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ring, but his feet stood firm, like immobile roots. Body nearly perpendicular
to his legs, he grunted explosively as he fought the natural tendency of his
great bulk to topple.
Remo watched in helpless frustration as he slowly righted himself and turned
to face him again.
"I'm going to kick your ass for that," Sosumi warned.
"Can I kick him?" Remo asked Chiun.
"You cannot kick him below the waist or above the neck, nor may you land an
injurious blow."
"That means my feet are tied," Remo growled.
"It means only what I have said," Chiun intoned. "Nothing more, and not a
breath less."
"It means your ass is sassafras." Sosumi grinned, lifting his meaty paws
before Remo's face.
Watching those giant hands, Remo stepped back and planted his bare feet in the
moist clay, digging his toes in.
"Rules say whoever touches clay with anything but his feet, loses, right?"
said Remo.
"Yes," said Chiun.
"Then get ready to lose, tubby," Remo told the looming sumo.
Sosumi lunged without warning. Remo was ready, exploding off his feet and
launching a double kick so sudden and violent Sosumi felt Remo's left foot
bouncing off his right hand and the right foot rebounding from his left hand
as one jarring impact.
The sumo staggered back a half step-no more. His eyes held a stunned light.
But he quickly blinked it away. "Hah!" he laughed. "If that's your best
shot-"
"You lose," announced Chiun.
"What are you talking about?"
"You have touched clay. You have lost this round."
Frantically Sosumi looked around. He was still in the ring. His knees were
clean. He looked behind him, and his nearly naked cheeks were clean. "Where?
Where did I touch clay? Show me."
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Look upon your unwitting palms, sumo," said Chiun.
Sosumi unclenched his fists. And the angry lines of his face collapsed in
shock. They were brownish gray. "No fair. You wiped your feet off on my
hands!"
Remo grinned. "And now I'm going to wipe the ground with your stupid face."
The sumo stamped his feet like a toddler throwing a tantrum and, shaking the
house walls with his roaring, he crashed around the ring as if trying to get
up a head of steam.
"We're even, blubber butt," Remo said as they circled one another like
belligerent binary stars.
"The shogun slept peacefully for many weeks," Chiun said, resuming his tale.
The sumo grunted like a mad bull, eyes turning fierce. "Not so cocky now?"
taunted Remo.
The sumo said nothing. He was all business now. He dropped into his grunting
crouch and wriggled his pudgy fingers at Remo in a come-on gesture.
Remo began circling, looking for an opening. Hitting below the belt was out.
Punching was out. Not that any punch less than a death blow would fell the big
behemoth. Couldn't do him. Couldn't kick at the vulnerable ankles and bring
him down like a big tree. The power of a Sinanju Master lay in his ability to
deal swift and sudden death. But in this arena, Remo's best moves were
forbidden.
Chiun's remote voice resumed speaking.
"Long nights the Master of Sinanju slept under the stars, fretting over this
new foe that seemed invincible to all of his wiles and skills."
Remo ducked between the sumo's legs suddenly, catching the man unaware. Coming
up on the other side, he tried something simple. He grabbed the fat ankles and
pushed hard. The sumo stood his ground. Bent over, Remo redoubled his effort.
Little by little the sumo's feet began to slide along the moist clay. He
refused to budge. He simply held his stance.
The sumo's feet scraped an inch of clay. Then two. Three.
Remo got him to the edge of the clay when abruptly the sumo reached between
his dimpled knees and grabbed for Remo's wrists. Remo evaded a hand as big as
a TV screen by fading back.
And Sosumi calmly lumbered back from the edge of the ring.
"This could take all night," Remo grumbled.
From the shadows Chiun intoned, "You are Sinanju. He is only sumo. It is too
bad you did not beg me to tell you how the sumo came to be."
"Aren't you telling me now?"
"If I had told you before, the bout would not be even, and you would not now
be frantic with worry that you are going to disgrace me against this fat tub
of entrails."
"Hey, I resent that," Sosumi said in a hurt voice.
"If the diaper fits," Remo said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]