VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Several minutes later, Ryoma appears with two men in dark suits. Neither wears a uniform, but their role is obvious enough.

As the three make their way through the corridor toward the elevators, they happen to pass Tachibana and Shibata once more.

Ryoma immediately smirks. ”So, Detective… Have you reconsidered it?”

Tachibana gives him a brief glance. ”Don’t you have an important fight coming up? Just focus on preparing for it, and let us focus on our work.”

Ryoma shrugs. ”Fair enough.”

The two officers accompanying him offer slight bows as they pass Shibata. And Shibata acknowledges them with a small nod.

”Tighten security,” he says. ”But do your best not to interfere with his training.”

”Yes, sir.”

The two men answer almost simultaneously before continuing after Ryoma toward the elevators.

Later, the moment the elevator doors open onto the main lobby, Ryoma immediately spots Nakahara and Kurogane standing in front of the reception desk.

Both Nakahara and Kurogane apparently try to convince a receptionist to let them upstairs. Judging from their expressions, neither seems particularly successful.

They look visibly unsettled, but Ryoma simply greets them nonchalantly, as if nothing dangerous had happened to him this morning.

”You guys... what are you doing here?”

The two immediately turn. The surprise on their faces lasts only a moment.

”We’re worried about you, asshole,” Nakahara says.

Kurogane steps forward at almost the same time. ”How are you? Are you hurt?”

Ryoma raises both hands and shows his palms. ”Just a few scratches. My knees too. Nothing serious.”

Nakahara still doesn’t look calm. ”What did the police do to you? Why did they keep you here for so long?”

Ryoma exhales. ”They just needed my statement. I’m obviously the primary witness.”

”What about the attackers?” Kurogane asks. ”I heard there were two foreigners involved. Did the police figure out who sent them? Do they know who’s behind this?”

Ryoma shakes his head and starts walking toward the exit. ”They claim it was personal.”

Kurogane follows beside him. ”Personal? Do you even know them?”

”Not really.”

”Then what kind of explanation is that?”

”What else?” Ryoma glances at him. ”They’re obviously lying.”

Kurogane frowns, clearly dissatisfied with the answer. Meanwhile, Nakahara trails slightly behind, his attention repeatedly drifting toward the two suited men following Ryoma.

The feeling of unease only grows as they continue walking into the parking area. The two men never leave, remain close enough to intervene if necessary, but far enough not to become intrusive.

When Kurogane heads toward the familiar Aqualis Labs minivan, one of the suited men gestures toward a completely different vehicle.

”Takeda-san. This way, please.”

One officer circles toward the driver’s seat. The other walks around to the rear passenger door, opens it, and waits patiently.

Nakahara quickly closes the distance and lowers his voice behind Ryoma. ”Kid... who exactly are those guys?”

”They’re police officers,” Ryoma replies, ”assigned to make sure I stay alive until this case is over.”

Nakahara still looks confused, but Ryoma has already turned toward the vehicle, and gets into the rear passenger seat. The officer closes the door before taking the front passenger seat.

Moments later, the car pulls away, while Nakahara remains standing there, staring after it.

”Then...” he mutters. ”What the hell am I doing here?”

”Kaicho!” Kurogane calls from the minivan. ”Are we leaving?”

Nakahara finally snaps out of it and hurries over, getting into the minivan.

”So they’re really going to keep an eye on him?”

”Of course they are,” Kurogane says. ”This was an attempted murder. And there’s a real chance it turns into a major international case.”

A grin slowly appears on his face. ”And I’m willing to bet that once this story spreads, Yoyogi is going to explode all over again.”

”And we’ll be preparing under even more pressure,” Nakahara replies.

”Relax, Kaicho. Ryoma will win without any real difficulty.”

The minivan leaves the parking lot and joins the road. Kurogane looks almost excited by the situation.

Nakahara looks anything but. For a while he simply watches the traffic ahead in silence.

”Sometimes I think...” he finally speaks, his voice low, ”not once has Ryoma gotten a fight without something getting in the way.”

Kurogane shrugs. ”But he hasn’t lost, right?”

”Yeah...” Nakahara says quietly. ”But until when?”

