The Ogre’s gauntlet · Superhuman
Yujiro Hanma vs Guts
A swordsman who has fought demons his whole life meets a man who is something worse than a demon.
Tale of the tape
| Baki | Universe | Berserk |
|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | Tier | Superhuman |
| Raw, terrifying strength and a back muscle that forms a demon’s face | Strength | The Dragonslayer sword and the Berserker Armor |
| Arrogance: he toys with every opponent | Weakness | The armor is slowly destroying his body |
| 13–11–1 | Record on Versus | 1–4 |
The Arena
Guts had fought apostles, demons and things that should not exist. When a man walked out of the mist onto the battlefield, unarmed, smiling, with a face like a demon’s carved into the muscles of his back, Guts gripped the Dragon Slayer and felt something he had not felt in years: uncertainty.
“You’re not an apostle,” Guts said. Yujiro shook his head. “No. I am human. More or less.” Guts did not lower his sword. “Humans don’t walk across battlefields like that.” Yujiro grinned. “This one does.” He stopped a few metres away and spread his arms. “Swing your sword, swordsman.”
Guts did not need to be told twice.
Round One
Guts swung the Dragon Slayer, a blade the size of a door, with enough force to cut a horse and its rider in half. Yujiro caught it. With his bare hands, palms pressed flat against the iron on either side, he stopped the Dragon Slayer in mid-swing. Guts stared. Nothing had ever stopped that sword.
Yujiro shoved, and Guts flew backwards across the battlefield, still holding the sword. He rolled up, fired the cannon in his mechanical arm, and the cannonball struck Yujiro in the chest. Yujiro staggered, looked at the burn mark on his skin, and laughed.
“Good,” Yujiro said. “Again.” Guts swung again, and this time the blade bit into Yujiro’s shoulder before he caught it.
The Turn
Guts reached for the Berserker Armour, and it closed around his body like a living thing, the wolf-shaped helmet covering his face. His pain disappeared. His strength doubled. He became a beast, swinging the Dragon Slayer with no care for his own body, and Yujiro was driven back for the first time.
The Ogre took a cut across his chest, then another across his arm, and his blood spattered the corpses beneath their feet. He looked at the snarling armour with absolute delight. “Yes,” he said. “Yes! A man who fights like a monster!” He charged into the swinging blade.
For a few terrifying minutes, the battlefield shook with two monsters tearing at each other.
The Finish
The Berserker Armour feeds on its wearer’s body, and Guts had been fighting for a long time. Yujiro noticed the armour beginning to strain, Guts’s movements growing ragged. He waited for the moment, caught the Dragon Slayer one final time, and drove a fist straight through the armour’s breastplate.
The armour shattered. Guts fell to his knees, the helmet retracting, his face pale and bleeding. Yujiro stood over him, covered in cuts, breathing hard, grinning. “You fought me with your life,” he said. “Not many men are willing to.”
Guts looked up at him, gasping. “You’re worse than any apostle.” Yujiro laughed. “I know.” He turned and walked back into the mist. Guts knelt among the corpses for a long time, then picked up his sword and went on. He had faced the Ogre and lived. It was, he decided, a story nobody would ever believe.
The verdict
Yujiro Hanma wins
Guts and the Berserker Armour push Yujiro harder than almost anyone, cutting him repeatedly, but Yujiro catches the Dragon Slayer bare-handed and outlasts the armour, which feeds on its wearer.
- StrengthYujiro stops the Dragon Slayer with his bare hands.
- EnduranceThe Berserker Armour wears Guts down faster than Yujiro.
- PatienceYujiro waits for the armour to strain before striking.
How the rematch could go differently: A Guts who fought with the Berserker Armour from the first second, before Yujiro adjusted to his style, could cut him down.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Yujiro Hanma and Guts?
Yujiro Hanma wins. Guts and the Berserker Armour push Yujiro harder than almost anyone, cutting him repeatedly, but Yujiro catches the Dragon Slayer bare-handed and outlasts the armour, which feeds on its wearer.