Chapter 104: Admiration!

The room fell into a hushed silence, every pair of eyes locked onto the knife's trajectory as it hurtled toward Tsuna.

Though the knife was crafted from special materials with plastic texture, the speed and angle of its approach made it seem far more threatening.

The students flinched instinctively, some squeezing their eyes shut to avoid witnessing the outcome, while others covered their faces, peeking through their fingers as the knife whizzed through the air.

"..."

Yet, amid the tension, Tsuna remained unfazed.

His expression didn't change as he casually observed the knife's path, then turned his gaze toward Terasaka, who wore a hostile grin.

"Ha! Look at him—he's so scared he can't even react..."

Terasaka sneered, but his confidence faltered the moment he met Tsuna's calm, unwavering eyes.

"...!"

A chill ran down his spine, the bravado draining from his face as Tsuna's composure left him rattled.

His muscles tensed involuntarily, his body suddenly feeling heavy with an unfamiliar feling. Tsuna's gaze remained locked on him, calm and piercing, as the knife whizzed past his head, slicing through a single strand of his hair.

Terasaka's eyes shot open at the scene.

"Kyaa!"

A shriek reverberated through the room, breaking the tense silence.

However...

"Huh?"

The students soon blinked in confusion, then collectively sighed in relief when they realized the knife had missed its mark.

"...What?"

Terasaka stood frozen in disbelief. He hadn't intended to harm Tsuna, to rattle him with a bluff.

But what he didn't expect was Tsuna's complete disregard for the knife, his focus solely on Terasaka, as if he knew it would never touch him. The sheer confidence in Tsuna's eyes made Terasaka feel small, like a fool caught in his own game.

"T-this guy..."

Terasaka swallowed nervously, his mind racing. "Is he really that confident, or was that just pure luck?"

"Terasaka! You bastard!"

"Yo, that was too much!"

"Apologize, you crazy fucker!"

The classroom erupted in outrage as the students turned on Terasaka, their voices sharp with anger. They glared at him, their scolding relentless.

"Tch... I know..."

Terasaka, realizing he might have gone too far, clicked his tongue in frustration but stayed silent, refusing to apologize.

His silence only fueled their anger, the tension in the room thickening.

Whoosh!

But before anyone could press further, a familiar whistling sound cut through the air.

"...!!!"

The room fell into a pin-drop silence, eyes widening in horror.

Another knife was flying, but this time, it wasn't the specially crafted one for Korosensei—it was a kitchen knife, sharp and potentially fatal.

Time seemed to slow as they watched the knife's deadly trajectory, realizing the danger had escalated far beyond a simple prank.

"...!"

Tsuna's eyes widened in mild surprise as he turned to the source of the attack.

The student was grinning like a man unhinged, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light as he licked his lips.

The knife sliced through the air, grazing Tsuna's cheek and leaving a thin trail of blood before embedding itself with a sharp clank into the wall.

"Now, that wasn't very nice," Tsuna's calm voice cut through the tension, snapping everyone out of their stunned silence.

He added, "Karma-kun..."

"Eh? You actually dodged that?"

Karma's chuckle was unnervingly cheerful, as though he had just uncovered something fascinating.

The room erupted into chaos as the students, even Karasuma were horrified and immediately rushed to restrain Karma, their faces pale with fear. Korosensei himself also immediately started reprimanding him with his tentacles squirming around nervously.

Despite the chaotic scene around him, Karma's unsettling smile remained, his eyes locked onto Tsuna as if nothing else mattered.

"Hmm..."

Karma calmly met Karasuma's eyes, noting the genuine shock reflected there, before turning his gaze to Korosensei.

He silently mumbled, "He's not that surprised, huh?"

Korosensei might seem panicky but Karma didn't see any panic in these beady eyes at all.

During Terasaka's earlier stunt, Karma had noticed that both Karasuma and Korosensei remained unusually calm, despite the potential danger to an "average" teacher like Tsuna claimed to be.

The way Tsuna had instantly assessed the situation, tilting his head just enough to avoid the knife, revealed a level of skill and confidence that intrigued Karma deeply.

"...So, he's not an average student either, huh?"

And someone absolutely extraordinary at that!

The thought that Tsuna had effortlessly dodged the knife, combined with the amused expression he'd worn earlier when Korosensei begged for food, ignited a spark of fascination in Karma.

His eyes gleamed with a strange affection as he stared at Tsuna, admiration clear in his gaze.

"...What the hell?"

Tsuna couldn't help but feel a slight shiver at Karma's unsettling expression, his lips twitching in disbelief, "This kid tried to kill me and now he's looking at me like that?"

This guy was definitely screwed in the head!

While the others continued to berate him, Karma simply smiled, eyes closed, and bowed in a sincere apology to Tsuna.

"My apologies, senpai. My hand slipped..."

"..."

A brief silence filled the room as everyone rolled their eyes at his blatant lie.

"...Sure," Tsuna almost facepalmed at the excuse, sighing as he added, "Just don't do it again, or I might actually die..."

"Understood, senpai!"

Karma's voice was loud and clear, and to Nagisa and Kaede, he seemed unusually cheerful.

They exchanged confused glances, whispering to each other.

"...Karma-kun seems a bit too happy for some reason."

"Yeah, I wonder why?"

As the culinary lesson continued, the students remained wary of Karma, keeping a close eye on him in case he tried something crazy again.

But to their surprise, Karma was surprisingly cooperative throughout the class.

From the demonstration, where Tsuna introduced the Julienne Cutting Technique, to the actual practice of slicing vegetables, Karma seemed fully engaged. He even asked thoughtful questions, his attentiveness surpassing the norm, and certainly more focused than when he listened to Korosensei.

In fact, it was clear that Karma was genuinely trying to absorb everything Tsuna was teaching.

His enthusiasm for learning the technique was apparent, and it left the rest of the class puzzled, wondering what had sparked this sudden change.

After finishing the class, everyone took their boxes of coated vegetables, soon to become kimchi, over to the warehouse for fermentation.

The boxes were massive, so even Korosensei and Karasuma pitched in to help carry them.

Once the boxes were stored, the students gathered in the field just outside the warehouse, forming a crowd around Tsuna.

With a smile, Tsuna announced, "Alright, everyone, now that we've completed this phase, all we need to do is wait for two days, and the kimchi will be ready to eat!"

"Yeay! Does that mean we'll have lots of free kimchi?"

The students perked up at the thought, their excitement growing as Tsuna nodded, "Yup! And considering how much we've made, I think it'll last you guys two we—"

BOOM!

Before Tsuna could finish his sentence, a deafening explosion rocked the air.

Everyone turned, their eyes wide with shock as they watched the warehouse roof—along with the top portion of the building—blown away by something...

or someone...

"Is that...?"

The debris scattered through the sky, sending out a billowing cloud of smoke that slowly cleared, revealing a scene they could never have imagined.