"Yo, long time no see, Saiki!"
A face of exquisite beauty wore a leisurely smile, and sharp eyes projected a piercing gaze.
The newcomer was none other than Kiryuin Fuka.
"Kiryuin-senpai?"
Saiki was slightly puzzled, not expecting Kiryuin Fuka to appear here.
Although Kiryuin Fuka was a third-year student, she wasn't under Nagumo Miyabi's jurisdiction. She was more like Koenji Rokusuke, someone who did as she pleased. Given Nagumo Miyabi's personality, he would never allow Kiryuin Fuka to get close to this area.
"With a little use of GPS, I could track your movements. The last task in this area is likely this one, so I guessed you and Nagumo would come here for a showdown."
Kiryuin Fuka said with a smile.
"Besides, Nagumo's lackeys couldn't possibly stop me."
Her tone was filled with absolute confidence.
Saiki was certain that Nagumo Miyabi's subordinates would try to intercept Kiryuin.
However, with Kiryuin Fuka's abilities, a few students wouldn't be able to stop her.
'Yare yare, is Kiryuin my opponent this time? Although she's one of the few students in the school with both academic and physical abilities rated A, it makes no difference to me.'
Saiki thought to himself.
At that moment, Nagumo Miyabi and the others finally arrived, lagging far behind Saiki in terms of speed.
"Kiryuin, why are you here?"
Seeing Kiryuin Fuka here, Nagumo Miyabi was momentarily stunned but quickly guessed what had happened.
Kiryuin Fuka had undoubtedly broken through his encirclement.
"Why can't I be here?"
Kiryuin Fuka smiled, as if she didn't care about Nagumo Miyabi at all.
Nagumo Miyabi's gaze toward Kiryuin Fuka was filled with hostility.
"Are you here to interfere with me?"
Nagumo Miyabi had a thought: Kiryuin Fuka was here to snatch the spot for the final task.
"Interfere with you? No, no, I'm just here to watch the show."
Kiryuin Fuka maintained her smile.
"I'm not interested in being first in the exam. I'm just here to earn personal points. But as you know, I'm quite interested in Saiki, my junior. I came here to watch the outcome of your battle up close. After all, this match is the final epitome of your rivalry."
"What are you talking about, Kiryuin? Even if one of us wins today, this match is far from over. We still have a day or two to change the rankings."
"Other students are probably using GPS too. Some might even guess that you two are competing based on the point fluctuations. Right now, your scores are very close, with only a single-digit difference. If Saiki wins this round, he'll take first place. For other students, even if Saiki is first for just a moment, he'll have truly surpassed you, Nagumo."
Kiryuin Fuka slightly narrowed her eyes, her words seemingly provoking him.
[Damn that Kiryuin!]
In his heart, Nagumo Miyabi was already cursing Kiryuin Fuka.
But even with his subordinates around, he had to maintain the dignity of the student council president.
"My junior and I are just bonding."
Nagumo Miyabi said as he walked up to Chabashira Sae and completed his registration for the exam.
The other third-year students could only watch from a distance.
"Both participants, please come here."
Chabashira Sae led Saiki and Nagumo Miyabi to the competition area, a marked-off space that looked somewhat crude. The ground was covered with a layer of rubber, likely to prevent serious injuries during the wrestling match.
Beside the competition area was a special machine, which looked like a unique camera.
This was one of Saiki Kusuke's creations. It could automatically recognize the students' movements during the match, providing real-time technical scores for both sides to ensure fairness.
"Saiki, this is the last task of the day."
Nagumo Miyabi looked at Saiki. Although he still wore a smile, he seemed somewhat exhausted.
Today's exam had indeed drained a lot of his energy. But as the student council president, he had far more pride than the other students. No matter what, he had to win against Saiki at least once.
"Saiki, you really are a special student. Among the first-years, you're the only one who has made me feel this way. You've certainly given me a lot of entertainment. In this regard, even Horikita-senpai pales in comparison."
"But no matter what, I have to win this exam."
"And the match between us won't be decided until the very last day."
Nagumo Miyabi's gaze became extremely serious.
Today was the twelfth day of the exam, with two days left until the end.
But today was the last day the top ten rankings would be made public.
After today, all students would be unable to see each other's scores.
If Nagumo Miyabi lost to Saiki in this round, then by the final tally, others would only see Saiki in first place, and Nagumo Miyabi wouldn't be able to devise an effective strategy to counter Saiki.
This was Nagumo Miyabi's last chance.
Nagumo Miyabi was saying a lot to Saiki, while Saiki was thinking about how to handle this task.
Although the rules of the wrestling match had been explained earlier, Saiki naturally couldn't use his full strength.
Saiki even considered whether he should intentionally lose this round, since he had been winning all day.
Even if he lost today, Saiki could easily surpass Nagumo Miyabi later, as the scores wouldn't be public. Saiki could also use his psychic abilities to know others' scores.
"Ready!"
At that moment, Chabashira Sae, who was organizing the match, spoke up.
