"B-B-B-B-BROTHERS?!"
The entire class erupted in a single deafening scream.
Koro-sensei nearly dropped the chocolate he was eating, his tentacles frozen in shock.
Itona ripped open his own chocolate wrapper with his teeth and spoke in a cold, flat voice.
"The loser dies, big brother. Siblings have no need for cheap tricks. I will kill you and prove my strength."
He turned and walked toward the door, Shiro following calmly behind him.
"We face off after school… here, in this classroom."
Itona glanced back one last time, closed the door behind him, and left.
For a brief second, the classroom was silent.
Then it exploded into pure chaos.
All the students stood up at once, talking over one another.
"Now hang on, Sensei! What's this brother stuff?!"
"Humans and octopuses are nothing alike!"
Koro-sensei raised both tentacles in panic.
"No! No no no! I haven't the foggiest! I was born and raised as an only child!"
He suddenly entered dramatic flashback mode.
"When I asked my folks for a little brother, things got really awkward!"
Maehara pointed at him in disbelief.
"Wait, you have parents?!"
Meanwhile, in the middle of all the commotion, Akira, Erika, and Ritsu were completely focused on emergency manga rescue operations, ignoring the uproar entirely.
Karma leaned over with a grin.
"Are you not interested in this brother thing at all?"
Akira didn't even look up from carefully drying the pages.
"Gossip is good, but saving lives is more important."
Erika gently blotted another wet page while Ritsu used a small built-in dryer to help.
After blood, sweat, and tears — well, mostly sweat, since Akira shed none of the other two — the trio somehow managed to save the rare first edition without too much lasting damage.
Lunch break soon arrived.
Everyone started eating, with Itona sitting among them, methodically working through a small mountain of sweets.
Erika had to physically hold Akira back from confronting him again.
Maehara commented,
"He sure is packing in the sweets at a healthy pace."
Isogai nodded.
"He's got Koro-sensei's sweet tooth and his opaque expression."
Koro-sensei, who was also devouring his own mountain of sweets, suddenly perked up.
"That brothers thing sure has everyone comparing the two of us. Now I'm all antsy. I'll cheer myself up by looking at the girly magazine I bought today."
With a slightly blushing face, he opened an adult magazine.
Itona silently took out the exact same magazine.
The entire class thought in unison:
They even like the same big boobs!
Okajima's eyes widened seriously.
"His credibility just skyrocketed!"
Nagisa turned to him.
"You think so, Okajima?"
"Oh yeah!"
Okajima proudly held up his own copy of the same magazine.
"We boob men are all brothers!"
Nagisa stared in disbelief.
"Three brothers now?!"
Kayano looked thoughtful.
"If they really are brothers… then why wouldn't Koro-sensei know?"
Akira, still focused on his rescued manga, casually replied,
"It's not that unusual. I didn't know I had a twin sister until recently."
The class exploded again.
"What?! You have a sister?!"
"A twin sister, you said?!"
"What's your sister like?!"
Akira was immediately overwhelmed by the barrage of questions.
"Calm down, everyone…"
Kayano turned to Erika excitedly.
"Did you know, Erika-san? What's she like?!"
Erika answered with a small smile.
"Well… imagine Akira, but a girl. That's her."
Selena's voice immediately shouted telepathically in Erika's mind.
"I am nothing like him! I'm much cuter and far more sensible!"
But no one else could hear her.
And so lunch break ended in a completely different kind of chaos.
---
After school ended, all the desks in the classroom were quickly rearranged into a large ring.
Koro-sensei and Itona stood in the center while the rest of the students, Karasuma, Irina, and Shiro stood around watching.
Itona dramatically pulled off his blazer and scarf in one smooth motion, revealing a red sleeveless shirt underneath.
He stood ready for battle, his expression cold and focused.
Irina raised an eyebrow.
"A desk ring?"
Karasuma nodded.
"Yeah. Like a real match. I've never known anyone to go about an assassination like this."
Shiro spoke calmly.
