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Following the incident involving Instructor Onizuka's rescue, Furuya Rei and the others saw their prestige at the police academy skyrocket. Countless peers from their cohort began proactively striking up conversations with them.
"Furuya-kun, could you give me a few pointers on your marksmanship and aiming techniques?"
"Date, your upper-body strength is absolutely unreal. What does your daily workout routine look like?"
"Hagiwara-kun! Any chance you can squeeze me into the next mixer?!"
Countless dialogues of a similar nature flooded their daily routine. Simultaneously, while only a select few had personally witnessed the dinner knife, a narrative inevitably spread like wildfire through word of mouth, giving rise to the legend of the "Mysterious Knife Flicker."
Satoru Gojo's eyelid twitched slightly when he caught wind of this brand-new moniker.
Why does this sound exactly like some low-budget period drama ronin... Like a disposable extra whom the protagonist casually slaughters in a tavern.
By comparison, even "Instructor Slayer" cut a significantly cooler figure.
After wrapping up dinner at the cafeteria, the six-man circle of the Onizuka class made their way back to the dormitories along the paved campus paths.
"I heard the instructor actually ran interference and spoke up on our behalf," Furuya Rei initiated the conversation. "Neither the infraction regarding the unauthorized use of firearms nor the possession of contraband blades... will be pursued further."
"The situation was critical, after all. The instructor isn't fundamentally that rigid," Hiromitsu Morofushi offered with a gentle smile.
Right at that moment, several cadets from the neighboring cohort caught sight of their group and enthusiastically closed the distance to greet them. Having grown thoroughly accustomed to this sort of reception, Furuya Rei and the others prepared to exchange a few polite, standard pleasantries.
However, the moment the neighboring cadets' gazes drifted toward the black-haired youth lingering at the rear, their speech instantly faltered, and they collectively took a cautious half-step backward.
"H-Hello, Hisano-kun! See you around!"
Blurting out the words in a frantic rush, they executed a rapid retreat that borderline resembled a jog, as though escaping a legendary apex predator.
Furuya Rei: "...?"
Jinpei Matsuda narrowed his eyes. "Hey, what was that about?"
Kenji Hagiwara rested a hand against his chin, entering a thoughtful stance. "If I remember correctly, those guys belong to Instructor Yamada's cohort... Right, didn't Little Hisano report to their facility earlier to assist with marksmanship instruction?"
Wataru Date likewise found the behavior highly peculiar. "That manner of fleeing... looked less like a casual departure and more like they were terrified of being detained?"
Everyone simultaneously turned their focus onto Satoru Gojo, their eyes gleaming with a thirst for gossip... no, a profound academic curiosity.
"Hisano, what exactly did you do to Instructor Yamada's students?"
Gojo blinked his eyes with absolute innocence. "Nothing whatsoever. Didn't I just assist in guiding them? I was exceptionally approachable and thoroughly dedicated."
"Approachable? Dedicated?"
Jinpei Matsuda looked as though he had just been told a fairy tale. "Are you out of your mind?"
"But I'm merely presenting the objective facts." Gojo shifted the lollipop dangling from his mouth. "Mm... Could it be that I accidentally crushed their spirits a tiny bit?"
Well, it couldn't be helped; a portion of those cadets possessed truly abyssal marksmanship. As their ultimate future adversary and the definitive vanguard of the dark organization, Kaiser found himself profoundly dismayed and felt compelled to apply a touch of high-intensity pressure.
As for the actual scenarios at the range...
Scenario One:
A tense new recruit raises his handgun with trembling hands, locks onto the target, and squeezes the trigger.
Bang!
An outer ring score of seven points.
"Wow, not bad at all." Gojo strolled over with his hands casually tucked into his pockets, a brilliant grin stretching across his face. "Is this your very first time landing a seven?"
"Um... Hisano-kun, is there any specific area I need to refine?"
Gojo replied with absolute candor, "Honestly, there's nothing left to refine."
The recruit beamed with instant delight, "Really?!" Was he actually that naturally gifted?
"After all, with a baseline score like this, you can comfortably retire to your hometown and take up farming without any lingering regrets."
The recruit: "Eh?!"
Scenario Two:
Another cadet approached with visible trepidation. "Hisano-kun, did I display noticeable progress compared to my previous attempt?"
Gojo cast a fleeting glance over the results and gave a slight nod. "Mm, there's progress."
"Fantastic!"
