Noble Elder, permit me to fight Pickle.
Are you sure?
You know what could happen to you, don't you, Katsumi?
I could end up as his food.
Well, all right then.
But only on these conditions...
And then it was settled. Just like that
Mitsunari Tokugawa had two conditions.
First, that the match take place at six in the morning.
Second, that it be held not in the underground arena,
but in the huge baseball stadium.
I didn't have a problem with either of those.
The only problem I had was with myself.
Would I be the one?
Would I, Katsumi Orochi, actually be the one...
Mom?
I sure wasn't expecting to find you here.
Your father told me about this match,
and how important it was.
And that's why I invited someone else to come as well.
A person who means more to you than anything.
Oh, come on, Mom. What are you talking about?
Don't be ridiculous.
I don't care who you invite, they couldn't mean more to me than you do.
Not even close.
You will always be my one and only mother.
So she didn't stay.
It's all right.
I guess it's not like watching a baseball game, after all.
That's the person Natsue invited.
Now I get it.
Of course that would be the person my mother would invite.
Of course...
'Cause after all,
that woman is my birth mother.
It all happened 15 years before.
Invited by a friend to visit his circus,
Doppo Orochi was amazed at what he saw there.
A five-year-old child prodigy
with astonishing talents and physical abilities.
Aah.
Then, suddenly and tragically, the boy's father died.
Doppo and his wife took over care of the boy
from his grief-stricken mother,
eventually adopting him and raising him.
Look at you.
How have you been?
Business hasn't been all that good at the circus lately.
My word.
You've become quite the muscle man.
What a crybaby you used to be.
You've come a long way, haven't you?
This is the same body you gave me.
You have every right
to hate me!
Don't be ridiculous.
You are my one and only mother.
To have two mothers is unusual.
To have two that are so dear to me is unique.
I have two loves,
but there is nothing false about either one of them.
How lucky I am to have two mothers.
I never thought you'd get to fight him before I did.
Hmm.
I should be the one.
Yeah.
You should be the one.
I hope I don't have to
go out there and clean up after your mess.
Nice pep talk. I appreciate it.
Hyah!
The straight mid-level strike.
The most basic of the fundamentals of Japanese karate arts.
More than just a move,
it is the very symbol of the art itself.
The power of that symbol,
amplified by 55,000 fists and voices,
rained down on Katsumi.
Hyah!
There are 220 branches of Shinshinkai in Tokyo
with a total of 55,000 members.
Despite the early hour of the morning,
they have all assembled here inside the Tokyo Dome
in order to inspire their young leader.
- Hyah! - Hyah!
Even the weakest human voice can become a powerful shockwave
when multiplied by 55,000.
Hyah!
Following the unwavering lead of their instructor,
Atsushi Suedo, they shouted with all their might,
from the pit of their bellies.
- Hyah! -"Take heart, Master."
- Hyah! - Hyah!
Hyah!
They knew that their young chairman
had now matured more than enough to fully accept
the incredibly huge expectations that had been placed on him.
- Hyah! - Hyah!
Hyah!
I know you're in there.
Come on out!
The jaw.
The chest.
The ribs.
The groin.
The thigh.
Five blows to his vital spots!
Right in the bullseye!
I even felt that one!
Is... is that really Katsumi Orochi??
I had no idea he was that powerful.
You're right.
He's stronger now. Much stronger.
Look, the guy's smiling.
That was a solid attack.
He couldn't have hoped to land it better.
But his opponent is Pickle,
the master fighter from the Jurassic era.
Our modern physique is no match for his body and its abilities.
Here it comes! Here comes a kick!
He's not even going to feint, just kick!
It's like getting hit by a truck!
I managed to block it,
but I still took a lot of damage.
It's thanks to my birth parents
that I have a body capable of standing back up.
It's thanks to my father, Doppo, that I have the skills to stand back up.
It's thanks to my mother, Natsue, that I have the will to stand back up.
It's thanks to all four of my parents!
At that moment, the smile on Pickle's face disappeared,
for that's when Katsumi was elevated in Pickle's eyes from plaything
to food.
Back then, in that distant, far off land and time,
it was only the mightiest of his enemies that he ate.
He ate them because they were the mightiest.
The absolute law of the jungle is survival.
And yet, Pickle defied this law.
He would eat only those that attacked him.
In this land without rules,
it was the one rule he imposed on himself,
and he was proud of it.
Now he took the same fighting stance
he had always used when facing a mighty enemy.
The time for horseplay was over.
Baki, look at the way he's standing.
Do you see that stance?
Uh-huh.
It's exactly like my dad's.
But never mind that,
what happened to Katsumi?
When did he get to be so tough?
There now, you see?
How can he hope to win?
Does Katsumi have any chance at all, Master?
Maybe.
I know what I would do.
Look, he's not backing down!
If I were facing that thing,
I would try to stop its heart.
This is the moment. Now!
At that moment, Pickle could think of only one thing.
The brawny tail swung by his great rival, T. rex.
That's it!
My God!
Uh...
He did it!
Pickle, for the first time in his 190 million years of existence,
felt an unfamiliar pain in his belly.
Something with all the power of a T. rex's tail
had landed a direct blow to his stomach.
Just as I figured.
Even someone like Pickle, if he's hit with a Mach-speed blow,
will go down.
What I hadn't figured on
is that if you hit someone with a Mach-speed blow,
your fist will be destroyed.
- He shattered his hand! - Ooh!
He'd knocked Pickle down,
something no man had ever achieved,
but at the cost of his fist, the lifeblood of a karate fighter.
And yet, despite this,
the fighter was overjoyed.
His body had mastered Mach speed.
Now every move he made would be governed by this new calculation.
Hyah!
Karate fighter, Katsumi Orochi,
in the summer of his 21st year,
was on fire.
