Story II
This synopsis is Copyright 1993, by Steven E. Barnes. Permission
is granted to reproduce this material for non-commercial uses.
----------------------------------------------------
Hokuto no Ken chapter 2, "The Dragon and the Tiger" [1 of 6]
TV Episodes 24 - 29: The Fang Clan
Manga volumes: 3 - 5
A group of bandits are attacking a truck carrying food. Kenshiro
defeats the bandits, saving the drivers, who take Ken and his
companions back to their village.
Lynn is amazed at the flowers that grow inside the compound.
This is due to the village's abundant water supply, which has
made it the target of attacks by the bandits called the Fang
Clan.
Later, the Fang Clan attack. Despite the fierce resistance of
the villagers, they manage to break through, only to be annihi-
lated by Ken. The villagers are stunned by the terrible carnage;
as Ken prepares to leave, Mamiya asks him to stay and protect the
village.
Elsewhere, a group of thugs are chasing a beautiful woman. They
corner her, only to discover that she is a man in disguise: Rei.
Rei slices his opponents to pieces, after checking their chests
for scars. He has sworn to kill "The man with seven scars on his
chest."
A squad of Fang bandits is in hiding outside the village, plan-
ning their attack. The leader is concerned about the dangerous
new bodyguard, Kenshiro. Spotting Rei, he unwisely chooses to
attack; but after several men are sliced to pieces, the leader
convinces Rei to work for him.
Entering the village in advance of the bandits attack, Rei takes
an interest in Mamiya, and follows her back home. Despite his
callous actions, Lynn can sense that Rei is a "warm-hearted" per-
son, like Ken.
Hearing cries of the villagers, Rei rushes outside. After ob-
serving that Ken has destroyed most of the bandits, Rei kills the
survivors. Rei explains that he was planning to switch to the
strongest side. His life has only one purpose: to kill "the man
with seven scars on his chest", and he will do anything necessary
to accomplish this goal.
On Mamiya's birthday, Tou rides outside to pick strawberries for
her cake. While returning, he is captured by the bandits, who
display their prisoner in front of the villagers. Their law is
that if one member of their clan is slain, then they will
slaughter those responsible, to the last man, woman and child.
The villagers prepare to rush out in a futile attempt to save the
boy, but Mamiya stops them, and Tou is killed.
Later, Rei remarks that Mamiya, the village leader, seems uncon-
cerned about the death of the boy. "You don't understand," the
mourners tell him. "Mamiya is suffering the most; Tou was her
brother!"
Miyama & Kenshiro
Moved by Mamiya's sadness, Ken and Rei each set out to track down
The Fang Clan. The gang confronts them, using their Wolf Pack
mass attack technique, but they are no match for the two men.
Afterwards, Ken asks why Rei is hunting "The man with seven
scars." Rei displays a blood-stained veil, and explains: his
village was attacked during his absence, the night before his
sister's wedding. His parents were killed, and Aili abducted.
Before his father died, he told Rei of the man with seven scars
on his chest.
The next day, Ken, Rei and Mamiya set off to attack the Fang
Clan's base. The bandit king, realizing the power of his enem-
ies, has sent his men to find relatives of Ken and Rei for use as
hostages. Using Aili as bait, they set a trap. Mamiya attempts
to rescue her, but she is also captured. Holding the two women
as hostages, the bandit king orders Rei and Ken to fight. At
first, Ken merely dodges Rei's attacks. He explains that, like
Rei, Ken once had a woman he would do anything for, but now she
is dead. In order to stop the fight, Mamiya and Aili try and
kill themselves, but the bandits foil their attempts. Finally,
Ken adopts the Seikyokurin (Holy Circle) stance, which Rei recog-
nizes. "You also know the meaning this stance holds, don't you?"
states Ken.
Ken and Rei attack furiously, apparently killing each other.
However, they have actually struck pressure points which cause
their bodies to seem dead. After the bandits drop their guard,
the two rise from the dead. While Rei and Mamiya protect Aili,
Ken confronts the leader. The bandit king's special technique
allows him to transform his body into steel, but Kenshiro easily
kills him, after striking the appropriate pressure points to re-
verse the transformation.
Back at the village, Kenshiro cures Aili's blindness. As the
villagers celebrate the defeat of their enemies, Kenshiro reveals
the seven scars on his chest. Aili explains that she never saw
the face of her abductor, since he always wore a black helmet.
Kenshiro realizes the identity of the impostor: his brother Jagi.
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