"No way. I can't thank you enough, so how could I help that bastard take revenge on you?"
Yuji Oguchi said to Ren Takahashi as he pulled back the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a knife scar.
"During our last conflict, that guy slashed me. If I hadn't reacted quickly, this scar might be on my face. Since then, although I really wanted to get back at him, I have to admit, that guy is very strong..."
Listening to Yuji's words, Ren recalled that night. "Very strong? Not really. That guy was obviously weak."
Hearing this, the corners of Yuji and the others' mouths twitched in unison.
Is the perception gap between people really this huge?
"Alright, enough nonsense. I'm not here to listen to your stories."
Ren took off his glasses as he spoke, ready to beat Yuji and the others into submission directly.
"Wait! Bro! Don't be impulsive!"
"Umm... we have no grudges against each other, there's no need to fight, right?"
"I already gave that seat to you."
Seeing Ren's stance, Yuji and the others were so scared they waved their hands frantically while retreating until their backs hit the wall.
"Hah? Are you guys really delinquents? Is it necessary to be this scared?"
Ren put away his glasses, speaking speechlessly.
"There's a saying: 'A wise man submits to circumstances.' We are very aware of the circumstances."
"Although we suck at studying, we still have brains. Even that Senren boss was taken out by you so casually. How could people like us possibly be your match?"
"From now on, you're the boss. You call the shots. No problem, right?"
Without needing Ren to lift a finger, Yuji and the others surrendered directly.
It was so straightforward that Ren felt a bit depressed.
"Is it this hard to beat someone up these days?"
Ren shook his head. "I still feel unsettled inside. You guys should just let me beat you up once."
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
As soon as Ren finished speaking, Yuji and the others dropped to their knees one after another, performing a standard dogeza (prostration).
"Boss! Please spare us!"
...
"Are you really the delinquent boss here? Can't you have a little backbone?"
Ren Takahashi, who was all revved up and ready to fight, looked at Yuji Oguchi and the others who had suddenly dropped into a dogeza.
He felt somewhat frustrated.
It was like holding a breath and having nowhere to exhale it.
"Compared to lying in a hospital bed with a catheter like the Senren boss, I'd rather have no backbone."
Yuji Oguchi scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.
Hearing this, Ren understood the condition of the Senren boss and nodded.
"So he didn't die, he's just lying in the hospital."
Cold sweat broke out on the foreheads of Yuji and the other delinquents.
What do you mean "he didn't die, he's just lying in the hospital"?
You think beating him up that badly wasn't ruthless enough?
That's way too brutal!
At this moment, Ren noticed the popup panel appearing again.
[Congratulations on completing the task "A Small Delinquent Dispute (2)"]
[Reward: Combat Skill "Charged Blast Punch".]
[Charged Blast Punch]: Consumes a certain amount of stamina to charge up and then unleash a full-power punch, delivering 120% of your power. Active Combat Skill (B+ Rank). Current Proficiency: 0%.
[Tip: Proficiency for Active Combat Skills can be accumulated through combat to increase the skill level.]
The randomly obtained skill happened to be an active skill that Ren currently lacked.
With 120% power, unleashing a Charged Blast Punch in battle would be equivalent to temporarily boosting his current Punch Force of 93 points to roughly 112 points.
The increase was quite significant.
Moreover, raising proficiency could upgrade the skill.
Improving his base Punch Force would also increase the skill's power, since it was a percentage boost.
Without a doubt, this Charged Blast Punch was extremely useful.
Ren's originally depressed mood instantly improved.
"Alright, get up."
He waved his hand at Yuji and the others, signaling that he wouldn't attack them.
Yuji and the others heaved a collective sigh of relief.
The lackeys cast grateful glances at Yuji.
"He's simply a demon, a White-Haired Demon. Thank god you made a quick decision, Brother Yuji."
"Otherwise, we probably wouldn't get off as easily as lying in a hospital bed with a catheter."
"He might have beaten us to death!"
While they were celebrating their survival...
Yuji slowly stood up and looked at Ren.
"Um... can I ask another question? What are your plans for the future? Or rather, do you have the ambition to reach the top?"
"The top?"
"Yeah, the summit of all delinquents!"
"Of course!"
Receiving Ren's affirmative answer, Yuji exchanged glances with the other delinquents, then bowed deeply. "Please let me follow you from now on!"
The other delinquents bowed in unison as well. "Please let me follow you from now on!"
"That depends on your future performance. After all, this isn't a garbage disposal center. I don't accept trash with no backbone."
After saying that, Ren turned around and walked out.
...
Outside, a large crowd of boys had gathered, phones in hand, trying to snap photos of Ren Takahashi looking humiliated.
"Strange, why is there no noise inside at all?"
"It's been quite a while. Did they not fight?"
"By the way... is anyone going to check on the situation inside?"
"Yuji and his gang are still in there. Going in now is no different from asking for death."
"But waiting like this isn't a solution either. Class is about to start."
Ordinary students were quite afraid of Yuji Oguchi.
After all, he was the delinquent boss of Kamakura Third Middle School.
He could handle them however he pleased.
Creak—
Just as they were waiting anxiously, the restroom door finally opened slowly.
"They're coming out!"
"Everyone get ready!"
The boys hurriedly raised their phones. seeing Ren walk out of the restroom, they all froze in unison.
He was clean and tidy. Let alone looking beaten up and humiliated by Yuji as they expected, there wasn't even a wrinkle on his clothes suggesting a struggle.
Wait, something's wrong?
While the boys were confused, Yuji and the others followed Ren out of the restroom.
"Brother Ren, watch your step! The floor is slippery!"
"Please rest assured, Big Brother Ren, we will definitely perform well."
"That's right, we absolutely won't let you down!"
Yuji and the others wore ingratiating smiles and adopted humble postures.
The boys who wanted to watch the drama were completely dumbfounded, staring at the scene in disbelief.
"What is this situation? What is going on?"
"Didn't they say Yuji was going to beat him up? Why are they bowing and scraping like that?"
"Look at that attitude... even Mr. Yamaki isn't that humble in front of the chairman!"
"They're even calling him 'Big Brother.' Did Ren Takahashi already subdue Yuji and his gang?"
"It's only his first day after transferring, and he's already become the boss of the delinquents at Third Middle?"
"How is that possible? How exactly did he do it?"
The boys' eyes widened in shock and disbelief. They racked their brains but couldn't figure out the reason.
However, they understood one thing.
Someone whom even Yuji Oguchi had to bow to was not someone they could afford to provoke.
As Ren stopped walking, his gaze swept over these "suspicious" boys.
"Sorry!"
"We didn't mean it!"
"We won't dare do it again next time, please forgive us!"
The boys bowed deeply to apologize, then turned and ran for their lives without looking back.
They scattered in an instant. In the blink of an eye, not a single shadow could be seen in the corridor.
"Baffling."
Ren wasn't God; he didn't have an omniscient view and didn't know what had been happening outside.
He just felt these boys were weird.
He couldn't be bothered to investigate. As long as these guys didn't annoy him, it was fine. He continued walking toward the classroom.
...
Time moved to noon.
Ren sat on a bench on the rooftop, holding fried rice he bought from the school store. He ate with a difficult expression.
The fried rice from the school store was cheap, but it tasted way too terrible.
It felt like a bowl of plain white rice with soy sauce and lard mixed in would taste better than this.
"Because everyone brings their own bento, the school doesn't pay much attention to lunch. So the taste of the lunch sold in the store has always been poor."
Just as Ren was frowning, Saeko Busujima approached with an exquisite wooden bento box. "Takahashi-kun, if you don't mind, would you like to try my bento?"