— — — — — —
Inside the Shingetsu dojo—the home of Kunieda family
"Have some tea, have some tea. And milk for the little one."
Aoi Kunieda moved politely from person to person, serving tea to Kazuma and the others. She even mixed a bottle of formula for baby Beel, perfectly warm.
Kazuma lifted the cup and downed it in one go. Then he glared straight at Ittosai.
"Damn it, old man, pay up! My whole school! Gone in an instant! You're paying for that!" He suddenly shot to his feet and yelled.
He had chased this old fossil halfway across the city before finally cornering him here.
"What's that got to do with me? You're the one who threw the punch."
Ittosai answered calmly. Compensation? Impossible. Rebuilding a school cost a fortune, and he absolutely didn't have that kind of money.
"You think I'm stupid? You clearly used your technique to redirect all the force. This one's on you!"
"Pay up, you old fossil! Or I'll beat you to death!"
Since he started doing missions, Kazuma had never created such a massive disaster. The principal hired him as a teacher…
…and he demolished the entire campus.
It was like someone asking you to clean their living room, and you respond with a Kamehameha that vaporizes the whole house. What kind of idiot homeowner would accept that?
"I only redirected your punch because it was too strong! If I didn't, these old bones of mine would've snapped! So at the end of the day, it's still your fault!"
Ittosai sprang to his feet, matching Kazuma's energy.
"I punched that hard because your attack felt dangerous, so I reacted on instinct! Meaning it's still your damn problem!"
Kazuma stepped forward aggressively. The two of them now stood face-to-face, only inches apart.
"But—"
Ittosai tried to explain, but Kazuma cut him off.
"And this whole thing started because you were the one who suggested sparring. So everything that happened afterward is your responsibility!"
"Pay. Me. Back!"
That single line shut down every counter-argument Ittosai had prepared.
"You… you… ugh. Fine. I was the one who suggested sparring. I can't deny that. But compensation… Aoi, how much money do we have?"
Ittosai sighed helplessly. He really didn't expect Kazuma to be that strong. But since he started it… he had to own it.
"Grandpa, forget it. Even if we sold me, Kuta, and you together, it still wouldn't be enough."
Aoi shook her head. She handled all the household finances. The family wasn't poor, but paying for a whole school? Not a chance.
"Well… since I really can't afford it, how about I break tradition and teach you Shingetsu? That's priceless enlightenment."
Ittosai tried to offer a compromise. If he had no money, he'd pay with martial arts. Shingetsu was a treasure beyond value.
"Priceless my ass. I'm not interested."
"If you've got no money, then work it off! You're helping rebuild the school! No breaks until it's done!"
Kazuma had mastered too many techniques to care about one more style. Shingetsu as compensation? Not even close.
"Tohru, Hilda—I'm heading to the hospital to explain things to the principal. You two keep an eye on him. Don't let him escape."
"If he tries to run, kill—no, wait, don't kill him. If he dies, who's rebuilding my school?"
"Just make sure he doesn't get away."
He checked the time. Noon. Perfect. Morning or night would've been bad.
After giving orders, he headed out—but Kanna and Beel toddled after him, wanting to come along.
He thought it over. Tohru and Hilda were more than enough to babysit the old man, so he brought the two kids with him.
— — —
At the hospital, in the principal's room
"Principal, I've got one good news and one bad news. Which one do you want first?"
He looked at the old man resting in bed. Better ease him in instead of dropping the truth like a bomb.
"Kazuma-san, just say it directly. No need to circle around."
The principal smiled, speaking with generous calm. "Did something happen to the school? It's fine. We'll just repair it. Don't wo—"
"As expected of you, Principal. How'd you know the school was completely destroyed? I swear I didn't mean to."
"It's that damn old man's fault! If he hadn't redirected the punch, it wouldn't have leveled the entire campus!"
"Honestly, on my way here I was stressing about how to explain this, but you're taking it so well! I really underestimated you."
Kazuma relaxed instantly. He had been slightly nervous before arriving. He didn't expect the principal to be so unfazed.
Anyone who lived to this age definitely wasn't simple.
"Com… completely destroyed…?"
The smile on the principal's face froze. He thought maybe one or two walls were broken.
Not that one or two walls were all that remained. No—there weren't even one or two walls left.
The shock was too much. He toppled over with a faint grunt.
"Crap! Principal, don't die on me!"
"Beel, zap him! Hurry! Kanna, you too!"
Kazuma panicked. The principal couldn't die now—what about his mission? He immediately ordered the two little thunder gremlins to electrify the old man.
"Mm." x2
Kanna and Beel nodded seriously, then released a burst of lightning. A moment later, the previously half-dead principal jerked upright and broke into involuntary spasms like he was dancing.
"Principal, thank god you're alive."
Kazuma wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. As long as the man survived, he could still turn in his mission.
"…Haah. Kazuma-san, forget it."
The principal sat on the floor for a long moment, then sighed. What else could he say?
"Luckily the students all got electrocuted earlier and ended up in the hospital. No one's at school now. In a way, that's the best outcome."
"Are your two girlfriends alright?"
He let go of the destruction and instead worried about their safety.
"They're fine. They're watching the culprit right now. He said his name was Ittosai Kunieda. Do you know him, Principal?"
Seeing how quickly the principal had calmed down, Kazuma couldn't help but admire him. The man's heart was made of iron.
"Ittosai? He's an old friend. And there's no way he can afford to pay. So let it be."
The principal stood and began putting his clothes back on.
"Principal… where are you going?"
"The school's gone. I have to find a place for the students to study."
"If nothing works, just give them a break. A week at most." Kazuma had already planned to have his shadow soldiers work around the clock to rebuild the school.
