Chaos Arc

Chaos Arc
Information
Volumes	72-74, (3 Volumes)
Manga Rounds	673-699, (27 Chapters)
Chronology
Previous	Rusted Blade Arc
Next	Seiken Arc (Survival Match of Asian Champions Saga)

The Chaos Arc is the thirty-first story arc in the series and the sixth and last in the Law of the Ring Saga.

The "Grim Reaper" Mashiba accepts the challenge of the "Owari Dragon" Sawamura for his seventh JBC junior lightweight title defence. The two have a chaotic, rule-breaking fight that the referee has trouble controlling.

Summary

A Demon vs. The Devil

At the Kamogawa gym, Aoki and Kimura read a Monthly Boxing Fan magazine that covered theirs and Takamura's recent match, irritated that the cover and feature are about Takamura, while they got a small section. Ippo mentions that they should have had more coverage, and that if they had slipped up, Kamogawa would have yelled at them, so they must have been tough opponents. Aoki and Kimura are overjoyed by Ippo's thoughtful words. Aoki then reads out a section about Mashiba's seventh JBC junior lightweight title defence match against Sawamura, where it covers what Ippo said his prediction was. Aoki and Kimura make fun of Ippo since all he said was "I don't know". Ippo explains that Mashiba has gained a lot of experience since he last fought him and doesn't see him losing, but Sawamura, who was hard for him to defeat, has went up a weight class and has gotten stronger. Itagaki wonders why Mashiba requested to fight Sawamura, and decides to go ask him, since he already is going to spar against him anyway. Ippo and Kumi goes to the Hirosue. There, Kumi mentions to Ippo about him not saying that Mashiba would win in the magazine. Kumi expresses how she is worried about Mashiba since ever since the match got decided, Mashiba has been saying dangerous things about Sawamura. Ippo wonders why Mashiba would want to go after Sawamura so bad, and suddenly realises that Mashiba hasn't forgotten the time Sawamura hit Kumi. Itagaki and Shinoda arrives to the Tōhō gym, and before Itagaki spars with Mashiba, the former asks why he wants to fight Sawamura. Mashiba comments that he realised that he has been lacking bloodlust ever since his match against Kimura due to the friendly atmosphere of the gym and his job. He remembers the to promises he made at his parents' grave: that e wouldn't rely or believe in anyone else, and that anyone who lays a finger on his sister would pay dearly for it.

Nekota asking Takamura news about the boxing world.

At the Pension Yoshio, Takamura and Nekota play Nekota's board game, "A Boxer's Life." Afterwards, Nekota asks how Kamogawa is doing and if Takamura's goal of giving Kamogawa champion belts is too much. After Takamura answers and expresses how easy it is, Nekota remarks how Takamura is a reliable surrogate son to Kamogawa, which makes Takamura irritated. Takamura reveals to Nekota about boxing news about him, Ippo's match with Miyata being postponed, and Mashiba and Sawamura having a match. As Nekota asks Takamura who would win, Takamura believes Sawamura would win the match. Nekota decides that he wants to leave for Tokyo to see the match between Mashiba and Sawamura, which annoys Takamura.

Itagaki's undamaged face after sparring with Mashiba.

At the Kamogawa gym, Aoki and Kimura discusses who will win between Mashiba and Sawamura, which Kimura predicts that Mashiba will win. As they notice Itagaki coming back from sparring with Mashiba for five days, Aoki, Kimura, and Ippo are shocked that Itagaki's face has hardly a scratch. Itagaki thinks that Mashiba is just too sense as he could see his punches. Ippo believes that if Mashiba is like a demon, then Sawamura is like the devil himself, thinking that Mashiba can't win if he isn't in his best condition.

Before the Storm

Sawamura meeting Kawabe at the Tyson Steak House.

