VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Chapter 473: The Fight That Tests the Crown

Disbelief spreads through the red side of the arena before the count even reaches three.

In the stands behind the red corner, faces stiffen and voices falter. The roar that followed the knockdown fractures into something uneven, pockets of silence forming where confidence once sat.

Hands that were raised moments ago hover uncertainly now, unsure whether to clap or brace.

“That didn’t just happen,” someone mutters, hands in his hair.

Another shakes his head slowly. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“Get up, Shinichi!” A cut man calls out, urgency breaking through his control. “I know that’s not enough to stop you.”

Coach Yoshizawa does not move at first. He stands rigid at the edge of the apron, eyes locked on his fighter as if refusing to accept the picture in front of him.

Yanagimoto, down on one knee, gloves braced against the canvas… this should not be happening.

Yoshizawa feels the thought repeat in his head, louder each time. He knows Yanagimoto’s conditioning. Knows his composure. Knows the way he dismantles fighters who lose structure under pressure.

And yet here he is, dropped by a man who looks half-spent, shoulders sagging, posture ugly and wrong.

“What am I watching?” Yoshizawa mutters under his breath.

In the booth, the commentators scramble to keep pace with the moment.

“He’s taking his time,” one says as the referee’s count echoes through the ring. “Yanagimoto is using every second he’s allowed.”

“And he should,” the other adds. “That wasn’t a flash knockdown. That was timing, balance, and consequence all meeting at once.”

The referee’s voice rises. “Four!”

Yanagimoto lifts his head, eyes steady now, jaw clenched as he pushes one foot under him.

Across the ring, Shimamura waits, hands loose at his sides, chest still heaving. He does not pace, does not posture. He simply watches, eyes bright, as if the count is something he wants to savor rather than hurry.

In the press row, Aki leans forward, fingers digging into her notebook. “He’s got a real chance now,” she says, unable to keep the excitement from her voice. “If Yanagimoto’s rhythm doesn’t come back…”

“I doubt it,” Nakahara says quietly.

Sato turns toward him. “You’ve seen the same thing we have. Shimamura’s been playing with him. He hasn’t let Yanagimoto hit him clean for a while now.”

Tanaka hesitates, eyes narrowing. “I get why you’d doubt it, Nakahara-san. Nothing about Shimamura’s form looks dominant. His punches aren’t sharp, his movement’s ugly.”

He pauses, and then exhales. “But at the same time… Yanagimoto can’t touch him. Not cleanly. There has to be something to it. Some trick, some hidden rhythm or timing we’re not seeing.”

“That’s the mistake,” Nakahara replies. “Thinking there has to be a trick.”

The words land heavier than intended, and the air shifts. All three journalists turn in unison, attention locking onto him.

“No trick?” Tanaka asks. “You don’t think that movement…”

“That sloppy sway?” Nakahara shakes his head. “That’s just what happens when you’re exhausted and refusing to stop. Anyone can learn to read it with time.”

Aki frowns. “Then why can’t Yanagimoto?”

“Because he’s looking at the wrong thing,” Nakahara replies. “He thinks the answer is in the dance.”

“So what is it, then?” Sato asks.

Nakahara exhales slowly. “Reflex. Clarity. And a mind without hesitation.”

They glance back toward Shimamura, who has not broken eye contact with his opponent once.

“When there’s no doubt,” Nakahara continues, “the body moves before thought gets in the way. Shimamura keeps the sway because it keeps him there, in that flow. And by doing it, he gives his opponent something obvious to fixate on.”

Aki’s eyes widen slightly. “So Yanagimoto’s trying to solve the wrong problem.”

“Yes,” Nakahara says. “He’s trying to crack the rhythm. But the rhythm itself isn’t dangerous. It’s just bait. The real weapon is how Shimamura slips every punch at the last possible moment.”

The words hang there for a moment. Then, almost in unison, they all turn their attention back to the ring.

With Nakahara’s explanation settling into place, the movement they see now looks different.

Shimamura’s sway is no longer just strange or sloppy to them now. It is deliberate in its timing, unsettling in how late it resolves. Each miss from Yanagimoto feels closer than it should, each escape a breath thinner than expected.

The realization does not dull their amazement. It actually sharpens it.

Aki swallows, eyes still fixed on Shimamura. “Then why…” she asks quietly. “Why were you doubting him earlier?”

Nakahara does not answer right away. His gaze shifts to Yanagimoto instead, watching how he rises, how his legs settle beneath him, how his guard tightens without panic.

