Novel Full Chapter 576: The Ocean Laughs
Chapter 576: The Ocean Laughs
The referee immediately strides toward the ropes with urgency. His posture stiffens, instincts taking over as he leans forward to intervene before the situation unravels further.
“Arman! Back inside,” he calls out sharply, one hand extended.
Arman does not even turn his head, while his other glove already dangles half-peeled from his hand. He drops to the floor with a dull thud of boots against the thin mats and starts walking toward the aisle without looking back.
“Arman!” the referee tries once more, leaning over the top rope now.
But there’s still no response from Arman. His neck is visibly tense, tendons drawn tight beneath the lights, and his gaze stays locked on the exit door ahead.
The referee’s expression hardens. He straightens, swings his arm across his body in a decisive wave, and strides toward the timekeeper’s side of the ring while pointing firmly at Kenta.
“Stay there,” he orders.
Kenta freezes mid-step, jaw tight, eyes locked on Arman’s retreating back.
The referee leans over the ropes now, gesturing toward the timekeeper.
“Stop the clock. Record the time.”
The timekeeper reacts instantly, slapping the stopwatch and scribbling on the official sheet.
A ripple moves through the arena, confusion morphing into anger. The first boos begin as scattered voices, then swell into a rolling wave.
“What the hell is this?”
“Hey! Why are you leaving?”
“Hey, coward! Go back there and fight!”
A plastic bottle arcs from the lower stands and crashes against the aisle barrier, splashing warm soda across the concrete. Another follows, then a third, bouncing uselessly short of Arman but adding to the chaos.
Security personnel rush to form a loose corridor around him as he walks, shoulders heavy but pace steady, disappearing into the tunnel without so much as a glance at the ring.
At ringside, Sugiarto stares upward, his face drained of color.
“What is he doing?” he mutters, more to himself than anyone else.
Yohannes snaps toward him. “This is on you! You caused this!”
Dedi and Wahyu exchange looks that carry more accusation than fear.
Yohannes steps away from the corner stool. “I’m going after him.”
But he barely makes it two strides before two arena staff members and a security guard step in front of him.
“Sir, please remain here,” one of them says, palms raised but firm.
“Remain here?” Yohannes barks. “My fighter just walked out.”
“We need you to stay put for your own safety,” the guard replies, glancing at the stands as another bottle clatters near the apron. “Crowd’s turning.”
Sugiarto wipes at his forehead, forcing a tight smile that convinces no one. “This is a misunderstanding. He’s emotional. We can fix this.”
No one answers him. The security guards hold their positions, faces set and impersonal. They are not there to debate or sympathize; they are following protocol, carrying out direct orders from their supervisor to secure the area before the situation escalates further.
***
Near the production table, Reika stands rigid, eyes wide as she watches the monitors replay Arman’s exit from three different angles.
“This can’t be happening,” she says under her breath. “We’re live. Maria, what should we do now?”
“Panic later,” Maria says evenly. “Right now we control the room.”
She turns to Tetsu, who is already hovering anxiously. “Tetsu, lock camera three on a wide shot of the ring. No close-ups of the aisle. Tell graphics to prepare an official result template but don’t display it yet.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tetsu answer, already starts moving.
“And get security to reinforce the lower rows near section B. I don’t want anything thrown reaching the ring,” Maria adds.
Tetsu nods rapidly and relays instructions into his radio.
Maria continues as she follows him, voice steady. “Switch audio emphasis to the commentary desk. They need to slow this down. No speculation about contracts or money. Frame it as refusal to continue until OPBF confirms.”
Reika, following close behind, exhales shakily. “What about refunds?”
“Not now,” Maria replies without looking at her. “Right now, we protect the fighters and the sanctioning body.”
On screen, the feed cuts to the commentators. The commentator clears his throat, adjusting his tone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are witnessing an unexpected development here. Arman Sargsyan has exited the ring immediately after the opening bell. The referee has signaled a halt to the action.”
The analyst leans forward, voice measured. “At this stage, it appears to be a refusal to continue. We are awaiting official confirmation from the OPBF supervisor. Let’s give them a moment to sort this out.”
Their words smooth the edges of the noise, not silencing it, but shaping it into something less volatile.
