A Story Starting from Classroom of the Elite

The two collided, and the Boxing Club President stumbled back three steps, a strange smile on his face.

Although the boxing gloves limited their performance, making their attacks less powerful than bare-knuckle strikes.

Otherwise, I would have already blasted you down.

But you...

Sensing the other two arriving from behind, fists attacked from the left and right.

Tanaka Yukishin understood.

So that was it, a lure to draw the enemy in.

Tanaka Yukishin felt a slight sense of joy.

Not bad, much better than mindless brute force.

But since you know my data, you should know just how fast I am.

He dodged to the side, his right fist swinging out in a smooth, rotating arc.

Seeing their target dodge, the two had intended to pull back their strength to avoid hitting their teammate.

But they had practiced together for a long time.

They could already communicate simple information through eye contact.

Following the Boxing Club President's signal, they stepped forward instead of retreating, pressing the attack.

They successfully dodged Tanaka Yukishin's right hook by following the momentum.

Three pairs of sneakers dragged marks across the rubber floor, like the trajectory of a storm sketched by an abstract artist with charcoal.

Karuizawa Kei's straw had been chewed flat at some point, and carbonated bubbles burst one after another at the bottom of her cup.

The Boxing Club President used the force of the two, leveraging the white ropes behind him.

He turned the offensive momentum into a boost.

He charged straight toward Tanaka Yukishin on the side.

Their fists clashed again, but this time, it was Tanaka Yukishin who took a step back.

His soles screeched against the rubber mat, and the red spots formed by the ruptured capillaries on the President's arms looked like vermilion ukiyo-e under the overhead lights.

The sound of a camera shutter firing in rapid succession came from somewhere in the audience, as if pressing a pause button on this battle.

Shaking his slightly numb arm, he looked at Tanaka Yukishin, whose body showed no reaction.

The Boxing Club President sighed inwardly.

What a monster; with the ebb and flow of the exchange.

In our clash, he retreated, and I stood my ground.

Yet, it was my arm that went numb, while he remained completely unaffected.

However, this was something I already knew.

The only thing I didn't expect was that his stats would be this strong.

The three members of the boxing club reunited and reset their stance.

Sweat seeped through the fabric of their backs, evaporating into a hazy mist under the glare of the overhead lights.

For a brief moment, their shadows overlapped and merged, resembling the three-headed, six-armed Asura from mythology.

"You've done plenty of preparation, seniors."

"Not at all, the strong hone their claws, while the weak hone their wisdom."

"As the weak, if our fists aren't hard enough, we can only make up for it with wisdom."

As challengers, the three from the boxing club would never fight a battle they had no chance of winning.

After understanding the gap in their stats, they chose to gang up on him.

They had studied the brief sparring match between Tanaka Yukishin and Charle.

They confirmed that he didn't like to waste time.

So, they set a trap to lure him in.

It succeeded, but it didn't work.

This kind of tactic, only suitable for a surprise attack, was useless now that Tanaka Yukishin was prepared.

Now, it remained to be seen if the advantage of a group assault and the boxing gloves could land a hit on Tanaka Yukishin before he adapted.

This matter is also recorded in Baki.

After Retsu Kaioh lost a leg, he went to bully the weak in boxing.

At that time, Retsu was in a period of confusion after having his leg eaten by Pickle, and he began to question whether he could continue to seek the Way while being incomplete and restrained.

And the boxers proved to him how to fight while carrying restraints (referring to boxing gloves).

Not only that, but some of them were even able to turn these restraints into weapons.

The cameras at the four corners of the ring had turned toward the battlefield at some point, their red indicator lights forming a crimson cordon like a warning line.

The numbers on the referee's stopwatch flickered frantically, the vibration of the second hand gradually synchronizing with the rhythm of heartbeats.

The three of them dispersed once again into a triangular formation.

Exchanging glances, they rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise by turns.

It was as if a storm were launching a fierce assault toward the eye of the gale.

Trained bodies combined with masterful technique.

The strikes they unleashed were swift and fierce, made all the more powerful by their seamless coordination.

Within twelve seconds, twenty-seven blows were exchanged, and thin wisps of white smoke rose from the surface of their leather gloves.

Sweat droplets collided and shattered in mid-air, forming fleeting rainbows under the glare of the overhead lights.

Though fists wove a web of shadows around him, Tanaka Yukishin was not flustered.