"You've successfully advanced from 'Utterly Abyssal' to 'Barely Legible.'" Gojo delivered a seamless follow-up strike. "However, maintaining this specific trajectory, by the time you reach the official age of retirement, you should be fully capable of landing an eight."
The cadet's smile instantly calcified.
Scenario Three:
A relatively outstanding cadet bragged with immense pride, "Hisano, did you catch that? I landed a nine!"
"Wow, simply spectacular."
"Right? I was only a fraction away from a flawless score—"
Gojo pondered for a brief two seconds before inquiring, "Do you suffer from severe myopia?"
The cadet blanked for a moment. "No, obviously not. Anyone with vision impairment gets filtered out during the initial entrance screenings."
"Then considering the dead center of the target features a massive red bulls-eye, how exactly did you manage to throw your shot wide?"
"..."
Absorbing the retrospective summary, Kenji Hagiwara couldn't help but sigh dramatically. "Little Hisano, your tongue can truly be venomous when you want it to be."
Jinpei Matsuda let out a sharp click of his tongue. "You bastard, you literally have zero awareness of how intensely punchable you are, don't you?"
Furuya Rei pinched the bridge of his nose. "No wonder they bolt the moment they spot you. In a very literal sense... you're significantly more terrifying than Instructor Onizuka."
Wataru Date entered a contemplative stance. "Could this perhaps be the legendary 'High-Pressure Educational Methodology'?"
The black-haired, crimson-eyed youth let out a soft mutter. "Honestly, does none of you recognize the profound benevolence behind my actions?"
In objective reality, he could effortlessly discern the individual structural flaws and unique strengths of every single cadet, offering clinical, targeted avenues for refinement. Though the execution phase proved immensely agonizing to their pride, the cadets who had weathered his instruction had indeed displayed a quantifiable surge in their baseline accuracy.
"Yes, yes, Officer Hisano, whatever you say is absolutely correct."
Hiromitsu Morofushi's tone was incredibly gentle, carrying the exact cadence one would use to soothe an eccentric child.
"Little Hiro, your delivery is entirely half-hearted~"
As the sun gradually dipped below the western horizon, the silhouettes of the group converged and separated across the pavement, casting exceptionally elongated shadows beneath the twilight.
As the night deepened.
Evidently, the lingering efficacy of the Sweet Dreams Candy remained operational, allowing Hiromitsu Morofushi to slip rapidly into a profound, restful sleep. The dormitory room soon fell entirely silent, save for the rhythmic cadence of his steady breathing.
Lying flat across his mattress, Gojo willed his consciousness to shift, seamlessly accessing the parallel-world manga forum within his mind. He selected the "Manga Serialization" terminal, preparing to appreciate the newly minted contents of the latest chapter.
The title page for this particular installment featured a structural layout split into four distinct character panels. The upper tier showcased Matsuda and Furuya, while the lower segment highlighted himself and Morofushi.
Jinpei Matsuda was captured mid-yawn, his unruly curls slightly disheveled as he maintained a thoroughly indifferent posture. Furuya Rei cut a composed figure, his gaze casting a trace of calculating scrutiny toward his rival. Hiromitsu Morofushi's head was tilted at a subtle angle, looking as though he were anchored by an underlying weight of personal reflection.
As for Hisano Nozomi, his lips bore a faint, elusive smirk that rendered his baseline motivations entirely unreadable.
Gojo registered immense satisfaction with Gosho Aoyama's artistic execution. Impressive craftsmanship, keep this precise energy going~
Simultaneously, a massive cascade of forum comments frantically erupted across the interface.
[A new chapter! It's finally live!! Waaaaah, crawling out of my grave to sprint directly to the front lines—]
[Oh my god, this character blocking!! MatsuRei is peak aesthetic!!]
[Morofushi kitty, we absolutely adore you—can you please come home with me (doge face)]
[Little Nozomi's eyes are overwhelmingly hypnotic... He looks exactly like a noble vampire aristocrat!!]
[Hahaha, with these four gathered together, they have enough players to start a mahjong table~]
Gojo took the opportunity to glance down at his system metric panel.
[Popularity Points: 5,310,000↑↑↑]
Oh? Without checking for a handful of days, the volume has actually surged to this extent?
The system prompt materialized instantly: [After all, this aggregates the cumulative engagement metrics across the entirety of the parallel world. However, Host must remain vigilant; should your operational screen time drop during the later narrative arcs, the acceleration rate of your popularity accumulation will suffer an adverse impact.]
Relax, relax, there's zero need to sweat the metrics.
When it came to seamlessly inserting himself into the core narrative sequences... he was a thorough professional!
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