Chapter 3 – Beating up Ryuen
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Watching Yoritaka Yukio suddenly join in, both Ryuen and Albert were momentarily stunned. What was this clean-cut looking kid doing jumping into the fray?
But Ryuen recovered faster than Albert. Regardless of who it was, if they wanted to get involved, they must have been prepared to take a beating, right?
Thus, Ryuen, without any pleasantries, leaned forward, lifting one leg and swiftly closing in. His hard knee viciously aimed for Yukio's abdomen.
Most people would struggle to react to a knee strike at close range, but Yukio was no ordinary person. With an effortless twist and turn, he dodged with a knee bend, simultaneously dipping down and striking hard with a hand chop at Ryuen's other knee, the one keeping him standing.
Losing balance and stumbling, Ryuen fell to the ground in a rather comical posture, landing heavily on his knees.
The intense pain from hitting the ground made Ryuen's face twist in agony, feeling completely numb on the side of his body that hit the ground.
Yukio didn't look at Ryuen, instead turning his attention to Albert. His intention was clear. Albert, not one to be underestimated, spread his arms wide and lunged at Yukio in an embracing posture.
Albert, with plenty of fighting experience, clearly adept in street brawls, noticed Yukio's agility. To prevent Yukio from dodging as he had done with Ryuen, he used this enveloping stance.
He aimed to use his two-meter height and proportionate arm span as an absolute advantage, making it impossible for Yukio to evade, thus securing a victory in the fight.
Unfortunately for Albert, Yukio was faster than he anticipated. Instead of retreating, he advanced, diving into Albert's embrace.
Just as Albert's arms were about to lock around him, Yukio ducked low, avoiding the arm lock, and then, like a spring uncoiling, quickly sprang up, hitting Albert's jaw with his hard forehead!
The human jaw is a vulnerable area, connected to many nerves. A heavy blow can easily cause the brain to blackout and daze.
Albert, struck like this, felt his entire face go numb! Even his ears started ringing, a nauseating dizziness assaulting his brain!
It was clearly a chain reaction caused by the ear nerve being affected due to the heavy blow to the jaw.
Facing an opponent who was now slightly dazed, Yukio didn't go as far as Ryuen. With a casual push, he toppled Albert, then stared intently at him.
The fall somewhat dispersed the nauseating dizziness, and Albert, using the desk and chair to get up, silently nodded at Yukio, willingly submitting this time.
Albert, being of mixed heritage, had been fighting since he was young and understood the street brawl philosophy of submitting to the stronger opponent.
Seeing Albert's reasonable behavior, Yukio patted the big guy's shoulder approvingly and then turned back to attend to Ryuen: "Classmate Ryuen, right? Seems like your reign of violence isn't working anymore."
"Heh." Ryuen, still in pain and lying on the ground, barely managed to turn over so he wasn't face down. Defiantly looking up at Yukio, he retorted: "So, what?"
"I'm not someone who hasn't encountered a tougher fighter than me." Even in such a situation, Ryuen could still manage a confident smile: "But even so, in the end, it will always be me who wins."
"Yoritaka Yukio, huh? If you have the guts, don't let me catch you off guard in the next three years. Whether it's going to the bathroom, entering or leaving the dorm, or even walking down the stairs, if I find an opportunity, you'll be the one losing!"
"Are you deliberately provoking me to beat you up?" Yoritaka Yukio towered over Ryuen, easily seeing through his intentions.
After all, if Ryuen really planned to attack secretly, he wouldn't have openly declared his plan. By explaining in such detail, on one hand, he aimed to continually pressure Yukio psychologically, signaling that Ryuen would be like a venomous snake in the dark, always ready to strike over the next three years, keeping Yukio on edge.
On the other hand, wasn't this plainly asking for a beating? Who wouldn't hit him after hearing such words?
Ryuen was still smiling, fearless: "You saw through me, huh? You're right, it was intentional."
"Violence is fascinating. Normally, people can't understand each other, but violence lets both the aggressor and the victim see into each other's hearts."
"Come on, be violent, Yoritaka! Let me see, see how helpless and desperate you will feel inside after realizing that no matter how hard you punch, you can't subdue me!"
That was Ryuen, as if always in struggle, never knowing fear.
"Is that so?" Yoritaka Yukio was quite satisfied at this moment. If Ryuen had just given in easily, he wouldn't have been interested. But now, with Ryuen acting this way, wasn't this the perfect opportunity for Yukio to go all out?
Before coming here, his family had advised him to restrain himself. But now, there was no need to hold back his true nature. A sense of tyranny arose within him.
In high spirits, Yukio didn't even bother to correct Ryuen's mistake in his surname, which was Wan, not Yukio.
"Hey, you there, your name is Ishizaki, right?" Yukio called out to Ishizaki, who had exited the fight early: "Go to the back of the classroom and get a bucket. Fill it with water from the bathroom."
Sakurajima classrooms typically had a storage cupboard at the back, containing mops, brooms, buckets, and cloths for students' cleaning duties.
"Oh, oh!" Ishizaki, not expecting to be called out and pointing at himself in confusion, hurried to find a bucket and ran out of the classroom after getting a nod from Yukio.
He was genuinely scared. Ishizaki now understood that neither the newly emerged Yoritaka Yukio, the cheat-like Albert, nor Ryuen, were people he could afford to mess with!
In the current situation, his role as a subordinate was to obey.
Ryuen, overhearing everything, disdainfully looked at Yukio: "Throwing water? Hah, ridiculous, you don't think I'm afraid of such childish bullying, do you?"
Yukio didn't respond. Soon, Ishizaki returned with a bucket of water. Yukio cheerfully beckoned Albert over, took hold of Ryuen's legs, and secured them tightly, positioning Ryuen head down, feet up.
At that moment, Ryuen realized something was wrong. His gaze was sharp as he stared at Yukio. But under the joint restraint of Yukio and Albert, no matter how much Ryuen struggled, he couldn't break free. Every movement was met with a punch!
Yukio ignored Ryuen and instead instructed Ishizaki: "Take off your clothes."
"Yes! Wait... wait, clothes? Eh!!" Ishizaki instinctively began unbuttoning his shirt, then widened his eyes in disbelief, looking at Yukio. The other students also kept their distance as if watching a demon.
"Your jacket, take off your jacket," Yukio said, his eyebrows raised in amusement. What was this guy thinking?
"Okay, okay!" Ishizaki quickly took off his jacket. The Advanced Nurturing High School uniform consisted of a matching set: an inner shirt, a red blazer, long pants for boys, and pleated skirts for girls.
The style was fixed, but the colors varied, allowing students to mix and match as they pleased.
With Ishizaki's jacket in hand, Yukio personally wrapped Ryuen's head tightly, making it airtight, then continued his command: "Alright, Ishizaki, pour the water."
This made Ryuen fully aware of the impending punishment: "Water torture?! Yoritaka! You think this will scare me?!"
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300 power stones = 1 extra chapter