[Episode] Punch Drunk!

"LAND AHOY!"

The loud shout could be heard from the top of the watch tower on top of the tallest mast without sails lowered on the steamship they were sailing on. This shout alone was enough to have the crew gather on the main deck of the ship to look over the railing. Included within the bunch, was Ryoichi himself.

The land indeed could be seen from the distance. A strange land, with a large mushroom, creates an umbrella effect. Paradise sure was full of strange-looking islands. But Ryoichi should not be one to talk. He had only barely gone to a handful of them yet. There was yet a lot to see.

"Okay! We will have a brief stop here on this island to restock and drop our beloved polar bear off! The man hasn't had a vacation since he graduated. And as a nice bunch of people, we shall give him three days off... Uninterrupted!

The familiar voice could be heard from the current acting first mate of the Guardian Knights, Celia, who had walked on the deck, having the crew immediately form up and salute, including Ryoichi.

"Everyone to your positions! From the looks of it, we got roughly fifteen minutes until the docking!"

The orders were handed over to everyone, except to Ryoichi, to who Celia personally came. She motioned Ryoichi to take a step aside from the crew but remain visible to everyone. It was to avoid the loud shouts from the preparing crew.

"This island. Kyuka. This does not belong to World Government, nor to pirates, exactly. It accommodates everyone... I mean, everyone. So please, behave yourself. Do not pull any unwanted attention to yourself."

Her words were strict, but meaningful, hinting at a slight worry, especially what had happened on the most recent Amazon Lily visit, where Ryoichi disguised himself as a polar bear... In the jungle... And got captured.

"Yes Ma'am."

And with that short exchange of words, Ryoichi left to the crew quarters where he packed a small bag, changed into more of free wear than his marine uniform... And awaiting the time to get off the ship.


"Lower the ramp! Get ready to restock!"

The orders were handed, and they restocked with what they could on this resort island. Ryoichi however marched off the ship using the ramp, with the bag over his shoulder.

"Let the vacation begin."

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Before Ryoichi had the chance to go and blow his hard-earned salary, he needed a place to stay. Luckily this very island is just perfect for it. As Ryoichi looked up from where he was standing at the docks, he could see a towering, almost umbrella-shaped tree.

On top of that tree-looking thing, there was his main destination. The resort of the island. Rumors on the ship were that everything and everyone is allowed there, as long as they have the berries.

He straightened his back and began heading towards the tree where he could find a way to get on top of it. On his way, he encountered many tempting stalls and actual stores full of all sorts of exotic goods from all around the world, most being from Paradise.

Being the carnivorous creature that he is, the food stalls that served freshly grilled meat tempted him the most... But he had to keep himself from going to buy anything. As much as this is vacation, this is also a mission for Ryoichi... The mission is to enjoy himself, without going broke.

Through a certain route, the man had made his way to the top of the umbrella-mushroom-shaped tree, where he was greeted by a massive resort.

"May I take your luggage, sir?"

A well-dressed and spoken man offered his services at the front door of the resort. Ryoichi's vacation mode kicked in, and the back bag that looked fairly modest, pieces of cloth sewn together and held over the shoulder with twines was handed to the man.

"Follow me, sir."

The man carried the bag and lead Ryoichi into the resort, all the way through a tall building with a well-decorated interior, to the front desk.

"A new visitor is here, madam."

"I am not a madam, I am miss!"

The receptionist snapped back at the well-spoken resort worker who then placed the bag down next to Ryoichi who was by the reception desk and head back outside to greet the new upcoming visitors.

"Ugh... I mean. I apologize! Welcome to Holyday Inn! Name and island of origin, please. How many nights will you stay?"

"Two nights please, the name's Ryoichi Ayugai, from Notice island." Ryoichi tapped his fingers on the reception table as he waited while the receptionist was checking through the reservation book.

"You are in luck, a room will free up in a couple of hours, in the meanwhile, you can take your time and enjoy our wonderful restaurant and island." the receptionist motioned with her hand to her left towards another large doorway that leads into the fancy-looking restaurant.

