In the Jungle Arc

In the Jungle Arc
Information
Volumes	89-93, (5 Volumes)
Manga Rounds	856-897, (42 Chapters)
Chronology
Previous	Second Coming of Death Arc
Next	Chronos Arc (World Contender Saga)

The In the Jungle Arc, also known as "The Wonder of a Wild Child Arc", is the thirty-eighth story arc in the series and the fifth in the Survival Match of Asian Champions Saga.

Ippo's final national champion to beat in his path in becoming the unofficial OPBF champion is against the young featherweight Indonesian champion, Wally. Wally's trainer, Miguel Zale, who was also trainer of Bryan Hawk, gives a warning to Kamogawa about his and Ippo's future after the match.

Summary

The Genius Boxer and the Famous Trainer

Kamogawa's encouragement for the gym members to remember that they are boxers 24 hours a day.

While Ippo is doing roadwork, Itagaki notices that Ippo has been motivated by Miyata and Mashiba's matches. Ippo claims that it includes his match as well. Ippo asks him what he thinks the difference between each other are. Itagaki thinks it is Ippo being a champion and him a ranker, however, Ippo explains that it is their ages, and that since he is older, he had the chance of becoming a champion before him, adding that being older doesn't make him better as there are things he can't do that Itagaki can, expressing how he is glad he doesn't have to fight Itagaki. Itagaki is excited to hear that, telling Ippo that he should be just as honest with Kumi, making Ippo down. When Ippo and Itagaki go to the Kamogawa gym, they see Aoki and Kimura sparring each other to prepare for the Class A Tournament. Itagaki comments how he can't tell if they are sparing or brawling, making Aoki and Kimura irritated and thinking that Itagaki is acting uppity because he won a match, claiming that because they are older, it makes them better than Itagaki. Kamogawa and Yagi approaches the group and tells the gym members that he will not be in the gym for a while, so he tells them that it is true that their every day efforts are what allow them to make progress, however, the opposite is true as well, as their every day efforts are what defines their weaknesses, so he advises them to remember that they are a boxer 24 hours a day, and to keep in mind on things they lack and need. Kamogawa reveals that Ippo has an upcoming match. Yagi explains that it is the undefeated Indonesian champion with only three matches in his record. Kamogawa notes that he is an unrivalled genius, and that with the video their side sent, he can only say it is a nice place, confusing Ippo. Before leaving the gym, Kamogawa tells everyone the Class A Tournament group and Ippo have matches in two months.

Ippo watching a video of Wally.

Yagi shows Ippo, Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki the video that the Indonesian champion's side sent, however, it seemingly only showed nature shots with monkeys, and the champion not present anywhere in it. After Ippo took the video with him and left, Yagi expresses to the gym members about the concern that Kamogawa has about the person who sent the video. At the Makunouchi Fishing Boat, Ippo inspects the video, discovering that a man was among those monkeys. At the Pension Yoshio, Kamogawa talks with Nekota and informs him that the Indonesian champion's trainer is the same trainer that trained Bryan Hawk and someone that they knew in the past: Miguel Zale. Ippo reports his findings to Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki, predicting that the champion is a fast fighter with great punches. Ippo finds out from Itagaki that the champion's trainer is Miguel, who he remembers from Takamura's match against Hawk, and is a world famous trainer that trained six world champions.

Miguel and Wally in Indonesia.

After a training session of having the Indonesian champion Wally doing jump roping and dodging rocks, the villagers are worried about Wally's chances of winning and him getting hurt, however, Miguel tells them that he doesn't even need to win his next match and that it is impossible to not get hurt in boxing, especially against his next opponent, Ippo, who he deems strong. Miguel adds that Wally is capable of becoming a world champion one day, mentioning to Wally that if he does become world champion, he can achieve his dream of wanting others to not mess with nature, as he will gain the world's attention and be able to spread his word. Wally claims that Miguel is a great teacher and that it is okay if he loses as long as he learns more, as he loves boxing. When the villagers get worried again as Miguel claims that experience is more important even if he loses, Miguel points out that he never anything about him losing.

"You're a Boxer 24 Hours a Day"

Yagi encouraging the Class A Trio to win the Class A Tournament.