A week before Mashiba and Sawamura's match, while working at the Makunouchi Fishing Boat Ippo discusses with Itagaki about Mashiba's condition during their spars. Ippo gets worried when he hears how tense Mashiba was as he was throwing wide punches and that it will make him more vulnerable to counters, which is Sawamura's speciality. Ippo then informs Itagaki about Sawamura hitting Kumi, causing Itagaki to instruct Ippo to form a Mashiba chant to make him win. At the Tyson Steak House, Sawamura and Kawabe meet up, with the former having to eat less due to the weight management. Sawamura admits that Mashiba is strong to Kawabe and how he likes the view at his construction job, which has him work on buildings at great heights, since he can see people as ants he can crush, comparing it to boxing, where if one aims high, they can enjoy a good view. He expresses his desire to take Mashiba's belt and that he has changed after fighting Ippo, who taught him to go all out and kill his opponents rather than almost killing them. He plans to take the belt from Mashiba by his cold dead hands. At home, Mashiba tells Kumi to not come and watch his match against Sawamura.

Mashiba and Sawamura at the weigh-in.

When the weigh-in arrives, Mashiba and Sawamura goes to the Kōrakuen Hall. Neither boxers make eye contact, however, after Sawamura expresses his dislike of the venue since it was the place where Ippo sent him to the hospital, Mashiba tells him that Ippo must have slacked off, since he only sent him to the hospital, which is weak, declaring that he will send Sawamura to the graveyard. Sawamura replies that he is thinking the same. As Fujii and Mari leave the venue, they notice how the two boxers never looked at each other, and that they never attended a tense weigh-in like that one before, seeing it like the calm before the storm. Leaving the Pension Yoshio, Nekota and Takamura travel on foot during a harsh snowstorm and almost died if not for Hachi and his sons rescuing the two.

Chaos - Champion Carnival - Main Event - JBC Junior Lightweight Title Match - Champion Ryō Mashiba (Seventh Defence) vs. Challenger Ryūhei Sawamura (JBC Rank 3)

Mashiba and Sawamura meet in the ring.

On the night of the match, Ippo, Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki meet at the Kōrakuen Hall. Itagaki makes the three practice a Mashiba chant with him to help him win. Once inside, they see Kumi, who comments how she thinks she should go home. Itagaki convinces her to stay and watch by suggesting for her and Ippo to sit next to each other. As Ippo and Kumi go to the audience seats, Takamura and Nekota rushes into the venue, and Takamura informs Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki how they almost died leaving the pension. At the audience area, Kumi tells Ippo how Mashiba told her to not come and has a bad feeling. Ippo is sure Mashiba won't lose and advises her to cheer Mashiba on with him to blow away her worries. Kumi believes Ippo is mistaken, as her bad feeling isn't about whether Mashiba will win or lose. As the match is about to begin and Mashiba and Sawamura enter the ring, the atmosphere in the venue grows tense as the two boxers stare each other down.

Mashiba and Sawamura fighting.

When the match begins, Mashiba enters his Hitman Style while Sawamura goes for his unorthodox style. Mashiba and Sawamura enter a high level exchange, with Mashiba using his Flicker Jabs, while Sawamura dodges while closing in on Mashiba, however, neither are able to land a clean hit. The audience is shocked and confused as to what just happened. Aoki is surprised that Sawamura slipped past the Flicker Jabs and tried to start an in-fight. Kimura noticed that Sawamura used the Dragonfish Blow. Mashiba, at the centre of the ring, sends a barrage of Flicker Jabs to Sawamura until Sawamura ducks under an attack and closes in on Mashiba, standing up to stare Mashiba down to show him that his Flicker Jabs won't work. Mashiba uses his Flicker Jabs again, and when Sawamura dodges and gets in close range with Mashiba, Mashiba throws a Chopping Right. Sawamura attempts to counter it, however both attacks only graze their cheek. Both boxers continues to try and land a hit on each other, but to no avail as the first round ends. Ippo can't believe how amazing the two boxers are. After the second round ends with neither landing a clean hit as they were evenly match just like in the first round, the audience thinks that it will be a long match if the stalemate continues. Ippo wonders if the two will be patient until a chance presents itself. At Sawamura's corner, Karil advises for Sawamura to slowly put on the pressure and wait for his chance, however, Sawamura expresses his dissatisfaction in doing so. At the other corner, Mashiba tells his coach that using boxing against him will not get him anywhere.

Mashiba gets hit by an illegal headbutt.

