Four-Way Tug-of-War: Ryuuen's Plan. / Getting Ready to Make a Move, Getting Ready to Make a Move.
"Personnel changes are a minor issue; the key problem is that the core members of the Activities Department are currently Second Year students. If you go alone, you might find it a bit difficult to adapt."
"Isn't there also Kiriyama- senpai? Only through this channel can I gain access to the authority to recruit new members, and that's the most important thing."
Hashiba Hikaru's expression was very serious. The Activities Department is the core of the Student Council's management authority and also the key to personnel appointments. Only by starting from here can one continue to climb the ranks.
"You seem quite confident?"
Horikita Manabu did not give a clear answer, but instead raised a new question.
"Because after the third-year seniors step down, Nagumo will definitely have to recruit new people. He can't just fill all the positions with Second Year, otherwise he won't be able to control the first-year students."
Hashiba Hikaru and Miyabi Nagumo had met several times, so she was fairly familiar with his controlling nature and arrogant personality.
"I understand what you mean. Have you already chosen a suitable person within the first year?"
Horikita Manabu's thinking was very clear; he understood the boy's deeper thoughts.
"Certainly."
"Alright, I'll arrange for you to join the Activities Department after the Sports Festival. Kiriyama will assist you, provided you can gain his approval."
"I see."
"See you on the field later then,"
Horikita Manabu glanced at Hashiba Hikaru's confident expression. "I will give it my all in any competition, and I hope you will do your best as well."
"I will."
After the two people left, Hashiba Hikaru touched her wrist with a smile on her face.
This conversation was merely a statement from him; only by agreeing to formally join the group could he maximize the resources he could inherit from Horikita Manabu.
On one hand, even if it's not about competing with Nagumo, seizing power is always exciting.
After calming himself down, Hashiba Hikaru returned to the Red Team's tent. Unbeknownst to him, a long-haired man was standing at a corner of a wall in the distance.
Because of the distance, he couldn't hear the specific content of the three people's conversation, but he was able to take a photo from a good angle.
Ryuen Kakeru took out his phone and sent a photo to someone. After the other party received the photo, several new messages immediately followed.
[Then go ahead and do it. Only if you succeed will you be qualified to continue working with me.]
[But if you fail, I won't give you a second chance.]
[I hope you can show your skills.]
Ryuen closed his phone. This was the only member he had added who wasn't in the same grade, and the other person was none other than the Student Council Vice President — Miyabi Nagumo.
This is the trump card that allowed Ryuen Kakeru to take the initiative to challenge Hashiba Hikaru to a score contest. Nagumo had provided him with some information before the Sports Festival began, which was the list of Class A members participating in the recommended matches.
Everything will be completely different in the next game.
"Victory will surely be mine..."
291
Chapter 291 The Four-Way Tug-of-War Competition, Ryuen's Plan.
After the first recommended match, the break time was not long. In order to complete all the matches within one day, the school prepared a very detailed schedule, which will be executed accurately as long as there are no major problems.
"The next competition is the Four-Way Tug-of-War. Are all the students participating ready?"
Hashiba Hikaru looked at the few people who had already stood up in the tent. After all, it was a contest of strength, and all the participants in the Tug of War were boys.
"We're ready. We need to maintain our advantage and definitely get the best ranking."
Shibata felt he hadn't performed well in the previous group Tug of War competition, so he had to work hard in this event.
"I'm still quite confident; everything is just waiting for the competition to begin."
Kanzaki Ryuji nodded; his warm-up exercises were very practiced.
"No matter what, let's all do our best so that our class can achieve final victory."
The competition is about to begin. In traditional sports, it's always a matter of seeing who's the best. Hashiba Hikaru is confident because his teammate is Kanzaki.
The Four-Way Tug-of-War competition, as the second recommended event, has rules that differ significantly from those of a regular Tug of War.
The rules are that the four classes will compete simultaneously, in three rounds. Each class will send two students to participate in each round, for a total of six people.
