Tsukishiro: I Really Did My Best

But Tsukishiro wouldn't let him succeed, because the source of the video was questionable.

Although it wasn't fabricated, it existed before the incident; you can tell something's wrong with the video simply by looking at the video file's modification date.

Therefore, there is absolutely no way that Tsukishiro would let Nagumo take it.

Faced with Nagumo's sudden attack, Tsukishiro put away his phone and punched Nagumo in the stomach.

The immense force caused Nagumo's stomach to churn violently, and he vomited up everything he had eaten at noon.

"Vomit..."

"Take him away." Tsukishiro put away his phone, then glanced indifferently at Nagumo kneeling on the ground. "All other students who committed perjury are ordered to withdraw from the exam. Kiriyama and Kouenji, you may continue your exams."

As soon as Tsukishiro gave the order, staff members immediately came up and supported Nagumo on the ground.

Then, as they passed by Kiriyama burst into laughter.

"Serves you right, Nagumo."

Hearing Kiriyama's taunts, Nagumo turned his head, revealing a ferocious face. "Don't forget, if I get expelled, you'll get expelled too."

"Heh, that's not necessarily true. Do you want me to help you recall the contract we signed?" Kiriyama's face revealed a mocking smile. "It's clearly written in the contract that I will only be expelled along with you when you lose your bet with Shuichi Kanda and are forced to drop out of school."

But now, your withdrawal from school isn't because of the bet. You'll be expelled before the bet takes effect, so our agreement won't be valid, and I won't be expelled because of it."

Upon hearing Kiriyama's words, Nagumo was filled with disbelief. Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could he have been defeated in such a way?

The staff arrived quickly and left quickly, and soon only Kouenji and Kiriyama remained at the scene.

Seeing Nagumo being taken away, Kiriyama plopped down on the ground, took a deep breath, and then Kiriyama laughed.

The nightmare that had haunted him for nearly three years was finally about to disappear, and he was so happy he felt like he could fly.

Kouenji glanced at the somewhat deranged Kiriyama and quickly left.

Although Nagumo was defeated, Kouenji had not forgotten his mission in this exam: to get first place and fulfill his promise to Shuichi Kanda.

News of Nagumo being escorted to the ship by school staff spread quickly, Shuichi Kanda naturally received the news from Ryuen, who was staying at the port.

"Nagumo has already been dealt with. Judging from the current situation, even if he doesn't drop out on the spot, he can no longer interfere with the exam."

"Really?" Shuichi Kanda eyebrow. "You've really had a hard time."

"You're welcome, after all, it's a transaction." Ryuen hung up the phone.

After Kouenji pulled away from Nagumo's team by a huge margin, Ryuen knew that Nagumo would definitely resort to some unconventional methods.

Given such a large gap, it would be almost impossible to turn the tide using normal methods, so if it were him, he would definitely target Kouenji himself.

However, he understood that a human wave tactic wouldn't work against someone like Kouenji, so he had no choice but to take a risky approach. Using a self-inflicted injury to hurt himself and then frame Kouenji was a good idea.

He had tried this before, at last year's Sports Festival, but failed because someone saw through his plan.

Not long after the start of the new school year, Hosen also used this trick, but it was seen through and he failed.

Now, Nagumo used the same tactic, only to have it seen through and fail as well.

Having anticipated that Nagumo would use a self-inflicted injury Ryuen immediately contacted Kiriyama. Before bribing Kiriyama, he confirmed something with the school authorities.

That means if Nagumo is expelled before the bet is made, then the bet will not continue.

We mustn't get rid of Nagumo prematurely, only to lose all the points in his account. That would be disastrous. If that happens, Ryuen will have to find another way.

As soon as he asked the question, Tsukishiro immediately gave an answer, and the bet remained in effect.

After learning the answer, Ryuen immediately sent someone to contact Kiriyama and turned him to his side. It was Ryuen who taught him how to record the video.

However, if he knew that Kiriyama had hardly played a role, I wonder if he would be so embarrassed that he would dig a three-bedroom, two-living-room house out of the ground.

Of course, he wouldn't know about this, because those in the know wouldn't tell anyone. Kouenji wouldn't, because he's not a gossip, and Kiriyama wouldn't either, because it would be too embarrassing.