In the third round, Sawamura shows that he thought same as Mashiba did as he backhands his face when Mashiba dodges an attack. While the referee is warning Sawamura that he will get a penalty if he does an illegal blow again, Mashiba strikes Sawamura's face, making the referee warn him too, however, Mashiba claims that he never planned on winning by points anyway. The two boxers hits each other in a dual exchange before the referee could tell them to continue. Mashiba and Sawamura begins a brawl, mixing intentional illegal blows with their boxing. When Mashiba gets pushed to the ropes, he acknowledges how hard Sawamura's knuckles are, deeming them a weapon. Mashiba remembers how Sawamura nicked Kumi with them, becoming enraged as he downs Sawamura with a right-on-right counter. Sawamura gets up as Mashiba expected since he felt Sawamura backing away from his fist upon impact. Mashiba enters his Hitman Style, throwing faster Flicker Jabs, but with a simplistic rhythm due to him getting heated up. Sawamura gets hit a few times before learning the rhythm. Sawamura passes through the Flicker Jabs and hits Mashiba's face with a right and then strikes his face with a knee, which downs Mashiba. The third round ends shortly after Mashiba unconsciously gets up. At Sawamura's corner, after Karil tells Sawamura that Mashiba will go down if he keeps hitting him, Sawamura notes that he already learned from Ippo to mercilessly hit people until they stop moving. At Mashiba's corner, his coach advises him to focus on recovering and to avoid slugging it out with Sawamura.

Mashiba getting kicked by Sawamura while he is down.

When the fourth round begins, Mashiba is swiftly countered and downed when he tried to hit Sawamura with Flicker Jabs. Still unconscious, Mashiba gets up and attacks Sawamura before the referee could tell them to continue. While both boxers exchanges punches, Mashiba is hit with another counter, causing him to go down a second time. Sawamura, disappointed that Mashiba went down before he could do any real damage to him kicks Mashiba's head while he is down. The kick makes Mashiba regain his consciousness and he becomes angry that Sawamura is looking down on him from the neutral corner. After getting up, Mashiba almost falls since he does not know how hurt his body is yet. Sawamura takes the advantage, bringing Mashiba to the ropes and using a combination of high to low punches to make Mashiba guard high to leave his body open to attacks. After being hit by an uppercut and a counter, Mashiba clinches to Sawamura until the fourth round ends. Barely making it to his corner, Mashiba learns that he was kicked while he was down. His coach orders him to not get emotional about it and to use the fifth round only for recovering. At Sawamura's corner, Karil tells him to not let Mashiba recover, and if he clinches, just push him off.

Mashiba and Sawamura having a dual exchange battle.

In the fifth round, Mashiba tries to attack Sawamura at the start, but gets hit by a counter instead. Mashiba falls and pushes Sawamura to the canvas with him. After attempting to elbow his face while on top of him, Mashiba hits Sawamura's left eye with a headbutt. Mashiba gets up and receives a penalty by the referee. Due to Sawamura's left eye being swollen shut after the headbutt, Mashiba begins to land his Flicker Jabs easier and Sawamura keeps missing his counters. When Sawamura gets close to Mashiba, Mashiba goes to Sawamura's left and hits him with an unsuspecting Chopping Right, downing him. Mashiba's forehead begins to swell from the headbutt earlier, and the way it is swelling makes him look like a demon with a horn. When Sawamura gets up, both boxers meet at middle range and hits each other with multiple full powered dual exchanges until the fifth round ends. After barely making it to the corner and kicks his chair, Sawamura mutters that he won't accept that Mashiba is stronger, because he is the stronger one. When Karil tells Sawamura that he will become the champion if he makes it through, Sawamura remembers his dedication to get the belt to see the same view that Ippo sees. At Mashiba's corner, Mashiba's coach tells him to not back off if it becomes a battle of wills, as Sawamura is more damaged. Mashiba claims that he will win because he is the stronger one.

Mashiba's final hit on Sawamura before he falls out of the ring.

