The 5th episode of Deep of Muscle.
The following is a fan-translation of the Japanese content.
Summary[]
The story of Black Shadow's creation.
Story[]
Chapter 1[]
Part 1[]
【Prologue】
He's a skeleton chojin form outer space, and his real name is Sharekobe.
If you can guess who he is from this information alone, you must be a connoisseur who has been reading "Kinnikuman" since the very beginning.
He's a chojin...well, can we really call him a chojin? I don't even know what he really is. Considering that he used to be a giant, should we consider him a kaiju?
Just as Warsman was struggling with his identity as a "robo-chojin", a person who is neither a chojin nor a robot, so too is there a mysterious man here who doesn't know who he is and is secretly suffering.
He is known as Kinkotsuman, and has been around since the early days of the series and calls himself Kinnikuman's eternal rival.
He is neither a chojin nor a kaiju, but he acts as a "kaiju" for now. He had a younger sidekick, the rock monster Iwao, who was in a similar situation to Kinnikuman, and repeatedly harassed him.
He challenged Kinnikuman and was defeated, challenged and defeated, challenged and defeated... Spring came, summer came, autumn came, winter came, he challenged and was defeated, and so on and so forth.
In the end, he has never won a single battle. Most of the time, he was too stupid to even notice that he had destroyed himself, but he kept trying.
His pupil, Iwao, later recalled: "In those days, he was as persistent as if he were trying to prove his own worth. Oh, scary, scary.”
He was so obsessed with the challenge that he seemed to think it was the point of the challenge itself... What was he dreaming of beyond his victory?
To find out more about the inner workings of the mysterious Kinnikuman, we're going to take a look at one of his biggest missions, when he took on Kinnikuman and Terryman's The Machine Guns in an emergency tag-team tournament in America.
What is the Black Shadow, the demonic incarnation of Kinnikuman created by Kinbone Man in order to stop Kinnikuman from dying? And how good was he at it?
Part 2[]
This is the Grand Canyon, a huge canyon in the middle of the Colorado River in the southwest of the United States.
Just a few minutes ago, the fight of the century between Kinnikuman and Robin Mask was being held in a special ring set up between the two canyons... But an accident during the fight caused Robin Mask, who had once been judged the provisional winner, to fall to the bottom of the canyon. However, due to an accident during the match, Robin Mask, who had once been awarded a provisional victory, fell to the bottom of the valley and went missing.
The match was a title match for Kinnikuman's championship belt, but the decision and the transfer of the title were disputed between Kinnikuman's organization, the WSA, and two other American organizations, the WSF and the WSC. The long-simmering issue of which organization would get the belt, and which organization would be the true champion of the world, was about to explode.
To settle the dispute, the man who was known as the leader of the American superhero world, God Von Erich, appears. He proposed to hold a tag team league championship by selecting one representative tag team from each organization. The solution was that the winning team would absorb the other two.
The winner would then merge with the other two groups. No one spoke out against this idea, which was universally respected by all the groups, and a round-robin tournament was about to be declared.
“Wait a minute!”
A loud, high-pitched voice echoed through the valley.
“We are participating in the Tag Team Championships as freelance wrestlers with no affiliation to any organization!”
The name of the man who boldly applied to participate in this tournament of fierce competitors is Kinkotsuman. He is a small villain who has always appeared wherever Kinnikuman goes, harassing him and playing pranks on him.
However, Kinnikuman is used to these guys showing up out of nowhere and messing with him.
"You idiot! You're not a chojin, you're a kaiju.”
“What the...!”
Kinkotsuman was shocked beyond belief.
I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea. I don't even know who I am, I'm in trouble!
Kinkotsuman shouted in the depths of his mind in an inarticulate voice. It's the truth that hurts us the most when we are told the truth.
But the only one who could sense the teary-eyed Kinkotsuman was his sidekick, Iwao. He immediately follows up his respected teacher by shouting
"Even a monster is a chojin! Let's win the tag team championship and become citizens of America!”
They were almost fooled by their desperate plea, but soon after, everyone from all three groups had a second thought.
“No, you guys don't have any titles or belts to bet on..."
But God von Erich, the leader of the American superhero world, was a big man. He generously gave them a quick answer.
“Well, that's all right. One more head, and the readers will be happy!”