Wishing to observe how monkeys act in their natural habitat, Ippo goes to the Shimono Zoo, however, the monkeys there are not active. Ippo is approached by Mari, and he tells her about his upcoming match. While Ippo is worried, Mari claims that Ippo and Wally are at even ground since they both have a famous trainer, which raises Ippo's spirits. At the Kamogawa gym, the Class A Tournament brackets have been announced. Aoki and Kimura have mixed feelings about their first opponent since they are fighting the same person who made them lose the tournament last time, with Aoki facing Itō Jackal, and Kimura facing Takeshi Ryūzaki. Itagaki is excited to face Karasawa, and possibly Saeki in the finals if he wins. Itagaki notes that if he wins against two boxers who have had title matches, his reputation will go through the roof. Aoki and Kimura become fired up when Shinoda mentions that this is their chance to get revenge and show that they have changed.

Ippo, Aoki, Kimura, Itagaki doing roadwork while remembering Kamogawa's words of being a boxer 24 hours a day.

After Kimura spars with Itagaki, Aoki spars with Ippo. Afterwards, Ippo, Itagaki, and Kimura take a shower while Aoki is resting due to not feeling good. The three believe that if the gym's boxers win the Class A Tournament, the gym will become more popular too, wanting to pay the gym back for taking care of them. Walking away from the gym, Ippo tells Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki how he still can't do anything about his match with Wally since Kamogawa isn't at the gym, but plans on remembering Kamogawa's quote before he left. Ippo, Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura train and work at their jobs while remembering how Kamogawa told them to always remember that they are a boxer 24 hours a day. Later, Aoki and Kimura decides to join in on Ippo and Itagaki's morning roadwork routine, however, they become exhausted during their attempt. Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki notices how Ippo, despite not being any faster than them, is able to pass them. Itagaki notes how Ippo can keep doing the same things in the same pace for a long time, which makes it like his talent. At the Kawai Hospital, Tomiko mentions to Kumi how Aoki has been acting like an animal. Kumi thinks of Ippo as a herbivore, keeping to himself, while Tomiko sees Ippo as a cobra hiding in a turtle shell. Kumi claims that he never seems to go after things and act like an animal, wondering if she isn't appetising to him, however, Tomiko points out that she was just talking about the way he fights. Later, while Ippo, Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura are doing roadwork, Itagaki notices that Aoki and Kimura are keeping up with them now. Takamura suddenly joins them on their roadwork, passing all four of them as Kamogawa watches from afar.

The Monkey and the White Wolf

Wally sparring against Volg.

A month before the match against Wally, Kamogawa has Ippo train to stop the champion from going in circles around Ippo by trapping him in a corner and using combinations and body blows to keep him there. In Indonesia, Miguel and Wally leaves the island after Wally tried to take monkeys with him. On a boat, Wally realises that his island looks small but pretty from afar. Wally plans to protect the sea and his friends, and make it so that the sea stays beautiful. Miguel tells Wally that before going to Japan, they will be going to New York in the United States of America for some sparring. When they get to a gym, Wally spars with the WBA junior lightweight first ranker Volg. During the spar, Wally acknowledges how strong Volg is, as Wally's attacks get blocked and dodged. When Wally gets pushed to a corner, Wally uses his reflexes and momentum on the ropes to escape from the corner and Wally and Volg hit each other in a dual exchange. Volg stops the spar afterwards, as he does not want to get serious. Volg thinks that one day, Wally will become world famous. Volg calls Ippo to tell him what happened, while Volg's trainer, Dankichi calls Kamogawa to do the same. Ippo and Kamogawa are shocked after hearing them say that the corner is where he is most effective. Despite the warning, Kamogawa theorises that the final showdown will still be at the corner, where Ippo will hit him with a body blow to stop him from running circles around Ippo. Elsewhere, Miguel and Wally arrives to Japan.

Ippo getting forcefully hugged in his first meeting with Wally at the weigh-in.

