"Have you heard? About what happened to Nozaki."
"Yeah. They say Mr. Takaoka beat him so badly he was hospitalized."
"I wonder if Nozaki-kun is going to be alright..."
This was the only topic of conversation within Class E.
It was hardly surprising; Keiichi was a notorious troublemaker whose reputation extended beyond the classroom to the neighboring schools. In terms of raw combat prowess, he was on par with Karma, and he was the only student capable of landing a clean hit on Mr. Karasuma during solo training. Seeing someone of his caliber fall produced a wave of anxiety among the students—and more importantly, it instilled a deep-seated terror of Takaoka.
"What's this? Are you talking about that brat who dared to defy his 'father'? Do you want a taste of the same fate?"
"Eeeek...!"
One of the girls let out a terrified shriek at Takaoka's threat. Behind him stood Koro-sensei, his face dyed a deep, midnight black—a sign of absolute fury. Beside him, Karasuma remained in a state of high alert, unable to mask his guarded posture.
Yesterday's incident had put the entire faculty on edge. Even Irina, who usually barely spared a glance for PE lessons, now gripped a small pistol concealed beneath her arm, displaying an uncharacteristic level of caution.
"Karasumaaa! Is standing there really the best use of your time? Your job isn't to stand around like a statue."
"My mission is to monitor the target and guide the assassins. Since the target is right here, and Irina is lurking for an opening, I see no issue with my presence."
"Tch."
Takaoka clicked his tongue in annoyance. Then, he instantly shed his low, menacing growl, replacing it with an artificial, boisterous cheer.
"Alright! Since we've overhauled the training, the Class E schedule is changing too! Hand these out to everyone."
"A schedule?"
Sugaya muttered as the students looked at the papers in disbelief. The new timetable included a tenth period, with drills extending until nine o'clock at night.
"This is impossible...!"
"A tenth period?"
"Training until 9 PM?"
"That's right. It's only natural! I've already secured the Principal's permission. He told me: 'Since this is a crisis that threatens the Earth, there is no other choice.' If you can keep up with this curriculum, your abilities will skyrocket."
As silence and shock settled over the students, Maehara spoke up in a fit of rage.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Takaoka! This is impossible. We can't do this!"
"Huh?"
"We won't have any time to study, and our grades will drop! The Principal must have known that when he approved this! We won't have time to rest or have a life! Above all, our bodies won't be able to handle this kind of strain!"
The moment he finished his protest, Takaoka lunged and grabbed Maehara violently. Before he could deliver a knee strike, a pitch-black tentacle shot forward, shielding Maehara's stomach from the impact.
Maehara remained unharmed, though he stood there trembling in shock. A sharp exchange erupted between Takaoka and Koro-sensei.
"There is no such thing as 'I can't.' Only 'I will.' I told you, we are a 'family' and I am the 'father.' Where in this world do you find a family that doesn't obey their father's orders?"
"I am not a member of your family, and these are my students. After what you did to Nozaki-kun, if you take this violence any further...!"
"What? Are you going to kill me? I have been entrusted with the entirety of physical education. Therefore, any punishment during class falls within my jurisdiction. Isn't that right? What I just did was purely educational discipline. Or what? Are you going to assault a man who hasn't harmed you yet? Just because our educational theories differ slightly?"
"—!"
Veins throbbed in Koro-sensei's head from pure rage. He backed down temporarily but remained close enough to intervene the moment things escalated.
"Fine! Let's start with three hundred squats!"
Driven by the terror of what happened to Keiichi and Maehara, the students began the exercise. As Koro-sensei watched them bitterly, he spoke to Karasuma.
"At this rate, the students will break completely."
Their eyes turned toward Mimura, whom Takaoka was currently hoisting up by the collar, claiming his form was incorrect.
"As a supernatural being, it would be easy for me to erase him. But if I did, I would never be able to convince the students of my logic. Even if he is wrong in my eyes, he possesses his own educational theory. That is why, Mr. Karasuma, I need you—as his colleague in PE—to refute his logic and prove him wrong."
"(Refute his logic... Can I truly say his method is wrong? Beyond the cruelty, isn't the principle of treating them as family rather than setting professional boundaries a valid, albeit twisted, educational theory?)"
Karasuma wrestled with two conflicting images in his mind. The first showed former students smiling alongside Takaoka. The second revealed the brutal, horrific scars etched onto those same students' backs.
"And besides! With a schedule like this, I won't have time to play with the students!"
"Exactly! And with a schedule like this, I won't have any students left to take me shopping and carry my bags!"
"Right, I'm now certain this faculty is full of flaws."
Karasuma tucked the photos back into his pocket and turned toward the training ground where Kanzaki was confronting Takaoka.
"I... I refuse this. I want Mr. Karasuma's lessons."
"—!"