In the ring, Yanagimoto has fully straightened. His stance is steady. The referee watches his eyes, then waves his hand through the air.

“Box!”

Yanagimoto steps toward the corner at once, his guard high, expression carved into something hard and focused.

Across from him, Shimamura’s grin blooms again, slow and familiar, as if this moment has been patiently waiting for him.

But Nakahara simply shakes his head before speaking again. “Whatever Shimamura does in his current state,” he says, calm and flat, “he can’t break a champion like Yanagimoto.”

Aki turns sharply. “What?”

“In fact, he’s never really beaten his opponents with that style,” Nakahara continues. “Not really.”

Confusion ripples through the group, because that doesn’t line up to Shimamura’s statistic.

They all know the record. Twenty-two fights. One loss. Two draws. Seventeen knockouts.

“What are you talking about?” Aki says. “He has the highest knockout ratio in the division. No… in Japan.”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” Nakahara says without looking at her.

Back in the ring, Shimamura does not press. Despite the knockdown, he refuses to rush the ending. He still sways, still slips punches clean, letting Yanagimoto do the work.

And Yanagimoto does work, still looking aggressive.

There is blood at the corner of his mouth now. Swelling along the cheekbone. But his form is intact. His footwork is clean. His combinations are still tight, still dangerous.

Shimamura slips a jab, and then…

Thud!

A short punch digs into the midsection.

Then he tilts away from a straight at the last instant, and…

Dsh!

A left hook brushes Yanagimoto’s cheek.

The crowd erupts, his small pocket of supporters louder than they have any right to be, cheering every slip, roaring for every clean punch, shouting his name, his nickname.

“The Drunken Master!”

The commentators are grinning now, voices riding the chaos.

“This fight just keeps giving!”

“He knocked the champion down… and he’s still in control!”

And then…

Ding!

The round ends.

But Yanagimoto still can walk back to his corner on steady legs, while Shimamura drifts the other way with the same loose, drunken gait.

Compared to the end of the last round, the image is unchanged. And yet the meaning feels heavier.

No one seems worried about Shimamura’s body anymore. They read the sway as swagger, the looseness as confidence. His supporters chant louder, and convinced.

Then Nakahara exhales softly. “You see it now?” he says to Aki. “He lands clean. He controls the fight. But he won’t beat someone like Yanagimoto with those sloppy punches.”

Tanaka frowns. “You said he’s never really beaten his opponents,” he says. “With his knockout record? What did you mean by that?”

Nakahara finally turns to them. “There are two reasons for that ratio,” he says. “First, yes, he lands a lot of clean shots. And second… his opponents can’t touch him.”

He pauses for a moment, letting the words sink first before he continues.

“Put yourself in their place,” Nakahara says. “You keep getting hit. You’re missing everything. Nothing you throw lands clean. What do you feel?”

The answer lingers, unsettling and obvious.

There will be frustration more than pain, doubt, mental exhaustion, and something that breaks long before the body does.

Nakahara keeps his eyes on the ring as he goes on, his voice low but certain.

“It may work against any other boxer, in any other fight. But not against a champion. Not in a title fight. Not when there’s a belt on the line.”

He looks at them, just for a moment. Then his gaze shifts back to Yanagimoto, still standing tall in his corner.

“A real champion doesn’t quit because he’s confused. He doesn’t fold just because the fight stops making sense. He endures it. He survives it. He waits.”

There’s a pause, heavy with implication.

“If Shimamura can’t do more than frustrate him,” Nakahara adds, “then all that chaos just buys time. It doesn’t finish the job.”

The realization settles quietly, almost cruel in its clarity. Shimamura knocking Yanagimoto out feels impossible now.

“So then…” Aki murmurs.

“He wins on points,” Tanaka says.

Nakahara nods. “Only if he lasts.”

On the scorecards, Shimamura is ahead. He’s taken most of the rounds. The knockdown widened the gap even more. If the fight ends clean, if it reaches the final bell, the decision should be his.

But the numbers are unforgiving. Seven rounds have gone, but five more still to come.

In the ring, Shimamura sits on the stool, eyes still lit with that dangerous joy. His face shows excitement, but his shoulders sag low, back hunched lazily. His breathing hasn’t steadied even after the bell, chest rising in uneven pulls.

No matter how sharp the reflexes are, no matter how clean the reads, the body keeps score. Every slip drains something from him. Every last-second escape costs more than it shows.

When that reserve runs out, the dance will stop.

Then it isn’t beautiful anymore.

It’s punishment.

The champion will be collecting what fatigue gives back.