"A week is still time lost." The principal shook his head. "I'll go ask other schools to spare us a classroom or two. I think… they might agree."
"No need for that. Those guys don't care about class anyway," Kazuma said.
"For the students, maybe. But for me, it's different." The principal looked at him and spoke with quiet determination. "I'm the head of the school. I have to face every student seriously. Maybe most of them don't want class, but I still need to give them the option. If someone wants to learn, I have to make sure they can."
"I'm not strong like you, Kazuma. I can't beat them into listening. I also don't have the power to make them good people in the future. But I can at least give them the chance to choose."
"Ishiyama High isn't a good school… but it's the last place willing to take these kids in."
The principal smiled gently. He wasn't tall—maybe one and a half meters at most—and age had already bent his back. He never wore suits or anything fancy. He looked more like an old gardener.
He usually wore a straw hat, trimming plants, patching broken walls. Silent. Almost invisible. Most students didn't even know he was the principal. But he never stopped.
Kazuma watched him for a long moment. The old man really was weak, almost nonexistent in presence. But not as useless as he'd thought.
Once the principal changed clothes, he bid farewell and went out to visit every school he could, asking for classrooms.
Most refused immediately. Everyone knew what kind of place Ishiyama was. Everyone knew what their students were like. Nobody wanted that trouble stepping into their school.
He was rejected again and again. Begged again and again. Received cold faces again and again. And each time, he bowed, thanked them, and left with a smile.
---
By late afternoon, after visiting who knew how many schools and pleading with who knew how many people, he finally managed to borrow enough classrooms for Ishiyama's students.
Without even realizing it, his feet had carried him back toward Ishiyama High. He wanted to see it one last time.
He walked slowly. By the time he reached the gate, the sun had already sunk low, leaving only the last thin streaks of light across the world.
"Kazuma-san…? You… what are you all doing here?"
The old principal stared at Kazuma standing in the schoolyard, surrounded by students wrapped head to toe in bandages and casts. He wasn't sure what they were waiting for—hopefully not ambushing him.
"We're waiting for you, Principal."
Kazuma waved. "Oi, brats! Stand at attention! Bow! Call him 'Principal.'"
He remembered everything the old man had done. It reminded him of Makarov. Not strong, not young, but still shining for the kids in his guild… or in this case, school.
Makarov was lucky. He had the admiration of everyone.
But this old principal didn't. Ishiyama's students didn't even know he existed. Nobody knew what he'd done. Nobody cared.
"Kazuma-san… no, no need for this. I just came to look… really, no need."
The principal shrank back a little, nervous as always. He wasn't brave or powerful. Just an ordinary old man.
"I think it's necessary," Kazuma said.
"Brats, I know you don't like this. You don't want to bow. You probably look down on him."
"But I don't care what you think. Remember this today. This man is the principal of Ishiyama. He's the one who said this place is the last home for all of you."
"You can choose to be a jerk if you want. Or choose something else. He won't force you either way. He just gives you that choice. And for that alone, you owe him a bow."
As he spoke, Conqueror's Haki burst out, rolling across the courtyard. He had never been this serious.
"Principal… thank you for taking care of us all these years!"
Tojo Hidetora stepped out first and bowed deeply to the old man who barely reached his waist. He was an idiot, but an idiot with loyalty. He meant every word.
"My old man always said even yakuza need principles. Old man, thanks for putting up with me all this time."
Kanzaki Hajime bowed too, even though he kept his usual arrogant tone. His family ran one of Ishiyama's biggest yakuza groups. He knew the value of choice better than anyone.
His father used to tell him: Choose whatever you want. Yakuza or ordinary life—whatever you pick, I'll support you. You're my son.
"You… why are you all staring at me? I'm not bowing! I'm Himekawa-sama! Like I'd bow to a commoner—!"
Himekawa Tatsuya felt dozens of eyes on him and grew uncomfortable. He was the heir of the Himekawa conglomerate. People bowed to him, not the other way around.
"H-how about I sponsor the school reconstruction instead?" he asked carefully.
"Cut the crap. Kanzaki, Tojo—hold him down and make him bow."
"Yes sir." x2
Both of them grinned like demons. They grabbed Himekawa from both sides and forced him into a bow.
"Fine, fine! I get it! Principal! Principal, thank you! I knew you did a lot for us, old man..."
Once he finally gave in, they released him. With those three taking the lead, the rest of the students bowed one after another.
"Principal, thank you for taking care of us." xN
Dozens of voices spoke at once.
"…Why does this feel like a funeral send-off?"
Kazuma frowned. It did look a bit like that. A whole group bowing to an old man at sunset.
"This is… what a principal should do." The old man didn't think that far. Tears streamed freely down his face. Finally—after all these years—someone acknowledged him. It was enough.
As the sun set, his old bones felt a little warmer. A little lighter. Still useful.
"I've already prepared the temporary classrooms. You'll all receive the notice tomorrow."
"And the school will be rebuilt soon. It won't be long before you can return."
His voice was small and weak, but everyone listened quietly until he finished.
"Kazuma-san, my body still hasn't recovered. I need to stay in the hospital a while longer. So I leave everything to you again. Please continue as acting principal."
This time, he genuinely meant it. He acknowledged Kazuma. Kazuma wasn't like the other teachers. He wasn't like Oyama Takeshi—cruel, ruthless, inhuman. Kazuma was straightforward. Genuine.
"No need. You stay principal. I'll stick to being a teacher. At least for now."
Kazuma smiled. Being principal sounded exhausting. Teaching and slacking around was enough for him.
"That's fine too. Then I'll leave things to you. Oh, and I managed to secure a classroom at Saint Ishiyama Academy."
"You can teach there for now, and maybe learn something from their advanced curriculum."
.
.
.