"Let's hear it."
Hosen Kazuomi stopped what he was doing and looked at Yagami Takuya with curiosity.
"On the sixth day, all students' GPS signals will be made public. At that point, we'll be able to know the location of every student."
Yagami Takuya said with a smile.
"This way, it'll be much easier to find Saiki-senpai's location—Acting Chairman Tsukishiro has already said that conflicts between students are acceptable. If we clash with Saiki-senpai, we likely won't be punished."
"Oh?"
Hosen Kazuomi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fixed on Yagami Takuya.
"Why are you so interested in Saiki? You shouldn't have any connection with him, right?"
"I really don't have any connection with Saiki-senpai. Although he's Kushida-senpai's classmate, my priority is to ensure the safety of us first-year students. I recently ran into Utomiya and the others, and they also seem very eager to protect the first-year students. So, we're planning to take action together."
"What does this have to do with Saiki?"
"Right now, three first-year groups are in the bottom ten, which is quite dangerous. If we can get groups from other grades to drop out of the exam, then our first-year students should be much safer."
Yagami Takuya spoke slowly.
"So, I can assist you in dealing with Saiki-senpai, and afterward..."
But before Yagami Takuya could finish, Hosen Kazuomi threw a heavy punch at him. However, Yagami Takuya noticed the attack—or rather, he had anticipated it. He crossed his arms in front of him, blocking Hosen Kazuomi's strike, but the sheer force still forced Yagami Takuya to take several steps back.
"I don't need your boring cooperation. You think you're worthy?"
Hosen Kazuomi sneered, not taking Yagami Takuya seriously at all.
"Dealing with that guy, I'm more than enough on my own."
After saying this, Hosen Kazuomi turned and left.
As he walked away, Hosen Kazuomi muttered to himself:
"Not just Saiki, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's 20 million points will also be mine. Anyone who gets in my way will be eliminated, no exceptions."
Watching Hosen Kazuomi's retreating figure, Yagami Takuya's lips curled into a slight smile.
All of this was part of his plan.
The reason Yagami Takuya had approached Hosen Kazuomi was to confirm what actions Hosen Kazuomi would take in the future.
"From his words, it seems Hosen will likely go after Saiki-senpai on the sixth day~"
Yagami Takuya chuckled to himself.
"No matter the outcome, the winner will only be me."
As he spoke, Yagami Takuya took out a digital camera from his backpack.
This was his true goal.
He planned to use this camera to record the confrontation between Hosen Kazuomi and Saiki.
No matter how the battle between them turned out, the one who would have the last laugh would be Yagami Takuya.
Although Tsukishiro Tokinari had said that conflicts were acceptable to a certain extent, if it escalated into a brawl, the situation would be completely different.
Given Hosen Kazuomi's personality and style, this fight would definitely not be classified as a simple 'conflict.'
After this incident, no matter who won, Yagami Takuya could use the recording to blackmail them, turning them into his pawns.
Moreover, although his superiors had ordered him to avoid unnecessary contact with Saiki, this time, it was Hosen Kazuomi who was clashing with Saiki—it had nothing to do with him.
And he could also use this opportunity to see what made Saiki so special.
"Whether it's Ayanokoji-senpai or Saiki-senpai, I'll make them realize that I'm the truly outstanding one."
Yagami Takuya said with a smile.
...
Meanwhile, Hosen Kazuomi, who had parted ways with Yagami Takuya, arrived at a designated location.
But at that moment, a somewhat skinny boy quickly ran up to him.
It was a boy from Class 1-C, named Katagiri.
"Um, Hosen-kun! Please take this!"
Katagiri closed his eyes, trembling with fear, but he held out a walkie-talkie in his hand.
"A walkie-talkie, huh?"
Hosen Kazuomi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Y-you can use this... to talk to Utomiya-kun."
Katagiri's voice trembled along with his body, but he still managed to relay the information.
"Hah, sending a lackey to do the job. Is he that eager to talk to me?"
Hosen Kazuomi sneered as he took the walkie-talkie and spoke into it.
"Utomiya, you went out of your way to send me a communication device. What do you want? Want me to play with you?"
Although Hosen Kazuomi said this, he already knew what Utomiya wanted after his earlier interaction with Yagami Takuya.
"I don't know if you didn't hear or if you're deliberately ignoring me, but this is the first and last chance."
There was no response from the walkie-talkie, so Hosen Kazuomi continued.
"...I don't want to talk to you either, but there's no other way to carry out the plan."
Finally, Utomiya Riku's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Plan? What are you talking about?"
"We agreed to meet on the sixth day to discuss things, right? But I don't think you'll come, and I believe the current situation is already quite dire."
"Oh, you mentioned something like that. Are you assuming I won't come before the time's even up?"
"Right now, there are no second-year students in the bottom ten, but three first-year groups are there. We're planning to carry out an operation to save the first-year students."
"Save the first-years?"
As he spoke, Hosen Kazuomi took out his tablet and glanced at the rankings. Indeed, three first-year groups were in the bottom ten—two of which were from their Class 1-D.
"Two of your Class 1-D groups are in danger, huh."
"Hah, it's no big deal if those trash disappear. Did you think I'd act to save my classmates?"
"Because if we want to save them, you're necessary..."
"Are you blindly following someone's advice? This is getting interesting."
"You can refuse if you want. I'm just following procedure to talk to you. Even without you, the plan can proceed without any issues."
