"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

Honami Ichinose continued to try her best to maintain a smile.

But the weariness and gloom between her brows revealed the immense pressure she was under.

She chose to remain silent.

There was no strong rebuttal; it seemed they just wanted the controversy to die down as quickly as possible.

But this silence seems to have become a kind of tacit agreement in the eyes of some people.

"Why doesn't Ichinose explain?"

Some students whispered in confusion.

"Perhaps... there really is something he can't say about it?"

Speculation is brewing.

Deputy squad leader Ryuji Kanzaki frowned.

Seeing the change in the class atmosphere and Ichinose's restraint, I felt extremely anxious.

He absolutely refused to believe those absurd rumors.

He needs to act quickly.

We must find the source of the rumors and clarify the facts.

To restore the unity of Class C and the honor of Ichinose.

He thought of Hashimoto Masayoshi from Class A, with whom he had previously worked.

Class A has good connections and might be able to provide clues.

He immediately contacted Hashimoto.

Hashimoto presented the information he had obtained from Ryuen and that he had "verified."

Based on his own judgment, he revealed it to Kanzaki.

The result was obvious: the rumor originated from Class D.

The clues provided by Longyuan were successfully guided in the intended direction.

After school.

The final act, meticulously planned by Longyuan, is about to unfold.

However, since this is only the first day of his plan, the chances of success are still unclear.

But what is known is that these gossip stories have already spread among the first graders.

He sent two students from Class B.

They were "coincidentally" discussing something in hushed tones near Class C's classroom.

The content was naturally about Class D spreading rumors, and the volume was neither too loud nor too soft.

Just in time for the students in Class C who happened to be leaving the classroom to hear it.

"It was definitely those guys from Class D who did this! They can't stand seeing others do well just because they're not good enough themselves!"

"Especially that Sudo Ken, he looks very irritable, he might be the one who instigated it!"

This was overheard by Chihiro Shiranami, who had just been preparing to "confess" to Ichinose.

Chihiro Shirami deeply admires and respects Ichinose.

Hearing this, her little face immediately puffed up with anger.

Subconsciously, I followed the two students from Class B, wanting to hear them more clearly or to question them.

Two students from Class B pretended not to notice.

Leading Bai Bo along the way, they arrived at the fork in the road leading to the stadium, where there was a lot of foot traffic.

Just then, Takeru Sudo finished his basketball team training and walked over, covered in sweat.

The two students from Class B immediately raised their voices.

Pointing at Sudo:

"Look! It's him! Takeru Sudo from Class D! He must be the one spreading rumors!"

Takeru Sudo was stunned by this sudden accusation.

My temper flared up instantly:

"Huh?! What nonsense are you spouting?! Who's spreading rumors!"

Chihiro Shirami followed closely, and upon hearing Sudo's denial and recalling what she had just heard, she couldn't help but angrily retort in a low voice:

"You guys in Class D... you're the ones spreading rumors about Ichinose!"

Even though Sudo has grown up a bit and his temper isn't as explosive,

But when a girl from Class C, whom he didn't even know, criticized him, he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Hey! Stop making baseless accusations! Our Class D didn't do anything like that!"

His aggressive attitude frightened Bai Bo, causing him to take a step back.

Her eyes were slightly red, but she still stared at him stubbornly.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Ryuji Kanzaki, who had been secretly observing and following Shiraha, saw this and...

He immediately strode forward, shielding Shiraha behind him, and looked at Sudo with a cold expression:

"Hey student, please show some respect! Let's talk this out, don't threaten our classmates!"

Sudo was already angry when he saw another student from Class C arrive.

Feeling that the other side was bullying them because they outnumbered them, they shouted without thinking:

"You other classes ganged up on our Class D! And you expect me to talk this out?!"

"We just want to know the truth! Are the rumors related to Class D?"

Kanzaki argued forcefully, his tone firm.

Where is the truth?

Sudo roared, in his excitement,

He subconsciously took a step forward, seemingly intending to attack.

Kanzaki's eyes sharpened, and he immediately assumed a defensive stance, preparing to protect Shiraha and stop the other party.

A physical conflict seemed imminent—

Right now!

A figure, like a ghost, silently slipped between the two!

No one saw how he appeared.

It was as if he had been standing there in the blink of an eye.

He stood tall and composed.

It was Sakamoto.

His movements were faster than anyone could have imagined.

In the instant before Sudo could fully assume his attack stance and Kanzaki could fully deploy his defense—

Sakamoto's right index and middle fingers were brought together.

With a speed too fast for the naked eye to detect, it flicked the elbow joint of Sudo's outstretched arm with perfect precision!

"despair!"

A very faint, crisp sound.

Sudo felt a sudden numbness throughout his entire arm.

The power that had been gathered seemed to vanish in an instant, and his arms fell limply to his sides.

He staggered slightly as his effort failed.

At the same time, Sakamoto's left hand seemingly casually swung forward.

The sleeve stirred up a gentle yet irresistible current of air, perfectly halting Kanzaki's forward momentum.

This helped him regain his balance.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.

Fluent, precise, and understated.

It instantly defused a potential conflict.

Sakamoto pushed up his glasses.

The glasses reflected the corridor lights, and his tone was calm and even:

“Private fights are prohibited in public places. If you two have a dispute, you might as well resolve it in a more rational way.”

Sudo and Kanzaki were both stunned.

Seeing Sakamoto suddenly appear, he was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

Chihiro Shirami also opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Sakamoto's gaze fell on Sudo and Kanzaki:

"Rumors stop with the wise, and violence only breeds greater misunderstandings. I urge everyone to remain calm."

Sudo Ken was panting heavily.

He glared at Sakamoto, but his fist had already loosened.

Ryuji Kanzaki took a deep breath.

He looked at Sakamoto with a complicated expression, but he stopped charging forward.

P.S.: I feel that the plan I wrote in this post is not very complete, and it's a bit far-fetched.

But I lack the ability, and this seems to be the best idea I can come up with.

We can't just send Ryuen's underlings out to fight like in the original story, can we?

I'll finish this chapter as soon as possible. This kind of plot isn't my comfort zone. I'd rather write more about Sakamoto showing off.

The original work was skipped for a whole month, so I couldn't just skip it too much. Please excuse my poor writing (sad).

I updated too late today! I'll only post two chapters so far. I'll post four more tomorrow to speed things up.

First Year Transition (Not very well written, you can skip this): Chapter 086: Student Council Secretary Sakamoto

Ryuji Kanzaki did not sleep all night.

The near-breakup in the corridor yesterday,

And Sakamoto's inexplicable yet extremely efficient intervention,

It was deeply etched in his mind.

But what troubled him even more was...

It's those vicious rumors that are still quietly circulating among the students.

And the exhaustion that Ichinose Honami couldn't hide beneath her forced smile.

He cannot let this situation continue.

As the deputy of Class C, he felt a great sense of responsibility.

He longed to protect this class.

Protect that hard-won unity and warmth.

We will never allow ourselves to be undermined by malicious slander and despicable means.

Longyuan?