The competition uses a special rope that is tightly twisted together in the middle and then extends in four directions. Participants need to hold the rope tightly and pull backward together, with the goal of moving the marked position in the middle into their own area. Once the standard is met, the supervisor next to them will raise the flag in his hand to announce the end of the competition.
The distance being dragged wasn't particularly far, but when students from all four classes were pulling together, it would require a great deal of strength to move the rope as they wished, making it not an easy victory.
Sometimes, the fight can become a fierce battle, with the rope eventually reaching a stalemate in the middle, depending on which side runs out of strength first, thus determining the final winner.
[The second Special Exam, the Four-Way Tug-of-War competition, is about to begin. First-grade group participants, please get ready. Three minutes to go.]
The broadcast came on time, Hashiba Hikaru looked at Shibata and another boy, Sumida Makoto, who were standing next to her. As members of the first group, they carried the expectations of everyone.
"Then I'll be off now. Please enjoy my performance!"
Shibata confidently led Sumida towards the arena. The areas for the four classes were marked on the ground with white lines. After he picked up the very thick rope, the other participants from the other classes also came over.
"Oh no, it's Yamada -kun?"
The students in Class A immediately spotted Shibata and his group's opponents. Class B and Class C both sent boys, while Class D sent the tall, mixed-race boy and another strong delinquent.
"Can Shibata defeat his opponent? I have a doubt about it..."
"Yes, Yamada's strength is incredible. I noticed it during the Bo-taoshi. He's like an iron tower, it's terrifying!"
Listening to everyone's discussion, Hashiba Hikaru's expression became somewhat serious. He hadn't expected Ryuen to field such a formidable weapon as Yamada Albert in the very first match. Once this guy appeared, the other classes' chances of winning would instantly drop significantly.
After all, each group only has two class members participating, so if it's just a contest of strength, they have a greater advantage.
"Damn it, it's Yamada- kun?"
Sumida tightly tied the rope to his hands, his expression somewhat grim.
"Yeah, although I knew there was a chance I'd run into him, I never expected to be this unlucky."
Shibata's expression was equally grim. He had been planning to put on a big show to demonstrate his abilities, but now it seemed he would be lucky if he didn't suffer a humiliating defeat in the end.
"Beep!"
The whistle blew, and in that instant, Yamada and the boy behind him exerted their strength together, pulling the marker in the middle of the rope toward Class D's position.
"Damn it, I can't give up!!!"
Shibata and Sumida Makoto gritted their teeth and strained backward, as did the other two classes, but because Yamada was so strong, their resistance was completely ineffective.
"Never mind, even second place is fine, Sumida, let's change our strategy!"
Shibata roared. If he really couldn't get first place, he planned to try his best to pull the rope to its final position. If it was close to Class A's position, he could get second place.
"Hehe, unfortunately, I'm not planning to give you second place either."
Sitting in the tent, Ryuen sneered. He waved his hand, and Yamada and the boys from Class D increased their force again, this time adjusting the angle as they exerted their strength.
"You bastards, what are you doing? This is treason!"
Shibata instantly noticed that the rope was moving at a different angle, getting closer and closer to Class D's position, and was actually starting to move towards Class C.
Because the positions of the classes in the red and white groups are staggered, if the game ends at this position, Class A will be in last place, and may not even be able to catch up with Class B.
"You!!!"
Upon seeing the direction the rope was moving, Shibata Sou into a rage. He never expected that the students in Class D would rather let the White Team get a good ranking than let them get second place.
"..."
After taking in the situation on the field, Hashiba Hikaru was also somewhat shocked. After signing the score competition contract with Class D, he guessed that Ryuen would not abide by the rules properly, but he did not expect him to do such a thing.
It sounds outrageous that he'd rather give points to the opposing team than let Class A score, but the score gap between the Red and White Teams has already widened, and such a small difference will hardly affect the overall trend. That's the source of his confidence to do this.
"Damn it, they're so despicable!"
"Yes, if this continues, Shibata and the others will become last."
