Monday, 5:00 PM: The Seven-Hour Grind Begins
The "Lot Legends Gym" was vibrating with energy. The music was loud, the new speed bag zipped like an angry hornet, and the smell of rubber and sweat filled the air. Date, already having finished his solo 10-hour morning session, was a blur of motion in the ring. The crew was ready, sweat beading after their warm-up.
Date: (Weaving fluidly in the ring, his voice sharp and intense) "Listen up! Six months to Nationals. Light Welterweight is a warzone, but we're going to win it with science and grit. I'm on a 10-hour grind—4 AM start, no parents knowing. You guys, seven hours daily, no excuses. School's the cover, the gym is the life."
Date: (Pointing to the boys) "Kenji, Toshiro, Sora, Riku—and me—we're cutting to 8 to 9% fat. Functional muscle only. Speed, strength, endurance."
Date: (Turning to the girls, his tone respectful but firm) "Hana, Aiko, Yumi, Emi—you're dropping fat but staying safe. We're targeting 15 to 16% body fat. That's elite female athlete lean—maximizing power without crashing your systems. You're building muscle to jump weight classes."
Hana: (Flyweight, hitting the speed bag with blinding speed) "10 hours, Date? You're actually insane! My parents would put me on house arrest for that. 'Study group' it is. 15% body fat? I'll take it! I'm going for Bantamweight! I need to gain 5 kg of muscle, but it has to be kick-power muscle! Emi, you ready to lift?"
Emi: (Flyweight, setting down a 10 kg plate, sketching rapidly) "Ready. My knees will be sharp, but my power's low. Hana, we'll hit the weights—my goal is Bantamweight, too. Aiko, you teach us the uppercut power. And Date, I'm hiding my seven hours as 'art club' and 'library volunteering.' Parents love that."
Aiko: (Featherweight, punching the heavy bag with a loud THUMP) "I'll teach power, but my goal is to be Featherweight at 16% fat and hit harder than the Osaka kids! I need to lose fat and gain speed. Yumi, I need your sprints! I'm tired of moving like a well-intentioned refrigerator!"
Yumi: (Bantamweight, sprinting a quick drill on the mats) "A refrigerator? Aiko, you're hilarious! I'll teach you the debt-collector sprint. I'm aiming for Featherweight, 15% fat! My speed's there, but I need Aiko's combos and Emi's defense rolls to be a complete fighter. Seven hours is brutal with school, but my excuse is 'volleyball tryouts.' Parents buy anything with a uniform."
Kenji: (Featherweight, weaving quickly in the ring) "I'm cutting to 8% fat. The Tanaka brothers hit like trucks, I need to be a faster, smarter truck. Hana, you must program the Shift Switch into my nervous system! I'll drill the heavy bags for explosive power, 30 minutes, three times a week. Parents think I'm doing advanced 'math tutoring.' The camera's up, but we need that headgear. Cash box is light!"
Toshiro: (Flyweight, jabbing the air frantically) "Bantamweight! 8% fat! Muscle up! Kenji, you promised me hooks! And Yumi, your sprints! I'm telling my parents it's 'club meetings' and 'tutoring.' Date, can we paint '8% or Bust' on the wall?"
Date: (Laughing, but his eyes are serious) "Focus, Toshiro! No painting yet! Riku, what's our most critical drill?"
Riku: (Lightweight, hooking the bag, his body composed) "Sora's weaves. We're all cutting fat to gain functional muscle, but against the powerhouses, the Anti-Power Roll and Slip is essential. Three times a week, 20 minutes. My excuse is 'shop class' and 'part-time job.' The gang guy is still a threat. We stick to pairs outside the gym, even to buy snacks."
Sora: (Bantamweight, weaving on the mats) "I'm cutting to 8% fat and aiming for Featherweight. I'll take the lead on defense. Toshiro, I'll teach you the weave if you stop calling it 'dodgey-dodgey.' I need Kenji's hook power. Demos tomorrow with Yumi for more class signups—we need that money for headgear and pads!"
Date: "Correct. Classes, demos, market—that $7,800 is our fuel. Now, let's drill the first block: Speedsters on Power, Punchers on Speed, Technicians on Defense! We're not just training; we're recomposing our bodies into National Champions!"
