5.5

"Hey, Tsubaki-san." Yagami approached Tsubaki.

"What do you want?"

"Although I don't know what else you have up your sleeve, I think it's time to give some detailed orders to the five groups that are blocked. Before the second-year students surround them, they should still be able to escape as long as they have your command."

Five groups of first-years were sent to the battlefield, and even if the other side had marked anyone individually, it would not be that easy to catch them on this vast uninhabited island. Yagami believes that the reason why these five groups were caught so easily was because of the commander's strategic mistake.

"Even if they panicked and fled out, their behavior could be explained afterwards by simply making the excuse that they got scared after being pressured by the seniors. If you had consulted me before..."

"Are you saying that it turned out like this because I made a mistake?"

"If I wanted to be honest, that's exactly what I think."

Seeing a disgruntled Yagami, Tsubaki replied with a serious tone.

"Well, you would have known after it was over... but I guess I'll just tell you now. It's the opposite of what you think."

"The... the opposite?"

"It's not my group that's being pestered, it's the opposite group that's being pestered by me."

"I... I'm sorry, it seems I can't keep up with your thinking." Yagami replies once again, amazed by Tsubaki's statement.

"The five groups sent to expel Ayanokōji-senpai. Even if you can hunt him down to a position where you can see him, if there is a big difference in his physical abilities, he will be able to escape, right? Rumor has it that his strength is similar to Hōsen-kun's. It means that he didn't want to face the current group from the beginning.

As Tsubaki spoke, Yagami nodded his head.

"If you put it like this, it's like saying that the five groups that we sent from the beginning were never meant to beat Ayanokōji. This strategy doesn't make sense."

"There are two purposes of this strategy. One is to find out how Ayanokōji-senpai thinks and what he likes and dislikes." Tsubaki said as she tapped the tablet with her index finger.

"He disliked contact with the early years more than going to his assigned area. And there was a deliberate avoidance of places with second and third years and the teachers. The message I got from this is that he hates attention, even if he has to carry penalty points."

"If you want to simply learn about behaviour patterns, it doesn't mean you need to catch the person in question. That's why the groups had a more important responsibility. They were sent to harass the groups which were designated to protect Ayanokōji-senpai."

Tsubaki had completely turned the tables on the second-years.

After hearing those words, Yagami froze in shock.

"What we should avoid is someone who interferes in the process of hunting down Ayanokōji-senpai. And the only person who can do such a thing is Hōsen-kun if not Utomiya-kun."

Finally, understanding Tsubaki's true goals, Yagami frantically turns on his tablet and performs a GPS search to see where Hōsen was right now.

However, there was no trace of him anywhere.

"When you said that there's more than meets the eye... is this what you meant?"

After finishing her explanation, Tsubaki ignored Yagami to discard any unnecessary distractions.

"Let me ask you one last question. If Hōsen-kun had not entered this battle, do you think this operation would have been impossible?"

"Hmm, not exactly. It's correct to say that we decided to carry out this operation because we were absolutely sure that Hōsen-kun would come on board. It seems that he was always willing to fight alone. Still, if he didn't accept the mission, I would just let Utomiya-kun go. Either way, I made sure the atmosphere was perfect for one-on-one. Now it only remains for the two to face each other, it doesn't matter who wins or loses, everything will be fine."

Ayanokōji, acting alone, has no choice but to withdraw.