The students who were taken away will never mention this matter again, because they have completely abandoned Nagumo at this point. Who would want to die with him?

The faculty and staff won't either, because there's no need for it.

Shuichi Kanda would never know, because he genuinely believed that Kiriyama had recorded evidence of Nagumo's rule-breaking.

Nagumo's withdrawal from the exam instantly threw the third-year students into chaos, while Kiriyama, who remained on the island, played a crucial role at this critical moment.

"Kiriyama, what exactly happened? Why did Nagumo withdraw from the exam?"

Upon returning to the third-grade gathering point, students immediately posed questions to Kiriyama.

Although they didn't know that Nagumo had been taken away by the faculty and staff, they could find out that Nagumo had withdrawn from the exam.

Kiriyama made no attempt to hide the truth from them and told them directly before heading to find the students in Class 3-C and Class 3-D on the island.

Ensuring that these students would no longer hinder Kouenji after withdrawing from Nagumo was also one of the conditions for the cooperation between Kiriyama and Ryuen.

After the twelfth day of the exam, although the score gap between Kouenji Nagumo's group hadn't widened further, the outcome of the exam was no longer in doubt.

On the evening of the twelfth day, Shuichi Kanda and Ayanokoji arrived in the J10 area. They had already set up camp in the I9 area and were only there to fish.

This is the southeasternmost corner of the island. The road isn't easy to walk on, but the scenery is truly beautiful.

After the two arrived at the beach, they immediately heard a somewhat familiar voice.

Looking in the direction of the sound, Shuichi Kanda saw the people he had met on the first day of the exam: Nishino Takeko and Tsube Hitomi.

Besides them, there were three other girls present: Manabe Shiho, Morofuji Rika, and Hiyori Shiina from Class D.

Strangely, Ishizaki wasn't here.

"Kanda- kun, over here!"

The first person to notice Shuichi Kanda was Hiyori Shiina, who was sitting by the sea preparing to watch the sunset. When their eyes met, Shuichi Kanda clearly saw the surprise in her eyes and the smile on her face.

To be honest, Shuichi Kanda felt a little awkward in front of Shiina.

But since Shiina had waved him over, Shuichi Kanda had no choice but to shove the bucket in his hand into Ayanokoji's hands and then quickly walked over.

Watching Shuichi Kanda's departing figure, even Ayanokoji's expressionless face betrayed her utter speechlessness.

"What a coincidence, Kanda- kun, it's amazing to run into you here."

Shiina exuded a peaceful aura, which instantly calmed Shuichi Kanda's mind, and his previous anxiety was forgotten.

"Yes, you look more energetic than I expected." Shuichi Kanda sat down next to Shiina not far away.

"Everyone is working very hard, and the largest group has now expanded to six people."

"Really?" Shuichi Kanda looked around. "I don't see Ishizaki. Was he taken away by Ryuen to be a laborer?"

Coolie...

Shiina wanted to correct him, but she also felt that what he said wasn't wrong.

"Well, you could say that." Shiina smiled helplessly, then moved closer to Shuichi Kanda. "Kanda isn't on the same route as us, is he?"

"Yeah, Ayanokoji and I are camping at I9, planning to go fishing for dinner..."

The two sat together, watching the sunset, chatting idly until the sun went down.

"Kanda, it's time to go back."

Ayanokoji walked over carrying a large bucket of fish, followed by several girls from the Shiina group.

"Shiina, and Kanda, the sun has already set. Aren't you going to go back? Are you going to spend the night out in the middle of nowhere?"

Nishino Takeko looked at Shuichi Kanda and Hiyori Shiina, who were almost touching, with a mocking expression. The other girls stood behind them, pointing and chattering, but seeing that they didn't seem to mean any harm, Shuichi Kanda didn't bother to pay them any attention.

"So many fish..."

"There are so many fish, you two definitely can't finish them all, right? How about we lend you Hiyori, and you treat us to a meal?"

Before Shuichi Kanda could finish speaking, Nishino Takeko was already grinning mischievously.

"That's right, that's right, and I've also heard that you're a great cook, Kanda."

There seemed to be no other way, so Shuichi Kanda had no choice but to nod in agreement. As for lending Shiina out, Shuichi Kanda didn't take it seriously, since the location wasn't suitable.

