VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA - Chapter 357: What Is Worth Betting On

Chapter 357: What Is Worth Betting On

In boxing, money keeps the lights on. But legacy is what makes people remember who fought under them.

Nakahara has never confused the two. He spends recklessly not because he doesn’t understand the risk, but because he understands exactly what’s worth paying for.

He stands at the apron without moving, attention fixed forward, on the fighter waiting in his corner.

He studies the set of Kenta’s shoulders. The way his breathing stays even. The absence of restless motion. Nakahara has seen enough fighters to know the difference.

Behind that one figure, he sees the others too.

Ryoma, burning too bright to ever be cheap. Aramaki, learning control without losing his edge. And Kenta, who came through dry spells, empty cards, years when phones didn’t ring and doors stayed closed.

Young men who trained without guarantees, without promises, trusting him to find a way forward when there wasn’t one.

This is what he’s betting on.

“Hiroshi. Sera.” Nakahara calls, voice low but firm. “This could be the most important fight of his career. We can’t let him down.”

The words land heavy.

Hiroshi straightens, the easy brightness he carries usually fading into something more focused.

Sera rolls his shoulders back, fixing his eyes on the ring. The casual lean in his posture disappears, replaced by stillness, by readiness.

The ring announcer steps forward, suit crisp under the lights, microphone raised as the hum of the crowd settles into expectation.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he calls out, voice steady and practiced, echoing cleanly through the arena. “The next bout is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division, a JBC and OPBF–sanctioned contest.”

The camera light flares around the ring.

“Introducing first… fighting out of the blue corner.”

“Standing 176 cm tall, weighing in at 66.5 kilograms.”

The announcer turns slightly, arm extending toward him.

“He enters the ring with a professional record of 10 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw.”

“Currently 27 years old… representing Nakahara Boxing Gym.”

“Please welcome… Kenta Moriyama!”

Kenta stays still, arms down, eyes forward. The words wash over him without sticking. His awareness keeps tightening, drawing inward, until the ring feels like the only real space left and his breathing the only sound that matters.

The announcer turns, shifting his stance as the attention swings across the ring.

“And his opponent… fighting out of the red corner.”

The name lands with more weight this time, the cadence slower, deliberate.

“Standing 177 cm tall, weighing in at 66.9 kilograms.

“Twenty-four years old. With Professional record: sixteen bouts… 14 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss.”

A murmur runs through the arena, quieter than a roar, but thicker. Numbers like that don’t need embellishment.

“Ranked number three in Japan. Number six in the OPBF welterweight division.”

That earns him a wave of applause, respectful and measured.

“Representing Raging Fox Gym, please welcome… LIAM ’KUROATSU’ KURODA!”

The sound swells as Liam lifts his chin slightly, acknowledging the ring without theatrics. He steps forward, posture calm, presence heavy, as if the space around him tightens the moment his name is spoken.

As the ring announcer steps down and clears the canvas, the noise settles into a low expectant murmurs. It’s the pocket commentators wait for, the brief stretch before the bell, when numbers start to mean something.

“Interesting contrast between these two,” one of them begins. “On paper, you might expect Moriyama Kenta to be the younger man. But he’s actually twenty-seven.”

The co-commentator nods. “And despite that, he’s had fewer professional bouts. That’s not a question of hesitation or lack of ambition. It’s circumstance.”

“Kenta’s career stalled early. Long gaps between fights. At one point, nearly two years without stepping into the ring at all. He struggled to get noticed, struggled to secure opponents. There were nights when people stopped talking about him entirely.”

“But don’t confuse those numbers with inexperience,” the other adds. “He’s been fighting for his place long before tonight. And lately, we’ve seen what happens when he finally gets the chance.”

They let that hang for a beat before continuing.

“And there’s Liam Kuroda,” the first commentator continues. “Just twenty-four years old… and already a very different story.”

“Sixteen professional fights. Two title challenges for the Japanese welterweight belt,” his partner says. “And here’s the key detail: his only loss and his lone draw both came against the champion himself.”

“That’s not failure. That’s proximity. That’s knocking on the door of the top level.”

“Young, composed, and already tested against the very best. Kuroda is widely seen as the future of the division.”

The camera splits the ring one last time, blue corner and red, the contrast clear.

“Tonight,” the voice settles, “we find out which story moves forward.”