With his unintelligible crane's call, they were allowed to participate in the Tag Team Championship. The momentum of the match has given Eric the power to do one more thing.
The tag team champions will be joined by Dilly Placard's Clark Kenta.
The bespectacled man, who had appeared out of nowhere with an introduction and bowed in disbelief, was to be the referee for the tournament. What the hell is this guy doing?" everyone in the room thought secretly, but no one could say anything about his proposal.
God von Erich. A truly frightening man.
Part 3[]
But whatever the case, thanks to this, the monstrous duo of Kinkotsuman and Iwao were successfully allowed to participate in the Tag Team Championships.
“Moo hyo hyo! You can say what you want! This time, this time, I'm going to make that pigman swoon! I'll do it!”
And so it was straight into a strategy meeting. They sashayed back to their newly built hideout in the United States.
"Kinkonman Secret Laboratory".
A secret laboratory... not a hideaway, but a laboratory. But don't be fooled. Kinkotsuman is, in spite of his appearance, an excellent researcher. In fact, he has created a number of terrifying tools that cannot be explained by earthly science and technology.
First of all, the monster gun. When a person is exposed to the rays of light emitted from this gun, he or she instantly becomes a gigantic, ferocious monster. It's amazing that this gun was once used to turn a prawn tempura into a giant monster, wreaking havoc in the town.
Next up was the Control Gun. This is an ultra-high-performance brainwave control device that allows anyone exposed to the rays of light emitted from the gun to listen to whatever the irradiator tells them for a certain period of time.
And then there is the Invisible Gun. The Invisible Gun is also a gun-type device, but it can turn invisible and disappear for a certain period of time when it is exposed to the rays of light emitted from it.
You'd think that with all the horrible things they've developed, they'd be able to take over the planet easily. But for some reason, it doesn't work every time, and Kinnikuman and his friends stop him. The reality of their lives is that they are more than just a treasure trove, they are a pitiful, dismal mess.
They say there's a fine line between genius and something, and that's exactly what they are. But the only person who understands and respects Kinkonman's superficiality is his pupil, Iwao.
"Sensei, sensei!”
That's right, that's why Iwao calls him "Sensei" with the utmost respect. Isn't that a wonderful story? By the way, there is no one other than Iwao who calls Kinkotsuman "Sensei". Genius is a hard thing to understand.
"Okay, Iwao over there.”
Kinkotsuman points to him as if he were a schoolteacher in a good mood. It seems that the teacher is in a very good mood right now.
“I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it," he said.
"Sensei. By the way, why did you suddenly make such a reckless offer just now?”
"Oh, yes. Do you think so?”
“Yes, I do! Even though we're ex-Wesen, we don't know much about martial arts. But we're going to be facing a lot of strong opponents in this tournament, including Kinnikuman, Skull Bozu from the WSF and Beauty Rhodes from the WSC. I don't think we'd be able to beat them in a proper match in the ring, let alone by surprise!”
Seeing Iwao's anxious face, however, Kinkotsuman grinned.
“I'm not sure if you really think I'm going to do something so reckless without a second thought? Moo-hoo-hoo-hoo!”
The moment he heard that confident, buoyant voice, his face, which had been stiff until then, brightened up, as if a flower had bloomed in the wasteland.
He said, "Oh, that means there's some kind of secret plan!”
“There's no way this Kinbonesman would go to all that trouble to fight with martial arts without a gun!”
"What an inappropriate thing for a fighting manga character to say! That's my teacher! It's not easy for you to say something like that!”
“I'm so embarrassed, Iwao!”
He was not sure if that's really a compliment or not, but Kinkotsuman is still in a good mood and starts to explain the whole plan.
The first thing he want to do is draw his attention to the big doll behind it.
“It may look like a mere mannequin, but it's actually a robo-chojin that I'm currently assembling!”
"What, an robot?"
── To be continued
Chapter 2[]
Part 1[]
A giant mechanical doll looms behind Iwao. It's currently unfinished, but when it's finished, it will be able to move at Kinkotsuman's command.
"I see. I see. That's why you were so confident in your candidacy for the Tag Team Championship..."
Kinkotsuman proudly puts his hands on his hips and crouches low in a pose!
"This is my pride and joy!"
And then he flips around and holds his left hand up in the air, saying.
