Budding Talent is Round 1228 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Title Page Character(s): Ippo Makunouchi, Teru Okazaki
Summary[]
Teru has a conversation with Ippo on how he was bullied to and from school, always alone, and wondering what it would be like if he disappeared. Teru explains that out of the group of thugs, Taihei is the one that most people are scared of. Teru thinks it is his fault for being bullied, Ippo disagrees and states there is no good reason to bully others. Ippo states he always wondered why bullies are wired to act that way, but knows that Taihei and his group just bullies Teru to kill time, which shocks the latter. Ippo notices it is getting late and tells Teru he should go home, but the latter states his parents are never home and Taihei might be waiting for him. Ippo comes up with an idea for Teru to relieve stress and takes him to the Kamogawa gym as he explains to Teru that he used to be a boxer. Ippo has Teru draw a picture of Taihei to place on the bag, as it is how Ippo first started boxing. The Kamogawa group does not want to judge a book by its cover as they remember Ippo's first punch, and Yagi is lusting for a newcomer. Everyone is shocked when they see Teru's drawing of Taihei, Ippo then places the picture on the bag and Teru puts on his gloves. After Ippo explains how to throw a straight, Teru punches the bag, however it barely moves. After everyone's reaction, Teru runs out the gym. Afterwards, Ippo takes him to Umezawa's place, when Umezawa sees Teru's picture, he states Teru is a genius. Teru is overjoyed to see Umezawa's manga drafts and asks to study as he wants to become a pro mangaka. Umezawa says that mangaka keep getting outshined by their disciples. Then, Ippo remembers that he always wanted to know what it means to be strong through boxing, so Teru's reason for being strong is to be incredible at manga.