Chapter 86: If You Want to Be the Boss, Defeat Me First!

Maeda Tora spat out a mouthful of blood, wiped the stains away on his pant leg with one hand, snatched the cigarette from Matsuzaka Daitake's mouth, and took a few drags under his resentful gaze before handing it back.

"Just what I needed to warm up," Maeda Tora said with a smile, looking at the delinquents gathering before him—now even more numerous than before—without a hint of fear.

Fujiwara Miao propped up a bloodied, bald-headed youth against the edge of the hot spring, then walked over to Aoki Tsukasa. With his swollen face, he looked nothing like his usual refined self. "Boss, you stole one of my takedowns!"

"Well..." Aoki Tsukasa smiled, the cigarette pinched between his fingers, flicked away the ash. "That guy just happened to be nearby. I dealt with him in passing, that's all."

Ueno Yo had already stopped about a dozen meters in front of Aoki Tsukasa, his greasy, round face twisted with grievance and rage. "Was it you who stuffed... that letter into my desk?!"

Fujiwara Miao and Aoki Tsukasa exchanged glances. In the end, Aoki only grinned, while Fujiwara couldn't help but laugh mischievously. "Hey, what does your beloved even look like?"

The veins on Ueno Yo's forehead bulged. "So it was you!"

Aoki Tsukasa, cigarette dangling from his lips, exhaled a stream of smoke, his expression half-amused, half-unapologetic. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to hurt your fragile feelings. How about this—once we finish this fight, I'll set you up for a group date?"

A strange temptation flickered in Ueno Yo's heart, but he quickly shook it off and shouted, "Who needs you to set me up?! I don't lack for women!"

Maeda Tora snorted. "Really?"

He clamped his legs together, limped in place with Matsuzaka Daitake's shoulder for support, and let out a perverted laugh: "Oho, ohoho."

It was an uncanny imitation of how Ueno Yo had clutched the letter and hobbled to the bathroom, bracing himself against the wall.

Ueno Yo's mouth twitched. "Shut up!" he bellowed, his face burning red with shame. Noticing the mocking glances from the delinquents around him, he angrily stripped off his designer jacket—the very one he'd gone home to change into, thinking a girl was about to confess to him. No way was he going to ruin it in a brawl.

Suppressing his fury, Ueno Yo stared coldly at Aoki Tsukasa, enunciating each word: "I won't take advantage of you."

"If you can get past them and reach me—"

"I’ll give you the chance for a one-on-one! Until then, I won’t lift a finger." Ueno Yo's gaze was icy. "Want to be the boss? Give it a try!"

Aoki Tsukasa was about to reply, but Maeda Tora stepped forward first. "Never thought a fatso like you could be so sly. Aren't you just using numbers to bully the few? Fine—I'll play with you first!"

Watching Maeda Tora, who had just mocked and imitated him, stride forward, Ueno Yo's beady eyes widened further with rage. "You? What the hell are you?"

"I am..." Maeda Tora picked up speed, then suddenly launched a flying kick. "I am Maeda Tora, Aoki Tsukasa's right-hand man!"

Ueno Yo saw the kick coming but stood his ground, a vicious grin on his lips. He took the blow head-on, swaying a little as his belly wobbled up and down, but otherwise unfazed. "Right-hand man?"

Gritting his teeth, Maeda Tora swung a punch at Ueno Yo's face.

Ueno Yo merely tucked his chin and took the punch squarely, his flabby cheeks rippling violently, sending beads of sweat flying. Even his slicked-back hair, stiff with gel, came loose and hung over his sweat-soaked face. His voice was cold: "Don't kid yourself!"

His thick right hand clamped down on Maeda Tora's shoulder. With a swift step forward, he grabbed Maeda Tora's sleeve with his left hand, and in the next instant, Maeda Tora felt an overwhelming force lift him clean off his feet. The world spun, then he was slammed hard behind Ueno Yo.

A classic judo throw—an over-the-shoulder toss.

Maeda Tora felt as if he’d been on a roller coaster, colors spinning before his eyes. Then, with a sickening thud, agony shot through his back, and he coughed instinctively, feeling as if he might vomit blood.

He tried to stand, but his body screamed in pain, as if it had fallen apart. For a moment, he lay there, unable to make a sound beyond his coughing.

Aoki Tsukasa’s expression grew grave.

This fat man was trained! That was a bona fide judo move!

Ueno Yo didn’t even spare a glance at Maeda Tora, who lay sprawled on the ground. He slicked back his mussed hair with a twisted grin. "Get them... attack!!"

At his command, more than twenty delinquents behind him cracked their knuckles and charged at Aoki Tsukasa.

Maeda Tora, still sprawled on the ground, staggered upright, his vision swimming. Yet he still shouted, "If you want to take on the boss, you’ll have to get through me first!"

"Bang!" Maeda Tora, dazed but defiant, threw a heavy punch and sent one delinquent doubling over to the ground. But immediately after, a baseball bat crashed onto his shoulder, knocking him back down.

A delinquent in a mask with a pompadour hairstyle lifted his head arrogantly and looked provocatively at Aoki Tsukasa.

"Hey!!" Aoki Tsukasa roared, menace flashing in his eyes. "This is a high school fight—use your fists!"

"I never heard of such a rule," sneered the pompadour-wearing delinquent, swinging the bat and kicking Maeda Tora hard on the ground. He ripped off his mask—it was Yasuda, the traitor who’d defected to Ishihara. Grinning savagely, he stomped on Maeda Tora. "Don’t act tough now, baldy!"

Ueno Yo shrugged and popped a stick of gum in his mouth. "That guy's not my responsibility. My boys aren’t using weapons. You just made too many enemies—no wonder all sorts of trash got mixed in."

Aoki Tsukasa shouted, "You’re dead!"

"I’ll kill you!" Matsuzaka Daitake’s fury boiled over as he watched Maeda Tora being stomped, especially by Yasuda, the traitor.

Aoki Tsukasa, leading the five remaining bald youths still capable of fighting, charged fearlessly toward Ueno Yo.

Ueno Yo simply stood there, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed. He had only brought seven or eight men himself; the rest were a ragtag mix of other third- and second-year delinquents who’d joined for the fun of it. Their fighting prowess wasn’t much.

If Aoki Tsukasa, as a challenger, couldn’t even handle them, he had no business dreaming of ruling Muyang.

Which boss ever reached the top alone? Without enough strong, numerous underlings, your strength just wasn’t enough.

Ueno Yo never believed he would lose. Even without those useless second-years, nothing would change.

He, Ueno Yo, was the one closest to the top of Muyang!

Chewing his gum, Ueno Yo watched as Aoki Tsukasa and his few bald companions fell into a desperate struggle, the corners of his mouth curling upward ever so slightly.