VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Ryoma spots the perfect timing to counter. But his arms are still throbbing with numbness after absorbing the first swing of the Dempsey Roll.

So instead of forcing a counter, Ryoma simply watches the heavy hook hurtle toward his face. He waits until the last possible instant before leaning his upper body backward into the ropes.

The punch whistles past his face, but…

WHAM!

…still crashes hard against both of his raised gloves, blasting them upward.

"Excellent survival instinct from Ryoma!"

"But the hook blows his guard wide open again!"

A wave of shock ripples through Yoyogi Gymnasium, already picturing what comes next.

The entire blue corner goes pale, every pair of eyes locked on the unfolding disaster inside the ring.

On the VIP row, Miguel Cabello grins amusedly, his eyes gleaming with certainty.

"What now, cocky brat?"

Yet even in the middle of the danger, Ryoma's mind continues working. As the ropes begin to recoil, he uses the rebound to move forward.

<< Yes. >>

<< Confront your fear now. >>

Just before Liam swings back with the next crushing hook, Ryoma throws his entire body onto Liam's right arm, using his own weight to smother the motion.

Instead of exploding through the next swing, Liam finds himself lifting Ryoma's weight, carrying him back toward a neutral position.

"What incredible awareness!"

"Instead of running from the momentum, Ryoma threw himself into it!"

"He completely disrupted Liam's rhythm!"

Immediately, Ryoma locks Liam in a clinch. And a collective sigh of relief ripples through Yoyogi Gymnasium as the terrifying sequence finally comes to an end.

"That's unbelievable ring IQ!"

"Ryoma knew he couldn't block another one, so he prevented Liam from generating the power in the first place!"

Despite that, Ryoma's arms remain too weak to fully restrain Liam inside the clinch. Liam's right arm slips partially free, and he begins digging short punches to the side.

The referee quickly steps between them and pats Ryoma on the shoulder.

"Break! Break!"

Ryoma doesn't let go. He continues holding Liam for another brief moment, making absolutely certain the strength has returned to both arms.

Inside his head, the system speaks again. At least, the voice carries no trace of its usual mockery.

<< You missed the timing. >>

<< The moment you blocked the first swing, you lost every opportunity to counter. >>

<< Next time... stop him before he hits you. >>

The referee slaps Ryoma's shoulder again, much more firmly this time.

"Hey, Ryoma. That's enough. Let him go."

Feeling the strength finally return to both arms, Ryoma releases the clinch. He pivots away toward center ring and raises both gloves back to chest level.

"The momentum has completely changed!"

"Ryoma weathered the storm, but Liam has finally found a way to crack that Philly Shell!"

A restless anticipation settles over Yoyogi Gymnasium as everyone wonders whether Liam will unleash the Dempsey Roll again.

In the VIP row, however, Miguel Cabello shows none of that excitement. His grin has vanished, replaced by unmistakable disappointment.

"Tch…"

He knows the Dempsey Roll was a weapon meant to be revealed only once. Now that Ryoma has seen it, Liam is far too experienced to risk using it again against a counter puncher of his caliber.

And indeed, Liam calmly resumes his usual pressure, stalking toward center ring with loose shoulders and measured steps. He is far too experienced to gamble on such an audacious sequence a second time.

***

Both fighters meet again near center ring, but neither man throws immediately. Their shoulders roll subtly, gloves twitching by mere inches as each feint quietly probes for a reaction.

While the silent mind game continues, the system speaks inside Ryoma's head again.

<< How many times do I have to tell you? >>

<< Don't let fear control you. >>

The lecture cuts straight through Ryoma's concentration.

"...Will you shut up already?"

Annoyed, he suddenly lunges forward with a long left straight.

Liam catches it cleanly on his guard.

Dug.

Without wasting a beat, the veteran steps in behind two crushing overhead punches.

Ryoma snaps his left hand back and tightens his guard just in time to absorb both impacts.

DHUMP! THUMP!

Then Liam swings another right. But instead of a hook, he curls the glove around Ryoma's left and drags the guard downward.

Something inside Ryoma instantly flares. Using the same trick twice feels like an insult to his intelligence.

Liam quickly swings another right hook toward the exposed head, but Ryoma simply slips underneath it and whips a left hook upstairs.

"…You think I'd fall for that?!"

But Liam himself has also anticipated the answer, firing his own left hook at the exact same moment, forcing a dual exchange.

BAM!!!

"They caught each other!"

"Both hooks land clean at the same time!"

For the briefest instant, neither man moves. Both wear the same pained expression.

Then the familiar chill crawls across Ryoma's skin once again. The Goosebumps are back as his instincts scream before his eyes can confirm it.

<< Don't fight your fear. >>

<< Don't deny it. >>

<< Embrace it. >>

Indeed, Liam recovers first, ready to strike again.

Ryoma clenches both fists, and he knows he could force another exchange. But instead, he quietly slides his rear foot half a step backward.

His gloves remain hanging low, his posture sags as though the previous exchange has left him dazed.

Liam notices the opening, and without hesitation, steps in behind a heavy left straight, his right hand already loaded to continue the assault.