The crew cheered, the music thumping. The bags began to swing violently, the weights clanking, the collective focus on their terrifying, six-month physical and mental transformation.
The Six-Month Training Blueprints
Here is the plan for the animation studio, detailing the core training commitment and the specialized cross-training required for the Nationals.
I. The Daily Commitment & Body Targets
The entire "Lot Legends" crew was now locked into a six-month, high-intensity recomposition plan, balancing the demands of school with the grueling physical transformation required for the Nationals. To maintain secrecy from their worried parents, every single member fabricated elaborate cover stories.
The Commitment and the Lie
While the rest of the crew committed to an intense seven-hour daily session (typically running from 3 PM to 10 PM after school), Date—the Light Welterweight lead—had escalated his training to a furious 10-hour daily grind. He rose at 4 AM and trained until 4 PM, hiding the exhaustion under the guise of "Extra Study" and "Tutoring" to keep his parents completely unaware of the brutality his body was enduring.
The other eight members masked their seven-hour commitment with mundane excuses:
Hana and Emi used academic or creative covers like "Study Group," "Art Club," or "Library Volunteering."
Aiko also used "Art Club" and "Extra Credit Research" to account for her Featherweight hours.
Kenji relied on his intelligence, citing demanding "Math Tutoring" and the "Computer Club."
Toshiro claimed to be swamped with "Club Meetings" and his "Volunteer Grill Team" work.
Yumi and Sora leveraged athletics with "Volleyball Tryouts" or "Track Practice" to explain their physical exhaustion.
Riku used a hands-on excuse: "Shop Class" and a "Part-Time Mechanic Helper" job.
The Scientific Body Recomposition Targets
To maximize performance in the gender-blind Nationals, the crew set scientifically precise, but physically punishing, body fat targets for the six months:
Male Athletes (Date, Kenji, Toshiro, Sora, Riku): These five were cutting from their starting 13-17% body fat down to an aggressive 8% to 9% body fat. This extreme leanness is necessary to maximize functional muscle and explosive power for their respective weight classes, from Featherweight to Light Welterweight.
Female Athletes (Hana, Aiko, Yumi, Emi): Recognizing the biological differences in fat storage, the girls were aiming for an elite athletic standard of 15% to 16% body fat. This target ensures they maximize lean muscle gain and speed while safely maintaining the necessary physiological functions, ready to compete at Flyweight, Bantamweight, or Featherweight.
II. The Cross-Training Modules (All 6 Days/Week)
This is the core of the Nationals prep, ensuring everyone is an all-around fighter, training outside their comfort zone.
A. Speed Specialists (Hana, Yumi, Sora) — The Power Conversion
Power Focus: 3x/week, 30 min Heavy Bags. Taught by Aiko (uppercuts) and Kenji (hooks). They lift the 50 kg weights 2x/week, focusing on explosive compound lifts to increase kinetic power.
Defense Focus: 3x/week, 20 min Defense Drills. Led by Date and Riku, focusing on the Vertical Dempsey Roll and defensive footwork against heavier opponents.
B. Punching Specialists (Aiko, Kenji, Toshiro) — The Velocity Injection
Speed Focus: 3x/week, 20 min Ladder Drills on the mats and 15 min Jump Rope Intervals. Taught by Hana (Shift Switch) and Yumi (endurance sprints).
Technique Focus: 3x/week, 20 min Slow-Motion Shadowboxing. Led by Riku and Emi to perfect the mechanics of the body hook and evasive rolls.
C. Technique Masters (Date, Emi, Riku) — The Physical Edge
Speed Focus: 3x/week, 20 min Sprint Drills on the mats and 15 min Jump Rope sessions. Taught by Hana and Yumi.
Power Focus: 3x/week, 30 min Heavy Bag Explosion. Applying their precise technique to power combos, led by Aiko and Kenji.
III. Sparring and Conditioning (The Unbreakable Will)
Ring Sparring (2x/week, 30 min): Unpredictable rotation across all weights and genders, simulating the Nationals challenge. They focus on adapting to the power of the Tanaka Brothers, the speed of Aya Mori, and the technique of Kenta Sato.
Core Endurance: Every day includes the "Lot Foundation" routine, now increased to 60 Push-ups, 6 sets of Bar Hangs, and dedicated Conditioning Runs to build the stamina for the brutal championship rounds.