"The name is Black Shadow!
All three poses are perfectly executed, and Kinkotsuman is in an even better mood. But Iwao, who was watching, muttered to himself.
“You know, Sensei, you've done a great job today, but those three poses are hard to convey in a novel without pictures, so you might want to avoid them...”
“Ha! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”
“So you're so sure of your work that you forgot yourself?”
“Of course! The beauty of these androids is that they grow in intelligence and personality as you input data into them! Moo hoo hoo!”
But this wonderfully unnecessary feature made Iwao feel a little uneasy and he quickly asked a question.
“But, teacher, if the robot has a personality, will it listen to us? As they grow up, it will become more and more cocky, and in the end, it will do more harm than good...”
"In my opinion, the ultimate dream of robotics is to create a perfect copy of a human being! For example, at the moment, this android's data is almost completely blank. In this state, I'm going to give it three commands.”
Then Kinkotsuman took a deep breath and said: "Now, the first one: Black Shadow, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand!”
Black Shadow the Android then raised one hand in the usual way.
“Black Shadow! Now let's see you dance!”
This time he flailed his body a little.
“All right, Black! I'm going to run from there!”
Black Shadow did as he was told and began to run lightly through the laboratory.
Iwao was completely taken aback by the unbelievable spectacle and technical prowess that was unfolding in front of him! What a rare success!
“What a genius! A teacher who can make a robot like this with one hand while saying 'mwah mwah mwah' is undoubtedly a genius!”
But to Iwao's surprise, Kinkotsuman was not happy.
"You idiot! This is just the beginning of what you're supposed to be able to do with these silly moves! You think you can beat Kinnikuman with these moves? This is where the real surprise begins!”
With that, Kinkotsuman pulled a circuit out of his pocket.
This circuit contains the power data of Beauty Rhodes, the powerful ace of the WSC. Click, click, click this into the Black Shadow's engine compartment...
It seems that the preparations had been completed and the modification operation was completed in about 10 minutes. It's a good thing that Black Shadow's main computer, which was brand new, has been inputted with Beauty Rhodes' power usage.
Part 2[]
Then he took a deep breath and said: "So, one more thing. Black Shadow, let's see if you can raise your hand!”
And then, like a long-time champion responding to the crowd's cheers, the Black Shadow began to raise his hands in the air. Finally, he raised his left fist to the sky!
"Sir! This is Rhodes, this is Rhodes without a doubt!”
Every movement has a soul. Black Shadow doesn't have a mouth, so he couldn't hear his voice, but I could almost hear him shouting in triumph as he raised his fist. It's a far cry from the inorganic way he raised his arms the first time he saw him.
"Black Shadow! Dance!"
The second command came from the same man, and he began a powerful disco dance, just like John Travolta in the New York-set film Saturday Night Fever. He is the king of the magicians and has made New York his main battleground! And to top it all off, Rhodes did what he always does after a fight: he did his victory dance, shaking his hips from side to side!
"All right, Black! Now, run from there at the end!"
As soon as Black heard the voice, he unleashed all his power and rushed in a straight line. As soon as Black heard the voice, he unleashed all his power and ran straight ahead, smashing through the wall of the laboratory room and running straight away...
Iwo was so moved that he was speechless. He let out a little gasp, but he didn't even realise it for a while.
"Sir I'm sorry to see you..."
"Yes, that's good to know. But my insatiable quest is not yet satisfied with this! You'll be able to find a lot more than just a copy of the original. So I've decided to be more greedy and make the true Black Shadow the perfect person by combining the following four advantages!”
"My goodness, sir, what would that perfection look like?”
“If we can evolve any further, we can even win the championship!”
Iwao, spitting with nervousness, listened to the ambitions of Kinkotsuman.
"First, I'll give him the power of Beauty Rhodes, which I've already successfully inputted!”
“Oh!”
“And then add the brutality of Ramenman to the mix!”
“Oh!”
"And then add the technique of Robin Mask!”
“Oh, my God!”
“And to top it all off, I'm gonna give you the brain of Kinkotsuman!
“What?”
“When these four abilities are combined, Black Shadow will be a fearsome chojin. Moo hoo, moo hoo, moo hoo!"