***

The instructions are already behind them by the time the crowd settles again. The referee steps away. Gloves have touched without ceremony, and both fighters retreat to their corners for the final heartbeat before motion.

The ring feels suddenly smaller, the air tighter, as if it’s holding its breath along with them.

And then…

Ding!

Round One.

They step out at the same time, but not the same way.

Liam Kuroda moves first with measured intent, posture upright, guard neat, feet light but controlled. He doesn’t rush the center. He never does. The first round is his window, the place where he reads weight shifts, measures distance, catalogs rhythm.

His stance is slightly longer, his frame just a touch leaner, allowing him to glide rather than sway. He stays on the balls of his feet only when he needs to, not bouncing, not wasting energy, but ready to pivot out at an angle the moment the line turns unfavorable.

There’s no urgency in his eyes, only calculation. Whatever Masahiro said in the locker room, Liam still trusts his process. Time, to him, is a weapon.

But today, Kenta feels none of that patience.

He comes forward with a subtle sway already woven into his steps, shoulders loose, gloves hanging just a fraction lower than they should, as if he hasn’t fully lifted them yet.

It almost looks lazy, almost casual. But his eyes are sharp, focus. His feet stay planted longer, his motion flowing through his torso instead, weight shifting smoothly from hip to hip.

The rhythm from the locker room with Ryoma is still in him, stirring under his skin. He doesn’t think about range or rounds or adjustment. His body wants to move, wants to engage.

Wants to continue the sensation it found earlier, the one that felt right.

The moment Liam’s lead foot drifts just inside that invisible line, the laziness vanishes. Kenta’s left snaps out at once, an orthodox jab fired straight down the pipe.

Dug!

Liam’s gloves absorb it cleanly.

But the punch isn’t meant to land. It’s a key turning in a lock.

Kenta steps with it, weight flowing forward as his shoulders begin to sway, the old Soviet cadence taking over.

Another jab follows, softer but insistent, nudging space open rather than forcing it. His head slips as he throws, drifting off the center line even as he advances.

The third beat comes as a short lead hook, tight and compact, driven by the turn of his hips rather than the swing of his arm.

Dug. Thud!

Liam leans back just enough, the first brushing past to thump against his shoulder, but the second sneaks in beneath the arm, landing shallow along the ribs.

Kenta doesn’t linger.

He slides back out on the same rhythm he came in on, feet gliding, upper body still swaying, a right hand twitching forward at the end of the sequence; half-thrown, half-held, more punctuation than punch.

It’s probing, disciplined, familiar. Not an attempt to overwhelm, but to establish tempo.

Liam resets immediately, eyes sharper now, the first data point logged.

Kenta is already moving again. The sway never stops, the pendulum carrying him forward as if the last exchange never ended.

Two jabs rise in sequence, light but probing, followed by the same short lead hook, familiar and disciplined.

Dug. Dug… Dug!

Liam blocks them all clean.

This time, though, the rhythm fractures for a heartbeat.

Instead of fading away, his right shoulder turns fully through. The cross fires straight and tight, meant for centerline, but Liam shifts his frame at the last instant…

Dug.

…letting it crash into his left upper arm.

No clean scoring blows this time. But the sound alone ripples through the arena, drawing a low swell of noise from the crowd.

Kenta is already sliding back out of range before Liam can answer. This time, he chooses to settle, feet planted enough interrupting the rhythm on purpose, even as the subtle sway lingers.

“He’s taking the initiative early,” one of the commentators notes, voice sharpening. “That’s confidence… setting the rhythm instead of waiting for it.”

Across from him, Liam stays composed. He shifts laterally in short steps, circling just enough to change the picture.

His eyes flick from Kenta’s shoulders to his gloves, then down to the feet, measuring how the sway carries him in and out of range.

Nothing rushed. Just information gathered, one beat at a time.

“He’s good…”

The conclusion settles almost immediately.

This isn’t a nameless opponent filling a slot. Not a record inflated by circumstance.

The movement has intention. The rhythm isn’t decorative, but functional. Whatever reputation says, the boxer in front of him is real. Sharp and dangerous.

The thought crosses Liam’s mind, clear and sober.

If I’m careless here… this could end fast.

His posture tightens by a fraction. The bounce in his stance hasn’t started yet, but the weight in his feet has changed.