Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 168: Want to Act, Learn from Kushida!

Ryuen arrogantly walked away.

For this sports festival, the entire grade was divided into two major teams: Class A and Class D made up the red team, while Class B and Class C made up the white team.

Now that Ryuen arrogantly left, it showed his unwillingness to cooperate.

“Could this be what Hachiman meant when he said the white team might not necessarily lose?” Kanzaki said.

“Well…” Ichinose didn’t immediately respond.

Because one major team consisted of six classes, and although Ryuen was arrogant, he was just one class.

Therefore, Ryuen’s role might not be significant to the major team.

However, the first-year Class A students, who had just failed to negotiate with Ryuen, were in a bad mood.

“This is ridiculous! This is a major issue for all classes! If we lose in the competition, we’ll lose at least 200 points!”

“I don’t understand, those guys in Class D, they’re beyond saving.”

“But this can’t go on like this, Katsuragi! We can’t let Ryuen drag us down!” Some students from Class A felt the situation was going wrong.

If the red and white teams lost in the major team competition, they’d lose 200 points.

And given the slight point differences between Classes A, B, and C, losing 200 points would seriously jeopardize Class A’s standing.

So the students from Class A gathered around Katsuragi.

“After all, it’s class run by Ryuen’s leadership. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Class A is really unlucky!”

“Hey, do you think, by the end of the sports festival, our class might somehow end up moving up again? If that happens, it would be great!”

Meanwhile, students from Class B, next to Class A, couldn’t help but express their schadenfreude. Their words were filled with a sense of gloating.

They had been oppressed for too long in the past.

Finally getting some strength, they acted like nouveau riche showing off.

While on the ship, they mocked Class A, and now it was A and D together.

It felt so good.

“And you?”

Horikita suddenly asked.

“What?”

“Do you also think cooperating is meaningless?”

“Not really.”

Hachiman shrugged. “After all, there’s still the 1200-meter relay race that everyone has to participate in, right?”

“…”

Horikita opened her mouth. Doesn’t this just mean it’s pointless? So even though Ryuen’s actions were high-profile, they weren’t really a big issue.

But despite feeling a bit disheartened, Horikita couldn’t find anything to retort.

Although the first rule of the competition was to divide all classes into red and white teams, it seemed like the members of each team had to cooperate and compete against the other team.

However, if you carefully examine the rules one by one, you’ll realize that grouping them together was meaningless!

Because most of the events were conducted separately by grade.

And the rewards or punishments would be based on the final total score.

In other words, each class would fight to get the highest score for their own class.

As for negotiating with the other team, there was no need for that at all.

Because the final result of the competition had two parts: one was the total score of the major team, and the other was the total score of the individual class.

For the class total score, everyone had to give their best to avoid being in last place.

As for the major team’s total score, as long as each class gave its best and the other class did the same, wouldn’t that be enough?

Did they really need the other side to ease up on them?

Originally strong people, if they deliberately show humility because of their incompetent teammates, will only end up being surpassed by their enemies.

The result of this will ultimately be both classes ending up at the bottom.

So, their opponents are not only the two classes from the other group but also another class within their own group.

The so-called “cooperation” is nothing but a joke.

Cooperation is based on mutual benefit.

But they don’t have the foundation or conditions for mutual benefit.

Because, in the end, there can only be one winner.

What they can do is ensure that their own class can give its all.

And Ryuen, he also saw through this.

So he didn’t plan on wasting time with meaningless discussions, because in the end, they would still have to compete.

“…” The students from Class C.

Ichinose and the others seemed to have understood the situation completely, realizing that the punishment for this test was severe, and no class wanted to be at the bottom and lose points.

So, all classes would surely try their hardest to increase their total scores.

There were very few projects where the two classes could cooperate.

So, the idea that Hachiman and the others proposed—asking them to let their class slack off—would lower Class C’s total score.

Class C was being set up for failure.

However, Ichinose and the others were good people in the end.

They didn’t outright refuse the request.

“Hachiman, Horikita!”

At this moment, a student came running over. “It’s bad, Sudo went to find Ryuen!”

Sudo?

