VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA - Chapter 614: Hidden Targets

Chapter 614: Hidden Targets

The meeting with the WBO representatives did not produce a final decision. For now, Ryoma and his camp agree to consider the proposed unification bout before committing to anything.

Following Kanemura’s suggestion, there is no need for them to take the next step themselves. In fact, it is better if they don’t.

All they need to do is wait. Within the next few days, a representative from Dante Villanueva’s camp will come to their gym to discuss the possibility of the fight directly.

Until then, the situation hangs in quiet anticipation. So Ryoma does the only thing he knows how to do when uncertainty appears; training until he reaches his limit.

With Satoru still recovering from his recent fight, Ryoma is now focus fully on himself, with more space, and more time for his own preparation.

By late afternoon he has already completed the day’s full training menu: roadwork in the morning, technical drills, bag work, and several rounds on the mitts.

Most fighters would call it a day. But Ryoma doesn’t.

Across from him, Kenta adjusts his headgear and raises his guard.

“You want for another round?” Kenta asks with a tired grin.

Ryoma nods once. “Yeah, another round.”

Kenta simply shakes his head, but still answers to the challenge.

In fact, today isn’t even a sparring day. Which means the regular training menu is already more intense than usual; roadwork, conditioning drills, heavy bag, mitt work, all stacked one after another without the lighter pacing that sparring days normally bring.

Yet even after all of that, Ryoma still forces Kenta to go through four full rounds in the ring.

Those four rounds have just ended. And now Ryoma is asking for another one.

At first the exchange still looks ordinary; two fighters circling, testing distance, gloves tapping and slipping past one another in quick sequences.

But then, Ryoma begins experimenting with the feature he just unlocked recently.

[Vision Assist: the X-ray Targeting activated]

Now inside his vision, the world looks slightly different. A faint grid overlays Kenta’s body. Then the new function emerges.

The layers of muscle and bone beneath Kenta’s body appear in Ryoma’s perception like a translucent anatomical map.

It isn’t a literal X-ray image, but something close enough; highlighting structural weak points, vulnerable joints, and the narrow pathways where impact travels most efficiently.

Ribs. Solar plexus. Liver. Tiny red markers flicker for a fraction of a second whenever Kenta shifts his weight.

Then Ryoma steps inside, and a short left hand lands on Kenta’s guard.

Dug.

Another jab.

Dug.

Then the Soviet striking rhythm begins; 1-3, 1-2-3-3, 1-2.

Lazy jabs mix with a loose lead hook, almost casual, almost slow.

Then suddenly the tempo spikes: a sharp jab-cross-lead hook snaps out before the pace drops again, returning to that relaxed lead hook… followed by another quick jab-cross.

Every sequence blends smoothly with his swaying pendulum step, his body rocking lightly from side to side as if carried by its own quiet rhythm.

Then Ryoma slightly adjusts the angle of his shoulder and drives a compact right hand toward the side of Kenta’s head.

The punch lands against the padding of the headgear with a dull thud. From the outside it looks harmless. But inside Ryoma’s vision, however, the strike connects precisely along a fragile alignment between jaw and neck right under the ear.

DSH!!!

Kenta stumbles half a step.

“Damn,” he mutters, resetting his stance.

Ryoma continues calmly, his eyes tracking the shifting markers beneath the protective gear.

The headgear hides the target from everyone else in the room. But not from Ryoma, not when he can map the internal organ using his X-ray Targeting.

He throws a quick three-punch combination; jab, hook, straight.

Kenta defends well, but the final punch threads through his guard again, and taps the side of the headgear, right on the same spot.

DSH!

Another precise alignment. And Kenta exhales sharply through his mouthguard.

“You’re getting scary accurate lately,” he says between exchanges.

“Is that so?” he hums, raising an eyebrow.

He’s still adjusting to the new sensation. The X-ray targeting doesn’t move automatically; it demands constant interpretation, forcing his brain to translate those fleeting anatomical signals into real timing and distance.

Sometimes the markers vanish the moment he commits to a strike. Sometimes they appear too late. But round by round, his body begins to understand.

Another opening flashes. Ryoma shifts his weight and sends a tight hook toward the same invisible point beneath the padding.

DUGH!

Kenta’s guard drops for a split second as he exhales again.

Outside the ring, Sera and Hiroshi watch quietly. To them it simply looks like Ryoma’s accuracy has improved.

Only Ryoma knows he’s practicing something far more precise; learning to strike through layers of protection and reach the fragile structures hidden beneath.

When the bell rings, Kenta lowers his gloves and lets out a tired laugh. “Alright, that’s enough for me.”

Ryoma steps back and nods, rolling his shoulders lightly. “Yeah,” he says, exhaling through his nose. “Honestly, I’m already feeling a bit jaded.”

But even as he removes his mouthguard, Ryoma’s thoughts briefly drift back to the conversation with Kanemura and Yasuda; the careful plan, the waiting game, the fragile timing surrounding Dante Villanueva.

But then…

“Ryoma!”

A familiar voice cuts through his thoughts.

Aki appears near the ring apron, slightly out of breath, waving her phone with obvious impatience.

“I’ve got news…”

Ryoma turns toward her. And then immediately snaps his gaze away.

His heartbeat jumps.

“Oh, God… almost.”

Because the X-ray Targeting is still active, for a brief split second, the system overlays its anatomical mapping across Aki’s body as well; faint structural outlines appearing beneath the layers of clothing.

Not clear enough to reveal anything explicit, but still far too much for Ryoma’s comfort. So now he is looking away, face blushing, rubbing the back of his neck. The last thing he wants is to accidentally stare through someone’s clothes, and clearly not someone like Aki.

However, the System’s voice appears across the corner of his vision in floating text, carrying its usual annoyingly casual tone.

<< Relax. Your eyes aren’t Byakugan. >>

<< You’re not actually seeing through fabric like real X-ray vision. So stop acting like you just discovered girls’ underwear. >>

Ryoma exhales slowly, trying to ignore the comment. But then, a new line of text replaces the teasing message, this time displayed in the System’s colder, robotic format.

***

[ X-Ray Targeting: Functional Explanation ]

This feature does NOT generate true X-ray imagery.

The system predicts and maps a target’s internal anatomical structure using motion tracking, impact modeling, and skeletal structure.

Purpose: Assist the user in locating critical internal targets despite movement, guard coverage, or protective equipment.

Visual overlays represent calculated strike vectors and structural weak points. But the system cannot see through solid materials such as concrete, walls, or fabric.

Displayed visuals are predictive combat models generated from external observation data.

***

Ryoma blinks once. “…Right. I forgot. It’s only a predictive model, not real sight.”

He glances back at Aki, who is still waiting impatiently beside the ring, clearly unaware of the strange moment that just happened.

“What news?” he asks.

Aki’s grin widens, barely contained excitement shining in her eyes. “You might be getting a world title shot.”

The words hang in the air for a moment.

Ryoma blinks. “What?”

“Aleksandr Volkov,” Aki says quickly, almost bouncing on her feet. “He said in an interview earlier today that he’s considering sending a challenge to Ryoma Takeda for the WBA title.”