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VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Chapter 281: A Heart Not Fully Awake · Nov 03, 2026

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Chapter List (1045)

Page number / 21

251 Chapter 251: The Challenge After the War 2026-11-03
252 Chapter 252: Ryoma’s First Step Into the Ladder 2026-11-03
253 Chapter 253: The Belt in Sight 2026-11-03
254 Chapter 254: When Old Wounds Knock on the Door 2026-11-03
255 Chapter 255: Pressure on the Throne 2026-11-03
256 Chapter 256: Negotiating the Future 2026-11-03
257 Chapter 257: A Cost He Never Meant to Count 2026-11-03
258 Chapter 258: When a Monster Knocks 2026-11-03
259 Chapter 259: No Time to Waste 2026-11-03
260 Chapter 260: Senchoku no Ō 2026-11-03
261 Chapter 261: The Phone That Changed the Card 2026-11-03
262 Chapter 262: Nakahara’s Burden 2026-11-03
263 Chapter 263: The August Card Revealed 2026-11-03
264 Chapter 264: The Load He Wouldn’t Share 2026-11-03
265 Chapter 265: A Coach on the Edge 2026-11-03
266 Chapter 266: A Fighter Who Won’t Listen 2026-11-03
267 Chapter 267: For the Old Man, Don’t Lose 2026-11-03
268 Chapter 268: A Team That Shine When Splitting 2026-11-03
269 Chapter 269: The One They Can’t Afford To Fail 2026-11-03
270 Chapter 270: The King’s Reminder 2026-11-03
271 Chapter 271: Drying Into Steel 2026-11-03
272 Chapter 272: From Courtesy to Collision 2026-11-03
273 Chapter 273: The Day Kenta Felt Small 2026-11-03
274 Chapter 274: The Fight Everyone Came To See 2026-11-03
275 Chapter 275: Writing His Own Page 2026-11-03
276 Chapter 276: A Foreign Jungle 2026-11-03
277 Chapter 277: When the Ring Demands Evolution 2026-11-03
278 Chapter 278: The New Aramaki 2026-11-03
279 Chapter 279: When Heart Meets the Wall 2026-11-03
280 Chapter 280: When the Spotlight Hurts 2026-11-03
281 Chapter 281: A Heart Not Fully Awake 2026-11-03
282 Chapter 282: A Style That Shouldn’t Be Here 2026-11-03
283 Chapter 283: A Slow Fight, A Steady Fall 2026-11-03
284 Chapter 284: Where Footwork Dies 2026-11-03
285 Chapter 285: From Labor to Bell 2026-11-03
286 Chapter 286: From Fading Cheer to Funeral Drums 2026-11-03
287 Chapter 287: The King’s Defiance 2026-11-03
288 Chapter 288: The King’s First Command: Silence 2026-11-03
289 Chapter 289: The Form of Six Professional Fights 2026-11-03
290 Chapter 290: The King’s Second Command: Kneel 2026-11-03
291 Chapter 291: No Sympathy in the Ring 2026-11-03
292 Chapter 292: The King Who Bows to No One 2026-11-03
293 Chapter 293: Callout at the Bell 2026-11-03
294 Chapter 294: The Night Glory Split in Two 2026-11-03
295 Chapter 295: The Price of Protecting the Future 2026-11-03
296 Chapter 296: Who Protects the Fighters 2026-11-03
297 Chapter 297: The Fall of the Mask 2026-11-03
298 Chapter 298: The Cruel King at the Crossroads 2026-11-03
299 Chapter 299: Guiding Her Exit 2026-11-03
300 Chapter 300: The Decision That Changes the Future 2026-11-03

His balance wavers, boots scraping across the canvas as he staggers back two uneven steps. Somehow, he stays upright.

But Park Hyun-seok doesn’t let him breathe for even a heartbeat. He surges forward, gloves already in motion.

Kenta tucks his chin and brings both arms up, folding into a tight shell. And Park hammers at him immediately.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Each punch slams into Kenta’s guard, shoving him backward until his spine grazes the ropes.

The moment Park feels the resistance of the cable behind Kenta, he changes angles, dipping and hooking hard to the sides.

Bug! Bug!

The blows rattle Kenta’s ribs even through his elbows. Park lifts his gloves again and smashes them into Kenta’s arms, pinning his guard high.

Dug, dug, dug!

Then he switches again, body, head, body.

Bug! Dsh! Bug!

On the red corner, Nakahara leans over the top rope, voice sharp but calm.

“Kenta! Don’t let him take it for free. Throw something back!”

But confidence is hard to summon when your own body refuses to obey.

Kenta feels the weight of the chant still echoing in his head, the pressure of proving something to his family, the suffocating fear of making a single mistake.

And the crowd joins in, impatient, loud.

“Come on, big bro!”

“Do something!”

“Don’t just stand there!”

“Fight back, Aniki-Oni!”

Their voices squeeze him from all sides.

He wants to move. He wants to answer. But uncertainty becomes a chain wrapped around his limbs.

