Yielding, Slaves to the Rules

Behind them.

Watching the scene unfold before him.

Kaneda froze for a moment, while Dragon Garden narrowed his eyes.

They had all heard the same conversation.

Yet Prince Ganlongdao had picked up on far more than they had.

Only now did they realize just how formidable his powers of logical deduction were.

More importantly,

his domineering, self-centered attitude seemed to make it easy for him to gather information.

Dragon Garden narrowed his eyes, increasingly put off by him.

He couldn't make sense of it.

What was Prince Ganlongdao trying to do? Where was he trying to lead the class?

"You didn't hear me?"

Prince Ganlongdao spun the basketball in his hands.

"Can't you see I'm about to play basketball with my girlfriend? We're taking this court."

At that, Katsuragi and the others all turned their eyes toward Shiho Manabe and the other girls.

Their gazes carried a hint of hostility.

Most women would have felt at least a little nervous under the unfriendly stares of so many boys.

Shiho Manabe was just the opposite.

Like a proud swan, she lifted her chin, looking almost honored. She clearly relished being the center of attention.

Shiho Manabe wasn't clever.

But she was the type to side with her own, no matter who was right. She would always stand by her side.

"I see."

Unfazed by the other boy's provocative tone, Katsuragi replied calmly,

"Then you should be able to see that there are other courts available nearby."

"Idiot."

Prince Ganlongdao sounded exasperated.

"Obviously, this court is better. Only the strong deserve the best courts. Usually, I wouldn't care, but now that we're here, don't you have the sense to leave?"

"You—watch your mouth..."

Totsuka flared up, but Katsuragi stopped him before he could finish. His expression unchanged, he sized up Prince Ganlongdao.

This guy...

He was just as domineering as he'd been at the club orientation.

The classes were bound to become rivals, so this was a good chance to test their strength.

"Only the strong deserve the best courts?"

Katsuragi glanced over the people opposite him and spoke in a low voice.

"In that case, why don't we settle it with a game? Five-on-five or three-on-three. That way, both sides can send out their strongest players."

"Yeah. You're all talk. If you've got the guts, let's play."

Totsuka and the others glared at Prince Ganlongdao's group. A sharp glint flashed in Katsuragi's steady gaze.

One court,

one game, one winner—it didn't matter.

The real goal was simply to gauge the strength of this group from Class C.

The people here were clearly the cream of Class C.

As long as Shiho Manabe was left out, Prince Ganlongdao could field his strongest subordinates for either a five-on-five or a three-on-three.

As for his own side...

Totsuka's build alone made it clear that they were only here to have some fun.

Neither Prince Ganlongdao nor Albert had a physique Totsuka and the others could handle. Anyone could see that Class A was bound to lose.

But Katsuragi didn't care in the slightest.

It was only one game. As long as he could assess Prince Ganlongdao and the others, he could make more targeted plans for the competition to come.

With Prince Ganlongdao's self-centered personality,

he was bound to be furious at the challenge.

"Idiot."

But when he saw the people from Class A taking the bait, Prince Ganlongdao sneered.

"Why are you Class A students such morons? I'm telling you to get lost, not asking you to negotiate."

"What did you say?"

Totsuka could hardly believe it. "We're Class A, and you're Class C!"

"Dumbass."

Prince Ganlongdao sneered.

"Class A gives you the freedom to choose your careers. When did the school ever state that Class A students were stronger than Class D students? Stop slapping the label of 'strong' on yourselves."

"You're playthings under someone else's rules, and you're proud of it."

"Don't make me laugh."

"Heh."

Totsuka and the others sneered, dismissing it as empty bluster.

Dragon Garden, Kaneda, and the others couldn't agree with him either.

They didn't think they were inferior to the students in Class A, but of course Class A was stronger.

And yet,

the school had never publicly said that Class A was better than Class D!

Although Kazuma Sakagami and the other homeroom teachers had looked down on them, most of their comments were colored by personal feelings and self-interest. The school itself had never taken a position on the matter.

It had merely offered a few perks.

To compete for those perks, people had ranked themselves by strength, then congratulated themselves for pushing others beneath them.

In Prince Ganlongdao's eyes,

those who took pride in being in Class A and those who struggled to rise from the bottom

were all just playthings in the school's hands.

No one could succeed under someone else's rules. To succeed, you had to make others follow your rules.

"Enough."

Prince Ganlongdao waved them away in distaste.

"Katsuragi, all you want is to gauge our strength. You want to compete with me? You think you can stand on the same court as me? Dream on!"

"Dragon Garden, Albert. See them out."

At his words,

Albert, wearing sunglasses, stepped in front of Katsuragi and the others, forcing them to keep backing away.

Dragon Garden hesitated for a moment, then decided against it.

Since he was conceding for now, he might as well give Prince Ganlongdao some face. In front of outsiders, he would follow his orders.

With that thought,

Dragon Garden shoved Totsuka and the others along.

They were on an outdoor basketball court, with nothing but open space all around. There couldn't be any surveillance cameras here; he knew the locations of all the cameras by heart.

Even if a fight broke out, there'd be room to maneuver.

Besides,

Prince Ganlongdao wanted to see the leaders of the other classes, and Dragon Garden was just as curious to observe Katsuragi and the others' reactions.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Totsuka stumbled, nearly losing his balance, and glared at Dragon Garden.

To be fair,

the students in Class A were quite well-mannered.

Even now, none of them struck back. They stubbornly pushed against Albert with their bodies, but there was no way they could match his build.

In the end,

all they could do was keep grumbling as they were pushed back.

"Katsuragi, what are you afraid of? They started it. Let's hit them."

"That's enough."

Just then,

Katsuragi raised his hand to stop the others behind him and took a long look at Prince Ganlongdao's group.

"If you want this court, you can have it. But don't think you can make it to Class A this way."

With that,

Katsuragi turned and left with Totsuka and the others, heading for the neighboring court.

There were plenty of basketball courts, after all.

There was no need to pick a fight with Prince Ganlongdao over this.

More importantly,

Katsuragi looked back at Prince Ganlongdao and the others as they got ready to play.

That guy had seen right through all his intentions. He glanced at the groups they'd divided into; Prince Ganlongdao didn't seem to have any intention of hiding his strength, either.

At the thought,

Katsuragi felt a knot of unease in his chest.

Although Classes C and D had both fallen to zero points in the first month,

unlike Class D, which still hadn't united, Class C had been united from the very first day. It might prove to be a formidable opponent.

And yet,

the next second, as Katsuragi watched Prince Ganlongdao and the others playing basketball, his pupils contracted to pinpricks.