VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Just this morning, Ryoma had a nightmare involving this man. Now, after more than two years since their fight in the Rookie Tournament, Noguchi is suddenly standing in front of him again.

And just like in that dream, the sight of his face and that irritating grin immediately puts Ryoma in a bad mood.

"You don't look happy to see me," Noguchi says. "It's been that long since our fight, and you still hate me?"

Ryoma ignores him entirely. He heads toward the other side of the ring and slips through the ropes.

Unfortunately, Noguchi has never been the type to take a hint. He simply follows along, continuing the conversation as though they are old friends catching up.

"You know," he says, "with the way you beat me up that night, I probably have more reason to hate you. But I'm a professional. I don't hold grudges. What happens in the ring should stay in the ring."

"Stop pretending to be wise," Ryoma replies while taking a seat on the bench and beginning to remove his gloves. "I know you made a deal with Kirizume to screw me over. You didn't care about winning that fight. You just wanted my career to end there."

Noguchi blinks. "Oh. How'd you find out?"

The lack of denial is almost impressive.

Then he snaps his fingers.

"Ah, right. Aramaki."

Ryoma offers no response and focuses on unwrapping the tape from his hands, giving Noguchi the same attention he would give an empty wall.

"But come on," Noguchi continues. "That's ancient history. You won. I got paid. Everybody moved on."

"Enough talking." Ryoma looks up. "What are you doing here?"

Noguchi shrugs and takes a seat on the bench, resting his bag beside him. Ryoma's eyes briefly drift toward it, immediately recognizing it as a gym bag.

"Just saying," Noguchi begins, "your next opponent called me and asked me to be his sparring partner. Sekino too."

That actually catches Ryoma's attention. Even Nakahara has already started walking closer.

"Didn't you tell them you've moved to MMA?" the old man asks.

Noguchi looks exaggeratedly confused. "Why would I tell them? They pay me. So I came."

Nakahara's brows knit together. "You already visited them?"

"Yeah, four days ago."

The answer immediately tells Nakahara what that means. The sparring sessions are already underway.

"So now you came here..." Nakahara says, studying him carefully. "Thinking you'd give us some information about Liam O'Connell?"

Noguchi chuckles at the thought. "Not really. But if you pay me, I might consider it."

"Then why are you here?" Ryoma asks again, already begins unwrapping the tape from his hands.

Noguchi leans back slightly on the bench. "I'm just thinking… now that you've become a promoter yourself, then you must know how to do this. Something like I did with Kirizume back then. Like… we could make a deal too."

Ryoma's gaze sharpens, already knows where this is going. "It seems getting too many punches to the head finally destroyed some of your brain cells."

"Maybe," Noguchi says with a shrug, completely unfazed. "But at least I can still use the ones I've got left to make money."

He rests his arms on his knees and grins. "So, what do you say? You pay me, and I injure him during sparring. At the very least, you get an advantage in the fight.

He rests his arms on his knees and grins. "So, what do you say? You pay me, and I injure him during sparring. At the very least, you get an advantage in the fight."

He makes no attempt to lower his voice while saying it. The words carry clearly across the gym, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, and before long, several heads have already turned in his direction.

"Or maybe…" Noguchi continues, "I do a really good job and he pulls out completely. Then you skip Liam O'Connell altogether and get your title fight against Miguel Cabello."

For a moment, Ryoma studies him coldly. The silence that follows is enough to make the entire gym uneasy, as if some of them are actually worried he might consider it. And they have reason to feel that way.

Ryoma has always stood at the center of those opposing promoters who thrive on shady dealings, treating honesty in the sport as something worth protecting.

But with everything that has been happening lately, and Ryoma's constant self-adjustments that make him harder to read, it's not impossible for him to start thinking more like Kirizume and consider something pragmatic like this.

Yet instead, Ryoma simply rises from the bench and walks toward the entrance. "You really picked my interest. But sadly, I'm just too good and too strong to need your help."

He opens the door and holds it there for a moment before glancing back at Noguchi.

"It would be stupid for me to spend money on something I don't need. Now leave this gym and let me continue my training in peace."

Noguchi exhales lightly through his nose, as if mildly disappointed rather than surprised.

"Well, fair enough," he says, still with the same casual tone. "Can't blame a man for sticking to principles."

