Sakigake!! Otoko Juku 185

With the duo who nearly ruined Ryouzanpaku's reputation finally eliminated, the elite fighters are finally forced to bring out their big guns! But for Otokojuku, their next fighter...may be someone that they least expect!

Chp. 185: The Masked Man!!

147.
Togashi: We…we’ve done it~~~!! You were amazing, Manjimaru!! You’ve splendidly defeated those slime Taiketsu and Touketsu and taken down your master’s enemy----!!
Toramaru: Hehhehhe: well, this roughly happens with him lead by me!!
Togashi: Wahhahaha, what are you saying Toramaru: weren’t you tied to the pillar and just sight-seeing---!!
Toramaru: Wh…what’s that, you: ha…hadn’t you seen my escape from that big crisis when I pulled out the pillar----!!
Manjimaru: But those men of Ryouzanpaku really are a gathering of high-prided men who can’t lose their name.
Date: Umu: that attacked Touketsu with their own judgment so they can protect their historical prestige so they could straighten up……………!!
Momotarou: !!
Momotarou: Look: it seems he should be the next opponent.
Togashi: Wh…what---!!

148.
“Mysterious Fighter”: The weak hold this unsightly behavior.

149.
Houketsu: MY NAME IS HOUKETSU, ONE OF THE RYOUZANPAKU 16-GREATS!! NOW, YOU SHOULD COME: DAREDEVILS OF OTOKOJUKU…………!!

150.
Toramaru: Wh…what---!! H…he’s Ryouzanpaku’s next competitor---!
Togashi: He…he threw Touketsu’s corpse into the river with eyes that saw him like trash.
Date: So then………who of us will go?

151.
Togashi: Ryouzanpaku’s power, which I say has controlled three consecutive Daibukai in the past, shouldn’t be at this amount. Perhaps this guy is a proper master……!!
Togashi: Yosshaa, now it’s my turn---!!
Togashi: I’m going and show them that I’m different by one or two flavers from Toramaru---!!
Toramaru: Wh…what, what do you mean by that, Togashi---!!
Date: Hold on……!! What’s that………!?
Toramaru: A~~h!?

152.
Toramaru: Wh…what’s th…that----!! So…Someone is riding from the upper stream of the river on driftwood and headed towards the battleground----!

153.
Toramaru: Wh…who----!! I…is he---!

154.
“Masked Man”: Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m your opponent…………!!

155.
Toramaru: Wh…what----!! Th…this suddenly appearing m…masked guy is fighting Ryouzanpaku’s Houketsu---! Wh…what’s going on, what exactly is this!? Th…that guy isn’t ours----!!
Togashi: Wh…who is th….that---!!
Momotarou: Do you remember, Date…!?
Date: !?
Momotarou: Principal said he sent three helpers to this Daibukai Finals Tournament. The first one was Akashi-senpai…………and……
“Voice”: Yes: that man is Otokojuku’s 2nd Helper………!!
Everyone: !!
Toramaru: It…can’t be…………!!
Togashi: Th…that voice is………!!

156.
Everyone: HI…HIEN----!!

157.
Toramaru: Is…is this an ill…illusion………!!
Toramaru: O…ooh, y…you’re alive---!!
Togashi: W…we had thought you were just a dead man----!!
Hien: I was saved as well. By the man who is fighting from here on the battleground now………!!
Togashi: Wh…what~~~!!

158.
Hien: At the moment I lost consciousness and fell into the lava in my battle with P – S’s Neskhons in the 2nd round of the Finals Tournament, this person suddenly appeared out of nowhere and saved me.
Hien: Togashi, have you forgotten? You too had your life saved by this person!
Togashi: Huh…!? M…me too……!?
Togashi: Ah~~~!!
Togashi: N…now you mention it, when I fell to the bottom of the ravine in the battle with the A-Un Brothers in the Pooron Kokurenju battle…!!
Momotarou: Who exactly is he, Hien!?
Hien: That I don’t know either. When I regained consciousness, he was already gone and my body had been completely treated……and then I ran to the rear of all of you………!!

