Ippo Makunouchi wakes up one morning to discover he's become a girl—and he's not the only one. At the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, the entire crew has been transformed: Takamura is now a stunning beauty, and a frantic blonde researcher named Marie from Italy's Florence Institute of Curse Studies arrives with a confession. A cursed trophy in the gym's basement has unleashed a gender-reversal curse on everyone present, and Marie's power alone can't undo it. To break the curse, they must heal the "sorrow"
Hajime no Ippo: The Gender-Swap Curse Chaos - Win MVP with a woman's body! Is the comeback move a premonition of love!?
The riverside wind stirred her long black hair.
Ippo leaned back against the wall of the old abandoned warehouse and let out a small breath. Miyata stood beside her.
"...So this is the place."
Ippo gave a small nod.
The place where the broker had summoned her that night. The place where she'd nearly been dragged outside the barrier.
The trophy wasn't here anymore. But there had to be clues left behind.
Ippo pulled the notepad she used for written conversation from her pocket.
'Let's search inside. They might have left something.'
Miyata peered at the notepad and gave a short "Yeah."
Together, the two of them pushed open the rusted iron door.
Giiii...
Damp air clung to their faces.
Inside was dim, the floor scattered with shards of glass and old lumber.
Ippo stepped carefully over the debris, moving deeper in.
(This is where I...)
That night flashed through her mind.
The broker's eerie smile.
The terror of nearly being dragged outside the barrier.
Ippo unconsciously clutched her own shoulder.
"...You okay?"
Miyata peered into Ippo's face.
Ippo hurriedly shook her head.
'I'm fine. Let's search.'
She wrote it on the notepad and showed it to Miyata.
Miyata stared at her face for a moment, then looked away.
"...Don't push yourself."
With just that, Miyata walked off toward a corner of the warehouse.
Ippo let out a breath of relief.
(I'm always making Miyata worry.)
Ippo pulled herself together and picked up something lying on the floor.
Old newspaper. An empty can. A broken wooden stick.
Nothing useful.
(Where on earth...)
That was when it happened.
"Ippo."
Miyata's low voice echoed through the warehouse.
Ippo looked up.
Miyata was crouched at the very back, against the wall.
Ippo jogged over to him.
Miyata pointed at a scrap of paper on the floor.
"...Look at this."
Ippo crouched beside him.
Miyata picked up the scrap.
It looked like a torn piece of some memo.
Miyata read aloud the writing on it.
"...'JBC Charity Exhibition, two weeks from now. Feminized specimen to be revealed in the ring. Curse researcher's credibility to be destroyed, after which the trophy will be sold at a high price.'"
Ippo's eyes went wide.
(The JBC Charity Exhibition...)
The Japan Boxing Commission—JBC for short. The governing body that oversees professional boxing matches.
They were going to put her—feminized—in the ring there...?
"...'Feminized specimen'—that's you, isn't it."
Unable to speak, Ippo bit her lip hard instead.
(They're going to make a spectacle of me...!)
Her body trembled with rage.
"...That's not all."
Miyata showed Ippo the back of the scrap.
A rough map had been scribbled there.
"...Do you recognize this place? It's their hideout. Looks like an abandoned factory."
Ippo stared at the map.
It indicated the abandoned factory district in the north of Kamogawa Ward.
(The trophy is here...)
With trembling hands, Ippo wrote on the notepad.
'Let's go. We're taking the trophy back.'
Miyata looked at the notepad.
Then he looked straight into Ippo's eyes and said:
"...Yeah. Let's go."
Miyata's voice was quiet.
But in his eyes burned a strong light.
When they returned to the gym, Kumi was waiting at the entrance.
"Ippo-kun!"
The moment Kumi spotted Ippo, her face lit up and she came running.
"Welcome back. ...Oh, Miyata-san too."
Kumi gave Miyata a small bow.
"...Yeah."
Miyata returned a slight nod.
"I made dinner. You must be hungry, right? Let's eat together?"
Kumi reached for Ippo's hand.
Ippo gently pulled away.
(Now's not the time for that.)
Ippo took out the notepad.
'Kumi-san, thank you. But right now, there's something I need to talk about.'
Kumi read the notepad and tilted her head.
"...Something to talk about?"