The last item bothers him... but the teacher is indeed a genius, albeit a paper-thin one. He may turn out to be a surprisingly clever chojin. Well, we'll let it slide. But there was one more important question left to be answered.
"Sensei, sensei!"
“Yes, what is it, Iwao?”
“I've seen that Black Shadow is very promising. But this is a tag-team tournament, isn't it? Where is the other one?”
"What are you talking about? Black Shadow's partner has been here all along.
“Here?”
Iwao followed Kinkotsuman's direction. He pointed towards himself.
"Of course it's you, Iwao. I'm not joking!”
"What? No, no, no! You can't do that, you can't do that! Why don't you make another Black Shadow anyway?”
"Don't be naive, boy! You can do it! I'm sure you'll be able to figure out the best way to get the most out of this. And besides, we don't have a dime of money left in this lab!
"Well, then, if you'll answer..."
“Iwao, you've got some nerve using me as a joke, don't you?”
"Hiiiiiiii!"
“I'm sure you'll find that this is the main reason why I can't beat Kinnikuman.”
“And by the way, sir! When will the precious Black Shadow, who has sucked up not only our research money but also our living expenses, come back?”
"Oh no! He'll keep running forever until he runs out of energy, unless we tell him to come back! We can't let him do this! I'm on my way to retrieve it now, Iwao!”
“I'm gutted!”
So while there're doing this, the energy bills from the Black Shadow's futile sprint are putting more and more pressure on our living expenses. So that's why we had a bowl of tamago-gake rice for dinner last night.
Even after all this time, Iwao is once again worried about his future life...
── To be continued
Chapter 3[]
Part 1[]
About four hours later, Black Shadow, a super-advanced robo-chojin, was found wrestling buffaloes in the Texas wilderness after being mysteriously blown up for nothing. How could they have spent their lives doing this?
Despite the urge to cry, Iwao managed to get rid of the herd of buffalo and retrieved Black Shadow, who still wanted to play with the cows. He returned to the laboratory.
“Mwah, now I've only got Rhodes' power and no intelligence input, so I've got to keep playing with the buffaloes for nothing. But now it's time for the second data input: the brutality of Ramenman!”
The circuitry we have retrieved here contains the essence of Ramenman's emotions. Now set it in...
"Mmmm. I'm looking forward to it this time!”
About ten minutes later, the new circuit had been installed. He then began to unite his hands in unison.
"All right, then, let's begin the same experiment as before” he said, taking a deep breath.
“And now for the first one. Now, Black Shadow, let's see if you can raise your hand!”
It's a neck-hanging tree position! It's Sensei, Black Shadow!"
Then he obeyed the order and freed Kinkotsuman.
"Well, that's a cruel superhero, even his creator was killed without mercy! I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.”
"No, sir. I'm scared of this guy..."
"Don't worry, Iwao. It's all right, there's no mistake in my work. Now... let's continue with the next experiment, giggle giggle giggle. And now, Black Shadow, I will show you how to dance!”
With a command, Black Shadow rushed towards Kinkotsuman. This time, he begins to rain down Chinese martial arts on his creator!
"Gaaaaaaaah! No, no, no!”
The dance wasn’t a dance, but the "Chinese Kempo Dance of Death"...
Boom! Crack!
The sound of violent and terrifying blows echoed through the laboratory. Kinbonesman is in a complete sandbag. Iwao just sits there, shivering and shaking as the sound of the blows continues...
“It's Sensei, it's Sensei - Black Shadoooooow!”
At the same time as the voice that he finally managed to twist out, Black Shadow immediately stopped attacking. It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your vacation.
"No, sir! I...don't like it. I definitely don't want to team up with this horrible guy. Hiccup, hiccup!”
"Shut up and stop crying!”
Kinkotsuman is now completely pissed off.
"One last experiment! Black Shadow, now try to run as hard as you can!”
Then Black Shadow dashes forward and jumps! This technique is one of Ramen Man's secret 102 tricks, the "Fiery Sun Leg"!
“I can't believe it!”
Gaaaaaah! Boom!
"Hey, Sensei! Thank God for that! No more beatings for you!
As Iwao watched Black Shadow run off into the northern horizon, tears welled up on his face as he shouted. Kinbone Man seemed to have completely fainted...
Part 2[]
A few hours later, Kinkotsuman regains consciousness and finds Black Shadow in the middle of a deadly battle with five grizzly bears in the Canadian mountains.
