Arc 3 Tropical Warfare
The Student Council Vice President's office felt cold—not because of the air conditioning, but due to the emptiness that filled its atmosphere.
Nagumo Miyabi sat leaning back in his leather chair, his legs crossed over the polished mahogany desk. In his hands, a tablet displayed the latest statistical data for the entire student body of Advanced Nurturing High School.
To most students, this data represented sacred numbers that determined life and death. To Nagumo, it was merely the scoreboard of a game he had already won.
"Boring," he muttered softly.
His eyes flicked toward Kiriyama Ikuto, who stood rigidly near the door, sorting through the disciplinary report files for the second-year cohort.
"Hey, Kiriyama. Don't you feel like this school has gotten awfully quiet lately?" Nagumo asked, his tone lazy yet laced with needles.
Kiriyama didn't stop his work. "That is because you have already crushed or subjugated anyone who tried to speak up, Nagumo. The second years are now entirely in the palm of your hand."
"And that's exactly the problem," Nagumo tossed his tablet onto the desk with a harsh clack. "There's no resistance. No intrigue. You're boring, Kiriyama. You gave up far too quickly. The others are the same. They'd rather be obedient dogs than wolves that actually bite."
Nagumo scoffed. His ambition was to transform this school into a true meritocracy where individual ability was valued above all else—a stark contrast to the traditional system staunchly upheld by Horikita Manabu.
He wanted to defeat Manabu. He wanted to prove that his ideology was superior. But to prove that, he needed chaos. He needed conflict.
And ironically, he had created a tyrannical peace within his own cohort.
"At the very least," Nagumo said, picking his tablet back up and swiping the screen to the 'First Years' tab. A faint smirk began to carve itself onto his handsome face.
"This year's new toys look much more... shiny."
On the screen, a bar graph displayed a statistical anomaly that had never before occurred in the school's history.
First-Year Class Point Rankings (Early June):
1. Class A (Ichinose): 1,075 Points
2. Class B (Sakayanagi): 1,046 Points
3. Class C (Horikita): 1,040 Points
4. Class D (Ryuen): 490 Points
"Three classes with over a thousand points..." Nagumo whispered, his eyes gleaming with profound interest. "Usually, by the second month, the class points have already crumbled to dust. But they held their ground. They fought tooth and nail."
His eyes scanned the names of the leaders of this "Golden Generation."
He skipped past Class D quickly. Ryuen Kakeru. Reports stated he led through terror and physical violence.
"Barbarian," Nagumo sneered. "Physical violence is the lowest form of strategy. Someone like that will destroy himself before he ever reaches the top. Not worth my attention."
His eyes shifted to Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu. Two fascinating girls. One led with love and trust, the other led with intellectual dominance. Both were brilliant.
However, Nagumo's true attention was drawn to Class C. The class that had risen from the bottom of the abyss in just one month.
He tapped on Horikita Suzune's profile.
"Horikita Manabu's little sister..."
Since the beginning of the academic year, Nagumo had been keeping an eye on this girl. Initially, he only wanted to use Suzune as a tool to mentally shake Manabu. He had predicted Suzune would be a rigid girl, obsessed with her brother, and easily broken under pressure—a weakness he could exploit to humiliate the supposedly perfect Student Council President.
The initial reports from her middle school had confirmed exactly that: antisocial, arrogant, difficult to work with.
But the latest data in front of him told a very different story.
A drastic increase in points. A solid point-defense strategy. Negotiations. And most importantly... the look in her eyes when they passed each other in the hallway the other day.
Those were not the eyes of a follower. Those were the eyes of a leader forging her own path.
"She's evolving," Nagumo analyzed. His finger tapped Suzune's photo. "Manabu-senpai is a solid, unshakable fortress. But his sister... she's flexible. She adapts. She's starting to learn how to use other people as assets, rather than viewing them as burdens."
Nagumo chuckled. "Manabu-senpai, you must be feeling both proud and wary right now. Your shadow has come to life, and it just might end up devouring you."
However, Nagumo knew that a drastic change in a person rarely happens in isolation. There had to be a catalyst. There had to be an external factor that triggered Horikita Suzune's evolution.
And that factor, Nagumo suspected, was the name sitting at the very top of the midterm exam rankings.