The receptionist finished a couple of quick calculations and then looked at Ryoichi, staring straight into his eyes, ready to kill the holiday mode for a quick brief moment. "That'll be fifty-one million berries."

Ryoichi's jaw dropped as he heard the price. For most of the people there, this did not seem like that much of an astronomical price... But for him, he could live with that money for a good few months if not a year! But he took in a deep breath to accept this 'challenge'.

Fortunately, being a marine and having lived most of a few recent months on the sea, he had built a small reserve. The man dug out the wallet from the cloth bag he had and began to place the berries down on the counter. Meanwhile, the receptionist lady snapped her finger, calling another well-dressed and spoken resort worker to collect the bag.

"He will take your luggage with himself and into your room when it's ready. The key will wait for you here with me in a few hours. Please. Enjoy your stay!" the receptionist gave Ryoichi a bright smile... A smile that could brighten up the room, and make someone's day.

Ryoichi nodded and smiled back, albeit he was not that open and bright. The man made his way towards the restaurant area. Why not have himself stuffed with food before he heads off to explore?

Upon entering the room, he could notice one major fact. The man was not dressed for the occasion. He was wearing short pants, flippers, and a sleeveless slightly purplish shirt, while many others were wearing suits and dresses. This will definitely catch the eyes of disgust, probably.

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"Right this way, sir."

Ryoichi was greeted by a waitress, who was hugging the menu against her chest. She motioned to Ryoichi to follow her to the table where he would be seated. Despite the looks that Ryoichi was receiving, most likely due to the way he was dressed, he was not treated with any contempt.

He was not sat down in any far corner or next to the kitchen door. In fact, he was placed fairly in the middle of the entire dining hall. Just as he was seated down, the waitress handed the menu to Ryoichi.

"Please, when you have decided what to order, call us."

With a sweet smile, probably from her years of service, or simply for the fact that it's the proper etiquette in the customer service job, she left after having said what she had to. Ryoichi nodded his head and opened the menu.

"Two million for a meal? And more? Huh... So that's how it feels like to be of different social status huh?" the low mumble escaped his lips

He had swallowed down the astronomical price of the nights in the resort cost, but the price they asked for food hit him even harder, especially since food is very close to his heart. But the stomach was growling, possibly even echoing in the very room.

It was the decision and ordering time, and he motioned with his hand to the very same nearby waitress. But what to choose. He thought he was ready... But who is ever truly ready? Some people work better with pressure. It was time to have a blind choice.

"Have you decided what you would like, sir?"

"Um... Yes... Umm..."

Ryoichi closed his eyes and had the finger randomly slide up and down on the menu. Instead of making a decision himself, he decided on fate to make one for himself. As his finger stopped on one of the choices, he showed the choice to the waitress.

"Ah, T-bone steak. A good choice. How would you like it?"

"Medium, please. And, what drink would you suggest with it?"

"Absolutely. My suggestion would be Shiny Ruby. Red wine."

"I'll have that, please."

The waitress wrote down the order, nodded her head, took the menu, smiled, and left. Meanwhile, Ryoichi had no idea if the wine the waitress had suggested was any good, or not. But the mand trusted the suggestion.

All he could do now was wait for the order to arrive. While the man was waiting, he could see three people standing in front of him... All have a similar weird glare towards him, one even has the tape measurer in his hands.

"We'd like to dress you up to per our client's orders."

"Huh? No thanks. I am quite comfortable."

"I am afraid this is not the matter of choice. More of an order."

"An order? Who do you think you are, or he?"

"Please sir, come with us and we'll get you dressed up in no time."

"I refuse, as a matter of fact, who is the one who even ordered you to do that?"

Ryoichi began to feel uneasy in the given location. He was forced to do something he did not want to. He expected this to be a free place. While he was talking to the waiter's trio, he tried to keep his voice as calm and low as he could, but this echoing room sure had its way to forward it into others' ears, that of Cortez included. Ryoichi wanted answers.

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The debate was slowly heating up, but the voice remained lower and somewhat calmer, at least Ryoichi tried to keep it that way. Every time he said something, he could hear Celia's nagging voice in the back of his head about not causing any troubles, especially not on this island.

