Kaede soon realized that her perception of ease was based on her own perspective. It could be said that in akame ga kill, everyone with any decent level of strength underwent a training volume greater than this, and the intensity was incomparable.
That was why Kaede's initial reaction was that this training was easy. However, this was not akame ga kill; it was a modern world.
This training could not be called overly harsh, but for the middle school students of Class 3-E, it undoubtedly far exceeded the amount of training they should have been undergoing.
"This level of training is only natural, and the Chairman has already personally given his approval," Takaoka said.
"As long as you train according to this schedule, your assassination abilities will see a qualitative leap." Takaoka wore a confident smile. His statement was actually not wrong; under this level of training, they would definitely become stronger.
However, just because they could theoretically become stronger didn't mean they could accept it.
"This is a bit too much!" Maehara Yuto roared, looking at the schedule in his hand.
"Hmm?"
"With only this much study time, our grades will drop, and we won't have any time to play. This is simply impossible!!"
Maehara Yuto spoke the collective inner thoughts of everyone in Class 3-E, looking at Takaoka accusingly.
But the next moment, Takaoka, still smiling, stepped in front of Maehara Yuto. He suddenly grabbed Maehara Yuto's hair and yanked it down hard, while simultaneously raising his knee and slamming it into Maehara Yuto's stomach. The movements were fluid, and his expression never wavered, perfectly defining the term "smiling tiger."
"Gah!" The excruciating pain in his stomach caused Maehara Yuto to clutch his abdomen and collapse.
"It's not 'impossible,' it's about 'doing it'!" Takaoka's eyes widened, flashing with a manic light. "Didn't I say it!? We are a 'family,' and I am your 'dad.' In this world, there's no such thing as a family member who disobeys their dad's orders, right?"
At that moment, everyone looked at Maehara Yuto, who was lying on the ground clutching his stomach, and then at Takaoka, who had revealed his sinister face. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads, and their gazes toward Takaoka were filled with fear.
"..."
Kaede watched the scene, feeling a bit hesitant. Was this punishment too severe? But it also didn't seem like much; after all, in her past, someone like that would have been beaten to death immediately, certainly not left around to undermine morale.
However, that was in the past, and Kaede wasn't quite sure if this punishment was excessive.
Just as Kaede was deep in thought, Takaoka had already approached Kanzaki, who appeared the most fragile. If just one person gave in, the others would surely follow like dominoes!
Wearing that hypocritical smile, Takaoka looked at Kanzaki. "Well? You'll do as Dad says, right?"
Watching Kanzaki's trembling body, Takaoka narrowed his eyes. Yes, just like that—full of fear toward him. She would definitely agree now!
"Ye... yes, um... I... I..." Kanzaki's stuttering voice reached Takaoka's ears, causing the smile on his face to grow even wider.
However, the next moment, as if she had overcome the fear in her heart, Kanzaki smiled and lifted her head. "I don't want to! I still prefer to take Teacher Karasuma's class."
Kanzaki's answer stunned Takaoka for a moment, and then his eyes instantly turned sinister. Karasuma, it was always Karasuma!
Class 3-E also looked toward Kanzaki, appearing slightly surprised, but quickly replaced by expressions of worry.
Kanzaki looked at Takaoka. She knew that by saying this, she would surely be taught a lesson, but she had said it anyway. She closed her eyes, waiting for the punch to land.
But Kanzaki waited for a long time without feeling any pain. She opened her eyes and saw a figure standing in front of her.
"As expected, I didn't need to overthink it at all." Kanzaki heard Kaede murmur, and then saw Kaede block Takaoka's punch with her left hand.
"Who are you!" Takaoka looked at Kaede with shock in his eyes. He hadn't held back any strength in that punch; it was a full-force strike, yet it had been easily blocked by the girl before him.
"Sorry, Kanzaki, for making you worry and feel afraid." Kaede said, smiling at Kanzaki.
"Mm~" Kanzaki shook her head and said, "It's okay, Kaede."
