Seth has escaped, and S.I.N. has organized a new tournament to draw the world's most powerful fighters into the open. The public face is legitimate competition—preliminary matches, a point system, qualified entrants. The private goal is the BLECE project, which requires one specific piece of data: an analysis of the Satsui no Hado within Ryu. Every fighter who enters the tournament is a means to that end. Ryu is the end.