The day's classes ended quickly. Yusei and Utaha weren't on the same route home, so they parted ways at the school gate.
Yusei currently commuted by train, which was inevitably a bit troublesome. If not for the family's tight financial situation, he would have liked to buy a motorcycle.
How great would a motorcycle be, cruising down the main road, so cool.
Unfortunately, everything comes down to one word: money.
Yusei sighed, mentally prioritizing his plan to copy a master manga artist's drawing skills this weekend.
These days, in Japan, where Chuniibyou runs rampant, an excellent, god-tier manga would definitely sell big.
That would be the time to make money.
Passing through streets and alleys, Yusei saw the train station ahead. He was just about to go wait for the train when, unexpectedly, a group of people quietly surrounded him.
Yusei looked around. These people weren't too young or too old, and their attire wasn't that of high school students. Among them were young punks in their twenties and thuggish uncles in their thirties.
"What can I do for you, gentlemen? I need to catch my train. If I miss it, I might have to trouble you to pay for my ride back later." Yusei glanced at them and said with a light smile.
"Don't worry, you'll definitely go back, but only to the hospital."
The leader, a thuggish uncle, sneered. The group escorted Yusei into a narrow alley next to them.
Yusei didn't run, he just followed them in. He had just been thinking about the inconvenience of commuting and wanting to buy a motorcycle.
Now, sponsors had come to him. How could he refuse?
Ten minutes later...
All dozen or so men lay on the ground, bloody and bruised, while Yusei, whom they had brought in, didn't have a speck of dirt on him, as if he hadn't lifted a finger.
He naturally hadn't. He had used the Sharingan to control these people, making them fight each other.
Looking down at the gang leader lying on the ground, Yusei nudged him with his foot.
"Wake up, still alive?"
Yusei had hypnotized them regarding this part of the memory. In their memories, Yusei was like a fighting god unleashed, taking on a dozen by himself.
Of course, Yusei could actually do that, but he was somewhat too lazy to fight these thugs himself. It felt more interesting watching them tear each other apart.
"Bas... bastard."
The thug stared fiercely at Yusei, gritting his teeth.
"Oh, quite the tough guy."
Yusei found it amusing and stepped on the other's face.
"Talk. Who sent you to cause me trouble?" Yusei had deliberately not hypnotized this part, as he wanted to have some fun with these societal dregs.
Spending all day thinking about being gangsters but having no real skills naturally meant they were just asking for a beating.
But these people seemed like they might belong to a gang. Okay, retracting the previous statement, they did have some organization.
The thug initially didn't want to talk, trying to be tough, but couldn't withstand Yusei's beating and eventually confessed honestly.
According to him, a distant cousin had asked him to come teach Yusei a lesson.
Yusei was no stranger to that distant cousin's name… he had just beaten him up that morning.
Mimori Taiji.
When he heard the name, Yusei's expression turned odd.
"He's not staying quiet even in the infirmary? Looks like he wants to be bedridden for life, huh?"
For those who remained unrepentant, Yusei could judge them as 'evil'.
When the time came to kill them, he wouldn't feel any burden.
After looting their wallets, Yusei managed to get about 100,000 yen.
He had originally wanted to buy a cool motorcycle, but remembering he didn't have a license, he settled for an electric scooter instead.
Although not as fast or cool as a motorcycle, it could still serve as transportation.
In a way, this could already be considered 'robbery', but those people were clearly not good folks.
So, Yusei felt no guilt… instead, he felt a sense of 'robbing the rich to help the poor'.
Though the 'poor' he was helping was himself.
Arriving at a vehicle shop, Yusei bought the small electric scooter and prepared to head home. But on the way, he noticed a place.
It was a very modern-looking technology research institute.
Yusei thought for a moment, took out his phone to check, and found it was indeed the one he had in mind.
'What a coincidence, I had been thinking about finding time to control Kayaba Akihiko, to eliminate the danger of SAO at its root.'
'Now, the opportunity had come to me directly.'