Meanwhile, Ryohei only sees this as Ryoma’s own brutal way of forcing him upward, not much different from what he once did to Kenta back then.

Because of that, he refuses to react emotionally to the provocation itself. Instead, he focuses entirely on surviving the expectations behind it.

Ryoma wants him to stop constantly thinking about escape. So Ryohei plants his feet, waiting for his chance to fight back.

"He’ll stop eventually..."

"There’s no way he can keep punching forever..."

"He’s not some monster with endless stamina..."

Heavy hooks continue crashing against him in waves. Gloves slam against Ryohei’s guard, forearms, shoulders, upper arms, occasionally slipping through narrow openings with enough force to shake his posture even when partially blocked.

Dug. Dug. Dug.

Dug! Bugh! Dug! Dsh! Dug. Thud!

Ryohei keeps defending, leaning his back against the ropes at times, adjusting his guard angle, rolling his shoulders, moving his head just enough to avoid receiving anything fully clean. Still, the pressure never ends.

"Screw this... when is he going to stop..."

And meanwhile, despite looking like a complete lunatic throwing punches nonstop, Ryoma’s mind remains strangely calm underneath the aggression.

His eyes continue selecting targets carefully, observing reactions, timing the shifts in Ryohei’s guard.

Two more punches crash into Ryohei’s gloves, not to damage him, only to pin the guard in place.

And then...

BUGH!!!

A brutal body hook digs into Ryohei’s stomach.

The air almost leaves his lungs. His guard drops slightly for a fraction of a second, an involuntary reaction to the pain no matter how hard he tries to suppress it.

Ryoma immediately swings a left hook toward the head. But somehow, Ryohei avoids it, ducking low enough that the glove only grazes the top of his headgear.

"Tch... he’s getting better at close range..."

Ryoma’s eyes narrow. Irritation visibly twitches across his face.

"But you’re still not getting anywhere."

A right hook comes immediately afterward, adjusted mid-motion after reading the direction of Ryohei’s torso recovery.

Ryohei’s head rises again, but this time, he’s throwing his own hook too.

BAM!!!

Both punches land almost simultaneously.

Ryoma’s hook smashes across the side of Ryohei’s headgear, while Ryohei’s own punch crashes heavily into Ryoma’s neck.

For just a split second, both of them freeze in place from the impact.

Then Ryoma’s temper snaps harder. He immediately fires another body hook, followed by a short left uppercut through the middle.

The body shot lands clean.

Bugh!

But as the uppercut travels, Ryohei blindly throws a left hook at the same time again.

Dsh!

Dhuack!

Both punches land together once more.

Ryoma’s compact uppercut clips Ryohei’s chin upward sharply. But Ryohei’s hook slams harder into Ryoma’s headgear.

And neither of them backs away. The exchange instantly devolves into chaos. Technique begins dissolving beneath raw stubbornness as both fighters continue trading at close range with more grit than finesse now.

Dug! Bugh! Dsh! Thud!

Their shoulders collide. Hooks crash against ribs and guards. Short punches slam through tiny openings while sweat sprays under the gym lights.

Aramaki hits the bell.

CLANG! 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

But neither of them stops.

Dug! Dug! Thud! Bugh!

"Hey! Break it up!"

Dug! Dsh!

"Ryoma, enough already!"

Sera immediately rushes in, grabbing Ryoma from behind because he’s the one aggressively forcing Ryohei deeper into the corner.

But even then, Ryohei still steps forward and throws a straight punch wildly past Sera’s shoulder.

Dhuack!

Ryoma’s headgear jerks sideways. And his face twitches instantly.

"What the hell?!"

He shoves Sera aside with his left arm and immediately swings his right forward.

"That’s enough, Ryoma!"

Sera grabs his left arm again, pulling him away.

The punch misses, but Ryohei actually clips Ryoma’s headgear again with another left hook.

Dsh!

"Damn it!"

"No, Ryoma!"

"Damn it, Sera! You said enough, but you let him hit me..."

Dsh!

Another punch comes from Ryohei again.

"Again?! You son of..."

But suddenly, Ryoma stops. Because now he finally sees Ryohei properly.

Blood seeps from the corner of Ryohei’s lips. His expression is twisted strangely, not angry exactly, but disconnected. His eyes remain cold and blank, almost absent.

Another straight punch comes flying, wild, thoughtless, like the body is simply continuing on instinct.

Ryoma leans his head away from it, then shoves Sera aside again, but this time without anger. His own mind is clearer now. He reads the next movement much better.

Ryohei swings again. Ryoma ducks and slips to the outside. He quickly circles behind him in one smooth motion, then traps both of Ryohei’s arms while forcing him downward with a tight lock against the back of his neck, immobilizing him almost like a grappling restraint.

"Hey, hey... easy... easy..."

Ryohei still struggles slightly. Ryoma shakes him once, and slowly, Ryohei blinks. The madness fades little by little from his expression, replaced by confusion instead.

"What was that?" Sera mutters, breathing heavily nearby. "Don’t tell me he entered the zone just now."

