From the opening bell, Renji charges forward with the full weight of the crowd behind him, a storm of noise and willpower. Every step, every punch, echoes the faith of the arena.

The commentators, swept by the noise, can hardly resist the pull of Renji's aggression.

"Renji's pressing hard early…!"

"He's not giving the Brit a second to breathe!"

"That's the spirit of the Japanese champion right there!"

The crowd has gotten used to his aggressiveness. But tonight, he looks like a hungry lion meeting its prey for the first time in weeks.

He presses with the flickers, right hooks, and drives his shoulder in, cutting the ring to corner Elliot Graves. The sound of his gloves smacking leather thunders through the air.

Dug! Dug! Dug! Dug!

Each impact earns a roar from the crowd.

But none of them truly land. Every blow, no matter how fierce, meets a guard, a parry, a shifting angle.

Elliot doesn't flinch. His composure holds, calm and fluid. His pendulum sway, that strange, circular rhythm, glides through Renji's assault.

Sometimes he bounces lightly on his toes, sometimes he simply walks, drifting to the side as if letting the storm tire itself out.

The crowd praises the noise, the movement, the fire. But they miss the quiet, the way Elliot's rhythm never breaks, the subtle way he turns the ring into his own sea.

The first round ends that way.

The second follows the same rhythm.

Just as Ryoma had predicted, Renji finds it hard to turn the fight to his favor. His destructive punches, the same ones that used to fold opponents within minutes, barely earn respect from the world contender.

In the corner, Renji sits down hard on the stool, breathing through his mouthpiece, frustration sharp in his voice.

"It's too easy to read his rhythm," he mutters. "But why the hell is it so hard to get to him? Even when I land, he just takes it… like nothing."

Kirizume crouches in front of him, towel in hand, face calm, voice steady. "This is the world level," he says. "He's fought a few ranked fighters before. He's used to this pace, this pressure."

He wipes Renji's shoulder, tone casual but eyes thoughtful, hiding his own unease.

"But he's still human. Ninth in the world, not the champion. He might just be good at hiding it. The damage is still there. You just haven't seen it yet."

Renji exhales slowly, nodding once, though his gaze stays distant, fixed on the space between rounds.

Across the ring, in the opposite corner, Elliot sits calmly as Sergei presses an ice pack to his neck.

"How's the damage?" the coach asks, voice low but firm.

Elliot exhales through his nose, shaking his head once. "His punches hurt," he admits plainly. "That left hook to the ear… deafened me for a second. But it's fine. I can handle this pace till the last round."

Sergei nods, satisfied, his expression unreadable. "Good. Keep making him chase you. Lure him into your rhythm. Let him ride the tide for a while."

He pats Elliot's shoulder, voice dropping into a steady growl. "When you see the opening, take it. Beat him in front of his own people. But until then… just keep the pace."

Elliot nods once, quiet, composed, his breathing steady as the bell looms again.

***

The bell rings for the third round.

Renji steps forward, his expression confident now, certain he's figured Elliot out. The world stage doesn't feel as daunting as he'd imagined.

But Elliot doesn't change. His calm is unnerving, like a man listening to music only he can hear. He moves with the same steady pulse, the same light, slapping jabs that Renji begins to shrug off.

Dsh! Dsh! Dsh!

Renji rolls his shoulder to brush them aside, cutting the ring, pressing forward. For a moment, it looks like he's cornered Elliot. But the Englishman answers with two tight hooks and slips out with effortless rhythm.

No matter how hard Renji hunts him down, no matter how close he pushes him to the ropes, Elliot always finds a way back into that pendulum rhythm.

Pak, pak, pak!

Pak-pak, pak-pak… pak!

This time, he shifts the beat, four different rhythms blending into one seamless flow. Renji struggles to keep up, reacting instead of leading, his breath growing heavy.

But then, in the fourth round, Elliot eases back into the same slow rhythm he started with, inviting Renji in, giving him space to attack, giving him a sense of control.

Renji pours in the pressure once again, landing some heavy punches on the guard. And the crowd roars, mistaking the lull for weakness.

REN-JI! REN-JI! REN-JI!

Even his corner gets swept into the illusion.

"Press him!" Kirizume shouts. "Don't let him breathe!"

Renji surges forward, throwing one sharp punch after another, but Elliot never breaks. He blocks, parries, deflects, and then disrupts Renji's momentum with those stinging, open-handed jabs that echo like smacks against the air.

Pak, pak-pak, pak!

Ryoma watches from the stands, shaking his head. "He's not going anywhere with this."

Aramaki glances at him, confused. "What are you talking about? Renji's taking control now."

Ryoma smirks. "No… Elliot's letting him. It's a trap. He's making Renji tire himself out. And once Renji thinks he's won the rhythm…"

He leans back slightly, eyes fixed on the ring.

"…that's when he'll see the canvas."

***

By the fifth round, the shift becomes undeniable, so clear even the untrained eye can see it.

Elliot's rhythm seeps into the fight completely. The circular pendulum, the lulling sidesteps, the deceptive calm, it all starts to bleed into Renji's own timing.

Every time Renji throws a punch, Elliot answers with three light slapping jabs.

The sound of the crowd dulls. The rhythm changes. Now it's Elliot's beat filling the arena, sharper, steadier, impossible to break.

Renji's flurries slow. His punches grow reactive, chasing ghosts that aren't there.

Elliot controls everything, the distance, the tempo, even the silence between them.

That slapping left hand lands again and again, guiding Renji into a fight he can no longer dictate.

Finally…

"Whoa… Renji's going defensive now," one commentator blurts.

"This is new. I don't remember ever seeing him like this."

"No, never. He's usually the one destroying people."

"But tonight, Elliot Graves is forcing him to keep both hands tight."

Elliot steps up the pace, blending his right into the rhythm, still keeping that elusive fluid beat.

But Renji isn't finished, not yet. He's waiting, watching, eyes sharp, looking for one opening, one break in the pattern.

"Here it comes… He's going to step back here, then explode forward…"

Renji reads the movement and throws a cross, timing it for the moment Elliot should bounce forward in his pendulum rhythm.

But Elliot doesn't bounces forward. He breaks the rhythm, bouncing back twice instead.

Renji's breath catches.

"What…?"

His punch misses, his balance wavers, and…

Dsh!

A sharp slapping left cracks against his cheek as Elliot's rear foot lands.

Then, suddenly, the rhythm changes again, the exploding flurry.

Elliot surges forward with a new tempo, a different pulse entirely, no longer light, but heavy and punishing.

Dsh! Dsh!

Two long hooks crash forward.

Now that he's inside, and Renji's still stunned, the flurry comes all at once; hooks to the head, ribs, and body.

Dug! Bug! Bug! Bug! Bug!

Five shots, and Renji can only blocks the first, with the last hook catches him flush on the temple.

Before Elliot can throw another punch, Renji's knee already hits the canvas.

"Down…?" one commentator falters.

The entire arena goes still. Even the commentators freeze.

"Renji's down?"

"For the first time, after years of ruling Japanese boxing… Renji Kuroiwa is down."

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