When the weigh-in between Ippo and Wally arrives, Fujii and Mari goes to the Kōrakuen Hall. Fujii is uninterested due to Wally only having a record of three matches against a world ranker, seeing no chance of Wally winning. When Mari claims that Miguel is the one who picked Wally to be his boxer to train, Fujii can only think about why a famous trainer like Miguel would agree to a reckless fight. When Fujii and Mari enters the weigh-in room, they get shocked to see Wally hugging Ippo and Miguel hugging Kamogawa against their will. Wally gives Ippo one of his bananas, which Ippo thinks tastes good. Kamogawa yells at him for eating it since he thinks that they put something in those bananas, but Miguel reassures him that they didn't. Feeling bad that he ate the bananas and had nothing to give back, Wally insists that Ippo will give him something the next day. Leaving the venue with Yagi, Ippo gives his opinion of Wally that he is strong, being similar to Volg and Sendō.

Kamogawa and Miguel talking about their past and Miguel's discovery of Wally.

Miguel goes to the ring with Wally, as he wanted to get a feel of the ring's ropes. Kamogawa approaches him with Mari as his interpreter, wanting to confirm if Miguel was Ralph Anderson's second and raised Kamogawa's hand after defeating him. Miguel confirms that he was, which was why he greeted Kamogawa warmly and realises that it is no wonder why Takamura defeated Hawk. As Miguel claims that Wally is his last sun, Kamogawa asks if he met Wally the same way he heard that he found Hawk. Miguel explains how he found Wally after seeing him on a television program, and that he will be seeking Kamogawa's appraisal of his last sun after the match. When Kamogawa leaves, Wally notes that Kamogawa must have been strong, which Miguel confirms, claiming that his blood runs through Takamura and that he doubts that there is anyone left in Japan that is capable of making the impossible possible through sheer will like he could. However, Wally disagrees, as he could smell the same scent that Kamogawa has on Ippo. Leaving the venue, Kamogawa gives a comment to Mari that the match has his blood pumping.

In the Jungle - Main Event - Japanese Champion Ippo Makunouchi vs. Indonesian Champion Wally

Ippo and Wally enter the ring.

On the day of the match between Ippo and Wally, Ippo leaves the Makunouchi Fishing Boat as Hiroko notices that Ippo is more calm and intensified than usual. Ippo feels very excited for the match, and feels the same as a felt before his match against Sendō, as if his body is aching to fight against Wally. At the Kōrakuen Hall, Aoki, Kimura, Itagaki, and Takamura are in the audience area, and Takamura wonders why Ippo is hyped up over someone who only fought in three matches. In Ippo's room, Ippo is imagining fighting Wally in his head by using how Miyata fights. In Wally's room, Wally takes a liking for his new ring entrance costume and keeps trying to eat a banana despite the many times Miguel tells him to stop. As the match is about to begin, Ippo and Wally enter the ring.

Ippo's attack being dodged by Wally in his Freedom Style.

Just as the match begins, Wally dashes forward with a punch, which Ippo deflects. Ippo proceeds to block every punch Wally quickly throws. Knowing that that would not be enough to worry Volg, Ippo decides to come after Wally and trap him into going to the ropes. When Ippo tries to stop Wally's movements with a body blow, Wally flees from the ropes. Ippo throws a long ranged hook at the fleeing Wally, who attempts to dodge, but Ippo's pinky hit his jaw, causing him to go down. Miguel had to tell him to stand up and let the referee know that he can continue, as he did not know what to do since he never has been downed before. After Wally gets up, Miguel shouts "freedom" to him, giving up on trying to use the match as a learning experience for his boxing, making him use his Freedom style instead. Ippo rushes toward him and notices his stance has dropped. Ippo's attacks are then dodged by Wally's new style, and Ippo is hit in unusual angles until the end of the first round. In Ippo's corner, Kamogawa reflects how Ippo's training that he did when he was supposed to go against Miyata is finally showing, since he braces him self after throwing a punch in anticipation of a counter, making him able to deal with punches from unexpected angles. As Ippo gets up as the second round is about to begin, Kamogawa advises Ippo to get used to Wally's odd style, even if he has to take punches to burn it to his body. In Wally's corner, Wally notices that Ippo is different when he fights, which Miguel points out that that is what a professional means, advising him to study that part of him. As Wally leaves for round two, Miguel instructs him to keep using Freedom style.

Ippo chasing Wally.