This discussion eventually reached the ears of the man who had orchestrated this very idea to have Ryoichi dressed up in a more lavish way. And this very discussion also managed to have the man respond to him.

Ryoichi shifted his sight towards where the voice came from. A rough accented voice from a rather rough-looking yet well-dressed man. The manner of speech and the way he looked really did not match each other.

"Well. As I live and breathe. Former champ himself."

Despite the man clearly having antagonized Ryoichi's way of living and having tried to make him do something he did not want, the man's reputation increased Ryoichi's curiosity in him. That led Ryoichi to stand up from the table and slowly make his way towards the table where Cortez was sitting.

"Former champion himself here. Then again, I should not be surprised, you are, after all, a former champion of these parts... Phelo Cortez."

It shouldn't be a surprise that Ryoichi knows about the boxing legends in the world... Then again, no one knew what Ryoichi knew. As a matter of fact, most did not even know he was a boxer himself. He was particularly not at that famous one.

"So what brings you to celebrate here? Last I heard was that you were retired... So it could not be a win in a ring... Unless you are into down-low stuff these days?"

Ryoichi grinned as he then folded his arms, sort of questioning the former champion, acting as if he was familiar with him, occasionally forgetting that he is no one special in the world of boxing on a bigger scale! Meanwhile, the three waiters who had followed Ryoichi were swarming around him, readying themselves to dress him up... Truly, an odd situation.

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Ryoichi was not close to the height the man called Cortez was, and as he stood up, all the well-built man could do was look up at him. After all, Ryoichi was only six-foot-one tall. But the size of his did not faze Ryoichi. The size was relative, an easy obstacle to overcome.

But the former champions' aura certainly carried an intimidation factor with it. When the man leaned his face close to Ryoichi, in an attempt to intimidate him, he realized certain familiarity about it. As if he had seen it happen to him before.

No matter, for now, he kept listening about what has brought the man to celebrate here on the island. "A boxing show huh? That's quite interesting." at the mention of this venue is one of the best, he could not comment, especially since he did not really manage to compete outside of Notice.

To his surprise, however, in some way, he was recognized. He could not help but widen his eyes at the mention of his and Hawkins's fight. To his surprise, that fight reached the ears of fighters in Paradise.

"In my defense, he took that title from me before I retook it. It is an honor to be known by someone, especially here in Paradise."

Speaking of Hawkins reminded him of where he had gotten the mannerism he had. From Cortez himself in front of him. The leaning in and intimidating with his face, was a dead giveaway, heck, it even sparked flashbacks of it happening in the first match Ryoichi had against Hawkins.

Ryoichi's flashback:

"It's nice to hear what Hawkins was up to these past few years. Explains his anger towards me upon our most recent meet-up. I happened to have an encounter with the man. Vengeful he is. Caused some trouble up on Flevance, non-boxing way. It was saddening to see him introduce himself to the world of mixed martial arts."

The tension eventually eased up as they had managed to find a certain common ground, heck, Cortez even offered Ryoichi to have a seat at his table, which Ryoichi graciously accepted. What happened was something he had expected.

It was something that every boxing fan, heck even the boxers themselves take part in. It involves the past, the present, and in some cases, even the future. It is none else than the talk about the boxing world itself, especially comparing former boxers to each other, present-day boxers against the older day boxers... And of course, the bouts from the past and present, and those that are still coming.

"While I agree with your choice, I tend to lean more towards the match-up between Weissman versus Cherry. It felt like two goliaths of XX heavyweight went against each other. Out of most recent history, however, I'd say Packie versus Weatherman welterweight title was a total clusterfuck. Battle of the century they called that. The press sometimes is full of funny people. Weatherman only hugged his opponent. I say the judges were blind. Packie should have won that."

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The tension was rising. Ryoichi simply remained sitting there as the man smashed through the table with his fist, but to say that he did not feel even more uneasy was an understatement. He had struck the never, and he could not help but feel a grin form.

"Struck a nerve did I?"

These few words could be Ryoichi's last... Or this could be the beginning. Ryoichi's opinions about boxing went completely against that of Cortez. While on the surface, both of them were boxers, deep down, they both believed in completely different styles.