So the group returned to the I9 area, Ayanokoji helped set up the tent, Shuichi Kanda began to cook the fish that Ayanokoji had caught.

After dinner, Shuichi Kanda went straight into his tent; otherwise, who knows what outrageous questions the girls would have asked.

On the twelfth night, after dinner, Shuichi Kanda and Ayanokoji went back to their respective tents. Shuichi Kanda planned to discuss the matter of Tsukishiro with Ayanokoji.

"Ayanokoji, Tsukishiro plans to settle things with you on this island. The last day, at I2."

"Oh."

Ayanokoji's muffled reply came from the opposite tent.

"Oh what? Are you going or not?"

"Hmm, are you going?"

"Sure, I'm going to see a play."

After hearing Shuichi Kanda's answer, Ayanokoji gave his reply.

"Then let's go."

Chapter 324 Tsukishiro: I Really Tried My Best

The next day, after having breakfast with Shiina, Shuichi Kanda parted ways with them, since they weren't on the same path in this exam.

On the thirteenth day of the exam, Kouenji was still fighting on the front lines. Although the Nagumo team had lost the support of Nagumo and many third-year students, he didn't want to suffer an unexpected setback.

Moreover, besides them, it's estimated that quite a few other groups are also preparing to exert their efforts in these last two days before the rankings become obscured.

Apart from groups aiming for the top spots, most students chose to abstain.

After a large number of students were forced to withdraw from the exam yesterday, most groups in Class 3-C and Class D of Grade 3 also withdrew.

Because they existed as a support group, they didn't have many points at all. The reason they were so proactive before was because Nagumo had promised to reward them.

But now that Nagumo himself is finished, they naturally have no obligation to help Class A's group achieve a good ranking.

Rather, they felt a sense of relief after seeing Nagumo's demise.

After being a local tyrant for so long, you're finally finished!

Therefore, for many students who have no hope of graduating from Class A, the thing they most want to see is Class A fall from the top.

As a result, the number of students on the island decreased significantly. According to information from Ryuen, about half of the students had withdrawn from the exam.

Most of them are in first grade and third grade.

The second-year students still hadn't given up on the exams. Although first place was practically in Kouenji's grasp, Sakayanagi had been eyeing second place for a long time.

Previously, Nagumo's team had only scored 100 points more than her team, but now that Nagumo has been eliminated, their morale has plummeted.

As long as we seize these last two days, victory is not impossible. Thinking of this, Sakayanagi felt very excited.

And so, the thirteenth day passed, and then everyone faced the final day of this Uninhabited Island Exam.

On the last day, after having breakfast, Shuichi Kanda and Ayanokoji set off from G3 towards the first indicated location, H3.

Are you ready?

Shuichi Kanda walked along, chatting idly with Ayanokoji.

Ayanokoji nodded.

"Ah, no matter what, I have to face Tsukishiro head-on, otherwise, who knows how many more people will be dragged into this because of me."

When it came to this particular matter, Ayanokoji was prepared.

Most importantly, now that Shuichi Kanda is on their side, even if Tsukishiro plays any tricks, they can rely on Shuichi Kanda's strength.

After all, he had witnessed Shuichi Kanda's skills firsthand; his strength was definitely no weaker than his own, and perhaps even greater, and his technique was far superior to his own.

The most crucial strength was also proven when he dealt with Kiryuin a couple of days ago; he seems to have no weaknesses.

Although it was strange how Shuichi Kanda managed to train to this level in just one year, Ayanokoji felt that some things were better left unexamined.

Therefore, Ayanokoji, who originally planned to go to the appointment alone, did not refuse Shuichi Kanda to accompany him.

"But you, are you really okay with doing this kind of thing with me?"

"This kind of thing? What kind of thing?"

Seeing Shuichi Kanda feign ignorance, Ayanokoji remained silent, only thinking that Kanda was truly a kind person.

At exactly nine o'clock, the second designated location for the last day of the day was I2, located in the northeast corner of the island. If they didn't know that this was a location chosen by Tsukishiro, the two of them would definitely find it strange.

Because this is the second to last designated location, and to facilitate the retrieval of students, the final locations are mostly on the beach suitable for mooring boats, and all of them are located in the south.