"Then that's that. I refuse."
As he spoke, Hosen Kazuomi made a gesture as if he were about to throw the walkie-talkie away, but he stopped—
He believed Utomiya Riku would come back to him.
"Hosen, are you really not going to help us?"
Utomiya Riku's voice, tinged with helplessness, came through the walkie-talkie.
Hearing this, Hosen Kazuomi's lips curled into a smile.
If it were Utomiya Riku's usual personality, he would have hung up by now. But he didn't.
This meant Utomiya Riku was approaching him for help because of someone else.
Hosen Kazuomi already had a name in mind.
"Wait, who said I wouldn't help you?"
"...What did you say?"
"If you come here and kneel before me, I might consider helping you."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Then forget it. Tsubaki, you don't mind, right?"
"What?"
Utomiya Riku was surprised. He hadn't expected Hosen Kazuomi to notice Tsubaki Sakurako's involvement.
But in reality, Hosen Kazuomi didn't know that Tsubaki Sakurako was the one behind this. He had simply noticed that Tsubaki Sakurako was often by Utomiya Riku's side and decided to test the waters.
The result satisfied Hosen Kazuomi.
"I've already figured it out."
Hosen Kazuomi said.
"It seems we can't leave everything to Utomiya-kun alone."
Tsubaki Sakurako's voice also came through at this moment.
"Then you tell me, what does saving the first-years mean?"
"You already know, right? Three of the bottom ten groups are first-year students, and two of them are from Class 1-D. If this continues, by the time the special exam ends, our first-year students—especially your Class 1-D—will be severely weakened."
Tsubaki Sakurako took over the conversation from Utomiya Riku.
"And then? You're not planning to save all the first-years in the bottom ten, are you?"
"Exactly. I plan to save the three groups currently in the bottom ten, as well as any other groups that might fall into the bottom ten later."
"That's quite a bold statement. But do you think you can pull it off? So far, you haven't done anything special. If you waste my time, I won't let you off easy. For example, I could beat the lackey you sent here half to death and send him back. How does that sound?"
Katagiri, standing in front of him, nervously pursed his lips.
[What does this have to do with me?]
Katagiri could only complain in his heart.
"For the groups in dire straits, there's a way to save them. It seems the third-year students have already used a similar method, so I need the help of your Class 1-D."
"While I'd love to help, I have my own things to do. I'm swamped right now."
"Swamped... You mean expelling Ayanokoji-senpai and getting revenge on Saiki-senpai?"
Hearing Tsubaki Sakurako's words, Hosen Kazuomi's anger flared.
The memory of his defeat at the hands of Saiki was still fresh in his mind.
Moreover, something that should have been kept secret had somehow been leaked.
This was a huge insult to Hosen Kazuomi.
Getting revenge on Saiki was more important than expelling Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Exactly. I don't care how many trash from my class disappear."
"Then what do you plan to do? If five groups have already dropped out of the exam, expelling Ayanokoji-senpai or Saiki-senpai will be practically impossible. Saving the first-year students will help with expelling those seniors, won't it? So, we need to speed things up."
At this point, Hosen Kazuomi's smile faded, and he became serious.
"So that's why you brought this up? It sounds good... but let me hear your plan."
"As I mentioned earlier, we'll follow the example of the upperclassmen and unite the entire grade. We'll have the stronger groups absorb the weaker ones to improve their rankings. If necessary, we'll take tasks from the lower-ranked second and third-year groups."
"If it were that easy to unite everyone, we wouldn't be in this mess. And what about Class A and Class B? I don't think they'll help Class D and Class C."
"You don't need to worry. We'll discuss this in a few days. In fact, Class A and Class B are very willing to participate. Now, we just need your commitment, Hosen-kun."
"That's a good plan, but it doesn't guarantee victory. In the end, it's just everyone using the same strategy, and the less experienced first-years will definitely be at a disadvantage."
"True, even if we carry out this plan, we can't guarantee zero casualties among the first-years."
"Isn't that contradictory? Didn't you say you wanted to save all the first-years?"
"Just as you said, if the entire grade is using the same strategy, the first-years will still be at a disadvantage. However, among the upperclassmen, there are a few groups acting alone..."
"There are a few upperclassmen acting alone. We just need to crush them... That makes sense."
Hosen Kazuomi's face lit up with a smile again.
"That makes sense? Did you have the same idea?"
"Nothing much. By the way, have you had any contact with that guy from Class B recently?"
During the conversation, Hosen Kazuomi realized something.
"You mean Yagami-kun? We did meet him earlier. Why?"
[That Yagami Takuya definitely has some ulterior motive.]
[He wasn't sent by Utomiya or Tsubaki, since they used a walkie-talkie to contact me. There was no need for Yagami to come to me directly. That contradicts what he told me earlier.]
[But no matter what, this is an opportunity I absolutely can't miss, Saiki-senpai.]
"Nothing. Let's continue discussing your plan."
...
Meanwhile, by the seaside of the uninhabited island, Nagumo Miyabi was staring intently at his tablet, checking the rankings.
Kiriyama Ikuto stood behind him.
Although Kiriyama Ikuto appeared to be Nagumo Miyabi's rival, he had already pledged his loyalty to him.
"Right now, the only person who poses a threat to us is Koenji Rokusuke from Class 2-A."
Kiriyama Ikuto said.
"No."
Nagumo Miyabi shook his head.
"It's that guy, Saiki!"