Those words ignited a fire in both Takaoka and Karasuma. Takaoka raised a fist in fury, but Karasuma lunged forward and caught his hand, reclaiming his pride as a teacher.
"Enough. Do not lay another hand on the students. If you want a fight, I'm your opponent."
"Mr. Karasuma!"
Cheers erupted from the students at Karasuma's stand.
"I knew you'd jump in eventually, Karasuma. But I won't fight you. I'll challenge you as a teacher. Pick one student of your choice—excluding Nozaki. They will be my opponent in a deciding match!"
Takaoka had used this tactic often during his time as a military instructor. Although he was rated as a brilliant trainer, his philosophy relied on demonstrating an absolute gap in power to crush and subjugate his students from the bottom of their hearts.
"If your student wins, I'll leave the educational authority here entirely to you and walk away. A man's word is his bond! However, we won't be using a toy knife like this—we'll use a real one."
"Stop! They haven't been trained to point real steel at a human being!"
"Wait, wait, don't say something so stupid. The target they're supposed to kill is me in the end, right? Then the weapon has to be real."
Inwardly, Takaoka smirked. No one had ever defeated him this way before.
"Don't worry, I'll count a single graze of the blade as his victory, and I'll fight bare-handed. Isn't that a massive advantage for him?"
This method worked even in the military. Watching a student tremble in fear while holding a real knife in front of him; Takaoka loved that look on their faces. He relished breaking and dominating them one by one.
"Go on, Karasuma, choose. If you don't, you will submit to me unconditionally! Will you sacrifice a student as an offering, or will you pretend not to see again? Either way, you're a failure as a teacher! Hahahaha!!"
Karasuma hesitated, gripping the knife that had been tossed to him. A part of him believed that raising assassins to save the world required a ruthless, rigid education like Takaoka's. But amidst that doubt, he remembered specific words.
"Don't worry, Mr. Karasuma. Please, trust me."
Karasuma knew a student who had won under similar circumstances just yesterday. Perhaps because of that, despite his anxiety, there was no hesitation in his decision.
"Nagisa-kun. Do you have the resolve for this?"
There wasn't a hint of doubt in his voice.
"If I have to choose, I believe you are the one. But before you answer, I want you to hear my thoughts. As the one who requested your help to save the world, I view you as professional partners. I believe the minimum compensation you deserve as professionals is a normal school life befitting junior high students."
He paused for a second, looking at every student before turning back to Nagisa.
"You don't have to take the knife. If you refuse, I will do everything in my power to ask Takaoka to maintain your 'reward.'"
"Hmm? Well, if you get on your knees and beg, I might consider it."
Nagisa hesitated for a moment but then stepped forward and accepted the knife. He liked Karasuma's gaze—those warm eyes that looked at them with such sincerity. It was the same reason Keiichi had faced Takaoka yesterday; he couldn't forgive what had been done to Keiichi, Maehara, and Kanzaki.
He placed the knife between his teeth and began to relax his muscles.
"Good grief, out of everyone, you pick this shrimp? It seems your intuition has failed you, Karasuma."
Takaoka continued his provocations, but Karasuma ignored him. He addressed Nagisa, who stood between them.
"Nagisa-kun. Takaoka is an expert in 'bare hands versus knife' combat. You won't hit him unless you swing that knife with everything you've got."
"Yes..."
"However, in this match, the biggest difference between you and him isn't the knife. Do you realize that?"
"?"
"Listen closely. To him, this is a 'fight.' To you, it is an 'assassination' as usual. You win if you land a single strike. There's no need to act tough. Just one hit, and you win."
"I understand."
Nagisa nodded after Karasuma's advice and took his offensive stance. His palms were slick with a cold, annoying sweat, but his mind was in a state of absolute calm—perhaps even detachment.
"(I win as long as I just kill him.)"
Nagisa smiled.
He walked forward calmly, as if he were on his usual path to school. He approached naturally and swung the knife.
"(When I swung the knife with force, Mr. Takaoka looked stunned. Since he lost his balance, I grabbed his clothes, spun behind him, and placed the blade against his neck. Perfectly.)"
Karasuma was in total shock. Nagisa's talent exceeded all his expectations. His was a pure "talent for assassination." He began to wonder if such a talent was something that should ever be allowed to bloom.
"That's enough! The match is over. Honestly, what were you thinking, making a student hold a real knife..."
Koro-sensei took the knife from Nagisa and began chewing the steel blade, crushing it between his teeth.
"Phew, if it looked like he was going to get hurt, I would have intervened at Mach speed."
"That goes without saying."
"(Even so, this talent for assassination... we are grateful for it, but will it be a positive addition to his future?)"
"You look quite conflicted this time, Mr. Karasuma."
"Is that a crime?"
"No, not at all. But it looks like another round of trouble is coming."