Ryoichi believed in the art of quick knockout. While Cortez seemed to believe in a prolonged fight, taking it all the way to the end for the judges to decide. Each had its own plusses and minuses.

The tension did not ease up at all. As a matter of fact, Cortez threw a curveball toward Ryoichi. Questioning about one more of a legendary match that had happened. He let out a soft sigh as he then stared into the man's eyes to answer his question.

"A great matchup... I agree. It was clean. I do not mind long matches. But."

The heated discussion began to reach Ryoichi. He was all in for it now. He stood up from the chair and stared at the man, not in the same intimidating way as he did, but there certainly was an aura of a fighter in the present.

"We are entitled to our opinion... But to claim one style of fighting is superior to other is false! A long game is a strategy! But who claims that strategy is cleanest! The referee and judges can be bought! Packie and Weatherman felt like a sham! It was clear who the winner was!"

It was a clash of opinions at this point, almost like a match in the boxing ring, except this one was happening in a restaurant, full of people who tried to enjoy their meal, but, one would be lying if they said that did not pique their interest.

"Knockouts ensure your win is not ruined by sham judges! You knock the living hell out of the man and you are the clear winner! Good knockouts will always be remembered, and the discussions if the
the match was rigged or not barely happen afterward!"

At that point, what Celia had tried to hammer into Ryoichi's head went completely out of the window. It was now too late, and Ryoichi is about to spout out something that will highly likely get him into trouble. The man seems to be collected in his duty... But when it comes to boxing, he has his own agenda.

"Good knockouts will be remembered! Dyson, Mali, Rocky! They all ended their careers with more knockouts, and a lot of them are still remembered to this day. Surely you would be remembered more as well if you had participated in more of them! Instead, you were busy promoting and gathering your money! Live that high life! The boxing community had their idea of you! And you know it was not the greatest!

What had overcome Ryoichi had never happened before... The man had never lost his cool the way he did in boxing history. The man threw out great accusations. All he could do now was be ready to probably not get knocked out. Cortez was known to throw a punch at the place... And the boxing world knew it, Ryoichi included.

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"Then learn to block or dodge a punch followed by a proper counter!"

The discussion was in full motion at this point, borderline argument, that is, if it already was not one at this very point. Both sides were throwing out their ideas about their respective boxing styles. The background jazz truly made this an interesting, even somewhat exciting scenario for those spectating.

But for a brief moment, Ryoichi began to feel sorry for the man standing before him. He had heard the man's story, albeit briefly. That brief story about caring for one's family... Very respectable, especially coming from a man with such a reputation... The good, but towered by a lot of bad and shenanigans.

Heck, the brief story even lead Ryoichi to loosen his fists up a bit. It leads him to second think. He had gone too far, and he slowly began to realize it... Only for that realization to shatter the moment Cortez in front of him decided to throw another jab of an insult towards him.

"The fuck do you know about me and my life?"

The hand balled back into a fist as he stared at the man. At that very point, one could easily say that the argument was in full swing. Question was, when will someone swing a fist?

"I surrendered my title after retaking it to pursue something noble! I did something that did not involve getting money through the entertainment industry! Had I wanted to earn it, I would have kept on going with boxing! And even then earn it through the honest way! Need I remind you of your forty-secondth match-up?! An accidental plate in your glove?!"

As he was defending his case... His choices... He could not help but feel the scenes scroll past in his mind of the past decisions, and what lead him to them. His father, the former semi-pro boxer, also a former marine officer, tries to push his son to either of the paths, eventually letting Ryoichi decide whichever he likes. The moment of his biggest loss against Hawkins... The moment of defeating the bear to solidify his final decision... The sense that one gets when they protect something, or someone.

While the scenes rolled through his mind, the first fist was already launched, and it was coming towards Ryoichi. Snap back to reality, quickly. Cortez's fist was fast, despite his retired status. At that point, the only thing that could save Ryoichi was to use Haki.

Without the help of Kenbunshoku, the fist would have already been in his face, and he probably sent backward into someone else's table. Fortunately, that was not the case, and in just a nick of time, Ryoichi moved his body a bit sideways to avoid the incoming punch, only to then throw an uppercut of his own with the right fist.