As the students of Class A began to feel indignant, Yamada finally managed to drag the marker on the rope into Class D' s territory. The referee's countdown ended, and the first group's match came to a close.
"Whoosh!"
The expressionless referee raised the red flag behind Yamada Albert, officially ending the match. Shibata stared blankly at the scene, his anger surging uncontrollably. He was about to rush up and confront the other player, but was forcefully pulled back by the boy behind him.
"Don't lose your temper. Have you forgotten what happened to Sudo?"
"Damn it, this bastard's plan must have come from Ryuen!"
"Let's go back first and ask Classmate Hashiba what to do."
After Sumida returned to Class A's tent with Shibata, who was still furious, everyone immediately surrounded him.
"This isn't Shibata's fault, it's their despicable act of using such a method to make us come in last place."
"Yes, Shibata- san, don't be upset, it has nothing to do with you."
The points awarded for group rankings in the recommended matches differ from those for the overall competition: first place receives 50 points, second place 30 points, third place 15 points, and fourth place only 10 points.
This means that after the first round of the Four-Way Tug-of-War, the score difference between Class A and Class D in the recommended competition was instantly widened to 40 points.
In the previous Borrowing Race, Hashiba Hikaru won first place in her group, but Class D' s performance was also quite good, with one of their participants also winning first place in their group. After the race ended, the scores of the two classes were not far apart, but now they have indeed been completely overtaken.
"Classmate Hashiba, what are you thinking?"
Someone looked at Hashiba Hikaru's face.
"This must have been intentional on their part. Since Ryuen dared to bring out a contract to compete with us, it means they have their own trump cards."
The boy glanced at the tent beside him and pondered, "Let's not panic for now. Tug of War- war is ultimately a contest of strength. As long as we have the advantage, we're not afraid even if they cheat."
"We understand."
"Then let's use our absolute advantage to prevent them from reacting."
Seeing Shibata's crushing defeat, Kanzaki Ryuji was equally furious. He already disliked Ryuen, and now he felt even more so.
Good luck in the second group match!
Hashiba Hikaru looked at Kanzaki and another boy from Class A, Hamaguchi Tetsuya. Since Class D had already sent out their absolute ace in the first match, they wouldn't be so easily led by the nose in the second match.
"Come on!!"
After they were ready to head to the competition venue, for some reason, Hashiba Hikaru had a bad feeling. Since Ryuen had proposed the score bet with such confidence, it meant that he was very confident.
But Tug of War is a contest of strength. As the saying goes, strength can overcome all methods. As long as the lineup is strong enough, it won't be affected.
However, soon after, when the students of Class A saw the second round of contestants sent by Class D, everyone's face was filled with shock.
Because this time, their opponent was once again that tall Yamada, and he was teamed up with Ishizaki Daichi.
"Hey, what's going on? Didn't Yamada just go into battle?"
"Yes, this is clearly a violation!"
"But the referee didn't seem to say anything..."
Ichinose Shuuji's brows furrowed slightly as she analyzed, "Could it be that they used a substitute player?"
"This is it."
Hashiba Hikaru's expression darkened. He hadn't expected Ryuen to go to such lengths, first giving up his points to the opposing team, and then spending 100,000 points to have someone else play for him.
"Damn it... they're so despicable!"
"No wonder they dared to offer a two million bet; they never intended to have a normal competition in the first place!"
"This is indeed a bit troublesome..."
The boy touched his wrist. In the third round, it would be his turn to fight against another boy. If that Yamada- kun went up again, he would have to use his second chance of [Potential Burst] in order to win.
~~~~~
292
Chapter 292 Preparing to make a move.
When the towering Yamada reappeared on the field, both the participants and the spectators were startled. However, since the referee did not give any instructions about the violation, everyone quickly understood what had happened.
"Damn it, they actually used that trick?"
Hamaguchi Tetsuya's expression stiffened slightly. His strength was indeed considerable, but if he were to face Yamada, the outcome would likely be the same as Shibata's.