Chapter 989 - 989: The Presence He Tries to Deny

Meanwhile, Ryoma is doing much the same thing he did during his conditioning camp against Nikolai: shutting himself inside his luxurious residence.

Then again, he built the place for exactly this purpose. The residence is not merely a home with an expensive gym attached to it; it is practically a private training camp, equipped well enough to put most professional facilities in the country to shame.

When you have enough money, apparently the traditional solution to finding a good training camp is simply to build a better one.

Ryoma has his coaching team staying there with him, along with Kenta, his dedicated sparring partner for the preparation against Umemoto.

And for reasons you may already know, he has not used the Phantom Mode feature for more than a month.

"Keep moving your feet, kid!" Nakahara shouts. "Don't stay in the pocket too long. You know Kenta isn't a Lightweight."

Before Ryoma can react to the instruction, Kenta drives three consecutive punches into his body, each one absorbed cleanly by Ryoma's defense.

DUGH. DUGH. DUGH.

A fourth hook comes toward his head, and Ryoma brushes it aside while angling out at the same time.

Kenta immediately retracts his right hand and hides his head behind a raised left guard, blocking Ryoma's own jab before making a quick adjustment that puts Ryoma back in his line of attack.

With the advantage of his longer reach, Kenta's left immediately finds Ryoma's guard again.

Dug.

Kenta immediately cuts the space with a single step and drives in a right hand.

Ryoma slips underneath it and answers with his own right to the exposed midsection.

But the moment the punch connects…

BUGH!

Kenta fires a fast, compact combination to the body.

DUGH. DUGH. DUGH. THUD!

The final punch slips past Ryoma's low guard and crashes into his left ribs, making it the seventh body shot he has absorbed in this round alone.

<< You are too slow… >>

Ryoma's breath catches. The pain disrupts his step for a moment, just long enough for him to lose the chance to create the distance he needs.

When he steps out, Kenta already closes the gap again and begins steering him toward the corner.

<< You can't even get away from him? >>

"Shut up!"

<< Come on! He's not really that fast, Ryoma! >>

Kenta steps in and keeps the pressure on, throwing with the chest and shoulders as his primary targets rather than chasing Ryoma's head.

Ryoma calmly absorbs the barrage behind a long crossed guard, constantly adjusting the guard's position to kill the momentum of each punch before it reaches his body.

BRSH. DUGH. DP. DUGH. BRSH. DP. DUGH.

Normally, this is where Ryoma would start looking for an opening to counter, or at least begin layering traps to confuse Kenta before creating a path out of the corner.

<< There… damn it. You missed it again. >>

<< Don't just stand here and absorb everything. >>

<< Fight back. Trap him. Lay the bait, Ryoma. >>

<< There… again? You had another opening. >>

<< Come on, man… You could've thrown a quick one-two right there and gotten out of the corner. >>

The voice inside his head keeps pointing out all the clever moves the usual Ryoma would make. Yet none of those maneuvers has appeared since this training camp began.

Ryoma is not only refusing to use Phantom Mode for sparring simulations. He has also refused to activate a single feature of his Vision Grid System, deliberately fighting like any normal boxer out there.

At least, that does not suddenly turn him into an amateur. His ability to read punches is still remarkably clean, even if it lacks the unnatural sharpness and fluidity he normally displays.

His defense is still good enough to keep him from being overwhelmed, and for now, that is enough to survive the round.

Ding!

But surviving is not the same thing as taking control.

Ryoma has blocked most of the punishment, yet Kenta's pressure still leaves its mark on both arms, while the strength in Ryoma's legs takes a few moments to return after the exchange.

"That's it! One minute break!"

Fortunately, Ryoma is already trapped in his own corner, which means he does not have to go anywhere.

He simply rests one arm against the corner pad and works on steadying his breathing while Kenta turns away.

This is the end of the second round of the sparring session. And some of Kenta's body blows are already taking a toll on his body.

Kenta walks away without saying anything, but the way he looks back at Ryoma as he leaves makes it obvious: even Kenta is beginning to wonder what the hell is going on with him.

And right now, that voice inside Ryoma's head is asking the same question.

<< What the hell is wrong with you? >>

<< You turned down my offer to spar with you. >>

<< You deliberately shut down every damn Vision Grid feature. >>

<< Hell, you're not even thinking anymore. You're just fighting. >>

<< Normally, the moment you get even two or three seconds to reset, that little brain of yours is already cooking up some bullshit to screw with your opponent. >>

<< You get inside their head. Fuck with their timing. Manipulate their defense until they don't even know what the hell you're doing. >>

<< But now… look at you. >>

<< You're fighting like Okabe. Just muscles, stubbornness, and that stupid belief that determination alone is going to make you look like some heroic bastard fighting against impossible odds. >>

"For fuck's sake, will you shut up?"

"You can read my thoughts. You know damn well I'm just trying to learn how to function without leaning on the Vision Grid all the time."

<< Exactly. I know what's going on inside that head of yours. >>

<< So don't feed me that bullshit. >>

<< You're trying to push me out, aren't you? >>

<< You're trying to deny that I even exist. >>

<< What is this? You're actually buying that psychiatrist's bullshit? >>

<< That I'm not real? >>

<< That every Vision Grid feature you've used is nothing but some fucking illusion your brain cooked up? >>

<< Come on, Ryoma. You're smarter than this. >>

<< You know damn well what these abilities have done for you. >>

<< Everything you have now, every title, every victory… you didn't get here by pretending I wasn't there. >>

Ryoma falls silent for a moment. He has tried to ignore those irritating voices as though they were nothing more than meaningless noise, but he has never truly been able to shut them out.

Especially when the arguments keep lining up with possibilities his own intelligent mind cannot simply dismiss.

<< That's it… >>

<< Think about it again. >>

<< Don't look at this as a disease. >>

<< Whatever this is, you just need to make use of it. >>

<< And as long as you can keep benefiting from all of this, no matter how strange it is… >>

Suddenly, Nakahara's voice cuts through the noise in his head.

"That's it! Break is over! Third round!"

Ding!

Ryoma clenches his jaw and takes a deep breath before leaving the corner.

<< Hey, listen. Turn the features back on. >>

"Shut up."

<< Do you really think you're going to beat Umemoto like this? >>

At the same time, Nakahara's voice cuts through again.

"Kid! Gloves up!"

Ryoma blinks, and Kenta is already driving a heavy cross straight toward him. He manages to dodge it through raw reflex alone, but the sudden attack sends his heart racing.

From that point onward, even his defensive movements begin to look more like panic than the clean, controlled defense he normally displays.

At ringside, Nakahara and Sera watch in serious silence, their expressions increasingly concerned. Whatever is happening to Ryoma, neither of them can afford to ignore it anymore.