"You must be sick of plain old assassinations, Koro-sensei. Shall we lay down a rule here? How about… stepping foot out of the ring means death on the spot."
Sugino muttered,
"What the…? Like the loser's gonna uphold that rule."
Karma grinned.
"No, breaking a rule that we were all witness to would hurt our trust in him as a teacher. That kind of restriction works especially well with him."
Nagisa asked,
"Why go for a duel instead of a normal assassination?"
Akira, standing with his arms crossed, answered casually,
"Probably because they think this way they can win. After all, now Koro-sensei is restricted to this ring, and he can't hurt his students either, so he's at a disadvantage."
Ritsu asked from her screen,
"Then why did he accept it?"
Akira shrugged.
"Well… he's Koro-sensei after all."
Koro-sensei nodded.
"All right. I accept your rule. However, Itona-kun, hurting the spectators is also a loss."
Shiro raised his hand.
"Then, at my signal… assassination…"
Everyone held their breath as he lowered his hand sharply.
"…begin!"
In an instant, one of Koro-sensei's tentacles was cleanly cut off.
The class gasped in shock. This wasn't the first time one of his tentacles had been severed, but how he did it still left everyone stunned.
Koro-sensei's voice dropped low.
"It can't be… tentacles?!"
From Itona's white hair, four white tentacles sprouted and began flailing at high speed, just like Koro-sensei's.
Nagisa stared in disbelief.
"Itona-kun's hair… is tentacles?"
Akira muttered under his breath,
"From now on, he is called Tentacle Head."
The class collectively thought:
Is this the time for funny nicknames?
Koro-sensei's expression darkened, his normally bright yellow skin turning pitch black as veins bulged across his face.
"Where…? Where did you get those… those tentacles?!"
Shiro remained calm.
"We're not obligated to tell you that, Koro-sensei. But this ought to have convinced you. You have different parents, different upbringing, but still… you are brothers."
He looked at Koro-sensei's furious face.
"My, what a scary face you're making. Did you perhaps remember something unpleasant?"
Koro-sensei regenerated the lost tentacle, slowly forcing his color back to yellow, though his voice remained dangerously low.
"It would appear… you and I will need to have a little talk."
Shiro replied coolly,
"But we can't. You'll be dead."
A purple light suddenly emitted from the sleeve on his hand.
Koro-sensei turned gray and froze in place.
Itona immediately attacked with all four tentacles.
Koro-sensei barely dodged at the last second.
"This light… you have it too?"
Shiro, who had been about to explain the light like a proper villain, paused, completely surprised.
"What do you mean, 'have it too'? Did someone else use it on you?"
Before Koro-sensei could answer, Akira spoke up casually from the side.
"Oh, that? I just used it on him yesterday evening."
Shiro stared at him.
"WHAT?"
The entire class turned to look at Akira in shock.
Shiro asked sharply,
"How did you get your hands on that?"
Akira shrugged with a smug smile.
"I'm not telling you."
Shiro almost lost his composure for a second.
"You…"
But he quickly regained his calm.
Maehara whispered to the others,
"Akira-kun, why didn't you tell us about it?"
Akira replied,
"I literally just made it yesterday, alright? I was just testing, and then today this happened."
Just then, Itona attacked Koro-sensei again with all four tentacles.
But Koro-sensei, who had mostly regained his composure thanks to the previous training with Akira and Erika, dodged easily.
"There is much I wish to ask you two. But first… I must win. Otherwise, there will be no opportunity for us to talk—"
Before Koro-sensei could finish speaking, Itona attacked again.
His four white tentacles lashed out at blinding speed, but Koro-sensei continued to dodge fluidly, his movements precise and calm.
Shiro watched with a confident smile.
"You still think you can win here? We know all your weaknesses. You cannot leave this desk ring, and you cannot hurt Itona either. Sooner or later, you will die. Ah, the howling of the losing dog — or octopus."
Koro-sensei's expression remained steady.
"Shiro-san, you may know a lot of my weaknesses, but there's one thing you forgot to take into account."
