VISION GRID SYSTEM: THE COMEBACK OF RYOMA TAKEDA

Ryoma’s decision to remain in Tokyo instead of joining the training camp is driven entirely by pragmatism, perhaps even a touch of pessimism. No matter how ambitious Ronin’s vision may be, filling the Tokyo Dome is a challenge on an entirely different scale.

Moving from the Yoyogi National Gymnasium to a venue capable of accommodating more than 55.000 spectators is such an enormous leap that even Ryoma refuses to believe confidence alone can bridge the gap.

That same caution is precisely why he insists on booking Ryohei’s rematch against Umemoto. The fight itself is only part of the attraction. What Ryoma is truly trying to sell is regional pride, reigniting the longstanding rivalry between Japan’s two great regional blocs, Kanto in the east and Kansai in the west.

What he never anticipates is that the effect arrives with explosive force, the first signs of it appearing not inside Ronin, but inside the headquarters of NSN only hours after ticket sales open.

”...Response time just jumped past six seconds!”

”The queue isn’t updating!”

”No, the queue is updating! Payment confirmations are the ones falling behind!”

”Database latency is climbing again!”

”How many active sessions?”

”Still rising!”

”Server Three just crossed ninety-eight percent!”

”Spin up another instance!”

”It already is!”

”Then why isn’t it helping?”

”Because traffic keeps climbing!”

”Cache isn’t responding!”

”No, cache is fine! Transaction requests are overwhelming the database!”

”We’re losing confirmations!”

”Not losing them… they’re stuck!”

”Somebody call Infrastructure!”

”They’re already on their way!”

”How many tickets are still pending?”

”...I don’t know anymore!”

The shouting continues to echo across the operations floor as more engineers abandon their desks to help stabilize the system.

Every monitor tells the same story. Traffic continues to rise, transaction queues grow longer by the minute, and no amount of additional server capacity seems able to catch up.

One of the supervisors grabs the desk phone.

”Get Director Hayashi.”

Barely a few seconds later, he lowers the receiver again.

”He’s already tied up.”

”Then General Operations?”

”They’re coordinating with Infrastructure.”

Another voice speaks from across the room.

”...What about Maria-san?”

The supervisor doesn’t hesitate this time.

”Call her.”

***

Minutes later, Maria steps through the sliding door. She doesn’t raise her voice or demand an explanation. Instead, she walks straight toward the nearest monitoring screen before turning to the department manager.

”What exactly is happening?”

The manager exhales, still trying to keep pace with the flood of reports arriving from every corner of the room.

”We’re experiencing severe transaction delays. Customer traffic has climbed far beyond our projected opening-day volume, and the database is no longer processing payment requests fast enough to keep up. Infrastructure has already begun expanding server capacity, but demand continues to outpace every adjustment.”

Maria’s eyes remain fixed on the dashboard. ”How many tickets have actually gone through?”

The manager checks another display before answering. ”A little over fifteen thousand.”

Maria’s expression tightens ever so slightly. Under different circumstances, selling more than fifteen thousand tickets within only a few hours would have been extraordinary news. But as someone responsible for operations, her mind goes to everything that could still go wrong before those customers completed their purchases.

She takes a slow breath before looking back at the department manager.

”I want a complete separation between new purchase requests and transactions already in progress. Customers who have reached the payment stage come first. Nobody loses a completed purchase because we’re chasing new traffic.”

”Yes, Maria-san.”

”Notify Customer Support as well. I want an announcement prepared for every official channel. Don’t pretend nothing is happening. Tell them we’re experiencing unusually heavy traffic and that we’re working to restore normal service.”

Instructions begin spreading across the room almost as quickly as they are given. Engineers return to their stations. Supervisors relay new priorities.

”And keep Infrastructure updated every five minutes,” Maria adds. ”I don’t want anyone making decisions based on outdated numbers.”

The shouting gradually gives way to more organized exchanges as everyone begins working toward the same objective instead of simply reacting to the crisis.

The system is still under enormous strain. Transaction speeds remain painfully slow. Several services continue timing out. But at least, the situation is no longer deteriorating by the minute.

Moments later, the doors slide open once more. Reika steps inside, her expression carrying a concern that is impossible to hide.

”I heard there was a system failure,” she says.

Maria turns toward her and gives a small shake of her head. ”Not exactly. We were overwhelmed.”

Reika glances toward the rows of monitoring screens before looking back at Maria.

”What happened?”

”We’ve already processed more than fifteen thousand ticket sales.”

Reika’s eyes widen. ”...Already?”

