Chapter 125: Schemes and Counter-Schemes!
Ryuen heard Ishizaki's report through the phone and smiled from inside the Class C classroom. However, the vicious curve of his lips looked rather frightening.
Like Nagumo Miyabi, Ryuen had no intention of personally participating in the operation against Yuto.
The reason was simple—Ryuen had absolutely no desire to be beaten by him again.
Instead, he arranged for Ishizaki, Komiya, and Yamawaki to fight Yuto. All three were trusted subordinates, delinquents, and deeply resentful of the attention Shimizu Yuto had received.
Ryuen did not send Yamada Albert. The powerful mixed-race student was an excellent fighter, but Ryuen needed Ishizaki and the others to be beaten, not someone capable of fighting Yuto evenly.
With a vicious grin, Ryuen issued his order through the phone.
"Ishizaki, Shimizu Yuto has taken the bait, correct? Then follow the plan and teach that bastard a harsh lesson!"
"Yes!"
Ishizaki's expression showed both fear and anticipation. He feared the demon Yuto, but Ryuen had promised that one fight here would guarantee Yuto's expulsion.
Ryuen had not explained the exact reasoning, but his complete confidence made the three instinctively believe him.
Although Ishizaki feared Yuto and regarded him as the legendary demon from the rumors, exchanging one beating for Yuto's expulsion sounded like a worthwhile deal.
He did not want to spend all three years of high school in the same year as this demon.
"Let's go. We'll teach Shimizu Yuto a lesson," Ishizaki told Komiya and Yamawaki.
"Right!"
The two delinquents disliked Yuto just as much, so they followed Ishizaki from their hiding place and approached Yuto, who was sitting on the bench.
From a window in the second-year building, Chabashira narrowed her eyes. She aimed Airi's digital camera at the three boys approaching Yuto and activated its recording function.
'There are three of them. Don't let yourself get hurt, you troublesome boy.'
Ishizaki bent down and picked up a small stone from beside the path. He initially intended to throw it at Yuto himself, but his lingering fear made him push it into Yamawaki's hand instead.
"Hit him with it!"
"Leave it to me, Ishizaki!"
Without thinking much about it, Yamawaki hurled the stone at Yuto.
Yuto appeared unusually fortunate. Just as the stone reached him, he happened to tilt his head, causing it to fly past his ear.
Yuto's expression turned cold as he looked toward the approaching trio. Their malicious faces made it seem as though they were staring at a helpless victim about to be beaten.
"What do you want?" Yuto asked coldly.
"What do we want? Hahaha! Obviously, we're here to beat up an arrogant bastard like you!" Yamawaki laughed loudly.
"Shimizu Yuto, didn't you say in the library that Class D would overtake Class C and send us to the bottom?" Komiya shouted. "Kneel and apologize now, or we'll teach you a proper lesson!"
"That's right! Kneeling is the price you'll pay for offending Class C!" Ishizaki added.
Yuto silently studied the three delinquents. His deep black eyes gave them the inexplicable feeling that everything about them had been exposed and seen through.
'Ryuen only ordered them to teach me a lesson? They believe fighting me here will get me expelled? How would that work?'
Ryuen had not revealed the entire conspiracy to Ishizaki and the others. Even by searching through Ishizaki's memories, Yuto could only obtain that limited information.
He could not understand why Ryuen believed that merely fighting him somewhere without surveillance cameras would lead to his expulsion.
'They must have something prepared afterward.'
While Yuto considered the possibilities, Ishizaki and the other two suppressed their fear of being seen through and charged at him aggressively.
Yuto calmly shifted aside on the bench, causing Yamawaki's kick to miss. Komiya shouted and swung a fist, but Yuto stood and avoided it with effortless ease.
Ishizaki roared and launched a straight punch. Yuto raised his hand, caught his fist, and pulled him forward.
Ishizaki instantly lost his balance and staggered several steps, nearly collapsing onto the ground.
The trio continued surrounding and attacking Yuto, but they were merely ordinary delinquents. Their movements were chaotic and untrained, and they did not even possess exceptional physical strength.
Despite being surrounded, Yuto was never struck. Instead, Ishizaki and the others soon became exhausted and began gasping for breath.
"Huff... Huff... That bastard Shimizu Yuto is slippery as an eel! We can't hit him at all!" Ishizaki glared at Yuto, who remained completely composed.
"Use this!"
Komiya snapped a branch from a nearby tree and quickly stripped it into a crude club. Yamawaki even took a pair of brass knuckles from his school bag, while Ishizaki drew a short baton he had prepared beforehand.
Yuto coldly watched them arm themselves. The previous confrontation had already placed him firmly in the position of defending himself, so he decided it was finally time to counterattack.
Besides, Yuto did not enjoy being chased around and attacked.
"Bastard, let's see you keep dodging this!"
With a vicious grin, Yamawaki equipped the brass knuckles and launched a powerful punch toward Yuto's face.
Relying on his outstanding dynamic vision and flexible body, Yuto shifted slightly and avoided the fist. His right hand clenched as the muscles in his arm tightened, then he drove a heavy punch into Yamawaki's abdomen.
Bang!