The punch of his would stop just in time before it managed to land on Cortez, releasing a soft gust of wind upon the stop. The reason for stopping was the intervention of a stranger who ended up protecting Ryoichi from the possible shot in his head.

Deep down, the man was actually very glad that someone had intervened. His emotions had gotten the best of him. While he was not there to attack first, he had always realized what he was saying would probably end up provoking... The deed however was done... And a challenge was issued.

"Two days?... I only need one."

Ryoichi was locked and loaded. The way he said it, sounded like he was full of confidence. Which is the truth, was always training, always in action. He was fit and ready for anything that was to be thrown at him.

At that point, Ryoichi could have made a decision. Walk away... The man did not even have the money to pay to face the man in the first place! two hundred and fifty million berries?! Someone was thinking way too high of himself. But the challenge was already accepted.

Now there was a small challenge before the real challenge... Where to get the money?

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Ryoichi clenched his fists and grit his teeth. As irritating as it was, Cortez was right. Ryoichi did not have such money on him. As a matter of fact, he had just spent a great chunk of money on the hotel, not to mention some for the meal, which is just now being served on the table despite all that was happening.

His luck was to turn, however. The stranger who had stepped up to stop the punch that was coming toward him decided to volunteer himself as the backer... The condition is that the man would be his second in this matchup.

At that point, it did not even matter that the man was his second, he had a man spotting for him... The only thing he had to do now was to meet the second condition that was set for this fight. To win within five rounds.

At that very moment, Ryoichi already began to prepare himself mentally. Boxing is not only about being physical. It's also a mental game. The opponent should not breach into the man's mind in the ring and outside it.

He stayed quiet as he was listening to the remainder of the conversation, even hearing that Cortez would finally surrender his gloves for good IF Ryoichi managed to win against him. It would be a tragic day for the boxing world, but one that was inevitable.

When the business talk was finally done and the date and conditions were set, it was clear the man who had decided to sponsor him wanted to have a word with him... But Ryoichi wanted to grab his meal with him as well. So before following the man anywhere, Ryoichi headed over to his table.

He grabbed a hold of the plate of pleasantly scented T-bone meal, a fork, and knife, and also the glass of rich fruity-smelling Ruby-Red wine, only to follow the man to where ever he was headed.

"Listen. I appreciate the decision on your part... But what's the main reason you are doing this? Have you ever even seconded someone in boxing? Do you even know anything about boxing? You certainly do not look apart."

Multiple questions had formed in Ryoichi's head, only to then blurt them all out, almost all in the one same sentence but he managed to stop himself and form at least some pauses in between each sentence. Whatever the man had in plan, Ryoichi certainly was curious to hear about it.

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The man had downed his dinner while he had a word with his new 'sponsor' and also apparently a trainer. He handed over some clear 'orders' to meet him in the hotel gym, and already at four o'clock in the morning...

For some, training that early in the morning would be unheard of, but for Ryoichi, it was nothing new. The rigorous training he went through since he was but an early teen. That all prepared him for the training he was about to receive in the Marine Academy.

All that disciplined training has remained a cornerstone of his very life. While he does not wake up at four o'clock in the morning, the man has no problem adjusting himself properly for any training task at hand... The biggest problem was, that he was on vacation!

"So much of this damn vacation... Stupid Ryoichi... Stupid..."

He opened the door and entered the room... A rather fancy room, with a queen-sized bed covered with white sheets and at least four pillows. But before he could even see the rest of the room, he immediately barged into the bathroom.

He let the water flow from the faucet and immediately put his hands under it, splashing some in his face. He took a long look in the mirror, trying to cool his own head and reflect on the incident back in the restaurant.

"Okay... Okay... It's fine... What happened... Happened. All I have to do now is win, somehow."

He shut the faucet down, grabbed a towel, and left the bathroom while drying his face up. At that very point, after he had made up his mind, something flipped in his head. He did not even have the time to check out the beautiful room he checked himself in with his own hard-earned money.