With his focus sharpened, the shadows of the fists slowed, and the trajectories of the three attackers became clearly visible.

He was still using only thirty percent of his strength.

He continued to trade blows, driving the three of them back in turns.

To the eyes of those watching from below the stage.

The four people on the platform looked like four oversized spinning tops.

Tanaka-Go at the center collided rapidly with the other three.

With every impact, he sent his opponents flying.

Yet, the rebounding tops, like a wolf pack led by an alpha, rejoined the fray once more.

They launched a wave-like, alternating, and ceaseless assault.

Karuizawa Kei's fingernails unconsciously scratched fine marks into her plastic cup; she suddenly realized that her own breathing rhythm had synchronized with the frequency of the offense and defense.

At some point, the color had returned to Kiryuin Fuuka's face.

Seeing such a magnificent and unparalleled battle, a flush of excitement even colored her cheeks.

She was utterly mesmerized.

The members of the Karuizawa group could not help but sigh in wonder.

"I never understood why boys liked fighting before, but now I think I understand some of the appeal."

"Me too."

"I'm a bit different; I always thought if you have weapons, why not practice kendo or staff fighting? But now, I'm starting to understand a little, too."

The member who said this looked down at their trembling hands, where four crescent-shaped marks had been dug into their palms by their fingernails.

A stifled sob came from the back row of the audience; a boy was pressing his fist tightly against his mouth, a beast-like low growl leaking through his fingers.

Koenji Rokusuke was dazzled, yet his brain responded naturally.

"In ancient times, the ancestors of humanity used their bodies to struggle against other creatures and nature itself."

"The blood of battle passed down by our ancestors flows within us."

"The reason girls are not like boys is simply that they abandoned the identity of the warrior during the development of the era and the progress of history."

"This is also the origin of male chauvinism."

"In the distant past, men and women bore the same responsibilities."

"Back then, there were female warriors, female generals, and queens."

"Although it is peaceful now."

"Hot-blooded battles like this, where fists clash against fists, can still call out to the battle-blood within us."

Within two or three minutes, Tanaka Yukishin had exchanged over a hundred blows with the three of them.

To him, it felt far more satisfying than one-sidedly beating up delinquents and yakuza.

In terms of sheer ferocity, they were not as vicious as the thugs and gangsters.

But the pressure they exerted on Tanaka Yukishin was greater.

The combination of trained combat skills and numerical coordination.

Their actual combat power far exceeded the wild, unrefined brawling of the streets.

Of course, wild brawling was not without its merits.

Delinquents and yakuza were truly insane when they fought.

During the exchange of over a hundred blows, Tanaka Yukishin had long since grown accustomed to using boxing gloves and had mastered the basics of boxing.

With nothing left to gain, he accelerated his speed and drove all three of them back at once.

During the fight, they could rely on their fanatical battle intent and surging blood to support their punches.

Now that the three of them had exited that state and their blood had calmed, the reality set in.

Although they still had some energy left, their arms had long since become numb and sore from dozens of exchanges.

After clenching their fists and finding they couldn't muster any strength, the three of them immediately and decisively conceded.

The timer froze at 4:44, the bright red digits slightly distorted amidst the swirling mist of sweat.

The hand wrap that had fallen off the Club President slowly spun in mid-air, like the plume of a defeated samurai's helmet.

"We lost, but that was a hell of a fight. Consider us in your debt, Tanaka-kun. Let's go grab some barbecue later."

"Not at all, I had a great time as well."

"Don't worry about saving our face. You didn't even break a sweat. You're not even flushed or out of breath."

As Tanaka Yukishin took off his gloves, a wisp of white steam rose from the inside of the leather.

He lowered his gaze to stare at his palms, where the capillaries beneath his skin were calming down at a rate visible to the naked eye, like a coastline returning to silence after the tide recedes.

Although it was only a few minutes of fighting.

Under the high-intensity, high-frequency exchange of blows.

The three of them were drenched in sweat.

By comparison, it was clear that Tanaka Yukishin's stamina was far superior.

Moreover, just looking at his dodging speed when he was surrounded and attacked earlier, it was obvious he had been holding back.

Otherwise, even if his burst of power didn't last long, two or three punches would have been enough to take anyone down.

The three of them were only at the level of the Six-Nine Fist, after all.

Chapter 23 Friendship Match

As the three members of the Boxing Club walked off the ring, Kiryuin Fuuka approached them with towels and electrolyte drinks.