In the blue corner, Hiroshi climbs through the ropes first, disbelief written across his face. Murakami follows, eyes flicking toward Arman’s abandoned stool.
“What is this?” Hiroshi mutters. “What kind of stunt is that?”
“Something happened in their camp,” Murakami says. “You saw it. He threw his glove at one of them.”
Kenta stands near center ring, chest still rising from the adrenaline of the opening step he never gets to complete. His gloves hang at his sides now. His gaze is not on the aisle, but on Nakahara.
Nakahara climbs in last, movements controlled. He does not look at Kenta immediately. His eyes narrow instead toward ringside.
“That’s Sugiarto,” he says quietly. “And I don’t like him.”
Below, Sugiarto argues with a security supervisor, gesturing wildly toward the tunnel Arman disappeared into.
“There’s something fishy here,” Nakahara continues, almost to himself. “Arman didn’t walk out like a man afraid. He walked like a fighter had enough with his career.”
Kenta finally speaks, voice low. “If they call it like this…”
Nakahara turns to him, voice low and controlled. “If they rule it like this, you get the win,” he says. Then his jaw tightens slightly. “But this kind of victory won’t move you up the OPBF ladder.”
***
At ringside, the OPBF ring supervisor has joined the referee. A commissioner stands beside them, arms folded, expression stern.
“You called it a refusal?” the supervisor asks.
“Yes,” the referee answers. “I instructed him to return. He ignored me and exited the ring after the bell. No injury indicated.”
The commissioner nods slowly. “Time?”
“Eighteen seconds of round one.”
The supervisor glances toward the aisle, confirming Arman is gone. “No assault on an official?”
“No.”
“And the glove was thrown at his own corner?”
“Yes.”
The commissioner exhales through his nose. “Then this is a retirement. TKO, round one.”
The supervisor nods. “Agreed.”
Below them, security begins escorting Sugiarto and his team away from the immediate ringside area. They are guided toward the tunnel under heavy watch as boos follow them. Sugiarto keeps his chin lifted, pretending composure, but his hands tremble as he adjusts his jacket.
Back at ringside, the commissioner watches them disappear, before turning back to the referee and the ring advisor.
“Remove the distraction,” he says quietly. “We proceed.”
The ring advisor gestures for the ring announcer. Soon, the announcer climbs through the ropes, microphone in hand, face carefully neutral. The crowd noise swells again, restless, irritated.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer begins, waiting a beat for partial quiet. “The referee has determined that Arman Sargsyan has refused to continue after the opening bell.”
A chorus of boos rolls through the arena, swelling and echoing beneath the lights. Cups and bottles skid across the floor.
“The official time of stoppage,” the announcer continues, “Eighteen seconds of round one. The winner by TKO… Kenta Moriyama.”
Some cheers break out from Kenta’s supporters, but they are scattered and thin compared to the earlier roar. Many fans remain standing with arms crossed, shaking their heads.
“Oh, come on!”
“This is garbage!”
“I paid to see a fight! Not drama!”
At ringside, international promoters exchange strained smiles and wide-eyed looks, their polished composure cracking under the embarrassment of a chaotic spectacle.
A few Thai promoters lean toward one another, hands half-covering their mouths as if shielding private amusement.
“So this is what half million dollars buys?” one murmurs in Thai, eyes never leaving the ring.
“Very professional,” another replies softly, the corners of his lips lifting just enough to show the sting beneath it. “A small promotion firm competing on the international stage. That’s what they said, right?”
The third adjusts his cufflinks, gaze drifting toward Nakahara. “When you try to swim with giants, sometimes you drown before the first punch.”
They sit back with polite expressions restored, but their eyes drift toward Nakahara with undisguised contempt.
In the ring, the referee lifts Kenta’s glove. Kenta allows it, but his expression does not change. His eyes drift briefly to the tunnel where Arman vanished, then to the judges’ table where rankings and implications sit invisible but heavy.
Beside him, Nakahara stands stiff, jaw tight, fists clenched hard as his eyes drift past the ring and land on those Thai promoters a few rows back. He catches the half-covered mouths, the thin smiles that fail to hide their amusement, the quiet shoulders shaking with contained laughter.
He recognizes the look immediately, the ridicule, the contempt. And he understands exactly what they see: a small gym that paid half a million dollars to look like a shark, only to have the ocean laugh at it.