| Guts VS Tatsumi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season | 5 |
| Overall Episode | 54 |
| Season Episode | 2 |
| Air date | July 30th, 2020 |
| Written by | Shadow7615 |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Mami Tomoe vs. Noel Vermillion (Season 5 Premiere) |
Next Blake Belladonna vs. Solid Snake |
| “ | Berserk VS Akame ga Kill! Don your armor and draw your sword! This battle will define the very word "draconian"! | „ |
Guts vs. Tatsumi is the 54th episode of DEATH BATTLE! by Shadow7615, featuring Guts from the Berserk series and Tatsumi from the Akame ga Kill! series in a battle between sword-wielding protagonists with draconic equipment.
Interlude[]
Wiz: Dragons are one of the fiercest mythological creatures in the world. They live in fame as a powerful adversary, very few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale.
Boomstick: And if you're able to actually slay a dragon, I'd say you're a certified badass. Like Guts, the Black Swordsman.
Wiz: And Tatsumi, the Inheritor of Incursio.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Guts[]
Wiz: He is feared by many, and few have ever battled him and survived. Midland has never seen anyone quite like the famed Black Swordsman known as Guts.
Boomstick: Holy crap, Yes! We finally get to talk about Guts again! But lemme reiterate, Guts' story is pretty messed up. Trust me.
Wiz: As a newborn infant, Guts was born from his mother's hung corpse and was eventually found by a mercenary group. Raised under their banner, as soon as Guts was physically able, he became a soldier of war.
Boomstick: The mercenaries he worked for were absolutely relentless, Guts did not have it easy. And it only became harder for Guts when his adoptive mother died of the plague. And it wasn't too long before he killed his adoptive father and became a lone wolf.
Popup: Guts was only nine years old when he killed his first man! And he'd go on to kill thousands more over the course of his life.
Wiz: But Guts' life would quickly change when he crossed paths with the Band of the Falcon and its ambitious leader, Griffith. After being recruited into their ranks, Guts would experience genuine friendship, camaraderie and love. But Guts eventually longed for his freedom, which he won against Griffith, which deeply affected him. And this was the catalyst for some truly horrible things...
Boomstick: Yeah... Long story short, Griffith is arrested for treason and is tortured for over a year. And then he's chosen by these God Hand dudes to become their fifth member, and all of Griffith's allies, except for Guts and his girlfriend are killed as a sacrifice. Guts lost a lot... his right eye, his left arm, became a branded victim of Femto's and even watching his girlfriend be... well...
Wiz: Needless to say, this pushed Guts over the edge. Having lost more than he could have ever imagined, Guts became unequivocally hellbent on murdering Griffith and getting his revenge. Not to mention, he was now being pursued by demons as a result of his brand. With all his training now becoming a daily test of his skills, Guts' journey began.
Boomstick: Oh boy, did Guts rise to the occasion! He's got a belt of throwing knives, a pouch of mini bombs and even a new Cannon Arm to get that missing limb squared away. It's got repeater crossbow, and a hidden single-shot cannon, you might as well call it the swiss-army knife of mechanical hands!
Popup: The ignition cord within Guts' Cannon Arm can be pulled by his teeth in the event his arms are unable to do the deed. He's even used the recoil of his Cannon Arm to throw himself at enemies, killing two enemies with just a single motion.
Wiz: But for his signature weapon of destruction, Guts brandishes the almighty Dragonslayer! Ever since surviving Griffith's Eclipse, Guts has used this gargantuan blade to slay countless humans and Inhumans alike. With it being over six feet tall and weighing 400 pounds, its heavier than even the largest swords in real life.
Boomstick: And the coolest part is that thanks to Guts using Dragonslayer to kill so many demonic enemies, that it has become so powerful that it can harm astral beings, including those God Hand dudes. Basically, even if you're a ghost, Guts can still wreck you with his epic blade of destruction! Feels like Guts has everything he could ever need to take you down!
Wiz: Almost everything, but if Guts ever gets put into a corner and is willing to survive by any means necessary, he can activate the Berserker Armor. Highly durable body armour forged by the dwarven blacksmith Hanarr, who later forged the armour of Skull Knight, who donned the Berserker Armor before Guts. But it isn't simply armour, activating it draws out your fear and anger, on top of that, it suppresses its wearer's pain.
Boomstick: It can even get to a point where the helmet can sort of transform into the head of a beast, allowing it to bite its enemies! Yeah, it's called the Berserker Armor for good reason. And lets them keep trucking along until they win, or until they literally don't have any more blood in their body. This all plays into Guts' entire approach to combat, he's so determined to win, he'll do anything.
Popup: Despite being called such, Dragonslayer has not been used to kill a Dragon. However, the manga's third volume shows Guts victorious against a decapitated Dragon. Furthermore, Guts has battled Grunbeld, whose Apostle Form is a Dragon.
