Daigo's "Sparring Partners"

The following morning, the wind had completely reversed overnight on the newsstands of major convenience stores in Tokyo.

The Yomiuri Shimbun's social affairs section, which had previously expressed deep regret, quietly removed the relevant topic today.

Meanwhile, Nikkan Sports prominently featured a follow-up report on its front page, with an eye-catching headline. "The Ironclad Parenting Rules Behind the ' Beast '! A Strict Father's Three Rules Forge a True Champion!"

The article describes in detail Masao Umehara's three seemingly unreasonable but actually well-thought-out rules.

The "problem child" who was originally portrayed as addicted to games has been transformed into a "self-disciplined genius" who balances his studies and hobbies under the guidance of his strict father.

"Wow, so that's how well her dad manages her!"

"Only allowed to play for two hours a day? That's even worse than me—"

"He handed over all the prize money; this father is a wise man!"

The tide of public opinion rises quickly and recedes just as fast.

Yesterday, people were worried about the "tragedy of society," but today they are already talking about the "Umehara Family's educational methods."

Inside the Managing Director's Office at Sega Headquarters.

Yamamoto respectfully placed a stack of newspapers on Nakayama Takuya's desk, his face showing barely suppressed excitement.

"The wind has completely shifted towards Executive Director Nakayama. Also—the editor-in-chief of * Shukan Bunshun * just called personally, saying he wants to visit Mr. Umehara privately to offer his sincerest apologies in person."

"Oh? An apology? They reacted quite quickly." Nakayama Takuya leaned back in his office chair, picked up the Nikkan Sports, and without even glancing at the other person, a slight smirk appeared on his lips.

Yamamoto was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and couldn't help but laugh.

Nakayama Takuya put down his newspaper and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Tell them the Umehara Family doesn't want to be disturbed."

"Yes!" Yamamoto understood and turned to leave.

Adachi Ward, Sato's Game Center.

Sato, with a toothpick in his mouth, was humming a tune as he wiped down a King of Fighters of Fighters arcade when a regular high school student rushed in with a newspaper.

"Boss! Look! Daigo's in the newspaper! This time it's in praise of him!"

Sato snatched the newspaper, and when he saw the huge headline and the familiar phrase, "My son, Masao Umehara, cannot be a blind man who can't even read a contract," the toothpick in his mouth fell to the ground with a "thud."

"Hahaha! I knew it! I knew Uncle Umehara was amazing!" He slapped his thigh excitedly, forgetting all about the shop, grabbed his coat and rushed out. "No, I have to get this newspaper to Uncle and Aunt right away!"

He rushed to the Umehara Family's door like a gust of wind and rang the doorbell loudly.

Mrs. Umehara opened the door, and was stunned to see Sato waving a newspaper in his hand.

"Auntie! Big news! Huge good news!" Sato burst into the living room, slammed the newspaper on the table, and pointed at the article with spittle flying. "Look! All of Tokyo now knows that Uncle is a great father who raises his children well!"

Masao Umehara came out of the inner room, picked up the newspaper, and read it silently.

His expression remained unchanged, except that his perpetually furrowed brows seemed to relax slightly.

He carefully folded the newspaper, not throwing it away, but solemnly placing it next to the championship certificate.

"That's wonderful—that's really wonderful—" Mrs. Umehara looked at her husband's actions, her eyes reddening, and the anxiety that had been hanging over her for several days finally subsided completely.

Only Daigo Umehara peeked out from his room, then silently retreated back inside.

He seemed completely unconcerned about what was written in the newspapers or how others evaluated him.

Masao Umehara glanced at his son's bedroom door, then at the newspaper, and finally his gaze settled on the calendar on the wall.

He circled that date at the end of the month heavily in red pen.

He spoke in a deep voice to his son's bedroom door.

"Don't let these things distract you. Your opponents at the Budokan won't go easy on you just because you're in the newspapers."

In the days leading up to the Budokan Adachi Ward became the most unique fighting game mecca in all of Tokyo.

Nagai Kenta and Bai Ye, two men who stood at the top of the King of Fighters scene in Tokyo but were both brought down by the same kid, now appear here almost every day.

They stopped playing coin-operated games and instead stood behind Daigo Umehara.

"That's not right." Bai Ye pointed at the screen, his brow furrowed. "Mary's turnaround move has a relatively long recovery time after it's executed. Your pressure was too abrupt just now. If she chooses to defend in the air and counterattacks after landing, you're done for."

He was like the strictest math teacher, quantifying every action in the game into cold, hard data.

Daigo Umehara glanced at the screen, then at Bai Ye, and said nothing, simply starting another game in silence.

This time, facing the same situation, after completing the command to throw Mary, he did not immediately launch an attack, but instead took a slight step back.

This distance is just outside the range where the opponent might counterattack, yet it maintains the threat of being able to press forward again at any time.

Bai Ye's mouth was slightly open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

"Hey, I only gave you a theory, how come you did it on the first try?" he couldn't help but complain. "I got beaten up for two whole days just to practice this step-back!"

Nagai Kenta leaned against another machine, arms crossed, smiling without saying a word.

Unlike Bai Ye, who was obsessed with frame counts and sequences, he taught something more ethereal and abstract.

"Daigo, look." Nagai Kenta pointed to the character Bai Ye was demonstrating on the screen. "Bai Ye's habit is that when he has the advantage, he likes to use a jumping heavy attack to pressure the opponent's recovery, but before each jump, he subconsciously takes two extra steps back to give himself room to run up."

"Remember this little gesture. In a match, this is his signal to jump. At this moment, you don't need to guess whether he's going to hit you with a high or low attack; you just need to unleash a rising dragon punch the instant he jumps."

These words made Bai Ye's face turn green.

"Hey! Nagai- senpai! How can you betray your teammates like that? This is my secret technique!"

"Now we're all on the Tokyo team." Nagai Kenta patted him on the shoulder, his expression calm. "At the Budokan, we only have one enemy: everyone outside of Tokyo. Hand over your little schemes."

Sato, the arcade owner, was relegated to the Logistics Department.

He brought over chilled barley tea one moment and freshly baked takoyaki the next, his wrinkled face beaming with a smile brighter than anyone else's.

"Here you go, Tokyo Representative Team's special supplies!" He handed over the plate, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously to Daigo, "Daigo, let me tell you, in the national tournament, momentum is the most important thing! Pick Chang Koehan at the start, swing the iron ball and spin them all until they're dizzy!"