Shiro raised his hand, ready to activate the purple light again.
"There is not. My methods are impeccable. Kill him."
Itona leapt upward, all four tentacles launching downward like spears.
Liquefied tentacles splattered across the floor as he attacked with overwhelming force.
But it wasn't Koro-sensei's tentacles that were destroyed.
It was Itona's.
Koro-sensei stood there holding a handkerchief, as if he had held something with it.
"Oh my, I seem to have stepped in something you've dropped."
On the ground, several anti-sensei knives had been placed exactly where Itona's tentacles had struck.
Itona's eyes widened in shock.
How is it…?
He glanced at Shiro and saw an umbrella now blocking the purple light.
What?
Akira, who had been watching like a true high-level otaku commentator, spoke up with a smug grin.
"Koro-sensei placed the knives he 'borrowed' from students exactly where Itona's tentacles would land. Since they share the same tentacles, they share the same weakness. And since he didn't directly attack Itona, he still didn't hurt a student. As for the light, he blocked it with the umbrella I brought for the rain."
Koro-sensei beamed.
"That's exactly right, Akira-kun! Full points on the commentary!"
Akira gave a humble bow.
"it's all by your guidance, Sensei."
Before Itona could recover, Koro-sensei grabbed a large towel from Akira's bag and swiftly wrapped it around him, lifting the boy clean off the ground.
"You said the one who steps out of the ring is dead, right?"
He gently placed Itona down with one foot just outside the ring.
"Your foot is outside the ring, Itona-kun."
Koro-sensei's face now had green rings of victory as he proudly declared,
"I win. According to the rules, that means you die. You can't kill me anymore."
Itona's eyes burned with rage. Red veins appeared as black tentacles began regenerating, thrashing wildly.
Koro-sensei continued calmly,
"If you want to live, stay and learn with everyone in this class. Something that can't be easily measured by crunching numbers. That would be the experience gap. I've lived a little longer than you and come to know a little more. I became a teacher because I wanted to pass that on to you all. If you don't take my experience from me here in this classroom, you'll never be able to beat me—"
"I won't… I—"
Itona's eyes turned completely black, red lightning crackling through them. Veins bulged on his head as he roared,
"I'M STRONG! These tentacles made me stronger than all the rest…!"
His black tentacles rampaged wildly, smashing desks and nearly hitting nearby students.
Nakamura shouted,
"Black tentacles?!"
Maehara backed away.
"Oh crap, he's going out of control!"
Itona's voice was filled with pure rage.
"I'm strong…!"
The tentacles lashed out uncontrollably in the confined space. Koro-sensei couldn't hurt him, and even Shiro couldn't intervene effectively.
Just then—
"Oi, Tentacle Head."
Akira's voice rang out clearly as he grabbed one of the rampaging tentacles mid-swing and yanked it hard.
The sudden pull shocked Itona, throwing him off balance. Akira stepped in close and lightly tapped a precise point on Itona's neck with two fingers.
"Didn't Sensei tell you already? You lost. Quit throwing a tantrum."
Itona's eyes widened for a split second before he passed out completely, collapsing to the floor under the shocked gazes of the entire class.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then Koro-sensei turned to Akira and asked,
"Akira-kun… you know pressure point techniques?"
Akira rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Well… don't want to brag or anything, but it's one of the few things I learned on the side."
In truth, Akira had never specifically learned any traditional pressure point technique. What he did was use Transparent World combined with his Mystic Eyes to instantly pinpoint the exact nerve cluster, then strike it using the knocking technique he had tested in the Toriko world.
Since Transparent World wasn't magic and his Mystic Eyes were part of his own biology, he could use both even in this world without any restrictions.
Maehara raised his hand.
"Wait, before that—how did you grab that Mach 20 tentacle, Akira-kun?"
Nakamura leaned forward.
"Yeah! How could you catch it with your bare hands?"
Akira waved it off casually.