Wiz: His drive to win is so great that he'll put his life on the line, just to gain some kind of advantage. Launching himself into a fire? Not a problem. Letting himself get impaled? Easy. And his feats easily match his incredibly powerful repertoire. He withstood multiple lightning bolts from Ganishka, which was determined to have a power of 1.6 Gigajoules. He's survived hundred-foot drops. Withstood implement in the face, and even withstand Schierke's Fire Wheel.
Boomstick: One time he jumped right into the Sea God, cut his way through that shit, and killed it from within! Are we sure this guy isn't invincible?! He can dodge lightning itself, avoiding lightning means Guts can move at just under Mach 100 speeds, goddamn! No wonder Guts can battle Apostles left and right, including the Apostle Dragon, Grunbeld!
Wiz: Heck, with the Berserker Armor, he can even withstand the power of his own attacks. But don't forget that Guts does have weaknesses. His journey has been founded on revenge, and he's so determined to get that revenge he can be consumed by it, bloodthirsty and sadistic, almost to no end. It often takes the intervention of those he cares about to keep him from going completely overboard.
Boomstick: Yeah, you don't want to end up making a stupid decision blinded by your rage, and then it ends up costing you your life. Guts is lucky, simply because his willpower and pain tolerance are both stupidly high. You might even say he's too angry to die at times.
Popup: The Berserker Armor is also a major risk. When in use, it removes its wearer's subconscious limits. Meaning that although he surpasses his body's limits, eventually, it will harm and destroy his body. It also draws out Guts' most negative emotions, making him far more violent and ruthless than he already is.
Wiz: Plus, the Berserker Armor has a flaw, so to speak. Although it rips and tears his body to ensure it functions as normal, it does not heal him, his body is simply unable to feel the pain. Guts will power through literally anything that gets in his way, his body isn't gonna recover from it, so it's a miracle that Guts has managed to stay alive for as long as he has.
Boomstick: Also, he hasn't gotten his revenge on Griffith yet. But rest assured, I'm certain that one day he will. And then Guts might finally know peace. I hope it comes one day, you absolute badass.
Wiz: Guts has certainly lived through some of the worst things to happen to any manga protagonist, but his journey continues. Though he does not fight alone, his travelling party continues to stand by his side, helping Guts understand there are more important things in life worth protecting. And he'll fight to the bitter end for the good of his friends.
Boomstick: Whatever you do, DO NOT ever mess with this guy, he epitomises everything that is badass and awesome!
Guts: If you're always worried about crushing the ants beneath you... you won't be able to walk.
Tatsumi[]
Boomstick: Now, growing up in a small village sounds pretty par for the course, if you're an anime protagonist. But this story ain't gonna go the way you think, and it all starts with this brat named Tatsumi. He grew up in his village as your standard country bumpkin and learned the essentials from a retired soldier before embarking with his two closest friends.
Wiz: Tatsumi's life was full of hope, he desired to move to the Imperial Capital City where he'd use his skill as a swordsman and a blacksmith to make a name for himself and make his hometown proud. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well as he'd hoped. At first, he heard an assassination organization was coming for a seemingly innocent daughter of an Imperial family, but in reality, this daughter had captured Tatsumi's closest friends and tortured them to death.
Boomstick: And Tatsumi did the job for them, and murdered the daughter out of pure anger. This was Tatsumi's invitation to join the assassin organization, Night Raid! Turns out Night Raid was a division of the Revolutionary Army who opposed the Empire. At this point, Tatsumi figured out what everyone eventually does, Empires are Evil! And so he started doing assassination missions to bring down corrupt Imperial officials.
Wiz: Along the way, Tatsumi befriended all his fellow Night Raid members and learned of their own similarly dark pasts, which only furthered Tatsumi's resolve to right these wrongs the Empire had committed. But in order to fight the Empire more effectively, Tatsumi needed a Teigu, a supernatural relic forged from the remnants of special Danger Beasts. With so many of them all over the world, Tatsumi had a couple of options.
Popup: Incursio was not Tatsumi's first Teigu. His first Teigu was Almighty Five Sights: Spectator, which he briefly used after Akame killed its owner, Zanku.
Boomstick: But when his fellow assassin Bulat kicked the bucket, Tatsumi inherited his Teigu, Incursio! What set this Teigu apart from most is that Incursio was made from a Super Class Danger Beast, so it basically means Tatsumi has one of the most powerful Teigu out there. I know you might be looking at it and saying "It's just a sword, that's nothing special!" But there's more to it than that.
Wiz: When dormant, Incursio appears as a short sword. But when activated, it transforms into full body armour, complete with a spear called Neuntote. The armour itself possesses the incredible ability to adapt to a multitude of different things, for example, when Tatsumi first donned the armour, it adapted to his fighting style, and became less bulky to accommodate Tatsumi's younger body compared to Bulat's large physique.
Boomstick: He even got a nifty red-eye once he fused with his armour. That's right, this armour isn't just armour, it's got a mind of its own, sorta. See, Incursio was made from the remains of a Super Class Danger Beast called Tyrant, and it turns out that Tyrant wasn't exactly down for the count.