So he defends. He rolls his shoulders, shifts his hips, keeping his guard high and tight.

Park continues throwing, but now several punches skim past him or land awkwardly off-angle.

A few still hit cleanly, jolting Kenta’s head or thudding into his arms. But he forces himself to endure them, letting his body relearn the beat of being inside a ring.

Gradually, the panic loosens its grip. His breathing evens out. His senses sharpen. And finally, he sees a gap.

He fires…

Dsh!

…a compact hook snaps against Park’s upper arm, small and imperfect, but enough.

“Kenta finally fires back!” a commentator picks up. “That’s his first real answer of the round!”

Park tries to reassert control, throwing a probing left, testing for another opening. But Kenta reads it, braces, and commits to a trade. He digs a short punch into Park’s body.

Dsh!

Both land; Park’s jab taps Kenta’s cheek, while Kenta’s shot thuds into Park’s core.

And the commentators jump in:

“They trade! Kenta’s settling in!”

“Finally… He’s starting to feel the fight now!”

For just a heartbeat, Park’s momentum buckles. It’s small, but it’s enough.

Kenta steps in close, not clinching, but close enough to shove Park off his line. The push creates space, just enough for him to slip sideways along the ropes and escape the trap.

Park chases, thinking the momentum is still his. But this time Kenta’s jabs intercept him, sharp enough to halt the advance.

And a few feints make Park hesitate, forcing him to reset.

His brow twitches. Tch… he’s settled in already?

Kenta exhales and slips into an L-step, moving with a steadiness that finally feels like his. A thin sliver of control returns to him, fragile, but real.

It’s the first clean breath he’s taken since the bell rang, a brief moment to reset, to gather the rhythm he lost in that disastrous opening.

***

The pace cools as both men circle. Park keeps a respectful mid-range, probing with light jabs, watching for openings that no longer come so easily.

Kenta answers with small movements, tight guards, subtle steps, the occasional feint, doing just enough to keep Park honest without overextending himself again.

The crowd settles into a low murmur, sensing the tempo winding down. The exchanges thin out, the urgency fading into a wary standoff as the final seconds tick away.

And then…

DING–DING!

The bell snaps the round closed.

“That’s the end of round one… and what a rough start for Kenta Moriyama.”

“He took some heavy punishment early. But give him credit… he adjusted well. Those last exchanges showed he’s finally warming up.”

Park turns first, raising one glove with a self-satisfied smile. He walks back to his corner with the relaxed confidence of a man who believes he owned the round from start to finish.

“Park Hyun-seok clearly takes the round, though,” a commentator continues. “He controlled the pace, pressed the action, and landed the cleaner shots.”

“But Kenta…” another one adds, “he might have just found a foothold at the very end. Let’s see if he can build on it in round two.”

Kenta trudges toward his corner. His stride drags slightly, not enough to alarm the crowd, but more than enough for his team to notice.

His mind is steady at last, no panic left in him. Yet his body already feels the toll of every punch, every defensive shell, every ounce of tension he carried… and maybe the fatigue from his morning labor.

He drops onto the stool with a muted breath. It’s only one round, and he already feels the weight of the fight settling deep in his muscles.

***

A low murmur hums through the hall during the break, restless, uneven, the kind of noise that fills the air when a crowd isn’t sure what to expect next.

It’s not quite excitement, not quite concern, just the unsure buzz of thousands waiting to see where the fight will tilt.

In the red corner, Nakahara and his team work quickly; cold water over the nape, a thumb pressing gently under the eye socket to check swelling, gloves adjusting, shoulders loosened.

Only after the basic checks does Nakahara finally speak. He clicks his tongue, half a scoff, half a sigh. “You fought like a total amateur in there. Did the crowd rattle you that much?”

Kenta lets out a breathy chuckle, trying to lighten the sting.

“Maybe… a bit more than I expected. Guess a year without fighting does something to you.”

He rolls his shoulders, testing them.

“But I’m good now. Really. And from what I saw… he’s not that much of a problem.”

Nakahara eyes him, gauging every nuance; breath, posture, and the clarity in the eyes.

“You’re sure?” he asks.

Kenta nods. “I’ll turn it around next round. Promise.”

A beat of silence follows before Nakahara gives a firm nod.

“Good. Then finish waking up in the next round. I know he shouldn’t be a problem for you, not if you’re yourself.”

Kenta offers a faint smirk, trying to match the confidence. He straightens on the stool, rolling his shoulders as if to shake the tension loose.

But deep down, under the adrenaline and the forced calm, a thin thread of doubt lingers.

The morning labor still clings to his muscles, subtle but real, a dull heaviness he can’t brush off. And the body blows Park landed on him clearly have some effect on him.

Now he can’t help wondering how long he can keep this pace, or how long before his body betrays him again.

“Just don’t let him be the type who can take punches.”

“A durable fighter… that’s the worst match for me tonight.”

If Park is the kind of fighter that can eat shots and keep coming, Kenta isn’t sure he’ll come out the winner.

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