It was like in the olden days when he was preparing himself before the matches. He never disrespected a single opponent... He should not have disrespected this one either by saying he was ready in one day... But he was glad there are two days to prepare.

He did not even check the clock. Instead, he removed his clothes and laid himself down on the bed, and pulled the blanket over himself. Before the man shut his eyes, he fiddled with the den den mushi that was on the bedside table... The alarm was set... It was time to sleep until the next day arrives.


The alarm rang... The eyes opened, and Ryoichi sat up from the bed. Three o'clock in the morning had arrived. Ryoichi climbed out of the bed, put on the clothes that he had been wearing since yesterday, and left the room.

With his eyes burning with determination, he set his way out of the hotel. The roadwork was awaiting. It was something he always did before hitting the actual gym. It was a perfect warm-up for the entire body, not to mention great cardio training for speed and stamina.

The entire run lasted for one whole hour, well, almost. He may have spent a bit more time on it, but a little bit past four o'clock in the morning, Ryoichi arrived at the resort gym, dripping from sweat he had built up in this warm Paradise climate.

"You want to break your wrists with these punches?"

A small remark was thrown towards the man who had been waiting for him in the office. That ought to get his attention and show that Ryoichi was present to be 'trained', but from what he had seen... He did not really have high hopes.

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"I could notice that."

Ryoichi let out a remark, perhaps a bit of a rude one in the strange man's opinion, but an honest one in Ryoichi's opinion. It was the truth, however. The stance was atrocious. One bad punch and bye-bye beloved wrists.

Either way, Ryoichi silently listened as the man went to 'ramble' about the upcoming opponent. While Ryoichi already knew a fair bit about his opponent and his patterns, after all, the man was a champion in his prime and the word reaches even the blues, Ryoichi simply nodded.

He could not however help but squint his eyes and cringe a bit as he heard a couple of terminologies. While Outter boxer was technically right, it was the fatality that hit him a bit... Boxing is not so brutal after all, right?

But Ryoichi was aware of what the man understood. At that point, the demands flew in. The first demand was to wear blindfolds. He was already aware of what was coming for him. He had experienced similar training while he was practicing his usage of Kenbunshoku Haki.

"You know, the only reason I am doing this thing here and letting you try and train me is that you were too generous and decided to sponsor me."

He was hesitant to put the blindfold on. Could he really trust the man? But he eventually did put the blindfold on. This island was safe enough space. Everyone was welcome here and people would simply not go on any form of rampage.

When the blindfold was on, he listened to the man's instructions. All was as he had figured it out from his former training. The twist however was that the balls thrown at him would have electricity. So they'll hurt either a bit... Or a lot.

"Not a fan of your threats. A true champion can even win with one arm... How realistic it is is still to be seen."

But the man seemed to be ready. He assumed his boxing stance by moving his left foot forward, and the right foot back. He turned his left side of the body a bit forward while moving the feet. He lowered his chin and moved both of the fists close to his face, assuming a sort of ball formation. The elbows were blocking his ribs.

"Give me your best shot."

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The training had begun. Deep down Ryoichi understood the training. As a matter of fact, he thought it was actually quite a decent one. Who knew the man who on the surface looks like your regular noble knew such things. He did introduce himself as a knight... But was the man the knight, or honorific knight, the title which the kings and queens of the world present to outstanding people?

That remained to be seen, there was no time to question it. It was time to focus on the projectiles that were already coming for him. He tightened his stance on the spot, but he left his fingers loose in the balled fists. The already blindfolded eyes closed.

With deep breaths, he tried to calm himself, trying to let the fear go, the fear of getting hit. It was not due to the fact that he was getting hit, it was more about the fact that he did not know how much the zaps from the metal spheres were to hurt him.

Unfortunately, despite him trying to let go of his fear and stay calm and focused to use the Kenbunshoku Haki, he was too late. The deed was already done, the spheres were already sent his way. All he could feel, or even see with the Haki now was Bastion just standing there.

He had not prepared for it. But what he could do in case he was not ready to dodge was to block the attack. With his curled-up body, the spheres hit his elbow and his wrist, zapping the man immediately as they hit him.

"Yow!... Tsk... Son of a bitch..."

