Grand Bout

The Grand Bout, also known as the Village Games, are an important tradition of Ishigami Village, held once per generation to elect the new Village Chief.

Description

The games are set up as a martial arts tournament, where participants duel each other in a 1v1 fighting format. The winner of each bout will move up the ladder to face another opponent, until there is only one remaining winner left, who succeeds as village chief. The village games are hosted on a stadium on the peninsula next to the Ishigami Village buildings. Jasper was the referee for the last two bouts that were held, with Chrome as the future referee should they be held again.

History

Roughly two decades prior to Senku's arrival to Ishigami village, the Grand Bout of that generation was held. In this event, Kokuyo resulted victorious, after defeating Jasper in the final match. He took the chief seat after marrying the priestess, a woman who was never named, and who passed away sometime while her daughters Ruri and Kohaku were teens.^[1]

This Grand Bout, with Ruri's hand in marriage as the prize, had Magma for the strongest contender, that is, if Kohaku hadn't participated. Kohaku joined solely to defeat him and protect her sister, since he had no intention to take care of her and even considered killing her.^[2] As per the rules, Jasper was the referee in this event.

Given the whole event didn't come to a satisfactory conclusion, it was held again by the time Senku was on the final stages of synthesizing antibiotics for Ruri.^[3]

Rules

There are seven rules that must be upheld during the Grand Bout.^[4]

1. Anyone over the age of 14 and unmarried can participate.
2. The winner marries the current priestess and becomes the village chief.
3. Matches are decided by either surrendering, leaving the ring, or when the combatant is incapacitated.
4. Bladed weapons and projectiles are forbidden.
5. Attacks from spectators are forbidden.
6. Punishment for infractions will fit the crime.
7. The runner-up from the last tournament will serve as referee and enforce the rules.

Summary

The Grand Bout was Senku's first entry into Ishigami Village. With the help of Chrome, Kohaku, Ginro and Kinro, Senku aimed to rig and win the games so that he could recruit more villagers to the Kingdom of Science and be able to cure Ruri.

The plan was to train Ginro and Kinro's spearwork to a level at which they could defeat Magma, while also enlisting as many people into the bout as possible to give them as many opportunities as possible to either wear down their opponents or win. Ideally, they wanted Chrome to win, however Chrome is not a skilled fighter so they decided to better those who were already good at combat to improve their chances. Despite this, Chrome still trained by himself so he could at least tire Magma out slightly if he fought him.^[5]

Kohaku's participation wasn't denied since it was never stated in the rules that women couldn't take part, and these rules were considered sacred and immutable.^[6] Senku additionally concocted basic performance enhancers to give the fighters a boost during their fights,^[7] as well as participated himself, given the rules also didn't state that foreigners couldn't join.^[8]

In the end, the Bout was won by Senku unintentionally after Chrome had passed out from exertion and relief at the Kingdom of Science team's win. Thus, Senku succeeded the previous chief, Kokuyo. Initially, there was some dissent from the villagers as Senku was an outsider, however as "the gods themselves saw [Senku] win the tournament" the villagers ceded. ^[9]

Results

Quarterfinals

Matchup	Result	Summary
Kinro vs Magma	Magma win	Kinro and Magma seem evenly matched initially, until Magma backs off slightly, making it harder for Kinro to see him clearly. Magma gets one big hit in, slamming Kinro into the floor. Suika throws her helmet/glasses to Kinro, who puts it on, improving his eyesight slightly. Kinro dodges several hits from Magma, retaliating with a barrage of blows that has Magma on his knees. Kinro feels obligated to ask Jasper if the helmet is a violation of the rules, to which Jasper responds it's not. Magma takes the opportunity and hits Kinro over the head, cracking the helmet into pieces and knocking Kinro out, allowing him to win.
Mantle vs Chrome	Chrome win	Chrome and Mantle trade blows that don't appear to be doing much damage to either party. Magma, upon noticing Kohaku returning, tells Mantle to throw the fight. Mantle rolls onto his back and forfeits, giving Chrome the win.
Senku vs Kohaku	Senku win	Kohaku didn't make it back in time so Senku automatically advanced.
Ginro vs Argo	Ginro win	Ginro powers up using the raw ingredients from Senku's performance enhancers. Argo and Ginro take turns rapidly hitting the other, resulting in Argo taking a heavy hit to the stomach [10] and Ginro taking severe cosmetic damage. Ginro wins after poking Argo off the edge of the arena.

Semifinals

Matchup	Result	Summary
Magma vs Chrome	Chrome win	Chrome starts with a jab to Magma's "weak spot", but before any damage is done, Magma beats him to the floor. Magma whales on Chrome mercilessly. Chrome crouches over a piece of Suika's helmet, pooling his sweat onto the lens while Magma continues beating him. Magma and Chrome have an extended standoff while Gen casts his "spell" to force Magma to stand still and Chrome steadies the lens. The surface of Magma's clothing ignites, causing him to back off towards the edge of the cliff. Chrome deals the final blow directly at Magma's "weak spot", pushing Magma off the edge.
Senku vs Ginro	Senku win	Ginro starts wildly swinging his spear while Senku dodges. Chrome rolls what's left of Suika's helmet to Senku, who uses it as a fulcrum for his spear. Senku steps on his end of the spear, multiplying its speed and hitting directly between Ginro's legs, downing him.

Final

Matchup	Result	Summary
Senku vs Chrome	Senku win	Chrome is passed out from exertion and relief, making Senku win automatically.

Trivia

• The Grand Bout is a tradition of Ishigami village with unknown origin. The fact that the current day population of Treasure Island does not have this tradition, nor even priestesses and chiefs,^[11] may indicate it was developed by the Ishigami ancestors after they made landfall in the Japanese mainland; on the other hand there is also the possibility that the islanders did at some point have a societal structure like Ishigami village, but it made a change to a solely patriarchal society later on.
• The future of the Grand Bout is uncertain though if it were to be held, the rules state that Chrome would be the referee. Senku taking the chief seat, while deserved from the outcome of the Grand Bout, was also a decision taken by Kokuyo^[12] and Ruri^[13], and unlike tradition, she remained unmarried. This partially defeated the purpose of the competition, and given it is highly likely that Senku doesn't approve of the practice at all, chances are it may never be held again, though only time can tell.

References

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