Karasuma and Koro-sensei looked toward Takaoka, who had stood up again.
"One more time! Are you really that happy with a fluke victory?! I won't hold back this time!"
Karasuma turned to Koro-sensei. Since Takaoka looked ready to go on a rampage after refusing to admit defeat, Karasuma moved to subdue him. But before he could, Nagisa spoke firmly.
"It's true I'd lose if we did it again. But it's clear now that our homeroom teacher is Koro-sensei, and our instructor is Mr. Karasuma. That is something we will never compromise on. Instead of Mr. Takaoka trying to force the role of a father, I felt the warmth of Mr. Karasuma, who sticks to his professionalism. I'm grateful you tried to make us strong, but I'm sorry. Please, leave."
Karasuma was moved by Nagisa's words and stopped in his tracks. Koro-sensei patted his shoulder, speaking with a pointed tone.
"The happiest moment a teacher experiences is when a student gives a clear, certain answer... after all the teaching they've done amidst doubt and uncertainty."
"I've kept quiet long enough, you little brat...!"
Takaoka moved again, but Karasuma subdued him in a matter of seconds.
"I apologize for the trouble my colleague has caused. Don't worry about what happens next. I will negotiate with the administration to handle your training alone. If necessary, I'll force the approval even if I have to threaten them at gunpoint."
"Mr. Karasuma!"
Thus the teacher answered the response provided by the students. But no one realized the truth yet.
"There is no need for negotiations."
In this class, and indeed in this school, the Ministry of Defense was nothing more than a third party. The government or any international organization had no right to appoint teachers here.
"The... Principal!?"
"And... Keiichi!?"
Indeed, the one who dominated this school was Gakuho Asano. Principal Asano stood there with Keiichi by his side.
"What is the reason for this visit?"
The Principal answered Koro-sensei's cautious question curtly.
"I came for an inspection. As Principal, I was curious about the new teacher's skills."
As he spoke, he nudged Keiichi forward toward his classmates. Then, he coldly pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, gripped Takaoka's jaw with immense force, and shoved the paper into his mouth.
"However, Mr. Takaoka, your teaching was boring. Terror is an integral part of education, and a creative teacher knows how to utilize even terror. But if a teacher can only instill fear through violence, he is a third-rate instructor or worse."
He wiped his stained hand and turned to leave.
"The moment you lose to a violence weaker than your own, your lessons lose all power of persuasion. And if it happens a second time, it's even worse. This is your notice of dismissal, Takaoka. From this moment on, you have no right to teach here."
He waved a hand at Keiichi as he departed, asserting his absolute dominance over the academy.
"Don't forget that the right to appoint teachers at Kunugigaoka Junior High does not belong to the Ministry of Defense. Everything falls under my total control."
The Principal left after saying his piece. Takaoka chewed and swallowed the dismissal notice, standing up and glaring at Keiichi, Nagisa, the students, and Karasuma with a sharp, piercing look.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!!!"
He screamed words of resentment as he retreated, passing the Principal and leaving Class E for good.
"Takaoka was fired..."
"That means Mr. Karasuma stays in charge as before..."
"Awesome!!"
"Sometimes the Principal does good things."
"Though he's terrifying in a completely different way."
"Hey, Keiichi, why were you with the Principal?"
"Hmm... well, for many reasons."
Keiichi hid the truth with a bitter smile as his classmates bombarded him with questions, while praise rained down on Nagisa for his successful assassination.
Karasuma looked at the two of them, then asked Koro-sensei.
"For example, if they ever said 'we want to be assassins in the future,' would you raise them without hesitation? They might not succeed against you, but they could become excellent killers against humans."
"I would certainly be conflicted. But a teacher is a being perpetually caught in doubt. There is a constant struggle within over whether they are providing the best answers. But before their students, they must teach firmly and without a shred of doubt. With dignity and poise. That is precisely why the profession of a teacher is so wonderful."
"Hmph. I see."
Karasuma gazed at Keiichi and Nagisa. Keiichi, whose talent seemed brilliant and obvious. Nagisa, whose talent seemed hidden at first glance.
While he contemplated the future of his two students, they caught him off guard with their shouts.
"By the way, Mr. Karasuma, since you're back as our PE teacher thanks to our efforts, don't you think we deserve an exceptional reward?"
"Yeah, yeah! Mr. Takaoka was very generous with these things!"
He realized they were asking for a financial treat. He felt a bit stunned, but he broke into a small smile and pulled out his wallet.
"I have no use for sweets. Here is my wallet; go and eat whatever you wish."
"Awesome!!"
"Come on, Mr. Karasuma, let's go quickly!"
As the students surrounded him amidst the noise, Karasuma thought to himself, 'This isn't bad.' Perhaps he had begun to feel the passion for raising a new generation.
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