159.
Togashi: In other words, he’s always been protecting us, always acting together with us behind our backs.
Toramaru: And now he’s finally shown himself…………
Hien: Otokojuku’s 2nd Helper…………!! It’s true he just is a trustworthy ally, but I don’t know his true identity.
Hien: It’s only…
Momotarou: It’s only…?
Hien: TO ME, THE TRUE FACE BENEATH THAT MASK WON’T BE THE HUNCH THAT IT’S LIKE A PERSON THAT WE KNOW………………!!

160.
Houketsu: You’re quite skilled. That tremendous fighting spirit…he’s handling his body without a single opening………………!!
Houketsu: In that case, I must use this.
Houketsu: You should watch.

161.
Houketsu: RYOUZANPAKU OUGI: KYOUJOU KENSATSU!!
(TN: “Kyoujou Kensatsu” = “Streaking-Boundary Sword-Murder”)

162.
Kanji: METSU (DESTRUCTION)
Houketsu: This is your destiny.
“Masked Man”: ………!!
Toramaru: Wh…what---!!
Togashi: Th…that guy, he cast a character with a force like a machine gun into a paper with a thing that’s like a fencing sword----!!

163.
Houketsu: “Metsu”…………!! Namely it means your death. I don’t have a match when I use this Kyoujouken.
(TN: Like the technique, the weapon has the exact same reading: “Kyoujouken” or “Streaking-Boundary Sword”)
Momotarou: He has a Kyoujouken, said to be an illusionary fencing method……………!!
(TN: Momotarou actually uses “kenpou”, which is merely “sword method” in Japanese; however since this is more like a fencing saber and “kenpou” literally translates as “fencing”, I decided to combine the two)
Date: That is tremendous skill.
Commentary:
Kyoujouken…the popular fencing, which is a Western sword method, has it’s place of origin in Europe, but currently, there is a theory that says it goes back to China’s Qin Dynasty long ago.

This sword can nimbly thrust at an opponent’s vitals with a little power due to whetting it’s sharpness to be fine like a needle.

Hen Shingu, a second-generation of Shuu-ke, perfected this by uniting it with Chinese Kenpou, thinking out many secret techniques and making it a certain-kill matial art; his name is the origin for the name of “Fencing”.
-From “Strange Stories of World Sports”, Minmei Publishing
(TN: “Shuu-ke” = “Hoe-School”)

“Masked Man”: You have great confidence; that’s an interesting feat. So then, throw that paper to me.
Houketsu: What’s that…………!?

164.
Houketsu: What are you doing…………!?
“Masked Man”: HA!!

165.
Houketsu: …………!!
“Masked Man”: I’ve returned the language you spoke earlier.
“Masked Man”: This is your destiny.
Page: JIMETSU (SELF-DESTRUCTION)
“Masked Man”: “Jimetsu”, in other words, this is your death!!

TN: And thus we begin our mystery of the "masked man" member of team Otokojuku whom seems familiar...but claims/may not be. We're going to see hints as to whom he is as this fight (and a later one) move on, but somehow having a mystery fighter show up for the team (especially considering the first one was someone we knew was reliable like Akashi) was a neat move, showing that Otokojuku isn't always obsessed in showing off all of their big guns immediately. Meanwhile...I'm sort of torn regarding Hien's return myself. It is nice to have him back, but he did die somewhat epicly during the Pharaoh Sphinx encounter. I sort of wonder if they were forced to bring Hien back due to his fanbase...but strangely with what happens in this round and the final, having Hien back does seem to ultimately work to the advantage of the series when the time comes for it to. (as Miyashita does do so well) As for Houketsu...yeah, fencing is now Chinese like everything else is. I know it is a running gag (considering golf is Chinese too in this universe), but somehow I sort of miss the days where battle styles seemed to stem from anywhere and just adapted by the Chinese. I mean, that's what made the rugby fight back at the start of the Kyousatsu arc so memorable: yes it was a bunch of Japanese hooligans playing rugby in a bizarro battle fashion, but it was acknowledged as a European invention and that it could be adapted for Oriental (or fighting) means. Heck, look as well as Olympus, who prided their fighting skill as being equivalent to the Chinese! While it was funny seeing "golf" become Chinese, somehow fencing is where my mind just wonders how much more things can be "Chinese originally" instead of "from elsewhere but adapted in Chinese Kenpou". Nothing against the series, it's just a worry that what was fun is starting to get a tad cliche.