Chapter 1015: A New Weapon for Aramaki
When the round ends, the fight itself is far from over. Ryoma immediately picks up the remote and rewinds the recording to the middle of the fifth round.
"This is from a few moments before Parry gets knocked down," Ryoma says. "Now watch all those attacks that look random and overly aggressive, as if he’s desperately trying to build combinations."
Aramaki watches closely. On the television, Allen throws a constant stream of punches, varying his form and rhythm so frequently that his offense appears chaotic and almost random.
But mixed into those attacks are numerous feints, hesitation movements, and short, compact combinations that hit nothing but empty air, blending seamlessly with several bursts of intense offense.
When everything comes together, it really does look as though Allen is desperately forcing combinations while constantly chasing his opponent.
"Despite all those attacks," Ryoma says, "not a single one of them was thrown with the intention of hurting his opponent."
"Really?" Aramaki asks.
"Exactly," Ryoma says. "Despite how chaotic his offense looks, Derrick Allen is actually following two fundamental patterns that most people would have a hard time recognizing. First, look at what he’s actually doing before the opponent starts moving out of the line."
On the television, Allen advances behind a series of jabs and short combinations. Parry responds exactly as expected, shifting his feet and moving away from the incoming attacks, carefully looking for the safest angle to escape.
But Allen does not simply follow him. Instead, his attacks keep coming from slightly different directions, repeatedly giving Parry reasons to move.
"Look at that," Ryoma says. "He’s using the chaos to control where Parry moves. He isn’t trying to stop him from moving. He’s making him choose where to go. Every time Parry moves away from one line, Allen gives him another reason to move again."
The footage continues for several seconds before Ryoma slows it down.
"Now watch what happens when Parry actually gets out with a desperate wide step."
Parry slips away from Allen’s attack and begins moving toward a new angle, trying to establish enough distance.
But before he can reset his stance and recover his balance, that’s when Allen really, really tries to hurt him. He steps with him and fires a more intense combination while Parry is still completing the movement, forcing him to defend before his feet have fully settled.
"That’s the second pattern," Ryoma says. "He attacks you while you’re leaving the line, before you reach the new position. He catches you during the transition, before you can settle into it."
He rewinds the footage slightly and plays the sequence again, allowing Allen’s movement to unfold a second time.
"Remember what you said earlier. It looks like he’s desperately chasing his opponent, but he isn’t. He’s waiting for the movement he created. When you lose your posture during the escape, that’s when he actually tries to hurt you. The attacks before that are mostly there to make you move. But once you start leaving the line, that’s the moment he wants to catch you."
Aramaki continues watching for several more seconds. Although Parry manages to avoid the worst of the impact by continuing to move out of the line, he gradually loses more and more space until Allen eventually herds him toward the ropes.
Once Parry is trapped there, Allen punishes him with a sustained attack that eventually sends him crashing to the canvas.
"So all that pressure at the beginning," Aramaki says, "he wasn’t really committing to it?"
"No," Ryoma replies. "And you failed to notice that because his pressure looks so random. But he always maintains his posture so he never loses his own balance. That way, when the moment he’s looking for finally appears, he can fully commit to attacking you."
"But if that’s the case," Aramaki says, "then you can just ignore all of it, right?"
"Are you serious?" Ryoma scoffs. "Listen, Aramaki. What he’s doing is actually somewhat similar to your own style of fighting. Remember that low straight to the body I showed you? It’s a setup designed to force your opponent to react. Why do you think that feint has worked so well for you all this time?"
"Why?" Aramaki asks, genuinely puzzled.
Ryoma’s expression tightens. "Seriously? After all the people you’ve beaten up, you still don’t know?"
"Because they’re afraid of how dangerous my punches are?" Aramaki asks, sounding like he is trying to brag, although there is a trace of uncertainty behind it.
"Exactly," Ryoma says. "When someone is under pressure because they’re anticipating danger, they become much easier to manipulate. You can guide them wherever you want. But if your actual punches aren’t dangerous enough to worry about, those feints won’t work no matter how good your feints are."
He then turns his eyes back toward the television. "And I’m pretty sure this Allen guy has some seriously painful punches."
Ryoma’s eyes remain fixed on the television, but something in his expression gradually changes. The faint amusement disappears first, replaced by a sharper focus.
There is no anger in his expression, nor the cold cruelty Phantom Ryoma would have shown. Instead, something more restrained begins to surface: the restless excitement of a fighter who has suddenly found an opponent he genuinely wants to understand.
Since the fight with Umemoto, Ryoma has constantly argued with Phantom Ryoma, rejecting his ideas and refusing to accept his mindset.
But by actively arguing with him, Ryoma has also stopped ignoring that side of himself completely. Every argument forces him to listen, consider, and acknowledge Phantom Ryoma’s existence.
Even right now, he can still hear that voice talking to him. He doesn’t argue this time, but he doesn’t accept it either. He simply doesn’t ignore it completely.
And somehow, that fragile and naive part of him is slowly sinking back into the background, becoming something he barely remembers.
After maintaining that intense expression for several moments, Ryoma suddenly blinks a few times before turning toward Aramaki with an amused, almost cheerful expression.
"That’s right, Aramaki," he says with a bright grin.
Aramaki turns toward him, slightly caught off guard. But he knows this reaction all too well. This is Ryoma when he becomes too amused by whatever crazy idea has just popped into his head.
"What? Another stupid thing you want to do with me again?" Aramaki asks.
"Exactly," Ryoma says. "Why don’t you study this guy’s way of fighting? I’ve explained the concept, but it’s up to you how you apply it. If you can learn to fight like this guy, I’m confident that by then, your level will already be on par with the world champions."
Aramaki’s face twists in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No kidding," Ryoma says. "You already have extremely dangerous weapons, and you have monstrous stamina. If you can learn this guy’s tricks, you’ll become even more dangerous in the ring. And perhaps I might be able to use you as my sparring partner again."