Maria nods. ”The transaction rate has slowed significantly, but I’m convinced it isn’t because demand is dropping. The system itself has become the bottleneck.”

Reika can’t suppress a smile. ”That’s incredible.”

”It is,” Maria replies. ”The irony is that demand is no longer what worries me.”

She keeps her eyes on the dashboard, watching the transaction counters crawl upward far more slowly than before.

”If this continues, we could fail to sell every available ticket. Not because people aren’t trying to buy them, but because our own system won’t be able to process enough transactions before the event.”

Reika’s smile gradually fades. ”...Is it really that serious?”

Maria lets out a quiet breath, visibly more irritated with herself than with the situation unfolding around them.

”I underestimated this project.” She shakes her head once. ”Had I expected demand to reach this level, I would’ve implemented a chusen system from the very beginning.”

Reika blinks. ”A chusen system?”

”A lottery allocation system,” Maria says. ”Instead of allowing everyone to purchase tickets the moment sales open, we first accept purchase registrations for a fixed period. Once registration closes, purchasing rights are distributed through a random draw. It dramatically reduces the load on the system, and for events with overwhelming demand, it’s generally considered the fairest approach.”

***

That evening, Maria remains at NSN long after normal working hours have ended. The emergency evaluation meeting stretches late into the night as every department connected to the Tokyo Dome project presents its findings.

Expanding server capacity remains on the table until the very end, but every projection reaches the same conclusion. Even if additional infrastructure buys them a little more breathing room, another surge of simultaneous buyers will almost certainly push the system back into the same crisis.

By the time the meeting finally adjourns, Maria has already made her decision. NSN will suspend ticket sales temporarily, and the remaining tickets will instead be distributed through a chusen system.

Before NSN has the opportunity to release an official statement, however, news that the ticketing website has become inaccessible spreads across the vast online community of Ryoma’s supporters with astonishing speed, throwing the entire conversation into chaos.

”What do you mean ”ticket sales suspended”?? I was literally waiting since 6 a.m.!”

”I finally got through the queue and now you’re telling me maintenance? Are you kidding me?”

”Did Tokyo Dome already sell out? Somebody tell me what’s going on!”

”No way it sold out already. Something’s definitely wrong.”

”NSN better explain this. I’ve been refreshing for almost an hour!”

Within another hour, the conversation begins drifting away from the ticketing system itself, toward heated arguments and mutual accusations between supporters from the Kanto and Kansai blocs.

”This has to be Kanto fans trying to crash the servers because they’re scared their champion’s getting embarrassed in Tokyo.”

”Shut up. If anyone’s panicking, it’s Kansai people. Umemoto already lost to Ryohei once.”

”Typical Osaka copium.”

”Typical Tokyo arrogance.”

”You people are unbelievable. It’s a boxing event, not a regional war.”

”Too late. It became one the moment Umemoto demanded this rematch by insulting Ryohei and Coach Nakahara.”

The arguments spread faster than the facts. Even Rikiya Miyamoto’s supporters from Kanagawa refuse to stay out of it either.

”Both of you keep fighting. Rikiya’s the one walking out with the biggest win anyway.”

”Finally somebody remembers Kanagawa exists.”

”Forget Kanto versus Kansai. Team Kanagawa’s here.”

By early afternoon, every rumor imaginable has already found believers.

”I’m telling you, somebody launched a DDoS attack.”

”Nah, ticket scalpers are using bots.”

”No chance. NSN’s servers are just trash.”

”Or maybe demand is simply insane? Ever think about that?”

By late afternoon, NSN finally breaks its silence. A new notice appears on the ticketing website, informing visitors that an important update regarding the Tokyo Dome event has been issued, while at the same time the company’s official website publishes a video statement from Maria herself.

Maria appears on screen wearing a dark business suit. After offering a respectful bow, she looks directly into the camera.

I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone who experienced difficulties accessing our ticketing service today. The overwhelming level of demand for the Tokyo Dome event exceeded our initial projections, resulting in severe delays and disruptions that prevented many customers from completing their purchases. We deeply regret the inconvenience and frustration this has caused.

After carefully evaluating today’s situation, we have decided to temporarily suspend ticket sales and transition the remaining allocation to a chusen system. We believe this is the fairest way to provide every customer with an equal opportunity to obtain tickets while ensuring a stable purchasing process.

Detailed information regarding the registration schedule and lottery procedure will be announced through our official channels as soon as preparations are complete.

To everyone who has shown such tremendous support for this event, thank you for your patience and understanding.

We sincerely apologize once again, and we remain committed to delivering a ticketing process worthy of the enthusiasm you have shown.