VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

After hearing that, Doyle becomes even more agitated. He turns away abruptly and immediately starts shouting across the gym.

”Cross! Cross!”

For a moment, he looks back at Tachibana.

”Stay right here. I’ll prove that I have absolutely nothing to do with this.”

Without waiting for a response, he hurries through the facility, moving from room to room while continuing to call out.

”Cross! Where are you?”

A short while later, the team manager finally appears from a corridor leading toward the rear section of the gym.

”Yes? What is it?”

”Cross, do you have the MOU and the bout agreement?”

”I have copies in my bag. Why?”

”Go get them. Quickly.”

Cross pauses for a second, clearly confused by Doyle’s urgency, but leaves without arguing. Several minutes later, he returns carrying a folder and hands it over.

Doyle immediately takes it and walks straight back toward Tachibana, already sorting through the documents.

”Here. Read this.”

He pulls out the first document and hands it over.

”That’s the memorandum of understanding between us and Ronin Fight Management. In order to secure hosting rights for the event, Ryoma’s company offered us fifty percent of the streaming revenue from the American and European markets.”

Tachibana accepts the document and begins reading it carefully. Doyle barely lets him get through the first page before pulling out another document.

”And this,” he continues, ”is the broadcasting agreement with NSN. Two months before the event, Ronin Fight Management already sold the American streaming rights alone for ten million dollars. And half of that money will be mine.”

Again, he does not wait for a reaction. Before Tachibana finishes examining either document, Doyle produces a third.

”And this is the bout agreement. Liam gets a guaranteed one million dollar purse, net. That’s before accommodations, training facilities, transportation, and every other expense they’ve already covered.”

Tachibana remains silent, calmly reviewing the paperwork one page at a time. His expression reveals nothing, which only makes Doyle look increasingly desperate.

”Do you think I’m insane?” Doyle asks. ”Do you seriously think I’d throw all of this away?”

He points at the documents in Tachibana’s hands. ”Yes, if Ryoma Takeda can’t step into the ring, Liam will automatically earns a rematch against Miguel Cabello without fighting here. But do you honestly think we’d try to kill our own opponent after his side offered us terms like these?”

Doyle shakes his head. ”Win or lose, my management earns roughly five million dollars from this event. Liam receives the first seven-figure purse of his entire career. Everything we’ve worked for over the last several years is tied to this fight.”

His voice lowers slightly, frustration replacing panic. ”So tell me, Detective... what possible reason would I have to destroy it?”

Tachibana’s only response is a short hum.

”Hmm.”

He takes a seat on the nearest bench and continues studying the documents, even though he has already gone through most of them.

”He didn’t mention any of this this morning,” he says, almost to himself.

Doyle blinks. ”He? You mean Ryoma?” His eyes widen slightly. ”He’s still alive?”

”Very much so,” Tachibana replies without looking up from the paperwork.

The relief is immediate and unmistakable. Doyle’s shoulders sag and some of the tension leaves his face. He lowers himself onto the bench beside Tachibana and lets out an uncertain laugh.

”Thank God...”

Then he quickly turns back toward the detective.

”Wait. How is he? Any injuries? Do you think he can still fight?”

For the first time, Tachibana stops reading and studies Doyle’s face instead. He sees genuine concern there, and hope.

”I stopped by his gym before coming here,” Tachibana says. ”Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known where to find you. In fact, he was the one who suggested I come speak with you.”

”Oh?” Doyle straightens slightly. ”So... is he okay?”

”He’s already back to training.”

”That’s good.”

”And he didn’t tell me to come to you because he sees you as a suspect”

”Of course not,” Doyle says immediately. ”I’m sure we’re operating under the same understanding. They trust us as much as we trust them. At least, I’d like to believe so.”

Tachibana nods, closes the folder, and hands it back before taking out a notebook and pen.

”Like I said, I’m open to any possibility,” he says, clicking his pen. ”But we’ve already identified our primary suspect. So, Mr. Doyle, can you tell me anything about Hugo Ramirez?”

Doyle’s expression shifts slightly. Until now, he has been focused on clearing his own name. But hearing the question out loud makes him realize that the attack on Ryoma could genuinely have originated from Ramirez’s side.

He remains silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts and recalling a particular meeting in Canada.

”Ramirez...” he begins. ”He actually came to see me the same day Ryoma Takeda visited our camp. Ramirez got there first. He pressured me to move the fight to Las Vegas. He even offered financial backing if I wanted to challenge the purse bid in case Ryoma opposed the idea.”

”And you actually rejected him?” Tachibana asks.

Doyle shakes his head. ”I actually accepted the idea. But soon after he left, Takeda appeared and made me reconsider my options.”

”How?”

”You’ve seen the offers yourself. Nobody turns down that kind of generosity.”

Tachibana gives no visible reaction. He simply listens.

”You have to understand,” Doyle continues, raising both hands slightly, ”we’re a small management company. We can’t compete with people like Ramirez and the network around him. The fact Ryoma was willing to offer us terms like that meant he genuinely believed he could challenge their business system.”

A faint smile appears on his face. ”And he already proved it long before fight night.”

But the smile quickly disappears. ”That kind of potential is exactly what Ramirez hates.”

He looks directly at Tachibana. ”One time, during a phone call, Ramirez told me something. He said that someone like Ryoma would ruin our business in America, and that we had to do whatever was necessary to prevent it.”

”We?” Tachibana repeats.

”That’s how he framed it,” Doyle says. ”As if we were on the same side. As if this was our problem too. But that’s his world, not mine.”

Doyle leans back slightly. ”For small management companies like ours, Ryoma Takeda is more like an oasis in the middle of the desert. He approached us with a genuine partnership proposal. People talk in this business, Detective. Fighters talk. Managers talk. Ryoma and his management have a reputation for treating people fairly and honoring his agreements.”

He glances toward the ring where Liam has resumed training. ”That reputation mattered more to me than the money. There’s no way I’d ever send people to harm someone like him.”

After hearing all that, Tachibana gradually begins to view Doyle less as a potential suspect and more as a witness. However, years of investigative work prevent him from showing any such conclusion on the surface.

His expression remains detached and unreadable, almost mechanical, as though he is simply storing information and arranging it into place without allowing personal impressions to interfere.

Rather than moving on, he continues asking questions. The more Doyle speaks, the more Tachibana realizes how little he actually knows about the world surrounding professional boxing. The sport itself is familiar enough, but the business behind it is something else entirely.

For someone like Tachibana, it is unfamiliar territory. And because of that, he keeps digging, using Doyle’s perspective to better understand the environment Ryoma has been describing all along.