The powerful strike landed with a dull impact. Yamawaki's eyes widened as he bent over like a shrimp, his face turning red from the intense pain.
Yuto casually pushed him aside and confronted Komiya, who swung the branch-club toward him.
Instead of retreating, Yuto narrowed his eyes, stepped forward, and sharply raised his leg, snapping the branch in half with a single kick.
Under Komiya's stunned gaze, Yuto lifted his right leg higher and brought it down vertically with tremendous speed.
The technique was known in taekwondo as an axe kick.
Yuto's heel slammed into Komiya's shoulder. The force drove his upper body downward, bending his legs and forcing him onto his knees.
"Ah!"
Seeing both Yamawaki and Komiya defeated, Ishizaki roared and suppressed his fear. Gripping the short baton tightly, he charged forward.
"Pathetic!"
Yuto withdrew his leg from Komiya's shoulder and rushed toward Ishizaki. His right foot suddenly rose, and a clean side kick sent the shouting delinquent flying backward.
Ishizaki flew more than two meters before hitting the ground and rolling three times. He then clutched his abdomen and screamed in pain.
From the second-year building, Chabashira watched Yuto defeat all three opponents alone while recording everything.
His counters contained no unnecessary movements and were remarkably clean and decisive. If she were not responsible for filming, she might have shouted that he looked incredibly impressive.
After defeating the trio, Yuto's uniform remained perfectly neat. He looked down at the groaning boys with open contempt.
"You're all useless. I have no idea where you found the courage to cause trouble for me."
"If you're still dissatisfied, stand up. I'll beat you again."
Those words made Ishizaki and the others remain even more firmly on the ground. They might have been delinquents, but they were not blind.
Yuto had effortlessly avoided their combined attacks and defeated them within moments. He was clearly far beyond what the three of them could handle.
Yuto gave the groaning boys one final contemptuous glance before turning and walking away.
Only after he disappeared did Ishizaki slowly sit up while rubbing his painfully throbbing abdomen.
Terrifying.
That demon really was terrifying!
He had defeated all three of them within moments...
But everything had been worth it!
Enduring the pain, Ishizaki took out his phone and called Ryuen.
"Boss Ryuen, we failed. We couldn't teach Shimizu Yuto a lesson. Instead... he beat us."
"I see."
Ryuen's expression did not change. He had already expected Ishizaki and the others to lose.
"How serious are your injuries?"
Ishizaki was deeply moved by the question. Their boss was concerned about their injuries—what a great leader!
"We're fine. I was kicked in the stomach, Komiya was kicked in the shoulder, and Yamawaki was punched in the abdomen. We'll recover after applying some medicine," Ishizaki answered.
Ryuen immediately frowned.
That was unacceptable.
According to Ishizaki's report, Yuto had not beaten them badly enough. Their injuries were far too minor.
Nagumo had clearly told Ryuen that Ishizaki and the others needed severe injuries. At the very least, there had to be visible blood, or they could not justify suspending Yuto for two weeks.
"Remain where you are. I'll come immediately," Ryuen ordered solemnly.
"Understood, Boss."
"Albert, we're leaving," Ryuen called.
"Okay, Boss."
The muscular mixed-race student followed Ryuen out of the Class C classroom and headed toward the second-year building.
Since Yuto had refused to strike hard enough to make Ishizaki and the others bleed, Ryuen would make them bleed himself.
Without serious injuries, the entire conspiracy against Yuto would be meaningless.
...
Chabashira stopped recording and checked the footage. After confirming its quality, she nodded in satisfaction and left the second-year building.
She contacted Yuto while carrying the camera and immediately asked once the call connected, "Shimizu, is everything finished?"
"More or less. How did the recording turn out, Chabashira-sensei?"
"I'm personally satisfied, but I don't know whether it meets your standards. Where are you now? I'll let you inspect it."
"Okay."
Yuto and Chabashira agreed to meet at a nearby cafe.
When Chabashira entered, she spotted Yuto sitting in a corner. She crossed the room on her long, straight legs and approached him.
Yuto smiled. "You're here. I already ordered you a cappuccino. Choose any dessert you want."
"Why are you treating me so well?" Chabashira asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.
"Of course I should treat you well. Sae-chan helped me tremendously," Yuto answered with a smile.
Chabashira glanced at the troublesome boy and sat across from him. The soft sofa sank slightly beneath her as she handed him the digital camera.
"See for yourself."
"Okay."
While Chabashira examined the menu, Yuto reviewed the recorded footage.
As expected, Chabashira was exceptionally reliable.
The video was extremely clear. Anyone who watched it would see that Ishizaki and the other two had first provoked Yuto before launching the attack.
Only after they produced several weapons did Yuto finally defend himself and counterattack.
After watching the recording, Yuto smiled at Chabashira.
"Excellent."
"Is that so? As long as it meets your requirements." Chabashira crossed her legs and looked toward him. "What do you intend to do next?"
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I still can't understand what Ryuen intends to accomplish with this plan," Yuto admitted.
By searching through Ishizaki's memories, Yuto had learned that Ryuen intended to have him expelled.
However...
How could arranging a fight somewhere without surveillance cameras possibly result in Yuto's expulsion?
That was the one part he still could not understand.
…
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