Saitama x Baki

Orochi Dojo – Next Morning

The phone rang. Doppo answered, eyes heavy with sleep.

"What?"

Static. Then a faint voice.

"This is underground security in Yokohama. We found Jack Hanma collapsed. Vital signs barely stable. No witnesses. Only… signs of internal trauma. Possibly a poison-based technique."

Doppo went still.

Retsu entered moments later, sensing the tension. "What happened?"

Doppo slowly put down the receiver. "It's Yanagi. The vacuum palm master. He's begun."

Katsumi looked up from his training, still bruised. "Another convict?"

Doppo nodded. "The worst kind. Not a brute. Not a bomber. A killer. Clean, silent, and planned."

Saitama stepped out from the kitchen, holding a rice cracker.

"Is he strong?" he asked.

Doppo hesitated. "He's not flashy. He won't fight you straight. He aims for your breath. Your nerves. He'll poison you just from touching your shirt."

Saitama blinked. "That's kind of annoying."

Katsumi rubbed his ribs. "What about Baki? He'll go after him next, won't he?"

Doppo stared at the floor. "If he wants to break everyone around Baki… he might not go for Baki at all."

They all fell silent.

Elsewhere – Rooftop of an Apartment Complex

Yanagi stood in a crouch, overlooking a street where Kozue Matsumoto walked to a local store.

He watched her. Quiet. Observing her steps. Her posture.

"Break the boy from the inside. That's how you cripple a soul."

He did not move.

Not yet.

He was waiting.

For Baki to feel it.

Tokyo – Kojimachi District, Afternoon

The wind swirled softly through the narrow, sun-washed streets. Children laughed in the distance. Vendors sold oden beneath striped roofs. It was the kind of quiet Baki hadn't felt in weeks.

But his heart didn't rest.

He leaned against a bench near a school wall, arms folded, eyes locked on the people moving by.

Kozue was nearby.

She had insisted on going alone to visit a friend. Baki didn't like it. Not today. Not after hearing about Jack's condition. Not after Doppo told him Yanagi had returned.

"Poison Hand…" he whispered.

That name wasn't just a technique—it was a warning.

Meanwhile – A Rooftop Nearby

Yanagi knelt calmly behind an old generator. He didn't even breathe loudly. He didn't need to. He'd trained himself to operate in stillness—so quiet that even birds forgot he was there.

Below, Kozue exited a small store with a paper bag in her hand. She smiled, looking up at the sky.

He watched her the way a surgeon watched the vein before cutting.

Then…

He stepped back. He wasn't here to kill. Not yet.

Not until Baki saw it.

Orochi Dojo – Training Hall

Saitama sat cross-legged, chewing a rice cracker with half-interest as Retsu rolled out a wooden scroll depicting the Vacuum Palm formation.

"This… is how Yanagi kills without drawing blood."

Doppo crossed his arms. "He ruptures organs by striking the air itself. The strike arrives before the sound does."

Saitama looked unimpressed. "So like... a really quiet slap?"

"It's not about the impact," Retsu said. "It's about what you can't see."

Saitama's eyes drifted to the floor. "What if I just punch him before he tries?"

Katsumi, arms still in a sling, nodded grimly. "Then be fast. He'll go after someone close to Baki. Just like Sikorsky tried with me."

Retsu closed the scroll. "The question is not if he will attack. It's when."

Elsewhere – Backstreet Pharmacy, 3:15 PM

Kozue stepped out of the pharmacy. She adjusted her bag and began to cross the street. Her face was calm. Oblivious.

But Baki had already moved.

He appeared beside her, hand on her wrist. "Come with me."

Kozue blinked. "Baki?"

"No time. Walk."

A shadow appeared between two cars. Silent.

Yanagi.

He didn't attack.

He simply watched.

And then…

He stepped into the crowd, vanishing again.

Later – Rooftop Safehouse

Baki stared at Kozue, who sat with a cup of tea, shaken but unhurt.

"I saw him," Baki said. "He was watching you."

She looked up. "Why didn't he attack?"

Baki didn't answer right away.

After a few moments, he spoke, "Because that wasn't the point. He wants me to feel it. To know he can."

Kozue gripped her knees. "What kind of monsters do this?"

Baki stood, fists clenched. "The kind who don't need to throw a punch to make you bleed inside."

Kurozuchi's Hideout – Beneath Tokyo

On an ancient monitor, grainy footage showed Yanagi standing behind Kozue.

The camera angle was wrong. The shot was distant.

But it was enough.

Kurozuchi's eyes narrowed. "Precise. Clean. Predictable."

He flipped to the next screen: Saitama, eating noodles beside a crow that wouldn't leave his shoulder.

He scowled.

"That one… is none of those things."

A knock came from above. One of his followers entered, bloodied and panting.

"Sir… we found another convict's location. Yanagi is targeting Baki's family."

Kurozuchi turned his head. "Let him. It serves my plan just as well — better than dirtying my own hands."

Tokyo – Near the Riverbank

Baki walked alone now. Hands in his pockets. Tension behind his eyes.

He passed a row of trees. Listened for every shift in wind. He knew what would come.

And there he was.

Yanagi stood on the path ahead, robes fluttering lightly, barefoot on the gravel.

"I wanted you to feel the pain first," he said.

"I did," Baki answered coldly. "Now it's your turn."

Yanagi smiled faintly. "You've grown."

Baki didn't wait.

He charged. No scream. No warning. Just a straight jab—lightning-fast.

Yanagi sidestepped.

A vacuum palm struck Baki's side.

He didn't flinch.

"You think I didn't train for this?" Baki spat.

He swung again—twice. Both missed. But Yanagi felt the change.

Baki had grown fast. Sharper. Meaner.

The next blow grazed his shoulder. And Yanagi's arm trembled.

Baki aimed for his neck.

Yanagi deflected, only to feel his ribs crack from a follow-up elbow.

He staggered.

This wasn't the same Baki.

"Your poison means nothing if I never let you breathe," Baki said, voice calm.

Yanagi backflipped, landing on a park bench. His stance shifted—palms open. Ready to kill.

A high-frequency hiss echoed.

Vacuum Release.

He struck the air twice—once to the left, once center.

The shockwaves tore trees from the roots.

Baki flipped into the air, bouncing from a streetlight mid-flight, and came down heel-first.

CRACK!

Yanagi blocked it with his arms—but the bench shattered. His body launched into a tree.

Baki stood still.

"If you ever look at Kozue again, you won't just lose. You'll disappear."

Yanagi crawled to his feet.

Then something strange happened.

He smiled.

Not in arrogance.

But in surrender.

"I only wanted to test myself," he said softly. "Against a heart that won't die."

And he vanished into the darkness.

Next Morning – Orochi Dojo

Doppo read the report. Yanagi was gone. Jack Hanma was recovering. And Baki… was somewhere deeper in thought than ever.

Saitama walked in, brushing crumbs from his hoodie. "What happened last night?"

"Yanagi," Katsumi said. "He's not dead… but he lost."

Saitama stretched. "Guess I missed it."

Retsu poured tea. "Oliva arrives here today. That one, you might not want to miss."

Saitama blinked. "Big guy with sunglasses?"

"Big ego too," Doppo muttered.

Saitama yawned. "Hope he brought steak."

Retsu's gaze turned toward the window. "But he's not the only one moving."

Beneath Tokyo… Kurozuchi stood silently.

And above ground, the world began to hold its breath again.

TO BE CONTINUED...