Ippo nodded and went inside the gym.
In the center of the gym, Marie, Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura had gathered.
Ippo stood before everyone, Miyata at her side.
"Hey, Ippo. What's with the serious face?"
Takamura looked at Ippo, arms crossed.
Ippo copied the contents of the memo she'd found onto the notepad.
'We know what the broker's after. They're planning to put me in the ring at the JBC Charity Exhibition.'
Ippo showed the notepad to everyone.
"Wha—what!?"
Aoki let out a startled yelp.
"The JBC Charity Exhibition—that's the one where all the famous boxers gather...!?"
Kimura's eyes were wide too.
"Yes. ...And they're planning to make a spectacle of Ippo-san there."
Marie's face had gone pale.
"...And destroy my credibility. ...That way, no one will believe a word I say as a curse researcher. ...So they can sell the trophy without anyone interfering."
Marie gripped the hem of her skirt tightly.
"...I won't forgive this."
Kumi murmured in a trembling voice.
"Using Ippo-kun like that... I absolutely won't forgive it...!"
Tears spilled from Kumi's large eyes.
"...Kumi-san."
Ippo called Kumi's name with a voiceless voice.
"...So, Ippo. What are you going to do?"
Takamura stared at Ippo.
Ippo wrote on the notepad.
'We're raiding the hideout. Taking the trophy back.'
"...Good. Straight to the point."
Takamura grinned.
"I'm coming too."
"I'll come as well."
"We're coming too!"
"Of course."
One after another, everyone volunteered.
"...Wait."
Kumi tugged at Ippo's sleeve.
"I'm coming too."
Ippo looked at Kumi in surprise.
'No. It's dangerous.'
Ippo wrote that on the notepad.
"It's just as dangerous for you, Ippo-kun!"
Kumi's voice rose.
"I'm sick of just watching! You're suffering, and I can't just wait somewhere safe by myself!"
Kumi's tears wouldn't stop.
"I want to protect you! There has to be something I can do too! Please, take me with you!"
Kumi gripped Ippo's hand with both of hers.
Ippo felt the trembling of Kumi's hands.
(Kumi-san...)
Ippo's chest tightened.
(I'm the one making Kumi-san wear that face.)
Ippo wrote on the notepad.
'All right. But promise me—absolutely no recklessness.'
Kumi read the notepad and nodded over and over.
"...Yeah! I promise!"
Kumi wiped her tears and smiled.
That night, Kumi stayed over at the gym.
"Ippo-kun, is it okay to put the futon here?"
Kumi laid out a futon in the corner of the gym.
'Thank you. But Kumi-san, you should go home.'
Ippo wrote on the notepad.
"No. I'm staying by your side."
Kumi shook her head.
"So I can help right away if anything happens."
Kumi sat down beside Ippo.
"...Besides."
Kumi glanced at Ippo's face.
"Ever since you turned into a girl, Ippo-kun, you've been so beautiful... ...Oh, no, that's not it! That's not what I meant!"
Kumi's face went bright red as she waved her hands frantically.
Ippo blinked, bewildered.
(What's wrong with Kumi-san?)
"A-anyway! I'm staying by your side, Ippo-kun! Is there anything you want to eat? I'll make it next time!"
Kumi forcibly changed the subject.
Ippo wrote on the notepad.
'I'd like the tamagoyaki you make, Kumi-san.'
"Tamagoyaki! Yeah, leave it to me! I'll make it tomorrow morning!"
Kumi smiled happily.
The night deepened.
Ippo lay on the futon.
Beside her, Kumi was breathing softly in her sleep.
(Kumi-san...)
Ippo looked at Kumi's sleeping face.
Long eyelashes.
Soft-looking cheeks.
(She hasn't changed since we were kids.)
Ippo remembered Kumi from their childhood.
Always following behind Ippo.
A crybaby, and spoiled.
But whenever Ippo was being bullied, she always came to help.
(This time, I have to protect Kumi-san.)
Ippo swore it in her heart.
That was when it happened.
"...Ippo...kun."
Kumi called Ippo's name like she was talking in her sleep.
Ippo looked at Kumi's face.
Kumi seemed to still be asleep.
"...I love you..."
Kumi's lips moved slightly.
Ippo's heart jumped.
(...Huh?)