Wiz: Here's how this works. Each time Tatsumi uses Incursio, it bonds with him to a greater extent, progressively evolving him from a human into Tyrant itself. Along the way, Tatsumi gained draconian features like scales, claws, horns, and in later evolutions, wings. At one point, Tatsumi evolved enough that Tyrant's head could manifest on his armour and block blows! But once Tatsumi understood the danger his Teigu possessed, he swore to only ever push Incursio to evolve if it was absolutely necessary.
Popup: During his battle with Shikoutazer, Tatsumi was able to force Incursio to evolve, demonstrating he can increase his power at the expense of his humanity. Furthermore, Incursio has developed strong resistances to poisons, electricity and the cold.
Boomstick: If you haven't figured out the catch by now, basically, Tatsumi will become Tyrant if he constantly uses Incursio, and eventually, if he wants to use Incursio, he has to willingly let himself get overtaken by the beast within. Rightfully putting Tyrant at the top of the Danger Beast list.
Wiz: But that's not all that Incursio has to offer. Every Teigu has a unique ability called a Trump Card. In this case, Tatsumi can use Incursio to turn completely invisible. Allowing him to vanish from sight, which has come in handy during his missions as an assassin. But even without a weapon, Tatsumi is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, even winning a tournament hosted by the Imperial General Esdeath.
Boomstick: And as he continued to use Incursio he started getting a lot more proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Makes sense considering he eventually starts transforming into a Dragon and getting all those strength, speed and durability buffs. He's strong enough to one punch giant boulders falling on him.
Wiz: Even before he donned Incursio, Tatsumi was a proficient hunter, having slain many Danger Beasts, one of which caused 4.98 tons of damage just by moving around. However, Tatsumi, and his feats, get much stronger as he challenges more and more of the Imperial forces, Ogre, Nyau, Cosmina, Budo and even his obsessive lover, Esdeath.
Popup: Despite being defeated by Esdeath beforehand, with his evolution and adaptation, Tatsumi ultimately matched Esdeath, even developing resistance to Esdeath's Trump Card, Mahapadma.
Boomstick: Near the peak of his power, Tatsumi is comparable to Akame, who can dodge lightning after it was fired! That puts him over Mach 800! And I can't forget Esdeath, who thanks to stockpiling her Ice Powers, was able to create an ice storm so big it covered an entire continent! That's crazy!
Wiz: And on top of that, Tatsumi evolved Incursio to the point he was able to battle Shikoutazer, who created craters measuring in the teratons! Considering Tyrant is one of the most powerful Danger Beasts of all time, Tatsumi would definitely be comparable. But being that powerful isn't without a downside, the closer he gets to becoming Tyrant, he more easily loses control, and eventually, being completely overtaken by Tyrant, letting the fierce beast reign terror on the Imperial Capital.
Boomstick: Yeah, while all the other forms are easier for him to control, unfortunately, he can't just assume his strongest form immediately, at least not without giving himself over to the epic Danger Beast. And when faced against the most powerful beings in the Empire, Tatsumi ultimately made that call.
Wiz: Despite being immensely powerful, Tyrant also isn't invincible, and, just like Tatsumi, was defeated by Esdeath once she called upon her stockpiled power that covered the entire continent in a snow storm. All things considered, its quite impressive Tyrant needed that much force to overwhelm it.
Popup: Although Incursio's Trump Card grants Invisibility, it does not prevent Tatsumi from being detected by other means. Additionally, the invisibility can only be active for a limited time.
Boomstick: But Tatsumi knew those risks, he was prepared to go full Dragon mode! Knowing the danger it posed to the world, he made his fellow assassins promise to kill him if he became possessed by Tyrant. Damn, I was wrong, Tatsumi isn't some brat after all. No wonder Esdeath had eyes for this guy. He's got the balls to put his own life on the line if it means he gets to win the day.
Wiz: Both himself and Tyrant were occupying the same body, and Akame used her own Teigu to kill Tyrant, saving Tatsumi's life. Although his mind was still intact, Tatsumi was left with the Danger Beast's body, unable to return back to being a human. But he had accomplished his goals. He had avenged his fallen friends and defeated the Empire.
Boomstick: Lucky for him, before the epic Dragon transformation, he got married to one of his fellow assassins, Mine. And even got her pregnant! Although it's pretty crazy living at home when you're a goddamn dragon. Imagine how the kid is gonna react when they learn their Dad is a massive dragon!
Wiz: Even to this day, Akame travels the world in search of a way to reverse Tatsumi's transformation, hoping that one day, he may once again walk on his own two feet in his home village as he did once before.
Tatsumi: The reason doesn't matter. As long as a tiny bit of hope exists, that's all that matters.
DEATH BATTLE![]
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set, and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTLE!
A shining full moon radiated light on the lands below. The darkness of the night had claimed them. Unforgiving cold shivered the bodies of the unprepared, and it could be felt for miles. Almost everyone had retired to their homes, but there were still a few people lurking around, under the helpful coat of pitch black. Only faint noises could be heard, and it was undoubtedly the work of agents of the night. Looking to achieve their goals unopposed.