The zaps, even when low-powered, as the man promised, were unexpectedly hurtful. But he was surely ready for the next one! This time he was ready for it. Thankfully the zap had not disturbed his focus on the Haki, and he could, fortunately, visualize Bastion's intent and was able to dodge the attack using his footwork.

But this single dodge led to another series of spheres incoming for him. For each following four spheres, he was able to dodge every single one thanks to the Haki, but they all had one thing in common. They all kept on increasing in speed... And eventually, another one caught him, zapping him, and even harder!

The man gritted his teeth. This one had hurt him even more. It even left the hit left a red marking on his forearm. He had however begun to notice something about the spheres. As the spheres kept flying faster towards him, he began to hear something ringing a bit louder and faster in the said spheres.

The man had toned his animalistic senses down to focus more on the Haki, but that seemed to be a false thing to do. Instead, the man should have had them work together... In 'harmony'.

All the weaving and dodging, being so extremely focused on the attacks coming toward him had blinded him. The man had not kept his attention to the surrounding, and thus, he was forced to the corner of the room, right where he could get hit with ease.

But if boxing had taught him anything, is that there are no impossible ways out, all it takes is some proper skill and readiness. And ready the man was. The animalistic senses had to work in tandem with Haki.

The man sniffled, trying to identify a certain scent from the sphere, but all the gym equipment in the room all projected metallic scent from the, and mass stink of sweat. The constant metal clanking also disturbed the hearing, but less so than the while scent aspect. He was at least able to pinpoint the quiet weird dinging sound coming from the spheres.

The first two hits hit him while he was in the corner, zapping him, and even harder than the previous zaps. One of those spheres even broke through the small gap between his elbows, in the middle of his stomach area.

Thankfully, however, thanks to the combined work of his animalistic senses and also, the Haki, the man had sensed the sinister intention of going for his family's jewels... And he was able to act upon it! He performed a quick weave in time, using his footwork and body's motion to dodge away from the sphere just in time, along with it, getting out of the corner.

Ryoichi was free once more!

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The days went by flying, containing rigorous training which sharpened both his mind and body. Of course, this said training contained plenty of rest. Fighters are no good when they are exhausted to death.

It was the day, or more specifically, it was the big evening. The 'long awaited' fight night was up! The massive hall was fast being packed up with the crowd, most being the resort visitors, but a lot were from the lands off from the famous resort island.

While the crowd was busy gathering up in the arena to witness the big promoted bout, back in the locker rooms, the fighters were preparing themselves. Amongst them was Ryoichi with his very own 'team' who all helped him to get ready.

As the man was sitting down on a stool, he had both his arms raised up in front of him. Both of his arms are being wrapped up with white bandages, apply two layers including a couple of white tapes to finish the tie-up.

While the arms were being bandaged up, behind him, there was a lady massaging the man's shoulders and neck, helping with the preparing process.

And that left Ryoichi to prepare himself more mentally. Ryoichi's eyes were closed. He was breathing slowly, in and out. For him, the fight was already going on. The first battle one has to face is that of a mental one. And that one is going on ever since the challenge was issued. What he had to do now was focus to finish the final stretch of it.

While Ryoichi was focusing on the whole mental battle, his 'investor' turned 'coach' was spitting out some words of 'encouragement' towards him. He of course could hear it all, he was not that deeply focused on the 'meditation'. He weirdly had heard something similar before in his life... Was it from a book? A movie? A radio show? It sounded familiar, but the man could not put his finger on it.

The preparation time was up. The blue boxing gloves were put on and as Ryoichi stood up, white robes were put on as well. "Lets go." the man punched both of his fists together against each other, indicating that the man was ready to leave.

But before he moved towards the exit of the locker room, he performed a swift flick with the fist towards Bastion's cigarette. The fist did not touch the cigarette, but it felt as if a soft gust of wind emerged thanks to the punch, possibly extinguishing the 'flame' of the cigarette. The punch was not intentional, all Ryoichi was trying to do was point at the man's cigarette... It was not possible, the gloves did not enable him to do it!

"Cigarettes weaken the lungs, remember that."

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