Ryohei takes the seat still warm from Umemoto's departure. The cameras flash, capturing his mangled face. But as he leans into the microphone, a familiar playful glint returns to his swollen eyes.
"Yamada-san!" a reporter from Osaka Daily barks. "Umemoto-san calls your win a freak accident. The fans are calling you a thief. How does it feel to wear a belt everyone thinks you didn't earn?"
Ryohei lets out a raspy chuckle that turns into a wince as it hits his ribs. He shrugs with a jovial careless gesture.
"You're right. I'm weak, aren't I? I spent seven rounds as a human heavy bag," Ryohei says, his voice light despite the grit. "But honestly, you guys are asking the wrong person. You should go back and ask Umemoto himself… how does it feel to lose your life's work to a lucky punch from a guy as pathetic as me?"
The room falls into a stunned silence. But Ryohei's grin only widens as he deliberately offers a bloody defiant spectacle.