Hachiman and Horikita exchanged a glance and then ran toward the exit of the gymnasium.

From a distance, they saw Sudo confronting Ryuen’s class directly.

“This hot-tempered guy…” Horikita furrowed her brows.

“Not hard to understand.” Hachiman said.

Back in the first month, Sudo was set up by Ryuen in the “Sudo hitting incident,” and at that time, Hachiman and the others had advised Sudo to hold back, saying that he’d definitely find an event suited to his strengths.

So now, the sports festival was Sudo’s home turf.

Since it was his home turf, Sudo had to stir things up to make it worthwhile for himself.

“Horikita, you should slow down.” Hachiman added.

“You mean…”

“Let Sudo provoke Ryuen a bit.” Hachiman said.

Oh.

Horikita understood that Hachiman hoped to extract points from Ryuen during this sports festival. So, the more they soured their relationship with Ryuen, the more likely Ryuen would target their class.

Then they could set things up accordingly.

So now, with Sudo confronting him, it could be used as a strategic opportunity to record or film Ryuen’s underhanded tactics.

…

At the entrance of the gymnasium.

The tall and thin Sudo with his red crew cut blocked Ryuen’s path.

“Ryuen, I still remember the grudge from before!”

“This time, during the sports festival, I’m going to crush your class completely!”

Sudo stood at the forefront, stepping forward with his right foot, sneering, “And now you’ve fallen to Class D, while I’m already in Class B!”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Ryuen glanced at him coldly and said indifferently, “That won’t last long. I admit, I was careless before.”

“But this time, are you ready to face my retaliation?”

Ryuen’s eyes were sharp like an eagle’s, his gaze aggressive and unsettling to many.

He admitted his previous failure.

But that was only because he misjudged the level of Hachiman and the others and underestimated their shamelessness.

“Ryuen, you’re too arrogant,” said Horikita, who had just arrived, her expression calm as she spoke coldly, “Not only are you opposing Class B, but you’ve also actively severed ties with Class A. This is a team competition, haven’t you thought about the consequences?”

“Consequences…” Ryuen laughed mockingly and shook his head. “As expected, this is all you’re capable of.”

“…” Horikita’s gaze turned sharp. Even she, being looked down upon like this, felt anger rising.

“Let’s end it here. For this exam, just worry about yourselves. Your class has plenty of trash, but you managed to get into Class B,” Ryuen said, his hands in his pockets, his gaze briefly landing on Hachiman who was rushing over.

He quickly looked away.

“It’s just luck. If you’re not deserving, you’ll fall down soon enough.”

Saying this, Ryuen led his class out of the area.

“Are you going to slink away with your tail between your legs?” Sudo shouted at Ryuen as he stood in place.

“First, beat Koenji in your class,” came Ryuen’s distant voice.

“%￥# (cursing).” Sudo muttered angrily.

This was one of the things Sudo hated most—he really wasn’t as good as Koenji.

And that guy Koenji was actually planning to give up!

“This exam, even if it’s just me, I can crush Class D!” Sudo, however, was unexpectedly fired up.

Afterward, Sudo was persuaded by Mama Hirata to leave.

Meanwhile, Hachiman and Horikita returned to the gym.

But…

“You performed quite well just now,” Hachiman said. “You’ve learned to act.”

This comment referred to the exchange between Horikita and Ryuen, where Ryuen underestimated her.

But Horikita had probably seen through the true meaning of the cooperation this time, so her comments seemed shallow and out of place, which could only mean she was acting.

“I just mimicked Kushida a little,” Horikita Suzune replied.

She explained the source of her acting.

“I see.”

Hachiman nodded lightly.

But inside, he was a little surprised because Horikita Suzune, who usually seemed stubborn, actually had a strong intuition.

That’s right.

If you’re going to act, mimicking Kushida is the right choice.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In the team.

“Ah-choo—” Kushida sneezed.

“Are you alright, Kushida?”

“Could it be a cold?”

“I have a special method for quickly recovering from a cold…”

There were many students in Kushida’s class who acted like her loyal fans, immediately surrounding her to offer their concern.

To this, Kushida gave a sweet, angelic smile.