Though night had been beckoned by the absence of the sun, the Imperial Captial remained a beacon, one with the warm lights of civilization within its walls. And for those outside looking to come in, it seemed quite inviting. A refuge for travellers in need of somewhere to stay, and practically impossible to miss. And the gates to enter were well guarded. For the safety of those within its walls.
Outside the borders of the Imperial Capital, within a deep forest, a faint noise could be heard, but it was subdued beneath the sound of something metallic. The sound became louder and louder before finally, the sound became easier to understand, footsteps, someone had chosen the forest as their path through to the capital. They stepped into a more well lit green space where the moon's light could illuminate a path forward. The young man glanced up at the moon, recognizing it as a full moon. But just moments later, they continued moving once again.
This man seemed to be dressed in a simple cloak of a pale colour. He kept his head low, and only looked up to reacquaint himself with the path he was taking. Despite trying to remain inconspicuous, they carried a large sword on their back, which the cloak was unable to disguise effectively. But no one had approached the individual or raised an eyebrow for that matter. As the man slowly got closer to his destination, he stopped, and looked at the structure that laid before his eyes, it's walls were incredibly tall, higher than any he'd ever seen before.
Seeing that he was alone, the man removed the cloak that covered his head like a hood. The man was marked with scars on his face, and one of his eyes was closed, but in truth, that eye was no longer there. The man's hair was mostly black, but a single white patch stood out. This was Guts, the Black Swordsman. He looked around before he once again resumed walking toward the imperial capital. Along the way, Guts passed by some of the more frequently travelled roads and noticed there was a piece of paper floating through the wind.
He decided to grab the paper, he straightened it and inspected what it said. "Wanted: Dead or Alive" were the first words Guts noticed. It was a wanted poster issued by the imperial capital, and it quickly reminded Guts of his days as a mercenary. But Guts was equally reminded of how those days were behind him. He did not need the reward, but nevertheless, he continued the read the information listed. The wanted poster showed a young man, likely in his late teen years. He's listed as being part of an assassination organization. Guts recalled the role assassins had played in his past.
But Guts decided not to act on this, it was not his place to be hunting down the imperial capital's enemies. Guts simply released the paper from his hand where it was quickly picked up by the wind and floated elsewhere. As Guts continued walking, he realized he needed to walk to the entrance, which was some distance away from him. But knew it would not take him long. As he got closer, he heard the sound of metal clashing with metal, and Guts realized that there was something happening at the entrance. He quickly shifted gears from walking to running, as he charged toward the entrance.
As he got closer, the sounds became more clear, there was a fight going on, and multiple people were involved. Guts had thought perhaps a thief or bandit was attacking an innocent victim. And Guts knew he needed to stop them before any innocent blood could be spilt. But unfortunately, Guts arrived too late. As he stood at the entrance gates, they had been closed, and a group of imperial guards laid on the ground, Guts ran over to the bodies, but before he could check their wounds, he heard the sound of sprinting, from behind him.
Quickly turning his head, Guts noticed someone running away from the entrance. "That's the one!" Guts thought to himself, as he raised his left arm, and primed the repeater crossbow, aiming at the fleeing culprit. With just a single shot fired, the attacker stopped, realizing he had been targeted. Guts saw this and approached the now idle attacker. "You're not going anywhere! Now surrender and perhaps you might live to do some good in your life!" Guts berating his heartless opposition.
The man turned around, and the light caught his face, revealing to Guts he was the same man from the wanted poster, Tatsumi. He held a single short sword in his hand, but strangely, it had not a single drop of blood on its blade. Nevertheless, Tatsumi knew running would not resolve the situation.
"You clearly did not check those bodies, those men are unharmed" Tatsumi retorted. Seeing that this unusual individual had just made an attempt on his life, Tatsumi decided to make a stand. "Those are some fighting words considering the only one looking to kill around here is you!" Tatsumi declared, pointing at Guts, addressing his cloak, and the giant sword that rested on his back.
Grabbing his cloak, Guts removed it from his person, revealing his pitch-black body armour. Preparing himself for a fight, Guts reached to the handle of his weapon but did not pull it out. Guts did not want to stoke his negative emotions, and so remained stagnant, waiting to see what Tatsumi would do. Grabbing his short sword, it began to glow a bright red aura. "INCURSIO!" Tatsumi roared from the depths of his lungs. On his command, red energy appeared behind Tatsumi as a giant humanoid figure rose up from behind him. Its arms were crossed, and it was larger than Tatsumi himself.
The ground shook violently and soon a blinding gust of wind surrounded Tatsumi as he activated and donned his full body armour, Incursio. With his form now changed, Tatsumi's armour appeared draconian like. He grabbed his newly manifested lance, Neuntote, and held it at the ready.
(Cue Dante Battle - Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne)
Initiating the battle, Tatsumi raced toward Guts, his quick pace alarmed the latter. Who raised his left arm and guarded as Tatsumi attempted a jab at Guts' torso. He held steady, as the weight of the weapon was nowhere near as heavy as the things he carried. The Black Swordsman smirked before he kicked Tatsumi in the chest, causing him to wither and stager backward, Guts followed up by landing a direct punch on Tatsumi's face with his mechanical arm. Which also sent Tatsumi back. Very quickly, Tatsumi concluded that the arm wasn't made of human flesh, or else it would have had such a sheer amount of weight to it.