"Relax, guys. It's not actually Mach 20. Unlike Koro-sensei, Itona is still mostly human, so only his tentacles are moving at high speed, not him. With proper calculations, it's easy to catch."
Koro-sensei took the opportunity to strike a teaching pose.
"See, students? That's why math is important!"
The entire class shouted in unison,
"Who can calculate at that speed?!"
Just then, Shiro walked over and carefully lifted the unconscious Itona onto his shoulder.
"Apologies, Koro-sensei. It seems this boy wasn't yet mentally prepared for school."
He turned to leave.
"I know it's his first day and all… but he'll be taking a little break."
Koro-sensei stepped forward.
"Wait! I can't let that student go… I'm his teacher! I shall look after him until he graduates! And Shiro-san… I have so very much to ask you."
Shiro paused and glanced back.
"Yeah, no. We're leaving. Or would you stop us by force?"
Koro-sensei reached out and grabbed Shiro's shoulder.
The moment his tentacles touched the white robes, they splattered apart.
Koro-sensei quickly pulled them back.
Shiro spoke calmly.
"Anti-sensei fibers. You literally can't touch me. Don't worry—he'll be back before long, Koro-sensei. After all, March is just around the corner. I'll take on the task of tutoring him at home."
He turned to walk away.
"Until we meet again, Koro-sensei."
Before he could take another step, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Shiro turned to see Akira standing there.
Shiro asked,
"Oh, Akira-kun, right? What is it?"
Akira looked him straight in the eye.
"Compensate?"
Shiro blinked in confusion.
"…What?"
Akira repeated, dead serious,
"Compensate me."
Shiro glanced at the wrecked classroom.
"For what? The classroom?"
Akira shook his head.
"That's for the government and the principal to talk about. What I want is compensation for my damaged Dragon Ball first edition, first chapter manga. Your Itona wet that, remember?"
Everyone in the class stared at him in shock.
He's still on that?!
Shiro let out an awkward laugh.
"Oh haha… well, if it's just a manga, sure. Tell me how much it is."
Akira answered without missing a beat.
"$500,000."
For a moment, there was complete silence.
Then the entire class screamed,
"WHATTTTT?!"
Isogai asked in disbelief,
"What kind of manga costs that much?!"
Even Shiro looked stunned.
Akira explained,
"It was a collector's item. I bought it in an auction recently."
Nakamura muttered,
"How rich are you…?"
Karma smirked.
"Oh, so that ridiculous news story about someone spending a fortune on manga was you?"
Shiro shook his head.
"There's no way…"
Akira continued,
"And that's for the manga alone. You have to add another $500,000 for emotional damages. So total… one million dollars."
The class screamed again.
"WHATTTTT?!"
Shiro looked completely bewildered.
"Another five hundred thousand for emotional damages?!"
Akira nodded, looking genuinely emotional.
"Yes. Do you know how hard it was to win that auction? Do you know how many sleepless nights I spent refreshing the page? Do you know the psychological trauma I suffered watching water touch it?"
He crossed his arms.
"So you have to compensate me now… or should I sue you?"
Koro-sensei immediately joined in, raising a tentacle.
"Yeah! As his teacher, I completely support this! And I can also act as a witness!"
Seeing this, all the students joined in to swindle Shiro.
Karma grinned.
"Yeah, pay up."
Kayano nodded.
"Yep, we all saw it."
Maehara added,
"Property damage."
Nakamura said,
"And psychological trauma too."
Okajima declared,
"Damage to manga culture!"
Kimura shouted,
"For justice!"
Under the collective pressure of the entire class plus Koro-sensei, Shiro finally gave in.
"…Fine."
He quickly transferred the money and left the classroom in a hurry, carrying Itona.
Akira looked at his phone and saw the money transfer notification. He turned to the class with a satisfied smile.
"Alright everyone, tonight's treat is mine."
The classroom exploded with cheers.
"YEAHHHHHH!!"
Erika sighed deeply, watching the chaos.
Nagisa quietly wrote in his notebook:
"He is incredibly petty."