JPN
The "world's cutest" Maki Ito and her Ito Respect Army have once again undertaken an outrageous training regimen. At the Toyota Gosei Memorial Gymnasium event on May 23rd (Inazawa City, Aichi Prefecture), Ito will challenge world champion Sayaka Kurei, and her protégé, Kian Furusawa, will challenge future champion Ranna Yagami. With the decisive battle fast approaching, what kind of training did they conduct this time, which was not open to the media?
It was like a scene from "Taiyo ni Hoero!", a classic police drama of the Showa era. Ito peered outside through a gap in the blinds, seemingly deep in thought. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he questioned Furusawa: "We lost the final preliminary battle. Do you understand what that means?"
When Furusawa, who had been summoned without being told the reason, asked with a puzzled expression, "What's going on?", his master answered firmly
"The title match is dangerous. We are in a very precarious position. So we need to get stronger."
In the Korakuen Hall event on May 17th, which was the last match before the Aichi tournament, Ito, Furusawa, Hazuki, and Koguma faced Kurei, AZM, Amasaki Mitsuyoshi, and Yagami. In the match, Furusawa was defeated by Kurei's Tokimeki Spear, and the team lost
Ito's questions continued
"How do you think we can win in the next six days?"
"Like practicing really hard..."
"You're being naive! Don't think practice will solve everything. Listen, hard work doesn't always pay off. There's no point in just practicing blindly!"
He then wrote the three characters "Mind, Technique, Body" on the whiteboard and asserted that the most efficient area to strengthen in a short period of time is "Mind." As I felt at the previous open practice session, Ito's lectures are incredibly persuasive and inspire the listeners
After explaining all of this, he lined up five small plates and said, "Today you'll be taking on a challenge with extremely spicy food!" He explained that he had prepared extremely spicy sauces from all over the world. It seemed that he had gone shopping in the Okubo area while waiting for Furusawa to arrive, and it appeared that he had been collecting these extremely spicy sauces. His quick thinking and agility in this regard is truly impressive
On the table were the flags of South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Bangladesh, and the United States, each with a small dish of red sauce. The rules of the training were simple: if you said "It's spicy," you lost. This meant you would lose in the actual title match as well
As soon as they dipped the nuggets in the super-spicy Korean sauce and took a bite, the two of them, with grim expressions, managed to eat them, saying, "It's too sweet! Is there honey in it?" and "Not at all. Is there maple syrup in it?" It would be endless to recreate all of their "food reviews," so I'll omit them, but as the spiciness gradually increased with the Japanese, Mexican, and Bangladeshi sauces, this kind of exchange continued endlessly. Ito gulped down milk saying, "I get thirsty because I sing when I enter," and Furusawa, who said, "This is just the beginning," had tears in his eyes. It had become a test of endurance
Even the super-spicy American sauce, considered the world's strongest, was overcome by Ito, who said, "Once you break through your limits, it becomes easier. I wonder if I was the one who set the limits. Once you break through, you enter the zone. In pro wrestling, you take on and take on and it looks like you're going to lose, but what you do after you enter the zone is what really matters." With that, he broke through once again. Neither of them gave up, and Ito said, "It was easy. I felt like this is what the world is like. Let's go to the next level," and the match was postponed to the second round
Next up was an 11-spice curry from a specialty curry shop. This was actually uncharted territory for Ito as well. Incidentally, when the shop assistant, concerned, asked him if he'd ever eaten something this spicy before, he reportedly boasted, "I eat it all the time, so it'll be fine!"
As soon as the two of them took a bite, something seemed off about Ito. With a pained expression, he muttered, "I wonder why I'm even doing pro wrestling..." Sensing something was wrong, Furusawa looked worried and asked, "Master?" But Ito just said things like, "I feel some kind of pressure...", "I'm starting to lose sight of why I'm doing this," "I'm starting to lose sight of why I'm doing pro wrestling," and "I'm going to cool my head for a bit," before leaving the conference room
When Furusawa followed him, he found his mentor in a completely dejected state. "I can't eat spicy food anymore. People always tell me I'm bad at pro wrestling, but I've been working hard for 10 years...I can't take it anymore! I don't know what to do," he said, in a state of confusion. He had been putting on a brave face up until now, but it seemed to have really taken a toll on him
Furusawa desperately tried to soothe her, saying, "Master, we've worked hard together for four months, haven't we?" but she wouldn't listen. Ito kept repeating to herself, "It's been tough for the past four months. But I didn't want to lose. I came here (to Stardom) with a do-or-die attitude, and ate spicy food... I don't understand it anymore, why am I doing this? I hate it. I want the red belt, but I have to eat spicy food..."
But Furusawa continued to try and persuade him. "Master, if you want the red belt, you have to eat spicy food too. You can only get the red belt after overcoming everything!"
Then, Ito gradually became emotional. "I know that! I feel insecure about not being able to overcome this obstacle! Everyone feels that way, right? Everyone has weaknesses. I don't think being a pro wrestler makes you strong or anything like that!" he yelled
What must Furusawa have been thinking as he watched his mentor like that? Just as he was about to try and persuade him again, saying, "But the Ito Respect Group is just getting started!", there was a sudden sound of footsteps and a voice echoing, "What's going on?" It was Rian, who happened to be passing by on another job!
Moreover, after hearing the story from the two, Rian volunteered, "If you're feeling so down, maybe I should eat you. What do you say?" To Ito and Furusawa, she must have seemed like a goddess. Ito then took advantage of the situation to ask, "What? You're going to join us?" but Rian calmly replied, "I don't know if I'm a friend, but I'll eat you." In any case, Ito was overjoyed and grateful for the arrival of this "savior," and finally regained his composure, saying, "Three heads are better than one."
They immediately joined Rian in taking on the 11-spice curry again. Rian, who proudly declared, "I've been eating nothing but super spicy food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," proved to be the real deal. "Yep, no problem. This is delicious." She even added various super spicy sauces from different countries and finished it all. Who knew she had such a special talent...?
Inspired by the challenge, Ito and Furusawa managed to finish their meals, and the special training session concluded successfully. Seeing Furusawa's solemn expression as he reflected, "Ultimately, what I want to say is gratitude for food. Gratitude for everyday life, gratitude for being able to do professional wrestling. Gratitude for being able to have a title match, gratitude for everything," it seems that the objective of "training the mind" was achieved in a sense
Ito said, "I'm sure the Ito Respect Army will gain even more momentum from here on out, and I'd like to thank our special supporter Rian for coming as well," before issuing a loud command, "On May 23rd, we're definitely going to take the belt!" The three of them raised their fists and shouted "Yeah!" And so, the grueling, yet indescribably intense, training came to an end