"Start!"
'Hey, hey, hey, it's starting already?'
Before Saiki could react, Nagumo Miyabi lunged at him like a cheetah!
"As expected of President Nagumo!"
"So fast!"
"Take him down, President!"
The students watching cheered in unison.
It had to be admitted that Nagumo Miyabi's attack was very fierce. An ordinary student would have been taken down instantly—
But his opponent was Saiki.
Saiki had originally planned to throw the match, but he hadn't expected Nagumo Miyabi to charge at him so suddenly. Instinctively, he reached out—
And like swatting a fly, Saiki slapped Nagumo Miyabi, sending him flying.
Nagumo Miyabi, who had been charging forward, fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and then lay motionless, unconscious.
Defeated in one move.
"..."
An eerie silence fell over the area.
No one had expected Nagumo Miyabi to be defeated in one move.
[No way... Nagumo lost? Just like that?]
[What just happened?]
[I... I didn't see anything...]
Even Kiryuin Fuka widened her eyes in surprise, bursting into laughter after a few seconds:
"Interesting, interesting. This is the first time I've seen Nagumo so embarrassed. As expected of you, Saiki."
"I..."
At this moment, Saiki felt somewhat helpless.
He hadn't wanted things to turn out this way.
But Saiki hadn't expected Nagumo Miyabi to charge at him so directly. Feeling a bit disgusted, he instinctively swatted him away.
Fortunately, Saiki held back at the last moment, avoiding crushing Nagumo Miyabi's skull.
Chabashira Sae was also stunned for a few seconds before rushing over to check on Nagumo Miyabi.
Nagumo Miyabi seemed fine, but he was clearly unconscious and unable to move.
The outcome of the match had been decided.
"The winner of this match is Saiki from Class 2-A, earning 15 points."
Chabashira Sae quickly turned to Saiki.
[Saiki took down Nagumo in one move?]
[But what was that move? It looked like a simple slap... How could it have such terrifying power?]
[Saiki... he's the most terrifying person in the class...]
Chabashira Sae muttered to herself.
'Yare yare...'
Saiki felt truly helpless, but there was no other way. After all, he had to secure first place in the end.
It had to be done...
'Nagumo was spouting nonsense and then suddenly charged at me. He's 99% responsible for this.'
...
At that moment, on the uninhabited island, the rankings on everyone's tablets changed.
Everyone saw the moment Saiki surpassed Nagumo Miyabi in points.
And almost everyone was shocked by the ranking.
For a moment, the question of "Just how strong is Saiki?" appeared in almost everyone's mind.
"Saiki... he's actually this strong?"
Horikita Suzune's hand trembled as she held her tablet. She had always known that Saiki, like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, was someone who hid his true abilities.
But she had never expected Saiki to be this strong.
He not only surpassed Koenji Rokusuke but even Nagumo Miyabi.
"Is this why my brother was so interested in Saiki?"
Horikita Suzune thought to herself.
...
"Saiki? What method did he use to reach first place?"
Katsuragi Kohei looked at Ryuen Kakeru beside him, confused.
"He's just a bit more serious than usual."
Ryuen Kakeru swallowed hard and said.
His expression seemed to recall some painful memories.
Although Ryuen Kakeru didn't know what had happened, he had a premonition that Hosen Kazuomi and Yagami Takuya's expulsion might have been Saiki's doing.
"Saiki... he really is a monster..."
Ryuen Kakeru muttered.
...
"As expected of Saiki-kun."
Kushida Kikyo looked at Saiki, who had risen to first place, and smiled happily.
She wasn't happy because her classmate had reached first place, but because Yagami Takuya had withdrawn from the exam.
Before the exam, Kushida Kikyo had gone to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, planning to work together to expel Yagami Takuya.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had told Kushida Kikyo how to deal with Yagami Takuya and said one thing:
"Get Saiki to help expel Yagami Takuya."
At the time, Kushida Kikyo had been utterly confused, not understanding why Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had said that.
After all, Kushida Kikyo didn't yet know Saiki's true abilities.
But after seeing Yagami Takuya withdraw from the exam and considering the current situation, Kushida Kikyo finally realized that Saiki was the most deeply hidden powerhouse in the class.
...
"Saiki really took first place, huh?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at the rankings on his tablet and muttered to himself.
By now, he and Nanase Tsubasa had already separated, and as he had predicted, he remained outside the top ten.
A question arose in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's mind.
If he went all out, could he have taken first place in this exam?
After a few seconds of thought, he shook his head.
The answer wasn't hard to guess.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka believed he couldn't have done it.
However, something else piqued his curiosity.
During this exam, Tsukishiro Tokinari hadn't taken any action.
The only obstacle had been Nanase Tsubasa.
But Tsukishiro Tokinari should have known that Nanase Tsubasa alone couldn't expel him.
Tsukishiro Tokinari's actions were full of illogical decisions.
What had happened in between?
Could it be that Saiki had done something behind the scenes?