But inwardly, she found it all a bit ridiculous.

Didn’t these people ever look in a mirror? With their crooked teeth and odd looks, they still thought they could pursue her.

Sigh.

It was better to interact with Hachiman than with these people.

At least he didn’t bring her trouble, and she could even vent her frustration.

But now, they left her here, and he only took Horikita Suzune away.

So annoying.

The discussion meeting lasted for 40 minutes.

During that time, the seniors from Class B and Class C from the upper grades also visited.

They likely came to offer encouragement, urging everyone to work hard.

They also explained that everyone didn’t want to lose points, so they should try their best to increase their class’s total score.

Then, the total scores would be combined into the overall group score, and everything would be fine.

However…

“Can I ask a question?” Hachiman stopped one of the seniors from Class C in the third year.

“What is it?”

“My class has students who aren’t good at sports and aren’t good at studying,” Hachiman said. “And your class probably has students like that too. How do you handle it?”

“Huh? Aren’t you from Class B?” The senior looked surprised.

It was clear that he hadn’t heard that Class D from the first year had already been promoted to Class B.

This also revealed that the seniors knew that the initial order of the classes—A, B, C, D—was an indication of the overall strength of the students.

They knew that Class B was excellent, and Class C was considered weak.

“We barely managed to move up from Class D,” Hachiman said.

“Are you sure?” The senior from Class C still seemed quite surprised, but he didn’t shy away from the topic. “Of course, we also have some students in our class who aren’t good at studying or sports, but these things can only be overcome by oneself. There are almost three weeks left before the sports festival. Use this time to work hard.”

I see.

It seems like the upperclassmen are also having a tough time.

And I don’t need to worry too much about the underachievers in my class because, since Sakayanagi is unwell and won’t participate, she’ll definitely end up last.

As for Koenji, that’s still uncertain.

But many of the students in the upperclassmen’s Class C and D are also not great at academics or sports.

So, in the end, the bottom 10 spots will likely include some upperclassmen as well.

With that in mind…

The next day came.

In the afternoon after school, the students of Class B from the first year were gathered together.

They were about to undergo a physical fitness test.

Hirata and Kushida began maintaining order, while Hachiman had already applied to the teacher, Chabashira, for the use of some sports equipment, so he was preparing to take Horikita to collect the keys.

It seemed like everyone was somewhat excited.

Of course…

“Well then, goodbye everyone.”

“I’m looking forward to your performance in the sports festival,” Koenji said as he picked up his bag and seemed ready to leave.

“Koenji!” Sudo shouted angrily in response.

However, Koenji didn’t stop.

Instead…

“Also, you hiding here isn’t exactly a noble move,” Koenji’s voice could be heard from afar.

Some students noticed this by the back door.

“Those are students from Class D,” one of them immediately said.

Though they had been at school for over three months, and everyone had started to form relationships, some students, like Kushida and Ichinose, with their great social skills, were able to know the students from other classes, while others still didn’t know much about them.

But this student was sure because the one who was spotted by Koenji often stayed close to Ryuen’s side.

So they immediately confirmed it.

“Is that Ryuen guy?”

“They must be treating our class as a serious rival!”

…

Hachiman and Horikita exchanged a glance.

They both understood the message from the other.

Ryuen had already set his sights on their class.

So, after the physical test today, they could try to arrange for Kushida to be sent as a spy.

With that, the two of them made their way to the office.

Their class had been promoted to Class B, and although the class position didn’t change, the class nameplate was switched, and the teachers’ desks were rearranged.

Hachiman and the others searched until they found Chabashira’s new desk.

Chabashira sat at her desk and opened the left drawer.

“I’ve definitely given you the keys,” she said.

“After using the equipment, you’ll need to gather everything back and return the keys,” Chabashira instructed.

“Understood,” Horikita nodded.

Then, the two left the office.

“How nice.”

“Working with the opposite sex is always pleasant,” a female voice said after watching Hachiman and Horikita walk away.

It was Hoshinomiya Chie.

Now, Chabashira was sitting at her original desk, but Hoshinomiya still had a smiling expression.

However, Chabashira could tell that something had changed about her friend.