Tokyo, Adachi Ward.
Homitsu High School, the men's restroom at the end of the third-floor hallway.
Splish, splash...
He scooped up a handful of water to wipe his face, turned off the faucet, and Akiyoshi Yuu looked up at the person in the mirror.
The boy in the mirror stood about 1.75 meters tall; he was 16 years old, remarkably handsome with sharp features and fair skin, though a dejected expression marred his face, and his frame was somewhat frail.
Tsk, things were going just fine, so why did I have to get transmigrated?
Rolling up the cuffs of his school uniform, Akiyoshi Yuu looked at his slender arms and couldn't help but sigh.
This body is too weak; it's time to 'start' training again.
As a man, I should at least have some muscle definition, right?
But before that—
Wiping the water from his face, Akiyoshi Yuu turned to look at the three classmates entering the men's restroom.
"So you were here,"
"Did you think hiding in the bathroom would solve anything?"
Two flanked him left and right while the third blocked the doorway, trapping him in a triangular formation and sealing any path of escape.
"Hey, you got such a huge sum of money, yet you're unwilling to share it with us, your 'friends', isn't that a bit disloyal? Yuuclassmate~~"
The boy standing by the sink had a cold smirk on his face, his eyes glinting with excitement as he cracked his knuckles. In a public school, especially in a place like Adachi Ward with one of the worst crime rates in Tokyo, students who were just coasting along made up two-thirds of the class.
The remaining third belonged to the 'special' class within the grade.
For example, the boy before them, who had transferred not long ago and whose parents had died in a traffic accident: Akiyoshi Yuu.
He was the perfect target for their bullying and extortion!
"Does it have to be this cliché?"
This scene made 'Akiyoshi Yuu' sigh once more.
Whenever people gather, they inevitably create a pecking order.
"Leave now, and no one gets hurt."
?!
Hearing Akiyoshi Yuu's words, the three of them froze.
"Huh? Hey, what kind of newfangled way of begging for mercy is this!"
"Don't tell me you're trying to fight the three of us. Have you lost your mind?"
Meanwhile, the boy at the restroom door laughed strangely and spread his hands; if a baseball club member had said that, it might have been a little threatening, but this 'sissy' before them dared to threaten them?
"Enough talk. Let's make him face reality first."
The boy by the sink took a step forward; he didn't care how much money he could extort from the other guy, he was just addicted to the feeling of hitting someone with his fists.
Only when he was beating someone up did he feel like he wasn't the 'worthless trash' his parents called him!
At that exact moment, Akiyoshi Yuu also stepped forward, twisting his waist and swinging his right fist in an arc through the air.
'Ding, Divine Tree—'
Pow!
A jolt to his chin, and the world in his eyes started spinning.
Before the guy by the sink could even react, his consciousness faded to black.
"Yamamoto?!"
A beautiful hook, precisely landing on the opponent's jaw.
Amidst the other two's involuntary gasps, their companion 'Yamamoto' fell stiffly to the side, his body slamming hard against the sink before sliding to the floor.
Having made his move, Akiyoshi Yuu didn't hesitate; after taking one down, he lunged at the stunned one by the restroom door.
"Don't you come near me!!!"
He let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively shrinking back and raising his arms to shield his face, a pose that resembled a boxer's guard but was actually more like a frightened little girl's.
'...System online,'
Ignoring the static in his ears, Akiyoshi Yuu shot his hands forward, his ten fingers locking onto the other's shoulder blades.
He pulled down while simultaneously driving his knee up.
"Ahhh~"
With a short, pained cry, the unlucky guy took a solid knee to the stomach and fell forward, kneeling in the restroom and clutching his abdomen like a curled-up shrimp.
???
The third person blocking the door turned pale with fright.
In just a few seconds, two of his 'companions' were laid out, making him instinctively turn to run.
'Assisting Host...'
He sprinted forward, reaching out a hand.