After recovering from the two attacks, Tatsumi looked to Guts, who reached behind him and brandished the legendary Dragonslayer, it was over six feet long, as lengthy as Guts' own height. Tatsumi was astonished by the sight, and arrived at only one conclusion, "The sword must be some kind of Imperial Arm, there's nothing else like it in this world!" Knowing the great power that came with a showdown between two Imperial Arms users, Tatsumi prepared himself for some truly intense combat. Guts charged forward to Tatsumi, and he went on the defensive. Guts swing the incredibly foreboding Dragonslayer, as it's impressive length ensured Guts could land a hit from a safe distance.
Dragonslayer clashed with Neuntote, but it was clear that the gargantuan blade was decisively more powerful, the collision of the two weapons saw the heavier of the two emerge triumphantly. Tatsumi felt the immense weight pressed on his weapon and maintained his defensive approach. Intending to break his foe, whether it be his guard or his weapon, Guts swung again, and Tatsumi met his weapon. But as each succeeding swing ended in Guts' favour, it became more clear to Tatsumi he had to move. Finally, Tatsumi realized he'd been cornered into a tree.
As Guts went for a horizontal slash toward Tatsumi's torso, he leapt off the tree and jumped into the air as Guts cleaved the tree in half, collapsing to the ground. Tatsumi touched down, and Guts turned around to see his foe standing there. The two began to slowly approach the other. Tatsumi decided to reinitiate combat, he raced toward Guts and jumped, performing an overhead swing of Neuntote as he descended upon Guts. But this hadn't really bothered Guts all that much, he raised Dragonslayer above his head, and easily withstood the brunt of Tatsumi's attack.
Looking to make a counterattack that didn't mirror his previous moves, Guts reached to his inventory and grabbed one of his miniature bombs, it was no bigger than the size of a golf ball, he then immediately tossed it at Tatsumi, it was spiked and thusly stuck to Incursio, and the explosion sent both Guts and Tatsumi in opposite directions, Tatsumi falling to the ground as Guts held himself firm and on two feet. The two recovered pretty quickly, Tatsumi's armour held up, it hadn't been damaged. Similarly, Guts was still in top form.
Coming to terms with the fact that Guts was becoming a tough opponent to deal with, Tatsumi knew he had to find a way to turn this fight around, things weren't looking great for him, and Incursio was only going to protect him for so long. Guts bolted toward Tatsumi, and the two traded blows once again, but Guts' relentless offence proved to be an unbreakable pillar. And with a vertical swing, Guts disarmed Tatsumi of Neuntote. Eyeing a perfect opportunity to land a fatal blow Guts reached his mechanical arm at Tatsumi's head, where the repeater crossbow was primed.
Anticipating a physical attack, Tatsumi decided to exchange strikes with Guts, but Tatsumi was not privy to the knowledge of Guts' mechanical arm, and suddenly instead of a punch to the face, a volley of arrows pelted Tatsumi, which immediately caused him to retreat away from Guts. The entire arrow magazine had nearly been depleted, but Guts stopped once he realized he'd grounded Tatsumi yet again. But just like before, Tatsumi rose to his feet, and his armour was still intact, only having scratch marks from the heads of the arrows, these marks could be seen on Incursio's helmet, torso, and even its arms. Guts took a lot at the armour and noted that his opponent was quite durable too.
Looking to fight properly armed, Tatsumi grabbed Neuntote and held it with two hands, pointed toward Guts. Underneath the armour, Tatsumi could feel his body was beginning to catch up with the events taking place between him and his opponent. But it wasn't any serious pain, and so Tatsumi readied himself. Guts noticed the persistency in his adversary and knew that he needed to make something happen, whether he achieves it through his own force, or letting himself be bait just to gain the upper hand. Guts yet again charged toward Tatsumi, and he responded in the same way, the spearhead of Neuntote clashed with Dragonslayer.
The two tightened their respective grips on their weapons. Guts took those moments to observe his opponent's behaviour, seeing that he was aiming for the head, the only non-armour part of his body. Guts concluded that if he left it exposed, a strike at his head was very likely. Guts pushed Dragonslayer upward, which broke the clash of the two weapons, and Guts motioned himself backwards to bait an attack from Tatsumi. And exactly as he predicted, Tatsumi took the opportunity at the first possible moment. Before Guts could put Dragonslayer back out in front of him, Tatsumi thrust Neuntote toward Guts' face, and with a carefully calculated move, Guts gently titled himself to the right.