Ippo doubted her own ears.
(What did Kumi-san just say...?)
Ippo's heart began to pound loudly.
(No, it's sleep talk. It has to be sleep talk.)
Ippo told herself that.
But Kumi's one word wouldn't leave her head.
Ippo couldn't sleep, and morning came.
The next morning.
Tension hung in the gym.
"...All right. Let's go over the plan."
Takamura looked around at everyone.
"I'll charge in from the front. ...Aoki, Kimura, you two back me up."
"Yeah!"
"Leave it to us!"
"Marie, use your curse sensing to find the trophy's exact location."
"Yeah, I know."
Marie took a pendulum from her leather bag.
"Miyata, you go with Ippo and take a separate route to recover the trophy."
"...Understood."
Miyata nodded quietly.
"...Kumi."
Takamura looked at Kumi.
"Yes!"
Kumi straightened her back.
"You're Marie's guard. ...Got it? Absolutely no recklessness."
"...I know."
Kumi nodded slightly.
"...Ippo."
Ippo looked up at Takamura.
"...You're the one most likely to do something reckless. ...Since you can't speak, keep a close eye on your surroundings."
Ippo gave a small nod.
'It's okay. I'll do this.'
Ippo wrote that on the notepad.
"...All right. Let's move."
The group headed for the abandoned factory district in the north of Kamogawa Ward.
The abandoned factory was surrounded by a tall chain-link fence.
"...Here it is."
Marie raised the pendulum.
It began to sway.
"...I'm getting a reaction from the trophy. ...No doubt about it. ...It's inside."
Marie's voice was trembling.
"...Got it. ...Let's go."
Takamura put his hand on the fence.
That was when it happened.
"...Hold it right there."
A man in a black coat appeared from the factory entrance.
The curse broker.
"...So you came. ...I'll take on all of you at once."
The broker smiled eerily.
"...Fine by me."
Takamura stepped forward.
"...Aoki, Kimura! Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
"Right!"
The three charged into the factory.
"...I'm coming too!"
Kumi pulled Marie by the hand and followed.
Ippo and Miyata chased after them.
Inside the factory was dim, filled with a musty smell.
"...Where are you! Come out!"
Takamura shouted.
His voice echoed through the factory.
"...Fufufu. ...Don't be in such a hurry."
The broker's voice came from everywhere at once.
"...Your opponents are these guys."
In that instant, several men appeared from the back of the factory.
The broker's henchmen.
"...Out of my way."
Takamura threw a punch at one of the henchmen.
Doga!
The henchman went flying.
"...As expected of a former world champion."
The broker clapped.
"...But that ends here."
The broker pulled something from his coat.
It was a small pouch filled with black powder.
"...This is curse-medium powder. ...Once you're covered in it, your body won't move freely."
The broker hurled the pouch at Takamura.
"...Kh!"
Takamura instinctively shielded his face with his arm.
But the powder rained down over his whole body.
"...Wha...what...?"
Takamura's body suddenly lurched.
"...My body's going numb..."
Takamura dropped to his knees.
"...T-Takamura-san!"
Aoki shouted.
"...Fufu. ...The curse-medium powder reacts to curse power. ...All of you are under a curse, after all. ...Especially you—you seem to react strongly."
The broker looked down at Takamura.
"...Damn it...!"
Takamura struggled to stand.
But his body wouldn't obey.
"...Now then, the nuisances are dealt with."
The broker turned toward Ippo.
"...I've prepared a special stage for you. ...The JBC Charity Exhibition. ...A public showing of a feminized former pro boxer... ...The public will eat it up."
The broker approached Ippo.
Ippo backed away.
"...Ippo!"
Miyata stepped in front of Ippo.
"...You stay back."
Miyata glared sharply at the broker.
"...Ho. ...So you're the one from that time."
The broker sized Miyata up.
"...But you're under the curse's influence too. ...It's useless."
The broker pulled out another pouch.
"...Like I'd let you."
Miyata lunged at the broker.
"...Too slow."
The broker nimbly dodged.
Then he threw the pouch at Miyata.
"...Kh!"
Miyata was covered in the powder too.
"...Gh...!"
Miyata crumpled to the floor.
"...Miyata-san!"
Kumi screamed.
"...This is t
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