It worked! What a move!
He knocked him flat!
Well, well.
What do you think? Could it really be over?
Did Katsumi defeat him?
But now, the fighter faced further consequences
as a result of that Mach speed.
That's Pickle for ya.
It took all that just to knock him down.
He can only hope he stays down.
Just think of how tough Katsumi's fists are.
Good heavens, Pickle's body must be made of solid steel!
No, it wasn't Pickle's body. It was something else.
Professor Payne?
It was caused by the air,
by his body breaking the sound barrier.
Sound barrier?
Really?
An airplane, for example.
As it accelerates,
it meets resistance from the air around it.
And this resistance increases
in direct proportion to the acceleration
until the moment the plane's speed reaches above 760 miles an hour.
It breaks the sound barrier.
Any object breaking through the barrier
is immediately hit by powerful and violent forces.
This has proven to be disastrous on many occasions.
And I'm talking about airplanes made of metal,
designed to withstand forces like those.
No, indeed, we make a mistake
when we think of the air as being insubstantial.
When his fists and feet exceeded 760 miles an hour,
they paid a devastating price.
This barrier of air, or whatever it is,
is really that destructive?
He had to sacrifice both of his hands and his left foot
to score a knockdown.
Problem is,
Pickle's already recovered from it.
I'll be damned if he isn't even smiling already.
- He's getting up. - Even after all those blows?
Didn't they have any effect?!
This was preposterous.
The attacker was on his knees,
while the one who'd been attacked was looking down on him.
Why has God sent such a thing into this modern world?
I hate to admit it,
but Katsumi hasn't done a single thing wrong
since the fight started.
I guess this was bound to be the only possible outcome.
- You people just don't get it. - Huh?
Yes, you martial artists are very powerful, I can see that.
I'll be the first one to admit that you've exceeded my expectations.
But it's not a martial artist you're facing.
Pickle's former opponents were primitive beasts
from a primitive time.
They were huge, the size of mountains!
He's survived attacks by creatures
weighing 33,000 pounds.
Clearly, he can handle an attack from Katsumi,
who weighs only 220.
He's going to do that move!
I've done everything right.
I couldn't have done it better.
But as a result,
I've destroyed both my hands and one foot.
Look at them all. Look at their faces.
Even you two, huh?
Well, don't worry.
Don't you worry...
I still haven't used it.
I've been holding it back.
The move that only I've mastered,
my one-of-a-kind Mach Punch!
Ah!
How is it possible he still has more left in him?
Come on, then. What have you got?
I've thought of one thing only. Striking my opponent.
Landing blows powerfully.
Swiftly inflicting the most damage.
I've built up my muscles to inflict damage.
I've developed the limberness and looseness to inflict damage.
I've pictured my rigid bones becoming as supple as a whip
in order to inflict damage.
The result is the most original, most powerful, most effective,
boldest, deadliest, greatest move ever!
I even surprised myself.
All I've thought about my whole life is how to land ever more powerful blows.
And yet the form of attack I've finally arrived at
is a blow that's not supposed to land at all!
- Ah! - Blood!
But whose blood is it?
Whether it was invented by accident or a gift from God,
the whip is a tool
that can achieve Mach speed through human power alone.
The moment at which the tip of the whip achieves its maximum speed is this.
Not when human exertion has reached its fullest point,
but that exquisite moment when the tip of the whip snaps back.
He'd devoted his life o perfecting the art of landing blows,
of making contact with his opponent.
It was what all his training had been about.
But now he had let go of all that.
He'd let go of everything.
And by doing so,
he'd achieved an even greater shock wave, an even greater Mach.
Well, I guess it figures.
They're not like a whip.
They're not flexible like that
They're just ordinary bones.
- Good God ! - Ooh!
What has he done?
It only stands to reason.
Bones aren't whips.
The spell has worn off.
I've woken up from the dream.
But this is enough.
It's okay if I wake up now.
Let the spell wear off.
I have nothing more to give anyway.
I was able to make all the moves I wanted,
and I'm still standing!
It was all of you who gave me this victory!
What a remarkable young man.
It's a miracle, what he's accomplished.
In just a few short days, he's advanced king fu 50 years!
Amazing.
You can say that again, Baki!
Though it doesn't even really begin to describe what he's done!
I can't help but bow my head in thanks.
Hyah!
Thank you, all of you.
Hyah!
I am undeserving, but I thank you.
The value of your support was immeasurable.
- You have my genuine appreciation. - Hyah!
Although I should be apologizing instead!
Hyah!
Hmm?
He... he's only sleeping?
Impossible.
It's impossible!
Hyah!
Don't be too disappointed, everyone.
This man hasn't been knocked out.
He just decided to take a nap.
Huh?
- Oh my God. - Hyah!
Pickle was only sleeping?!
It was already clear to me that this fight was over.
Over?
What do you mean, the fight was over?
It's plain to see
that Katsumi's body has suffered grave damage.
If this fight were happening in the wild,
there'd be no need for his opponent to attack him again.
Attacking an animal that badly injured would be a waste of energy.
And there is no waste in the natural world.
So, then, what would his opponent do?
He would rest until Katsumi stopped breathing.
By conserving his energy,
Pickle is simply doing what comes naturally to him.
Tears.
This must be what Tokugawa told me about.
Pickle loves those who attack him, and he eats those whom he loves.
When he eats them, he's also bidding them farewell.
That's why he weeps.
Hyah!
- Hyah! -I am honored.
Wait!
Wait! Something's wrong. Very wrong.
This man,
the greatest fighter to walk the Earth since the planet was formed,
has acknowledged me as a strong and worthy opponent.
All my efforts have been rewarded.
How do I repay him for this honor?
How do I respond?