With a thrust of his arms, Tatsumi stabbed Guts in the face with Neuntote, successfully drawing first blood, which certainly brought Tatsumi the turnabout he was hoping for. Unfortunately, that feeling was almost immediately overcome by a warranted sense of panic. Guts' mechanical arm now pointed right at Tatsumi's chest. In perfect sequence, Guts pulled on the ignition cord, his mechanical hand swivelled down, exposing the barrel of a cannon! The powder moved, igniting within the barrel. Without remorse, Guts fired the canon and point-blank range, and it immediately blasted Tatsumi off his feet and careening into a tree. At the same time, the blast had been so close to Incursio, that it ignited and caught fire.
As Tatsumi crashed into the tree, the flames quickly spread, and the tree too had been set on fire. Tatsumi looked and noticed the burning taking place right next to him, so he quickly rolled on the ground until the fire on his armour had been snuffed out. Guts watched as the flames continued spreading to more and more trees, and soon the two were closed off from the rest of the world. A ring of fire had closed them in with no way out. The two looked around, and realized all the threes were burning, and that the only safe part of the forest was the open field in the middle, which they both stood in.
The two returned their focus to the other, as Guts reverted his cannon arm to its original position. Tatsumi inspected the actions and concluded that the arm was incredibly powerful, and could be a literal Imperial Arm in itself. Meanwhile, Guts wiped his face, ignoring the blood altogether. Tatsumi was almost stunned by just how fearless Guts seemed to be. "He's crazy! No wonder he has Imperial Arms!" he thought to himself. Resuming the battle, Tatsumi charged at Guts, who stonewalled Tatsumi's attack with his impressive bulk.
The Black Swordsman realized that Tatsumi's attack wasn't as hard as it could have been, but before Guts put any more thought to the idea, Tatsumi pulls his lance back and readies for another strike. In response, Guts grabs Dragonslayer with two hands, and he prepares to bat the lance away yet again. Guts throws out a mighty swing, which Tatsumi reacted to, and leaned back far enough to avoid the blade's thick steel. Seeing an opening, Tatsumi thrusts Neuntote at Guts' torso, and he successfully stabs Guts in the chest.
Momentarily, Guts withered in pain, but he almost immediately adjusted to the phenomenon, he watched Tatsumi attempt to further push the head of the lance into and out the other side of his body, but Guts had other plans, he recognized a flaw in Tatsumi's approach, with just a single weapon that had struck him, nothing else was guarding Tatsumi against an attack of his own. And Guts gripped Dragonslayer with one hand, and with some truly impressive strength, Guts swung the massive blade straight at Tatsumi's neck.
But as Guts swings, Incursio appears to act on its own and something began to manifest on the helmet of Incursio as if the armour were alive, parts of the armour seemed to open like a mouth, teeth quickly manifested, it was Tyrant, the Danger Beast that lived within the armour. It opened its jaw and slammed its teeth down on Dragonslayer, it halted Guts' swing, which immediately alerted the Black Swordsman, who was shocked to witness this unprecedented sight. But despite that, Guts tried his damn best to force his blade into decapitation.
But he was outnumbered by Tyrant and Tatsumi. Tatsumi pushed Neuntote just a tad further into Guts' chest. It was impossible for him to land a decapitating blow at this rate, and Guts sprung himself backward, freeing him from the lance's head and freeing Dragonslayer from Tyrant's clutches. Immediately, Tatsumi decided to pursue him, and using his speed, Tatsumi swiftly approached the backed up Guts and landed a punch on his face, which instinctively sent Guts into a physical strike counterattack of his own.
Delivering a kick to the side of Tatsumi's torso, Guts put some distance between him and Tatsumi. As their battle continued, a tree collapsed between them, and its fire burned independently of the gigantic blaze happening around them. But instead of going around the tree, Guts took the figurative, and literal most direct approach, he sprinted toward the tree, and jumped, passing right through the flames and out the other side, where he landed with a resounding thud. Tatsumi looked in shock and awe as the dark foreboding image of Guts pierced through the flames and stood right before him, with seemingly no damage inflicted upon him at all.
"Whatever the hell you are, you aren't going to be around for much longer" Guts commented. He held Dragonslayer at the ready, anticipating an attack from Tatsumi. And he was right, Tatsumi spun Neuntote and stopped it in his fighting stance. "Bring it on!" Tatsumi responded. The two bolted toward each other at the same time, Tatsumi closed the distance much quicker, but Guts had noticed Tatsumi's greater speed throughout their entire battle. But he wasn't merely strong enough to make any of those hits truly take any effect on the Black Swordsman. As the two clashed their weapons, Tatsumi called upon his strength to push against Guts. The two remained at an impasse, unable to decisively break through the other's guard.
As Tatsumi pressed his advantage against Guts, he could feel the heat of the fire growing warmer and warmer. It did not bother Guts in the slightest, and he simply looked at Tatsumi, and smiled, almost devilishly. Tatsumi knew stopping his advantage would be a mistake, and so shouted as he finally pushed Guts into the tree. The flames quickly grabbed hold of Guts and the Black Swordsman seemed to fall into the fiery clutches. Tatsumi watched as Guts seemingly fell into a river of fire. He looked for a moment, before turning around and concluding Guts had perished. "That puts an end to tha-"
(Cue Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Black - Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle)
Is what Tatsumi would have said, if not for being overcome by inconceivable pain in his chest. He looked down and saw the thick blade of Dragonslayer wedged through his body, his spine had been completely severed, and he was completely unable to move. Guts stepped out of the flames, burned, but still intact, the Berserker Armor remained completely intact, and Dragonslayer was heated, which cauterized Tatsumi's blood. Guts' smile was indeed still on his face, as he raised Dragonslayer into the air, and Tatsumi slid along the thick steel blade, soon, he reached the bottom of the blade and just inches from Guts' hands at the handle.