Koroizumi Seiji.
Nagumo opened a separate file—an unofficial incident report he had received from three Class 2-C students a month ago.
Three of his foolish subordinates had tried to extort a junior, and they had returned with their tails tucked between their legs, 600,000 points lighter.
They claimed they had been blackmailed.
"Seiji Koroizumi," Nagumo murmured, rolling the name around his tongue like tasting a new wine.
At first, Nagumo had been furious that his pawns were touched. But after hearing the details—how Koroizumi had used Horikita Manabu's name to bluff them, how he had recorded evidence of threats that specifically mentioned Nagumo's name, and how he had completely turned the tables in a matter of seconds—Nagumo's anger morphed into appreciation.
"He extorted my subordinates right under my nose, using my own reputation as a weapon against me," Nagumo grinned widely, flashing his white teeth. "What an insolent brat. Truly insolent. I love it."
Those weren't the actions of a fool looking to die. Those were the calculated moves of someone who understood leverage.
Koroizumi Seiji wasn't just some smart student who scored a 500. He was a street-smart player who understood the rules of the underworld.
"Class C has an evolved Horikita and a dangerous Koroizumi. No wonder they managed to catch up to Sakayanagi and Ichinose."
Nagumo stood up, stretching his stiff muscles. He needed some fresh air. He needed to see his new "toys" in person before the island exam began.
He walked out of the Student Council room, leaving Kiriyama still buried under the piles of paperwork.
Nagumo's footsteps echoed through the school hallways, which were quiet in the late afternoon. However, near the main lobby, he spotted a familiar figure.
A female student with a tall posture, beautiful long hair, and an aura that radiated a confidence—or rather, an arrogance—that rivaled Nagumo's own.
Kiryuuin Fuuka.
The only student in Class 2-B who possessed an A+ in Academics and an A+ in Physical Ability, yet acted as a Lone Wolf.
"Kiryuuin," Nagumo greeted.
The girl stopped and turned her head slowly. Her gaze was sharp and evaluating. "Oh? The Emperor of the Second Years descends from his throne. What is it, Nagumo?"
"Summer vacation is right around the corner," Nagumo said casually, slipping his hands into his pockets. "A special exam on an island. I hear the school has prepared an interesting scenario for the first years. Aren't you curious to... see the results? We could place a little wager."
Kiryuuin scoffed, a cynical smile curving her lips. "A wager with you? Boring. You're only interested in collecting pawns and playing king. I have no interest in games where the outcome is already decided by a majority vote."
"You're being too harsh, Kiryuuin. I'm merely offering some entertainment."
"Entertainment to you is control. Entertainment to me is chaos and individual brilliance," Kiryuuin fired back sharply.
She stepped closer, looking Nagumo dead in the eye.
"To be completely honest, Nagumo. I've lost interest in you. You're so obsessed with Horikita Manabu that you've forgotten to look down at your own feet."
Kiryuuin pointed toward the electronic bulletin board in the lobby displaying the first-year rankings.
"The generation below us... they're monsters. There is something 'else' in there. Something far more ferocious than your neat little political ambitions."
"Which is exactly why I'm interested," Nagumo answered calmly. "I intend to test them."
"Do as you please," Kiryuuin turned around, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But be careful. If you recklessly stick your hand into a lion's den, don't go crying when it gets bitten off. I'll be enjoying the show from the VIP seats—all by myself."
The girl walked away, leaving Nagumo alone in the lobby.
Nagumo wasn't offended. In fact, he grew even more enthusiastic. Kiryuuin's rejection, Kiriyama's boredom... all of it was about to change.
The luxury cruise ship Speranza would soon drop its anchor.
The Uninhabited Island Special Exam.
To the first years, it might sound like a vacation or a standard survival test. But Nagumo knew the school's true agenda. It was a mental exam. A test of loyalty. And a test of leadership.
"Show me, Kouhai," Nagumo whispered, his eyes flashing with predatory ambition.
"Show me whether those 1,000 points of yours are the result of true ability... or just beginner's luck that will shatter the moment the storm hits."
On this summer stage, Nagumo Miyabi was preparing to become the shadow director. And he couldn't wait to see who would drown first.
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(Ryuuen Kakeru VS Seiji Koroizumi)
P - Gem_Blanks
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