"No way that was the zone," Ryoma replies before releasing the lock. "He was just out cold."

Ryohei turns around slowly. His face still looks dazed.

"Is it over? Did I get knocked out?"

Ryoma stares at him for a second before scoffing. "It was just a small uppercut. And look what it did to you."

"An uppercut...?" Ryohei repeats slowly.

Ryoma raises an eyebrow. "You seriously don’t remember?"

Ryohei frowns, trying to recall it, but the sequence feels blurry inside his head.

Ryoma exhales through his nose. "Yeah. That confirms it. You snapped after the punch landed. You didn’t read the impact properly, didn’t brace for it, and your brain got scrambled for a second."

Then Ryoma smirks slightly. "And you started fighting like some angry drunk idiot."

From outside the ring, Kurogane leans casually against the ropes, arms folded while watching the aftermath with visible amusement.

"What’s with you lately?" he asks. "Don’t tell me you’re still pissed about that Osaka journalist."

"Shut up," Ryoma says as he removes his headgear before stepping through the ropes.

But Kurogane’s grin only widens. "Or maybe, you’re still upset because WBO still keeps Liam O’Connel at number one."

Ryoma’s eyebrow twitches, and that small reaction is enough. Kurogane realizes he guessed it right.

Ryoma keeps walking toward the nearby bench as if he does not care, but Kurogane can barely hide his satisfaction now that he knows exactly where the irritation actually comes from.

Honestly, part of him genuinely enjoys watching Ryoma throw these quiet little tantrums like an overcompetitive child. But as someone involved in Ronin Fight Management itself, the situation is still problematic for him too.

Kurogane scratches his eyebrow before approaching Ryoma.

"Did you contact the WBO people already?" he asks.

Ryoma pulls off one glove with his teeth before answering. "I contacted Kanemura last night. He said he already tried pushing me into the top spot. But the other executives rejected it. Said I still need to prove myself more."

Kurogane shrugs. "Well... it’s understandable. You’ve only had one actual WBO-ranked fight, and that was the title fight against Villanueva. You seriously expected them to make you the legitimate challenger immediately after that?"

Ryoma removes the second glove and tosses both onto the bench with annoyance. "Then why don’t you just send another challenge directly to Cabello’s camp?"

"I already did yesterday," Kurogane replies. "If I send another one today, we’ll just look desperate."

Ryoma clicks his tongue and starts unwrapping the tape around his hands aggressively.

And then, a bright voice cuts through the gym atmosphere.

"Good day, everyone!"

Ryoma already knows who it is before even looking up.

Aki Fujimori practically bounces across the gym floor with enough energy to completely ignore the tension lingering in the room. Her cheerful smile feels absurdly out of place beside the lingering smell of sweat and body shots.

"Hi, Ryoma!" she says while waving enthusiastically. "How are you today? Can I borrow you for an interview?"

"Not now, Aki..." Ryoma mutters tiredly. "Sorry. I’m exhausted. And I still have to fulfill my role as a CEO after this."

He finishes removing the tape from one hand, tosses it into the trash bin nearby, then stands and starts walking away.

"Maybe next time."

Aki pouts dramatically. "Oh, so this is how it is now?" she complains loudly while following after him. "Ever since becoming CEO, suddenly you’re super busy now? Like that?"

Ryoma keeps walking away without even turning back again.

Aki remains standing there for a moment. The bright smile on her face slowly fades little by little, replaced by visible confusion instead.

Eventually, she turns toward Kurogane.

"...Did something happen?"

Kurogane exhales through his nose while grabbing a bottle of water nearby.

"He’s upset his world title fight might get delayed again."

"Eh? But wasn’t Miguel Cabello himself the one who challenged Ryoma after his Las Vegas fight?"

"That was Cabello personally. Not his management. We’ve sent challenges ever since then. Multiple times. Still no response from their side."

Aki folds her arms across her chest now, sharing the disappointment almost immediately.

"And Ryoma’s still ranked number two in WBO..." she mutters. "If they keep avoiding him, then there’s no choice except beating Liam O’Connel first."

"That’s the only realistic path right now," Kurogane says. "But Liam O’Connel himself is still demanding a rematch against Cabello."

"...Which means both of them are avoiding Ryoma."

"Pretty much. And unfortunately, Ryoma already ran his mouth in front of journalists about bringing the world title home soon."

Aki falls quiet after hearing that. Her arms remain folded as her thoughts begin turning quickly inside her head.

Then suddenly...

"Ah!"

Kurogane blinks. "What?"

"I could just write an article about this," she says excitedly. "No, maybe not just me. I could ask some of my colleagues to help create buzz too."

She starts speaking faster as the idea develops. "If enough people start talking about Cabello avoiding Ryoma again, eventually that pressure might reach his camp directly."

Kurogane’s face slowly brightens too. But before he can even respond properly, Aki turns around enthusiastically toward the exit.

"Thank you for your time, Kurogane-san!"

"Ah... No. Thank you, Aki."