"As I said, you weren't around for long at all". Guts looked at the front of his blade, seeing it stained crimson red with Tatsumi's blood, he quite literally held Tatsumi like a ragdoll on his blade, Guts swung his blade and Tatsumi flung off it and dropped to the ground senselessly, Tatsumi laid on the ground, the pool of blood from his gaping wound beginning to spread.
"...Is this..." the young man's thought couldn't be anywhere else. "...where I..." From his faint point of view, he could only see the sight of everything burning around him, he was certain either the flames or his wound would kill him first. "...die?" It seemed practically inevitable, Guts slashed the burning tree in half, allowing him passage. Although he still had even more trees to deal with, he had been through worse and still survived. But just before Guts made a move, he heard someone moving, he figured it was one of the assassin's accomplices, here to avenge their fallen friend.
Deciding to indulge his enemy, Guts turned around, holding Dragonslayer ready. But to his surprise, there wasn't someone else. It was Tatsumi, except he was completely different. Tatsumi stood taller than he had previously, his helmet was now gone, and instead, darkness covered his face, except for his two piercing eyes, one red, one green. And most distinct of all, Tatsumi now sprouted two wings on his back. His feet were no longer a human's, he had three-clawed feet now. And horns extruded from his head. "What the hell are you?!" Guts angrily questioned the miraculous recovery Tatsumi underwent.
"When you are faced with a great obstacle, you adapt. And I have adapted to you, this is over". Tatsumi uttered with coldness in his voice. Guts was both impressed by the assassin's resolve, and genuinely concerned, and quickly deemed Tatsumi a threat that must be put down. Immediately. Sprinting at his fastest, Guts bolted toward Tatsumi and prepared to swing his blade, however, Tatsumi moved so quickly, Guts couldn't see him approach until he was already there. Tatsumi grabbed Guts by the head, and his wings elevated Tatsumi into flight. As Tatsumi raced across the forest, he slammed Guts' head into the ground, and even the flames, as they both passed right through it.
Desperate, Guts attempted to swing Dragonslayer, but the speed was disorienting, and he couldn't land a proper strike. Tatsumi finally changed his flight from horizontal to vertical. Guts could feel the ground beneath his vanish, and once again, attempted to fight his way out. But despite Guts' best effort, Tatsumi had him completely under his control. Gripping Guts' head like a ball, Tatsumi pelted Guts dozens of meters before Guts impacted into the wall of the Imperial Capital. A massive crater formed as a result of Guts' impact. As Guts recovered, he felt his entire body ache collectively.
But out of nowhere, Tatsumi came roaring toward Guts with his evolved Neuntote and impaled Guts straight through the chest. The impalement was so great, it formed cracks on the giant wall. Guts anguished in his pain, truly feeling it for the first time. But that was the last straw for Guts. As he fought against his injury, Guts looked Tatsumi directly in the eyes, "YOU WILL KNOW WHAT A TRUE BEAST IS!" On Guts' command, his armour quickly expanded across his body, covering his arms and legs. In response, Tatsumi pulled Neuntote out of Guts as the helmet closed around Guts' face, activating the Berserker Armor.
Driven by an absolutely insatiable desire to kill, Guts howled his mightiest as he pushed himself off the wall, and grabbed hold of Tatsumi, using his immense weight to bring him down to Earth. But before they could impact the ground, Tatsumi retaliated by grabbing Guts and throwing him instead. As Guts hit the ground, Tatsumi flew down to the ground and immediately met Guts' body with his draconian fist. Creating a second massive crater, Tatsumi flew up and awaited the results of his attack, Guts laid on the ground, his arms broken, and bent in the wrong direction, his legs were even completely inverted.
Just moments later, Tatsumi was shocked to see the Berserker Armor suddenly return back to normal, and Guts stood back up. The Beast of Darkness within Guts' psyche manifested, and it unleashed an unruly scream, summoning what dark power he could from Guts. Tatsumi almost instinctively responded as Tyrant's control continued to pull Tatsumi over to the primal urges of the Danger Beast. Standing upright, Guts saw Tatsumi flying in the air and did not hold back and of his restraints, Guts leapt into the air, and Tatsumi raced toward him, the two met in the sky.
Swinging Dragonslayer, Guts aimed for a strike that was as brutal as possible, but Tatsumi matched Dragonslayer with his evolved Neuntote and the two mighty weapons collided, and with both delivering such a heavy-handed assault, the two hit each other hard enough that both disarmed each other. The two weapons dropped to the ground right beside each other. Guts made his descent, but he was easily caught by Tatsumi. Although he looked at the face of a man consumed by a beast, he didn't see the difference between himself and Guts. "This is where it ends!".