Black Shadow's Chinese martial arts skills are a match for the ferocious bears that attack him. Each time his hooves slice into his body, a bigger wound opens up, but the android, who feels no pain, continues to fight back. One by one, the giant bears are felled by Black's powerful hand-to-hand and kicking attacks. The last bear he had left was attacked from behind and locked in the Romero Special for the complete victory.
The bear killing is one of the most popular legends among fighters, but I never imagined that it could be so fierce. His appearance was worthy of being called a demon god.
"Sensei, what... what's going on here?”
“I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that this is a demon created by the Kinkotsuman it's not like Skull Bozu or Beauty Rhodes. Geez.”
"Sir. You really want to bring him home, don't you? I'm afraid to live with him, even if he's on my side...”
“Idiot! He can beat Skull and Rhodes, but you can't beat Kinnikuman if you're scared of him like this!”
“If he can beat Skull and Rhodes, he can beat that pigman...”
“We'll just bring him back home and continue our experiments to improve him!”
Iwao reluctantly got out of the chase UFO and followed the teacher. Immediately, he heard the teacher shouting something.
“Yes, Black Shadow, over here! ...No, no, no, don't attack me, I'll just stay where I am.”
Iwao was still very anxious...
Despite being severely injured, Kinkotsuman and Iwao manage to recover Black Shadow and return to the laboratory. Kinbone Man, on crutches, took out a new circuit.
“I'll stop now, Sensei. I'm going to die.”
“Shut up, Iwao! I told you not to be scared, you bastard!”
“But, but...”
"Okay, what I've got here is a circuit containing the technique data of Robin Mask and the intelligence data of myself, Kinkotsuman. This time, the two are installed at the same time.
“I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that he's as technically proficient as Robin Mask. And now for the highlight of the evening, the intelligent circuitry...”
"No! I don't want to do this! I don't want to do this!”
“Oh, you said it! You said something you shouldn't have said!”
“Yes, I did! It's the end of the world if you install such a demented circuit!”
“You used a word that's inappropriate in so many ways... I'll kill you first, before I kill Kinnikuman!”
“I'm afraid! It's my righteous duty to stop this rampage!”
Kaan!
The bell rang for the start of the match in both of their heads, and just as they were about to clasp their hands together in the middle of the laboratory and begin a contest of strength, there was a zap between them.
"This is definitely Robin Mask. It worked!”
"No, sir!”
“Iwao, let me install this circuit for one last time. Now my work of art will be complete...”
"All right, all right. I'll say nothing more. I won't say another word. You can do whatever you like!”
"Thank you, Iwao. I'm glad you understand.”
Kinkotsuman installed the final circuit and Black Shadow was finally complete, just as he had intended.
"Moo hoo hoo hoo! Yay, Iwao! Your tag team partner is complete! I'll explain again! This Black Shadow has the power of Beauty Rhodes, his brutality is like Ramenman and He got the skills of Robin Mask. He's a chojin with a brain like Kinkotsuman!”
The fact that his brain is Kinkotsuman continues to bother Iwao, but he can't quite imagine how this paper-thin danger is reflected in this monster.
“I'm sure you'll be able to tell me more about it.”
"All right, Iwao, I'll show you. I'll show you the true essence of Black Shadow, which contains my brain data. Come on, Black, let's introduce ourselves!”
On command, Black Shadow proudly places his hands on his hips and crouches low in a pose!
".........!"
He flips backwards and raises his left hand high in the air.
".........!"
And then he flips around to face us, his left hand raised in the air as if he's trying to say something!
".........!"
He stared at them in silence.
Unfortunately for Black Shadow, he couldn't talk, so he remained mute all the time, but the three poses he struck were exactly the same as the ones Kinbone Man usually strikes when he's in a good mood. Each pose was perfectly executed, and Kinnkotsuman's mood became even better. He is so happy that he is crying with tears in his eyes, clutching his spanner.
“It's perfect! That's what I wanted Black to do!”
Iwao, who was watching, murmured quietly.
“He's such an idiot..."
── To be continued
Chapter 4[]
Part 1[]
Black Shadow, the black demon that Kinkotsuman prides himself on, was finally complete. All that was left to do was to give it a trial run to train his combination with Iwao and wait for the opening match of the Tag Team Championship.
