WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapter 3 of Kengan Omega, available for free in an English translation on Comikey.
Kengan Ashura sequel series Kengan Omega hit the ground running with two new characters who are both eager to get involved with the Kengan matches. While Koga is a hothead convinced he's worthy to go against the top fighters in the world, Ryuki's eerie physical similarity to the former runner-up champion Tokita Ohma hints at the immense skill the new fighter may possess.
Chapter 3 pairs the two off in a bout that quickly shows where their skill levels truly are.
After Chapter 2 ended with Ryuki and Koga facing off in Yamashita Kazuo's office, their fight immediately begins in Chapter 3 with the arrogant Koga launching into his first attacks. Harboring a mysterious vendetta against Ohma that drives him into a rage, Koga believes the eerily similar Ryuki to be the foe he wants to face. Ryuki is surprised by the initial onslaught of attacks, but his surprise does not seem to diminish his capacity to defend himself.
Koga throws a barrage of hits and, to his astonishment, finds that none of them land. Koga ably redirects every kick and every punch with ease, nonchalantly asking Koga to stop. The fight only really gets serious when Koga makes a passing mention of worms that oddly sets Koga off, putting the defensive fighter into the offensive as he seizes Koga's wrists and forces the hothead into a vulnerable position. It is only the arrival of Kazuo that stops the fight, as the keen-eyed businessman immediately assess the situation and demands the two cease their bout.
Kazuo's gifted sight allows him not only to assess Ryuki's superlative abilities as a fighter, but also to spot the subtle differences between he and Ohma. Ryuki is slightly shorter and definitely younger than Ohma was before the Kengan fighter died at the end of the previous series. Still, he sees enough of Ryuki's skill to accept his request to enter the Kengan matches right away. Kazuo informs Ryuki that there is an upcoming match they can move him into immediately, though it appears his opponent will likely be a better match for him than Koga was.
Introduced at the end of the chapter, the fighter Ryuki will face is Utsubuki Kokuro, a promising up-and-comer who quickly racked up several notable victories in his first year of Kengan matches. Kokuro is briefly seen demolishing a punching bag and is referred to as the fastest-rising fighter in the Kengan Association. Given the massive skill gap between Ryuki and Koga, the chapter sets up a fight that could well allow readers to finally see how Ryuki fights when he is pushed to his limits.
As for Koga, it's clear that the fledgling fighter has much further to go before he is anywhere near ready to participate in the Kengan matches. He is astonished when he learns Ryuki is not already a proven fighter, and Kazuo's gifted eye is able to instantly assess Ryuki as ready for the matches despite emphatically stating earlier that Koga would be obliterated in a bout.
The fight teases just how much more skilled the upper echelons are in the world of Kengan, and for readers new to the series and unfamiliar with its predecessor, it is a promise of ever-greater action yet to come. Sometimes even the best of the best still are not good enough, and as the series gets into fights among the real top tier, there's no telling exactly where the roof is when it comes to the prowess of these combatants.
