Chapter 188: Three Front Battle: Fight 1, Part 2

Kaoru (slapping her cheeks and thinking): Come on, come on! Megumi's right. You have to stay together!

(Kenshin throws the arm aside. He and Gein stare each other down.)

Gein (thinking): He's quick-witted. And the speed of his responses ... The deep wound caused by the Senwangeki didn't slow him down at all. A move appropriate to his extreme speed. I can't afford to show him any weakness! But there could be none better to test my Iwanbou! (aloud) Here I come, Battousai!

(He thrusts again and again with the Senwangeki attack; Kenshin dodges each one, gradually moving back.)

Megumi: Ken-san's on the run...

Kaoru: No--it looks that way, but all of the enemy's attacks are missing. But...

Megumi: But what?

Kaoru: Ordinary attacks won't work, and he's on the move so he can't use the twist-cut. If this goes on, Kenshin will be tired out and at a disadvantage. Even if he takes him down, that's what his real enemy is counting on.

Megumi: There's no other way he can attack?

Kaoru: No. There is one thing he can do.

(Iwanbou's twisting arm drives into the ground; Kenshin leaps to the roof to avoid it.)

Kenshin: The arm turns very well.

Gein: Does it bother you?

Kenshin (lifting his blade back): A little.

Megumi: A stabbing attack!

Kaoru: Yes. He can't slice the mechanical Iwanbou, but it's possible he can stab through it. Kenshin's previous defense proves it. But it would be to hard to aim for the twisting arms and legs. Considering their spinning power and their difference in body size, there's a possible Kenshin would be thrown aside. There's only one place to aim. The real person inside that huge body--the main point of control, Gein's own left arm! If that is hit, Iwanbou's own left arm will be disabled! Only ... a thrust is a powerful killer's technique. Kenshin's vow not to kill won't allow him to use it. No matter how difficult, there's only one small spot he can hit...

Gein: A thrust... (thinking) It's all as I foresaw. This is my last trump card. The fourth mechanism, sword-resistant armor! This net woven of steel cables combines durability with flexibility. No sword can pierce it! Or it shouldn't be able to, but this man has already exceeded my expectations twice. There are no absolutes, only possibilities ... A true match!

(Kenshin leaps forward, kicking up fragments of roof tile.)

Kaoru (thinking): He's going for it!

(One of the fragments is caught on the tip of Kenshin's sword. He stabs Iwanbou in the left shoulder. The sword penetrates the skin, but not very far.)

Megumi: It worked... ?

(Iwanbou's left arm pulls forward for another attack.)

Kaoru (thinking): No, it didn't work!

Gein: A truly excellent try, but that piece of debris cut its power in half! In the end it was bad luck that cost you your win. The triumph of my functional beauty! Iwanbou secret weapon, Senshi Senwangeki!

(The fingers spin as well, as Iwanbou's arm thrusts forward. Kenshin stands his ground.)

Kaoru: Ken...

(The arm grinds to a halt.)

Gein: What--why did it stop? Why won't it move!

Kenshin (pushing the motionless arm aside): It is a truly great technology to make even the fingers revolve. For such movement the mechanisms must be as complicated and detailed as the human body. Just as arm must be connected to the workings of the base of the shoulder ... Just as blood must flow without blockage through the body...

Gein (thinking): That was his aim all along! By pushing a foreign object into the Iwanbou body, he stopped the mechanism!

Kenshin (sheathing his sword): Loss of blood or pain are signals of irregularity or danger to the body. Your mistake was in trying to win without knowing pain or the smell of blood. I'll let you taste it once. I'll make you consider the worth of human life, your own and others. First, as I said, I'll destroy this interfering toy.

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu succession technique Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki!