Chapter 118: Dempsey Roll

Two weeks had passed since the training in the mountains had begun. The team had endured grueling sessions under the harsh conditions, sharpening their skills and pushing their bodies to the limit.

Now, in the clearing outside the wooden house, Ippo and Alex stood face-to-face, ready to spar.

Kamogawa, watching from the side, called out, "Alex, wear some headgear."

Alex frowned. "I don't swing that way."

Kamogawa scowled. "Wear it. Even though your cut on the right eye has healed, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Alex sighed and reluctantly put on the headgear, muttering under his breath about how uncomfortable it felt. Ippo strapped his own headgear on.

Aoki and Kimura sat on a wooden plank nearby, watching with anticipation. Yagi stepped forward, holding a stick, and drew a line in the dirt.

"This will be your temporary ropes," he explained. "Don't cross the line. Imagine it just like in the real ring."

Alex and Ippo nodded, stepping into their respective stances—Ippo in his tight Peek-a-Boo guard, Alex in his signature Hitman style.

"Begin!"

Alex started first, flicker-jabbing while circling to his right. His jabs snapped forward in quick succession, popping against Ippo's headgear before ippo could react.

Ippo gritted his teeth and charged forward. He dipped low and launched a leaping right hook to the body.

Alex took a controlled step back and countered with a left uppercut, forcing Ippo to abandon his attack and retreat.

The flicker jabs continued.

Kamogawa observed carefully before giving a sharp command. "Ippo, use your new technique!"

At those words, Aoki, Kimura, and Takamura perked up, eyes glued to the fight.

Hearing his coach's order, Ippo nodded and steadied himself.

 "Alex's eyes lit up with excitement as he thought to himself."

"Finally! This is the moment I've been waiting for. Ever since I set foot in Kamogawa Gym, I've been dying to see it in action—Ippo's future signature move, the Dempsey Roll. And just like Ricardo Martínez did in the anime, I'm gonna school him."

Ippo began weaving from side to side, faster and faster. His entire upper body swayed like a pendulum as he inched forward, gradually falling into rhythm.

Alex, unfazed, snapped five flicker jabs in one breath, each landing cleanly on Ippo's headgear, slightly snapping his head back.

Ippo struggled to maintain his rhythm.

Kamogawa rubbed his bald head, while Nekota laughed heartily from the sidelines.

"Your student Alex is really a monster," Nekota chuckled. "Just like the magazines and newspapers say."

Shinoda sighed. "I should have expected this."

Yagi, watching intently, smiled.

Kamogawa finally spoke. "Alex, stop punching. Just dodge. Let Ippo showcase his new technique."

Alex, who had been having fun overwhelming Ippo, let out an exaggerated sigh.

"My fun is over…" he muttered.

He dropped his hands slightly, allowing Ippo to regain his rhythm.

With newfound focus, Ippo resumed weaving, this time without interference.

And then—

BOOM!

Ippo unleashed a storm of punches.

Left, right, left, right—hooks slammed into the air with enough force to create gusts of wind.Each blow was accompanied by a vicious twist of his hips, maximizing power in every shot.

Alex's instincts screamed at him to counter, but he backpedaled instead, eyes wide.

"Hell no. I'm not taking these shots."

He suddenly yanked off his headgear and raised a hand in surrender.

"Stop! I'm not taking that technique without countering. I'm gonna get concussed!"

There was a brief silence—

Then—

Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura burst out laughing.

Aoki wiped a tear from his eye. "It's my first time seeing Alex give up!"

Takamura grinned. "This is a miracle. Alex's ego is so high, I thought it was impossible for him to admit defeat!"

As the laughter echoed through the mountains.

Minutes later, the mountain camp had settled into its usual routine. Nekota stood near the cabin, holding a shotgun, with his fluffy white dog by his side.

Nearby, Alex was chopping wood, his powerful swings echoing through the forest. Ippo practiced his Dempsey Roll, trying to perfect the rhythm that had given Alex trouble earlier.

Out in the lake, Aoki and Kimura groaned in pain as they did squats underwater, using the resistance to strengthen their legs.

Everything seemed peaceful—

Until Nekota's face tensed up.

"Where's Takamura?" he muttered.

Alex stopped chopping and turned his head. Takamura had gone off into the woods alone.

Nekota gritted his teeth. "Damn it! There's a bear in the forest! He might get eaten!"

Just as he said that—

Takamura emerged from the woods, his bare chest exposed, his body covered in fresh wounds. A massive claw mark ran across his chest and shoulder, blood seeping through.

Ippo and Alex rushed over in shock.

"Takamura-san! What happened?!" Ippo shouted.

Takamura wiped the blood from his forehead and smirked. "I fought a bear. And I won."

He flexed his arm, as if to prove his point, then turned to Alex. "Can you do that, huh?"

Alex looked at him, unimpressed. "I'm confident I could take on an adult silverback in the future."

Takamura blinked, then burst out laughing. "You wish!"

Yagi hurried over with a first aid kit, quickly bandaging Takamura's wounds while Nekota cocked his shotgun and stormed into the forest.

Minutes later, he returned—dragging a dead black bear behind him.

Takamura bent down and picked up Nekota by the collar, lifting him slightly off the ground.

"Why did you kill it?" he asked, his voice unusually serious.

Nekota raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? It was dangerous, and you already knocked it down."

Takamura clenched his jaw. "That bear had two cubs. That's why I let it go."

A deep silence fell over the group. For the first time, Takamura's face looked genuinely sad.

Without saying another word, Alex turned and walked into the forest.

After searching for a while, he found the two bear cubs.

They were small, barely the size of his torso, yet they bared their tiny teeth and growled, trying to look intimidating.

Alex smirked. "Tough guys, huh?"

He knelt down, speaking softly. The cubs slowly calmed, sensing that he wasn't a threat.

A few moments later, Alex returned to the cabin, carrying one cub in each arm.

"I found them."

Everyone turned toward him, their eyes widening. The two cubs wiggled in his grasp, still wary but not attacking.

Nekota stepped forward and let out a long sigh. "I'll take care of them… to make up for what I've done."

Alex nodded. "Sounds good. If I have time, I'll visit them in the future."

Takamura smiled slightly, relieved.

With their training complete, the group packed their things, said their goodbyes to Nekota, and left the mountains, heading back to Tokyo.

Hours later, they arrived at Kamogawa Gym.

Ippo stepped forward and pushed open the door.

Inside—

The gym had been completely transformed.

Aoki and Kimura gasped in shock.

The floor was newly built, the old punching bags had been replaced, and the boxing ring—now colored sleek black—stood proudly in the center of the gym.

Aoki walked over and touched one of the new heavy bags.

Kimura pointed across the room. "There's even a treadmill! Three of them!"

Takamura grinned as he examined the new speed bags and the improved locker room.

Yagi chuckled. "The gym is finally complete."

Kamogawa stepped forward, arms crossed. "Thanks to Alex, the gym has been earning a lot lately."

Shinoda smirked. "In fact, Coach Kamogawa even considered buying the neighbor's property to turn it into an exclusive restaurant for the gym's fighters."

Yagi grinned. "We already bought it. In a month or two, we'll have a dedicated restaurant with a professional chef and nutritionist just for the gym."

Alex raised a fist into the air and shouted, "Finally, we're up, baby!"

Aoki and Kimura started dancing in celebration, jumping around like idiots.

Takamura smirked from the side, watching it all unfold, while Ippo simply took it all in, smiling to himself.

Their gym, their home—was finally thriving.