***

Not long after the incident, the news has already begun spreading across Japan. At first, it appears in scattered social media posts from local witnesses near the crash site. Most of it is incomplete, speculative, and driven by confusion rather than facts.

But as more posts surface, the tone shifts. What was initially treated as another urban accident quickly escalates into something more serious. Rumors begin circulating about gunfire, foreign suspects, and a targeted attack.

Then the television networks pick it up.

”We are currently following developing reports of a violent incident earlier today in Tokyo involving professional boxer Ryoma Takeda.”

The screen briefly cuts to blurred footage of the crash site; police tape, damaged vehicles, and scattered debris still being cleared.

”According to eyewitness statements, a vehicle reportedly struck a pedestrian believed to be Ryoma Takeda himself. Sources also indicate the presence of armed foreign nationals at the location, suggesting this may not be a simple traffic accident.”

The footage shifts again to a split screen of police activity and emergency response teams.

”At this time, authorities have not confirmed the motive behind the incident, but investigators are treating the case as a potential attempted homicide. More updates will follow as information becomes available.”

Not long after, the same news reaches Liam O’Connel’s training camp on the outskirts of Tokyo, where he is currently undergoing preparations ahead of the Yoyogi event.

The television in the lounge room plays the Japanese broadcast without translation. Still, two assistant coaches immediately recognize the face that appears on screen.

One of them lets out a low whistle. ”I don’t think there’s been a single day since we arrived in this country that I haven’t seen his face on TV.”

But the humor fades almost instantly as the tone of the broadcast becomes clearer through images alone.

The assistant’s expression tightens. ”What the…? That doesn’t look right.”

The other assistant steps quickly out of the room and returns moments later with a liaison officer.

”Come quick! Translate it for us.”

The liaison watches the screen for several seconds, and then exhales slowly.

”They said an attempted murder,” he says flatly.

The two assistant coaches freeze. They exchange a look, then immediately turn back toward the television, but the segment has already ended.

Without wasting another second, they rush out of the lounge.

”Boss! This is serious!”

”There’s something big going on!”

At the moment, Liam O’Connel is already in the ring. He is suspended in an inverted position, neck conditioning drill in progress, his body angled against the corner post.

The weight of his upper body is controlled through his core and neck muscles as he slowly shifts tension from side to side. He hears the commotion, his eyes flick slightly, but he does not stop.

Patrick Doyle, standing nearby, immediately turns toward the noise. ”What is going on?”

”We just saw the local broadcast,” one of the assistants blurts out.

”Japanese news,” the other adds quickly. ”Ryoma Takeda… something happened to him.”

Liam’s movement falters. His balance breaks slightly, and he drops down onto the canvas.

”What did you say?” Liam asks, lifting his head.

”Ryoma Takeda,” the assistant repeats. ”This morning. He was hit by a car.”

”And they said it was an attempted murder,” the other assistant adds.

The atmosphere in the gym changes immediately. Doyle goes pale, the first thought that crosses his mind simple and immediate; if Ryoma is seriously injured or worse, the upcoming fight may be completely gone.

On one hand, Liam O’Connel would automatically become the mandatory challenger for the title without having to fight. But somehow, Doyle still feels uneasy, and he quickly leaves the ring to retrieve his bag.

Just as he takes out his phone to make a call, a man suddenly appears not far in front of him, immediately introducing himself while showing his police ID.

”Patrick Doyle? I’m Detective Yuji Tachibana from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. May I have a moment of your time?”

Doyle stares at him. ”Tokyo police? What is this about?”

Tachibana does not hesitate. ”I need to ask you a few questions regarding the vehicular incident involving Ryoma Takeda.”

For a split second, everything in Doyle’s mind locks into place; police, boxers, international fighter, attempted murder. The conclusion forms itself too quickly inside his head.

”No…” Doyle says sharply, stepping back. ”You think I’m involved? No, no, no… I have nothing to do with this. I swear to you, I don’t know anything about this incident.”

The thing is, Tachibana still cannot directly connect the two attackers to Hugo Ramirez, and as a result, Patrick Doyle also enters the list of potential suspects.

”We haven’t reached that conclusion yet,” Tachibana says. ”So we are open to any possibilities.”