With another powerful display of physical might, Tatsumi yet again threw Guts to the imperial capital's wall. Impacting in the same place he had last time. Guts was about to find his bearings when Tatsumi's malicious intent took over, his teeth become fangs, and his eyes no longer looked human. With all his strength, Tatsumi threw Neuntote toward Guts' chest, impaling him yet again. But Guts' own violent bursts manifest, and he grabbed Neuntote, and forcibly began prying the weapon out of his body.
But Tatsumi grabbed his weapon's handle and pulled it out of Guts’ torso. The Black Swordsman then immediately attempted to attack Tatsumi, but Incursio's wielder instead thrust his weapon into Guts' neck, pinning him to the wall. Guts once again grabbed the weapon, trying his damn hardest to free himself. The pain was nonexistent, but that truly blinded him.
With breathtaking speed, Tatsumi drove Dragonslayer through Guts' face, breaking the helmet and severing Guts' head in two halves. The Black Swordsman's body finally stopped moving, and he laid there a bloodied and broken man. Tatsumi looked at his merciless act and agreed that he too was a beast.
K.O.!
Conclusion[]
(Cue Le chant de Roma - Akame ga Kill!)
Boomstick: Ugh, no... I was really rooting for ya Guts! How the hell did this happen?
Wiz: Despite how ridiculous it may seem, Guts didn't have the means to win this fight. Which I know sounds really absurd, but it's simply impossible for Guts to find his way to victory here. And it stems from Tatsumi's advantages outweighing Guts' advantages.
Boomstick: While Guts is older, having plenty more experience, as well as a wider, more varied arsenal, these couldn't slow Tatsumi down, Incursio was simply too tough for the majority of Guts' weapons, except for Dragonslayer! Which could have landed Guts the win, if not for Incursio's power.
Popup: It's unlikely Dragonslayer could kill Tatsumi, as he survived steel blade impalement from Shikoutazer's Purge Mode thanks to Incursio developing regeneration, and its steel blades were much lengthier than Dragonslayer.
Wiz: Incursio's power is truly the ace up Tatsumi's sleeve. His strength was elevated each time he evolved, to the point where he was comparable to Esdeath and Shikoutazer, whom both could unleash attacks measuring in the teratons, Guts didn't have any strength feats to match them. Speed was a similar story, Tatsumi's speed improved to the point where he scaled to Akame and Esdeath dodging lightning at Mach 800 speeds.
Boomstick: Guts was essentially one-eighth of that by dodging Ganishka's lightning bolt. Which didn't do him any favours. Plus it didn't help that Tatsumi could evolve and grow wings, giving him complete control over the pace of the battle. Both had impressive armours to keep them alive, but Tatsumi's adaptive armour that can heal him was much better than Guts' armour that just held everything together without healing him. Guts also didn't have counters to Tatsumi's more unique abilities, like turning invisible.
Wiz: While Guts can harm non-physical beings, he's never been able to perceive invisible enemies. Guts isn't a ragdoll in this fight, and the Berserker Armor certainly pushed Tatsumi to fight back even harder, submitting to his own personal beast within. But it's incredibly difficult for Guts' brutal tenacity and willpower to overpower Tatsumi when his armour is made for adapting to its opponent's strengths. Even Esdeath and her incredibly deadly Mahapadma were adapted to.
Popup: While Guts' victory against the Sea God proves he can slay beings massively larger than him, Tatsumi's advantages mean he's far more likely to defeat Guts before he evolves into Tyrant.
Boomstick: Guts just really didn't have anything in his corner that could get around Incursio's adaptive powers and land him a victory. I hate having to admit that, but there's just nothing he can do to put Tatsumi down for good. And Tatsumi had literally everything he needed for a victory.
Wiz: While Guts is unquestionably a ferocious foe for anyone to face, his arsenal and experiences weren't able to overwhelm Tatsumi's greater strength, speed, durability, and superior, more adaptable armour.
Boomstick: In terms of a battle, this was pretty Killer! It was really cool seeing these two go Berserk!
Wiz: The winner is Tatsumi.
Original Track[]
An Original Track for this episode would be titled "Slaying Danger".
The title references the combatants' home series, specifically an element closely associated with them (Guts' weapon the Dragonslayer, and the fearsome creatures Tatsumi has consistently battled against, Danger Beasts).
Trivia[]
- The connections between Guts and Tatsumi are that they are both main protagonist swordsmen who come into the acquisition of equipment associated with Dragons (Guts' primary weapon, Dragonslayer and Tatsumi's Teigu, Incursio). Their respective armours grant immense power at the cost of self-control, transforming them into violent and destructive monsters. Both are sought after by a military leader (Griffith and Esdeath, respectively) that ultimately becomes the primary antagonist and their greatest enemy.
- Griffith and Esdeath share an obsessive nature in regards to Guts and Tatsumi respectively.