He stands, picking up his bag. "At least they already paid me. Not much, but money is still money."

And he leaves without further ceremony.

The entire gym watches in silence as Noguchi walks out, but the attention he draws is no longer curious. It is flat, heavy with disapproval, as if everyone is quietly agreeing on what kind of man they have just seen.

The moment he finally disappears through the door, and Ryoma closes it behind him, the tension inside the gym does not vanish so much as it fractures.

Okabe is the first to push it further. "That guy is just trouble. I don't care what he used to be, or how good he is as a fighter. You don't talk like that unless you're rotten inside."

Ryohei answers without hesitation, his tone sharper. "It is not just his attitude. It is the way he thinks. Everything he says is calculated around what benefits him. There is no respect, no consistency. Just opportunism."

Okabe scoffs. "Opportunism is putting it nicely. He is the type who drags everyone down to his level if you let him."

Ryohei nods once, visibly more irritated now. "And the worst part is he is aware of it. He does not even pretend otherwise. People like that are not misunderstood. They are just convenient until they are not."

"Honestly, the gym is better off the moment he walks out," Okabe says.

"The sport too," Ryohei adds.

That is when Kenta finally speaks, cutting through the direction the conversation has taken.

"I don't really think he came here just for that."

Okabe immediately pushes back. "Are you deaf? Did you not hear a single thing he just said?"

"That is what he said," Kenta replies calmly. "But people do not always mean exactly what they say. Think about it. However opportunistic he is, he should know what kind of person Ryoma is. And if that was really his purpose, why would he bother mentioning that Sekino is also sparring with Liam O'Connell?"

That question shifts the atmosphere. It is small, but it lands.

"Kenta might have a point," Nakahara chimes in. "It is possible he came here to tell us something without directly saying it. That he and Sekino are already being used in Liam O'Connell's sparring camp. Even that alone gives us information about how O'Connell's team is preparing."

"What do you mean?" Hiroshi asks.

"Nobody calls fighters like Noguchi and Sekino randomly," Nakahara continues. "Ryoma is known for his ability to adapt, to copy what he has seen. And out of all the fighters he has faced in this country, those two are probably the most distinct in style. Noguchi's unorthodox, dirty rhythm, and Sekino's flicker-based timing. If he is being exposed to them, he might be learning how to handle both."

"Like Paulo Ramos' approach?" Ryohei mutters.

Nakahara nods once. "If I were coaching Liam O'Connell, I would consider something similar."

Okabe clicks his tongue, still unconvinced. "Meh. If that's the case, he could just say it directly if that was really the point."

"Stupid," Ryohei cuts in immediately, his voice sharp. "Look at his personality. There is no way someone like that would ever be straightforward about something like this, especially not if he gains nothing from it."

That single remark shifts the tone in the room. The certainty that Noguchi is simply an opportunistic troublemaker starts to lose its absolute shape.

Meanwhile, Ryoma continues walking toward the locker room without showing any reaction to the discussion behind him.

The sound of the gym fades as he moves deeper into the locker room, until only the faint echoes remain. He turns on the sink, splashes water onto his face, then lets it run over his head before finally lifting his gaze to the mirror.

For a moment, he simply stares at his reflection while Noguchi's offer still lingering in his mind, refusing to disappear completely.

He has already rejected it outwardly. But somewhere beneath that surface decision, a quieter, more uncomfortable line of reasoning begins to form, trying to give shape to what he just heard.

<< Think about it again. >>

<< This is just how the business in this sport works. >>

<< You have already lived through it yourself, as the one being targeted in more than one fight. >>

<< Starting with Kirizume during the rookie tournament. >>

<< How Logan sabotaged Okabe and Ryohei's fight just to get back at you. >>

<< That incident in Manila that almost cost you your life. >>

<< The controversial stoppage that took away Kenta's first championship belt. >>

The voice lingers longer than usual this time. It does not feel entirely like something foreign speaking inside his head anymore, nor something he can clearly separate from his own thoughts.

<< If you ever decided to respond in the same way, it would not be entirely wrong. >>

<< That is what you call justice. An eye for an eye. >>

<< And justice always stands above the law. >>

Ryoma isn't sure whether it is the system talking to him, or simply his own mind beginning to echo the same logic.

Or perhaps, he simply does not care enough to distinguish between the two.