He has been practising with him for a while now and he can tell you he's a superstar. Iwao has to admit that he was a bit skeptical this time, but then again, he respect Kinkotsuman as the greatest genius in the universe!
"Well, well, well, Iwao. That's all you need to know.”
“And now for the first time in Japan! I'm going to show you a very special tag-team combination that Iwao and Black have developed together!”
Iwao's words were unexpected, and Kinkotsuman shouted with joy!
"Oh, I've been waiting for you, Mr. President!”
"I've been waiting for you, Mr. President!
"Hey, Black!"
With that call, Iwao began to curl up from his gymnastic sitting position and eventually turned into a large round lump of rock. And then the Black Shadow came rushing in! Iwao, still curled up, calls out the loudest shout of all!
The Black Shadow is a mass of rocks! Iwao Black Rockshoot!"
The Black Shadow's golden right foot kicks into Iwao's body with all its might! This is a great way to make sure that you get the most out of your time with your family and friends. It went on to become a star in the night sky.
What a tag-team combination of self-sacrifice and trust! What a tag-team combination of self-sacrifice and trust! It's the ultimate evolution of 'the ball is your friend'!
The Black Shadow, having scored his goal, ran around the laboratory, did a backflip and threw his hands up in the air in delight.
He then threw his hands up in the air in joy. "By the way, Iwao, after traveling so far, do you think you'll be able to make it back before the game?
Black Shadow nodded his head and raised his hands in the air like a Westerner.
Three days later, Iwao managed to swim across the ocean and return to America.
***
On the day of the game, the Astrodome is located in Houston, Texas, USA.
The Astrodome was opened in 1965 as the world's first domed stadium, and has since become widely known as the home of the Houston Astros, the newest team in Major League Baseball.
The first round of the Tag Team Championships, which will decide the future of the superhero world, will be held here. The lights go out and the entrance ceremony begins.
After the entrance of The Emperors from the Council of Superheroes and the most evil duo in the universe from the League of Superheroes, it was finally the turn of Iwao and Black Shadow, the Rugged Brothers, to make their entrance.
Surprised to be greeted with a surprisingly loud cheer, Iwao and Black walked proudly down the aisle to the centre of the ring.
"Go for it, Iwao!
"Leave it to me, Sensei!"
Black also raises his hand in response to Kinsekoman's cheers. In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The Astrodome erupted in cheers!
“What's going on?”
When he looked at the entrance to the pedestrian walkway, he saw Kinnikuman, the representative tag team of the WSA, and, of course, Terryman!
"No way! I thought Terryman was still recovering from his left leg injury...
But now he's right in front of us, and the crowd is chanting Terry.
"GUMMOO...! This means that we have to brace ourselves even more!”
Kinnikuman murmured with a sullen expression, as if biting down on a bitter bug.
In the first match of the day, just as he had predicted, Kinnikuman and Terryman's The Machine Guns put on a show of bravery, going toe-to-toe with the Superhero Council's Beauty Rhodes and Jeanne Stimboard and The Emperors. A draw was the result.
Part 2[]
“The pigman is not to be underestimated. So, let's brace ourselves for our first match. He's up against Skull Bozu and Devil Magician from the WSF. Let's make sure we don't lose this one..."
But early in the match, something extraordinary happened! In the first second, Iwao was blown up by the magician and skewered through the ceiling of the Astrodome. Then, as quickly as he could, Skull Bozu and Devil Magician surrounded Black Shadow on either side, taking both of his arms.
“All right! This one's next!”
The two magicians tore off Black's arms at once.
"What!?”
Black's arms are ripped off!
"And that's the end!"
Skull Bozu and Devil Magician split up: Skull Bozu using figure four legs and Devil Magician using figure four neck to attack Black from above and below. It's not easy, but they're grabbing the ring ropes on each side.
Black's body will be ripped from his torso!
”Yeah, yeah, yeah! Cut! I want you to make the cut!”
But Iwao is still lying unconscious on the ceiling.
“Oh, no! Hey, referee! Black Shadow has given up! The fight is off!"
But referee Clark Kenta was merciless: "No. No, you can't give up until you hear it from the fighter!”
“Shut up! He has no mouth, he can't talk!”
“What?”
