You Want to Recruit Me?!

Horikita did not want to argue with him.

The more she dwelled on it, the stronger her sense of defeat became.

Her gaze lowered as she looked at Uchiha's arm.

"Among all martial arts, nothing is unbreakable; only speed is unbeatable."

"One move mastered is enough to conquer the world."

"You can stick to your own style and train your straight punch to perfection."

Uchiha lowered his head and looked at his fist.

"I never planned to change."

What a joke.

All those flashy, messy attack moves felt nowhere near as satisfying as throwing a direct punch.

Horikita: "...?"

"Remember to wear gloves when you train. Try to avoid deforming or wearing down your knuckles."

Uchiha: "That won't be a problem."

Because he had Spotless. He just needed to regularly clean out the waste.

Once again, he marveled at how superpowers truly were superpowers—their uses were broad and absurdly overpowered.

"...?"

Horikita Manabu sighed, then walked over to a safe in the corner of the gym.

The cabinet had several locks on it, both traditional locks and electronic combination locks.

He opened them one by one, pulled open the door, and revealed something inside.

A pair of boxing gloves.

Dark red all over.

Uchiha stepped closer for a look.

The gloves' leather was matte and delicate, their stitching dense and neat.

Tyson's handwritten signature sat in the center of the knuckles, its lines wild and rough, like... unintelligible scribbles.

Horikita held them in his hands, his expression solemn as if reminiscing.

"These gloves are called 1986 Battle Red."

"My father went all the way to America and spent a fortune to win them at auction."

"They have been with me for seventeen years."

"I won the first fighting championship of my life wearing them."

"Now, I intend to give them to you..."

Holy shit!

Awesome!

Uchiha's eyes lit up.

These gloves had to be worth a fortune!!

But!!!

Uchiha knew that one should not accept bribes without earning them. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

His eyes shifted. "There are factional struggles in the student council too, right?"

Horikita Manabu shuddered from head to toe, turbulent waves surging beneath his eyes!!

"Who told you that?"

"I guessed."

The masked boy turned his back, striking the pose of an expert.

"Senior Nagumo doesn't seem to pay much attention to you, so I guessed that perhaps the two of you have conflicting ideals, which led to two separate factions."

That was how it always went in TV dramas.

Whether you were right or not, you had to say it first.

Horikita fell silent again.

Sometimes this kid acted completely unhinged, yet at other times his insight was terrifyingly sharp.

But the very next second, what the other boy said nearly made him lose it.

"I get it now. You're trying to bribe me to recruit me?"

Horikita: "...???"

What the fuck?! How is this little bastard's thought process so bizarre?!!

How the hell could he connect two completely unrelated things?!!!

"No, you're overthinking it. This is merely your welcome gift for joining. I promised it before."

Without another word, Uchiha rolled up the gloves and moved to stuff them into his backpack.

"Then I'll sell them for money."

"...???"

"...Why don't you give them back, then?!"

[Critical Hit +2005]

Horikita could not hold it in anymore. Why did this guy always refuse to play by the rules?!!

Uchiha tossed the gloves back, his eyes utterly free of impurity.

"If you can't bear to part with them, don't take them out."

"A gentleman does not take what another cherishes. I never intended to accept them from the start."

"After all, bare fists are a man's romance."

Horikita froze. You really don't want something this good?!!

Then what was with that money-grubber expression just now?!

Did you study Sichuan opera face-changing?!!

Was he pretending? Or...

No matter what, the gloves had been saved.

Composing himself, Horikita took a phone from a drawer and handed it over.

"This is an internal communication device exclusively for the student council. Take it. It contains intelligence, gossip, resources, mission information, and more."

"If you encounter danger, you can use it to call for emergency help. Rescue will arrive much faster than the police."

Uchiha accepted the phone and casually flipped through it.

The interface was very simple.

There were only icons for pending matters, training procedures, member information, meetings, intelligence, and so on.

He first tapped on member information.

Several unfamiliar names came into view.

[Vice President—Kiriyama Ikuha.]

[Secretary—Dianhe Gouxie.]

Uchiha finally understood the hierarchy of the core officials.

The number one position was the president. There was one.

The number two position was vice president. There were two.

The number three position was secretary, also called executive secretary. There were three.

There were only six people in upper management.

Next, he opened his personal information.

[Name: Uchiha Jiahao]

[Contribution Points: 0]

"What is this?"

Uchiha turned the phone around for Horikita to see.

Horikita Manabu took a glance and explained.

"Those points measure how much help and influence you provide to the student council. You can use them to exchange for rare resources, such as a one-time expulsion exemption."

"Oh."

Uchiha nodded.

After that, the two sat in silence.

After a long while.

Horikita began showing concern for his junior's life.

"By the way, have you made any friends?"

Uchiha pondered for several seconds before replying coolly.

"Friends? I don't need them."

"They aren't worthy of me."

[Critical Hit! Heroic Spirit +2026]

Horikita: "...??"

Heh heh heh!!!

Who the hell could withstand such grand words?!!

Only a godlike weirdo could say something like that.

Though he had expected it, he was still left speechless.

In this regard, the other boy was very much like his younger sister.

But the truth was this—

Uchiha was screaming complaints inwardly!!

I want to make friends too!!!

The problem is, everyone avoids me whenever they see me!!!

I don't even get a chance to start a conversation!!!

Ah!! I really want to make them submit with my fists!!

Anyone who doesn't want to be friends with me gets one punch!!

If that doesn't work, then two punches!!!

Horikita checked the time.

"I still have matters to handle. You can head back first."

"Fine."

Uchiha's figure flickered, and he vanished directly from the gym.

Time to go back to the dorm and watch anime!!!

The second week.

A school day.

Class D classroom.

"Ring ring ring!"

The dismissal bell rang.

The petite Wang Meiyu called out to Kushida.

"Kikyo, shall we go have lunch together?"

Kushida pressed her hands together and apologized cutely.

"Ah, I have something to do, so..."

Then she turned her gaze toward Uchiha, who was sleeping in the back row.

Yesterday, she had suddenly heard someone say that she could become good friends with anyone except Uchiha Jiahao.

Some had even questioned her social skills...

She could not tolerate that in the slightest!!!

Today, she would go meet that Jiahao. Even a godlike weirdo was still a person. As long as she communicated properly and found a topic that interested him, they would surely find something to talk about...

Wang Meiyu waved a hand, showing that she did not mind.

"It's okay! Let's make plans another time!"

Elsewhere.

A chubby boy with glasses held up a laptop and bragged.

"Yamauchi, Ike, this only costs eighty thousand! We get one hundred thousand every month anyway!"

Ike pulled out a precious treasure. "I bought a handheld console. I played all night yesterday—it was amazing!!"

Yamauchi reached out to snatch the laptop. "Let me see!!!"

His fingers frantically clicked the touchpad!!

Three seconds later.

His pupils shook, then he grinned and shouted excitedly.

"Whoa!!"

"There really are study materials! Should I play them out loud?!"

Tomura Hideo: "???"

Quite a few girls looked over, their eyes filled with the same disgust they would show a maggot.

Yet Yamauchi only grew more smug, feeling that he looked insanely cool!!

Then he started grappling the "Doctor" in a naked choke, and somehow, out of nowhere, they began fighting UFC!!!

A whole row of nearby desks and chairs toppled over!!

The enormous noise woke Uchiha. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and took a closer look.

Holy crap, Yamauchi was having another episode?!!

Hehehe.

This was great!!!

There was something entertaining to watch again!!!!