In the sixth round, after blocking and dodging Sawamura's Bullets and hitting Sawamura with a Flicker Jab, Mashiba and Sawamura continues where they left off last round, hitting each other with dual exchanges at middle range. Since Mashiba's punch lands first, Sawamura is worse off, and eventually he is unable to reach Mashiba's face after Mashiba hit him. After ducking under Sawamura's attack, Mashiba hits him with an uppercut, leaving him clinging to the ropes. Mashiba, thrilled to have his bloodlust back, rushes to Sawamura, hitting him multiple times at the ropes, intending to execute him for doing both crimes of standing in his way of him rising up with his two fists and laying a finger on Kumi. Sawamura hits Mashiba with a counter during Mashiba's barrage and begins fighting back, pushing Mashiba to the centre of the ring. Mashiba and Sawamura exchanges punches until Sawamura buckles over. Mashiba attacks and puts Sawamura at the ropes again, sending out many punches on his guard. When Mashiba sees an opening at the bottom of the guard, he strikes Sawamura with a short uppercut. Mashiba goes to throw a follow-up Chopping Right, however, Sawamura counters it, hitting Mashiba's jaw. Mashiba goes down from the counter, as does Sawamura after the referee orders him to go to the neutral corner. Both boxers get up from the double knockdown, with Mashiba driven to protect his sister and show everyone who doubted him. While the referee was deciding whether to continue the match or not, chaos begins as Mashiba attacks Sawamura with left and right combinations. When the referee tries to hold Mashiba back, he pushes the referee to the ground and continues beating the defenceless Sawamura until he punches him through the ropes and out of the ring, making him land on his head. Mashiba feels glorious after silencing the crowd with his fists. However, the referee disqualifies Mashiba for his actions, resulting in Mashiba losing and Sawamura becoming the new JBC junior lightweight champion. Mashiba is escorted out of the ring by his coach, who expresses his disbelief in him, while the new champion is escorted on a stretcher with the audience frozen in awe after seeing the chaos.

A Winner's Loss

Sawamura discovering that he is the new JBC junior lightweight champion.

Outside the venue, as Ippo and Kumi part ways, Kumi mentions to Ippo that she doesn't think she will ever like boxing, hopes that her brother's opponent is okay. As Takamura, Nekota, Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki approach Ippo, Aoki and Kimura notes how it was the worst possible ending for the worst possible fight and is surprised neither got disqualified sooner. Itagaki thinks it was almost a good fight, Nekota believes that it was full of surprises, and Takamura comments how anyone that came to see something frightening went home satisfied. Ippo thinks that there was no need for Mashiba to go that far, since if one ignores the rules, then it is just brawling, and boxing then becomes something frightening. Kimura realises that a new champion is born in his weight class now, but doesn't want to fight Sawamura. In Sawamura's room in the venue, the ambulance has arrived, but Sawamura expresses his disgust in going to the hospital every time he fights in the Kōrakuen Hall. He receives a checkup by the doctor, and is revealed to be fine to not go to the hospital, however, the doctor recommends for him to be under Karil and Kawabe's watch and for him to see a brain specialist. Sawamura asks Karil if he won or lost, since he doesn't remember what happened. Mashiba's coach enters the room and gives Karil the JBC junior lightweight belt in a case. Sawamura is given the case and didn't want it until he opened it and realises that it is the champion belt. He is shocked to see that he won and is glad that he has the champion belt that he wanted. He was about to tear up and thank Karil and Kawabe before stopping himself. He leaves the room and bows in front of the door as he leaves the venue without letting them know. Sawamura rides on his motorcycle to Nagoya, thrilled that he can see what Ippo sees before getting into a motorcycle accident and is sent to the hospital.

Ippo reacting to the news of Sawamura retiring.

Later, at the Kamogawa gym, Fujii enters and informs Ippo, Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki that Sawamura got in a high speed motorcycle accident while he was going home. Ippo is then told by Yagi that Sendō is on the phone calling from the General Hospital and wants to talk to him. Ippo learns that Sawamura is alive, and Ippo informs Sendō that he won and was really strong. Ippo states his plan of coming to visit Sawamura, however, Sendō advises against it, and instead to remember the strong Sawamura that wanted to reach and surpass him, since he is retiring from boxing, so it was the Owari Dragon's final appearance.