But to Kenta's surprise, it was too late. It's not just a matter of time before he's torn apart. The movement was completely stopped, and the defeat of the Rugged Brothers was decided... The spectators were speechless at the sight of so much cruelty. Only a quiet murmur filled the Astrodome. Then a loud cry of grief echoed through the crowd.
“Black! I will avenge your death!”
Kinkotsuman rushed to Black and cried, but he was so shocked that he collapsed...
***
“I'll be back, sensei!"
It was only after three hours had passed since the catastrophe that he woke up to the sound of Iwao's voice.
"Oh, Sensei! You've finally woken up!”
He noticed that Iwao was crying on the side of the bed.
"Oh... yes, I remember that Black Shadow..."
"Yeah, I must have fainted," he said. Well... hey, sir?”
“What's the matter, Iwao?”
“Let's not do this again. I'm sure it's divine punishment. Let's not deal with them anymore, let's go to another planet together and do some more useful research..."
But Kinkotsuman's eyes were not dead.
“What? You can't be so weak about something like this, Iwao! I have a pain in my chest too! But if you want to beat Kinnikuman, if you want to win, this kind of pain is nothing to you!”
“Sensei, you're not going to stop...”
“Atta boy! He's not going to die until he's got the brains and the inventions to make Kinnikuman's head spin! It's for Black's sake that he's gone! O-ro-ro-ro!”
"Hey, Sensei. I've been thinking about this for a while, but why do you care so much about such a screw-up chojin?”
As if he had finally given up, Kinkotsuman replied with a self-deprecating smile.
“I'm, Iwao. That's because I was the first one to recognize his boundless strength and tremendous talent.”
"Oh, tremendous talent, that pigman?"
“Oh, yes. I'm only telling you this because it's frustrating and I trust you, but I'm sure he's going to grow up to be a very big man. But it wasn't Robin Mask, or Ramenman, or even his master Kamehameha who first saw his potential with their wise eyes. The first person to recognize his abilities and declare him a rival was, of all people, Kinkotsuman.”
“You're not insane, are you, Sensei?”
"Yes, I'm afraid so."
When Iwao thought about it, he was convinced. It's true. In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site. I'm sure you'll agree with me.
“And just like his wise eye, he got stronger and stronger. But sadly, at the same time, the gap between us and him was widening. He's getting more and more recognised by the public, and new rivals keep popping up! But what about us? We're getting more and more despised by the world, and no one will take us seriously!”
“It's a sad story...”
“But it would be a shame for us, who have always been rivals, to fall behind him and be left behind. That's why!"
“And that's why I'm going to keep challenging him for the rest of my life! You can't lose a battle until you admit defeat and stop fighting. But if you don't admit defeat and keep challenging him to a fight, then you haven't won yet!”
"S-Sensei! That's a real eye opener! You're so clever!”
“What a self-centred refusal. This is the ultimate in resignation.... At the same time, however, this intense selfishness and self-assertion is also full of the energy of the fundamental life. The ugliness of the world is laid bare, but the rawness of it gives the film a powerful energy. For them, at least, such ugly obsession is their "hope" for survival...”
In this way, the attitude of "never giving up", of being obsessed with something, is ungraceful and uncool, but perhaps that is exactly what "living" is all about! But perhaps that is exactly what it means to live. We must not turn away from the ugliness of life, but face it head-on and struggle with it... That is how life must be lived. And it is in this ugliness that the joy of life must exist.
“Moo hoo hoo. In short, no matter how much you want to give up, no matter how many times you're beaten to a pulp, giving up your dream of defeating Kinnikuman is the same as giving up hope! It's the same as losing the meaning of life for us! Isn't that right, Iwao?”
"Yes! The dream of defeating Kinnikuman is what keeps us alive!”
“We don't care what our purpose is. I'm sure you've heard of it, but I'm not sure if you've ever heard of it. Even if it's a superfluous and annoying goal like "getting in the way of Kinnikuman".
"Well, if that's the case, then I'm done with all this nonsense! Conveniently, the second game of the tournament is a head-to-head in Los Angeles between the Machine Guns and the rest of us! So let's see what we can do to annoy them next!”
“I'm gutted!”
The monster duo, their bodies and minds torn apart by grief, are no longer lost.
Because this is the way of life for them!
── The End