In the second round, Ippo realises that he won't be able to hit Wally at the centre of the ring, so he plans to get him to the corner. Ippo leads him to the ropes by throwing punches that miss. Rushing forward with his Peek-a-Boo Style to begin his attack at the ropes, Ippo's Peek-a-Boo guard gets broken with a Smash, which also hits the unsuspecting Ippo's jaw. Ippo begins to move forward again, as Wally enters the Hitman Style's stance and uses Flicker Jabs. Ippo blocks the jabs until he gets close to Wally, but he is unable to hit him as Wally evades the attack. Ippo motions a bob and weave motion, dodging more Flicker Jabs and then trapping Wally into a corner by using a zigzag strategy, however, the second round ends right as Ippo gets Wally into a corner. In Ippo's corner, Ippo informs Kamogawa of his prediction that Wally will be pushed into the red corner, as he notices a habit of Wally's, that he always jumps to the right. In Wally's corner, Wally is asked by Miguel if he noticed anything about the way Ippo chased him down, to which Wally replies that he has to study him more.

Ippo witnessing Wally's rope technique.

In the third round, Ippo goes through with his plan to trap Wally into a corner. When Ippo gets Wally to jump right into the corner, he is surprised when Wally does not appear in the corner, as Wally grabs onto the ropes and flings himself behind Ippo, hitting him. Seeing it a second time causes Ippo to panic and get hit. Ippo is unable to get him into the corner for some time as Wally's movements proves to be unpredictable and he is getting hit by unorthodox punches at the same time. Ippo manages to get him into the corner after throwing a big swing while Wally is at the ropes. However, Ippo's punches get swiftly dodged at the corner and Ippo gets hit by a counter that causes him to stare blankly and almost falls before catching himself. With Ippo at the corner, Ippo throws a punch at a charging Wally's guard, pushing him back, with the momentum almost causing Ippo to fall. As Wally puts himself in front of the corner, Ippo remembers hearing from Volg that the corner is where Wally is most effective. Ippo charges to the corner to attack Wally. Wally goes behind Ippo and counters him. Ippo then uses a Cross-Arm Block to block Wally's attacks. The third round ends as Wally pries the block open. At Ippo's corner, Ippo is advised to hit Wally when he comes toward him, which Ippo takes as Kamogawa wanting him to trade hits with Wally. At Wally's corner, Wally tells Miguel how his arms stung when he blocked a desperate right, making him unable to finish him, however, he claims that they were better now.

Ippo first small milestone of tapping Wally's body for the first time.

When the fourth round begins, Ippo's attacks are unable to reach the agile Wally. Miguel decides to have Wally switch from the defensive to offensive by shouting "go", wanting him to win rather than just study. Wally switches to a more offensive style, which makes Ippo confident that he will be able to trade hits. However, Ippo is the only one getting hit as he could not land a hit on Wally. Near the end of the fourth round, Ippo hits a small milestone of touching Wally's body for the first time with his fist. After the fourth round, Ippo goes to the corner smiling form his small achievement, wishing to aim for bigger targets later one step at a time, starting with tapping Wally's body five times. In Wally's corner, Miguel notes to Wally that Ippo's natural-born toughness and ability to throw his opponents' punches off targeting by diving in is what is causing him to be able to take damage. He warns Wally to not let his guard down against Ippo's punch that tapped his body even if it wasn't effective. In the fifth round, Ippo, while getting brutally hit, manages to tap Wally's body five times. Ippo is then beaten in the corner until the fifth match ends, with Yagi catching his fall with the chair, thanks to his chair skills. Ippo is instructed to touch Wally six times in the sixth round. Miguel notices Wally's expression changing as if he is ready to end the match. As Wally leaves for round six, he claims that Miguel hit his leg with the stool, which Miguel confusedly apologises for.

Kamogawa telling Ippo that his goal is to take Wally down.