"Also, what you said was great, Kanzaki." It was those words that had snapped Kaede back to reality, allowing her to prevent the tragedy.
"And for the one named Maehara Yuto, I'm truly sorry I didn't intervene in time. From my perspective, this kind of training and punishment is quite light, so I didn't react immediately..."
"It's okay." Maehara Yuto replied, though he and his friends all had looks of shock in their eyes. Kaede's words had revealed a fact: her own training...
As expected, there was a reason she was so strong.
"Mm." Kaede nodded, then looked at Takaoka, who had backed away and was eyeing her warily. A cold curve appeared at the corner of her mouth as she saw the look of apprehension on his face.
"I knew from the very beginning that you had ulterior motives, and I wanted to see what your little schemes were. If it were acceptable, I wouldn't have minded, but now it seems..."
As she spoke, a hint of killing intent flickered in Kaede's eyes.
"It looks like you've chosen the worst possible option!"
"Don't get so cocky, you brat!" Infuriated by Kaede's gaze, Takaoka roared and charged at her. That look in her eyes—completely disregarding him—was even more detestable than Karasuma's!
"Overestimating yourself."
This was Class 3-E's assessment of Takaoka at that moment. They all knew how strong Kaede was; being able to defeat Horibe Iri, who possessed tentacles, was definitely not something Takaoka could compare to.
Kaede did not disappoint them. The moment Takaoka approached, she struck. She didn't act until necessary, but once she did, she immediately disrupted Takaoka's physical balance.
In the eyes of the Class 3-E students, Takaoka's body flew into mid-air, head down and feet up.
Suddenly, Takaoka's body slammed downward at a high speed.
"Bang!"
"Maehara Yuto, this should count as venting your frustration for you." Kaede's voice echoed.
Maehara Yuto swallowed hard. Looking at the shattered ground beneath Takaoka, he suddenly felt that the hit he had taken was worth it...
"As expected of Kaede." Akabane Karma walked over to Takaoka with a smile, touching the sunken earth. He narrowed his eyes; it hadn't rained recently, so the ground was very dry and hard, yet it had still caved in...
"He just couldn't take a hit." Kaede had originally intended to continue venting for Kanzaki, but she realized with a touch of helplessness that Takaoka had already passed out...
Hearing Kaede's words, even Akabane Karma broke out in a cold sweat. If he wasn't well-trained, your strike would have probably killed him outright, and you call that 'not being able to take a hit'...
At this point, everyone looked at the unconscious Takaoka and suddenly felt a bit of pity for him. No, wait—he didn't deserve pity at all. They should actually be relieved for him; if he hadn't passed out, judging by Kaede's demeanor, she would likely have continued attacking him.
Karasuma had also rushed over by this time. Originally, having seen Maehara Yuto get hit, he had come to stop Takaoka from continuing to punish the students. However, by the time he arrived, things had already turned out like this...
At that moment, Karasuma didn't know what to say.
"Teacher Karasuma, why don't you continue teaching the PE classes from now on?" Kaede suddenly asked.
Karasuma hesitated upon hearing this. Although Takaoka's issues were obvious, he also saw that he himself seemed to have some shortcomings, as reflected in Takaoka.
However, Karasuma looked around at the students and saw the anticipation in their eyes. He made a decision in his heart at that moment, but before he could speak, Kaede's words reached his ears, causing his expression to stiffen.
"If he remains the teacher, I'm not sure if he might suddenly disappear from this world one day."
"..." After hearing this, the students of Class 3-E all looked at Kaede.
"Uh, what's wrong?" Kaede, being stared at, was a bit surprised. Why were they staring at her?
"It's nothing, we just felt that Kaede... is so cool!"
"Exactly, so cool!" A few female students even had hearts in their eyes.
Although Kaede's words were quite terrifying, she held such a high status in their hearts after the recent events that her words naturally transformed from terrifying to cool.
"Sigh." Karasuma sighed at this moment, watching the scene with a hint of helplessness. It seemed he would have to continue acting as their PE teacher after all.
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