Knowing full well the situation he's been cornered into, and the deal he made with Logan, Nakahara has no choice but to swallow the sting in his pride and keep his tone steady.
"Kenta's twenty-seven, not a rookie," he says, voice controlled. "He was ranked thirteen a few years back. After his layoff he slipped, but with the win over Park Hyun-seok recently, he's now fifteenth in the OPBF."
Coach Nishiyama reacts with the bare minimum: a faint arch of one brow, nothing more.
"Fifteenth," he repeats. "And you think that gives you the right to challenge my fighter?"
Nakahara holds the polite smile, even as something inside him knots. "Winning isn't the point here. It's experience. I'm organizing a major event, Ryoma Takeda versus Paulo Ramos, a Philippine champion. For a card like that, it's only fitting to have someone of Liam Kuroda's level in the semifinal."