What Liam fails to notice is that Ryoma's sluggish posture is entirely deliberate. He isn't stunned. He's waiting.

The moment the straight drives toward his face, Ryoma slips outside the punch and drives a short right upward.

Dhuack!

The punch lands clean, and the veteran's entire sequence dies on the spot.

"Beautiful slip by Ryoma!"

"AND A RIGHT UPPERCUT COMES OUT OF NOWHERE!"

Liam stumbles backward before instinctively bringing both gloves back to his face.

Then he sees Ryoma bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet with an energy that had seemed completely absent only moments ago.

"This kid…"

"Has he been fooling me this whole time?"

Ryoma surges forward with lively footwork and crisp combinations, his hands flowing one after another while his feet carry him smoothly from angle to angle.

Liam manages to absorb most of the punches behind his compact guard, but Ryoma's constant repositioning prevents him from staying completely sealed.

Dug. Dsh!

Dug. Dug. Dsh!

"This is a completely different Ryoma!"

"He's back to changing angles with incredible speed!"

Ryoma circles half a step to his left, fires another jab, digs a right hand into the body, then snaps a hook upstairs.

Dud. Dug. Thud! Dsh!

Noticing the pace, Liam takes few steps backward before lowering his stance even further, shrinking behind an even more compact turtle guard.

"Go ahead…"

"Burn your fuel to its last drop."

Ryoma doesn't slow down, even dropping into a crouching Peek-a-Boo stance and begins applying pressure with a subtle rolling rhythm from side to side.

He opens the assault exactly the way Liam had battered his Philly Shell moments earlier, crashing heavy overhead punches down onto the guard.

DHUMP! DHUMP! THUMP!

Gradually, the rolling motion grows a little wider as the overhead barrage continues relentlessly.

DHUMP! DHUMP! DHUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Liam's eyes narrow, recognizing the pattern. And he knows all too well that Ryoma possesses an unsettling habit of copying his opponents' signature weapons.

"Wait a minute... we've seen this before!"

"The Chameleon is changing colors again!"

"Ryoma is copying Liam's rhythm!"

"Are we about to witness another Dempsey Roll?!"

Back in the blue corner, Nakahara watches the sequence unfold with undisguised alarm.

"Kid! Don't you dare do it!"

Ryoma gives no sign that he hears him and the rolling pressure continues.

DHUMP! THUMP! DHUMP!

The blows are solid enough to keep Liam pinned behind the turtle, yet they lack the crushing weight to numb his arms. Liam can feel they are not heavy enough.

And he may not be the division's finest counter puncher, but even he is confident enough to read a Dempsey Roll's pattern.

"Come on, kid! Swing wider."

The next moment Ryoma rolls toward his right side, the motion becomes noticeably broader than before, almost identical to the beginning of Liam's Dempsey Roll.

Liam's eyes flash.

"There!"

Certain the real swing is about to follow, he refuses to wait for it to crush his guard, initiating the counter first.

His right hook explodes first, aiming to intercept Ryoma before the copied Dempsey Roll can fully develop.

But, to his surprise, Ryoma's rolling momentum dies in an instant.

"...What?!"

Liam's hook cuts harmlessly through empty air.

"...How did he stop there?"

What Liam fails to realize is that Ryoma was never initiating a Dempsey Roll.

The exaggerated rhythm is nothing more than a disguise. Ryoma simply switches into a southpaw stance, planting his rear foot far outside as he rolls.

The wider base resembles the opening of a Dempsey Roll, when in reality he is performing nothing more than a conventional roll from a different stance.

After sinking onto his right knee, Ryoma explosively launches upward with a leaping right hook.

BAM!!!

The punch crashes flush against Liam's face, detonating with explosive force.

"A GAZELLE PUNCH?!"

"From the right hand?!

"How on earth did he generate that angle?!"

Blood sprays from the corner of Liam's mouth. Even so, the veteran refuses to yield. Gritting his teeth, he whips a desperate left hook toward Ryoma's head.

Ryoma simply follows the momentum of his own landing. Gravity carries him downward as he sinks beneath the hook, letting it whistle harmlessly over his head.

He bends on the knees once more, coils his hips, and rips a heavy left hook into Liam's exposed body.

BAM!!!

Liam's arms collapse instinctively, driven by excruciating pain.

That single reaction is all Ryoma needs. He uncoils and drives back upward as his right hook whips over the lowered guard.

BAM!!!

The hook crashes cleanly against the side of Liam's head.

"What a combination!"

"He goes upstairs, downstairs... and back upstairs again!"

"Liam can't cover everything!"

Three heavy hooks; head, body, head, and the veteran's body finally reaches its limit.

The strength drains from his legs without warning, and he crumples straight to the canvas like a marionette with its strings suddenly cut.

A wave of anxious silence washes over Yoyogi Gymnasium. One heartbeat passes, and the arena explodes into a thunderous uproar.

"Ryoma drops him!"

"What a stunning turnaround by Ryoma Takeda!"

"Has he finally broken the veteran's resistance?!"