Grabbing the third person's collar just as he was turning and losing his footing, Akiyoshi Yuu pulled back with force.
Thud!
The third person fell hard onto the restroom floor, and the sharp pain from his back restored a sliver of his 'ferocity'.
"If you've got the guts, then—"
Pow!
A fist from above smashed into his face, stuffing his threat back down his throat.
Pow! Pow!
Left and right, the punches rained down.
The continuous numbness and pain on his face instantly extinguished the guy's 'ferocity'.
"I surrender, I surrender, I surrender!"
'...Pinnacle of life...'
...
"What did you just say?"
Hearing the question from above, the boy shielding his face with his hands denied it tearfully and snottily.
"I didn't say anything, I didn't say anything!"
"Not you. Never mind..."
Getting up, Akiyoshi Yuu frowned.
It felt like there was a voice just now. Was I hallucinating?
'...'
'Ding, the Divine Tree System is online. This system is designed to help the Host reach the pinnacle of life. Please confirm to receive the core item: Seed of the Divine Tree.'
A system?
So it's a system. No rush.
Glancing at the three guys on the floor, Akiyoshi Yuu dusted off his hands.
"Let me borrow your catchphrase:"
"Don't let me see you again. I see you, I beat you. Got it?"
"Got it, got it," x2
Although they didn't know why Akiyoshi Yuu, who used to be at the 'bottom' of the class hierarchy, had suddenly exploded like this, the principle that 'a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle' is universal in any world, in any country.
The intense pain in their bodies, combined with his calm tone.
The two boys scrambled up from the floor, only daring to squat on the ground in front of 'Akiyoshi Yuu', nodding their heads furiously.
As for 'Yamamoto', who had rushed in first?
After taking a powerful hook to the jaw, he had instantly attained 'baby-like' sleep.
Under the terrified gazes of the two, Akiyoshi Yuu straightened his uniform in the sink's mirror and walked out of the restroom.
He didn't care about the three guys on the floor.
School bullying is something that can never be truly eradicated, just like how there will always be rich and poor in the world.
The former 'Akiyoshi Yuu', due to the death of his parents, a series of mental blows, and his frail body, was indeed an easy target for bullying.
But when the transmigrator arrived, his methods changed drastically; his father's teaching from his previous life was: don't start trouble, but if someone dares to trouble you, hit them back on the spot!
Thump.
"Oof~~"
Just as he stepped out of the men's restroom, Akiyoshi Yuu collided right into a figure hurrying towards him.
He instinctively raised a hand to grab them, but as his gaze swept over, his five fingers, which had been heading straight for their neck, changed from a grab to a supportive hold mid-motion.
"Class rep?"
"Not class rep, it's Nao."
The girl, who had stumbled from the impact, adjusted her glasses and retorted irritably.
She had neat short hair, a gentle demeanor that gave off a big-sister-next-door vibe, and wore round-framed glasses that made her seem like a top student.
"I heard Yamamoto and the others were looking for you..."
"They weren't."
Holding the girl's shoulders, Akiyoshi Yuu turned her one hundred and eighty degrees and started pushing her away.
"We're all classmates, why would we cause trouble for each other?"
"Let's go, class is about to start."
"Hey~~ Bu-but..."
Being pushed along by Akiyoshi Yuu, the warmth from his hands through her summer uniform sent the girl's mind into a state of confusion, leaving her at a loss for what to say in rebuttal.
Yuu... why has he become so assertive?
Because he transmigrated!
It had happened just a few days ago; he closed his eyes, opened them, and found himself on a bed on the second floor of a detached house in Tokyo's Adachi Ward.
In the local parlance, it would be called an 'ikkodate', but that wasn't the point; the point was that the bewildered transmigrator, after repeatedly confirming this wasn't his body and that he now had over a decade of unfamiliar memories, and after 'climbing the wall' to search in vain for any trace of his 'former self', had no choice but to confirm:
He had transmigrated, and into a parallel world's Tokyo at that.
"Hey!"