In the sixth round, Ippo completes his goal of touching Wally six times, getting hit in the process many times. Ippo hits Wally's block with a punch that made him fly back to the corner. Ippo approaches Wally at the corner and gets hit, leaving Ippo barely hanging onto the ropes. Ippo then throws a big swing at Wally, who jumps backwards and stumbles upon landing. The sixth round immediately ends after, and, at the corner, Ippo asks Kamogawa for the next goal. Ippo is told to throw only punches that can take Wally down. In Wally's corner, Miguel tells Wally that Ippo's spirit may be strong and unbreakable, however, he can still sever his consciousness by aiming at the side of his temple. As Wally goes out for the seventh round and claims that his leg got hit by the stool again, Miguel couldn't help but think of seeing the same exact situation before a long time ago where he saw a man that won't stop no matter how hopeless the situation is. In round seven, Ippo begins throwing only punches with all his power into it, however, they don't land until Wally tries to use his footwork to dodge but couldn't, making Ippo's punches land on his guard. After Ippo lands an uppercut on Wally's one handed guard, both boxers hit each other in an exchange, with Wally being worse off. Ippo lands another hit going through Wally's guard, making him go to the ropes. The seventh round ends afterwards. Before the eighth round begins, Kamogawa orders Ippo that his next goal will be to take down Wally. At Wally's corner, Miguel is shocked to discover that it was the body blows that seemed to not have done anything at first, as he saw the mark of the Tekken on Wally's body. He realised that Takamura was not the one who inherited Kamogawa's will as his last sun, but Ippo. Miguel's advice for Wally as he left for the eighth round is to study hard.

Ippo defeating Wally.

In the eighth round, Ippo and Wally have a slug fest in the middle of the ring, which ends when Wally gets hit with a liver blow. Wally willingly backs up to a corner, which Ippo responds by approaching him while doing the Dempsey Roll's motion. Ippo uses the Dempsey Roll's motion to make Wally unable to escape the corner. Both boxers stop moving, and Ippo lands a liver blow. Ippo then lands a right, which triggers Miguel into throwing the towel into the ring as Wally falls. The referee signals an end to the match, resulting in Ippo's victory as he falls as well. As Wally walks out of the ring, he acknowledges that he now knows how painful boxing can be, however, he realises for the first time that boxing can be fun. Ippo wakes up in his waiting room and tells his curious gym mates how he thought he saw a bird flying at the end, which he realises was just the towel Miguel threw, and that he thinks Wally is amazing. After Ippo leaves the room, Takamura makes fun of Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki for being excited after seeing Ippo win and then beat Aoki and Kimura after they claim that genius types like Takamura are afraid of seeing the results of hard work.

Headed Towards a Great Disaster

Miguel warning Kamogawa that both him and Ippo are headed towards a great disaster.

Miguel talks to Kamogawa in the venue's halls. Miguel gives Kamogawa a bunch of bananas as gift to him and Ippo from Wally, and claims that Ippo is a splitting image of Kamogawa with his stubbornness, however, he adds that that strength will be his downfall, as the both of them are headed towards a great disaster. Kamogawa asks what he means by that, and Miguel explains that when his boxers faced Takamura and Ippo, he thought that Kamogawa should have thrown the towel as he would not be able to take that much since he has seen many times when a second chooses to let their fight hang on which resulted in a terrible accident. As Miguel comments that he wouldn't want to see his own fighter become broken, Kamogawa claims that he trained his fighter to be better than that. Kamogawa wishes for Miguel to pass a message to Wally to not let a single loss bring down his spirits, however, Miguel thinks that it is unnecessary, as the sun will rise again since he is his last sun. Before Miguel takes off, he tells Kamogawa that when they meet again, he will show what Wally is truly capable of when he is fully developed and hopes for Kamogawa to stick around to see the day that both of their suns shine their light down on the world stage. After getting out of Kamogawa's sight he can't hold his worry about Wally since it is his first loss and he might not want to box again due to being too hurt. However, he is shocked that Wally does not want to go back to his island, instead he wants to go with Miguel to New York and fight who ever he wants, wanting to meet and learn from other boxers, and have Miguel take him to the world stage.

Ippo imagining himself in a jungle.

Ippo goes back to the ring, imagining how the ring looks as a jungle of which he thought he was in during the match. Ippo acknowledges how Wally looked forward to fighting him and wonders if he met his expectations. He then believes that one day, he will look back on the match and think that it was fun. As Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki gets encouraged to win the Class A Tournament, Kamogawa expresses his excitement for it as well. Shinoda tells them to follow on Ippo's lead.

Trivia

• "The Wonder of a Wild Child Arc" (驚異の野生児編) name taken from Best Bout book Wally VS. Ippo Makunouchi.