th…that’s---!
Togashi: Hi…Hien is barely standing on top of a post that’s sticking out from within the lava----!!

113.
Anubis: Fu, is this the whim of the organizer…………!?

114.
Caption; TOUDOU MANSION
Businessman: I have a report, Your Excellency.
Businessman: As directed, we’ve completed the rearrangement of Meiou Island 3rd Battleground for the Tenchou Gorin Daibukai Finals Tournament.

115.
Toudou: Good……as expected of Meiou Island, which should be called my life’s masterpiece. By the push of a button, even in this mansion, I’m able to instantly change the form of the battleground.
Businessman: However, can I be advised by Your Excellency why you’d suddenly rearrange the battleground………………!?
Toudou: Fufu………
Toudou: This man, he’s called Hien, is he?
Caption: 3RD BATTLEGROUND
Toudou: He’s considerably skilled: this youth has mastered Kakushi Senbon, said to be a secret of secrets even among many Chinese kenpou; and he’s the most beautiful.

116.
Toudou: I obtain everything I desire; I don’t know the word “impossible”. There’s just one thing I have that nothing can be done about even by me. What do you think it is?
Businessman: Huh…!?
Toudou: IT’S AGE. Just the way that this body has rotted ugly can’t be stopped, even with any of the power or assets that I possess.
Toudou: I am envious of this man’s youth and beauty. AND I HATE IT………!!
Toudou: I don’t have a reason for him to live and go home as is.
Toudou: Fuffuffu: I want to see his beautiful face will become bloodstained and his form burned up in the lava. Just that is why.

117.
Toramaru: Wh…what’s going on: th…that’s………!? Is he fighting on unstable footholds that are dotting this boiling lava lake…………!!
Togashi: Wi…with this, the rope-ladder that continues to the P – S camp is remaining, but we’ve come to not have our rope-ladder………With this, Hien isn’t coming back.
Momotarou: It seems this was done by that oldie Toudou, the organizer of this Daibukai.
Date: I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he really seems to want Hien to fight again.
Hien: Mu!!

118.
Toramaru: Wh…what’s that, a…strange pot was put there unawaringly---!!
Voice: FUFUFU
Hien: Huh…!?

119.
Neskhons: My name is Neskhons of Khnum, the third emissary of Pharaoh Sphinx!! So this is Hien? Your defeat of Pinedjem was magnificent……………!!
(TN: Knowledge time, two Egyptology lessons, one Japanese lesson:
Neskhons was the wife of Pinedjem II of the 21st Dynasty (her uncle); she was notable for having a young, preserved mummy discovered for that period
Khnum is an early Egyptian deity, notable as the original god of the Nile River, particularly notable for his symbol of the potter’s wheel, which he used to create children from the mother river…thus the appropriateness of having him tied to the pot.
The kanji combination used to translate to “Khnum” are the kanji that literally translate into “stone pot”, thus “Neskhons of Khnum” can also be seen as “Neskhons the Stone Pot”)

Neskhons: But that is the end of your life.
Hien: How…stupid, the…there’s a voice from within that small pot………………!!

120.
Hien: Th…that’s……!?

121.
Toramaru: Wh…what is th…that---!!
Togashi: He…he went into that small pot w…with that strange posture---!!
Neskhons: Kukkukku: I’m grateful that you’ve presented to me this beautiful game, Anubis-sama.

122.
Anubis: Fuffuffu, Neskhons of Khnum.
Anubis: You’re correctly the most suitable possessing the best taijutsu of Pharaoh Sphinx for this completely changed battleground. It’s best that you make him realize: your secret taijutsu that’s matchless in this world………………!!
Hien: ………!!
Neskhons: Kukkkukku: first we’ll go with starting this.
Hien: !!

123.
Neskhons: HAU!!
Hien: Uh!!

124.
Hien: Ku!!
Togashi: Wh…what--!! This guy’s agility---! It’s…as if he’s not worrying about those bad footholds----!! And…further, he’s skipping about while holding the balance of his body with one fingertip----!!
Neskhons: Kukkukku: you seem to have quite the knowledge in taijutsu as well, but that’s the same as a baby taking on me!!

125.
Neskhons: Mu!!
Hien: Kakushi Senbon Santenshou!! There isn’t a means to avoid it at this distance!
(TN: “Kakushi Senbon Santenshou” = “Kakushi Senbon Three-Point Thrust”)

126.
Hien: HUH!?
Toramaru: Wh…what---!! Did you see that now!
Togashi: He instantly bended it into a strange form, as if he doesn’t have bones----!!
Neskhons: The “Khnum” in my name, “Neskhons of Khnum”, is a pot with vinegar in it in Ancient Egyptian………………!! You can’t use those items on me.
Raiden: Nuu!! He said now a pot with vinegar in it………..! It…can’t be: that guy has Ankouji Nantaiken, which is a Chinese Kenpou……………….!!
(TN: “Ankouji Nantaiken” = “Quiet-Meeting Temple Soft-Body Fist”)
Momotarou: Ankouji Nantaiken…!?

127.
Commentary:
Ankouji Nantaiken… generally Ankouji Nantaiken applies the property understood by being contained in a large quantity of an ingredient (vinodokishin) that flexes the human body through vinegar and working out a special kenpou. From the moment the practitioner undertakes living in this world, they live and grow within a large bottle filled with vinegar and produce this super-flexible constitution.

The kenpou, which exceeds the limitations of body construction knowledge, has arbitrarily the reputation of invincible for certain victory. Incidentally in present times, the familiar Rakkyou, an accessory foodstuff, received the origin of its name for being pickled in the pots of Chinrakkyou, a master of Nantaiken, during training so he could obtain his own daily provisions, as well as being manufactured and sold by him.
-From “Strange and Mysterious Fists of the World”, Minmei Publishing
(TN: The “rakkyou” mentioned in this entry is in reference to “allium chinense”, an edible vegetable in the family that includes onions, chives, garlic and leeks used in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking. On the other hand, the fictional “Chinrakkyou” literally translates to “Exhibit Bitter Chives”)
Neskhons: Let me show you: the bizarre special technique of this world that uses this constitution!!
Neskhons: P – S HISHOUGI: DUSK OF AMARNA!!
(TN: Two matters:
“Amarna no Tasogare” = “Dusk of Amarna”
Amarna is in reference to the capital of Egypt as established in the 18th Dynasty by Pharaoh Akhenaten for the worship of Aten, the God of the Sun. It was abandoned shortly after only being Egypt’s capital for over 20 years)

TN: Sometimes I don't get everyone's obsessive attraction to Hien. Yes he's a cool fighter in some ways, but I think his popularity with fangirls and bishonenous actions just seem to make him more noticable among all the more "manly men" in Otokojuku. I mean, even Toudou had his interest in him...but of course, that's probably why he wanted Hien dead. As for Neskhons...well, being pickled in vinegar to the point of being lithe and flexible throughout your body is definitely a unique martial arts style worthy of this series and fully explains how...well, he could fit in that pot!